The final saga, at least to this point, in an enduring Universe.
6.0
Let me start out by saying that I love all things Trek. I have every episode of every series, plus all of the movies, on either DVD or VHS. But this series was the worst of the bunch.
The premise of this show had so much promise. I mean, there's the opportunity to show the early years of Star Fleet and explain some things that were mentioned in passing in other Trek series. But the show seemed to be doomed right from the beginning. First, it was shown on the now-defunct UPN (Unwatched Programs Network.) Just as an aside, after Enterprise was cancelled, I never watched another program on UPN. Not because I was boycotting it or some other silly notion, but simply because there wasn't anything on that network that I wanted to watch. Second, there was the series title. Any Trekker can tell you that NCC-1701, captained first by Christopher Pike, then later by James T. Kirk, was the first starship named Enterprise. But wait. Now we're given NX-01, the real first Enterprise. What? There's some 'splaining to do right out of the gates. Oh, I see, NX-01 is the first Star Fleet vessel named Enterprise, while NCC-1701 is the first FEDERATION starship named Enterprise. Uh, ok. Thirdly, in the opening episode, Broken Bow, we're introduced to the Suliban. What the hey???? Who are the Suliban? If they were a nemesis to the first warp 5 vessel on its maiden voyage, why have we never heard of them before? This was a continuing theme throughout the series, introducing alien races that had never been heard of in any of the other Trek series or movies. It seemed the Killer B's chose to ignore established Trek canon whenever it was convenient.
When it was announced that Scott Bakula would portray Archer, I was excited. I'd enjoyed Bakula in Quantum Leap, but his talent was utterly wasted in this series. And while Jolene Blalock was easy on the eyes, her Vulcan character often seemed very un-Vulcan-like. And what was with her "uniform" and I use that term loosely. Even after she formally joined Star Fleet, she remained in an outfit that, more often than not, looked like body paint rather than actual clothing. Trip was the third character, from which B & B tried to recreate the Kirk/Spock/McCoy triumvirate. To me, Trip was just annoying. The rest of the main characters were too often just background material, like the sets and special effects.
Speaking of special effects, I realize that the implementation of special effects had been much-improved by the time this series hit the air, as opposed to when TOS aired. However, Enterprise is supposed to take place some 100 years before TOS. Would it have been too much to ask to make an effort show NX-01 at least somewhat technologically inferior to NCC-1701?
In the final season, they actually did some good episodes, but by then, it was too late. The three story arc that guest starred Brent Spiner and featured remnants of the Eugenics Wars was pretty good. Also, the two-parter that explained the Klingon forehead ridges was really good. That story was one of my two favorites. Probably my favorite story had to do with the Mirror Universe. I enjoy all of the Mirror Universe stories throughout Trek.
In the end, the Killer B's left their indelible mark on this series with the awful finale, These Are The Voyages..., which I have stated whenever given the opportunity, was the absolute worst series finale ever, hands down, no contest. Why end a series with a back story for an insignificant TNG episode? Didn't Enterprise deserve better?
RIP, Captain Archer and crew. Hopefully, if there's a new Trek series, B & B won't be involved in it even remotely.