Star Trek’s fifth series takes us back to the “beginning” of the franchise’s universe (i.e., 2151). While it is an entertaining piece of television, its troubled production due to heavy studio influence and writer’s room fatigue is apparent. It isn’t until the third season when the series really finds its footing with the season-long Xindi arc. Due to the Viacom divorce, this show was never really given its due and was cancelled by a certain infamous head of CBS. Enterprise debuted in 2001 and wasn’t formally called Star Trek: Enterprise until it’s third season.
It was a divisive show when it premiered. The tone and style were “different” from the other Star Trek spin-offs. People didn’t like the Dianne Warren theme song, while critics praised the new pull of the series. On rewatch, however, there is a lot to like about this series. One wishes that perhaps it could have been given a fifth season to round out the storytelling and given us the long-teased (and never seen) Earth-Romulan war.
Each episode is indicated with either a “W” for watch or an “S” for skip. I also opted to order my viewing in “chronological order” as best determined by the initial stardate given in the episode. If there isn’t a stardate, I placed it where it made the most sense relative to the other episodes. Eventually, each title will link to a post that discusses the reasoning for seeing an episode or skipping an episode.
Lastly, episodes that are “essential” are indicated with an * in the Ep. No. column. Essential episodes are selected on a number of factors including character development, other cannon connections, and cultural impact. In other words, these often are best of the best of each season.
Season 1
Enterprise kicks off a with a bang with its feature length premier “Broken Bow”. The first season works hard to set itself apart from its sister shows while still attempting to be a prequel to The Original Series. This season establishes the temporal cold war story arc that features heavily throughout the series.
65% of the season is worth a watch and seven episodes are essential viewing.
| Ep. No. | Title | Stardate | See/Skip |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01×01* & 01×02* | Broken Bow | 2151.04.16 | W |
| 01×03 | Fight or Flight | 2151.05.06 | W |
| 01×04 | Strange New World | Unknown | S |
| 01×05 | Unexpected | Unknown | W |
| 01×06 | Terra Nova | Unknown | S |
| 01×07* | The Andorian Incident | 2151.06.19 | W |
| 01×08 | Breaking the Ice | Unknown | W |
| 01×09 | Civilization | 2151.07.31 | S |
| 01×10 | Fortunate Son | Unknown | S |
| 01×12 | Silent Enemy | 2151.09.01 | W |
| 01×11* | Cold Front | 2151.09.09 | W |
| 01×13 | Dear Doctor | Unknown | S |
| 01×14 | Sleeping Dogs | Unknown | W |
| 01×15* | Shadows of P’Jem | Unknown | W |
| 01×16 | Shuttlepod One | 2151.11.09 | S |
| 01×17 | Fusion | Unknown | W |
| 01×18 | Rogue Planet | Unknown | S |
| 01×19 | Acquisition | Unknown | W |
| 01×20 | Oasis | Unknown | S |
| 01×21 | Detained | Unknown | W |
| 01×22 | Vox Sola | Unknown | S |
| 01×23 | Fallen Hero | 2152.02.09 | W |
| 01×24 | Desert Crossing | 2152.02.12 | W |
| 01×25* | Two Days and Two Nights | 2152.02.18 | W |
| 01×26* | Shockwave | Unknown | W |
Season 2
There are a few standout episodes of the second season. The writers finally tease us a little with the Romulans and have fun making some cannon connections with Star Trek: First Contact.
Only 58% of the second season is neccessary to watch. Six of the episode are essential.
| Ep. No. | Title | Stardate | See/Skip |
|---|---|---|---|
| 02×01 | Shockwave | Part II* | Unkonwn | W |
| 02×02 | Carbon Creek* | 2152.04.12 | W |
| 02×03 | Minefield* | Unknown | W |
| 02×04 | Dead Stop | Unknown | W |
| 02×05 | A Night in Sickbay | Unknown | S |
| 02×06 | Marauders | Unknown | S |
| 02×07 | The Seventh | Unknown | S |
| 02×08 | The Communicator | Unknown | S |
| 02×09 | Singularity | 2152.08.14 | S |
| 02×10 | Vanishing Point | Unknown | S |
| 02×11 | Precious Cargo | 2152.09.12 | S |
| 02×12 | The Catwalk | 2152.09.18 | S |
| 02×13 | Dawn | Unknown | W |
| 02×14 | Stigma* | Unknown | W |
| 02×15 | Cease Fire | Unknown | W |
| 02×16 | Future Tense | Unknown | W |
| 02×17 | Canamar | Unknown | S |
| 02×18 | The Crossing | Unknown | S |
| 02×19 | Judgment | Unknown | W |
| 02×20 | Horizon | 2153.1.10 | W |
| 02×21 | The Breach | Unknown | W |
| 02×22 | Cogenitor | Unknown | W |
| 02×23 | Regeneration* | 2153.03.01 | W |
| 02×24 | First Flight | Unknown | W |
| 02×25 | Bounty* | 2153.03.21 | W |
| 02×26 | The Expanse* | 2153.04.24 | W |
Season 3
The end of Season Two ushers in a welcome change in direction for the series. A season-long story arc connects every single episode together allowing the writers to take on some new themes and focus on some much needed character development.
With this new approach, 88% of the season is worth watching. Essential episodes are a bit difficult to determine given how tightly knit each episode is to each other. I’ve taken a stab at eight and I may revise this in the future.
| Ep. No. | Title | Stardate | See/Skip |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03×01 | The Xindi* | Unknown | W |
| 03×02 | Anomaly* | Unknown | W |
| 03×03 | Extinction | Unknown | S |
| 03×04 | Rajiin | Unknown | W |
| 03×05 | Impulse | Unknown | W |
| 03×06 | Exile | Unknown | W |
| 03×07 | The Shipment | Unknown | W |
| 03×08 | Twilight | Unknown | W |
| 03×09 | North Star | Unknown | W |
| 03×10 | Similitude | Unknown | W |
| 03×11 | Carpenter Street | Unknown | W |
| 03×12 | Chosen Realm | Unknown | W |
| 03×13 | Proving Ground | 2153.12.06 | W |
| 03×14 | Stratagem | 2153.12.12 | W |
| 03×15 | Harbinger | 2153.12.27 | W |
| 03×16 | Doctor’s Orders | Unknown | S |
| 03×17 | Hatchery | 2154.01.08 | S |
| 03×18 | Azati Prime* | 2154.01 | W |
| 03×19 | Damage* | Unknown | W |
| 03×20 | The Forgotten | Unknown | W |
| 03×21 | E2* | Unknown | W |
| 03×22 | The Council* | 2154.02.12 | W |
| 03×23 | Countdown* | 2154.02.13 | W |
| 03×24 | Zero Hour* | 2154.02.14 | W |
Season 4
The senior year of Enterprise is probably its best. Under Manny Coto’s guidance, the writers find great ways to tie the series to the mothership, TOS. From superhumans, Vulcan’s Forge, to Klingon foreheads, the series finally hits its stride, including one of the best Mirror Universe episodes produced since the original.
This is the season that makes those of us who are fans of this particular series ask, “what if they had done season five?” (or at least a couple of TV movies to give us the Earth-Romulan war). But it’s been over 15 years since this particular series warped off into the sunset, so I think it unlikely- though, one could hope for, perhaps, a limited animated series?
Given that the last season is the high point of the show, a total of 91% of the season is worth watching. I think at least 12 of these episodes are essential.
| Ep. No. | Title | Stardate | See/Skip |
|---|---|---|---|
| 04×01* | Storm Front | Unknown | W |
| 04×02* | Storm Front | Part II | Unknown | W |
| 04×03* | Home | Unknown | W |
| 04×04* | Borderland | 2154.05.17 | W |
| 04×05* | Cold Station 12 | Unknown | W |
| 04×06* | The Augments | 2154.05.27 | W |
| 04×07 | The Forge | Unknown | W |
| 04×08 | Awakening | Unknown | W |
| 04×09 | Kir’Shara | Unknown | W |
| 04×10 | Daedalus | Unknown | S |
| 04×11 | Observer Effect | Unknown | S |
| 04×12 | Babel One | 2154.11.12 | W |
| 04×13 | United | 2154.11.15 | W |
| 04×14 | The Aenar | Unknown | W |
| 04×15* | Affliction | 2154.11.27 | W |
| 04×16* | Divergence | 2154.12 | W |
| 04×17 | Bound | 2154.12.27 | W |
| 04×18* | In a Mirror, Darkly | 2155.01.13 | W |
| 04×19* | In a Mirror, Darkly | Part II | 2155.01.18 | W |
| 04×20* | Demons | 2155.01.19 | W |
| 04×21* | Terra Prime | 2155.01.19 | W |
| 04×22 | These Are the Voyages… | 47457.1 | W |
Overall, 75% of the series is worth watching.
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