How to (Re)Watch Star Trek Enterprise — part 1
A short viewing guide through the roughest patch in Trek history
It’s been a long road.
What ENTERPRISE, later to be fully reinstated with its parental title, set out to explore in the prequel was overall mediocre, compared to its predecessors.
You might blame it on the restrictions that can make a prequel feel trapped in irrelevance. Many blamed Berman and Braga for their distinctively Roddenberry-less style of production. I‘d call their narratives distinctly male-default and void of the awe for science, that makes science fiction a great genre for drama and platform for emotional and behavioral exploration.
In the beginning, focus on the latter portrays the crew as unprepared and impatient. (In contrast to the higher evolved Vulcans even as primitive “cavemen“, with emphasis on the “men“.) The captain of all people is the most aggressive, as his quarrel with the Vulcan overseers of Earth‘s progress is a personal one.
In general, and this won’t change over the course of its four continuously improving seasons, the narrative is strictly male. The supporting cast is rarely other than male, even when we overlook a conference table of 12 aliens (3.22–3.35).
How can you move on from the more balanced, some might even say feminist, VOYAGER to this?
With something as progressive as Battlestar Galactica reboot rewriting the playbook on sci-fi shows during those same early millennial years, the less exciting ENT felt dated and diluted from the start.
It aspired to connect a relatable cast, centered in a not too distant future, with the futuristic setting of their chronologically bicentennial successors. The relation in question reads as a temperamental conflict between the so-called working class (human crew) and academics (Vulcan), which is odd (and troubling) for a show about scientific exploration.
[Compare notes to MR ROBOT where a economic superiority stands against individual intellect and capacity for compassion.]
ENTERPRISE came into its own by the third season and managed to create sympathy for the crew and their hardships.
Did it have to take such a „long road“?
Stumbling into Space
Let’s move quickly through the weak first season:
1.1 + 1.2
Broken Bow
The pilot episode is… not good, but you’ll need it to begin with.
(Skip through the lenghty parts.)
1.5
Unexpected
You need this to understand how unprepared everybody is, especially Trip.
Despite plot recycling, it offers some innovation.
1.7
The Andorian Incident
Not required for later reference, but if you like Jeffrey Combs (DS9’s Weyoun, Brunt and others), this is for you.
If so, continue with:
1.15
Shadows of P’Jem
1.23
Fallen Hero
You’ll have to skip through some lengthy parts, but if you’d like to see a Star Trek veteran, and despite my warnings, would like to keep up with T’Pol’s struggle for respect on the ship, there might be something in here for you.
We skip further screen time wasted on the temporal war and go right to more Vulcan bemusement, straight into the only slightly improving second season:
2.02
Carbon Creek
It’s unusual to go easy on the budget this early in a season, by leaving the costly environments of a science fiction set, but the placement of this episode in its timeline is very random, so it could’ve been shot later on, when an obligatory tightening of the belt resulted in this tangent to past-time Earth.
2.5
A Night in Sickbay
If you’re an Archer fan, this is for you.
Fair warning: The continuously blunt sexism and misogyny, neatly packaged in the objectification of T’Pol is a pretty hefty downside to this episode, but go ahead and spend a night with Porthos and the Captain, whose behaviour is in accordance with his leadership style so far.
Plus side: Doctor Phlox and his pet circus.
We skip recycled plots of the variety of suppressed memories (2.7 T‘Pol) transporter accidents (2.10 Hoshi), resilient sleeping beauties (2.11 Trip), a bottleneck (2.12), Archer on Tanagra / Enemy Mine (2.13), and move further along towards more promising entertainment:
2.14
Stigma
Warning: Only watch this, if you want to keep up with T’Pols special hell!
We are introduced to metaphors for nonconforming social intimacy and the consequences. (Think about HIV and homosexuality in the 80s when watching this. Trigger warnings are in order!)
The horribly uncomfortable story arc is contrasted by the more entertaining life of the Phloxes. It is equally cringeworthy to watch Trip be conservative-sexist in the future, written and filmed only 15 years ago, but hey, it’s 2018. We thought we’d have flying cars by now.
2.15
Cease Fire
Must-watch for Suzie Plakson fans and lovers of the blue-skins alike.
2.20
Horizon
Oh, hey, diversity came knocking on the airlock! Neatly stowed away on a different setting, we follow a side-adventure of Travis aboard his family’s cargo cruiser.
2.21
The Breach
If you need more time in sickbay, you can go ahead with this one. If you’ve seen all the “doctor needs to treat an enemy, but things are not like they seem, or maybe they are” episodes of VOY and DS9, you can cancel this appointment in good conscience.
You only need to go through what’s next on the menu of recycled scripts, if you’re doing a study about representation of “other than binary” gender on television.
Since we skipped most of Trip’s awful behaviour up until now, we can omit his rock-bottom* moment in “The Cogenitor” (2.22) as well.
*(so far)
2.23
Regeneration
Resistance to this episode is futile. It can’t do much with what it’s given to work with, regarding restrictions of future plots, but it’s ok.
(“OK” is the best you’ll get out of season 2.)
2.26
The Expanse
Hold on! This is not the series by the same name, but the overture into season 3, where a 9/11-level tragedy causes the Enterprise venture into the “Delphic Expanse”. It’s not great, either, but you should give it a looksie — maybe while cooking or vacuuming — for later reference.
to be continued in part 2
follow me on Medium to continue this arguably pointless exercise in Trek-binging
Liked the fix?
- Clap for this article, and clap hard! The longer, the better.
- Follow me around on Twitter.
