“Star Trek” is on the upswing in pop culture, with “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” playing a major emotional role in that resurgence. Engineered as a way to bring popular characters from the franchise’s past to a new generation, it has become one of the defining shows of the Paramount+ era.
Back in the early 2000s, another “Star Trek” series was tasked with introducing new audiences to the franchise. UPN and Paramount brought “Star Trek: Enterprise” aboard in 2001 with Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer. But with only four seasons, viewers have long wondered what happened to the Terran interstellar exploration’s ostensible frontman. If that last bit of terminology is new to you, then you’re not alone. “Star Trek: Enterprise” serves as a prequel of sorts to the larger franchise. Bakula’s captain leads Earth’s earliest efforts to explore other worlds and establish diplomacy among the stars.
Coming hot on the heels of “Star Trek: Voyager,” UPN was hoping for another long-running franchise favorite, and Paramount was happy to oblige. However, the decision to look backward in the timeline instead of pushing the story forward was a notable risk. The result is a show that thrusts Captain Archer into one of the most tenuous positions a lead character has ever occupied over the course of this franchise’s history.
Captain Archer’s Star Trek: Enterprise introduction
Arrcher’s father, Henry (played by Mark Moses), developed the warp five engine that made deep-space exploration possible. With this technology in tow, Earth can finally join the ranks of other societies exploring the larger universe. Early in “Star Trek: Enterprise,” it becomes clear that several factions want to prevent that progress. In the series pilot, “Broken Bow,” a Klingon vessel crash-landing in Oklahoma sparks an interstellar crisis. The Vulcans, familiar to longtime fans, do not believe Earth can be trusted with warp technology but still send an escort to manage the fallout.
As the prototype Enterprise (NX-01) lifts off in “Star Trek: Enterprise,” none of the hastily-assembled crew realizes that they have taken the first steps into a much bigger world than they could ever have dreamed of. Archer is going to have to be quick on his feet and learn on the fly because this Enterprise and its crew won’t have many of the technological comforts later crews would take for granted.
Captain Archer becomes admiral before the Federation forms
“Star Trek: Enterprise’s” series finale, “These Are the Voyages…,” shows Archer stepping away from the captain’s chair to take on greater responsibility within the United Federation of Planets. However, earlier in Season 4, Episodes 18 and 19, titled “In a Mirror, Darkly,” the series subtly teases Archer’s future.
In the famed mirror universe, Linda Park’s Hoshi rifles through some Starfleet records that were left on the USS Defiant. That vessel crossed into the Mirror Universe, a longtime “Star Trek” staple, where the Terran Empire seeks to exploit advanced technology. In an alternate universe, Hoshi and her comrades read the exploits of Captain Archer from One Hundred Years in the Main Universe’s Future. Eagle-eyed fans noticed on-screen text identifying Archer as “the greatest explorer of the 22nd century.”
Furthermore, Archer becomes an Admiral in Starfleet and even becomes Chief of Staff at Starfleet Command. The former captain became an ambassador before ascending to the President of the United Federation of Planets in 2184. Archer even lives long enough to attend the christening of the NCC-1701 in 2245. In doing so, Bakula’s Captain Archer becomes a foundational figure in the wider “Star Trek” canon.