ENTERPRISE
Beginner’s Guide: The Top Five Episodes
Before the Federation
Enterprise premiered in 2001 and ran for four seasons, and it is the prequel: it takes place in the 2150s, a century before Kirk, when humanity has just built its first warp 5 starship and has not yet joined the Federation. Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and his crew aboard the NX-01 are explorers with few rules, little experience and a lot of anxiety, and they are often at odds with the cautious Vulcans. The show follows the stumbling first steps that would eventually lead to the Federation.
The series was uneven in its early years, and many fans consider the third season, with its serialized hunt for the Xindi, and the fourth season, which leaned into the history that fans loved, to be its high points. If you only watch five episodes, the list below has them. It is a fine choice if you like stories about people who are still working out who they are going to be.
Crew advisory: The decontamination gel is real and it is awkward. Please accept this and move on.
1. In a Mirror, Darkly
This two-part story takes place entirely in the Mirror Universe, where the Terran Empire rules by fear, and the NX-01's counterpart, the ISS Enterprise, is a warship. When a crew member discovers a mysterious ship from the future, a power struggle erupts as everyone fights to claim it. The show even replaces the opening credits with a militaristic sequence, and the cast clearly has a ball playing evil versions of themselves. It tops the list because it is the most fun Enterprise ever had, and an affectionate nod to the original Mirror Universe story.
2. Azati Prime
The Enterprise has finally arrived at Azati Prime, where the Xindi have built a weapon capable of destroying Earth, and Captain Archer sets out on a seemingly suicidal mission to stop it. He is captured, and the ship comes under heavy attack, and by the end of the hour the crew has paid a heavy price. It earns its place because it is the high-stakes payoff to a long season of storytelling, a tense war story, and Enterprise at its most intense.
3. Similitude
When Commander Trip Tucker is critically injured, the ship's doctor, Phlox, suggests growing a short-lived clone of him to supply the organs that will save his life. The clone, called Sim, grows up in a matter of days and begins to ask the questions that any new person would: who am I, and do I have a right to live? LeVar Burton directed the episode, and its score won an Emmy. It is a thoughtful ethical drama that proves Enterprise could stand beside the best of Star Trek's moral dilemmas.
4. Dear Doctor
The Enterprise meets two peoples on one planet, and one of them is dying of a disease the crew could cure. Phlox, the alien doctor, argues that curing them would interfere with the natural course of evolution, and Archer, who badly wants to help, has to decide whether he agrees. The story is told through a letter that Phlox writes to a colleague on Earth. It makes the list because it is the early series' best statement of the question that would one day become the Prime Directive, and a showcase for John Billingsley's wonderful Phlox.
5. Shuttlepod One
Trip Tucker and Malcolm Reed are stranded in a small shuttle, convinced that the Enterprise has been destroyed and that they have only a few days of air left. The two men, who have never gotten along, spend the episode bickering, confessing and slowly becoming friends. With only two actors in a cramped set, it is a pure character piece, and it is also very funny. It is on the list because it is the best argument that Enterprise could make you care about its crew.
More of the beginner’s guide: The Original Series • The Animated Series • The Next Generation • Deep Space Nine • Voyager • Discovery • Picard • Lower Decks • Prodigy • Strange New Worlds • Short Treks • Starfleet Academy.
Not sure what order to watch in? Try our chronological watch order or the Star Trek timeline. Want people to talk Trek with? Enlist and join the crew at one of our Star Trek events around Atlanta.
