# Is Enterprise worth watching? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-enterprise-worth-watching/643189 "2012-12-06T15:41:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-enterprise-worth-watching/643189/41 "2012-12-07T15:04:58Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Here’s a list of episodes to watch from the first two seasons–basically the list I wish I’d had. These are the ones that (IMO) work best with the placement of the series as a prequel to the rest of Trek, especially the human-Vulcan relationship, or are highest-quality in themselves, _and_ avoid the worst blunders of the series. > > “Broken Bow” > “Fight or Flight” > “The Andorian Incident” > “Breaking the Ice” > “Fortunate Son” > “Silent Enemy” > “Shuttlepod One” > “Fusion” > “Vox Sola” > “Fallen Hero” > “Carbon Creek” > “Minefield” > “Dead Stop” > “The Seventh” > “The Communicator” > “Vanishing Point” > “Dawn” > “Stigma” > “Cease Fire” > “Judgment” > “Horizon” > “The Breach” > “Cogenitor” > “Regeneration” > “First Flight” - the main story of this one is a prequel to the prequel-series, so you could actually watch it first, or at any point > > No doubt somebody will quibble about including or excluding this or that episode, but for the most part I think you’re better off being selective. Excellent. Now I need the same thing for all the other series. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-enterprise-worth-watching/643189/42 "2012-12-07T15:27:05Z")
There are lots of people on the internet whining about this series, and the majority of the criticism is valid. But I say they lack faith of the heart. Sorry, but I kind of like that song. And I like techy space adventures. Some things about the show I didn’t like. Making Vulcans bad guys was kind of stupid. They should be nerds that make you roll your eyes because they act like they know everything. Stop whining about them keeping secrets and just go “That’s special of you know better. Let me get back to work on my warp 5 engine if you’re not going to help.” I guess some think that’s what made the Vulcans more interesting. I think it was the wrong kind of tension The part that did work is showing how the warm, friendly humans made a federation where the cold Vulcans often created enemies. ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-enterprise-worth-watching/643189/43 "2012-12-07T21:04:48Z")
Overall I liked Enterprise. They definitely had some sucky episodes (the series finale is at least in the running for the worst trek ever), and some mediocre (pretty much all of the temporal cold war), but they had some really good ones too. It was cool to see a period between our time and that of the original series. It also explored the question of since the humans were latecomers to warp technology, how did they end up such a major force behind the foundation of the Federation? I would’ve liked to have seen more of that. Presumably we would have if the show had gotten its full seven year run. They also finally did something with the Andorians, a race that was introduced in TOS then scarcely seen again (although mentioned from time to time) until Enterprise. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-enterprise-worth-watching/643189/44 "2012-12-07T21:32:11Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > None of it approaches the best of trek… “Cogenitor” is pretty excellent as a sociology/ethical-questions Trek. And it has Andreas Katsulas! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-enterprise-worth-watching/643189/45 "2012-12-07T22:03:17Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > “Cogenitor” is pretty excellent as a sociology/ethical-questions Trek. And it has Andreas Katsulas! That was excellent for the reasons you mentioned. I presume that Katsulas was the husband. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-enterprise-worth-watching/643189/46 "2012-12-07T22:07:14Z")
Haven’t seen it in awhile, but I remember it starting out slow/bad and getting good in the fourth season. Except the last episode, which we shall never speak of again. I always kinda wished they just left Archer on the planet separate from the crew for a whole season or so, instead of rushing him back right away, but… meh. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-enterprise-worth-watching/643189/47 "2012-12-08T00:15:19Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > And, dammit. > > Serious spoiler follows. > > They killed Trip! The bastards! For what it’s worth, I’ve been reading the Enterprise relaunch novels, and they didn’t treat the final episode as the last word on Trip’s death. Trip’s death was faked. He joined section 31 to infiltrate the Romulan Empire and spy on their efforts to create a Warp 7 engine. He also learned the true nature of the Romulans as Vulcan dissidents who disagreed with Surak’s teachings, leaving Vulcan in the dim past to colonize Romulus. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-enterprise-worth-watching/643189/48 "2012-12-08T01:20:12Z")
Of course! Everyone knows that Admiral Tucker died in 2220 in a bar fight in a brothel in New Orleans. ---
**Author:** ![joew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/34f0e0/32.png) [@joew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joew)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-enterprise-worth-watching/643189/49 "2012-12-08T02:12:43Z")
There were some pretty bad moments for sure. But one thing about the show that I truly enjoyed besides Tripp and the decontamination scenes…was that it seemed as though the actors were having fun. As opposed to a lot of tv today, that made the show a lot more enjoyable than it should otherwise have been. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-enterprise-worth-watching/643189/50 "2012-12-08T02:17:44Z")
Decontamination was fun to watch. Certain eps were good, some were barely watchable. Manny Coto’s rework was good. Check out our old Trek Doper threads about the ind eps as they aired. (In all the hijacks, there was a lot of talk about the show.) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-enterprise-worth-watching/643189/51 "2012-12-08T02:57:25Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Decontamination was fun to watch. Gratuitous sex. > [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Certain eps were good, some were barely watchable. Manny Coto’s rework was good. He did good stuff, but it sometimes verged on fan fic, Vulcan nicitating (sp) membranes, stuff that said, “Look, I am connecting it with things you geeks have seen!” And they wasted an entire episode on Klingon foreheads, something that Worf covered in a single sentence, “We do not speak of it.” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-enterprise-worth-watching/643189/52 "2012-12-08T10:09:43Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > That was excellent for the reasons you mentioned. > I presume that Katsulas was the husband. F.J. Rio (who had appeared on DS9) was the Vissian husband. Katsulas was the Vissian captain, Drennik, who has the scene with Archer where they fly a little ship out to investigate the giant star up close. It’s a great making-friends-with-aliens scene, which in turn highlights the conflict that has developed when they get back. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-enterprise-worth-watching/643189/53 "2012-12-08T14:33:28Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Gratuitous sex. > > 🆒 !! [inserted by me, NCB] > > And they wasted an entire episode on Klingon foreheads, something that Worf covered in a single sentence, “We do not speak of it.” > :rolleyes: That is true. It seemed completely unnecessary to me. Also, Spiner took Shatner’s Trek-Acting class for that arc. Looking up Spiner on IMDB, I see a recent series called **Fresh Hell**. Any good? I would like to see the series of miniseries of \*\*North & South \*\*done with all Trek cast. As their Trek characters. From all incarnations of Trek. In Trek costume. it could be called **Alpha & Gamma, PADD 1** and **Alpha & Gamma, PADD 2** ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-enterprise-worth-watching/643189/54 "2012-12-08T14:45:11Z")
Spiner was good in last season’s _Warehouse Thirteen_. ---
**Author:** ![Slade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Slade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slade)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-enterprise-worth-watching/643189/55 "2012-12-09T00:22:42Z")
Decontamination! Has there _ever_ been a flimsier excuse to get some gratuitous flesh on screen? Also, the fact that _Enterprise_ was made so much later than _TOS_, but set so much earlier, made it look like Federation technology had evolved backwards. The computers on Archer’s bridge was clearly far more advanced than Kirk had on his. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-enterprise-worth-watching/643189/56 "2012-12-10T07:04:29Z")
I liked the rough, sort of grimy feel that pervaded the Enterprise series. It felt more real than all the other Star Trek series. Even when it got painfully weird, it still had a more tactile quality, as though the set were lit with naked incandescent bulbs instead of sterile fluorescent tubes. Except for that last episode, as everyone else has said: if you ignore the advice and watch it, keep a bucket handy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-enterprise-worth-watching/643189.md?page=2)