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Enterprise (ENT) Guest Reviews

Season 1 - Season 2 - Season 3 - Season 4

Broken Bow 16th April, 2151: After a Klingon ship crash lands on Earth, the NX-01 Enterprise is launched prematurely to take the injured Klingon back to his people. (Series Premiere)

Besides "In a Mirror, Darkly" (which was pretty bad from memory, I almost stopped me from even considering watching) this is the first Enterprise episode I've watched, just now, on June 11th, 2007. I'll be reviewing the Enterprise episodes as I watch them, from start to finish.
First impressions are better than I expected. I'd heard a lot of bad things about Enterprise, and most of those were proven to be correct. But I still enjoyed the episode, and will probably enjoy the rest of the series, although never like I do with the older shows.
The endless annoyances that I encountered kind of ruined the experience for me. I stopped after ten minutes to calculate something, and came to the conclusion that it would take Enterprise 19 days to reach Alpha Centauri AT LEAST, depending on how far away Neptune is from Earth in the shuttle scene. So Qo'noS would be months away, not four days. The fact that almost all the species in the episode besides Vulcans, Klingons and Humans never appeared in any other Star Trek series irritated me, because the chances that they all became extinct in two centuries is outrageous. The reason that Starfleet moved from pulse phasers to beam phasers and then BACK to pulse phasers is almost as ridiculous as fighting with arrows, then bullets, then arrows. The communicators, while hand-held, are smaller than those in TOS. The temporal cold war thing was barely skipped over. For some reason there was like, five different people using the sensors on the bridge at one point. The chance that a Klingon ship would just happen to be passing through the Sol system when previously they never went near it is negligible. The "disastrous" first contact between the Klingons and the Humans seemed to never happen. And of course, the Akira-UH, I mean the NX.
There were good technology bits, like the wall communicators and the Spock eyepiece. While opening doors with buttons may seem stupid, I reckon until they get smarter sensors (i.e. doors that know when you want to lean on them, sotto TOS: "The Naked Time", when Spock falls back onto a door) the privacy of a button-door is good (lest it opens every time someone walks past).
There was the needless scene with T'Pol in the decon room rubbing gel on herself (which being a red blooded male, I didn't mind too much), and the unholy sight of Archer in short shorts for NO REASON WHAT SO EVER. Why?! Are they just reminding us that this is a modern show that requires near nudity, or are they unsure of how well the show will premiere, so they stick some half nude Vulcan in it? Whatever, I didn't mind that much.
The characters are... eh. Archer is better than I remember him. T'Pol has huge lips and seems to be rather emotional for a Vulcan. Trip is an arse whose accent annoys me greatly, and is just testament to how American the show is. Mayweather... he's the helmsman. That's about all I got from him. Reed is an attempt to de-Americanise the show, but a respectable character, I guess. Phlox is an annoying mix between Neelix and Weyoun, whom I don't wish to watch at all. The two characters are great by themselves, but not together. Hoshi, I dunno. She's a good example of how unprepared the crew are for the mission (unlike Mayweather who can master the controls of an alien pod within what seems like minutes).
The disagreement between the Vulcans and the Humans was, at first, a bit over the top. Although after they justified it, it made a little more sense. T'Pol's eventual participation in the mission was well shown.
The show is still painfully American, though. This could very well stop me from watching. I hate nearly all modern TV crime dramas like SVU, CSI and NCIS (anything with an acronym?) and this reminds me of them greatly. However, it still feels like Star Trek, even just a little.
I won't even talk about the theme song. Never the less, I don't like it.
Despite all the bad things, I'll try to watch the whole series. It's only four seasons, and hopefully some of the episodes will be good enough that I won't get bored quick. I'm looking forward to Jeffery Combs as Shran, though, because he did great work in DS9 and Voyager.
I give this episode an eight out of ten because I assume that (ignoring continuity) it's a rather good episode, and that there will be better ones.
Remarkable fact: This episode features the second guest appearance of a (former) WWF superstar on Star Trek.
Rating: 8 (Hon. David Kulessa)

Fight or Flight Date not given: After three weeks without any contact, the Enterprise finds a ship full of corpses. When the aliens responsible return, Hoshi must overcome her nervousness and save the ship.

Hoshi was annoying. She didn't need to be SO nervous about the whole thing. It was very over the top.
I liked Archer's bumbling through first contact, because it's a far throw from the very easy situations that the TNG crew had. Starfleet's lack of protocol and experience was well portrayed. I can imagine that is how we will really be when we start initiating first contact, just as early seafaring explorers did.
Vulcan vs. Human was a little more annoying in this episode than the last, although at least Archer went against Trip as well. It's nice to see T'Pol being polite at the dinner table, at least.
I'm still skeptical about Phlox. He just reminds me too much of a mean Neelix.
I'm pleased about the technology level on this episode, because they introduced physical torpedoes, space suits and the whole docking procedure (I might have missed that in the last episode though). One thing I did find silly was how much more damage the torpedo did when it was targeting properly. The difference between that and the one that exploded in mid-space was almost ridiculous.
Overall, it was a pretty good episode after the first. Rather action packed, which I do like.
Rating: 6 (Hon. David Kulessa)

Fight or Flight Date not given: Synopsis in main ENT listing

For one thing, I was more than a little baffled by the sudden disappearance of Enterprise's functional weapons. They didn't have any problem using them against the Suliban in "Broken Bow." Then again, they didn't HIT anything in Broken Bow either, so I would just assume that the earlier episode saw Malcolm firing a bunch of unguided torpedoes in a vain effort to distract their victims.
What's much more worrying is Captain Archer fumbling through a ship-to-ship introduction to an alien vessel. It's sort of understandable that he doesn't have a whole lot of experience in communicating effectively with alien cultures; the Vulcans, however DO, and theoretically so do the Boomers, which would imply that SOMEONE in the Solar System should have some idea how to phrase "Standard International Greeting" or some deep space equivalent. I could understand their not wanting to ask T'Pol how to do this, but why not ask Travis?
The boarding of the alien ship also seemed terribly mishandled (either by the writers and by Our Heroes, I'm not sure). Seemed unbelievably shortsighted to board an alien ship simply because it looks damaged and doesn't answer their hails, nor does Archer seem to have any idea what he's supposed to do when he gets on board or how to react if the crew is NOT, in fact, in trouble. Or even if they are in trouble. Or any other weird eventuality (the crew is in hibernation or something). I rather DID appreciate the utter coolness of the gruesome discovery as to the fate of the crew, but the reaction to that, also, was somewhat botched. Archer's feelings about leaving the ship is understandable; his decision to go back and try to track down the ship's point of origin is definitely not, considering that Enterprise at this point is virtually unarmed.
So it wasn't at all surprising that Archer very nearly got everyone killed this time. If the intent was to show that Starfleet still hadn't gotten the hang of this space exploration thing, the episode accomplished that perfectly. On the other hand, it may have slightly oversold that concept, since Archer is repeatedly shown making impulsive snap decisions with absolutely no thought whatsoever for what MIGHT go wrong, even when presented with a list of things that are fairly likely TO go wrong.
Character development: Archer here demonstrates, for the second time, a somewhat impetuous nature and a strange reluctance to plan anything, ever. In almost any serious endeavor with a real risk of death if something goes wrong (aviation, deep sea diving, etc) there's always a huge amount of planning involved to make sure everything goes smoothly, or to make sure everyone knows what to do if things don't go smoothly. Archer doesn't seem familiar with this mindset, and having failed to plan ahead he nearly plows into that mountain of starship that is the alien poachers. The entire crew comes off as woefully unprepared for this mission, but Hoshi here pulls it off in her own way by being unprepared on a PERSONAL level. She's mostly a linguist, not much of an adventurer, and doesn't much like to be in the line of fire. Her main internal conflict, apparently, is a general lack of confidence, which gets handsomely resolved when she manages to decipher JUST enough of the alien language to explain the situation.
Series development: Enterprise's primary weapons come online for the first time. It's a little odd that so-called "spatial torpedoes" appear to be so puny and underwhelming, considering that by this time Earth has had thermonuclear weaponry for over two centuries. Even MODERN weapons pack a bigger punch than that, so I could only assume that spatial torpedoes must use some kind of lower yield plasma explosive thingamajig that's less lethal for whoever you're shooting at. The starship equivalent of a riot gun, perhaps?
Nitpicks: T'Pol observes the "residual oxidation" of the burn marks on the alien ship's hull. While this is basically good science (metal tends to oxidize at high temperatures) it doesn't make sense in SPACE, where there is no oxygen and, therefore, nothing to cause oxidation. She might as well try to guess the age of an alien ship by counting the barnacles on its hull. T'Pol's sensors detect the alien ship at a distance of about sixty thousand kilometers. Apart from the fact that this seems unreasonably close for another ship to suddenly drop out of warp without being noticed earlier, Travis mentions that it'll take "ten minutes, maybe less" for the ship to "get here." Considering how much more advanced the Poacher vessel is than Enterprise, they should ALREADY be within firing range at that point, considering TOS Enterprise consistently traded punches with alien ships at similar or greater distances. As for why a ship that is capable of traveling at the speed of light would suddenly drop out of warp and cover the last one-fifth of a light second at hundred kilometers per second... I suppose for the same reason they didn't open fire from sixty thousand kilometers, the Poachers just weren't in that much of a hurry.
Rating: 5 (Kyle)

Strange New World Date not given: Enterprise arrives at an Earth-like planet. T'Pol, Tucker, Mayweather, Cutler and Novakovich are staying on the planet for the night when a storm forces them to leave their camp and seek refuge in a cavern. Soon they begin to hallucinate. Novakovich runs away, but can be beamed up and treated against the hallucinations that are caused by the pollen of a plant. In the meantime Tucker threatens T'Pol with the phase pistol, because he thinks that T'Pol is collaborating with the non-existent inhabitants of the planet. By claiming that this is actually true Archer can move Tucker to put down the weapon, and T'Pol can treat the survey team.

I still don't like the main theme, but at least I can press my DVD's "jump" button 6 times to get to the exact end of it. I won't watch it.
I'm only up to the campfire scene at the moment, and I know that within one minute, T'Pol is going to ruin Mayweather's story with logic, or something.
Here comes.
Ah - there it is.
"Vulcan" this, "Vulcan" that. I'd hate to be in T'Pol's shoes. It seems everything anyone ever talks about has to do with Vulcan or Earth. You'd think they could vary their conversation a little.
I'm still at the campfire scene, and it's obvious that at least one of the two "red shirts" is going to die or be very hurt.
And there he goes. Injured severely. So far the whole "crazy" thing is being done... better than usual. I won't say it's original or anything, because it's anything but. Watching Trip wave a pistol at T'Pol for thirty minutes wasn't all that interesting.
I'm liking the end, in the cave. It seems that the crew might finally be letting T'Pol off a little. The constant complaining about her logic was getting annoying.
Well that was a pretty average episode. The "crazy crewmen" plot didn't help its rating, although I wouldn't be opposed to watching it again, at another time.
Rating: 4 (Hon. David Kulessa)

Strange New World Date not given: Synopsis in main ENT listing

I considered this episode something of a litmus test for Enterprise, at least insofar as the series' supposed intention to get "back to basics" and the business of examining mankind's first pioneering steps into deep space exploration. In that regard it was painfully disappointing: our intrepid star voyagers on their first deep space exploration turned out to be a bunch of tourists on an intergalactic camping trip.
The first half of the episode was positively cringe-worthy. I understand there's something to be said for Jonathan "We didn't come here to tiptoe around" Archer's enthusiasm, but there's something even greater to be said for professionalism. Archer is supposed to be a professional astronaut and scientist, which would seem to imply that Starfleet would have given him and his crew special training, instructions, or at least some words of advice for what to do when they found a planet that seems worth landing on. And given all the different planets and moons in the Solar System that probably weren't extensively explored before World War-III, Starfleet would have had plenty of time to refine its own protocols and procedures and maybe come up with new ones for its interstellar voyages. Instead, we have the Captain and his senior officers blithely jumping into a shuttle pod (with the Captain's dog) for a photo shoot in a meadow somewhere. It's the "oh c'mon, what's the worst that can happen?" approach to space exploration that seems more appropriate for, say, some freighter captain on a booze run than (what is supposed to be) the 22nd century equivalent of Neil Armstrong.
The outlook slightly improved once the ACTUAL story developed, namely the thriller-element of constant hallucinations, voices in the dark, paranoia, suspicion and prejudice. As subplots go, this one was fairly amusing. It would, perhaps, make a good anecdote from Archer back to one of his academy friends about "that time we landed on that Earth like planet with the hallucinogenic pollen." Overall, though, the driving force behind the entire plot was simply the complete unpreparedness of the crew for the unexpected, or even, for that matter, the expected (Tucker getting stung by an alien bug, for example; did it never occur to anyone on the ship that some or all of the life forms on this planet might be EXTREMELY toxic?).
Overall, "Strange New World" was an attempt to sell the idea that Starfleet's first mission of exploration was inexperienced and innocent, but enthusiastic and resilient. Instead, I come away from this episode with the impression that the Vulcans might actually be right about Humans being too immature to risk exploring deep space. In this case, they were looking that a thunderstorm and gust of hallucinogenic pollen was the most dangerous thing this planet had to offer.
Character development: Little to none, which is a little disappointing for a very early episode of a new Trek series, but hardly unprecedented. The effect of the pollen helped stir up some emotional intensity all around, which MIGHT have been interesting except that Trip (as usual) wound up hogging the spotlight for yet another episode of "Angry Redneck in Space." On the other hand there is a glimmer of indication that Archer, for the first time, is beginning to realize just how serious his job really is; hopefully, we might see a slight retreat from the prevailing "I can has flight plan?" attitude that's persisted so far.
Series development: Standalone episode. No mention of the temporal cold war or any other story arcs. Not much development as far as the overall mission either, except that this is the second time Archer has nearly gotten his people killed by failing to think ahead, so we might see a little bit more caution exercised in the future.
Nitpick: Odd how the ship's sensors can detect a "wind storm" moving across the entire continent but nobody bothers to warn the survey team... well, AT ALL. Actually the first indication they have of the storm is being nearly blown away by it before T'Pol has the presence of mind to whip out her tricorder.
Recycle bin: This episode has a flavor like so many TOS plots. Crew beams down to what appears to be paradise, only to discover a certain something on said planet that causes major problems. Refreshingly it wasn't anything as grandiose as a Klingon conspiracy, plants that shoot missiles, dreams-become-reality or a machine-god-lizard-thing.
Rating: 4 (Kyle)

Unexpected Date not given: During a repair mission on an alien starship, Trip becomes pregnant.

When I read the synopsis before I watched the episode, I expected something pretty bad. Not all my fears were realised, thankfully. The pregnancy was handled better than I thought it would; maybe just because he didn't have the huge belly that Arnold came with.
It was also rather humorous. I literally laughed out loud when the Klingon said "I can see my house from here!" and when Phlox said "You might just be putting those nipples to good use soon!", maybe just because they were so ridiculous.
It was very slow to start with, however, and when the two ships parted for the first time I thought "What, that's it?!" until it cut to Trip in ten-forward.
Yeah, come to think of it, besides the humorous tidbits, this episode was pretty slow and boring. And the K't'inga? What the hell. Try harder, Berman.
Remarkable ship: Klingon cruiser looks almost as futuristic as the Akiraprise.
Rating: 3 (Hon. David Kulessa)

Terra Nova Date not given: The Enterprise crew go looking for an old colony they lost about 70 years ago, and some tribal dudes get all up in their business about it.

I found it pretty boring. Half way through, the computer crashed and I didn't end up watching the rest of the episode until my mum watched it. I wasn't really engaged with the plot. As soon as Archer said the word "trust" I knew that the scene with the pistol in the cave was going to take place, because it was so obvious. Kind of like that scene in "Aladdin", except done badly.
And after watching all of TNG, DS9 and VOY, I'm SICK TO DEATH of watching tribal natives. I nearly fell asleep in all the episodes where Chakotay said "Akoochi-moyah", and this was similar.
As always, the conversations between Archer, T'Pol and Trip are... amusing, to say the least. It's fairly obvious, however, that the producers were simply trying to recreate the "magnificent three" mold that was set in TOS, and they're not doing a very good job of it. I can just see now: Mayweather is going to have, like, three episodes based on him. The reason he's so forgettable is because nothing ever happens to him. He's almost an extra.
Rating: 2 (Hon. David Kulessa)

The Andorian Incident Date not given: Some angry blue guys take some Vulcans hostage. As usual, the Vulcans are the ones at fault.

Yay for Jeffery Combs!
Getting that out of the way, I actually liked this episode. If you ignore the (un)predictable twist at the end that reaffirms Archer's stupid attitude, and Archer's stupid attitude, it's not all that bad. The Andorians were portrayed well, although I don't know if Shran's wiggle of the antenna at the start was supposed to be intimidating or something? It didn't seem it.
I wrote (un)predictable, because I assumed that the ENT writers had, by now, gotten over the constant distrust between Archer and the Vulcans. Apparently not. Putting the Vulcans in such a bad situation just sets back the friend-making that's occurred over the past seven episodes. I was just starting to think that T'Pol and Archer might get along when she got under the blanket, but no. I guess that'll take at least four seasons (enough time to get canceled).
I hope if another series is made of Star Trek after the movie comes out (depending on if it's a success), the producers try to include Andorians and Bolians a bit more. Frankly, I'm hoping for a post-VOY series, with maybe an ALIEN captain for once?
Uh, yeah. Good episode, in my opinion. But, like every other episode of Enterprise so far, it could do without Archer's annoying prejudice towards the Vulcans.
Quite annoying quote: "Have you got a problem with that?!" -Archer to T'Pol, after she did nothing at all to provoke him.
Rating: 4 (Hon. David Kulessa)

Breaking the Ice Date not given: Reed and Mayweather crack a comet, while Trip helps T'Pol crack some of her rigid Vulcan traditions.

A nice episode. Could this really be the end of the "let's everyone beat up on T'Pol because she's Vulcan" phase? I hope so. This is one of the most annoying parts of the show.
It's good to at least see Trip warming to her. Archer is still a whiny cow when it comes to dealing with Vulcans, though. I know that won't change.
The amusing anecdotes, such as the children's questions, similar to Captain Picard Day, or "Disaster", where Picard gets stuck in the elevator with some kids are what makes this. These are the episodes I like more than most (i.e. TNG: "Family", DS9: "In The Cards", VOY: "Someone to Watch Over Me"), because they make me laugh, and develop the characters well (one of the only things I don't like about TOS). I usually only watch comedy on TV (with the exception of Star Trek), and I'm glad they can still integrate it without making the whole episode silly.
Rating: 6 (Hon. David Kulessa)

Civilization Date not given: Enterprise finds an M-class planet where a disease is spreading through the population, apparently due to the owner of an antique store. Archer takes advantage of the fact that there's no prime directive yet.

Why hello, TNG: "Thine Own Self"! I didn't know you were in Enterprise.
That aside, it was an alright episode. Frankly, I don't really like episodes of this nature. They go to a pre-industrial society, something bad happens, they sneak around, the captain loves someone, but they can't get together. In that sense, it's kind of like TNG: "First Contact", except that was more interesting.
The crew's inexperience really shows when Trip threatens to vent the nacelles of their plasma when T'Pol is about to leave orbit. EVEN IF, however, the crew is inexperienced, I doubt someone (i.e. the chief engineer) would go to such measures to question T'Pol's orders. It must have occurred to him that even if they did leave orbit, that they would go back just as soon to rescue the captain. It's always fun to see T'Pol gain the upper hand in an argument, though.
Why do they even have Mayweather on the ship? At least Tom Paris SAID things. Mayweather just sits there, does a few "yessirs" and gets his leg broken. That's ALL he's done over the past nine episodes (except for what he said on the pilot, but that was simply to show us that he's also a main character; obviously just not a very important one).
It got a lower rating because I don't like episodes like this. That freakin' flute music, as well! It's like every single civilisation in the galaxy that is remotely primitive has to have a flute accompaniment when anything happens. It reminds me too much of Chakotay and his "Akoochi-moyah", which pains me.
Rating: 2 (Hon. David Kulessa)

Fortunate Son Date not given: Mayweather does something, and a freighter captain decides to get nasty with some Nausicans.

I have a few bad comments about this episode. First of all, Anthony Montgomery does a horrible job of acting in this episode. It all felt way too scripted and he moved his hands around too much when delivering his speech to the freighter captain. I've seen better acting on some fan films, and I now know the reason why he's never an important part of any episodes. Secondly, it was way too obvious from the start that the crew of the freighter were doing something bad. The first officer looks almost as evil as Captain Ransom (VOY: "Equinox"). I kinda like it when an episode surprises me. This was almost like I'd read the end of the book before I'd started.
Ignoring that, it was a rather good episode. It gave us an insight into the lives of boomers, and gave Mayweather some time to develop his character a bit more (even though all he said was "I was born on a freighter", basically). Adding the Nausicaans was a nice touch, although I didn't like the way they all wore leather jackets. If you ignored their hair-metal heads, you'd think they were humans.
It was filled with a nice mix of action and discussion, although I have to wonder why the Y-class could disable the NX for four hours so easily. They could hardly defend themselves against the Nausicaan raiders. AND they were damaged?!
No Vulcan/Human prejudice! Yay. A good episode, although I prefer not to be able to guess what happens so early in the show.
I'd like to take this opportunity to give my thoughts on the series so far, having watched (about) ten episodes. It's good; better than I expected, but I'd still rather watch some new TNG, DS9 or VOY. They are much more interesting, and most episodes from these seasons would rank above Enterprise ones (seeing as though I'm ranking Enterprise on its own little scale). I hope, if a new series is made, it'll take its tips from the 24th century series. This is good, but nowhere near the best I've seen from Star Trek.
Rating: 5 (Hon. David Kulessa)

Fortunate Son Date not given: Synopsis in main ENT listing

This episode was potentially enjoyable on so many levels. It offered a much wider glimpse into the nature of mankind's presence in space. The Boomers are a neat concept, sort of reflecting the earliest days of ocean exploration where the farthest expeditions were mostly merchants and businessmen exploring for profit. For an uncertain amount of years, Boomers have had the frontier pretty much all to themselves; there are hints in dialog that a lot of people stand to lose their jobs once the Warp Five engine becomes widely available, which meshes with a much broader theme about progress, patience, and people who have little patience for either. The Nausicaan simply lying through his teeth about their shield frequencies was a nice touch too. Ryan probably should have seen that coming, then again he IS a blockhead.
It's always satisfying in a Trek episode to add conflict with a second fully- or partially-staffed crew, at least insofar as we can see a somewhat even conflict between one captain and another. Ryan isn't the most impressive or most thoughtful starship captain in the world, but then that's exactly the point: he's young, cocky, and in WAY over his head. His crew only follows him because they want revenge as bad as he does, but like him, are too inexperienced to know just how foolhardy their plans really are.
Unfortunately what started out as a remarkably strong episode had an incredibly weak finish. It wasn't so much the fact that the entire conflict was resolved simply by browbeating Ryan into being reasonable (perfectly tolerable, considering this was essentially a fight between rival pirates and Enterprise had the big guns for once). What actually blew it for me was TRAVIS doing the talking. Since this is the first time any episode has focussed heavy on Ensign Mayweather, this is also the first time I've had a chance to notice that Anthony Montgomery is a HORRIBLE actor, and the entire discourse with Captain Ryan couldn't have been more irritating if it was produced on a chalkboard with a rusty nail.
Character development: This was the first episode to really focus on Ensign Mayweather. For whatever reason, he comes off here as "Black Wesley Crusher," only slightly more irritating since he is NOT a kid, and therefore doesn't have an excuse for why he's so annoying. Since first seeing this episode I have only been able to tolerate Travis' existence by telling myself that he's actually a twelve-year-old who caught some kind of rapid-aging disease from a Draylaxian girl.
Series development: Nothing in the major series arcs, but there is some historical relevance with the Boomers, since it's implied here that the Warp Five engine or its derivatives will very soon be made available for commercial use. When or where this first happens is, of course, totally unclear, but at the very least it helps to establish Enterprise's place in the scheme of things.
Nitpicks: Again with the weird range statements. Apparently the Fortunate's plasma cannons have an effective range of just a few kilometers. Unless this is just a limitation by their targeting systems (or lack thereof) it makes absolutely no sense why their weapons would be so profoundly limited. It seems as if the script writers are trying to justify the usual Trek-style unreasonably close exterior shots by referring to starships even in dialog as being just a few hundred feet away from each other even during high speed maneuvers; unfortunately, this means that at impulse power even Enterprise would only be moving a couple of hundred miles per hour.
Recycling: Tastes like "The Wounded," ends like "Gambit," has a unique flare in and of itself with the piracy element. Latter-century trek productions tend to portray space as a fairly orderly and well regulated environment, Barran's mercenaries notwithstanding. Here we see that space still appears to be a fairly lawless region where nobody really has hegemony beyond the confines of their own system and a few outlying colonies. The concept of matching your enemy's shield frequencies is, of course, a carryover from Generations, which works well as a plot device (giving the Nausicaan something to lie about and therefore get Ryan almost killed) but then again seemed pretty contrived in the first place and is probably better off not being repeated in the future.
Rating: 8 (Kyle)

Cold Front Date not given: Chef Daniels turns out to be a time traveling secret agent attempting to prevent the Suliban from getting all up in history's business.

I liked this episode. It successfully followed on with the Suliban story from the pilot, and left us wondering who was really at fault in the Temporal Cold War. As I've said before, I LIKE not knowing who's the bad guys in a story. I mean, I know it's the Suliban, but after watching this without prior knowledge of the series, I would be skeptical.
I would have liked a little more closure, though. It's fun to leave someone hanging, but not like this (kind of like the end of Halo 2; they've left us hanging on "Finish the fight" for almost three years).
I have to wonder how Archer stayed conscious for so long in a vacuum. It was established in TNG: "Disaster" that you barely have ten seconds of useful consciousness after decompression. I don't know the real scientific facts, but yeah.
I look forward to watching the rest of the Temporal Cold War. Although, y'know, I could use some Deep Space Nine right now. I'll probably be more entertained.
Rating: 6 (Hon. David Kulessa)

Silent Enemy Date not given: Hoshi hunts Reed's favourite food, whilst the engineering team test a new weapon out on some crazy aliens.

I liked this episode. It had a lot of good character development, and a plot that was actually rather compelling.
Okay, to be frank, I can't remember much of this episode. I watched it about 12 hours ago when I JUST woke up. Suffice to say, I thought it was good. The scenes not involving the bad guys were better, simply because I enjoy character development.
Rating: 5 (Hon. David Kulessa)

 

Season 4

Divergence Date not given: In a daring maneuver Trip is transferred from Columbia to Enterprise where he averts the disaster by performing a cold start of the warp reactor while Columbia is maintaining the warp field. While the Klingon fleet under the command of Fleet Admiral Krell is approaching to eradicate the infected colony, Phlox is struggling to devise a cure for the viral infection, supported by the Klingon scientist Antaak. When they find a remedy that would actually take away the superior abilities from the Klingon Augments, they decide not to tell General K'Vagh who oversees their work. With little time left until the fleet arrives the last four healthy Klingons agree to test four different strains of the antivirus that Phlox has developed of which three are lethal and only one provides a cure. Time ultimately runs out when the Klingons attack and Enterprise and Columbia are being fired on too, against Krell's agreement with Section 31. Archer beams down and allows Phlox to inject the antivirus in his body to speed up the procedure. Then Antaak beams the virus into the Klingon lead ship, forcing Krell and his men to stand down to be healed. The cured Klingons retain their flat foreheads and are said to pass them on to their children.

I am not a big fan of Enterprise but the visual effects in the episode are outstanding. The scene where Trip is going from Columbia to Enterprise at Warp 5 with just a cable connecting them and Columbia inverted and 50 meters from Enterprise was the best visual effects in the entire 4 years in my opinion. Not to mention when we finally after 40 years find out the secret of the Klingon genetic changes between TOS and TNG, it's about time.
Remarkable fact: The Klingons were infected with a virus and with the cure came the extinction of their enhanced strength, lung capacity, and of course their forehead ridges.
Rating: 10 (Kyle)

In a Mirror, Darkly I/II Date not given: Synopsis in main ENT listing

After the catastrophe that was "Emperor's New Cloak" the thought of another Alternate Universe episode seemed ridiculous, however, "In a Mirror Darkly" is able to improve and be entertaining. The episode takes place entirely in the Mirror Universe with absolutely no involvement from "our" universe than the stolen USS Defiant (out of curiosity, is there a reason they chose that name for the ship other than to confuse all us DS9 fans for a minute?) The episode is especially intriguing since for the first time we get a very good look at the Terran Empire in its prime and packed to the brim with backstabbing, conspiracy, and some more backstabbing.
The biggest problem with the episode for me was the overload of gimmicks: Alternate universe + time travel + evil alien lurking through ship + indestructible vessel = enough minor plot lines to make 6 or 7 other Enterprise episodes. However, all and all it was an overall entertaining episode full of excitement, but most importantly awesome Terran Empire and MACO patches and symbols.
Nitpicking: One of the long standing problems with the Alternate Universe is how different everything is and yet somehow the same people still exist. This problem reaches its maximum limit when at the beginning of the episode the Vulcans show up on April 5th, 2063. What are the odds that with all the differences they would show up at the same place on the same day in both universes?
Intriguing idea: Archer mentions that Zefram Cochrane stopped the "Vulcan invasion" to T'Pol. Seeing as this is the alternate universe he could quite possibly be right, the Vulcans might have been invading Earth.
Remarkable feature: The new opening title sequence. That was probably the coolest part of the whole episode.
Rating: 6 (Tim Roberts)

In a Mirror Darkly I/II Date not given: Synopsis in main ENT listing

Anybody who really knows me knows I hate ENT, but you may ask why I'm reviewing an episode from it in that case. It's because I found one that I liked, hell, I loved it. It had sparse amounts of errors and problems, but it had some pretty dumb plot lines such as the Defiant ending up 100 years before its time. However, it was incredibly fun to mix a TOS ship with an ENT plotline in the mirror universe. we know there's going to be destruction, we know there's going to be death, and best of all, just about anything goes cause nobody cares about the mirror universe. The episode includes some good fight scenes, several space battles in which we get to see the Constitution class pulverize ENT ships (those like me who did not like the ships will enjoy these scenes), we get to see all of our favorite devices brought back from TOS, and we get to see what the TOS weapons can really do with CGI effects. On a side note, the CGI of the Defiant looks rather videogameish several times. The episode keeps you watching with a treachery fueled what-will-happen-next. Everyone I've met has liked it on some level, whether its the mirror universe or seeing the TOS revived and revamped for awhile.
Remarkable quotes: "Except Shakespeare, from what I can tell his plays were equally grim in both universes." (Phlox to T'Pol), "You ordered Earth's unconditional surrender! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND!" (Fleet Admiral Gardner to Archer after a threat to Earth)
Remarkable dialogue: T'Pol: "You will not prevail." - Archer: "The Defiant will prevail, that's just a matter of firepower."
Remarkable scene: the Avenger's fight with the Defiant, for those who do not like the NX we finally get to see it trashed.
Remarkable ship: the Defiant, and her CGI array of weapons.
Rating: 9 (Hanzou)

These Are The Voyages Date not given: During the events of TNG: "The Pegasus", Riker spends his time in a holodeck recreation of the NX-01's final mission for some guidance.

Since the days of The Next Generation, I have looked forward to each upcoming new episode of Star Trek. Being a natural optimist, I often felt that no matter how bad or poorly thought out the idea might seem, that it could be a good episode. This episode, however, was the exception. I remember reading about how Riker and Troi were going to return for a cameo and a picture in a magazine that was the holodeck door and the caption "the final scene of the final episode of Star Trek Enterprise" and thinking nothing positive. And those lowly expectations were mostly met.
It's been over a year since this episode aired, and I have come to the conclusion that the events that Riker 'witnessed' on the holodeck were non-canon. Trip did not die in such a stupid stunt, Shran was not reduced from Military Officer to... whatever you would use to describe him, and during the gap from "Demons" to "These are the Voyages...", Hoshi and Mayweather got promoted at least twice, Trip and T'Pol's relationship either continued or it ended. My personal theory is that Riker interacted with a fictional crew that was filled with historical inaccuracies to make the holonovel more exciting.
The only thing in this episode that was worth watching was the closing segment with the three ships, and hearing the three captains recite the 'Space... the final frontier' speech. That's the reason for the one star.
Remarkable errors: The TNG set had the wrong turbolift, Riker tapping his communicator to end the holodeck program, the two Commander Rikers in Ten Forward
Remarkable scene: The ending monologue by the three captains
Rating: 1 (Jason Feagans)

These Are The Voyages Stardate 47457.1: Synopsis in main ENT listing

Let me begin by saying that I am probably what one could consider a stereotypical female. I am less concerned with special effects and minutiae than I am with character development and relationships. Star Trek has always been a fond memory for me - it was one of the biggest bonding experiences my father and I shared (watching reruns of the original series and TNG) and more than that simply a fascinating universe to explore.
Enterprise, to me, was by far the best written and best acted of all of the Star Trek series, even if it was "less Star Trek" than previous incarnations. The show had a rocky start, but improved steadily, resulting in an absolutely stellar (oh yes, I know I'm funny) fourth season.
In my opinion "These Are The Voyages" was a let down of the greatest sort. Aside from the somewhat insulting framing of the series (I said goodbye to TNG a long time ago, why not give me an episode just for Enterprise?), I really feel like this episode just couldn't satisfy me me emotionally - not the way previous Star Trek finales had. Over the course of four season I, like many people, had grown to care for these characters. I was involved in their world, and I wanted the best for them. This isn't to say I lie awake at night imagining how the series "should" have ended, I simply mean that if B&B really wanted to create a "Valentine" for Star Trek fans, they should have given us some kind of satisfaction. Why kill Trip? My sister and I tuned in faithfully every week waiting to see when Trip and T'Pol would come to some kind of resolution - perhaps not the noblest of causes, but it was ours. We may only be two, but I wouldn't be surprised if many of Enterprise's female fans tuned in for a similar reason (although I'm sure some, like my mother, watched in the hopes of catching Bakula with his shirt off). I felt betrayed. As a woman in what you could call male space, I felt like the elements that made the series interesting to me were being deemed unimportant. It's not that I'm arrogant enough to assume all women are as stereotypically feminine in their interests as me, but surely I'm not alone in this? Besides, after the Orion slave girls disaster, I'm sure you'll forgive me for being a little sensitive.
The bottom line is that what should have been a fond farewell to a great series was marred by insensitivity, bad writing and a fundamental disrespect for the final televised installment in Star Trek. How sad.
Rating: 0 (Kira P-M)

These Are The Voyages Date not given: Synopsis in main ENT listing

First I would like to say that although it is bad, it's not quite as bad as some people say it is. My friend almost had nervous breakdown after seeing it. It was a good concept, but its execution was sloppy, careless and not properly thought through. The reasons why it failed, in my opinion, are as follows. First, Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis were too old to pull it off. It should have been on the Enterprise-E instead of the D. I know that it would not have been as fitting, but visually it would have worked much better. Second, maybe we should have heard the speech. Third, Riker should not have been as heavily involved in the plot as he was. Fourth, Tucker's death was fine, it is the way that it was done. They could have killed him off just as heroically on Rigel X. And lastly, at least some of the characters should have been promoted, even it was only making a Hoshi a lieutenant, that was unrealistic and unsatisfying. Some people like to think of "Terra Prime" as the finale, and to be honest I can understand why. Still, I suppose it could have been worse.
Remarkable quote 1: "Here's to the next generation." -Archer
Remarkable quote 2: "Where non man has gone before" -Archer
Remarkable scene: Signing of the Federation Charter, partially for its link to "Zero Hour" (I like this kind of continuity)
Remarkable prop/ship: Enterprise NX-01. It would have been nice to have seen a Daedalus-Class ship.
Remarkable fact: Was Tucker's wink intentional, or is there more to his final scene than meets the eye?
Rating: 2 (Craig L Flint)

These Are The Voyages Date not given: Synopsis in main ENT listing

Hrm. What a controversial episode! I am personally torn over this one. Most fans hated it and I also admit that it was fairly stupid and not well thought out. It is a shame that after an excellent fourth season, B&B had to butt in and write one last lousy piece of pulp. As if episodes like VOY: "Threshold" and ENT: "Harbinger" were not bad enough.
I will save all of my Nitpicking for the main body of this review: First, why did no one get a promotion in 10 years? Why is Enterprise already being retired?? Why not actually SHOW us one of those "warp 7 beauties" and establish in canon that they are Daedalus class ships? What a great opportunity gone wasted. Did the events we see actually take place exactly as we saw it, or did the holodeck have to make up some of the stuff? I find that this story ties in with TNG: "The Pegasus" sloppily at best. In the TNG episode, Riker did not decide to tell Picard about the cloaking device until he was on the bridge after being on the Pegasus, not on the holodeck watching Archer give a speech.
Unlike many fans, I actually liked the idea behind this episode. It was just executed very poorly. And it should have not been the series finale. If TPTB used this idea for a regular episode (which apparently was planned if Enterprise was to be renewed for a fifth season) then I would have not been opposed. Trip would have not died and it probably would not have taken place several years after "Terra Prime." So what if it was more of a TNG episode than a ENT episode, that would have been fine with me as long as it was not a series finale.
Just as a side note: Season 4 was a very good season, probably one of the best in the entire franchise! It is a shame the show had to be canceled, but at least it had one good season before ending. From what I heard was being planned, season 5 would have been fantastic and it makes me want to cry that it was never made.
Rating: 3 (Chris)

 

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