Star Trek - 40 years old tomorrow!

This carbon-based unit is a fan of the show and its clones, but unfortunately I have not kept up with the new ENTERPRISE. Last I knew Archer had defeated the threat againsst Earth from the Xindi and their puppeteers in the Temporal War as well as setting the course of history back on track in World War II, and helped the Vulcans squelch a power grab by a human-hating faction, who tried to blame terrorists acts on a Vulcan religious sect to cause a lack of confidence in the Vulcan High Command.

Now, I tune in to the current ENTERPRISE and find Archer dressed like Kirk in a Kirk-era Starship at odds with other members of his crew, some of which seem to be from the era preceding TNG (between TOS movie spinoffs and TNG) or at least their alter-egos from that era, and Archer seems to be the villain!

What's up with that! I was so confused I never did sort it out, even after watching Archer die by poison from his Lieutenant/lover!

It seems to be an homage to TOS show where Kirk found himself in an alternate universe with a bearded Spock and a Starfleet which promoted through assasination. What was that episode?

I actually had thought the show had been cancelled last year and was surprised to see a new episode on the air. Was there a hiatus and/or network change?

Please, give me a rundown of the intervening events in a nutshell, someone!

Personally I liked DS9 the best. They had the best group of engineers and it was much more "believable" from a suspension of disbelief point of view.
And it had Rom.

You are exactly right with your reference to the alternate universe from TOS (and DS9). ENTERPRISE just randomly threw in a series of about 3 episodes completely in the alternate universe (i.e. all "Empire" with no mention of "Star Fleet") during the last season of the show. You can even get merchandise with pictures and logos from this universe. The show actually did end last year (or the year before?) - what you are seeing are reruns.

Which DS9 episodes involved the alternate universe? So, The Defiant that evil Archer finds in the STE shows is actually the same one used in DS9? How did it get back to Archer's time and into the alternate universe?

I guess I missed those episodes of DS9.

I couldn't remember the episode names so I looked them up on the website. In season 2, there was an episode named "Crossover", where Sisko and Bashir are pulled into a war between a tyrannical Bajor and the human slaves. Then in season 4, there was an episode named "Shattered Mirror" when Jake meets and interacts with his mother. I'm not sure if the Defiant that Archer find is actually the same on efrom DS9 - I often wondered about that myself.

OK, what did happen to the Defiant in DS9? Was it still in operation right up to the end, or did it get lost in a worm-hole or something like that?

It is a wonder how this man was able to pull his resoarces together in the upheival of our society during the actual script of this show. It was a mind blowing experience for all those non-science type persons. You know the ones, those of even our time frame now. The ones who do not believe in beyond the stars! They did everything they could to quail the growth of our science programs. Up to the burning of books and crucifieing the teachers. Now this episode was remarkable! To have a wife who was of another life force, that preyed on everything for their fluids. It reminds me of one of my former wives. I am sure everyone out there have seen and actually know of such persons. They drain a mans' life away by being such a high maintenance of a person. Spoiled rotten and unwilling to make a difference. Just want to suck the husband drie of all his will and energy. So sad to have seen her destroyed in the end. She was unwilling to make any type of compromise in changing her ways. Tragic.

I remember when I was a tot, my dad used to watch the shows as they came out. I thought they were so boring. The irony is that TOS is my favorite now. In the late seventies, I used to look forward to watching it every night after high school classes. Thanks DESILU for the show.