“North Star” 20th-anniversary reflections

As they explore the Expanse in search of the Xindi superweapon, the Enterprise crew runs across a planet inhabited by humans. Living in a town that looks like it was yanked right out of the 19th-century Wild West, these humans love their whiskey and hate the locals. Archer learns that they were brought to the planet by the Skagarans, an alien race that was sourcing slave labor from Earth in the 1860s.

As conflict between Archer and the sheriff deputy grows, he takes action to save a teacher who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for teaching Skagaran children to read and do math. And while he cannot take the humans back to Earth right away, Archer leaves behind materials to help them fill in the lost centuries of progress and build a better society.

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 continue Season 3 with “North Star” as we discuss the story's classic roots, its message about prejudice and isolation, and how it works as a breather within the Xindi arc.

Chapters
Intro (00:00:00)
Quite a Contrast (00:02:32)
A Reminder for Archer (00:11:25)
Contrasting Westerns (00:16:20)
Casting for Success (00:22:47)
A Positive Ending (00:26:19)
A Literary Return (00:32:05)
Final Thoughts and Ratings (00:32:50)
Closing (36:30)

Hosts
C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing

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