Enterprise writers raced to add Star Trek: The Original Series references
How Star Trek: The Original Series made its way into Enterprise
Easter eggs are common in Star Trek. It’s not unusual for one series to reference another, whether it’s to pay homage to the previous characters or simply to see if fans are paying attention. And some of them, like these mentioned by StarTrek.com, are so well-hidden, it takes an expert eye to pick up on them. But sometimes, those references show up because there’s some behind-the-scenes challenges going on. That’s what happened with the staff writers for Star Trek: Enterprise.
According to an interview in the Star Trek Communicator, writer Mike Sussman, said that some of the writers on the series like Andre Bormanis, Chris Black, and Sussman had a race going on “to get in original series references.” That’s how the Malurians appeared in “Civilization.”
"“Now, the Malurians are very funny, because they get wiped out by Nomad a hundred years later[in “The Changeling”]—so it was like, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to see these guys?’ So we made them the bad guys in ‘Civilization,’ the green lizard guys—they get their comeuppance a hundred years from now!”"
Mike Sussman wanted to fill in the blanks from Star Trek: The Original Series
The references served a purpose besides just being a game of friendly competition. Sussman said he wanted to fill in the blanks, to show how first encounters happened. Like where the Orions or the Tholians came from. Of course, not every question from The Original Series could be answered which is why we often just get brief glimpses, a nod to acknowledge those who came before.
Honestly, there’s no way we could learn everything about all of the aliens the Enterprise encountered in its many years of service, and I’m not sure that’s something fans of Star Trek would want. Maybe a short explanation here or there would work, but for the most part, fans want other series to remember what started the phenomenon called Star Trek. And the writers of Enterprise at least made an effort.