25 WORST Episodes Of Star Trek EVER

23. A Night In Sickbay - Enterprise

A Night In Sickbay Star Trek Enterprise
CBS Media Ventures

Porthos deserved star billing on Enterprise. He was the Spock to Archer's Kirk. One could easily imagine Archer up against that Plexiglas, promising Porthos that he had been and always would be his friend.

Those lines above make for a better storyline that this episode offered, if I do say so myself.

Porthos gets sick and has to spend the night in sickbay. Captain Archer, who has sent men and women to their deaths in missions and commanded a starship, completely freaks out and can't stand to be away from the dog. Any dog owner can understand this, to a point. The episode then proceeds to make Archer the most unlikable, argumentative owner that the show has yet seen. The fact that Dr. Phlox didn't kick him out of the infirmary is baffling, Captain or not.

John Billingsley, conversely, enjoyed this episode and enjoyed the amount of time he got to spend with Scott Bakula. He remarked that he knew that episode drew criticism from fans but he could deal with that for this enjoyment of it. Somehow, the episode was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.

Yet in its runtime, it obliterates the character of Archer, making him impulsive, aggressive and downright stupid. And there is a dream sequence set in a dog cemetary. It is unclear what the producers were thinking when this episode was conceived but with a lot of luck, that thought process will never come back again.

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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"