Star Trek: Enterprise’s 4 Seasons Ranked, Worst To Best

Star Trek: Enterprise ended before its time. Enterprise began airing in 2001, with the first episode coming out a few months after Star Trek: Voyager’s finale. Because Enterprise was set 100 before Star Trek: The Original Series and a decade before the United Federation of Planets was founded, Enterprise could tell stories of early space exploration that would be impossible in any other Star Trek series. Indeed, the best parts of Star Trek: Enterprise happen when Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) is forced to grapple with strange new worlds without the support of Starfleet which is taken for granted in the rest of Star Trek.

While Star Trek: Enterprise could have been able to sustain several more seasons, United Paramount Network (UPN) canceled Enterprise after season 4. Although ratings for Enterprise were strong in season 1, they dipped in season 2, and creative changes in season 3 were not enough to raise ratings. For Star Trek: Enterprise season 4, Manny Coto was brought in to replace Brannon Braga as showrunner, but, ultimately, it wasn't enough. Nevertheless, there is a lot to love in the existing four seasons of Enterprise, along with some details that can justify the lower ratings.

4 Star Trek: Enterprise Season 3

24 Episodes, September 10, 2003 - May 26, 2004

Season 3 is the worst season of Star Trek: Enterprise. After ratings fell in season 2, Enterprise season 3 was reworked to focus on a more serialized narrative and the existential threat of the Xindi in order to raise ratings and broaden appeal; but it didn't quite work. Enterprise season 2 ended on a cliffhanger after a Xindi superweapon killed seven million people on Earth, and season 3 was dedicated to the search for the Xindi primary weapon. So, Star Trek: Enterprise season 3 was dominated by a single-story arc.

Star Trek: Enterprise season 3 took on a much darker tone than previous seasons. While shows like Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager were no strangers to showing the darker side of Star Trek, Enterprise season 3 hit differently. For one, DS9 and Voyager still had other, lighter, episodes to break up the overall tone of the darkest seasons of the shows. Since the Xindi weapon hunt was the only arc in Enterprise season 3 meant that, if viewers grew bored of the Xindi storyline there was nothing else interesting to tune in for.

But perhaps the most important reason Enterprise season 3 fell flat was the way the narrative treated Captain Archer. Because Enterprise is set before the founding of the Federation, Captain Archer and the Enterprise were operating with very little oversight. In the episode "Damage," for example, Captain Archer steals a warp core, stranding another ship in a dangerous region of space. Episodes like that are compelling on their own, but the fact that Enterprise's Captain Jonathan Archer never faces real consequences for actions that would be war crimes in other Star Trek shows makes season 3 disappointing as a whole.

3 Star Trek: Enterprise Season 1

26 Episodes, September 26, 2001 - May 22, 2002

Enterprise season 1 has the highest rating on Rotten Tomatoes of any season of Star Trek: Enterprise, and the overall quality of Enterprise's inaugural season lives up to its reputation. Some of the arcs that work best in Enterprise season 1 are the conflict between the Andorians and the Vulcans, and the corresponding uneasy alliance between humans and Vulcans. Since all three species are founding members of the Federation, their being so divided at the start of Enterprise created instant intrigue.

Perhaps the biggest drawback to Enterprise season 1 is the Temporal Cold War, which continues throughout the rest of the series. 5 of the 26 episodes in Enterprise season 1 are devoted to the Temporal Cold War - more than any other season. The Temporal Cold War was an invention of Enterprise, and in some ways, it felt like a distraction. The most interesting plots in Enterprise season 1 involve establishing humanity in the galaxy, and the Temporal Cold War pulls attention away from those stories.

Nevertheless, the high points of Star Trek: Enterprise season 1 are iconic. Perhaps Enterprise season 1's best episode is "Dear Doctor," where Captain Archer and Doctor Phlox (John Billingsley) grapple with how much help to offer a pre-warp civilization. In the end, Captain Archer has one of the most iconic lines in all of Enterprise, setting up the Prime Directive for the rest of Star Trek.

Someday my people are going to come up with some sort of a doctrine: something that tells us what we can and can't do out here – should and shouldn't do. But until somebody tells me that they've drafted that directive, I'm going to have to remind myself every day that we didn't come out here to play God.

For that line alone, Enterprise season 1 earns its place in Star Trek canon.

2 Star Trek: Enterprise Season 2

26 Episodes, September 18, 2002 - May 21, 2003

In a lot of ways, Star Trek: Enterprise season 2 is similar to season 1. Although most of the arcs in Enterprise season 1 are interesting, the episodic format of Enterprise season 2 makes the entire season just feel more like Star Trek. The high points of Enterprise season 2's storytelling feel reminiscent of Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Enterprise season 2 thankfully moves away from season 1's focus on the Temporal Cold War, and that shift makes room for other, more interesting plotlines that explore the early days of Starfleet. For example, a major conflict in Enterprise season 2 is the openly hostile relationship Captain Archer forms with the Klingon Empire. In Star Trek: Discovery's 23rd century, the Federation will have an open war with the Klingon Empire. Enterprise's early tensions between the Klingon Empire and Starfleet are the seeds from which that conflict will bloom.

But, as with season 1, Enterprise season 2's greatest strengths are how it reflects on exploration without the guide of the Prime Directive. In two different episodes, "The Communicator" and "The Cogenitor," Captain Archer has to face the terrible consequences that come from interfering with other species. If Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager's Captains chafe against the Prime Directive, the crowning achievement of Enterprise season 2 is that it convinces viewers of just how necessary the Prime Directive really is.

1 Star Trek: Enterprise Season 4

22 Episodes, October 8, 2004 - May 13, 2005

Season 4 is not only the best season of Enterprise, but also one of the best seasons in Star Trek. Much like Deep Space Nine and The Next Generation, Star Trek: Enterprise really grew into its own as it progressed, even if Captain Archer didn't grow a beard. Once Manny Coto took over as showrunner, he introduced mini arcs, each of which took a few episodes to examine the most interesting storylines in Enterprise. From the inverted-theme song introducing the Mirror Universe, to the increasing philosophical and political conflicts on Vulcan, season 4 took Enterprise where no one had gone before.

Of course, no praise of Star Trek: Enterprise season 4 is complete without acknowledging its series finale. "These Are the Voyages..." is Star Trek's most hated finale, since it wrapped up the show not by focusing on the crew of the Enterprise NX-01, but by centering Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) from TNG. But the finale was a response to an abrupt cancelation, and it was one blight on an impressive season. More importantly, "Terra Prime," the penultimate episode, was already a perfect finale, allowing Captain Archer to confront Earth's xenophobia, foreshadowing his role in the Federation.

Beyond the series' conclusion, Star Trek: Enterprise season 4 has some incredibly solid and entertaining episodes. Jeffrey Combs' Thy'lek Shran battles Captain Archer in "United," rounding out not only both men's characters but also offering insight into the foundational values of the Federation. The episodes "Affliction" and "Divergence" established an in-universe reason why Klingons looked so different between TOS and TNG. On the whole, season 4 of Star Trek: Enterprise is the best season of the show because of its combination of innovative storytelling and dedication to uniquely Star Trek stories.