Star Trek Enterprise- first time Watch

[Btvs fan]

So I started Enterprise for the first time.
It was the last Trek show before JJ and Kurtzman took over and I never saw it.
I loved TNG and DS9 and didn't like Voyager despite its great concept which Berman and Braga did nothing with .
Im half way through the first season.
I gotta say, its very bland. Like the episodes are not bad but they're not great either. Just meh. Same with the characters too and I loved Bakula in Quantum Leap but here again hes just meh.
Also that theme song is basically a £ shop Rod Stewart 😬
It really highlights for me how Berman and Braga really dragged Trek down so that Sharks like JJ and Kurtzman would be able to take bites out of it.
Im told the later seasons under a new show runner are good so I'll carry on but out of 10 the episodes are all pretty much a 5

 

[November]

I liked Enterprise, it was so corny and cheesy to watch. The song made me think it was much older than it was (I didnt see it when it aired either). Comfort tv now.
Has the hottest vulcan of the lot.

 

[Btvs fan]

I liked Enterprise, it was so corny and cheesy to watch. The song made me think it was much older than it was (I didnt see it when it aired either). Comfort tv now.
Has the hottest vulcan of the lot.

Iv been told the show gets better when it gets a new show runner

 

[November]

Iv been told the show gets better when it gets a new show runner

Its not very long, so its worth the watch if you're into Star Trek regardless. I would have liked more, but its never more than mid.

 

[NotASlayer]

I would say it probably started to pick up properly when S4 started. Which is a tad on the late side; by that time, anyone still watching likes a show the way it is and it's harder to get new viewers interested.

I mentioned elsewhere that one problem isn't that there are episodes where comments are "This is when the show died" but that there are too many episodes where that's the case. (And one episode is considered Shades of Grey levels of bad.)

 

[thetopher]

As I recall only the final season of Enterprise is any good; the first few were dire and just showed the slop that Trek fans used to put up with.

Enterprise has some really bad, unlikeable characters, and the rest were just really bland, no standout ones, their depiction of Vulcans is terrible and the writers often went for lowest common denominator writing- especially with T'Pol or whatever the hell her name was.

 

[November]

lowest common denominator writing- especially with T'Pol or whatever the hell her name was.

Her looks cover a multitude of sins.

 

[Btvs fan]

As I recall only the final season of Enterprise is any good; the first few were dire and just showed the slop that Trek fans used to put up with.

Enterprise has some really bad, unlikeable characters, and the rest were just really bland, no standout ones, their depiction of Vulcans is terrible and the writers often went for lowest common denominator writing- especially with T'Pol or whatever the hell her name was.

Berman isn't even a writer yet somehow hes writing and Braga is a journeyman at best.

Its obvious that TNG and DS9 (which Braga didn't write on) success was due to Michael Piller and Ronald D Moore

Post automatically merged: May 22, 2026

I would say it probably started to pick up properly when S4 started. Which is a tad on the late side; by that time, anyone still watching likes a show the way it is and it's harder to get new viewers interested.

I mentioned elsewhere that one problem isn't that there are episodes where comments are "This is when the show died" but that there are too many episodes where that's the case. (And one episode is considered Shades of Grey levels of bad.)

Thats when they got the new show runner in I believe

Post automatically merged: May 22, 2026

Her looks cover a multitude of sins.

Berman put Troi in a skin suit in TNG (the actress got so fed up that she protested in S6 and 7 of 9 in Voyager.
He fired the Dax actress on DS9 when he tried to bully her.
He was not a great guy

Post automatically merged: May 22, 2026

I would say it probably started to pick up properly when S4 started. Which is a tad on the late side; by that time, anyone still watching likes a show the way it is and it's harder to get new viewers interested.

I mentioned elsewhere that one problem isn't that there are episodes where comments are "This is when the show died" but that there are too many episodes where that's the case. (And one episode is considered Shades of Grey levels of bad.)

I mean so far like I said the episodes aren't bad per say but just bland

 

[NotASlayer]

Thats when they got the new show runner in I believe

Yes; there was apparently a new show runner for S4 and it is noticeable. And the S3 cliffhanger was so bizarre that it's been suggested it was deliberately done to make the incoming team's life harder. If so, they recovered well from that.

I mean so far like I said the episodes aren't bad per say but just bland

There are also bizarre attempts to make the show hotter and sexier... by having the cast rub decon gel on each other.

Her looks cover a multitude of sins.

Unlike her outfit which didn't hide a heck of a lot.

 

[Btvs fan]

Yes; there was apparently a new show runner for S4 and it is noticeable. And the S3 cliffhanger was so bizarre that it's been suggested it was deliberately done to make the incoming team's life harder. If so, they recovered well from that.



There are also bizarre attempts to make the show hotter and sexier... by having the cast rub decon gel on each other.



Unlike her outfit which didn't hide a heck of a lot.

I know the series finale (which I had seen just not the rest of the show) by Braga was felt like a slap in the face to the cast and show.
Braga later said it was thank you to the Star Trek Universe but I think he's lying, you'll notice DS9 was not included in that so called thank you

 

[NotASlayer]

@Btvs fan The season four finale. I didn't want to mention the specific one, but you have said you have seen it.

 

[Stake fodder]

I watched all of Enterprise when it aired, mainly for completism, because I agree that it's bland and the characters don't stand out and seem like repeats of previous characters. It also was clearly being done more cheaply, with a lot of "bottle" episodes contained to the ship. And yeah, that theme song - what were they thinking?

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

Both Berman and Braga wanted to take a year off to recharge and focus on the series, which, if the Studio had granted that request, would have resulted in a better series, as opposed to Star Trek, Season 22. So, I blame UPN, for not using the seven years of Voyager to create something.

 

[Btvs fan]

Both Berman and Braga wanted to take a year off to recharge and focus on the series, which, if the Studio had granted that request, would have resulted in a better series, as opposed to Star Trek, Season 22. So, I blame UPN, for not using the seven years of Voyager to create something.

First off all they're not good enough anyway. They proved that with Voyager which was tailor made for serialised story telling and character development which they just didn't do.
Ronald D Moore was brought on board and quit in disgust after just a month over this issue and then made BSG which was basically his version of Voyager as an F U.
Second I know they wanted to have the whole 1st season on Earth and not even call it Star Trek just Enterprise.
I can see why the studio said no, having 26 episodes on Earth would be very hard to do anyway.
Third they could've still done that character development on the ship again which they didnt do.

Post automatically merged: May 23, 2026

I watched all of Enterprise when it aired, mainly for completism, because I agree that it's bland and the characters don't stand out and seem like repeats of previous characters. It also was clearly being done more cheaply, with a lot of "bottle" episodes contained to the ship. And yeah, that theme song - what were they thinking?

Yeah Iv noticed all the bottle episodes 🙄 I think if the scripts were decent or theres some significant character development a bottle episode can be good. These aren't.
Also the one where Malcolm and Trip are in the shuttle pod and Malcom Apparently has never seen a comic book before because its only something Americans had. My God its eye rolling in how bad it is. Im surprised he didnt ask Trip if they had any Tea....

I will say this, so far and given he's a guest star its ironic, the best actor on the show is Jeffrey Coombs. He just shines above the rest of the cast no matter what hes doing. And hes playing different roles each time. But it really shows up the rest of the cast including Bakula. I mean S1 and S2 of TNG are famously bad yet Patrick Stewart still shined as Picard on them. Thats not the same here.

 

[NotASlayer]

The Borg episode was one of the best episodes of the first three seasons I think.

Second I know they wanted to have the whole 1st season on Earth and not even call it Star Trek just Enterprise.

It actually is just called Enterprise for seasons 1 and 2. Which is just silly; they are literally not using the brand.

Third they could've still done that character development on the ship again which they didnt do.

On the plus side, they didn't do what happened on Voyager, which is to have two recurring characters stop appearing because they forgot they hadn't actually killed them!

Yeah Iv noticed all the bottle episodes 🙄 I think if the scripts were decent or theres some significant character development a bottle episode can be good.

Bottle episodes are heavily dependent on scripts and acting to work. If you have those, it's possible to forget that they even are bottle episodes.

I will say this, so far and given he's a guest star its ironic, the best actor on the show is Jeffrey Coombs. He just shines above the rest of the cast no matter what hes doing.

Honestly, he's just good all the time, at least in Star Trek!

I mean S1 and S2 of TNG are famously bad yet Patrick Stewart still shined as Picard on them. Thats not the same here.

S2 has one of the best episodes of the entire show, Q Who, and the definite worst, Shades of Grey. And there's apparently a connection between that; Q Who blew so much of the budget they had none left over for Shades of Grey. Honestly, they should have made the season one episode shorter and just had a party. On the plus side, Shades of Grey killed the clip show filler episode type for Star Trek.

 

[Btvs fan]

The Borg episode was one of the best episodes of the first three seasons I think.



It actually is just called Enterprise for seasons 1 and 2. Which is just silly; they are literally not using the brand.



On the plus side, they didn't do what happened on Voyager, which is to have two recurring characters stop appearing because they forgot they hadn't actually killed them!



Bottle episodes are heavily dependent on scripts and acting to work. If you have those, it's possible to forget that they even are bottle episodes.



Honestly, he's just good all the time, at least in Star Trek!



S2 has one of the best episodes of the entire show, Q Who, and the definite worst, Shades of Grey. And there's apparently a connection between that; Q Who blew so much of the budget they had none left over for Shades of Grey. Honestly, they should have made the season one episode shorter and just had a party. On the plus side, Shades of Grey killed the clip show filler episode type for Star Trek.

Q Who and Measure of a Man were both fantastic episodes which given there was a writers strike at the time and Gene had gone nuts is kind of amazing in hindsight.

Also S2 brought in Guinan though she essentially filled the Counsellor role of Troi on the show who was just reduced to eye candy.

Shades was awful but as an episode I actually found the Troi Pregnancy episode more offensive to be honest because of how the show basically treated a rape situation really badly.

 

[NotASlayer]

Shades was awful but as an episode I actually found the Troi Pregnancy episode more offensive to be honest because of how the show basically treated a rape situation really badly.

Yes, there are different kinds of badness. Shades of Grey is just a bad, lazy episode. The pregnancy is bad in a badly handling something way.

 

[Btvs fan]

Yes, there are different kinds of badness. Shades of Grey is just a bad, lazy episode. The pregnancy is bad in a badly handling something way.

Agreed both are awful in different ways

 

[Btvs fan]

@NotASlayer @thetopher @Stake fodder @November @AlphaFoxtrot

So I finished Season 1. I have to say the finale and as a cliff hanger it was deeply unsatisfying. What's annoying is that you actually had a good idea at the start. A tragic accident that kills thousands which causes the characters and Archer to question themselves and whether Starfleet is going to soon.
Only to find, courtesy of time travel exposition guy to tell Archer No, it was the bad guy lizard people doing bad guy things who are responsible so no self reflection or character growth needed.
Then a really generic and really badly shot action scene that was so boring.
It then ends on a cliff hanger of Archer trapped in the future and I couldn't care less. In comparison the TNG Best of Both Worlds cliff hanger was epic and still great to this day where you want to know what happens.

Looking at the season overall I think most episodes are a 5 out of 10 with some dipping to 4 and a couple rising to 6. The Dr pov episode was probably the best but again its just a 6. I dont plan to watch any episode from this season again. Not because I hate them, I don't, I just don't.

As for the crew and characters themselves. Again it's meh. Im not interested in any of them.
T'Pol whose the most famous character is basically the generic Berman obsession of a good looking woman in a car suit. I googled and apparently she wasn't even an actress before this, she was a model. But to be fair Scot Bakula was an actor before this and won awards with Quantum Leap and he was pretty generic on this too so its not her fault. Braga writing was just so bland and the same old tropes (time travel) he was known for.

After all that I don't plan to quit this show and will try the next season but its definitely a 1 done. Compare that to TNG or DS9 where I can go back and watch old episodes. I wont with this

 

[NotASlayer]

So I finished Season 1. I have to say the finale and as a cliff hanger it was deeply unsatisfying. What's annoying is that you actually had a good idea at the start. A tragic accident that kills thousands which causes the characters and Archer to question themselves and whether Starfleet is going to soon.
Only to find, courtesy of time travel exposition guy to tell Archer No, it was the bad guy lizard people doing bad guy things who are responsible so no self reflection or character growth needed.
Then a really generic and really badly shot action scene that was so boring.
It then ends on a cliff hanger of Archer trapped in the future and I couldn't care less. In comparison the TNG Best of Both Worlds cliff hanger was epic and still great to this day where you want to know what happens.

Yes, the whole Temporal War arc is generally thought to be pretty bad. Best of Both Worlds does still work as a cliffhanger, and it must have been even better pre-modern internet when no-one knew what was going to happen, you had to wait months to find out and it wasn't even known if Patrick Stewart was coming back.

Looking at the season overall I think most episodes are a 5 out of 10 with some dipping to 4 and a couple rising to 6. The Dr pov episode was probably the best but again its just a 6. I dont plan to watch any episode from this season again. Not because I hate them, I don't, I just don't.

I would say a big problem of the series is a lot of "meh" episodes interspersed with too many genuine stinkers.

Also, Archer is the only captain in any of the series to this point to be so regularly beaten up.