“Fortunate Son” 20th-anniversary reflections

When a Warp 2 freighter named Fortunate sends a distress signal, the Enterprise is sent to assist. But when they arrive, they find that the crew doesn’t want help and are holding a Nausicaan prisoner. A tug-o-war between Archer and the freighter’s acting captain sheds a light on the rift between Earth’s past and future in space as Starfleet and Boomer culture collide.

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 “Fortunate Son” and how the story serves as a transition point for humans in space. We discuss the importance of Boomer culture to the setup of the prequel story, football in space, and how the experience with the Fortunate advances the slow formation of a code of behavior that will guide how mankind operates in deep space. We also ask what the series loses by allowing Travis to fade into the background after a story such as this and whether Nausicaans should be showing up on Enterprise.

Hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing

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