Warp Five 18: An Unexpected Connection

Continuity and Consequences. When Star Trek premiered in 1966, episodic television was the norm. By the time Enterprise premiered in 2001, serialized dramas were becoming the standard. Today we expect stories that span a season or an entire series. We also expect that the events of one episode will impact those to come. For Star Trek fans, this is something that DS9 did brilliantly. So how did Enterprise, as the most recent incarnation of Star Trek on TV, build upon DS9’s example to meet the expectations for continuity and consequences? In this episode of Warp Five hosts Christopher Jones and Kate Walsh discuss various elements of Enterprise to see where and how the writers balanced the studio’s desire for self-contained stories with the need to build a rich and ongoing story that would keep viewers engaged over the course of the series.