Star Trek Enterprise: An Appreciation Thread

[KidL]

I know I know... not the most popular series. When it first aired, I remember completely shrugging it off. I hated the opening theme, the over sexualized cast relationships, the seemingly lack of substantive story telling (geez, at least Voyager had a slew of cool new props that screamed Federation tech)...

BUT... I recently watched the 4th/last season and I have to say, they did a great job setting up massive potential for what could have been a great Trek series (DS9 + TOS in nutshell). It was great seeing Brent Spiner as Arik Soong (which added a lot of details to Earth's struggle with eugenics), the widespread xenophobia that resulted directly from the NX-01's contact with new species, the mystery of the temporal war... Man, as much as I used to dismiss this series, I really wish the creative team had had the chance to finish off a solid 7 seasons. I was even beginning to like and care about Trip and T'Pol's romance for crying out loud!

I've brought this up with some friends that are also into Star Trek (mostly TNG fans, a couple that also realized the awesomeness of DS9), but they still scoff and look at me like I'm crazy. I still have the impression that a lot of Trek fans haven't given this series a chance...

All I can say is, if you're one of them, do yourself a favor and give it at least one run through... You won't regret it!

Now where's my EM-33 and Phase Pistol!

 

[renaissance_man]

Enterprise was a great series, it had some great arcs. It's a shame there weren't three more seasons in which to conclude the Temporal Cold War arc but part of me likes keeping it open ended and mysterious.

The Xindi arc was great, and still left time for a few nice standalone episodes, I've been going back through season 3 from the start and lastnight watch "Similitude" which was a nice episode about the morals of trading one life for another.

Enterprise may be gone but it's not forgotten, certainly not in my house anyway.

 

[CessnaDriver]

Can't be afraid of the wind.

YouTube - The Threads that Bind Us


Season five in my mind she voyages on and not without her engineer!

YouTube - NX-01 Refit Flyby

 

[KidL]

I've been going back through season 3 from the start and lastnight watch "Similitude" which was a nice episode about the morals of trading one life for another.

Yes! Great episode! Reminds me of the DS9 episode where a clone of O'brien goes through the process of slowly realizing that he is, himself, a clone! With his last breath he expresses his love for Keiko, the epitome of cultivated human emotion. "Similitude" does a great job of presenting that dilemma (what constitutes life and how we measure it's value) with a new spin... classic Trek theme...

Can't be afraid of the wind.

YouTube - The Threads that Bind Us

Chills man! Goose bump city!

 

[darthgordon]

It was really Manny Coto that turned the show around. I dropped it for a year or two and came back when I started seeing story arcs get advertised that looked interesting. When I tuned in, it actually felt like Star Trek for the first time since it had aired. Even just the subtle changes to the sets and lighting helped give it more of TOS feel. Because of that, I gave the rest of the series a shot in syndication. I actually enjoyed it because what it turned into.

Now, there were some stories I just couldn't stand... the Vulcan mind meld being illegal being one of them... but overall, I can still enjoy the series. Had it been allowed to continue, I'm sure it only would have gotten better.

Most people forget that every Trek series other than TOS took 2 or 3 seasons to get good.

 

[DavidS]

I took the show for what it was; a storytelling prequel to TOS........ not neccessarily a VISUAL prequel.
I thought the show had really good heart, and was sorta given the shaft on its finale.

Eh... actually the finale wouldnt have been SO bad, if we could just have heard archers speach.

I too, always felt that THIS speech is what he probably gave a more lengthy version of in the finale Charter speech.......... guess we'll never know........ unless we ask Troi

 

[DavidS]

Most people forget that every Trek series other than TOS took 2 or 3 seasons to get good.

yeh........ go watch Encounter at Farpoint

its damnear unwatchable

 

[thegreatgalling]

I agree wholeheardedly, great show. There were a few things here and there I would have changed, but sheesh, it still stings that it was cancelled. Compare the first four seasons of Enterprise to...Next Gen. Don't get me wrong, I am a TNG nut, but its OBVIOUS that it took three or four seasons for the characters to know who they were and be able to fill the roles. With TNG, it was half of 5 and 6, 7, and 8 that were the real gems. Imagine if they actually gave the series a chance!!!!

 

[JOATRASH FX]

I actually liked the entire run. Great show. Been meaning to get back to it again as I haven't seen it since it ended.

As much as I HATE the Bolton-wannabe theme song I have to grudgingly respect them for going with something so off the wall different. I also used to have a good laugh at the over-sexed scenes a lot of episodes had. It was almost as if they were somehow poking fun at the old "Kirk always got the women" thing. (Remember the ep where Archer inherits three Orion women?) :lol

 

[DS Operative]

I've always given that show credit for what it was-- an entertaining spin on Star Trek. Which is exactly what TNG was too. Sure, there were some inconsistancies here and there as far as what TOS & TNG told us, but the story arch's were good. A few years ago I started watching all of the Star Trek's again from Netflix beginning with TOS. When I got to TNG, I just skipped the first 2 and a half seasons because they were unbearable to me. I never got into DS9, but I enjoyed Voyager.

I have some friends that are die-hard TNG fans that made fun of me for watching Enterprise. I tried to get them to watch Enterprise and gave them a few reasons why they would enjoy it, but they couldn't get past the opening theme, the sets, the uniforms, etc... It was "hip" to hate Enterprise and they were on that bandwagon. Sure, the episides with the Space Nazi's was silly, but I retort with "ugly bags of mostly water". I gave up trying to convince them that Enterprise was pretty good when you give it a chance, they took themselves and TNG way too seriously anyway.

 

[wuher da brewer]

I disliked the Zindi War, but loved the season that followed.

 

[phase pistol]

Star Trek... almost always an exercise in frustration and untapped potential. :lol

I agree though, the fourth season has some gems in it, particularly "Mirror Darkly" (why is it always the "alternate timeline" episodes that bring out the best in these shows? :rolleyes).

Season 5 might have been pretty good. Oh well.

k

 

[Apollo]

Watched the first 2 seasons and i could'nt take it anymore.

This summer I watched the last season and thought it was a crime it did'nt get renewed.

Manny did one helluva job turning that Series around.

 

[MooCriket]

I loved the show as well towards the end. I really wish they could have pulled another season or two off. It seemed to me that it got canceled right when it was hitting it's stride

 

[feek61]

Yes, agree it was better then people ever gave it credit for. A few years ago I watched the series from beginning to end over the Christmas holidays and REALLY enjoyed it. I have watched it several times since and I must say that it's probably my favorite Trek behind TOS. Too bad it couldn't have gone on for a few more seasons.

 

[KidL]

Eh... actually the finale wouldnt have been SO bad, if we could just have heard archers speach.

I agree, the finale was lacking in many ways. The Ent-D holodeck approach worked in some ways, such as allowing them to cram in seasons worth of plot points into a single episode, but there was just too much time wasted on meaningless banter between Riker and Troi (who just didn't have the same chemistry as during TNG). Not to mention... We've already seen that episode! We know what happens! And... wait, what show is this again?

And with all the setup of Archer's speech being a defining moment in human history and the birth of the Federation, what do we get? A montage with TOS/TNG voice-overs that we've all heard countless times before that lasts maybe 30 seconds. The full speech in context could have been an extremely powerful and moving scene, not just for the show, but for the franchise. Talk about a missed opportunity... and yes, I'm feeling bitter about the cancellation again... :lol

 

[darthgordon]

The finale would have worked much better as just another episode. Had it been in the final season but actually gave us an Enterprise-centric story for the finale, it wouldn't have been nearly so bad.

I think they had already planned on this episode as a "valentine to the fans" before knowing whether or not they were going to be cancelled. At that point, it probably became the finale out of quick necessity.

I guess when you plan to take a show for 7 years with an idea of how it wraps in your head and then only get 4, you don't know how to end it.

 

[Zombie_61]

Enterprise is my second favorite Star Trek series (the first being the original series). Although I got bored with the season-long story arcs in the second and third seasons, I thought it was the only one of the spin-off series that held true to the original show's premise--the wonders and pitfalls of exploration.

 

[TheDoctor]

There was only one redeeming quality for Enterprise in my mind: The Mirror Universe episode made me really excited about the TOS for the first time. It was pretty kewl watching the Defiant rip through the Enterprise-era ships like they were nothing. It was the first time TOS managed to look "advanced".

Otherwise, it was a pretty big pile - especially season 4 where they tried way too hard. They spend season 1 and 2 alienating the fans, season 3 trying to find an audience, and season 4 trying to get the fans back (and largely failed).

There's just nothing that I liked about Enterprise. The cast, the ship, the setting, the stories, the characters - it made Voyager look like the light upon a hill.

I'm a HUGE Trek fan, but I just go angrier and angrier every time I watched it. I stayed with the first season, here and there for the second season, tried the complete third and fourth season to just a steaming hatred for the series as a whole. The Xindi War was terrible and made no sense - neither did the future war. It was like I wasn't watching Trek, but a different SciFi show (and it wasn't good on that level either).

In the end, they really shouldn't have tried to do a prequel. Bermen should have either had the hutzpah to do what Abrams did and re-boot the thing, or gone further into the future.

 

[judgedredd]

best series yet imho