10 Best Star Trek: Enterprise Episodes Not About The Main Cast
6. Acquisition
This first-season episode goes to great pains to bring in the Ferengi early, but also to stick to the boundaries of the canon. While they interact with Archer, Trip and T'Pol, the Ferengi are never named as a race on-screen, meaning that Captain Picard is still officially the first Starfleet commander to engage them.
Other than the above, the episode is a pure comedic effort. The guest stars are as much fun as anything else, with alumni Ethan Phillips, Clint Howard, and Jeffrey Combs all playing Ferengi raiders. Combs in particular was delighted to be invited back so quickly after playing Shran, particularly to play another Ferengi. He of course played Liquidator Brunt in Deep Space Nine as well.
The episode also sees a return of the Ferengi Electro-Whip, used to subdue Trip as he attempts to stop them. They are outsmarted by Archer and T'Pol, naturally, and warned by the captain not to come within one hundred light-years of a Starfleet or Vulcan ship in the future. To be fair, they stuck to that agreement for close to two hundred years.
The episode did receive criticism at the time for pulling in an established Star Trek race too early, but it has aged well in the years that have passed, with the trifecta of Trek guest stars making an excellent team.