Did Star Trek: Enterprise Actually Have the Best Borg Episode?

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[@davidpumpkinsjr.5108]

Many people cite the Xindi arc as the shift in Archer's character, but I think it started here. Archer was, in many ways, an idealist who saw himself as a real-life version of a classic scifi hero like Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers or Captain Proton. He's convinced he can always save the day. Here, he's facing a swiftly escalating threat and quickly realizes he's outmatched. The man who thinks he can save everyone orders the Borgified Tarkalians blown out into space and abandons the research team ("There isn't anyone on that ship we can help anymore."). It's there when first realizes he is not a hero in a space opera; he is just a man with a job that's harder than he ever imagined.

[@bemasaberwyn55]

That's a great point

[@psychjay]

Love this analysis!!

[@VitriolicVermillion]

this is an excellent way of looking at it! you know, trek pays a lot of homage, sometimes, to the inevitable experience of failure. this was a kobayashi maru moment for him.

[@ryanbeverley1546]

It's also a really dark moment for the crew. When Archer tells them to fire and destroy the ship, they don't hesitate, and they feel relieved to win. But they then all deem to think "wow, we just murdered people". This moment you speak of that hardened Archer really hits the entire crew at the end.

[@glamourweaver]

She sees us when we’re sleeping She knows when we’re awake There isn’t any bad or good, just worlds for her to take

[@MichaelRainey]

_Regeneration_ also locks the Borg into a Shakespearean tragedy. You can see how this bootstrap paradox locks them into a closed time loop of trying to assimilate and being defeated by humans. The collective can't break free from their fate.

[@flyingfoamtv2169]

It also explains why they lost.

[@psychjay]

It also changes Q Who. Without Q the Federation wouldn’t have taken the Borg as the threat they are. The scramble to put a fleet together at Wolf 359 wouldn’t have happened or been extremely delayed. The Borg wouldn’t know who captain Picard was and wouldn’t have sought him out to gain his knowledge. An act that gave Riker and Data an in to defeat the Borg. It’s possible the humble the humans scheme from Q was him saving humanity knowing the Borg would have come anyways because of the message the Borg sent in Regeneration.

[@Defender7591]

"Regeneration" is to the Borg as "In A Mirror, Darkly" is to the Mirror Universe, in that Star Trek: Enterprise of all shows did easily some of the best work with both concepts. Regeneration is great because it serves as both sequel and prequel to First Contact, and that last scene with that ominous music in the background gives me chills every time: "Sounds to me like we've only postponed the invasion until, what, the 24th century. . .?"

[@lordpelagius5078]

Does retcon q from showing humanity the borg ad a lesson in humility to him giving humanity a warning of what is coming Which given his later chatecterisation towards humanity does kinda make sense

[@koini11]

Enjoyed this one and I agree it's an excellent episode. I think it might even squeak in over Q Who into my second favourite Borg episode. It has all the elements of the cast being over their heads and not realising it with the added body horror of borgification that hadn't been developed yet in Q Who. Only minus point for me is they find a way to de Borg Phlox quite easily (albeit painfully). Taking your philosophy of story over anything this isn't a massive issue but it does slightly diminish their threat.

[@ZoeMalDoran]

@@koini11 A method that only works on Denobulans, has a high risk of failure even if they survive it, and would likely have a much shorter window of opportunity against full-strength Borg than the partly-assimilated Tarkaliens who jabbed Phlox

[@matthiasnagorski8411]

​@@lordpelagius5078it's definitely in Q's mysterious character to pose his assistance as a challenge against humanity's foolhardy nature. And when challenged by the Continuum, he could always say he didn't "interfere" so much as "speed-up". Humanity was ALWAYS going to encounter the Borg. He just sped it up by a decade or so, and in a fashion that gave humanity just enough of an edge to stave them off.

[@TammyBeth1015]

I would add to that also, for all the mockery of "fixing" the Klingon discrepancy, the arc about the Augments does a lot to flesh out the whole thread between Khan's people and Dr. Bashier's secret. I can only imagine what the show could have been if Manny Coto had been there from the jump.

[@DouglasJohnson.]

I had no idea I'd be getting a Borg Christmas carol this year. I'm going to learn all the words and sing it each and every Christmas from now on. Thank you, captain! Happy Holidays!

[@pongmasterphong9055]

something tells me Ai might have had a hand in this Star trek holiday tune, but if not, very clever and talented my hats off to him!

[@Phrancq]

This is another example of things to add to my paradoxical Enterprise list. Aside from the first TOS Mirror episode, there hasn't been a good use of the mirror universe. Except for Enterprise. After DS9, nobody has used Section 31 properly. Except for Enterprise.

[@MusicGeekery]

My only issue with In a Mirror, Darkly is that I would've liked to see a full season of it. There was so much potential to explore with that.

[@captainarcher2]

I beg to differ in one respect. Discovery does the evil, darkness more realistically and brutally than any other Star Trek !!

[@lennierofthethirdfaneofchu7286]

@@MusicGeekery My issue is that _Enterprise_ was only four seasons. It was an episode that cutely tied in "the Tholian Web" from TOS. If _Enterprise_ was a full seven-season show, "Mirror, Darkly" would have been an interesting change-of-pace for the show. Instead, we get two less episodes about the foundation of the Federation.

[@MusicGeekery]

@lennierofthethirdfaneofchu7286 oh absolutely, don't get me wrong, it had no place being plonked in the middle of an already quickly dwindling run. I just would've liked a concrete look at how we got the Terran empire, and why the ship designs stayed the same despite supposedly stealing Vulcan tech

[@rickjohnston8957]

Well. Voyager couldn't use them, due to their unusual circumstances.

[@cameronhobson]

There's a pretty easy solution to why it took so long for them to adapt to the modified phase pistols - it's a combination of relatively archaic technology that they had no built in defence for, and they aren't connected to the primary hive (or even a sub-hive with a Queen), so their responses are slower.

[@gigagian]

I like the idea of borg adaptations being the product of them all mentally sitting down together inside their hive-mind and working out math problems on their TI-84 calculators they got grafted to their brains. It would take longer with just 12 of them or so working together.

[@rickjohnston8957]

That explanation is totally logical and makes perfect sense!

[@WFierce]

Ah, the paradox of Enterprise, where the fan service, ratings seeking episode does a better job of conveying the purpose of the show than most normal episodes. Humanity on the frontier, outclassed by a superior opponent they're woefully unprepared for, but finding a way to succeed and providing a reason to keep exploring.

[@philiponeill6903]

Couldn;t agree more, Steve. "Regeneration" is in my top 5 ENT episodes. Watching the scientists trying to wake up "the ice aliens" just had me sitting forward, yelling "No! You idiots! Vaporise them!"

[@Howlrunner82]

Enterprise is "the only ship in range" ? This will never be a thing ever again once earth build it's Starfleet😅

[@johnnzboy]

"Cinematic literacy is good for more than giving people with no actual accomplishments something to be snobby about." This is what I come to these videos for ;)

[@Drekal684]

Yep, that remark about rules in storytelling at the start of the review hits home to me. I've always felt that you can break any writing rule you like - so long as you know why the rule exists, and you are breaking it in a way that actively facilitates the story being told.

[@lennierofthethirdfaneofchu7286]

Isaac Asimov wrote a short story that started with a writer and his editor having a disagreement on how the story the writer was working on should go. The writer says to his editor "I know this professor who is working on a program to write things using the rules of story-making; let's feed my story into his system up to the point of disagreement and see how it proceeds." The system uses a chimpanzee's brain as an electronic computer isn't sophisticated enough run the algorithm. As a demonstration, the professor feeds in _MacBeth_ to the chimp up to Hamlet's soliloquy. The chimp then produces the soliloquy word-for-word _except_ that it changes "to take arms against a sea of troubles" to "to take arms against a host of troubles." The professor explains that Shakespeare used a double metaphor, which is against the rules of good writing. They then put in the SF story and he chimp continues it the editor's way. The writer tells the editor "the chimp is blindly following rules; great artists know when to break the rules. It corrected Shakespeare." The editor agrees to let the writer do the story his way and leaves. The professor asks the writer what he would have done if the chimp continued the story his way, and the writer replies "I expected it to do it my way."

[@rickjohnston8957]

Yes. As a writer (particularly of science fiction) I totally agree.

[@krazyglue60]

@@lennierofthethirdfaneofchu7286 I remember that story! The moment when the chimp types: * * * And they’re both *shocked*, because that’s one of the writer’s distinct writing traits, indicating he’s about to switch things up in the story!

[@gearandalthefirst7027]

16:55 They also specifically inject 2 pointy bits into your neck, exactly the way vampire bites are portrayed

[@pies765]

Didn't expect that singing, great voice man

[@GSBarlev]

I didn't think he'd go for that high note, but he went for it, and he hit it!

[@leokim2998]

​@@GSBarlevit was beautiful🥹

[@danielmcguire3590]

...and yes, the Borg version of 'santa Claus is coming to town' would be both adorable and terrifying

[@rickjohnston8957]

Yes, thanks for your "Christmas Subspace Rhapsody" of the Borg.

[@patrickdodds7162]

In less than 5 minutes, the opening sequence of DS9's "Emissary" wipes the floor with every post-DS9 series' take on the Borg. The Battle of Wolf 359 presents a truly cinematic take on Trek's cybernetic villains, but shows the human toll while we see a sobbing, screaming Sisko being pulled away from his dead wife. Nothing, not even ST: FC, can touch this one SCENE when it comes to illustrating the full horror of the Borg on a massive scale and personal as we see Sisko break down into a weaping, inconsolable heap years later in front of the Prophets while whispering: "No. It's not linear..."

[@TheBrad574]

Thank you for reminding me of the series start. It was a great foundation for Sisko, and a different sort of competent but reluctant Trek officer.

[@seanirl9552]

That unnamed bolian was the hero of that intro, getting Jake to safety then dragging Benjamin to an escape pod. We never even found out his name

[@frankandstein8618]

I'ts not linear...

[@frankandstein8618]

*It's

[@mooniejohnson]

@@seanirl9552 Apparently it was just "David Jones." Weird Bolian traditions... 😉

[@kevinkeeney9418]

I like how Phlox cures his nanoprobe infection using a tool not available in later Trek series: his crude, primitive futuristic MRI chamber.

[@Jadefox32]

considering Denobulans are depicted as more resistant to Borg assimilation or at least Phlox is we basically can understand why. Humans and Tarkalians are basically incapacitated until the last few moments leaving no real room for such methods

[@cygryl]

Honestly this was a wonderful shot of life for the Borg as a threat. They finally felt as deadly as they do in Q Who, and Best of both worlds.

[@smarimc]

Hot take: Emissary is the best Borg episode. It's about a man whose life was destroyed by the Borg during a frantic and ultimately hopeless attempt to stop them, discovering new meaning and purpose after years of grieving. When the "why do you exist here" line of questioning fully lands emotionally, it is simultaneously heartwrenching and cathartic, and serves as a powerful reminder to continue living.

[@meiketorkelson4437]

I like this hot take. Don't 100% agree, but it's good food for thought.

[@thomasprislacjr.4063]

Oooooooooo!!! That there is some dayum fine legalism to clearly win the debate!! Never thought about DS9 Pilot! Lol.

[@rickjohnston8957]

Yes. People often forget that the DS9 pilot episode was DS9's only episode with the Borg.

[@jhteague6676]

Just because the Borg appear in Emissary doesn’t make it a Borg episode. Like you said Emissary is about a man whose life was destroyed etc. It’s not about the Borg. What makes a Borg episode? Maybe those that portray the Borg as a major threat…

[@DarthLocutus0]

I like how "Regeneration" essentially puts every Borg story in the chronology of the show from here up through "First Contact" into a massive 300-year time loop. The message sent from here reaches the Collective, and prompts them to start looking at the Alpha Quadrant... and then they notice those idiot Hansens followed a Cube home, and think "Okay, maybe there's more to these people" and start poking around more and more, culminating in the loss of Federation and Romulan bases in "The Neutral Zone", and they start to gear up for an invasion. And then Q sends Picard and Friends to J-25 for an early warning, which in turn might speed up the Collective's plans and causes "The Best Of Both Worlds", and when that fails they take some time to plan out a new strategy - which gets pushed up *again* by the war with Species 8472, causing the second attack and "First Contact", which in turn leads to the two drones and sphere wreckage that kicks this episode off. Time Loop Complete.

[@LightyKD_]

I LOVED this episode of Enterprise. Hell, I loved all of Enterprise and would toss money at Paramount for another 22nd century Trek with MORE space politics! BTW, Steve, I know Trek is your thing but have you considered making more Babylon 5 videos? When considering the times we're in, the show feels even more relevant today. I would love to see more of your take on B5!

[@deanthemachine8879]

It’s A Wonderful Borg

[@rickjohnston8957]

Yes. Merry BORG-mas(s destruction)!

[@rollinitiative6583]

The writers used an old horror technique from the great Alferd Hitchcock to generate suspense. He shows a ticking bomb to the audience under the dinner table but the characters don't know it's there. The audience also doesn't know how much time is on the timer. In this case the audience knows the borg are the vehicle to build the suspense and tension. I really loved the writing here and it was a great episode.

[@bodhimind108]

I caught this right as it dropped,35 seconds ago. And here I was, thinking that I was going to go to bed early.

[@matthewrobbins663]

Same here, but an hour later

[@KameronJ7]

Santa Steve dropping Enterprise analysis down the chimney.

[@charlieevergreen3514]

I like that you have “108” AND “bodhi” in your name.

[@bodhimind108]

@@charlieevergreen3514 Thanks. I love it too.

[@ScottLuvsRenFaires]

Wow, Steve has a pretty good singing voice.

[@AndrewD8Red]

Steve's always desperate to show off his singing. I wish he'd hurry up and release an album already.

[@mooniejohnson]

Comes with the Borg implants.

[@jackmalvern2394]

One more thing. My two rules for life are #1 follow the rules, they're there for a reason. Rule #2 know when it's time to break the rules or you'll never get anything done

[@AsheLucia]

Rules only exist for those too stupid to break them.

[@SensFins]

And now I want to hear The Borg's version of "Santa Clause is Coming to Town!"

[@Tuaron]

For a second there, I thought he was going to say "Santa Baby". Not sure which'd scare me more.

[@rickjohnston8957]

@@Tuaron I can just imagine the lyrics! And it's title would probably be: "The Borg Queen's Claws are Coming to Town!" Her "claws" being her two nanoprobe injection tubules!

[@griffruby8756]

How about "all I want for borg day is my two wrist tubes"?

[@LostieTrekieTechie]

Damn that Borg hymn makes me want to join the Borg. Communal singing is intoxicating.

[@Mindwerkz]

I'd want to live just before the events of Next Gen. Everything's as close to Utopia as it ever would be.

[@andyb1653]

I only "hate" fan-service when it's done in a lazy fashion. Fan service can be delicious when it's done well, competently written and properly thought out. Merry Christmas y'all

[@patrickdodds7162]

"Relics" and "Trials and Tribble-ations" prove your point to the letter! However episodes like those are few and far between.

[@josebrown5961]

“Regeneration” ham fistedly does a decent job. I was a big fan of Enterprise and saw this episode as it aired. If you don’t think too much it works perfectly.

[@andrewgreenwood9068]

When fan service is bad it is distracting or pulls attention away from the current story. When it's good it can tie different parts of a series together and elevate both the current story and the one being referenced.

[@rickjohnston8957]

Yes, like it was in "Regeneration." I agree.

[@rickjohnston8957]

@@patrickdodds7162 And don't forget "Sarek" & "Reunification" from TNG.

[@TheBrad574]

5:56 Boss: Could you date them? Scientist: Yes. This debris has been here for around a hundred years. Boss: Could you date me? Thank you Steve for this first Christmas gift.

[@danescott2188]

Woah, my potatoes picked a good time to finish cooking.

[@docweidner]

Happy Holidays, Steve. Clever and well sung lyrics on your Carol. Sounds like something you might want to release as a KZbin short in September or whenever your local Lowes starts putting out holiday lights and inflatables to start the holiday season.

[@stevegeorge6880]

This video not only provides the case for regeneration as one of the best Borg episodes but also gives me a classic new Christmas carol at the end

[@Alex_Meyer_1311]

Thank you for the „Borgspace Rhapsody“ at the end 🎄👍🏼

[@196cupcake]

Kind of a plot hole for the Enterprise-E to not collect all borg stuff before going back to the future. You'd think they'd have a way to scan for that sort of thing. The story kind of works if you swap out the borg for another bad guy. Part of what makes the episode work is that the borg are treated as a force of nature.

[@rickjohnston8957]

I think the only reason that the Enterprise-E didn't do that, was because they were more concerned about being detected by the Vulcans, & further damaging the timeline.

[@DawnDavidson]

Steve, you totally should do that Borg carol up as a full fledged parody vid and release it as next year’s Christmas episode of your show. It’s perfect and creepy as hell. Thanks. :)

[@empirejeff]

Yes. They were actually scarry in this episode.

[@Wontoofree-k4n]

Loved the carol at the end. Very nicely done sir

[@jackmalvern2394]

Merry Christmas to you Steve. Thanks, love your videos. Keep speaking the truth my man.

[@Professor_Scott]

I am convinced that in the Trek episode of Futurama where Uhura explains that Trek fandom was reorganized into a religion, she was referring to you, Steve. Given that we're both Atheists, I find this incredibly heartwarming.

[@qwopiretyu]

You mean the vast migration of Star Wars Fans?

[@DawnDavidson]

@@qwopiretyuthe Star Wars trek, as opposed to the Star Trek wars … 😂

[@jgrayson1940]

The song at the end was beautiful, Steve. Just beautiful. Brought a tear to the eye.

[@LittleGuyer]

The Casper bit sounded like something straight out of a John Oliver segment and I love it. 23:57

[@OpinionsNoOneCaresAbout]

The question I always had (which was probably answered but has slipped my mind...in fact I think I've asked people before and had it answered...) was "Phlox figured out a way to resist assimilation, but didn't make ANY record of it?"

[@u83rj1]

I didn't actually know about the backstory of Casper the Friendly Ghost. I was just going by the "fan-theory" made up by Bart Simpson that Casper's the ghost of Richie Rich.

[@thork6974]

The 'dead child' explanation is only in the movie; the people at Whitman were unhappy about it but got overruled by Spielberg and Amblin. In the comics, Casper is merely a juvenile noncorporeal being.

[@josephmorgan3058]

I love the Borg Carol. Also, I don't hate the Picard Borg arc. But as someone who survived the desert between the last TOS and the Wrath of Khan. (I've blocked out the memories of The Motion Picture. My shrink says it's how I cope with the trauma of going thirsty for so long only to be offered a drink at last, then tasting the piss.)

[@darwoodtechnology]

The main thing I always liked about Enterprise was seeing the various mini star nation/empires that would form the core of the Federation being at each other's throats. Like seeing the various warring kingdoms of Europe back 100 to 150 years ago before NATO and EU came along. Made the Federation feel more important as everyone is the area is later like "None of us want to go back to that so we got to make this Federation thing work."

[@rickjohnston8957]

Excellent historical analogy! I totally agree!

[@nathanjohns254]

Well done on the "Oh Holy Night" parody at the end of the video! Certainly made me chuckle while stuffing my kids stockings?

[@EddieCaplan]

What a friggin weird way to wake up on Christmas morning. Like when our kids were little, jumping on our bed: join us at gift tree unimatrix zerooooooooo!! Well Merry Christmas to you too.

[@IAMtheSpaceNinja]

Steve, I just have to say, I thought your Borg Christmas song was the best thing EVER. I'm a big fan of parody music like that. Love it. 29:20

[@dougc190]

What I like about it is he actually finishes the job and destroys the ship, unlike other starfleet vessel we've seen

[@EarlJWoods]

Great analysis of an episode that pleasantly surprised me back when it was first broadcast. One aspect of the episode you didn’t mention is Brian Tyler’s terrific score, making “ Regeneration” one of several Enterprise episodes that somehow escaped Rick Berman’s preference for “sonic wallpaper.” Loved your Borg carol, though-you have a great voice!

[@CuriousJourn]

ya know am having a f**king misrable christmas, but this video legit perked me up today, esp for the unexpected singing. Keep up the good work. it takes a tremendous ammount to make me smile too! and you know, your voice wasn't so bad at all!!!!!!

[@leonpeters-malone3054]

I'd argue it's even better for one who's got some background in the series. I just wish they perhaps made it more obvious in some aspect. The drones were damaged, they were never at their full potential. They were still recovering and it was still so overwhelming they couldn't do anything. I'd also say I don't think Steve here has fully credited the horror elements here. It's not just the mystery or the power imbalance. It's also the cues and the timing. It's use of the Borg is deliberate and chosen with purpose. It's so very deliberate about what the Borg are. It's not a shoe horning, it's a deliberate and tailored appearance. It uses their strengths and identity constructively. It builds on a foundation with driven intent. That's what I find a lot of Borg eps miss. It's just Borg and it's just the Borg.

[@jaklinhyde]

It’s wild that I literally watched this episode the night you put this video out 😂😂 I came across a clip of regeneration here on YT and said let me go and watch it again. ENT is my favorite trek series followed very closely by DS9

[@MrSkills123]

Merry Christmas Steve, thank you for all the entertainment!

[@doomedwit1010]

That's the key to good fan service. You can enjoy it without any background. It just adds depth or texture if you catch it. Afterall character in a show referencing something from a previous season is basically fanservice. Continuity vs fanservice is a blurred line.

[@EmmaDelamare]

Merry mid winter festival of your preference, brief mortals!

[@aaronsugar7228]

I wish they had "Short Treks" back when this episode was done. I'd love to see the "Mission Debrief" with Archer and crew trying to describe what happened. Same with the episode that had the funny tushy-headed aliens that kept talking about making a profit...

[@Chris-g9g8d]

I appreciate your show. Love the Star Trek stuff and the variety. Politics, Star Trek and Christmas. All of it!

[@hiccuphufflepuff176]

For the carol at the end on Christmas, you get a like. That was something no one in my family could ever think of or understand.

[@danblanks3190]

With regard to your singing skills, Steve, you are an *excellent* reviewer...

[@zodszoo]

Good show, annnnd I totally had to stop reading a document at my desk to fully engulf myself into your Borg Christmas Carol. Thank you for that! 🎵🎄🧟🎤🎶

[@blackm4niac]

Saw this video and was like "wait, Enterprise had a Borg episode?" As someone who skipped Enterprise, I then decided to watch this episode and I have to say, you're spot on. Especially the fanservicy part of it. Yes, the Borg being on earth during Archer's time doesn't make sense at first, but then they subtly remind us of the first act from First Cont-Act, where the Enterprise-E (still the coolest looking Enterprise, fight me!) destroyed the Borg Sphere that the Queen used to travel back in time in hopes of defeating the humans before they defeat them. The movie never says, that they cleaned up the debris from that exploded sphere, so it makes sense that some parts of it crashed into the arctic and got frozen over, effectively putting it into stasis. I love where that one scientist explains, that she found enough scrap to determine, that it must've come from a spherical object. I love the little fake out with the guns, that they have to protect against polar bears and makes us think they might use them against the Borg, which doesn't happen. Part of the reason this episode works without having to know who the Borg are is, because nobody in this episode does either. Those who know who the Borg are instantly recognize the peril the researchers are in the moment it is revealed, that the drones are in the process of healing their apparent case of frozen deadness, but those who don't soon find out just how dangerous these things are. We are constantly, but never overwhelmingly introduced to everything you need to know about the Borg in order to understand just how utterly screwed everyone will be if they don't deal with them. And how at the end, even the protagonists understand just how deep the shit is, they are currently in. Phlox telling Archer "if this don't work, make sure I'm 100% dead" and Archer shooting the researchers and realizing how far gone they are making him indirectly admit to T'Pol, that she was right about the futility of trying to save the researchers, that conveys alot. Archer learned the hard way, that his idealism, whilst coming from a good place, can be thoroughly misplaced in some situations. And it could potentially help him understand T'Pol's often pragmatic approach to problems, which do tend to sound really selfish. The only fanservicy thing that's kinda iffy is the whole "they sent a subspace message to the Delta Quadrant" thing. It didn't really need to be there, it doesn't add to the episode at all and suffers the most from the prequel syndrome you ascribe to the entire show, but thankfully, it doesn't subtract anything either. Though it would explain what happened in a later Q episode, where it is revealed, that Q sending the Enterprise-D to Borg space disrupted the original timeline of events regarding the Borg, who weren't supposed to be aware of the Federation and take an interest in them until a later time. That moment could've been when the subspace message from this episode actually reaches the Borg. But then again, if Q hadn't screwed with events and introduced the Federation to the Borg early, then the Federation wouldn't have started preparing for the Borg and so it stands to reason that the Borg could've overpowered the Federation easily when they were originally supposed to meet the Federation, meaning the whole "travel back in time to assimilate earth in the past to prevent losing to the humans in the present" plot that First Contact was about never would've happened and thus the message sent by the left behind Borg from that failed mission never would've existed to send the message that would've attracted the Borg to earth and now my head hurts.

[@air1fire]

Wow, what a holiday present! ❤

[@blackdog6969]

I actually love how this episode ties in why the Borg are headed towards Federation space in Q Who as well as giving context to how the Hansens knew about them before even the Enterprise did. It was genuinely as good as Q Who in my eyes because of the stakes at play and how they'd handle it. The only thing I don't get is why they didn't study the debris. I guess that's the JJverse movies

[@FiXato]

Can you explain how it works with the Hansens?

[@blackdog6969]

@FiXato They somehow knew about and were studying them before Q Who, as Annika/Seven was a child at the time. While not explained it would make sense that Starfleet kept records of these Borg, eventually leading to the Hansens researching them

[@GeeVanderplas]

Originally, they would have shown the Borg taking the debris of the sphere with them. It's how they manage to upgrade the transport so quickly. When admiral Forrest arrives at the arctic site you can see the debris is no longer there. Listen to the audio commentary on the dvd if you can, they explain it all there.

[@blackdog6969]

@@GeeVanderplas didn't know any of that, thanks. I'll try to find it

[@DarthLocutus0]

​@FiXato While we never get any explicit explanation as to how the Worst Parents In Star Trek knew about the Borg at all, there's a few possibilities that can be seen if you study the lore enough. 1 - that speech Cochrane gave is (probably) not the only time that subject came up. 2 - those El Aurian refugees from the assimilation of their world might not stay as tight-lipped as Guinan did. 3 - given both the loss of the Romulan outposts and the note in Dark Frontier about Seven's Idiot Gene Donors flying through the Neutral Zone, they may have gotten rumors from that region. Magnus himself even mentions that what data they have could have been rumors in that very scene, right before they stumble into a Cube. 4 - being the tunnel-visioned morons they are, the Hansens could very well have been pointed in this direction by Section 31 as a way to make sense of data they had from the first three options.

[@presto4548]

I would like to point out that this episode proves that the Queen's plan in First contact WORKED! It was a few years off but her plan as a whole... worked. She got her message out...eventually and the borg make it to the alpha quadrant to poke around before saying "Yeeeeh....we got this". Q knew what was up and tried to prepare Picard for it but he was too...Picard to make a difference. It was Janeway that had the balls to end the Borg.

[@AbiNoelCarter]

I don't know why I only just found this one, but that borg Christmas carol just gave me a real bright spot in the middle of these first terrible days of Trump and I really thank you for all the work you do here. Also: As someone who took a turn trying to make the Borg scary again for the purposes of a low-key friend game, I quickly became aware of why, I think, the Borg have failed so frequently as villains (especially in VOY) -- while remaining what honestly, has to be nightmarish to writers. They aren't a story of "man v. man" - but of "man v. nature." They should be treated like your hero is trying to survive a twister/wildfire, as originally envisioned. The second I had to come up with things for my players to do, I had a BIG problem: The OG borg suck as "fun" villains. You can't talk to them, they don't have ways players can bribe or outsmart, they will spend every single moment they are in the room doing the same exact thing: "try to assimilate you or die." Q Who episode is partly so excellent because that the Borg are *secondary* villains. One who indeed, is so indifferent to our presence that invading their ships becomes comically simple. The main villain is Q -- who can, does, and should have endless amounts of charismatic screen time facing off with Picard -- which means that the borg don't have to be entertaining/chasmatic and the scenes of them as zombies are simply chilling. But that story was already told, and it was told perfectly. So how do you do it making them the main villain? NextGen writers also ran out of figuring out how to do it. Without Q around, the writers couldn't write scenes with the captain engaging in witty repartee or inspiring speeches -- which is Jean Luc Picard's like...whole *THING.* That's even why it's so scary when Guinan says you can't reason with them -- like, "how in the world could PICARD win this one then!?" is at least in the back of a viewer's mind. So their first attempt at bringing them back is turning Picard into Locutus. This gives the Borg a voice but also essence making his superpower of "winning via inspirational speech" literally what the enterprise crew is now fighting against. Then they went with giving the Borg a voice with the Queen -- which works in the context of First Contact *barely*, because it capitalizes so much on beloved character Data and "why is he a good AI but they are a bad AI?" This episode works for me because it resumes treating the Borg like a battle against nature/zombiepocolypse. It's solid horror with fun light fan-service sprinkled through telling a good story. But it's not the "best" one, because the best one is just always going to be the one that invented them as a plot device to tell an excellent battle-of-wills between Picard and Q, throwing in a little "horror of the complete unknown in deep deep space."

[@stevenkuski5916]

I think it is a good prequel episode because it provides extra context to future events without changing the actual events. In my head cannon the signal from the transport arrived in the delta quadrant and the Borg dispatched the cube before the events of Qwho. Thus in Qwho Q was not revealing the federation to the Borg thus imperiling them, he was informing the federation about the existence of the Borg, prompting the Federation to begin preparing. If Q had not done that the federation would not have been prepared and would have been destroyed. This episode changes Q from a villain in the original interpretation of Qwho into humanities guardian angel.

[@pvoss07]

The terrific score by Brian Tyler in a one-off was very effective as well…

[@Canoby]

I can't sign off on this being the best Borg ep but it's certainly on the list, and had no right to be as great as it was

[@mikedoucette8581]

Happy holidays Steve. I loved the carol.

[@yeenmachine206]

I loved your mentioning The Thing, it's up their with Alien as my favorite horror movie

[@SidheGaliza]

My dad watched TOS back in the day, didn't like TNG and never heard of DS9 or Voyager. His next favorite series is Enterprise, because he really liked Scott Bakula. So when this episode came up, he didn't have any idea who the Borg were. But he still really liked the episode, and as you said, the threat of the Borg as monsters landed just as well for someone with no context for them. Another positive for the episode, which probably won't mean much if you don't like Voyager but it's still fun to note, is that this episode makes the backstory of Seven's parents make at least some sense. They're essentially the people looking for Big Foot these days, piecing together random tidbits of lore and history in search of a boogeyman. It's one of those many moments where Star Trek as a whole manages to keep some coherence between the series, often by complete accident.

[@SandyRiverBlue]

Thanks for the carol! I really enjoyed it. On a side note, the lyrics, "Except your fate or seal your doom"...sounds very much like several job interviews that I've had. LOL.

[@LearnEnglishCanada]

Great episode! Good trick to use the crashed time travelling Borg from “First Contact”. The Borg seemed much harder to defeat after this if they can come back to life.

[@deSloleye]

The prequels give an opportunity to reask what would happen if you're characters see a new villain for the first time, with less, or when the threat is less developed. It's important that they get away without giving much up about what makes them so dangerous, otherwise the previous shows would already know about them. That means stealth, thrillers, or a completed annihilation without leaving any remnant to study. Pretty much what they did in that episode

[@FordCooke]

I loved this episode and all of it's zombie movie tropes it gave the Borg teeth again. Also the way Scott Bakula played the whole "something is familiar with this" was really good.

[@mholsather]

Thanks for a great year of content Steve. Appreciate it

[@Shamino-do4oy]

Agreed, Regeneration is one of my absolute Favourites. You mentioned it, its like a horror movie. The Setting at the beginning is like in The Thing, spooky. The Music is also some kind of dramatic here and there. Love it.

[@KerbyKlay]

Thanks for his wonderful Christmas gift Steve!

[@supergirlvideoclips894]

It's better than TNG's Descent two parter too

[@saladinbob]

No, the _Q Who_ did. No Queen, not interested in our biology, just our technology and if you got in their way, they'd just step on you. What was great about is that the Borg were originally meant to be an insectoid species but became what they did because of budget constraints. _Q Who_ inverts the relationship because now it's the Ants stepping on humans. The Borg in _Q Who_ are the closest Star Trek has ever come to a progenitor species, akin to the First ones in _Babylon 5._ Sadly they declined in each episode after because there had to be a plot contrivance on how such an all-powerful species could be laid low by the lowly Federation.

[@UncleSpellbinder]

I've been a subscriber to your channel for years. I love your videos, both Trek and non-Trek. As for this video, I agree 100% on all your points. Fan service sucks... in general. But there are a scant few times where it works. And this Enterprise episode is a prime example of where fan service actually service works. As you said far better than I ever could... this episode is a great story, period.

[@cthulhug]

Merry Christmas, brother.

[@pureego1553]

the christmas song at the end did not have to that hard 🤣

[@williamjackson6705]

Excellent examination of one of my favorite Trek episodes. When it premiered, I must have watched it at least 3 times that night.

[@matthewreuker2755]

If you view regeneration as simply a continuation of the first contact movie (were the Borg travel back in time to CHANGE the timeline) but from the perspective of the people of the past, it still works.

[@ShikiKiryu]

Perfect thing to watch whilst bed-ridden at home alone this Xmas morning of it's upload to pass the time :3 ST:E gets better with age, I wish people gave it more of a chance when it was finally finding its feet.

[@NoWells91]

The guy that finds the icicle Borg was a college professor of mine. Unfortunately I hadn’t watched Enterprise until after I graduated so I never got the chance to annoy him about it lol

[@pike100]

Your Borg song was outstanding!

[@wheresmyjetpack]

"Cinematic literacy is good for something other than giving people with no accomplishments something to be snotty about" OOOH SHOTS FIRED

[@strathausen]

I've just watched this episode for the first time thanks to you!

[@santesia6222]

Merry Christmas and a happy new year. Loved the song, you have a good singing voice .

[@Redmage913]

For me, the fan service provided in the Enterprise episode works because of how well the episode is written. It’s an entirely free move from First Contact, and they wrote it to make sense. It’s just a standard horror episode where the audience screams NO, DON’T DO THE THING!!!

[@DawnDavidson]

I could have called it “Roundhay garden scene” - 😂 That’s an interesting reference! Well … very nearly interesting… 😂

[@dannycenters1915]

Yes Steve! This episode is my favorite Borg episode besides Best of Both Worlds! It makes them actually menacing again and scary.... not only is it one of my favorite Borg episodes... I think this is maybe My favorite Enterprise episode! I've never commented on your posts before but yeah lol...Star Trek is my first comment.. I've been watching for a while now and I enjoy the content you release! Politically and especially the Star Trek material 😎 Continue on sir!

[@jasonlundberg1083]

Massive applause for the song!

[@jeffreyrobinson6988]

Somehow I missed this episode of STE on its first run. Viewing it after watching this review I think it's the best one of the entire series. It has themes from so many classic sci-fi films, The Thing (1951), It the Terror from Marshall, Alien and more.Great writing and direction.

[@hartthorn]

This episode also sparks an intriguing train of thought that I would be fascinated to see explored elsewhere. The Borg are, in many ways, the snowball threat. Part of what makes a Cube so damn terrifying is how much BANDWIDTH that thing has to tackle any given problem. The "we have reserves" mentality it can employ simply because it has the resources to do it. But if you look at what these two initial drones act like, it gives some inkling as to some limits to that potential. When it's just this handful of Borg, they seem to straight up lack the mental faculties to attempt communication. Even with their nanomachine capabilities, they seem limited in what technology they can make by what technology is already around them. Which makes sense! In more realistic settings you can't just Gilligan's Island stuff. Half a coconut is not the same as a radio dish. These Borg are trying to build a race car out of stuff they dug out of an Amish barn by comparison. So it'd be interesting to see something like a full doomed planet story. Have a handful of drones crash onto a planet that isn't even warp capable. Some near-human species that is in the middle of their late stage industrial revolution. Maybe even go whole hog and have them be in the middle of a WW2 parallel as well, and part of the drama is seeing all the different factions start waking up to the new threat and having to navigate making alliances with former mortal enemies. And in this setting, the Borg suffer the limits of what materials are available to them to an even starker degree, but at the same time the native population have even less tech to handle the Borg's worst elements. And through this prolonged interaction, you can see the Borg slowly expanding their capabilities. At first, they are this nameless, voiceless shadowy threat. Almost on the level of a cryptid. But as they gain more drones, build more infrastructure, the tech gets better but so does the logistics. The first time anyone hears "We are the Borg, resistance is futile" would have entire rooms of people just shitting their pants non-stop. And I think that would make for a fascinating limited run miniseries. Like, make this some 10 episodes project with a medium budget for Paramount+, directly established to be done and OVER on that 10th episode. I think it could have legs.

[@simonmoody8400]

Throwing fate on the bed and grinding on it - Thank you Steve, that was sheer poetry of thought and word..and a nice little Christmas bonus laugh