Trek for Rookies: Enterprise

A Stoic and Sexy Trek

Title 

Star Trek: Enterprise

Original Air Dates 

September 26, 2001 to May 13, 2005.

The Captain

Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula)

Grounded. Strong. Loyal. Quick to speak his mind. Simple on the surface most of the time, but complexity arises from his depths when needed. Not an intellectual, but a sharp mind. Might not know the difference between a salad fork and a dinner fork, but could probably grill the best steak you’ve ever had.  Will do anything and everything to not let his crew down and because of that, they feel the same way about him. Loves water polo and his pet beagle.  The quintessential good guy.

Top row left to right: Trip, Archer, T’Pol.

Bottom row left to right: Phlox, Mayweather, Sato, Reed.

Primary Characters

Sub-Commander T’Pol (Jolene Blalock) – The perfect dichotomy. A classic Vulcan mind intent on logic walking around in what many would consider to be a hyper-sexualized body.

Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) – Aside from T’Pol, the only other alien on the ship. Ever positive. Uses alien creatures more than technology to heal. Seeing human behavior through his eyes is always a revelation. Often funny. Has a compassionate heart the size of the Orion Nebula.

Lieutenant Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating) – British, reserved, calm, quiet. Constantly treading the fine line between selfless and self-obsessed.

Ensign Travis Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery) – Not the deepest of characters, but wholesome. Am really thinking was chosen to be eye candy for the ladies.

Ensign Hoshi Sato (Linda Park) – Communications officer fluid in a few dozen languages. Starts out a bit too timid, but eventually finds her strength.

Commander Charles “Trip” Tucker III (Connor Trineer) – Southern boy. Character starts out a bit too one dimensional, but as the seasons progress, depths are revealed. Personally, couldn’t stand him when I first started watching the show, but as time progressed, couldn’t help but like him.

 
And that’s the bottom line with the entire cast. Regardless of strengths and faults, they’re all good people. The kind you’d want to work with daily.

Main Story Line

Although the last series filmed, the story takes place chronologically before TOS. It’s the 22^nd century and Vulcans have been interacting with humans for several decades. Humankind has finally reached Warp 5 capability. Archer and his crew are the first Terrans to begin exploring the deeper reaches of space.
  

Alphas

1) Stoic, raw, basic. The ship’s decks are closer to a 20^th century submarine than the lush hotel-like atmospheres in TNG or VYG. Uniforms are simple blue jumpsuits. There’s an actual cook on board instead of food replicators and people still use water to shower.

2) Being the latest series to be made, it has one unquestionable advantage over all the previous ones: the special effects, computer generated imagery and costuming/make up. Top notch across the board. And when they start interacting with a group of aliens called the Xindi? I can’t think of any other sci-fi show that even matches the attention to detail and beauty created. 

3) There’s no Federation of Planets, no Prime Directive. Humans are the new kids on the warp trail. This leads to great drama and quite a few complex moral questions. Rather than considering thousands of factors or checking the rule book, you’ll hear, “Class M planet. Want to check it out?”

4) In all the other series, humanity seems to have already reached a somewhat enlightened stage. However, in Enterprise, characters are closer to personality types of our time period. More uncertainty. A little more aggression. A little more pride. Moments occur on this show that wouldn’t happen on the ships of Janeway or Picard because this crew is still learning the ropes of interplanetary travel.

5) Technology is basic, creating drama not found in the other four series. There’s no quick fix by saying, “Just beam them off the planet!” or “Just reconfigure the subatomic genetic structure to heal her!” And usually being the least powerful ship in a battle, awesome edge-of-seat situations arise. 

6) Third and fourth seasons especially shine on multiple levels regarding character development, plot line and writing. When I was watching them the first time (am on my second viewing right now) I was absolutely crushed when I learned there was no season five. 

7) Unlike TNG, DS9 and VYG, there is no holodeck. For those unfamiliar with the term, the holodeck is a room one can walk into with any preprogrammed virtual reality one wants. Although this concept was used to create some interesting episodes in the other series, it quite often felt like Trek writers just wanted to take a week off. Not a problem on ENT. 

8) ENT is the sexiest of the franchise. If you enjoy the male form, there are quite a few episodes with men running around in their blue underwear. And if you prefer the aesthetics of the female body, I’ve got three words for you: T’Pol. Decontamination. Chamber. Check out the video below. (Kinda, sorta PG-13, NSFW-ish.)

Deltas

1) First season had its ups and downs with the actors and writers trying to find their rhythm. 

2) Every other series has a majestic, instrumental theme for its opening credits. ENT has a song. Upon first hearing it, I couldn’t think of anything else that was more clichéd and painful to hear….ever. It makes Bon Jovi seem like Dylan or Springsteen. After the first listening, I skipped it for every other episode. However, I have found a way to solve this problem. Please refer to the TFR: Supplemental Log posted on Action A Go Go.  TFR: Using Vulcan Wisdom To Cope With The Enterprise Theme Song. 

3) There’s only four seasons. Why? The song didn’t help. The U.S. had just experienced 9/11 when the show premiered and was most likely not intent on exploration and learning more about other cultures. And I think a big problem may have been many Trekkies themselves. ENT was trying new things and trying to explain certain parts of canon and some Trekkies may have been overly critical.  Because of those factors, we missed out on some pretty amazing things in a season five, such as the formation of the Federation, a war with the Romulans and an Andorian crew member.

Should you watch Enterprise?

Ultimately, I’d urge people to watch all five series, but for someone new to the franchise?

For many, I’d recommend starting with ENT. It happens chronologically before the other four and it's pacing, editing and special effects are more modern. It helps set up the entire Trek universe. And it shows how many of the things other series take for granted really need to be appreciated.
 
On the launch pad for next week? Star Trek: Voyager

Stephen Sumner is the science fiction columnist for Action A Go Go. He’s proficient in the art of Klingon swearing and is currently attempting the Vulcan process of Kolinar, the purging of all emotion. His two other favorite sci-fi series are Battlestar Galactica and Firefly. He can be followed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/VierLights or on the Tumblr machine at  http://vierlights.tumblr.com/