[DWF]

Spoilers

Quote

Six years in the future, an emotional Archer and the crew return to Earth to face the decommission of Enterprise and signing of the Federation charter, ratifying the newly-formed alliance of planets they helped forge, but first the officers must mount a daring, dangerous rescue to save Andorian Commander Sharan's kidnapped daughter. Meanwhile, far in the future, Troi suggests that Riker use a Holodeck recreation of this moment in 'Star Trek' history to search for some command insights.

[Anastashia]

Overall I'd have to say that I liked Terra Prime P2 better for a series finale, but that said there were some nice moments to this.

First though what I didn't like - wrapping this in the TNG scenario, especially the end wih Riker and Troi walking off to the TNG theme just before the end. Also the whole Shran storyline, it would have been ok in a previous ep, but here it was just a way to kill off Trip and in the long run totally unnecessary to the end of the story. That Archer didn't get to make his speech, although the one in Terra Prime P2 made up for it somewhat.

Good things - I loved the individual moments between the crew members, some very nice stuf there. While I didn't like the TNG part of the story the moments between Riker, as chef, and the crew members were also nice. Putting the one with Trip out of chronological order was a little jarring though. I also like the final montage of the "these are the voyages" scenes although doing it going backwards in time was also jarring. It did put the final emphasis on this series' ship though.

Sad to see this end, nice that for both eps tonight my UPN reception was above average. Made seeing these two eps more enjoyable.

[DWF]

It was a better ep. than I thought it would be and it had a nice tie in with TNG's The Pegasus, the sets looked GREAT, I wonder if they still had them in storage or made them for this ep. but it looked and felt like an ep. of TNG during Riker and Troi's scene, they had an incredible attention to detail in this one. But the ep. kind of jumped around a bit and Trip's death scene seemed alittle out of the blue. But I REALLY enjoyed seeing the various Enterprises in the final scene.

[NeuralClone]

I didn't see the whole episode (and missed last week's) but I LOVED the final shot of the ships with the voiceovers.

[scifix]

The ending was very nice. I'm not sure if they needed the uniform modification, especially with the name tags.

-Ray

[Datalyss]

DWF, on May 13 2005, 09:14 PM, said:

But I REALLY enjoyed seeing the various Enterprises in the final scene.     

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I would've like to seen all 7 Enterprises though:

1) NX-01
2) 1701
3) 1701-A
4) 1701-B
5) 1701-C
6) 1701-D
7) 1701-E

Overall, a fine way to end a series.

[DWF]

JohnnyBOB, on May 13 2005, 10:50 PM, said:

DWF, on May 13 2005, 09:14 PM, said:

But I REALLY enjoyed seeing the various Enterprises in the final scene.     

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I would've like to seen all 7 Enterprises though:

1) NX-01
2) 1701
3) 1701-A
4) 1701-B
5) 1701-C
6) 1701-D
7) 1701-E

Overall, a fine way to end a series.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You forgot one.

8) 1701-J

[Cardie]

This episode made me very angry. If we're going to say that "Terra Prime" was the series finale and this was the franchise finale, then work in the entire franchise. As framed, it pretty much identified the franchise with TNG. I realize that you can't do the voiceovers with the shows that didn't have an Enterprise, but some shots of Voyager and the Defiant wouldn't have killed them.

That Trip should die and Archer almost miss the signing of the charter because of their debt to Shran was fine, because Shran is the most important recurring character other than Soval (who had his moment.) But Shran's distress and adversaries needed to be convincing. A bunch of thugs thinking he had stolen a jewel he didn't was pretty lame, and having two "child in jeopardy" plots back-to-back wasn't a wise move.

I was waiting for Riker to go into objective mode, look over his shoulder at Chef, and show us Ethan Phillips.

Cardie

[Youkai]

It was okay. I thought all the TNG stuff stole the show though. This would have made a nice side story in the middle of a season; it didn't feel like a series finale to me. There are worse ways to end a series, I guess (I remember not being enamored with the Voyager ending at all) so I could live with this one.

I also agree that Trip's death was a little out of the blue. Perhaps if they emphasized the fact that they were low on time and that getting to the conference was the top priority a bit more, then Trip's actions to end the situation quickly would have made more sense. I think that was the reason why Trip did what he did, but I think it could have been handled better.

So not a bad ep. Since it takes place 6 years later, if the series had been revived, there's still would have been plenty of time left to tell stories.

[DWF]

Cardie, on May 13 2005, 11:03 PM, said:

This episode made me very angry.  If we're going to say that "Terra Prime" was the series finale and this was the franchise finale, then work in the entire franchise.  As framed, it pretty much identified the franchise with TNG.  I realize that you can't do the voiceovers with the shows that didn't have an Enterprise, but some shots of Voyager and the Defiant wouldn't have killed them.

Cardie

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It would have nice for DS9 and Voyager to have had voice overs on their credits as well, that's one of things I didn't like about those two, I thought their opening credits needed voice overs.

[Christopher]

Yeah, that was a great ending montage. It brought a tear to my eye. Somehow it ameliorates the ending (for now) of filmed Trek that it was presented as a beginning. It's like we've come full circle, ready to start again. Bring on "The Cage!"

Speaking of which, I liked it that they updated the 2161 version of NX-01's bridge to make the graphics look a bit more like TOS graphics -- the screens with banks of blinking red, yellow and green lights, but with those lights being the same design of touchscreen buttons that have been used on NX-01 all along. A nice transitional idea.

In those final shots with the crewmembers in the audience for the speech, I could tell from the setup, giving us a slow sweep across the audience members behind the crew, that those were the ENT production staffers, doing last-episode cameos like they did in the DS9 finale. Also we saw a few more staffers depicted on the Pegasus roster Will was looking over.

It was cool to see the Enterprise-D sets recreated. They were pretty authentic, but I think there were a couple of glitches. The fore wall of the observation lounge seemed too bright. And while we're at it, let's face it -- Frakes and Sirtis just can't pass for the way they looked in late 1993.

And I'm very glad that it was Dennis McCarthy who scored the finale, bringing it full-circle. He scored the first episode of TNG as well as the ENT pilot, and has done more Trek music than anyone else, so it was only right that he be the one to close up shop. It does follow precedent, though; every other modern Trek series has had the pilot and finale scored by the same composer (McCarthy for TNG & DS9, Jay Chattaway for VGR).

I imagine a lot of people are going to be upset about the death of Trip, even though we know it's six years after the rest of the season. I expect the same kind of reaction that Tasha Yar's death evoked, a sense that it was somewhat pointless, coming at the hands of a bunch of petty thugs. One could've wished for something more grandiose in scope, or more tied in to continuity -- say, disarming a leftover weapon of mass destruction from the Romulan War or facing one final attempt of temporal cold warriors to assassinate Archer and derail the Federation. But I guess that could've taken away from the real point of it -- that he was loyal to his "Cap'n" to the end.

Shame about him and T'Pol, though. It seems odd that they never got together. (Assuming the holodeck's reconstruction was accurate in all the personal details....)

[Datalyss]

DWF, on May 13 2005, 10:00 PM, said:

You forgot one.

8) 1701-J

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I forgot about that episode.

I don't see why there's no F thru I though.

[ZipperInt]

I am pretty disappointed that this was the series finale.

The Riker/Troi aspects of the episode seemed to be given more importance than the Enterprise parts, taking time away from the Enterprise characters - even though 'Terra Prime' did an acceptable job as a finale for Enterprise, the fact that we (sort of) know what happens to the main characters in the near future because of this episode makes 'Terra Prime', and thus the Enterprise finale, much less satisfying.

As Cardie mentioned, if this episode was supposed to be the franchise finale, you'd think they'd at least make a damn attempt to work in the other Trek series - even if Voyager and DS9 weren't focused on exploration alone, they still represented as many of the Trek ideals, and deserve just as much recognition.

I would have much rather preferred a tweaked version (less information about the Ent. character's futures, and Voyager and DS9 nods) of this episode as the 3rd last of Enterprise, followed by a slightly reworked 'Terra Prime' as the series finale. This would have allowed for both a franchise finale and a strong Enterprise finale (which it damn well deserves), instead of a decent Enterprise "finale" (Is it really considered a finale if its not the last episode?!) and a mediocre series finale, but I suppose it's too late for changes now.

Kinda sucks that Trek is going to be leaving on a sour note for me, especially as a literally grew up with it.

This post has been edited by ZipperInt: 14 May 2005 - 12:45 AM

[Christopher]

ZipperInt, on May 14 2005, 01:43 AM, said:

The Riker/Troi aspects of the episode seemed to be given more importance than the Enterprise parts, taking time away from the Enterprise characters....

You know, I keep hearing that objection but I don't get it. Sure, Riker and Deanna had a few big scenes, and Riker inserted himself into a few conversations, but the majority of the screen time was occupied by the NX-01 events.

And the point of the episode was to show that the events of ENT were important to people living in the time of TNG. Even the parts that were about Riker and Deanna were also about the legacy of Archer and his crew, and how that legacy has inspired "the next generation(s)." I don't think that diminishes the ENT characters. I mean, yeah, it means we spend less time with them, but they had their moments of closure in the preceding episode.

And it was important, I think, to wrap up the series by showing the legacy of NX-01. Especially since so many skeptics and outright bashers have spent so many years filling the Internet with theories about how the series would all be erased from history or was in an alternate timeline or whatever. That made it necessary to make a definitive statement about this show's historical relationship to the others, to show that it was all of a piece after all. Even without that, I think it makes sense to end a "historical" Trek-universe show by exploring the legacy these characters left.

Quote

- even though 'Terra Prime' did an acceptable job as a finale for Enterprise, the fact that we (sort of) know what happens to the main characters in the near future because of this episode makes 'Terra Prime', and thus the Enterprise finale, much less satisfying.

Mmm, yes and no. As I said, it's sad to know Trip and T'Pol never got together, but we know Archer has a bright future, we know that the crew is going to continue exploring and thriving aboard NX-01 for six more years, and we know that the partnership negotiated in "Terra Prime" blossomed into the Federation.

Quote

As Cardie mentioned, if this episode was supposed to be the franchise finale, you'd think they'd at least make a damn attempt to work in the other Trek series - even if Voyager and DS9 weren't focused on exploration alone, they still represented as many of the Trek ideals, and deserve just as much recognition.

I can see that point, but on the other hand, the show was called Enterprise, so it made sense to focus on the shows about ships of that name. Even though it was a finale of sorts to the modern franchise, it was still an ENT episode as well.

And everything's a tradeoff. Sure, including DS9 & VGR nods would've been nice, but inserting them arbitrarily would've undermined the flow and unity of the closing montage. You can't have your cake, etc.

[Atavus]

Christopher, on May 14 2005, 04:12 AM, said:

In those final shots with the crewmembers in the audience for the speech, I could tell from the setup, giving us a slow sweep across the audience members behind the crew, that those were the ENT production staffers, doing last-episode cameos like they did in the DS9 finale.

Going by a picture that is up at the official site, writer Andre Bormanis was sitting behind Hoshi, Reed and Travis and Manny Coto apparently got to be a background Admiral.

Edit: I found a screencap. The Reeves-Stevens are in the back row and Gar R-S is looking up at Marina Sirtis and Andre Bormanis is sitting next to Judith R-S, the smiling redhead. Manny Coto should be the clapping Admiral in this shot sitting in front of the R-S. Here is a nother clear shot of Mr Bormanis.

This post has been edited by Atavus: 14 May 2005 - 08:29 AM

[DWF]

Christopher, on May 13 2005, 11:12 PM, said:

It was cool to see the Enterprise-D sets recreated.  They were pretty authentic, but I think there were a couple of glitches.  The fore wall of the observation lounge seemed too bright.  And while we're at it, let's face it -- Frakes and Sirtis just can't pass for the way they looked in late 1993.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I thought they looked just fine, maybe even alittle better than how they looked in Nemesis.

[Jean Prouvaire]

Christopher, on May 14 2005, 01:12 PM, said:

Speaking of which, I liked it that they updated the 2161 version of NX-01's bridge to make the graphics look a bit more like TOS graphics -- the screens with banks of blinking red, yellow and green lights, but with those lights being the same design of touchscreen buttons that have been used on NX-01 all along.  A nice transitional idea.

I noticed that too and liked it (but forgot about it by episode's end... maybe just got used to it quickly).

Quote

It was cool to see the Enterprise-D sets recreated.  They were pretty authentic, but I think there were a couple of glitches.  The fore wall of the observation lounge seemed too bright. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There was something off in the textures generally and dimensions or architecture of the corridors I thought, but I couldn't put my finger on it.



Also, I'm going to take the liberty of reposting a long blog entry here (as I've done on TBBS... I'm shameless) about "These Are The Voyages..." and a Enterprise fanfic project I've gotten involved in.



Star Trek has been my constant companion for close to thirty years now (I started young). It's been an outlet for creativity, a facilitator of friendships and, lately, a far too attractive way of procrastinating away the hours. My interest in Trek has waxed and waned, but never gone away.

With the screening of Enterprise's "These Are The Voyages..." some hours ago the franchise ends an uninterrupted tenure on TV that extends back to 1987. The failure of Nemesis makes the timing of an eleventh feature film uncertain (though there's no doubt in my mind that one will happen). Eventually Trek will probably also return to TV but in what format nobody yet knows.

All six extant shows will of course continue to live on in re-runs and home theatre, and few fans have seen every episode. But even 700 hours of on-screen adventures plus a similar number of books, comics and games may not be enough. So where will fans - those non-casual viewers who won't fade away from the franchise now that its flagship format has entered a hiatus of unknown duration - where will they get their new Trek fix from? Pocket Books will continue to publish new works but Pocket has recently cut back its schedule.

They'll get it from themselves. Fans creating for fans.

I hope that just as in the 70s, where much of the fannish impulse manifested itself in DIY adventures, the next few years will see a resurgence in high quality fan fiction and fan films. These have never gone away of course but have played second fiddle to the official product. This may well change. I hope to contribute to this in a minor way.

But first, a few thoughts on "These Are The Voyages..."


* * * *


It was okay. It wasn't awful, it wasn't brilliant. Was it a fitting finale to Enterprise and farewell to televised Star Trek? Not really, but it did sum up much of the creative philosophy that has governed the franchise (with some notable exceptions) over the past two decades: take no chances and make no changes.

I admit to getting a kick out of seeing the Enterprise-D again, though the interior sets didn't look quite right for some reason. The exposition setting the episode within "The Pegasus" was handled a lot more smoothly than I expected. (And it's weirdly nice that Ron Moore got a mention in both the pilot and finale of a show he had no involvement in.) Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis did an admirable (and unenviable) job fitting bodies into characters supposedly ten years younger. The Spiner cameo was cute though - with respect to the "rain check" gag - wasn't Data over his literal interpretation of metaphors by the seventh season? There were many cameos and nods in the episode and I didn't mind any of them, even the ones that should have produced a cringe, like "Here's to the next generation".

Yet the central conceit of Riker observing and interacting with the NX-01 crew to solve his deeply personal "Pegasus" crisis didn't ring true. It was, to appropriate John Billingsley's now-infamous observation, "somewhat flaccid and dramatically arbitrary" . I dare say that if you watch "The Pegasus" and "These Are The Voyages..." back-to-back the tone of both episodes is very different. I didn't buy that Riker would embark on such an elaborate holodeck fantasy at this point.

But... it was just an excuse to get the two eras to interact, so I put that reservation aside and ran with it.

But by setting the entire NX-01 story within the holodeck it undercuts the dramatic reality of the characters. Yes, they're just fictional creations, but now they're fictional recreations of fictional creations. I was constantly asking myself: Did this "really" happen to the crew? How much of it is "real" and how much did the holodeck computers extrapolate? Maybe the "subjective mode" bits (when Riker interacted with the characters) were less "real" than the "objective mode" scenes? Not a good way of building viewer empathy in the episode though I suppose you could argue it makes for an interesting post-modern intellectual exercise.

And for a story which was set a full decade after "Broken Bow" and six years after "Terra Prime", what dramatic changes did we see in the characters and ship? The uniforms have name tags now. That's it. The uniforms have name tags. Archer is still captain. Tucker is still chief engineer. Everyone is still at the same positions and even at the same rank they were ten years ago. Poor Ensigns Mayweather and Sato. We all thought Harry Kim had a tough time climbing the ranks. What about the relationships between the characters? Nope. T'Pol and Trip are still on the same break they initiated earlier in season four. Phlox still has his three wives. Archer and Tucker are still best friends. For all intents and purposes "These Are The Voyages..." could have been set just after the previous episode (which I believe was the original intention).

Ironically it's Shran, a guest star, who who is best served by the six year flash-forward. He at least got another mate and a daughter. But even his mysterious disappearance was just another copout. He can resurface and bark the same bark how the "pink skin" "owes him". There is no significant evolution in the dynamic between Shran and Archer, only superficial changes to Shran's family and career. But at least he got those superficial changes.

Okay: Trip's death. It didn't move me. Maybe because of the distancing effect noted above. Maybe because we never actually saw the moment of death (arguably a bold choice but ultimately a wrong one). Maybe because Connor Trinneer, normally so at ease in the role, totally overplayed the scene where he blows the Rigellian intruders - and himself - up. Maybe because that whole setup felt forced. After ten years working together with his CO and close friend he actually tells the bad guys to knock Archer out rather than finding a way of working together with him to overcome them? Maybe because it was a meaningless death, both within the story and because it's no big deal killing people off in the last ever episode. And - unlike Tasha Yar who suffered a similar fate - he didn't even get a poignant farewell scene.

Harsh criticisms, but justified I think. Still... the cast and guest cast did a good job (Trinneer's over-acting in the one scene aside), the line paying off the "is Reed gay?" rumours produced a guffaw, and technically the show looked as good as ever...

And that short, final sequence when Stewart started narrating "Space. The final frontier..." as the Enterprise-D moved through the asteroid field. It was obvious what they were going to do. Segue into the original Enterprise flying past as Shatner continues the speech. Segue again into the NX-01 as Bakula completes with that most famous of split infinitives: "To boldly go where no man has gone before."

Yeah, I finished the episode with tears in my eyes. Once a Star Trek fan, always a Star Trek fan.


* * * *


Enterprise is my least favourite Trek incarnation. The first two seasons were intolerable - almost never bad as such, but stupefyingly bland. If Voyager was TNG-lite, then Enterprise was Voyager-lite. A copy of a copy of a copy. Star Trek as muzak. The third season shook things up a bit but it was the fourth season that got me interested again. Under Manny Coto's creative direction Enterprise embraced its unique status as a prequel. We began to see more events shape the course of future history. Fan-wank? Continuity porn? Hell yes, but fun. Dramatically the stories took an upturn, though they never attained the quality of its predecessor series. No "Before and After", no "The Visitor", no "Lower Decks", no "Amok Time". But we did get episodes executed with unabashed panache: "Affliction", "In A Mirror Darkly", shows which made me laugh out loud with the joy of being a Star Trek fan.

Some months ago I got involved in a fan project to continue Enterprise in the form of "virtual seasons". Virtual Star Trek: Enterprise is affiliated with the well known Virtual Star Trek site which hosts the long-running Trek virtual series Renaissance, Frontiers and the forthcoming Star's End. All these series are script-based, meaning they look and are structured like Hollywood teleplays rather than written in narrative prose. (Unlike fan-films however Virtual Enterprise won't go to the next step and actually film the stories.)

Virtual Enterprise will endeavour to produce episodes on a regular schedule. We've plotted out in broad strokes where the series will head in its fifth, sixth and final seasons. We will be dramatising the Earth-Romulan War. We will see how the United Federation of Planets was born. We aim to tell bold, innovative stories that will continue to take advantage of Enterprise's unique prequel status, that don't neglect certain characters, that will allow people to grow and things to change, that take chances in subject matter and form, that emphasize meaningful drama over meaningless action or technobabble, and that remain true to the fundamental ethos of Star Trek in all its incarnations.

We've set our goals high. Will we meet them? I hope so - but we're none of us professionals so our abilities may not match our aspirations. But it'll be fun. Heck, even the professionals miss their mark sometimes.

Over the next few months you should see more visible progress on Virtual Star Trek: Enterprise. Two major steps will be the launch of a website and the release of a two-part episode (set between First Contact and "Broken Bow") that acts as a prequel to the virtual (and real) series.

If you're interested in getting involved - as a writer, editor/beta reader, artist or other capacity - we'd love to hear from you. We have a committed core team, but can always use more talented people. Please send an e-mail to Jay Everington at nx84 AT yahoo DOT com or me at prouvaire AT gmail DOT com.

[G-man]

I saw the episode, and ...

Here it goes:

1. The insertion of Riker and Troi constantly reminded me that these events being depicted were being recreated and distracted from the drama that might have been there if it were shot as a straight episode. Trying to tie it into TNG's Pegasus felt forced. By having Riker spend all that time mulling over where his duty lie, consulting the ship's counselor, vacationing on the holodeck didn't work within the circumstances of Pegasus, largely because he was isolated from the rest of the crew by the admiral and his oath, and he'd be obsessive about resolving the tactical issue of finding the Pegasus as well as the moral/ethical one that was thrust upon.

Finally, TNG never had the emotional resonance for me that TOS did, so this seemed a particularly unnecessary florish.

2. The we must hurry home for the decommissioning and so Archer can deliver his speech aspect rang flat ...

3. The whole Shran lost his daughter thing, meh.

4. The death of Trip, meh. That a ship could catch up and beam people aboard to suddenly capture Trip and the Captain without the security team being ready to repel boarders seems too much of a stretch, especially when you have magic sensors and scanners that can detect vessels light years away.

5. Talks with the chef ... felt forced.

In fact, in retrospect, my whole complaint with this entire episode is that everything felt contrived, you could see the author's hand throughout the entire episode, and it featured the most cliched element to try to convey a story that ultimately served to weaken a decent TNG episode, and drained any sense of drama that might have existed inside the ENT episode.

My Final Rating: Sigh. (Wow, OK, Eh, Sigh, Blech)

/s/

Gloriosus
the G-man Himself

[GiGi]

^ Well put, G-man, I agree completely!

[Nonny]

I found it enjoyable. Hadn't watched since season 2, hadn't expected to watch the end, but I was visiting friends and watched with them. None of us had a much of a clue as to what was going on, but we liked it anyway. I especially liked the way Sirtis's RL accent poked through her character voice now and then. That led to a rant on how sucky it must have been for her to have developed the character voice, as a half-human half-alien person, to cover her Cockney, just to have the person playing her mother, the alien half of her parentage, sound totally human drama queen. That made her character's accent sound like it must have been a speech impediment. Well, at least to this whilom aspiring dialectologist.

Nonny