4: Climbing On the Ceiling

The Suliban.

Each series has its signature villain, though it may not be the foe originally intended to be the thorn in our heroes' sides. The Ferengi were set up as the baddies on TNG. On Voyager it was the Kazon. And on DS9 it was… Rumpelstiltskin? When Archer set off on his first mission aboard the NX-01 he crossed paths with the flexible, yellow-skinned antagonists of Enterprise—the Suliban. In this episode of Warp Five, hosts Christopher Jones and Kate Walsh examine the Suliban to uncover their role in the series, how well they were utilised, whether they were terrorists or pawns, and if they were creatively at odds with the basic concept of the show.