 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Star Trek: Enterprise
- Syfy, Syndicated
- Genre: Science Fiction
Common Sense Media says
Exploring the galaxy back when it was still wild.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that humans don't always come off looking like the most competent race in this space opera. The show documents some of Star Fleet's early missions beyond the Milky Way, and most of the drama comes from the crew's frequent contact with new alien species. Some of these are friendly, some are wary, and some are immediately hostile; in many cases it's clear that mankind is the new kid on the galactic block, and we often have little concept of protocol. The thinly disguised contempt of some alien cultures (especially the Vulcans) toward the humans might prompt viewers to take a closer look at how people who think they're quite advanced present themselves to others who may have a different opinion.
What's the story?
Star Trek spin-off STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE is set in the wild-and-wooly 22nd century, before the Federation existed and long before any of the rules that govern the original series were created. Enterprise focuses on Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula), the captain of the original Enterprise -- humanity's first starship capable of true space exploration. Archer and his crew have been asked to venture out into uncharted space. As a result, they're almost always the first humans to step foot on every planet they visit, as well as the first people to meet each new alien race.
Is it any good?
Enterprise is a very conscious attempt to recreate the feeling of the original Star Trek series. Liberating it from the heavy canon of the franchise gives the series the ability to react to new situations in ways that can be thought-provoking to the viewer -- without requiring the cast to wonder, "What would Kirk or Picard do?". But there's no getting around the fact that the show lacks the same punch as its predecessors. And though Enterprise doesn't have to adhere to all the elements of the Star Trek canon, it's still part of that rather stuffy universe, which can make it difficult for the show to go beyond simple storytelling. It's entertaining and spins a good yarn, but it sometimes lacks depth.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about how the show's interstellar race relations reflect issues we deal with in real life. The crew's encounters with new species and races are often marked by suspicion and wariness as both sides attempt to size each other up. Can you see any parallels in America's own history? In their frequent guest appearances, the famously logic-oriented Vulcans make little effort to hide their disdain for humans. Is there a limit to cross-cultural appreciation? Are there some acts that everyone can agree are unacceptable? Families can also compare this show to other Star Trek series and movies.
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AGE
Star Trek Enterprise
I loved every Star Trek series, but Enterprise is better then anything else. The characters show more realistic optimism then any other Star Trek crew. And the human characters are more colorful then ever before; for the first time in any Star Trek series humans are more interesting then aliens. In the first two seasons we see a much more intense setting then in other series. Many different alien races are being given secret information from informants from the future, giving them an unfair advantage in a power struggle known as the Temporal Cold War. Season three transformed the show from a Sci-fi into a Sci-fi/epic with the introduction of the most complex, thought provoking aliens ever seen in a Star Trek series: The Xindi. The Xindi are 5 different species that belong to the same race, and they have been manipulated by outside aliens ever since the end of their civil war 120 years earlier. Since the Xindi's greatest weakness was their racial distrust of their other species, they are the perfect metaphor for the nations of Earth. Basically in season three, the greatest Star Trek series meets the greatest Star Trek aliens. Season Four has all the great moments that Enterprise fans have anticipated. The mystery of the Klingon forehead is finally explained, starfleet has it's first encounter with genetically engineered soldiers, an ancient relic restores Vulcan society, the Romulans use a prototype ship in an attempt to stop a coalition, and the Temporal Cold War comes to a end in 1944. And because these are mostly multiple-part episodes, you feel like you're watching full-length movies rather then individual episodes. The series also showed a lot of progression. Enterprise progressed more in four years then Next Generation did in seven.
Content concerns mostly consist of bad language. The language is pretty excessive compared to other Star Trek series, comparable to the language you would find in most PG-13 movies. There are some episodes that are inappropriate for kids. “Cold Station 12†is a season four episode that gets a lot more gory then most. In a pretty long scene, it shows the effects of an alien sickness on a human. That scene gets pretty bloody and disgusting. “Storm Front†is another episode that has more bad language then most. It’s set during the 1940s, and depicts gangsters as having nasty mouths. “Harbinger†isn’t a violent episode, but there is a partially-naked scene. “The Council†is a season three episode that has a fairly violent scene where one of the good guys gets knifed with a big dagger.
If you decide to let your kids watch the show, you should probably tell them to skip those episodes.
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AGE
Before the Captain Kirk era.
I love science fiction, and I this series is cool, too! Beware of the violence-it can scare younger children!
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AGE
pretty good but not voyager
pretty good it isnt too violent except when the Xindi aliens commit a sort of genocide killing 7 mil. humans
it gets a bit weird when Commander Tucker and T'pol have neuro pressure sessions (Tucker has his shirt off,T'pol applies the neuro pressure , though it is for stress relief so theres not anything really happening
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AGE
Few places where people embrace a higher moral standard
Enterprise, and the Star trek universe, is fundamentally based upon the vision of the future held by series creator Gene Roddenberry. Having spent nearly 50 years watching television, this is one of the few places where we are presented a vision of the future where people, and conditions on our planet improve (as a result of First Contact, where we are officially visited for the first time by an intelligent alien species). The understanding that we are not alone propels our planet earth to not only rapidly resolve social issues that have plagued humanity for thousands of years, but the new paradigm servies as a platform for humanity to go forth into space and be good.
What I especially like about the series for my children, who have been watching Star Trek for years (first Voyager, then TNG< and now Enterprise, in order of airing, without commercials on DVDs from Netflix), is that they regularly see characters face complex personal and social issues, and they see how underlying principles like the prime directive, and other ideals that are held as unbreakable, help to guide characters to do the right thing time and again. It is the presence of these ideals that are all too absent in most television today.
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AGE
Another Unique Star trek series
Star trek Enterprise is another exciting and entertaining Star trek series, HOWEVER contrary to what CSM says there is more swearing (in my opinion) than any other star trek series, also there is a good deal of violence: charecters getting beaten up by aliens "phase pistol" shootouts and one episode where a character gets impaled through the leg by a metal spike. It's interesting to see how the crew makes decisions without all of the Federation's directives. Over all another excellent star trek series.
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| TV rating: | TV-PG |
| Networks: | Syfy, Syndicated |
| Cast: | Connor Trinneer, Jolene Blalock, Scott Bakula |
| Genre: | Science Fiction |
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