Television series

Star Trek: Enterprise

Name: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
Released: 2001
Cast: Scott Bakula, John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock, Dominic Keating, Anthony Montgomery

Enterprise strips away the polish of later Star Trek to show humanity's first tentative steps into space, full of fear and wonder and mistakes. Scott Bakula anchors a crew learning diplomacy on the fly, without a map, in a 22nd century less certain of itself. It's scrappier, warmer, and more earnest than you'd expect.

TVMaze rating

4.1

If you liked this

Star Trek: The Next Generation1987

The template for everything Enterprise does: a diverse crew, philosophical episodes alongside action, a captain who leads through moral clarity. TNG proved Star Trek could sustain a vision across years without losing heart.

But Seasons 1-2 stumble badly; the pacing can drag; some of the 1980s-ness has calcified into camp. You need patience before it finds its feet.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine1993

The closest sibling in tone: morally messier, willing to break its own rules, genuinely interested in the cost of exploration. If you love Enterprise's willingness to let things get complicated, DS9 takes that further.

But It's slower, more serialized, and more often sad. No episodic reset button. The first season is particularly rough, and some found it too dark for Star Trek.

The Expanse2015

Humans fumbling toward the stars with primitive tech, political factions, no easy answers. It has Enterprise's DNA—the scrappy frontier feel, the moral ambiguity, the sense that space isn't safe—but darker and more adult.

But Genuinely bleak sometimes. Heavy on serialization and complex plotting. If you want optimism and episodic simplicity, this won't deliver it.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Star Trek: Enterprise

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Andor2022

Both find their power in character and consequence over spectacle. Enterprise at its best and Andor both ask: what does it actually cost to be the person you need to be?

Looks nothing like Enterprise but shares its backbone: small people in a vast system learning competence, trust, and sacrifice under pressure. Extraordinarily tense, morally sharp, and utterly absorbing. A masterclass in serialized storytelling that never wastes a moment.

But It's a Star Wars show, which may prejudice you either way. Slow-burn espionage rather than action—takes patience. Ends on a gutting note; no easy answers.

Firefly2002

A ship and a crew learning to trust each other while outgunned and improvising. Whedon nails the warm ensemble dynamic and the mix of humor with real stakes that Enterprise does so well.

But Only one season. The movie resolves some threads but not all. It's also considerably more violent, and the tone whips around more sharply.

Star Trek1966

The ancestor. Kirk's Enterprise has the same sense of making it up as you go, same optimism about humanity, same willingness to ask big questions inside adventure stories. Essential if you want to understand what Enterprise is honoring.

But It's fifty years old and looks it. Pacing is glacial by modern standards. Some premises seem quaint now, and the execution is often cheesy.

For All Mankind2019

Alternative history about the Space Race with a documentary-real approach: messy, political, grounded. Enterprise shares its conviction that space exploration is fundamentally about human character under pressure, not just spectacle.

But Slower than Enterprise, more political drama than action-adventure. The alt-history premise takes a while to fully unfold. Some patience required.

Stargate SG·11997

Military SF with humor, ensemble warmth, and genuine stakes. Like Enterprise, it's about competent people learning as they go, mixing lighter episodes with mythology that deepens over time. Great character work.

But Ten seasons means commitment. Uneven in quality; later seasons lose focus. The first few are quite rough and the humor doesn't always land.

Battlestar Galactica2003

Humanity fleeing through space, learning survival, questioning everything. Shares Enterprise's interest in how ideals bend under real pressure, and its willingness to make exploration uncertain, dangerous, and morally complicated.

But Relentlessly grim. The serialization becomes dense and confusing. Some find the later seasons lose the plot entirely. Very different tone from Enterprise's warmth.

Star Trek: Voyager1995

Another ensemble crew learning together on the job, captain-led from principle. If Enterprise clicked for you, Voyager has similar DNA: episodic storytelling, character-driven, the same optimistic humanism.

But Inconsistent quality across seven seasons. Some find it derivative of TNG. The premise—stuck in space heading home—can feel repetitive after a while.

Outlaws - For Greater Glory2012

Both are unashamed about earnestness, about characters who try to do the right thing even when it's costly or unpopular. Both trust the audience to sit with conviction without irony.

A film about ordinary people holding to principle when the world pressures them otherwise. Quiet, deeply human, utterly sincere without being saccharine. Andy Garcia leads an ensemble through moral clarity under duress—exactly Enterprise's register.

But Religious drama about Mexican persecution. Some find the sincerity heavy-handed. Not an action film despite the conflict; meditative and slow. Will feel distant if the historical moment doesn't matter to you.

Adventure Time: Distant Lands2020

Both understand that ensemble dynamics are everything, and that people grow through loyalty and failure. Both balance lightness with real stakes; both trust their characters to carry the weight.

A show that starts as whimsy and becomes profound about friendship, loss, and what you owe to people you love. Gorgeous animation, genuinely funny, surprisingly dark. The ensemble core—characters learning to be better—echoes Enterprise's warmth and growth.

But It's animated, which may read as 'for kids' when it absolutely isn't. Long and serialized across ten seasons. Some episodes are slight; you have to commit to the whole arc.