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"These Are the Voyages..." is the title of the 98th and final episode of the UPN television series Star Trek: Enterprise. It aired on May 13, 2005 in the United States. Written by series creators Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, the episode is the series finale of Enterprise. With no new Trek in the fall of 2005, the 2005-2006 season was the first year without a first-run Star Trek series since 1986-1987, which was the year prior to the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Plot details Described by Berman and Braga as a "valentine" to Star Trek fans, the episode featured guest appearances by Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis as their Star Trek: The Next Generation characters William Riker and Deanna Troi. Brent Spiner, another TNG veteran who had guest starred earlier in the fourth season of Enterprise, had a "speaking, off-screen" role as Data. In addition, while it is archived footage that was reused for this episode, Captain Jean-Luc Picard can be seen at the very beginning of the first scene, talking to Data. Also appearing was Jeffrey Combs as his recurring Enterprise character, Commander Shran. "These Are the Voyages..." was set in the Star Trek: The Next Generation era where Commander Riker and Deanna Troi are using the holodeck to view the events surrounding the birth of the Federation. The events they view are set six years after the events of season 4 of Enterprise. In this episode, Captain Archer and the Enterprise return to Earth to sign the documents that will establish the United Federation of Planets, at the same time the Enterprise is due to be decommissioned. Meanwhile, Charles "Trip" Tucker faces a tragic fate. Throughout the rest of the episode, Archer gets ready for the signing of the Federation charter and give birth to the United Federation of Planets. This episode takes place on board the Enterprise-D as well as a number of locations from the Enterprise era. The Riker/Troi events, therefore, predate the developments of Star Trek: Generations. In particular, the sequences featuring Riker and Troi take place within the timeframe of the TNG episode "The Pegasus". A number of cosmetic changes to make up and costume designs have been made to depict the Enterprise crew six years after the events of the previous episode, "Terra Prime". Most notable is another alteration of T'Pol's uniform and hairstyle. The Starfleet uniforms worn by the rest of the Enterprise crew also underwent modifications, with the addition of a new Starfleet logo patch, and a name tag. In the final scene, Archer's dress uniform no longer has a tie and his sleeve stripes are similar to those which appear "later" in the original pilot episodes of The Cage and Where No Man Has Gone Before. The Enterprise bridge was also modified slightly, with the addition of instrumentation not seen in earlier episodes, as well as several modifications introduced on the Columbia (NX-02). Controversy and fan reactions Elements of this episode generated tremendous controversy among fans of the series. As details of this episode emerged, fans became divided in their views of what could be the final televised Star Trek episode for the foreseeable future. Advance criticisms (before the episode was actually released) ranged from displeasure over the fact the final episode would be written by the unpopular Berman and Braga to outrage over the decision to tie the series finale into Star Trek: The Next Generation. Those voicing criticism also included cast members of the series, with Jolene Blalock (T'Pol) stating in a Toronto Star interview and again at her first science fiction convention appearance in March 2005 that she considered the finale "appalling." * Blalock's reasons for thinking this were not widely publicized -- different reports apparently preferring to focus on her "it's appalling" sound bite without elaboration, leading to speculation as to why she was upset with the finale. Brannon Braga stated later that at least some of the cast unrest was based upon the decision to devote part of the final episode to characters from TNG.* This was later confirmed by Blalock in a Boston Herald interview which indicated that she was upset over the finale being essentially a TNG episode, although she stated that she understood the rationale behind the idea.* Anthony Montgomery was also not pleased with the finale and has been quoted as saying "I feel there could have been a more effective way to wrap things up for our show as well as the franchise as a whole. It just seemed to take a little bit away from what the Enterprise cast and crew worked so diligently to achieve over the past four years, do you know what I mean?" * (Montgomery also stated that he has made it a point never to watch this episode, as he knew it would only deeply upset him). In response to some of these criticisms, series producer Manny Coto stated that he personally considered "TATV" to be a coda rather than the true finale of the series. He considers the two-part story "Demons" and "Terra Prime" that preceded it was the actual finale of the Enterprise storyline according to Coto, and series producer Mike Sussman. * * The Enterprise events of this episode take place in 2161, about 6 years after the previous episode. As such, the production team took some efforts to show changes that had occurred with the passage of time. Fans have noted two changes that might have been expected that did not occur, namely that the characters Travis Mayweather and Hoshi Sato, each having now served on Enterprise for ten years, are still wearing the insignia of ensigns, the lowest commissioned officer rank. By way of comparison, in the U.S. Navy, an ensign typically serves 2 years in grade before promotion to lieutenant (junior grade). However, there is precedent in Star Trek for a Starfleet officer to remain at the same rank for many years. Harry Kim remained as an ensign throughout all seven years of Star Trek: Voyager, for example, while Voyager also set a precedent by having Lt. Tom Paris demoted to Ensign. The static ranks of Sato and Mayweather may have been due to the same type of costuming error that gave Miles O'Brien an incorrect rank in the TNG finale "All Good Things..." or may have been the result of an as-yet unchronicled adventure. Also, in many branches of the military, there are many people who are career privates, this could be an example of that. The editors of the Star Trek fiction line at Pocket Books have stated that this issue may be addressed in the upcoming Enterprise Relaunch series of novels. However, many fans complain that these main characters were never well developed, and depriving them of any future character development in the series finale was a final insult. The death of Engineer Trip Tucker was another object of controversy. In the context of the episode's plot, Tucker's death was intended to illustrate the challenges of "breaking of orders" and serve as a lesson to Riker, who was likewise considering breaking orders. However, many fans claimed that Trip's death was unnecessary to the execution of the plot. Connor Trinneer himself (who plays Trip) said during a convention appearance at Dragoncon's TrakTrek during fall 2005 that Trip has "gotten out of much worse scrapes than that", and that Trip's death seemed very forced. The writers, Trinneer contended, wanted to kill off a character to "get the fans talking", and Trip was killed off not for any plot reason but simply to manipulate fans by killing off a popular character. However, Trinneer said that since the series was ending anyway, he felt that they might as well have killed off his character.* Still another aspect of the series finale that fans were greatly disappointed in was that one of the main plotlines in the episode is Archer working on his famous speech during the ceremonies of the founding of the Federation, yet the speech itself is never revealed. Some viewers complained that the episode overlooked any reference to the Earth-Romulan War, established in Star Trek: The Original Series as a bitter war fought from approximately 2156 to 2160. The episode "Balance of Terror" established that a peace treaty establishing the Neutral Zone had been signed, circa 2161, after both sides had suffered heavy losses. The Earth-Romulan War was also established as occurring before the founding of the United Federation of Planets. It has been suggested that this was deliberate in order to leave the door open for a potential Enterprise movie taking place during the conflict. At one point it was rumored the proposed 11th Star Trek feature film (see Star Trek XI) would take place during this era. Another problem rests with a line spoken by Troi near the end of the episode, in which she comments that the treaty being signed "would lead to the Federation," implying it was not actually the Federation charter that was being signed, and thus the six-year time jump wasn't necessary from a story point of view. Another criticism is that in the third season, it was clearly stated that the "United Federation of Planets" was founded in 2161, so Troi's dialog appears to be a script error (either way, it is a criticised move). Some fans noted that the actors seemed to be playing exaggerated caricatures of themselves, this may be due to the holodeck setting of the episode, or due to subpar script writing. However, not all fans agree with this opinion. Brannon Braga has suggested that the cast's displeasure with the episode was obvious throughout. Despite these criticisms, some fans nonetheless consider the episode to be one of most touching and powerful episodes in the history of the franchise. Many of the subtle motifs (such as Archer's pause to look back at T'Pol and embrace her before signing the Federation treaty) are particularly touching. This particular scene is a favourite amongst fans of the episode not only for it's clear reflection of the Kirk/Spock relationship from the TOS, but also because it quietly acknowledges Archer's deep affection for the Vulcan. Although the romance between Trip and T'Pol was widely criticised by viewers, this bittersweet moment has often served to remind the audience of Archer's prior suggested attraction to T'Pol, unreciprocated, and echoing Kirk's own inability to forge a successful romantic relationship due to his dedication to Starfleet. The afore mentioned TNG elements of the episode are also considered by some to be powerful, as they further enhance the idea of Star Trek as a rich tapestry of storytelling rather than a series of TV shows and films. The final segment of the series, depicting the TNG Enterprise, the TOS Enterprise and the Enterprise NX-01 soaring through space accompanied by the famous "Space, the final frontier..." speech narrated in sections by Picard, Kirk and Archer is considered by some fans to be the single greatest moment in Star Trek history. Enterprise-D remake errors The episode includes several errors in its re-creation of Star Trek: The Next Generation sets. Ten-Forward: Corridors Observation lounge Holodeck Exterior Trivia Pocket Books aftermath Following the conclusion of Enterprise, Pocket Books announced that it would be starting a new series of novels based upon the series, as a relaunch similar to what successfully occurred with the continuation novels based upon Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Although not considered officially part of this relaunch, the 2006 novel Last Full Measure (written by Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin) included elements that were intended to preview what Pocket Books' writers had planned for the relaunch. The novel reveals that Trip actually survived the events of this episode. It it not revealed how Trip survived, who ordered that his death be faked (based on Riker and Troi's reactions to the holodeck program, Trip's survival appears to be a closely guarded secret), or why. These questions will be answered in the next Enterprise book by the duo, The Good That Men Do, which will be available in March 2007 and will be considered part of the relaunch. Margaret Clark, editor of the Pocket Books Star Trek line, posted to the TrekBBS in early 2006 that she was not happy with "These Are the Voyages..." and in particular the way Trip's death was handled. An acknowledged fan of the character, she arranged for Trip to survive in 'real life' (in the framing story for Last Full Measure). Also, according to preliminary notes for The Good That Men Do, Section 31 is responsible for the coverup of Trip's survival. The novel involves Section 31 sending Trip to investigate rumors of a new Romulan warp drive which could threaten peace in the quadrant. In the process of faking Trip's death, the timeframe of the events seen in the finale episode was also altered; most of the events in it, such as Shran's involvement, were true, but they actually happened much closer to the 'present' of Enterprise. Only the signing of the Federation charter, and Archer's speech at the ceremony, actually happened when the episode says they did. Clark's decision was both supported and criticized by fans; it should be noted, however, that under rules set out by Paramount Pictures and Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, no Star Trek novel is considered canonical. | ||||||||
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