I didn't see a single episode of "Enterprise" on television. My entire experience watching the show was via DVD, knowing the ultimate outcome, and after the first season cancellation of the show was inconceivable, but now that I have seen the fourth season it is fully understandable.
"Enterprise" managed to put together two good seasons with the first and third, and two seasons that certainly beg the question; What went wrong?
Normally reviewing TV shows on DVD gets more and more difficult as the seasons wear on since it pretty much is the same old, same old, but with "Enterprise" the seasons have differed so much from good to bad there is a little more to talk about. In the first season this show centered on exploration and the idea that this was the first Enterprise and it was heading out into the great unknown for the first time. Season two took a tangent and couldn't quite figure out what it was, while it still centered on exploration it felt as if it was grasping at something bigger but it couldn't figure out what it was. Season three, as I said only a few weeks ago in my review, followed one central story arc, which involved saving planet Earth, ultimately leaving audiences with a bit of an odd cliffhanger.
Now we have season four, which picks up at that odd cliffhanger. Season four could best be described as the season of two-parters as it seemed as if every episode ends with "To Be Continued..." Unfortunately, a lot of these two-part episodes lend nothing to the overall story of "Enterprise", they are merely just another episode in the run of the series, which worked for season one, but once you get to a fourth season you should have found your footing. The season trips and falls throughout and by the time it all ends the finale is in no way a savior... Talk about disappointing.
As for the DVD, this time around it is the same old story, a group of audio and text commentaries, a look back at season four, some "Enterprise" secrets, outtakes and a photo gallery. What is "season four specific" is a look back at the two-part "Mirror" episodes (two of the most out-of-place episodes any TV show has produced) and a "Links to the Legacy" featurette, which was probably my favorite of the entire bunch as it pointed out links to other Star Trek series. Since I am not a Trekkie, this was interesting, but then again it was also easily forgettable.
If I was to make a recommendation I would tell you to buy Season One and Three. Buy Season Two if you must, but skip Season Four completely, it will only depreciate the value of your collection. To think Star Trek fans wanted to keep this show on the air after this season is more than shocking, it is appalling.