The crew of the Enterprise gets really clever this episode, nearly pulling off a ruse that might have saved them a lot of time and effort had they succeeded. Unfortunately, its the Expanse, and this is Enterprise, so of course something had to go amiss. Episode Title: Strategem Written By: Michael Sussman and Terry Matalas Directed By: Mike Vejar N…

The Expanse. Mysterious. Lonely. Cold. Hostile. An isolated corner of the galaxy with nary a friendly face for light ye-- Wait. Is that Shran? Episode Title: Proving Ground Written By: Chris Black Directed By: David Livingston Notable Guest Stars: Jeffrey Combs (Shran), Molly Brink (Lieutenant Talas), Randy Oglesby (Degra), Granville Van Dusen (And…

The Enterprise is taken over by a group of Triannon religious zealots seeking to use Starfleet's advance weapons to destroy the heretic forces on their homeworld. Things go exactly as planned. No they don't. Episode Title: Chosen Realm Written By: Manny Coto Directed By: Roxann Dawson Notable Guest Stars: Conor O’Farrel (D’Jamat), Vince Grant (Yarr…

The Temporal Cold War story line isn't quite dead yet! Daniels pops back into Archer's life just long enough to send our Captain and back to 2004 era Detroit to stop some kind of Xindi plot. Episode Title: Carpenter Street Written By: Rick Berman & Brannon Braga Directed By: Michael Vejar Notable Guest Stars: Leland Orser (Loomis), Matt Winston (Te…

Similitude should be one of those episodes that comes to mind whenever you think of Enterprise. If there were a reward for most "Star Trek-esque" episode, this would be in the running. Episode Title: Similitude Written By: Manny Coto Directed By: LeVar Burton Notable Guest Stars: Maximillian Orion Kesmodel (Sim age 4), Adam Taylor Gordon (Sim age 8…

Our first cowboy episode! We both went into this episode expecting the worst, but ended up pleasantly surprised! Episode Title: Star Trek Enterprise 03x09 - North Star Written By: David A. Goodman Directed By: David Straiton Notable Guest Stars: Emily Bergl (Bethany), Glen Morshower (Macready), James Parks (Deputy Bennings) First Aired: November 12…

Quantum Leap's Sam Beckett awakens to find himself in the body of the former captain of the starship Enterprise, Jonathan Archer. Due to crippling amnesia, he is unaware that a decade has passed since the Captain's mission to prevent the destruction of Earth has failed. With the help of Archer's companion T'Pol and his former crewmates, he manages …

Following a lead given to them by Hoshi's captor from a previous episode, the Enterprise arrives at a kemocite processing facility supporting the construction of the Xindi weapon. Archer goes in all rough and tumble but accidentally makes a friend instead. Star Trek: Enterprise 03x07 - The Shipment Written By: Chris Black, Brent V. Friedman Directe…

Beauty and the Beast, but with Hoshi and no dancing furniture. Star Trek: Enterprise 3x06 - Exile Written By: Phyllis Strong Directed By: Roxann Dawson Guest Stars: Maury Sterling There Are Four Mics is a weekly Star Trek podcast discussing the Star Trek episodes and movies in stardate order. Join Chris Keeley, Jason Allen, Joe Heiser, and Joshua B…

Responding to an automated distress call, the Enterprise finds the Seleya, a Vulcan ship that entered the Expanse nine months previously, derelict in an asteroid field rich in Trellium-D. Rescue efforts go sideways, as the Vulcan crew is exhibiting classic signs of Zombie-ism. Star Trek: Enterprise 3x05 - Impulse Directed by David Livingston Writte…

Chasing another lead in their pursuit of the Xindi, the Enterprise crew takes on a passenger attempting to escape slavery. Turns out this Rajiin character isn't as innocent as she appears, as she begins gathering data on Archer and the rest of the crew using her super powers. Star Trek: Enterprise 3x04 - Rajiin Directed by Michael Vejar Written by …

Archer, Hoshi, Trip, and T'Pol contend with a contagion that mutates any it infects into a member of an extinct sentient species. T'Pol is left to fend off her newly modified and aggressive crew mates. Take TNG's Genesis and Voyager's Threshold, add two unhappy podcasters, and you'll get this episode. Star Trek: Enterprise 03x03 - Extinction Direct…

Disabled by a series of anomalies, the Enterprise is boarded by pirates that manage to abscond with most of their anti-matter. In pursuit of the pirates, the crew discover an enormous and mysterious sphere. Archer quickly takes things too far with their lone captive, but no one seems to notice. Cold Open The Enterprise is plagued by anomalies that,…

Six weeks into the Expanse and the Enterprise has little to show for it. Fortunately, a tip from a freighter captain points Archer and Co. to the possible whereabouts of a Xindi miner. Cold Open The council of Xindi races debates the significance of the Enterprise’s arrival in the Expanse. With the weapon still in need of testing, it is decided tha…

Season two has come and gone! We're just flying through the Star Trek franchise like it's nothin. Today we award our Star Trek Trivia Trophy, battle each other over best "Star Trek-ish" episode of Enterprise so far, and get a little salty with each other over a TV show. Our audio is a little off during this recording, thank you for your patience!…

Things get serious real quick, as Earth has been attacked by a mysterious species hailing from the equally mysterious region of space, the Delphic Expanse. Few options left to them Earth sends their flagship, Enterprise, to meet the Xindi threat. Cold Open An object decloaks as it approaches Earth and fires a beam slicing devastation across the pla…

The Empire never forgets. A Tellarite bounty hunter kidnaps Archer to collect the price on his head for escaping Rura Penthe, meanwhile, T'Pol makes everyone very uncomfortable aboard the Enterprise. === Cold Open Archer and Trip’s exploration of an uninhabited planet is cut short when a Tellarite vessel drops into the neighborhood and offers to sh…

After receiving news of the death of one of his former colleagues and rivals in the NX test program, Archer relates a story to T'Pol about a group of ragtag flyboys hoping to break the Warp 2 barrier. Star Trek: Enterprise 02x24 - First Flight Directed by Levar Burton Written by John Shiban and Chris Black Guest Stars: Brigid Brannagh (Ruby) Vaughn…

Enterprise takes another risk by introducing a second species ahead of known canon. Thing is, this episode was just so fun that any minor conflicts with the Borg introduction in The Next Generation are totally overshadowed. Star Trek: Enterprise 02x23 - Regeneration Directed by David Livingston Written by Michael Sussman, Phyllis Strong Guest Stars…

The Enterprise crew comes into contact with the Vissians, a race with three genders. One of these genders, dubbed Cogenitors, lead a life unbefitting a sentient being by most human standards, so of course Trip is gonna get mixed up in there. Star Trek: Enterprise 02x22 - Cogenitor Directed by Levar Burton Written by Rick Berman & Brannon Braga Gues…

Doctor Phlox is forced to confront prejudice on both sides when a member of a species his own once nearly decimated is dropped in his sickbay with radiation exposure. Meanwhile, planetside, Trip, Travis, and Reed go cave diving in search of some Denobulan geologists before a militaristic regime can find them first. Star Trek: Enterprise 02x21 - The…

This week we're taking a brief break from Star Trek Enterprise and introducing our newest project, Disco Night! A Star Trek Discovery podcast. We'll return to exploring Star Trek in stardate order next week. -- The crew of the USS Discovery finds itself on the wrong side of the Mirror with no way to get back to their own universe.…

Something a little different this week. Black Mirror gives us an episode that promises some Trek vibes. The Federation ship USS Callister, Captained by Robert Daly and crewed by the true withholders of his totally deserved recognition, respect, and admiration, boldly goes where no man has gone before. Check out the soundtrack for this episode. "Spa…

Travis temporarily returns to the family business after the loss of his father. Unfortunately a few on the Horizon aren't exactly excited to see fancy Mr. Starfleet return. Meanwhile T'Pol watches a movie. Star Trek: Enterprise 02x20 - Horizon Directed by James A. Contner Written by Andre Bormanis Guest Stars: Nicole Forester, Joan Pringle, Corey M…

Losing his case in a Klingon tribunal, the Captain of the Enterprise is sent to Rura Penthe, charged with crimes against the Klingon Empire. What's neat about this episode is I can save some time when writing the summary of Star Trek VI: Undiscovered Country when that comes around.. This time we're talking about Archer though. Star Trek: Enterprise…

The Enterprise is "consumed" by a vessel inhabited by hundreds of non-corporeal beings of light. Thankfully they only wish to share their incredible abilities with the crew! While Trip may have had the time of his life, Archer is a bit suspicious. Star Trek: Enterprise 02x18 - The Crossing Directed by David Livingston Written by Rick Berman, Branno…

Archer and Trip are wrongfully held aboard a prison transfer ship when they have the double misfortune of having their ship hijacked by an Enolian and Nausicaan committed to making their grand escape at the expense of everyone aboard. Star Trek: Enterprise 02x17 - Canamar Directed by Allan Kroeker Written by John Shiban Guest Stars: Mark Rolston, M…

Archer can't seem to get away with much these days without incurring the wrath of the warring factions of the illusive Temporal Cold War, and as it turns out, recovering a dead body from a 31st century time traveling ship is just the type of thing to set the Suliban (and now Tholians!) on his case. Star Trek: Enterprise 02x16 - Future Tense Directe…

Archer gets himself pulled into negotiations between the Andorians and Vulcans, a task everyone but the plucky captain himself seems to think is a lost cause. We start to see some tenants of the Federation shine through in this episode. Very exciting! Star Trek: Enterprise 02x15 - Cease Fire Directed by David Straiton Written by Chris Black Guest S…

In this continuation of the arc started with T'Pol's assault back in episode 17 of season 1, Fusion, we see just how deeply the animosity and disdain runs within the Vulcan culture for those thought to practice mind-melds. Also Phlox's wife, Feezal, has boundary issues. Star Trek: Enterprise 02x14 - Stigma Directed by David Livingston Written by Ri…

Trip has a not so friendly encounter with an Arkonian pilot named Zho'Kaan while testing the shuttlepod's autopilot, leading to a short camping trip on the surface of a moon. Not so bad on its own, but turns out it can get to well over 250 degrees in the daylight and both ships were damaged in the descent. Leading to Enterprise's very own Darmok/Th…

The new Seth MacFarlane joint, The Orville, premiered with what ended up feeling like a pretty strong episode.. At least to our tastes. While it isn't perfect, there is a lot to be excited about in this first episode. If they can hammer out some of the dings as the series progresses, this could be a wonderful and much needed addition to the landsca…

The Catwalk ended up being a pretty good Enterprise episode! The neutronic storm gives us some stellar phenomena for the crew to interact with, which is always fun. And there were a number of "Oh crap" moments that were very satisfying. We ended up a bit disappointed and perhaps confused that the writers established the Takret as thoroughly as they…

During a daring escape, Trip once again winds up in some adult situations when he's forced into close-quarters with a kidnapped Kriosian monarch. Back on Enterprise, Archer and T'Pol have a good laugh by dabbling in some light torture. We're operating with a skeleton crew for this week's episode as both Josh and Chris are out. Star Trek: Enterprise…

After an emergency situation forces Hoshi to use the transporter for the first time she begins to feel something is a little off. Turns out she's phasing--wait, no she's dying--wait, it's all Hoshi's dream? At least we learn something about Hoshi and she becomes a stronger character in the process, right? Oh, turns out that part was a dream I had. …

This episode feels much like an homage to the Original Series and The Next Generation episodes, Naked Time and Naked Now. We get to see a few characters act out of character, and some perhaps a little too in character? Either way it ended up being a lot of fun, and really, can you rate an episode that features the phrase "Reed Alert" very harshly? …

While investigating a pre-warp civilization, Reed loses his communicator. He and Archer return to the surface to search for it before it can disrupt the natural progression of this society, but are instead captured and interrogated as potential spies. Our ratings for this episode were all over the place, as were our feelings on Archer's strategy to…

T'Pol is contacted by the Vulcan High Command concerning unfinished business with the Ministry of Security. Archer gets a bit shitty with her about it, but eventually agrees to help her catch the rogue Vulcan agent, Menos. Our ratings for this episode were all over the place. There were some strong moments, some weak moments, and a little bit of no…

The latest Star Trek Discovery trailer released only a few short days ago. In it we see and hear a bit more about the Klingons, find Lieutenant Commander Burnham running through the darkened corridors of a ship, and see her sealed inside a set of forcefields. Beyond mention of a war, we really don't know too much about the series yet. But that won'…

Apologies, our audio is a little off for the first 6 minutes or, but it clears up after that! This episode felt a little off now and then. We attributed some of that to the fact that it was inspired by the 1960s film, The Magnificent Seven, itself inspired by the 1954 film, Seven Samurai. The format didn't fit perfectly into the Star Trek universe …

Name a few characters on Enterprise you love. I'd wager Phlox and Porthos are among them. Well this episode features lots of Phlox and Porthos! Though it ended up mostly ok. :( Archer's character kind of falls entirely apart this episode! There are some good lines, some fun scenes, and by the end, maybe we see some character development on Archer's…

After limping away from the minefield from last episode for the past four days, Captain Archer decides its time to do something he'd hoped would never be necessary. Send a distress call. Salvation comes in the form of rumors of an automated repair station nearby. While the crew thank their lucky stars, Archer finds this whole thing a bit fishy. ::S…

The Enterprise finds itself with a mine stuck to its hull after accidentally stumbling into a minefield placed by something calling itself the Romulan Star Empire. Before long, Reed soon finds himself skewered through the leg by said mine, and really begins to test the patience of his captain (and the audience) with his mournful "woe is me" attitud…

T'Pol tells Archer and Trip a story about the true first contact between Vulcans and humans on Earth, way back in 1957 in the small mining town, Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania. An episode that ended up delighting each one of your hosts! Enterprise 02x02 - Carbon Creek Directed by James A. Contner Written by Chris Black Guest Stars: Ann Cusack, J. Paul …

Welcome to Season Two of Star Trek Enterprise, guys! We made it! Archer and Daniels are poking around a library in the 31st century while back in the 22nd, the crew of the Enterprise is desperately trying to survive a Suliban occupation of their ship. Shockwave Part 1 was one of the strongest of the series so far, will part 2 keep it going? Enterpr…

Last time we finished up Season 1 of Enterprise, so this week we’re going to take a quick look back at the series so far; hand out awards for “best of” and announce the winner of the Enterprise Trivia Cup. Joe took home the gold with a sizable lead. Though Jason promises his victory will be short lived as we get into the later seasons of Enterprise…

The Star Trek Discovery trailer was released a short time ago and, like all of you, we had a lot of thoughts.. Regardless of your feelings, it's certainly an interesting time for Star Trek. As much as we love hearing ourselves speak, which is a lot, we'd love to know what your thoughts are! Seems like Star Trek changes direction every 6 months thes…

The Temporal Cold War heats up as Future Man and Silik continue to meddle with Archer's historic mission. The death of 3600 Paraagan colonists rests on Archer's shoulders, the Enterprise is ordered to return to Earth, and Crewman Daniels visits Archer despite shedding his mortal coil earlier this season. Season one of Enterprise wraps up in a big w…

The Enterprise crew finally make it to Risa, wrapping up the three episode arc that started with Fallen Hero. Archer settles in to do some light reading, Trip and Reed seek to expand their horizons, Travis tackles a local cliff face, and Hoshi practices her language skills on the local population. Of course this is a TV show, so nothing goes accord…

Star Trek: Timelines Hello and welcome to another episode of There Are Four Mics: A Star Trek Podcast. I am your host, Joe Heiser. We weren’t able to get together and record an episode discussing Enterprise for this week; so we thought we’d take the opportunity to try something a little different. The Star Trek universe is much more than just the T…