Why I like Enterprise so much

[Rennick]

Enterprise gathers a lot of grief, and I can see why someone would be turned off by it as a show and how it pertains to Trek.

However, I like Enterprise. I might even love it. For me, it is my second favorite show.

The reason why I like it so much is because up to its debut, everything I saw of Star Trek was a rerun. Enterprise was brand new.

I could call a show my very own, something I could cling to, something I could witness from the beginning. It carries emotional resonance with me.

I was there with it -- through its entire run. I think it is significant for a fan to associate with a show, more so than another, and that is what I do with Enterprise. I stand by it.

 

[BruntFCA]

The first 2 seasons of ENT are maybe some of the most average TV ever made but seasons 3&4 are so awesome that they make up for it.

 

[Rennick]

Agreed -- I usually start at the last episode of season 2, and then start watching. The stakes certainly get raised at the point.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I remember the first time I watched ENT properly, in season 3 I was just IN SHOCK. Because I was watching some of the best Trek there is and I had no idea that it was going to be that good.

 

[Rennick]

I'm watching season 3 currently. I hope I get the same reaction as well.

 

[Melakon]

I could call a show my very own, something I could cling to, something I could witness from the beginning. It carries emotional resonance with me.

That's sort of the feeling old geezers like me have regarding TOS, because we were among the living when it first aired on NBC. It was all we had for nearly 20 years, besides the animated series.

I didn't get to see Seasons 3 & 4 of ENT until last February, after buying the complete series collection. I've seen most of them several times each already, and only recently got into the 3rd season on my reviews.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

I can appreciate the series more now than when it first ran. Being able to skip around rather than watch it in the order it was released certainly helps. At its worst, Enterprise showed how exhausted and overdone many Star Trek paradigms had become. At its best, it had a claustrophobia and solitude that made the adventure more thrilling.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I think 'Average' is being generous for the first two seasons, but seasons 3 & 4 are awesome. If I ever watch again I'll start from the last ep of season 2.

For me I have that emotional resonance with TNG. I started watching it new pretty late in the run, but I had been watching the rest of the series in syndication after school constantly, and TNG was 'Trek' to me.

 

[GameOn]

I'm not a big fan but at least it went from mediocure to watchable, Voyager was mediocre for its entire run. Season 3 was decent but felt out of place given the time frame of the show. Season 4 was what the show should have been from the start even though it to bordered on fanwank at times.

 

[Viper78]

The first 2 seasons of ENT are maybe some of the most average TV ever made but seasons 3&4 are so awesome that they make up for it.

Couldn't agree more. I watched the entire series & though season 3&4 were excellent. I was gutted when it was cancelled. There was so much potential for season 5 especially with the introduction of the Romulans, just a pity the final episode wasn't good.

I like the Netflix campaign for a 5th season, would love it if this happened!!!

 

[DigificWriter]

I've only seen 3 of the four seasons (1, 2, and 4), but ENT is my third-favorite series and, IMO, doesn't get the appreciation it ought to. It has its problems, but, overall, it's a very good show, and I personally think Season 1 is better that people think it is.

 

[DonIago]

Calling ENT your third favorite series is really damning with faint praise when you've got:

TOS
TNG
DS9
VOY
ENT

Not exactly a lot to choose from.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Calling ENT your third favorite series means you either prefer it over TOS, TNG, or DS9. That is high praise, IMO.

ENT is my fourth favorite Trek series. But probably better than 90% of the TV shows that aired between 1990 and 2010. (Which is way fainter praise, of course, than calling it your third favorite Trek series).

If that Netflix Trek series actually happened it'd be about as hard to de-age the characters as it was to de-age Riker and Troi in the episode whose name must not be spoken.

 

[DigificWriter]

How is ranking ENT 3rd behind DS9 and VOY and ahead of TNG 'damning with faint praise'?

I grew up with TNG and still have a fondness for that series and its characters, so for me to rank ENT above it actually speaks volumes about how good I think ENT's overall quality is (problems and all).

 

[Bad Thoughts]

I've only seen 3 of the four seasons (1, 2, and 4), but ENT is my third-favorite series and, IMO, doesn't get the appreciation it ought to. It has its problems, but, overall, it's a very good show, and I personally think Season 1 is better that people think it is.

Christopher Jones at Trek.FM certainly pushes season 1 hard. I'm more indifferent. However, season 1 is perhaps the most substantial first season of any Trek series, setting up stories and interpersonal relationships. And I can't think of a TNG episode from its first season that are as good as Shuttlepod One or The Andorian Incident. Indeed, the only 1st season episode of the post-1960s era that stand out in my mind are Duet and Phage (excluding pilots and cliffhangers).

 

[DigificWriter]

Standout ENT S1 episodes for me:
Broken Bow
The Andorian Incident
Fortunate Son
Cold Front
Silent Enemy
Sleeping Dogs
Shadows of P'Jem
Detained
Two Days and Two Nights
Shockwave, Part 1

 

[Rennick]

The claustrophobia and solitude of the adventure -- like you said -- is dead on, and something that deserved to be explored more. Excellent point.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I completely agree with the claustrophobia, that's one reason I like the NX-01 so much. It feels like a real ship, with real limitations that is not always easy to live on, surrounded by overwhelming amounts of real space.

 

[jespah]

Yep, claustrophobia. And really, considering the canon sizes of the ships, even the larger ones probably should have appeared smaller on screen. After all, most of us live in rooms that are about 10 feet high, maybe 15 feet diagonally or so (small bedrooms are often 9 feet by 9 feet). 3 feet is a little less than a meter.

Even the 2009 Enterprise is 610 - 910 meters (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Enterprise), or around 1976 - 2948 feet. Even with standard small bedrooms, that's 220 - 327 of them on the entire ship (I can't recall how large that crew was, but there were more people than the 90 or so on the NX-01), with no room whatsoever for engines, the bridge, sickbay, any recreational facilities, an armory, cargo storage, transporter room, etc. Doubling people up in such tiny spaces is possible but that would show even more claustrophobia.

It is possible to fit in everyone and everything, but even on a ship of that size, it should have seemed a helluva lot tighter. Enterprise absolutely gets this feeling right, I feel.

 

[Yanks]

Wonderful thread!

I enjoy reading positive comments about Enterprise (for a change)