“Unexpected” 20th-anniversary reflections

Starfleet is known for its willingness to lend a helping hand to ships in need, and the same can be said for the Enterprise in those early days of humanity’s space exploration. The discovery that a cloaked alien ship is leaching energy from the NX-01 is met with compassion rather than anger, but Trip Tucker gets more than he bargained for when he ventures over to help the Xyrillians.

In this episode of Warp Five, hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing continue our 20th-anniversary retrospective that takes you through all of Star Trek: Enterprise, one episode at a time. In this installment, we explore “Unexpected” and how humans learn the hard way that, when dealing with first contacts in deep space, even good intentions and innocent interactions can have serious consequences. We also discuss how this lighthearted story—heavily panned by media and fans of the time—further establishes Trip’s personality and helps the writers develop his character as the series progresses.

Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Alien Environment (00:01:45) Early Holodeck Reveal (00:09:06) Innocent Interactions (00:18:37) Pushing Forward in Its Time (00:24:39) Phlox and T’Pol (00:28:27) Klingons Too Soon? (00:33:57) Critical Reception (00:39:49) Closing (00:43:55)

Hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing

Production C Bryan Jones (Editor and Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer)