I’ve seen the first two seasons of Enterprise, but I’ve forgotten most of what I saw. So when I recently saw that SciFi Channel was airing it, I started DVRing it. Thing is, I know I’ll never keep up.
So, which episodes should I make sure to see to get a reasonable feel for the show?
“In a Mirror, Darkly”, both parts - a pair of Season 4 episodes set in the Mirror Universe. It’s not at all representative of the series as a whole, but it’s by far the most fun thing Enterprise ever did. You see, in the Mirror Universe, Earth is governed by an evil Terran Empire, which uses its Starfleet to conquer and enslave other worlds. Archer is evil, Phlox is Mengele-evil (but still cheerful about the whole thing), and the opening sequence has great footage of NX class starships strafing a helpless city.
Oh, sh!t. Mirror Universe?
.ereht os m’I
The last couple seasons as a whole are pretty fun if you like continuity porn but I can’t make any sort of specific recommendation beyond that. Pretty sad considering I was one of the core Ent-Dopers, but I’ve fallen almost completely out of the fandom as a whole.
You could use this site as your guide:
I found “Damage” from Season 3 to be a strong installment. Desperate men do desperate things.
If you’re not one to get bent out of shape by Enterprise’s fast and loose continuity, season 2’s “Regeneration” is well worth watching. A couple of Borg drones from “First Contact” are found in the Arctic and when they thaw out, mayhem ensues.
Season 4 gave us a bunch of good episodes. The “Borderland/Cold Station 12/The Augments” trilogy was really good as well as the Vulcan arc (“The Forge” “Kir’Shara” and one other episode whose name escapes me). The two-parter right before the finale (“Demons” and “Terra Prime”) was very solid, action packed and will make you cry like a baby. There was another 3-part arc (“Babel One” “The Aenar” and “United”) that was really good and the two parter “Affliction” and “Divergence” was also good. “Divergence” starts with a dual starship sequence that might well blow your mind and is certainly something none of the other shows have ever come close to showing us. The Mirror Universe 2-parter is great but makes you wish the whole series could have been that good.
I think the best episode overall is Season 4’s “Observer Effect” which absolutely nails what Star Trek is all about.
Excellent suggestions all, I’m sure. Keep 'em coming.
Do I have it right that seasons 3-4 are primarily two-and-three-episode arcs, or am I misremembering?
And they change the opening theme to something more martial and less, well, lame.
Season 3 was one long arc (Enterprise trying to find the Xindi superweapon) and Season 4 was several short arcs.
Enterprise isn’t available online somewhere, is it? I’d like to see the Mirror Universe episodes without buying a whole season.
-FrL-