star trek enterprise episode zero hour

Zero Hour (episode)

• View history
• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 2 Log entries
• 3 Memorable quotes
• 4.1 Behind the scenes
• 4.2 Continuity and trivia
• 5.1 Starring
• 5.2 Guest stars
• 5.3 Co-stars
• 5.4 Uncredited co-stars
• 5.5.1 Unreferenced material
• 5.6 External links

Summary [ ]

The Xindi weapon is inside a vortex with a Xindi-Reptilian starship . Aboard the vessel , Commander Dolim stands with two other Xindi-Reptilian officers, one of whom joins Dolim in imagining how the Xindi would have benefited if the Guardians had made the Reptilians the dominant Xindi species before their civil wars . Dolim remarks that, thanks to the fact that the Guardians have finally come to their senses, the Reptilians will take their place at the head of a new Xindi empire once Earth is destroyed. They toast to their success by devouring live mice whole.

Act One [ ]

Aboard Degra's ship , the Xindi-Primate councilor informs Captain Archer that the weapon is almost three hours ahead of them but notes that they are closing the gap. Malcolm Reed states that their vessel may be faster but is not well-armed and asks how many ships are escorting the weapon, something they do not know. Archer concludes that the only way to destroy the weapon is from the inside, but all of Degra 's schematics are encrypted , making it impossible to destroy the weapon. Archer decides that they need Hoshi Sato to help them and, despite Reed's initial objections that she is too weak, he eventually agrees.

In the Guardians' realm, they discuss the fact that their favorable timelines continue to diminish, even though the weapon has almost reached Earth . They note that Enterprise is on course for a primary Sphere and decide to increase the transformation of space around it .

In engineering aboard the Enterprise , Trip Tucker reports to T'Pol that the main power grid has been realigned to increase the deflector pulse but it will fry almost every system on board. T'Pol orders him to be prepared to initiate the pulse in two hours but Tucker repeats that, if they do, it will almost certainly destroy the ship. T'Pol gives the order again but Tucker states that the captain told the Xindi they would try to destroy the Spheres and did not say anything about destroying the ship in the process. T'Pol asks Tucker if he realizes what will happen if Earth is destroyed and states that, without Humanity , no one will combat the Sphere-Builders and the Delphic Expanse will continue to grow and will encompass many systems, including Vulcan . She states that Earth is no longer the only world in jeopardy.

On the bridge , Travis Mayweather discovers a problem with the Sphere's cloaking barrier ; nothing should be on the sensors , yet they can see spatial anomalies clustered much tighter than ever before.

In sickbay , Phlox tells T'Pol that the space around the Sphere is being transformed, not unlike the disturbance where the ship found the trans-dimensional being . T'Pol notes that, if they are to disable the Spheres, they will need to get within one kilometer of the surface of Sphere 41, but Phlox points out that if they enter the disturbance, the crew will be dead within minutes . He says that he can synthesize a neuroleptic compound which could keep the crew conscious for about twelve minutes, but suggests that they find a way to shorten the plan to destroy the spheres.

Archer encourages Sato to ignore her self doubts

Aboard Degra's ship, Archer asks Sato if she's had any luck decrypting the schematics. She responds that she isn't feeling very well. She asks for Phlox to come and see her but the Captain reminds her that Phlox isn't there and tells her that she has a job to do. Sato becomes emotional and starts to blame herself for giving the Reptilians the third launch code for the weapon. When Archer says that she had no choice, she blurts out that she should have fought harder to jump off a platform while she was in the weapon. Archer tells her that everything hinges on her decrypting the schematics for the weapon and she returns to work.

On board the weapon, Dolim is told that when they exit the vortex, they will need time to initiate the firing sequence since the Reptillians don't have all five codes. Not wanting to risk themselves by appearing too close to their target, the weapon will exit the vortex two million kilometers from Earth. Dolim is frustrated by the delay and demands the weapon be ready to fire as soon as possible.

In engineering, Tucker tells Mayweather that he has found a way to destroy the sphere without tearing the ship apart but they will need to take power from the impulse engines and travel on thrusters when they reach the anomaly. Mayweather notes that it would be hard with the time limit but Tucker encourages him.

Reed tells Archer that they will not be able to transport directly onto the weapon's control platform due to deflector shielding . Despite Reed's objections, Archer decides to take Sato with him to the weapon because she has been on the weapon before. When asked what will happen if they cannot escape in time, Archer announces that he will give everyone plenty of time to get to the beam out point. Reed asks what Archer intends to do and receives the reply that Archer has no intention of dying on the weapon.

Archer is shown how he will help found the Federation

As he exits the room, Archer finds himself on a balcony overlooking a large hall. Daniels is there and tells him that it is a very important day. Daniels points out a man in a blue jacket, saying that it is Archer a little more than seven years in the future. He reveals that the elder Archer is about to make history, and that he must not risk his life or the United Federation of Planets may never come to be.

Act Two [ ]

Enterprise drops out of warp as it arrives at Sphere 41. Mayweather states that the anomaly is growing and it is one hundred thousand kilometers larger than the first time they encountered it. Phlox informs the bridge crew that he has enhanced the neuroleptic compound as much as he can and that they should stay in the disturbance no more than fifteen minutes. The compound is released and the Enterprise makes its final approach toward Sphere 41.

Back on Degra's ship, Archer tells Sato that they need to disable the reactor at a specific point during the inversion sequence but he does not know the sequence and if this is not done correctly, the internal safeguards will kick in and it will be impossible to overload. Sato tells him that she has the sequence but decrypting it is another problem.

One of the Xindi tells Archer that they have gotten close enough to isolate the weapon's signature. Archer is informed that the Insectoid ship is no longer with Dolim's fleet and that the weapon is being escorted by a single craft, Dolim's ship.

On that vessel, one of Dolim's crew informs him that Degra's ship is less than twenty minutes behind them. Dolim instructs the weapon crew to prepare to initiate the firing sequence as soon as they exit the vortex. It is then reported that there are no Earth vessels in the vicinity and only one orbital station nearby. Much to the Reptilian's delight, the station is unarmed. When Earth is shown on the viewscreen, Dolim comments that the Aquatics would feel at home here, due to the large amount of water present.

Enterprise enters the disturbance surrounding Sphere 41.

Meanwhile, Enterprise has entered the disturbance and Phlox starts the countdown. Mayweather states that he has the sphere on sensors and that it is only twenty thousand kilometers away. T'Pol instructs the crew to use thrusters as soon as they are in visual range. Tucker informs T'Pol that the deflector is standing by and, as he places his hand on the console, he notices that his skin is slowly starting to show the effects of being in the disturbance.

Back by the Weapon, Dolim's vessel exits the portal only 800,000 kilometers ahead, on a direct course for Earth. Just as Archer instructs Reed's team to prepare to beam to the weapon, one of the Xindi at the bridge console notes that Dolim's ship is changing course for a space station. When it comes on screen, Archer identifies it as Yosemite 3 , a research station having at least thirty to forty civilians on board. Archer instructs the crew to hail them on the frequency provided, only to be told that they can't get anything through due to the weapon's disruption wave.

Enterprise reaches the sphere and T'Pol instructs them to drop to two thousand meters. Tucker tells Phlox that something is happening to his skin and Mayweather also admits to seeing the same on his own. Phlox responds and informs them that it was expected, that they shouldn't scratch it and that there is only eleven minutes remaining.

Meanwhile, Dolim quotes the Guardian's orders that, once Earth is destroyed, they are to destroy all remaining Human colonies . The ship begins to fire their weapon, and Yosemite 3 is destroyed.

T'Pol gives Tucker the firing coordinates and the deflector pulse is fired at the sphere. Phlox informs them that there is less than ten minutes to go. In engineering, as the crew continue to check the systems, three Sphere-Builders appear out of thin air and begin to attack with balls of charged particles launched from their palms.

Act Three [ ]

The Sphere-Builders begin to use their trans-dimensional abilities to disrupt Enterprise 's power systems in hopes of shutting down the deflector pulse. The power drain is immediately felt on the bridge. In response, T'Pol hails engineering and Tucker states he is losing power for the pulse. Phlox points out that there are nine alien lifeforms, likely the trans-dimensional beings. The environment has been altered enough to sustain their presence.

As Dolim prepares to intercept Degra's ship, calling them pathetic due to their weaker weapons, the Arboreal informs Archer that the intercepting vessel is arming their torpedoes and that there is another vessel approaching at high warp asking for Archer; it is the Andorian , Commander Shran . Shran tells them that their ship is no match for the Reptilian vessel and that he anticipated that they would need assistance.

On Enterprise , the deflector pulse is disappearing and the MACO weapons are not affecting the Sphere-Builders as the pulses pass right through them. Tucker reports that the Sphere-Builders have to be stopped or the process will take additional time, which they no longer have. Corporal Kelly orders his men to reset their weapons to a modulating frequency, as per Phlox' instructions. This has an effect and forces the Sphere-Builders to retreat, as they use their abilities to pass through walls to find a new console, where they continue to disrupt the power systems.

Enterprise destroys Sphere 41

Shran's vessel, the Kumari , proceeds to escort Degra's ship and takes weapons fire from the enemy vessels while they approach the weapon. Deciding to fight back to buy Archer time, Shran fires back, and then declares that he and Archer are no longer even – now Archer owes him. Archer and his boarding party then beam over to the weapon, surprising the Reptilians and killing them all. Archer switches some power cells to begin the overload process. At this time, Dolim discovers that the boarding party has left the ship and that the Kumari is attempting to distract him. Aboard the weapon, more Reptilians engage the MACOs, one forcing Sato to lose her data pad . Archer attacks the creature, and Reed forces the Reptilian off the platform into a shaft, to the depths of the vessel.

On Enterprise , Phlox informs the crew that their time is up, and T'Pol orders an evacuation. Tucker intervenes by letting them know that he needs a minute to finish his task. Seconds later, when Phlox repeats that they have no time, he concurs and presses a button. The pulse intensifies and the Sphere begins to collapse. A pulse-like signal is emitted and the next Sphere in the network also starts collapsing. The Sphere-Builders aboard Enterprise scream as they dematerialize back to their home realm, allowing the ship's power to return. The crew then discover that the entire Sphere network has been destroyed.

Meanwhile, Shran discovers that a Reptilian, Dolim, has transported to the weapon. Shran orders all weapons targeted on Dolim's ship's starboard engines, destroying the ship in the process as the shields in that area were knocked out in the battle leaving that particular spot vulnerable.

The Superweapon explodes above Earth

On board the weapon, Archer orders Reed to hand him the charges and return to Degra's ship. Reed argues but Archer overrules him, assuring him that he will be right behind him. Archer set the charges on the reactor and detonates them. He climbs back down the shaft to reset the final switch and start an overload. Just after he does so, he is attacked by Dolim. Losing the fight, Archer attaches a final charge to Dolim's back and sets it off, killing Dolim. Archer runs across the platform as explosions go off around him. High above Earth, the Superweapon explodes in a shower of flames and debris with seconds to spare.

Act Four [ ]

" You look nice like this. Kind of like an old oil painting. " " I am not old. I will only be 66 years old on my next birthday. "

Enterprise is holding position to rendezvous with Degra's ship. T'Pol notes that the long-range sensors are detecting no Spheres, that all spatial anomalies within their scanning range have vanished and that the thermobaric clouds they detected earlier are starting to dissipate. While the crew tries to establish communication with Archer, T'Pol shares her age (65) with Tucker, informing him that some Vulcans believe that this information is intimate.

When the ships finally meet, Reed tells the crew that the weapon has been destroyed, but explains that Archer was not able to beam out in time. Enterprise docks with the Xindi-Aquatic cruiser shortly thereafter and T'Pol is told by the Primate that they will be returned to Earth within a day.

He also notes that the Xindi-Insectoids have been unable to ignore recent events and that the Reptilians will soon also be forced to accept that the Sphere-Builders were just using them for their own end. Finally, he tells her that Archer's sacrifice will not be forgotten and wishes them a safe journey.

In sickbay, Phlox mentions that the animals can sense that they are traveling within another ship and are upset by it. Phlox asks T'pol how is crew morale holding up. T'Pol tells him that losing a captain is not easy for any crew. Phlox agrees and states that they are all going to need time to heal. When T'Pol inquires about the well being of Porthos , Archer's dog , Phlox said he will be fine in time. In an uncharacteristic gesture, T'Pol then comforts and pets Porthos for the loss of his best friend.

An alien in Nazi uniform steps out of the shadows...

When the ships near Earth, Enterprise leaves the Xindi vessel and sets a course for home. Hoshi – despite Phlox's medical objections, insists on taking her station as they head home. Earth is soon within visual range, and the entire bridge crew stares in awe at the planet that they fought so hard for and that some of their shipmates gave their lives to save. Reed states that the captain would have been proud at this moment, as Tucker notes that Earth is the prettiest sight he has ever seen, and more importantly, it's in one piece. However things begin to take a strange turn when Hoshi is unable to raise Starfleet Command despite everyone expecting them to be waiting anxiously for news. Scans show that all the orbital platforms are missing and there is no communication with the Lunar One Colony either, despite all of their attempts. T'Pol sends Tucker and Mayweather in a shuttlepod to San Francisco to find out what is going on and at first everything looks fine. However, Mayweather detects three vessels approaching but, as they try to hail them, they hear metallic noises coming from their hull. Three World War II era airplanes , P-51 Mustangs , are flying toward them and firing at them.

Meanwhile, in a Nazi medical camp, a Nazi officer requests to see a patient. A doctor takes the officer to the patient, a man that turns out to be Archer, badly burned. When the doctor asks if they recognize his uniform , an alien in Nazi uniform steps out of the shadows.

Log entries [ ]

Memorable quotes [ ].

" If they had made us the dominant species before the wars, our homeworld would still exist. " " And our avian brothers would still fill the skies. " " We should be grateful that the Guardians have finally come to their senses. Once Earth is destroyed, the Reptilians will take their rightful place at the head of a new Xindi Empire. "

" Has it occurred to you what's going to happen if Captain Archer fails – if Earth is destroyed? " " Every day! " " Good. Then you've already come to the conclusion that, without Humanity, there's no one to combat these sphere builders. Their Expanse will continue to grow, encompassing one system after another, including Vulcan. Your world is no longer the only one in jeopardy. "

" My mission is to save Earth, not your Federation . "

" I have no plans of dying on that weapon, Malcolm. "

" It's a shame – all that water. The Aquatics would feel at home here. "

" You're not using your head, pink skin. That ship you're on is no match for the Reptilian. "

" Tell Archer... we're not even anymore. He owes me ! "

" It's time for you to work your magic, Mr. Tucker. Within five minutes, everyone on this ship is going to start dying! " " No pressure. "

" Wait a minute, I'm almost there. " " You don't have a minute, Commander. " " Then give me ten seconds. I'm telling you, I got it! " " That's it, time's up! " "It sure is."

" We didn't come here to disable this weapon. We're here to destroy it. "

" What have you done?! "

" One Reptilian transported to the weapon... " " Let's make sure he has nowhere to go back to. "

" You look nice like this – kinda like an old oil painting. "

" I am not old. I will only be 66 years old on my next birthday. "

" Captain Archer destroyed the weapon. " " Where is he? Is he okay? " " Captain didn't make it, Trip. " " What do you mean, he didn't make it? " " The weapon exploded before he could transport to Degra's ship. "

" Your captain's sacrifice will not be forgotten. "

" You should be in your quarters. " " With all due respect to Phlox, I wouldn't miss this for the world. "

" Prettiest sight I ever saw... and it's all in one piece! "

Background information [ ]

Behind the scenes [ ].

Production on a scene from this episode

Rigging special effects to show the destruction of the Xindi Primary Weapon

• This episode marked the end of both the third season of Star Trek: Enterprise and the Xindi Arc.
• In a special feature on the Season 4 DVD , Connor Trinneer says he believes that the producers deliberately created an ending so ambiguous that, had the series been canceled, the reaction to it ending that way would've been so negative as to make the network execs miserable – calling it a "wily move" on their part.
• Rick Berman has compared this episode to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ' s Final Chapter arc. He said it " was kind of like the end of Deep Space Nine , in a way. We had a lot of threads that needed to be tied up. We didn't have as many threads as we did with Deep Space Nine because we had so many characters on that show, and " What You Leave Behind " was also a series finale. But here it was a question of how to end the Xindi arc. " [1]
• The window behind Daniels and Jonathan Archer in the signing ceremony scene was a reuse of a port that prominently featured on the USS Enterprise -J in ENT : " Azati Prime ", which was also a scene where Daniels brought Archer into the future.
• This episode received an Emmy Award nomination for Michael Westmore 's Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup For A Series, Miniseries, Movie Or A Special.

Continuity and trivia [ ]

• This is the only Star Trek episode whose name begins with the letter "Z".
• This episode marks the death of Dolim ( Scott MacDonald ).
• This episode reveals the founding members of the United Federation of Planets are Humans , Vulcans , Andorians and Tellarites .
• T'Pol finally reveals her age (65 – nearly 66) to Tucker, who initially wondered about it all the way back to " Carbon Creek ".
• This episode marks the final appearance of the Sphere-Builders as well as the Xindi (though a few stray Reptilians pop up in a nightmare Archer has in the fourth season episode " Home ").
• This is also the first time T'Pol speaks directly to and touches Porthos .
• Following the destruction of the Xindi weapon, T'Pol makes a log entry as acting captain that incorrectly identifies the date as February 14, 2152 (rather than 2154).
• Whether intentionally or not, the day that the Xindi weapon is destroyed over Earth is Valentine's Day, the 45th day of the year, 2154 .
• No explanation is given why there are no Starfleet vessels in the vicinity to defend Earth (a fact explicitly mentioned in the episode by the Xindi). Although this is common in Star Trek , leaving it to the heroes' ship to save Earth, it's especially noteworthy because Starfleet came to Enterprise 's aid when they were attacked by Duras in the Sol System in " The Expanse " and many of them will be there to welcome her home at the end of " Storm Front, Part II "".

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• Scott Bakula as Jonathan Archer
• John Billingsley as Phlox
• Jolene Blalock as T'Pol
• Dominic Keating as Malcolm Reed
• Anthony Montgomery as Travis Mayweather
• Linda Park as Hoshi Sato
• Connor Trinneer as Charles "Trip" Tucker III

Guest stars [ ]

• Scott MacDonald as Dolim
• Rick Worthy as Jannar
• Tucker Smallwood as Xindi-Primate Councilor
• Josette Di Carlo as Sphere-Builder Woman
• Bruce Thomas as Xindi-Reptilian Soldier
• Andrew Borba as Xindi-Reptilian Lieutenant
• Matt Winston as Daniels
• Mary Mara as Sphere-Builder Presage
• Ruth Williamson as Sphere-Builder Primary
• Jeffrey Combs as " Shran "

Co-stars [ ]

• Gunter Ziegler as Doctor
• J. Paul Boehmer as Officer
• Zachary Krebs as Andorian N.D.

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• Alina Andrei as Sphere-Builder
• Jacob Chambers
• Jason Collins as R. Ryan
• Shawn Crowder as Xindi-Reptilian
• Daphney Dameraux as operations ensign
• Brian D'Arcy as engineer
• Kevin Derr as Kelly
• Paul Eliopoulos as engineer
• Yuri Elvin as M. Romero
• Glen Hambly as Andorian officer
• Dieter Hornemann as Na'kuhl SS-hauptsturmführer
• John Jurgens
• Ricky Lomax as W. Woods
• Andrew MacBeth as E. Hamboyan
• Dorenda Moore as S. Money
• Michael J. O'Laskey as M. Forbes
• Bob Rivers as engineer
• Paul Sklar as R. Richards
• Amy Ulen as engineer
• Nazi SS-untersturmführer
• Walker (voice)
• Kelly (voice)

References [ ]

2161 ; accusation ; airlock ; Aldebaran ; Andorians ; Andorian battle cruiser ; Avians ; bacteria ; botanical library ; Brazil ; Canada ; command center ; control platform ; dais ; decryption ; deflector array ; deflector pulse ; Denobulans ; Degra ; Degra's ship ; degree (angle) ; disruption wave ; dozen ; drum set ; Earth ; encryption ; epidermal decay ; Federation Charter ; German language ; Groznik ; hailing frequency ; heading ; high warp ; hope ; Indaura ; intercept course ; inversion sequence ; kilometer ; Kumari ; latitude ; life sign ; Lucas, Jeremy ; Lunar One Colony ; manifold ; meter ; military installation ; Nazi ; neuroleptic compound ; north ; Norway ; orbital platform ; orbital station ; outer framework ; overload ; P-51 Mustang ; PADD ; parasite ; photonic torpedo ; Porthos ; reptile ; research post ; research station ; San Francisco ; scanning range ; schematic ; Schutzstaffel ; spatial anomaly ; spatial charges ; Sphere 41 ; Sphere-Builder (aka Guardian ); tactical display ; T'Pol's father ; Tellarites ; teracycle ; thermobaric cloud ; trans-dimensional being ; transporter device ; tropical bug ; United Federation of Planets ; visual range ; Vulcans ; Vulcan (planet) ; xeno-biology ; Xindi Council ; Xindi weapon ; Xindi-Aquatic ; Xindi-Aquatic cruiser ; Xindi-Arboreal ; Xindi-Avian ; Xindi-Insectoid ; Xindi-Primate ; Xindi-Reptilian ; Xindi-Reptilian ray gun ; Xindi-Reptilian warship ; Xindus ; Yosemite 3

Unreferenced material [ ]

External links [ ].

• "Zero Hour" at StarTrek.com
• " Zero Hour " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " Zero Hour " at Wikipedia
• " Zero Hour " at the Internet Movie Database
• 2 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

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Star Trek: Enterprise – Season 3, Episode 24

Where to watch, star trek: enterprise — season 3, episode 24.

Watch Star Trek: Enterprise — Season 3, Episode 24 with a subscription on Paramount+, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

More Like This

Cast & crew.

Scott Bakula

Capt. Jonathan Archer

Connor Trinneer

Cmdr. Charles "Trip" Tucker III

Jolene Blalock

Dominic Keating

Lt. Malcolm Reed

Anthony Montgomery

Ensign Travis Mayweather

Ensign Hoshi Sato

Episode Info

• Web Channels
• Star Trek: Enterprise

Archer tries to coax a traumatized Hoshi into using her decryption skills to disable the Xindi doomsday weapon before the Reptilians can use it to destroy Earth. Archer risks his life in a dangerous gambit to intercept the superweapon, sneak by the Xindi Reptilians aboard, and disarm it from inside. Meanwhile, the  Enterprise  embarks on its own desperate mission to cripple the rest of the spheres.

Rick Worthy

Jeffrey Combs

Tucker Smallwood

Scott MacDonald

Matt Winston

Josette DiCarlo

Andrew Borba

Bruce Thomas

Ruth Williamson

Cast appearances.

Scott Bakula

John Billingsley

Jolene Blalock

Dominic Keating

Anthony Montgomery

Connor Trinneer

Episode discussion.

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Ep 24. Zero Hour

• May 26, 2004
• 8.5   (1,637)

The show Star Trek: Enterprise season 3 episode 24, titled "Zero Hour," is the thrilling conclusion to the story arc of the Xindi conflict. The episode begins with Captain Archer and his crew launching an all-out assault on the weapon that the Xindi have built to destroy Earth. As they approach their target, they are intercepted by the Xindi fleet, leading to an intense battle.

As the fighting rages on, Archer and his crew formulate a daring plan to infiltrate the weapon and disable it from the inside. However, they soon discover that the weapon is not just a tool of destruction but also a vessel capable of travelling through time, making their mission all the more urgent.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Trip and T'Pol work tirelessly to decode the Xindi weapon's schematics, hoping to find a weakness that they can exploit. Their efforts are complicated by the fact that the Xindi have launched a probe that is slowly rewriting the genetic code of every human on the planet, turning them into a different species entirely.

As the clock ticks down, Archer and his team face increasingly harrowing challenges, including navigating the treacherous corridors of the weapon, battling the Xindi guards who are tasked with protecting it, and dealing with the unexpected consequences of their actions.

The tension and stakes are high throughout the episode as the fate of Earth hangs in the balance. The resolution of the conflict is both emotionally satisfying and thought-provoking, raising questions about the nature of war, diplomacy, and sacrifice.

Overall, "Zero Hour" is a gripping, action-packed episode that serves as a fitting conclusion to the Xindi story arc. It captures the spirit of the Star Trek franchise while pushing the boundaries of what is possible in terms of storytelling and special effects. Fans of science fiction, action, and drama are sure to be engaged by this thrilling installment.

• Genres Science Fiction
• Cast Scott Bakula John Billingsley Jolene Blalock Jeffrey Combs Tucker Smallwood
• Channel UPN
• First Aired May 26, 2004
• Content Rating TV-PG
• Runtime 42 min
• Language English
• IMDB Rating 8.5   (1,637)

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10 best episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise, ranked

Every Star Trek series is someone’s favorite ( Star Trek: The Animated Series stans, we see you), but when it comes to the 18-year Golden Age of Trek between 1987 and 2005, the prequel series Enterprise is easily the least beloved. Airing on UPN for an abbreviated four-season run, Enterprise was meant to shake things up after three consecutive series set in the late 24th century.

10. Babel One/United/The Aenar (season 4, episodes 12, 13, & 14)

9. shuttlepod one (season 1, episode 16), 8. zero hour (season 3, episode 24), 7. carbon creek (season 2, episode 2), 6. first flight (season 2, episode 24), 5. demons/terra prime (season 4, episodes 20 & 21), 4. damage (season 3, episode 19), 3. in a mirror, darkly, parts i & ii (season 4, episodes 18 & 19), 2. twilight (season 3, episode 8), 1. similitude (season 3, episode 10).

Imagined as a sort of origin story for Star Trek in the style of The Right Stuff , creators Rick Berman and Brannon Braga wanted to capture the danger and excitement of United Earth’s early interstellar space program, even planning to spend the entire first season on Earth preparing for the launch of Starfleet’s very first Starship Enterprise. The network, however, had other ideas, insisting that Berman and Braga not meddle with the consistently successful Star Trek formula. Thus, despite taking place two centuries earlier, Enterprise became, essentially, “ more Voyager ,” which in turn had been “ more Next Generation ,” a once-great sci-fi procedural that was nearly a decade past its peak.

That’s not to say that the series didn’t improve throughout its four-season run. After two years of struggling to justify the show’s very existence, Berman and Braga swung for the fences with a radically different third season that reinvented Enterprise (now renamed Star Trek: Enterprise ) as a grim and gritty serialized drama unpacking the aftermath of a 9/11-scale attack on Earth. While immediately more compelling, the revamp failed to boost the show’s sagging ratings, and it was reworked yet again the following year, and leaned further into the “prequel to Star Trek ” angle under new showrunner Manny Coto. This, many fans will argue, is where Enterprise finally found its legs, but it was too little and too late to prevent its cancellation. Still, each iteration of the troubled spinoff had its highlights and our list of the 10 strongest Enterprise episodes is spread fairly evenly throughout the run of the show.

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Warning: This article contains spoilers for each listed episode.

After struggling to establish an identity for three seasons, the final season of Enterprise focused on setting the groundwork for important moments in the franchise’s fictional history. This three-parter marks the first team-up between all four of the worlds that will one day found the United Federation of Planets: Andoria, Earth, Tellar Prime, and Vulcan, as they’re pitted against each other by a mysterious enemy. That enemy, naturally, turns out to be the Romulans, the shady alien empire that Earth and its allies are destined to go to war with in the years to come. The Babel One trilogy promises that the story of this momentous conflict is forthcoming, and that the alliance born in this episode will be key in winning the day. Alas, the series was canceled before it could make good on this promise, but it’s still an entertaining chapter in the history of the franchise.

Of course, what really lands the Babel One trilogy on our list is that it’s a three-hour story featuring the show’s best character, the Andorian Commander Shran (recurring guest star Jeffrey Combs). You heard us — not best guest character, best character , hands down. Shran is a prickly, but noble warrior obsessed with repaying his debts. He’s a little paranoid, but he’s also fairly reasonable and trustworthy, particularly once you’ve won his respect. He might not have seemed like such a treat if he’d been on the show every week, but this story is a welcome triple dose of our favorite Andorian.

The early days of Enterprise are thoroughly unspectacular, as its bland characters and insufficiently fresh setting struggle in comparison to the shows that preceded it. Shuttlepod One is a relatively bright spot in the first season and a showcase for two characters that helped endear them to audiences for the remainder of the series. In this episode, chipper chief engineer Charles “Trip” Tucker III (Connor Trinneer) and strait-laced armory officer Malcolm Reed (Anthony Keating) are trapped in a Shuttlepod together and, after happening upon some ominous wreckage, believe themselves to be the sole survivors of the Enterprise crew. The story is about how these two very different people each handle the prospect of death and the slim possibility of survival.

It’s fairly heavy-handed, casting Reed as a pessimist despite being the only one of the pair to accurately assess the gravity of their predicament, but it’s really about the birth of a friendship, one that would become a staple of the rest of the series. Behind the scenes, Trineer and Keating would remain buddies for decades, often appearing together at conventions and launching their own podcast in 2022, called The Shuttlepod Show .

Enterprise wasn’t the first Star Trek series to attempt a long, serialized story arc — Deep Space Nine ’s Dominion War played out over the course of years — but it was the first in the franchise to fully commit to the modern model of telling a single story over the course of an entire season. Season 3’s Xindi arc gave Enterprise a new prime directive, to find and destroy a planet-killing weapon before it could be unleashed on Earth. And, when you ask an audience to commit to an epic story that unfolds over a period of months, whether or not that audience feels satisfied with that commitment rides on the success of its finale.

Zero Hour is big blockbuster Trek on television, an hourlong action finale for what is still the longest unbroken story arc in the canon. It ties together threads that had been left dangling throughout the season and brings them all together for a rousing adventure with its fair share of fist-pumping moments. (It’s always a delight to see Combs’ Shran, but his appearance here gets a hearty “Hell, yeah!” out of us every time.) While its tacked-on twist ending takes a bit of the air out of the balloon (the writers simply needed a head-scratching cliffhanger to try and avoid cancellation), it’s still a satisfying ending to one of the franchise’s riskiest stories.

If you’ve been following our entire series of Star Trek countdowns , then you know that we were bound to include one of the really silly ones on this list. Carbon Creek is a divisive episode that fudges with the franchise’s established history of alien contact for the sake of a goofy, but heartfelt story that speaks to the essence of what Trek is all about. Here, Subcommander T’Pol (Jolene Blalock) regales Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and Trip with a tall tale about one of her ancestors (also Blalock) becoming stranded in Pennsylvania in 1957, along with a small crew of Vulcan scientists. While they await rescue, the Vulcans are forced to blend in with the human population and engage in some fish-out-of-water comedy.

As with a number of our other picks, Carbon Creek stands out from the crowd for being notably different from the “planet of the week” stories that had gotten stale before Enterprise even debuted. In addition to being a period piece focused on a new set of characters, it’s also an inversion of the expected. Instead of being a story about humans arriving at a new world and seeing their humanity reflected back at them, it’s a story about Vulcans coming to our world, which is new to them and makes them ponder what it is to be Vulcan . This probably makes the episode sound more high-minded than it is, but Carbon Creek remains fun light entertainment that, unlike a lot of early Enterprise episodes, will probably not bore you.

Berman and Braga’s original concept for Enterprise was that it would recapture the energy and excitement of the 1960s Space Race by framing its early Starfleet crew as pioneers and trailblazers in the new field of interstellar travel. This version was tossed in favor of a more familiar kind of Star Trek, but we do get one brief glimpse at the series that might have been in the show’s 50th episode, First Flight . This story flashes back to Archer’s early days as a Starfleet test pilot, long before the Enterprise was constructed. Back then, the mission of Starfleet wasn’t to explore strange new worlds — it was to reach Warp 3 without exploding, and Archer had to compete with an array of other pilots just for the privilege of possibly blowing up. First Flight tells the story of Archer’s rivalry with fellow officer A.G. Robinson (guest star Keith Carradine), and how their fight to be the fastest human in history nearly tanked — but ultimately saved — the entire space program.

Though not exactly groundbreaking television, First Flight earns a place on our list as an example of Enterprise ’s unfulfilled potential. As much as this series got more in line with fans’ expectations in the later seasons, a Star Trek series with this setting and tone would have been something truly new for the franchise, a prequel with an identity all its own. Until the franchise inevitably cycles back around to the 22nd century, we’ll have to settle for this one episode.

Ask any Trekkie and they’ll tell you straight: The series finale of Enterprise is bad . These Are The Voyages , which takes place years after the rest of the series, but is actually a holodeck simulation being played centuries after the rest of the series, is a total mess and an awful way for the show to end. The finale feels all the more anticlimactic since the previous story, the conclusion of which aired that very same night as the finale, actually offers a fairly satisfying conclusion. The two-part Demons/Terra Prime brings the Enterprise back home to preside over an historic agreement between worlds that will someday lead to the birth of the United Federation of Planets. However, these proceedings are jeopardized by a terrorist group called Terra Prime, which threatens to destroy Starfleet Command unless all extraterrestrials leave Earth. Escalating the stakes is the revelation that Terra Prime has created an infant human/Vulcan hybrid to serve as an example of their “corrupted” future, and she’s the genetic daughter of T’Pol and Trip.

Lending an air of gravitas to the story is guest star Peter “RoboCop” Weller as terrorist leader John Frederick Paxton, who fancies himself the savior of the human race. Paxton and Terra Prime represent the very real madness of xenophobia, drawing one-to-one comparisons with the logic and motives of white supremacists who view cultural or genetic cross-pollination with other races as an attack on their identity. Star Trek, of course, preaches the opposite philosophy, that every group is stronger when they embrace each other’s differences and work together as one. Demons and Terra Prime have the crew of Archer’s Enterprise fighting for the very ideals behind Star Trek at a juncture in history where they are in direct jeopardy. It’s a key turning point in the evolution of humanity from the new kids on the galactic block to a leader in the pursuit of interstellar peace and prosperity. The fact that the stakes are personified in Trip and T’Pol’s fragile baby is just icing on the cake.

The third season of Enterprise delivers some of the most “post-9/11” television you’ll ever see. Debuting in 2003 while 24 was at its peak, the Xindi arc dealt with the impact that a deadly surprise attack can have on a society that views itself as untouchable. Like America after the Cold War, the United Earth of the 22nd century thinks of themselves as existing at “the end of history,” as if trouble and strife are behind them. They’re the good guys, and they’ve won. Suddenly, their illusion of primacy is shattered, and they don’t know how to handle the prospect of another tragedy. However, where in real life the 9/11 attacks did not turn out to be a precursor to a new era of dramatic foreign terrorist activity on U.S. soil (as we were all told to expect by the news of the day), the firing of a power weapon at Earth by the mysterious Xindi, is, in fact, only a test for a much larger attack that would destroy the planet outright. Thus, Earth dispatches its only capable starship, Enterprise, into a dangerous area of space to locate and destroy the Xindi’s weapon of mass destruction before it can be completed, by any means necessary.

So, when Enterprise is badly damaged in a skirmish with Xindi forces, Archer is forced to abandon his “evolved” moral code and make terrible choices to complete his urgent mission. A Good Samaritan answers their distress call and offers assistance, but what Enterprise really needs is a critical set of parts that the friendly vessel also needs to survive. The overall ethics of Star Trek have always maintained that you can’t save humankind by sacrificing your own humanity, and nearly always constructs stories to validate that point of view. This time, Archer is given no way out. At the same time, Commander T’Pol is facing a totally different internal struggle, as the truth about her abuse of the psychoactive substance Trellium-D finally comes to light. Blalock, of whom very little is asked in the first two seasons apart from wearing tight outfits and being leered at by the camera, outshines the entire cast with her performance in this intense and demanding episode.

That In a Mirror, Darkly is many fans’ favorite Enterprise episode is about as damning a criticism one could make about the series. The two-parter is set in entirely the Mirror Universe, the topsy-turvy parallel timeline in which the Enterprise serves the fascist, xenophobic Terran Empire, and thus features none of the show’s regular characters. Instead, the cast gets to ham it up by portraying their dastardly counterparts who, while certainly over the top, are more fun and more interesting than their Prime Universe counterparts. Here, a disgruntled Archer leads a coup against stubborn Captain Forrest (frequent guest star Vaughn Armstrong), who’s an Admiral in the Prime Universe, and takes the ISS Enterprise into enemy territory to seize a powerful ship from an alternate future — the Constitution-Class USS Defiant from the Star Trek: The Original Series episode   The Tholian Web .

This, of course, is why the episode is so beloved — it’s second part is a smorgasbord of nostalgia, as the Enterprise cast wanders a perfect reproduction of the 1960s Star Trek set, dons old-school uniforms, and faces classic Trek villains the Tholian and the Gorn, which are redesigned using contemporary CGI. Since the story is outside of the normal continuity, anything can and does happen, and it’s a wild ride. Practically none of this episode’s success has anything to do with the series from which it’s sprung, but it’s a charmingly bonkers 90 minutes of television that has, against all odds, actually had canonical relevance for episodes of Star Trek: Discovery that were produced 15 years later.

Any sci-fi show with high stakes can benefit from a “worst-case scenario” time travel episode. Nothing clarifies the importance of a hero’s mission more than seeing for themselves exactly what will happen if they fail. And like any story set in an alternate future, there’s the added excitement of seeing events that would never be allowed to happen in an episode that “counts.” Take, for instance, Twilight , which opens with a disoriented Archer fighting his way to the bridge of the Enterprise just in time to watch Earth get blasted into bits. After this shocking teaser, we learn that Archer has sustained an injury that prevents him from forming new long-term memories, and that as a result, the Enterprise’s mission to destroy the Xindi superweapon fails and most of humanity is killed. Twelve years later, a method is discovered to undo Archer’s accident, possibly saving Earth in the process, and the scattered Enterprise crew gathers for one last mission for all the marbles.

The scenario is intriguing in itself, as are the glimpses into the possible futures of the rest of the regular characters, but the heart of the episode is the relationship between the ailing Archer and T’Pol, who has remained by his side throughout his illness. By this point in the series, the romance between T’Pol and Trip Tucker was already in motion, but this alternate timeline shows a very different sort of bond developing between T’Pol and her former captain, one which is, perhaps, not particularly healthy. Blalock’s performance as this future T’Pol (one of two she would portray that season) is quietly compelling, and an early indicator of how much her character would evolve over the course of the Xindi arc.

At face value, Similitude seems like a retread of a dilemma faced by the Star Trek: Voyager crew in the episode Tuvix . Strange circumstances have led to the creation of a new life form, and the only way to save a familiar member of the crew is to take his life. The new life form, naturally, doesn’t want to die, but the rules of television demand that everything go back to normal at the end of 45 minutes. Similitude retains everything about that story that worked in Tuvix , while making it more interesting at every step. Here, chief engineer Trip Tucker is mortally wounded in an accident, and the only way to save him is to grow a rapidly aging clone of him and harvest its brain tissue. Even though this procedure is supposed to be nonlethal, Archer and Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) would ordinarily balk at performing such a morally dubious experiment.

However, this story takes place halfway through the Xindi arc, and the Enterprise is the only hope of saving the Earth from total destruction. Earth needs Enterprise, Enterprise needs Trip, and Trip needs his clone’s brain tissue, so Archer has no choice. Worse, the crew has to watch this clone, who they name “Sim,” grow up over the course of weeks, gradually inheriting the memories of his donor. When he reaches the age at which he’s supposed to donate his brain tissue, Phlox determines that the transplant to save Trip will be fatal to Sim.

Similitude places our Starfleet heroes in an impossible situation and explores it from several practical and emotional angles. There’s Archer buckling under the pressure of his daunting mission, becoming ever more willing to play the villain so long as it serves his mission. There’s T’Pol’s confusion over her romantic feelings for Trip, versus Sim’s professed love for her. There’s Phlox, a family man, raising a little boy in his sickbay only to be asked to sacrifice him by his own hand. And, finally, there’s Sim himself, an innocent kid who is accumulating two contradictory sets of memories as he grows up and struggling with an identity crisis and a resentment toward the man he was created to save, who is also him .

The script, performances, and production all make the most of the episode’s concept, resulting in a gut-wrenchingly emotional hour of television. It’s no wonder that Coto, this episode’s writer, would be handed the keys to the series for the following season, and why so many fans wish he’d gotten the chance to see it through for a few more years.

Stream all four seasons of Star Trek: Enterprise on Paramount+ .

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There were only two notable sci-fi additions to Max in April: Terminator Salvation and Source Code. Both are very good movies, but it's been clear for months that Max is coasting on its sci-fi lineup. It's not enough to just have great films to watch, especially if they're on loan from other studios with an expiration date at some point in the future. Once films like Alien, Avatar, and all of the classic Star Trek films leave, Max's sci-fi library is going to look pretty weak.

For now, we're just going to have to live with the available selection for the best sci-fi movies on Max. But we also added Escape From L.A. just to give you more than two options that weren't on this list last month. If you want to see the rest of the films, just keep scrolling down.

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You can find the rest of our picks for the best sci-fi movies on Hulu below. They include the original Alien, Blade Runner 2049, and more. Not all of these films on this list are owned by Disney or 20th Century Studios, so catch them while you can. They won't be around forever.

The 2010s was a fantastic decade for sci-fi, as it gave fans and critics numerous modern classics that redefined and pushed the boundaries of the genre. The diverse selection of science fiction movies from that era underscores the boundless creativity and innovation that went into creating these films, with each one inviting viewers to explore the unknown through groundbreaking storytelling and artistic execution.

From mind-bending depictions of the cosmos as seen in Interstellar to chilling examinations of AI like Ex Machina, the top sci-fi movies from the 2010s are often counted among the greatest from the genre overall. With stunning visuals, compelling performances, and an array of thought-provoking stories that reflect the best aspects of science fiction today, these films will undoubtedly continue to enjoy their enduring legacies as contemporary masterpieces. 10. Gravity (2013)

Star Trek: Enterprise (TV Series)

Zero hour (2004).

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With the weapon on its way to Earth, Archer leads a small team to intercept it before it can strike; T’Pol leads Enterprise on a mission to destroy one of the spheres in the Expanse.

In this episode of the podcast, Wes and Clay finish the third season of Enterprise with a discussion about “Zero Hour”. Plus! The guys talk about the worst character in the entire Star Trek franchise, Jeffrey Combs auditioning for a captain role, and feeling like C.J. from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

• Post author By Wes
• Post date 08/19/2021

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As the “Zero Hour” approaches, so does the season finale of Star Trek: Enterprise’s third season . Archer, Reed, and their Xindi allies have tracked the Reptilians to Earth. The Xindi superweapon is primed and ready to annihilate the cradle of the Federation! Meanwhile, T’Pol and the Enterprise move to destroy the spheres in the Expanse to prevent an invasion of the Sphere-Builders.

The Wikipedia plot summary for “Zero Hour”:

Sub-Commander  T’Pol  orders  Enterprise  to ‘Sphere 41’, in an attempt to destroy the entire sphere network. They arrive to find that the  Sphere Builders  have created a distortion field around it. Doctor  Phlox  determines that 12–15 minutes exposure will kill the crew. Undeterred, T’Pol and Commander  Tucker  deduce a modification to the  deflector dish  that can be used to destroy the sphere. As they approach, two Guardians arrive and begin damaging the ship’s systems, but they cannot prevent the sphere’s destruction. It implodes, setting off a  chain reaction  that successfully destroys the rest of the spheres, ending all spatial anomalies in the  Delphic Expanse .

Meanwhile, Captain  Archer , accompanied by Lieutenant  Reed , Ensign  Sato , and a team of MACOs, enters the vortex created by the Xindi weapon. During the pursuit, a recovering Sato is pushed by Archer to decipher  Degra ‘s schematics. Archer is suddenly pulled into the future by Temporal Agent  Daniels , this time to the founding of the  United Federation of Planets , but Archer is again uninterested. Arriving near Earth, Archer receives an unexpected transmission from Commander  Shran , who engages and then destroys the Reptilian ship. In the chaos, Archer and his team are able to beam aboard the weapon. A fierce fire-fight ensues, and as Archer and Sato try to disable the weapon, Commander  Dolim  attempts to stop them. Archer kills him and the weapon is destroyed.

Sato and Reed return to  Enterprise  with the sad news that Archer did not make it off the weapon. Ferried on an  Aquatic  ship,  Enterprise  arrives at Earth, but they are unable to contact  Starfleet . Surprised, T’Pol orders Tucker and Ensign  Mayweather  to fly a shuttlepod down to  San Francisco , where they are suddenly attacked by what seem to be  P-51s . The final scene switches to a World War II German field-hospital. A doctor summons some  SS  officers to examine the unfamiliar uniform of a burn patient who was recently brought in. The patient is revealed as Archer. One of the SS personnel steps out of the shadows, revealing himself to be a gray-skinned alien.

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Star Trek Has Finally Revealed the Evil Enterprise's Weird Fate

Watch out for any goatees.

Today, everyone knows what a multiverse is. But back in 1967, parallel universe stories weren’t nearly as common as they are now, even within the sci-fi genre. A classic Star Trek episode, Jerome Bixby’s “Mirror, Mirror,” helped popularize the alternate universe trope, complete with meaner versions of yourself who may rock an evil little goatee like Mirror Spock.

Star Trek’s Mirror Universe also gave us an alternate version of the USS Enterprise in the ISS Enterprise , a ship that served the Imperial Terran Empire, not the United Federation of Planets. Now, in the Discovery Season 5 episode “Mirrors,” the evil ISS Enterprise is back... as a force for good. Here’s what it all means. Spoilers ahead.

The ISS Enterprise returns

Captain Burnham watches the ISS Enterprise warp to Federation HQ.

While pursuing the thieves Moll and L’ak, Book and Burnham take a shuttlecraft into an unstable wormhole and discover the floating, pseudo-derelict ISS Enterprise . One of the clues to the Progenitor’s tech has been hidden on it, but for Burnham, it’s kind of like a bizzaro universe homecoming. Burnham spent a decent amount of time in the Mirror Universe in Discovery Season 1 , and in Season 2 she found herself on the Enterprise with her brother Spock just before jumping from the 23rd century to the 32nd century.

In “Mirrors,” Burnham notes that “crossing between universes has been impossible for centuries,” which means the ISS Enterprise must have crossed over into the Prime Universe well before the 32nd century. Burnham is referencing the events of Discovery Season 3, when we learned that Philippa Georgiou, a resident of the Mirror Universe, couldn’t go back to her home universe because those dimensions had drifted apart. But the ISS Enterprise , which was previously captained by an evil Kirk, crossed over into the Prime Universe well before that moment, and Discovery has now added details connecting The Original Series, Deep Space Nine , and Discovery Season 3.

How evil Spock became good

Spock talking with Kirk in “Mirror, Mirror.”

In the Deep Space Nine episode “Crossover” we learn that after Kirk talked to Mirror Spock and encouraged him to try making the Terran Empire a peaceful power, Mirror Spock did just that. But as Mirror Kira explained, Mirror Spock’s idealism didn’t work out the way he’d hoped:

“Spock rose to Commander in Chief of the Empire by preaching reforms, disarmament, peace. It was quite a remarkable turnabout for his people. Unfortunately for them, when Spock had completed all these reforms, his empire was no longer in any position to defend itself against us [the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance].”

Discovery appears to be referencing this exact event, even if Spock isn’t named outright. When Book learns the ISS Enterprise became a refugee ship for people who’d turned against the Empire, he says, “The Terran High Chancellor was killed for trying to make reforms.”

This likely references Spock, but adds the twist that he was perhaps betrayed by other people within the Terran Empire, even if Earth adopted his reforms. Now, by the end of “Mirrors,” the 23rd-century ISS Enterprise has been moved to the Prime Universe and the 32nd century. It’s an antique by modern standards, but it’s a contemporary of the USS Discovery, so it’s still serviceable. This means that by the end of Discovery Season 5 there will still be a version of the classic Enterprise floating around Federation headquarters, so when the Starfleet Academy series debuts, 32nd-century Starfleet cadets will have access to the classic version of the most famous Enterprise. It may technically be an evil twin, but its historic adventures aren’t over just yet.

Star Trek: Discovery and The Original Series stream on Paramount+.

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