But That's Not REAL Star Trek! 7 Reviews That Judged Star Trek Too Quickly
2. The Series Has A Bargain Basement Feel That Lands This Side Of Camp
Here's the thing. Enterprise never got the attention that it deserved on its initial release, with several factors going into this. First was that the pilot episode screened on the 26/09/2001, while the world was still reeling from the September 11th attacks. Despite this, the pilot Broken Bow still scored high ratings - the second highest for any Star Trek premiere after Voyager.
The show struggled though with its tone in the first and second years. Critical review, such as the quote above from The Washington Post, was mixed. The show was almost cancelled during its second season, though was saved at the eleventh hour.
What the followed was something of a rebirth for the now-titled Star Trek Enterprise. The third season followed the season-long story of the Xindi arc, with the show reaching new levels of dark. Showrunner Manny Coto transformed the flagging copy of the Original Series meets the Next Generation and produced something closer to Battlestar Galactica.
All of the actors involved had settled into their roles at this stage, but the studio was failing to properly take notice. Critics seemed to have held on to the early opinion that the show just didn't have what it takes to stand on its own. While it was renewed for a fourth season, plans for a fifth were scrapped once the show was cancelled.
The fans were left with the much-maligned These Are The Voyages as the show's coda, a sad end to a struggling show - one with moments of sheer brilliance.