So, Enterprise

[Lord Garth]

I need a break from some things and I want to talk some major, hardcore Trek. I've barely seen ENT, so I'm thinking about giving it another chance.

What are your favorite parts of the show? Give me its selling points. What's the best this series has to offer and what are the episodes you recommend?

Thanks in advance.

 

[6079SmithW]

Some good points:
-I like Enterprise because of how close it feels to the present. The technology is futuristic enough but still feels like it would be feasible to see this stuff by next century.

-Enterprise's starfleet is more like NASA with a huge budget.

-Humans in the 22nd century make mistakes, morally questionable decisions, and commit first contact blunders. They are also heading into the unknown of deep space for the first time.

-It is not human-centric. 22nd century Vulcan society is explored in almost as much detail as human society. Andorians get a pretty good showing too.

-Enterprise shows you how humans, vulcans, andorians, and tellarites go from extremely disliking each other (and sometimes being at each other's throats) to forming the UFP together.

- General continuity with TOS and other series. Season four is pretty much TOS reference/continuity porn.

-"In A Mirror, Darkly" parts 1 and 2 are perhaps the best two episodes of the series even though they occur in the mirror universe and have nothing to do with with the rest of the series continuity. I would go as far to say these are two of the best Trek episodes in general. Just my opinion. Season four was just awesome.

Some bad points:
- Quite a few slow/boring episodes, especially in season 2.

-Sometimes comes off as a prequel to TNG and not TOS.

-They replaced the more primitive weaponry with standard phasers and photon torpedos later in the series.

-The series finale episode is perhaps the worst episode of Star Trek ever produced. It had lots of potential and could have been great if they just stuck to formation of the UFP. Better off pretending the second to last episode is the finale.

I would just like to say that the above points are my opinions and I'm sure others will disagree with me. My rule of thumb is to see something for yourself before you praise it or hate on it.

As for specific episodes, I can't really remember names except for IAMD, so I hope others will help me out. I would also recommend "The Andorian Incident" or whatever the name of that P'Jem episode was and its follow up "Shadows of P'Jem" and any Vulcan-centric episodes in general. There was a Vulcan trilogy and a eugenics trilogy that I also highly recommend as well as the Terra Prime episodes. Really, all of season four and some great episodes form season three. Sorry I can't be more specific.

 

[JiNX-01]

You might want to take a look at another thread floating around here: Enterprise, Abridged ... Your request is very similar.

I like the cast. There is really nice chemistry among the actors.

I also like the production values. The CGI and the music are superb.

Connor Trinneer's "Trip" Tucker is my favorite character and Connor is my favorite actor on the show, closely followed by recurring guest Jeffrey Combs.

Absolute favorite episodes:
S1
Andorian Incident
Breaking the Ice
Silent Enemy
Shuttlepod One
Desert Crossing
Shockwave I

S2
Shockwave II
Minefield/Dead Stop
Singularity
The Catwalk
Cogenitor
First Flight
The Expanse

S3
Pretty much all of the season. Some episodes were dull or contributed too little to arc -- Exile, Extinction, Rajiin, Carpenter Street (tho' this one does have some pretty entertainment value), Hatchery and Doctor's Orders.

S4
Most of the season is very good (exceptions: Stormfront I & II, Daedalus, and This Ain't The Valentine.) In a Mirror Darkly I & II rock. And the Vulcan arc and Andorian arc are great. Observer Effect is also very popular.

 

[Shatnertage]

I said my piece on this thread. Here's my short list:

StarTrek.com now has full ENT episodes available to watch online here:http://www.startrek.com/videos/star-trek-enterprise
You might want to watch a few of those to get an idea of how you feel about the characters before committing to a purchase.

Here's a few episodes I'd watch to get a feel for the show, in no particular order:

Breaking the Ice (s1, ep8)--in some ways an "average" episode, it sets the tone for the human/Vulcan dynamic for much of the series

Shuttlepod One (s1, ep16)--you said you're interested in character development, and this is basically two of the regulars interacting with each other for an hour

Carbon Creek (s2, ep2)--almost not a Trek episode at all, but it gives you a feel for how the show could stretch the format

Singularity (s2, ep9)--if you don't mind some comic elements in your Trek, this is a great episode since we see the crew's personalities taken to the extreme

Observer Effect (s4, ep11)--one of my personal favorites, it's immediately identifiable as Trek, and you get a sense of what the show is trying to say about humanity

Keep in mind there's plenty of difference of opinion here, and that this isn't a "best-of" list, just a representative sample. I didn't include anything from s3 because it forms a big arc, and most of s4 is taken up by mini-arcs. This might be a good starting point.

And when you run into something awful or perplexing, like space Nazi aliens, just keep going.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

I used to be a longtime Berman and Braga-basher (I'd never seen Enterprise, just heard horror stories). But, on a recent run-through of Voyager and realizing that I liked the Berman and Braga-run Seasons 5 and 6 better than the Piller and Taylor produced seasons, I gave Enterprise a shot.

I'm already halfway through the Xindi arc and I'm really enjoying this series. I love all the main characters (with the exception of Mayweather, who's just a 22nd century Harry Kim)

It's great seeing the Vulcans in a more pessimistic light regarding the humans and in the first couple seasons it's funny seeing Archer getting annoyed when a Vulcan ship just "happens" to appear whenever Enterprise is in a dicey situation, ready to lend a hand.

The first two seasons are mostly enjoyable, and the second really wasn't that bad. Even A Night in Sickbay had some cute moments, but I'm a fan of John Billingsley's Dr. Phlox.

Give it a chance. I'm glad I did.

 

[Admiral Shran]

Definitely give The Andorian Incident a viewing.

Any episode that features a Vulcan, other than T'Pol, is also one I'd highly recommend, as well as any that feature Andorians. I'd also suggest the few that have Tellarite characters (some people don't care for Bounty, but I liked it).

Other than that, give Seasons Three and Four a complete viewing, as they're the definition of awesome.

 

[F. King Daniel]

The third season, when Enterprise stopped being "more Voyager" and became it's own show with it's own identity. It wasn't perfect, and the ending a might too easy, but I loved it. The baddies were cheesy, but they were a wonderful cheesy and Archer turning space pirate was pretty mind-boggling.

FWIW I think "In a Mirror, Darkly" is hugely overrated, and quite stupid. Sorry

 

[Lord Garth]

My brother gave me Star Trek: Destiny to read a little over a week ago -- the story crosses between the 22nd and 24th Centuries (post-ENT and post-NEM respectively) -- and the MACOs caught my interest, along with the USS Columbia. That's what got the ball rolling aside from the fact that it's Star Trek I largely haven't seen.

I'll start with "The Expanse" then proceed to Season 3.

S3 seems like it would be the most ENT-esque. And the third season is 9/11-influenced so it would be the most of its time. It would be the least likely to feel like either a '90s holdover with the VOY feeling still lingering around, or achingly nostalgic for the '60s as ENT becomes much more of a TOS prequel.

 

[tomalak301]

I've been watching, and enjoying Enterprise quite a bit lately (It's been years since I saw it before) even though I do think Season two comes across as too routine and kind of boring. Despite that though, there's been enjoyable episodes in the two seasons I've seen so far, but I am looking forward to revisiting Season 3 and the Xindi Arc. Before when it originally aired, I felt it didn't feel like Star Trek to me (It got pretty Dark late in the season) but when I rewatched it a few years ago, it seemed to feel like Enterprise had risen it's game from what came before. I found myself really loving episodes like Azati Prime and The Forgotten and I look forward to seeing the season again in full context.

 

[jolene_b_fan]

yea, seasons 1 and 2 were rough.. so were TNG. took the cast and writers a while to find their footing and really get settled.

 

[Jack Bauer]

I wonder why it takes the first two seasons of the post TOS Trek series to find it's footing. It's bugged me for years and I've never seen a good reason for why.

 

[Shatnertage]

FWIW I think "In a Mirror, Darkly" is hugely overrated, and quite stupid. Sorry

I like IAMD for the camp factor and because the actors seem to be having a good time, but it's clearly not the same kind of story-telling as in "Twilight" or "Observer Effect"--or even "Singularity.' Generally, I find the mirror universe episodes entertaining from a fanboy perspective, but not totally my cup of tea...or plomeek broth. So I can see where you're coming from.

 

[Joeman]

As someone who hated Enterprise for a long time, despite the fact that I had barely seen any of it, I never get tired of sharing my selling points, as it's now my favorite Trek series.

First of all, the main reason I dismissed it originally were:

- I hated the boring look of the ship. The inside looked drab and colorless, and all those flat screen TV's hanging everywhere reminded me of the TV department at Best Buy. Blah.

- I hated the theme song.

- I hated the fact that the guy from Quantum Leap was the Captain. I had never been a Scott Bakula fan at all.

My selling points:

- Once I watched the first few episodes of season 1, I never even thought about the ship's drabness anymore. I think season 1 of ENT is the strongest start to any Trek series, especially the first 7 or so eps.

- The consistency of the writing. For me, this series has almost no eps that I would consider "bad". I think I may have rated an episode here and there a 5 or 6/10, but almost all the eps were anywhere from good to outstanding. Even during the convoluted Temporal Cold War arc, the episodes attempting to deal with it still had many great elements.

- Season 3 and The Xindi. The Xindi are probably the Trek alien race I find to be the most engaging. So many episodes in Season 3 just blew me away. Even most of the eps not dealing with Xindi are fantastic. I think that the final 3 eps of season 3 is the best 3 episode run in all of Trek. Some have the opinion that season 4 is the best, and I can certainly see their argument. It's awesome as well.

- While many would agree that Mayweather is a grossly underdeveloped character (with good reason), I find the ENT crew to be as good as any of the other series. I warmed up to Bakula as Archer very quickly, and I'm a really big fan of T'Pol and Phlox. Trip Tucker is now one of my all-time favorite Trek characters, despite his slow start as being too much of a hick early on. Reed and Hoshi were good too, as I began to appreciate them more and more as the series went on.

- Shran! The only bad thing about Shran is that there was not much, much more of him. I can't possibly overstate how much of a Jeffrey Combs fan I am, so after he was brilliantly utilized on DS9, I thought it was very smart of them to bring him onto ENT. Like I said, we just needed a lot more of him. On the next TV Trek, Combs NEEDS to be a main character!

Oh, I'll mention that I'm still not a huge fan of the theme song, but I can at least tolerate it now.

I could name more things, but I think I've rambled enough. Enjoy the shows!

 

[jolene_b_fan]

as each season went by, better or different writers were brought in to add value, actors became more comfortable w/ their roles. levar directed a few episodes, etc so you do get some really different feels in each show sometimes. Xindi arc onward seemed to have same feel in those shows. TNG, first season I thought was aweful, too stiff, clumsy writing and borrowed from TOS, but then it got better. Enterprise did the same thing.

 

[Praxius]

yea, seasons 1 and 2 were rough.. so were TNG. took the cast and writers a while to find their footing and really get settled.

Indeed.... I've attempted to get into Enterprise twice now and stopped watching it.

I'm not here to say it's horrible or sucks, but by the time I get to the end of Season 1 and into Season 2, my interest reaches a flat line. While my wife sat down and either put up with or actually enjoyed TNG, DS9 and Voyager, she won't even sit still to watch an Enterprise Episode..... she watched about halfway through Season one and now she's done with it.

There's just something about Enterprise that doesn't connect with me like the other shows and I honestly can't put my finger on what it is.

Heck I even jumped ahead to watch "Regeneration" once I heard it was a Borg episode tied in with First Contact. I watched it, and I still wasn't impressed..... it just sort of throws you into the story, then throws you back on the Enterprise, then there's a conflict, they stop them.... that's it.

There just wasn't any depth to the episode and as I saw it, it was like they threw the story at you, gave you a basic jist of what was going on..... and then it was over.

Once my wife and I are finished with Voyager (almost done of season 5 now) I imagine we'll give Enterprise another spin (since we'll be all out of Star Trek to watch by then).... but it's hard to keep interest for some reason.

 

[Shatnertage]

^^^ I suggest you start a few eps into S4 and work your way backwards after you go through that season. With the show being available on st.com, there's much less investment involved, and as long as you keep the arcs together, you can jump around a bit. If you're a Spiner fan, you should be able to get through the Augments arc, at the very least.

I didn't love the show when I first saw it, but I warmed up to it after a while. Now I'm definitely a fan.

 

[tomalak301]

^^^ I suggest you start a few eps into S4 and work your way backwards after you go through that season. With the show being available on st.com, there's much less investment involved, and as long as you keep the arcs together, you can jump around a bit. If you're a Spiner fan, you should be able to get through the Augments arc, at the very least.

I didn't love the show when I first saw it, but I warmed up to it after a while. Now I'm definitely a fan.

See, I really don't understand recommendations like this. Don't get me wrong, S4 is a good season, but I just watched an arc tonight that I think you really need to understand Season 1 and 2 (For the backstory) to really enjoy it and that was the Vulcan Arc. Not trying to give anything away, but let's just say catching the references to Star Trek is nice, but it isn't the only thing these episodes have to offer. There is a lot of closing the books on previous events from the series itself which I found a nice, satisfying touch.

I would say, if I was telling someone about the show for the first time:

1) Start with The Expanse and season 3 and watch all the way through that, stopping 5 minutes before the end

2) Then watch Broken Bow and any episode dealing with the Vulcan/Andorian Arc (Which is I believe Andorian Incident, Shadows of P'Jem, and Cease Fire

3) Then start your way with the Augments arc and work your way through season 4, stopping after Terra Prime.

4) If you don't like the series after all that, than it's probably not for you.

5) After you've seen everything, then watch These are the Voyages. I thought the episode was just ok (Not good but not hatred spewed insulting like most would believe) but because of it's reputation, I can't recommend it.

 

[I am Surak]

Tomalak I agree that you picked arcs and episodes that should get any Star Trek lover hooked on ENT but to the uninitiated -like I was - just watching from the beginning of season one makes for pretty good television. If anything I found season 3 too intense. I myself liked the whole innocent exploration and first contact bit. It immediately reminded me of TOS.

 

[Joeman]

Trying to watch an episode here and there of DS9, Voyager, and ENT actually had a lot to do with keeping me from getting into them for a long time. I didn't know any backstory, and didn't have any understanding of the characters. It wasn't until I watched them from the very beginning and in the proper order that I grew to appreciate them.

To each his own.

 

[ALF]

yea, seasons 1 and 2 were rough.. so were TNG. took the cast and writers a while to find their footing and really get settled.

Indeed.... I've attempted to get into Enterprise twice now and stopped watching it.

I'm not here to say it's horrible or sucks, but by the time I get to the end of Season 1 and into Season 2, my interest reaches a flat line. While my wife sat down and either put up with or actually enjoyed TNG, DS9 and Voyager, she won't even sit still to watch an Enterprise Episode..... she watched about halfway through Season one and now she's done with it.

There's just something about Enterprise that doesn't connect with me like the other shows and I honestly can't put my finger on what it is.

Heck I even jumped ahead to watch "Regeneration" once I heard it was a Borg episode tied in with First Contact. I watched it, and I still wasn't impressed..... it just sort of throws you into the story, then throws you back on the Enterprise, then there's a conflict, they stop them.... that's it.

There just wasn't any depth to the episode and as I saw it, it was like they threw the story at you, gave you a basic jist of what was going on..... and then it was over.

Once my wife and I are finished with Voyager (almost done of season 5 now) I imagine we'll give Enterprise another spin (since we'll be all out of Star Trek to watch by then).... but it's hard to keep interest for some reason.

If it's really that hard to get into, start with Season 4. It should get you into the characters enough that S1 and 2 will seem more palatable.

If case anyone is wondering, the Trek episodes on StarTrek.com are available only to those that reside in the Greatest Country in the World.