I can only speak for myself but people who dislike the new usually don't like the old. So, I struggle with the harm.
Just as easily someone could come to the show through an earlier work, dislike it and therefore also dismiss, not even try out later works. My wife has dismissed the idea of watching Picard based on the few episodes of TNG she has seen for example. I'm not sure what we are even talking about any more? Isn't this thread about Enterprise?
It's not, at least from what I can read. It reads a lot more like hypothetical situations and the worry that can generate. Which, unfortunately has no answer, beyond the anecdotal stuff you and I shared.
I normally let threads meander if no one objects, but as some members have pointed out, the subject started out to be essentially "I don't hate Enterprise," or the counterargument, "Well I hate it, and here is why." Whatever argument you make, it helps the thread if you tie it back to the topic sentence. I'm with the OP - I don't really grok the nosebleed-level heights of loathing heaped upon this show. But Trek fans are passionate, I do get that. And as I commented in an earlier post, when expectations aren't met-- for anything, not just ENT-- there are various levels of dissatisfaction, disappointment...and for some, even hate.
Just generally. Though it has to be said that though she’s a big sci-fi fan, she’s always been lukewarm at best toward Star Trek.
Just did a rewatch of Cogenitor, and it made me remember that when Enterprise was good, it was very good... so much to digest and discuss from that particular episode...
At first i didn't like ENT, but i'm slow to warm up to new Star Treks. It was the alt universe episodes that changed my opinion. I especially liked the treatment of the Defiant. It was still TOSy but looked better.
Agreed I , also, grew bored after season two and stopped watching. I never hated it…. I was disappointed at missed potential. The actors, by in large, were quite good and (dare I say) charismatic. But the direction of the show and what the show runners did with their characters was just stale. This was the show that proved the Berman era was creatively spent. So many “what ifs” …. He and his team were past their sell by date
Living in the minority as I often do, ENT concluded its 4-year run as my second favorite series after TNG. Recent offerings of Picard and SNW may eventually alter that list but for now, Archer and co. are favorites, as much for the characters as the stories.
Same. Like much of Berman era, ENT lacked the je ne sais quoi I wanted. It's not hatred but a quiet dissatisfaction with what I find engaging.
I think that we can lament for losing what Enterprise should have been (a prequel about humanity entering space), and what it was on the verge of becoming (a series with the Romulan war, Jeffrey Combs in a credits level role, and Trip and T'Pol dealing with complications of unexpected parenthood) without hating what it was. It had some good bits, a lot of OK bits, and some "what were they thinking" bits. Typical of any Trek, really.
Star Trek Enterprise seasons one and two is probably the Star Trek series I rewatch the most and enjoy the most. I didn’t watch it when it first aired because it was so close to 9/11 and my heart just wasn’t in it, but I discovered it later.
To understand the hate, you have to keep in mind what it was like for most Trekkies when it came out. I was there, so I can tell you. After over a decade of 3 series and several movies continuing the saga in one direction, this new series was suddenly a prequel--and not long after the "Star Wars" Prequels had begun. (In case it's no longer common knowledge, the "Star Wars" Prequels were overall not well regarded by most fans or critics at the time, to put it mildly). So the "Star Trek" prequel airs, and almost immediately starts blowing holes in the continuity, which was exactly what the "Star Wars" Prequels were already infamous for. But on top of that, "Enterprise" was also going absolutely overboard with the sleepy attempts at sex appeal, to the point of feeling like a parody. UPN's ads definitely didn't help. When the show finally got "good," much of what made these later seasons "good" was that they were either cleaning up the continuity mess the earlier seasons had created, or they were focusing on characters other than the main cast. When the best episodes of your show are the ones either dedicated to fixing the show's mistakes, or the episodes basically taking a break from the main plot and cast, that doesn't really bode well. Then there's the fact that when "Enterprise" was canceled, it took the entire (on-screen) franchise down with it, until the reboot films. Of course 20 years after the fact, the show's continuity issues and adolescent libido just seem like harmless quirks. But there was a time when it was like, "THIS is what 'Star Trek' is now." There used to be an absolutely hysterical website by a guy who comically reviewed the show, but sadly I I that site may no longer be up.