Today is Star Trek: Enterprise‘s 20th anniversary. The show debuted with the two-part “Broken Bow” pilot on September 26, 2001. Enterprise followed what many consider the golden age of Star Trek. Turning the clock back after three Star Trek shows in the 24th century, Enterprise was a prequel set 100 years before Star Trek: The Original Series. Rick Berman and Brannon Braga created the show. It initially shed the familiar Star Trek name. Instead, it was simply Enterprise. It followed Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) of the USS Enterprise NX-01, the first Starfleet vessel to bear that name and Earth’s first warp-five capable vessel. Archer and his crew, including the ship’s chief engineer, Commander Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer), and its first officer, the Vulcan Sub-Commander T’Pol (Jolene Blalock), would become Starfleet’s first deep space explorers. Their journeys included making the first contacts that led to the founding of the United Federation of Planets.
Enterprise received a mixed reaction during its first two seasons, which told episodic stories. The show’s third season shifted to a longer story arc involving the Temporal Cold War.
The show’s fourth season brought Manny Coto on as a co-showrunner. It shifted focus to the Federation’s founding. The planned fifth season would have focused on the conflict leading up to the Romulan War, referenced in The Original Series. It didn’t happen. Enterprise ended after its fourth season. Its infamous finale marked the end of the Star Trek franchise’s 18-year run on television. Star Trek’s ensuing 12-year television hiatus did not end until Star Trek: Discovery’s debut in 2017.
In addition to Bakula, Trinneer, and Blalock, Enterprise‘s cast also included John Billingsley, Dominic Keating, Travis Mayweather, and Linda Park. The series won four Emmy Awards during its run.
Despite early reactions, many fans were sad to see Enterprise canceled. Some still hold out hope for a revival.
Enterprise has been available on popular streaming platforms (though that could change soon). It is now available on Paramount+, Star Trek’s streaming home. The streaming era has been kind to Enterprise‘s reputation. Fans online discuss the series more fondly now than during its broadcast run. This anniversary might be the perfect time for all fans to revisit the show.
Many Enterprise fans are expressing their love for the series on its 20th birthday. You can keep reading to see what they’re saying.
