monkee reviews 'These are the Voyages...'

First Impression: Appalling. Well-intentioned, but appalling none-the-less.

A month or so ago, Jolene Blalock said in an interview that the final episode of Enterprise was 'appalling.' I thought to myself, 'Oh, surely not.' I thought she was just miffed because TNG actors Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis had appeared in it. I like Blalock because she's a long-time Trek fan, but sometimes she can be a bit eccentric, so I didn't let her negative opinion of the finale bother me too much. It turns out she was right, though. Appalling was the exact word for this!

I don't read many spoilers, so here's what I had heard about the finale. I knew Frakes and Sirtis were going to be in it. I knew Riker was going to be studying a holo-program of a pivotal Enterprise NX-01 mission. I knew Shran and his daughter were going to play a part. I knew it was to be set about six years in the future. And I knew there was to be some sort of montage of all three Enterprises from all three Trek centuries. I was looking forward to it immensely! It sounded like it had tremendous potential! I thought that, when I turned off the television afterwards, I would feel...a little sad and nostalgic, perhaps, because it was all over for now, but also uplifted and happy to have been along for the ride.

You know how I felt when I turned off the television last Friday night? I felt dispirited and sick.

I'm not going to go on a big 'What were they THINKING?' rant. I know what they were thinking. I understand what they were going for, and I appreciate it. I think their intentions were good. I think they thought they were doing right by us. But I think they made a bad call. I'm disappointed, but I'm not going to hold it against them – and by them I mean the powers that be: Berman, Braga, Coto, and whoever else had a hand in it. I know they love Star Trek, too. Just because I don't like the 'valentine' they gave us doesn't mean I don't appreciate the effort. I just wish I didn't feel so awful.

Okay, I'm going to launch into the actual review now, and elaborate more on all of this afterwards, unless I'm moved to rant before then. Which I might be.
:P

The End of the Mission: T'Pol, Reed, Sato and Mayweather are talking on the bridge about the Captain's upcoming speech, the signing of an alliance charter, and the decommissioning of Enterprise after ten years. Six years have gone by since the events of 'Terra Prime.' We know this because...well, they say so. And Hoshi's hair has grown. And T'Pol's. Otherwise, it would be hard to tell. T'Pol's at the science station, Hoshi's at the communications station, Reed's at his security panel, and Mayweather's at the helm. They must really love their jobs. Isn't that nice?

[Oh, dear. I’m never going to get through this if I don't stop being sarcastic. Okay. I'll try. Honest I will...]

Sato says the Captain is working on his speech now, and Mayweather says "The Captain HATES giving speeches!" (monkee bites her tongue hard, having JUST promised not to be sarcastic two sentences ago!) T'Pol says they can all be sure of one thing – the Captain will refuse to take credit for anything. Archer enters the room to distractedly ask Sato how to pronounce something. His speech is not going well, he says. Whatever he writes, it sounds like he's trying to take credit.

The scintillating dialog (Oops. Was that sarcastic? Already? Bad monkee – no biscotti!) is interrupted when an unfamiliar voice calls the senior staff to the bridge. Wait. Isn't the senior staff already ON the bridge? "End program," another voice says. This voice IS familiar, and as the Enterprise NX-01 bridge dissolves into a holo-grid, we see its source. It is Commander Riker of the Enterprise-D. He's been running a holo-program of the Enterprise NX-01 crew.

Back to the Future: We're in Ten Forward, two hundred years into the future, when someone finally figured out that it might be cool to have a BAR on a starship. And it IS cool to see it again (and that's not even sarcastic.) Guinan's not here, but the staff looks familiar anyway, thanks to their standard Ten Forward green patterned bartender garb. Riker and Troi are talking at one of the tables about their latest mission, which involves Admiral Pressman and the Pegasus, which puts us back in the timeframe of the TNG episode 'The Pegasus.' Riker's disturbed about something but not ready to tell her about it. It was her suggestion that he review historical holo-programs of Archer's era for insight and guidance. She now suggests that he play a certain role in the scenario, because she once read that everyone on the NX-01 confided in this person. He was the closest thing the first Enterprise had to a ship's counselor.

A Voice From the Past: (Well, lots of voices from the past if you're Riker…) Riker returns to the bridge of the NX-01, where the good crew has just been hailed by an old friend, Shran. They're mighty surprised to hear from him, too, because he's been dead for three years! Shran says he can explain, and asks to come aboard. He reminds Archer that he still owes him a favor or three. In the Captain's ready room, Shran tells Archer that his five-year-old daughter – from Jhamel of 'The Aenar,' who became his wife – has been kidnapped.

He made some poor choices after he last saw Archer, and picked friends who turned out to be involved in some questionable business ventures. They accused him of stealing a gemstone from them, and turned on him. It became necessary for him to fake his own death. This worked well for two and a half years, but eventually, they caught up with him, and kidnapped his daughter. Now they are holding her on Rigel X, which is the first planet the Enterprise crew visited, in 'Broken Bow.' Shran has worked out a plan to get her back, but he desperately needs help, and Archer DOES owe him a favor.

It's wonderful to see Shran again, even if he's just a hologram that Riker's watching. And it's good to know that somebody's done SOMETHING over the past six years. Shran got married, had a child, made bad decisions and faked his own death – he's been a busy guy! Combs is terrific, too, as always. We can feel Shran's desperation and anguish over his missing daughter. And isn't it nice that Shran, in his hour of need, feels that he can turn to Archer? Their friendship has been one of the most interesting relationships on the show.

Convincing T'Pol: Archer is talking to T'Pol in his quarters as he tosses around his water polo ball. There's no particular reason for him to be tossing around his water polo ball, but it's the last episode of the series, so I guess they figured they should show it one last time. He has decided to help Shran. She's skeptical; she still doesn't trust Andorians in general and Shran in particular, because, of course, she hasn't changed at all in six years. (Am I getting sarcastic again? Sorry. I'll stop.) Archer gently reminds her that he once didn't trust her either. She taught him to trust Vulcans, and now he wants her to trust his instincts regarding Shran. He points out that, looking at the larger picture, friendship and loyalty is the whole point of the proposed alliance. T'Pol agrees.

Archer then asks her to stop by and see Chef. He's preparing everyone's favorite dish for the crew's last meal together. After she leaves, Porthos jumps on the bed. There's no particular REASON for Porthos to jump on the bed, but it's the last episode of the series, so...You know what? I can't be sarcastic about Porthos. He's just too darn cute! Archer assures the fearless space pup that there will, indeed, be CHEESE at the party. And that's 'cheesy' nine ways to Sunday, but I don't care. I'm going to say it anyway. Awwwww! God, I'm going to miss Porthos!

Chef, Revealed! T'Pol does go to see Chef, as ordered, and thus WE get to see him after all these years of off-screen references. Hey! He looks just like Riker! Oh. It is Riker. He's playing the part of Chef in the program. How cute. Chef is already preparing plomeek soup for T'Pol, but wants to know which root to use. She tells him to surprise her. He turns the conversation to Trip, and asks if she misses him. She points out that she spent the entire morning with him in Engineering, but Chef says she knows what he means. (I wonder if the real Chef is this nosy.) She says she's a Vulcan, so she doesn't 'miss' people. Her intimate relationship with Tucker ended over six years ago. The conversation turns to whether it's right or wrong to blindly obey orders, a topic that's important to Riker at the moment. While she peels a few carrots, T'Pol admits that over the years, she's come to accept and even embrace the human concept of following one's instincts. Riker freezes the program and gives her a peck on the cheek, which really IS kind of cute.

[Pause. It's surprising to me that Trip and T'Pol, after so brutally losing their baby in 'Terra Prime,' never altered the 'on hold' status of their relationship. For six YEARS, they've been serving together on the same ship. They have a shared psychic bond, and a deep affection for each other, and...nothing? That's really sad. And rather unrealistic. I can't get over how little any of these characters changed over the years. End Pause.]

Back to the Future. Again. Riker is in an Enterprise-D briefing room looking back over the crew manifest of the Pegasus when Troi walks in. He still doesn't want to talk too much about it, but we do get the quick recap that seventy-one people died in the Pegasus accident and only nine, Riker and Pressman among them, survived. Riker invites Troi to visit the first Enterprise with him, and she accepts. At first, they're wandering around in an empty ship. They joke about the lack of a fish in the ready room, but then remember that Archer had a dog named after one of the musketeers. They marvel at the pop-out science viewer and recall that Kirk's ship had one of those, too. There's the obligatory 'hey, the door doesn't open automatically' bit (although in 'objective mode,' they should be able to walk right through the thing, but I suppose that's nitpicking). Eventually, they conjure up the crew again and head over to Engineering.

All Good Things: In Engineering, Reed is giving Trip a hard time. He's doing routine maintenance, even though the ship is due to be decommissioned in a few days. But Trip is the Chief Engineer of a starship, and nothing's going to be less than perfect on HIS watch! They start waxing nostalgic. "It's been a hell of a run, Malcolm. I never thought it would come to an end," says Trip. "All good things..." muses Reed. (Okay, I'll admit that particular line brought a tear to monkee's eye.) As they walk away, Troi turns somberly to Riker. "It's sad," she says. "Commander Tucker had no idea he wouldn't make it back."

EXCUSE ME? They wouldn't kill off Trip Tucker, would they? Not the most appealing member of the crew! Surely not. I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that.

The Cutest Captain: Riker and Troi watch as Archer starts briefing the away team on Shran's plan. Troi freezes the program and checks out the Captain. "He's CUTE!" she says, smiling. Riker rolls his eyes. "Don't get any ideas," he tells her. This cracked me up because, as I recall, this was when Troi was starting to have an interest in Worf. Riker doesn't even know yet. He ought to be more worried about the real-life Klingon on the bridge than the holographic Captain from two hundred years ago!

Troi has to leave. She has a session scheduled with Reg (Barclay,) a nice little nod to that character. Riker continues watching as Trip tries to talk Archer out of joining the away team. He's concerned for Archer's safety, particularly this close to such a critical charter signing. He's making a good point, but Archer doesn't want to hear about it. He likes the fact that he'll be ending his Enterprise ten-year mission at the same place he started it – Rigel X. "Poetic justice,' he calls it.

Bumpy Shuttle Ride: Archer, T'Pol, Shran, Mayweather, Trip and some MACOs (including Riker) are taking a shuttle to the surface. En route, T'Pol mentions her conversation with Chef to Trip. She asks him if he ever misses what they once had, and he admits that he does. It has occurred to her that once the ship is decommissioned and they take different assignments, they might not ever see each other again. He won't even hear of it. "I can guarantee that we're not going to lose touch," he insists. "Stop thinking like that." T'Pol says that however long it may be, she thinks she's going to miss him.

Awww. That's a sweet admission from the fair Vulcan. Meanwhile, Riker, posing as a MACO, watches the two of them sadly.

Stop it, Riker! Nothing's going to happen to Trip, you bastard!

The Exchange: In a seedy cargo bay on Rigel, Shran and T'Pol are surrounded by aliens. They demand the jewel. T'Pol asks to see the girl, first, and says they'll never be able to get the jewel case open themselves. A thug brings Shran's daughter forward. She says she's okay, except she's hungry. (She's adorable, by the way. She's not as blue as her father, given that her mother is an Aenar. She has long, white hair and antennae, of course.) T'Pol opens the case and the gem is exposed. Shran demands his daughter, and she runs into his outstretched arms. He tells her to go with T'Pol. She seems reluctant – perhaps she doesn't trust Vulcans – but he insists. "Obey your father," he says, and promises that T'Pol will find her something to eat. T'Pol touches his shoulder and gives him a meaningful look as she leaves with the girl.

Shran kicks the case forward, and the alien takes the jewel and begins scrutinizing it. Shran detonates it, and all hell breaks lose. From their hiding places, Enterprise personnel and MACOs open fire, while Shran joins T'Pol and his daughter. A fierce phase pistol fight ensues. The catwalk Trip is standing on gives way, and he falls, just grabbing onto the edge.

Uh-oh. This wouldn't be the first senseless death of a Trek hero on a stupid metal catwalk. Remember Kirk?

Not this time, though. Archer pulls his friend to safety. Phew. The aliens are temporarily put out of commission, and the Enterprise crew makes it back to the shuttle. They bring Shran and his daughter back to the Enterprise, and safety. They are not concerned about the aliens. Their ships only go up to warp two. "Thanks, Pinkskin!" Shran's daughter cheerfully calls out to Archer. Damn, she's cute! Trip thanks Archer for saving his life. It's a good thing he was along on this mission after all. Archer waves him off. "Signing documents is easy," he says. "Training a new Chief Engineer? That can be a real pain in the ass!"

Riker looks on, like a grim angel of death. I hate him.

Confession: Back on the Enterprise-D, Riker finally tells Troi what happened on the Pegasus. They were testing a cloaking device that had been developed by a secret group of Starfleet Security (Section 31?). Because such a device was a clear violation of a treaty with the Romulans, the accident was covered up. Riker suspects that Pressman is going to recover the device and begin testing it again. He feels this is wrong, but Pressman is an Admiral, and Riker has been given a direct order to keep this secret. Troi is sure that Riker will make the appropriate decision when the time comes.

Conversations with Chef: Chef Riker is talking to Reed. "I used to think he was what his countrymen would call a 'hick'," Reed is saying, referring to Trip. He didn't think Trip would last a month as Chief Engineer, even though he was a friend of the captain. But now he can't imagine what the past ten years would have been like without him. "Did you find him attractive?" Chef Riker asks.

Hold the phone! Did someone in a Trek uniform just acknowledge that members of the same gender might conceivably be attracted to each other? Break out the champagne and let's celebrate. Star Trek has finally stepped into the modern age!

Oh. Wait. No. Now Riker is talking to Hoshi.

Hoshi says Trip really isn't her type. "He never even graduated from college," she says. "He learned about engineering working on boat engines, and he never really cared about languages. He could barely even speak English." She still finds him kind of cute, though. "Keep that to yourself," she admonishes Chef Riker. "I always do," he smiles.

[Pause. For a while at this point, I wasn't even sure they were talking about Trip. I guess I never considered him a hick. He knows too much about engineering! And what's this about him never graduating from college? Doesn't Starfleet Academy qualify as a college? It's a four-year institute of higher learning. And Trip certainly didn't learn about warp engines by taking apart boats. It just seemed like they were reinventing the character, and it annoyed me. And I hated the dismissive way Hoshi said Trip could 'barely speak English.' Sheesh. End Pause.]

Now Chef Riker is talking to Mayweather, who tells him that Archer and Trip have known each other for twenty years, and Trip taught Archer how to scuba dive. Chef Riker asks if they've ever had a disagreement that's come to blows. Mayweather says no. "When push comes to shove, Commander Tucker always ends up doing the right thing."

We segue to Chef Riker's conversation with Phlox, who talks about a different side of Trip Tucker – the side that pushes himself too hard. He refers to Trip's reluctance to try neuro-pressure, and also the time Phlox ordered him to get six hours of sleep and he negotiated it down to four hours. Chef Riker wants to know if he ultimately did follow the order to rest. "He didn't have a choice," Phlox says. "You always have a choice," Chef Riker muses.

[Pause. Yeah, yeah – it's cutesy that Chef is Riker. Very clever, and all that. But I'm afraid that what it mostly does is accentuate the fact that most of this is not real. This holo-program may have the basic personalities of people down, the general order of events, but the conversations that are occurring are all complete fabrications. The real Chef didn't have anything resembling these talks with these people. Indeed if he had, they would have been mystified. Why would Chef suddenly want to turn every conversation around to the wisdom of following orders? Or, more ominously, why does he always want to talk about Trip Tucker? I found it jarring each time it happened. End Pause.]

Old Friends: Speaking of Archer and Trip's friendship, the two of them are in Archer's quarters now, having a drink. It's a bottle of whiskey that Zefram Cochrane gave Archer's father the day they broke ground on the Warp Five Complex. Now, they're using it to toast warp seven. "Here's to the next generation..." Archer says.

::sniff::

It All Falls Apart: They are interrupted by a security alert. The aliens who weren't supposed to be able to catch up to them have caught up with them. Not only that, they've boarded the ship! When Archer and Trip leave the room, they're surrounded. The aliens demand Shran and his daughter. Things are hectic. Everyone is shouting. There are weapons. It's difficult to think straight. Trip's main concern at the moment is Archer. I think he senses the long-term importance of the charter signing. He tells the aliens that he'll lead them to Shran. Archer tries to intervene. "I'll handle this, Trip," he barks. Trip needs the cooperation of the aliens to keep his captain alive. "Listen," he tells them. "I won't help you if you kill him, but could you please shut him up?" One of the aliens knocks Archer out with a phase rifle butt to the head. He falls to the deck, unconscious. The head alien is about to leave a guard with Archer with orders to shoot him if they aren't back in ten minutes, but Trip says he's figured out a way to bring Shran to them, perhaps some sort of transporter manipulation. "You can all watch," he offers. The head alien waves the guard to come along with them.

Trip makes a big show of getting one piece of tubing from behind a panel. He has to climb a ladder to access another panel. The aliens are watching him carefully. One of them even opens the panel, just in case there's a concealed weapon there. There isn't. Trip prepares to connect two junctions. "There's just one more thing I have to tell you," he says. "You can all go straight to hell." When he makes the connection, the resulting explosion kills all the aliens. There's a lot of smoke. We can't see Trip.

Down the corridor, Archer comes to. He sees the smoke, too, and follows it. He finds the bodies of the aliens. "Trip?" he calls out. There is no answer. He approaches the ladder Trip was standing on, then freezes. The look on his face says it all.

Riker looks on. I really, really hate him. I do.

Desperate Efforts: In sickbay, they are frantically trying to save Trip. He regains consciousness long enough to apologize to Archer about the rifle butt, and to ask if they'll make it to the conference in time. He's badly bloodied and burned and his voice comes out in a thin rasp. "We'll be right on schedule," Archer says, tears in his eyes. "I'm even going to have time to write my speech." They are separated when Phlox rolls Trip into a chamber for a last-ditch effort to save his life. As the door closes behind him, Trip smiles at Archer and winks.

THE BASTARDS KILLED TRIP! I can't BELIEVE it! I can't even get into this right now. I'll rant about it later.

Personal Effects: T'Pol is in Trip's quarters, packing away his personal effects. I wonder – did she feel the psychic bond break at the moment of Trip's death, or had it degraded over the years? Did she cry, even a little?

::sniff::

She packs a picture of Trip scuba diving, or maybe it's Archer. As she's putting away one of his uniforms, she smells it first.

::sob::

Archer enters the room without knocking. "Don't forget this," he says, handing her a small figurine of Frankenstein. Trip did love those horror movies! Archer says he's encouraged Trip's parents to come to the ceremony. He thinks that's what Trip would have wanted. T'Pol agrees, and hopes to meet them. Archer says they're eccentric, and she'll certainly be able to see where Trip gets his sense of humor. T'Pol can relate to that; her mother was a bit eccentric, too. Trip had once told her that she would miss her mother less as time went on, but she's found that's not true. Archer tells her that emotions are complicated things. "And you wonder why we suppress them," she says.

For the record, this quiet scene of grieving was my favorite in the episode. Even though we can't be sure this conversation ever really took place, I'm going to pretend it did. Archer is pondering – thinking out loud to T'Pol. Here's what he says:

"When I took command ten years ago, I saw myself as an explorer. I thought all the risks would be worth it because just beyond the next planet, just beyond the next star, there would be something magnificent...something noble. And now Trip is dead, and I have to give a speech about how 'worthwhile' it's all been."

There it is, folks. After four years of tiresome pontificating, Archer finally got it right. That's his best speech ever! T'Pol's response is pretty darn classic, too.

"Trip would be the first to say it's all been worthwhile," she says. And she's right. He would.

::sniff::

Back to the Past within the Past in the Future: Riker rewinds the program to one hour before his first conversation, as Chef, with T'Pol. An alive and well Trip Tucker walks into the galley for HIS meeting with Chef Riker. His request for the party? Catfish. The conversation turns to the upcoming ceremony. Trip says Archer wouldn't admit it, but he's proud to be one of the people signing the charter. Chef Riker asks if Trip is a lifetime member of the Jonathan Archer fan club. Indeed he is. "I can count on one hand the people I really trust," Trip says. "I'm talking about the kind of trust where you know someone's not going to hurt you. You know they'll always be there for you, no matter how hard things get. You ever know anyone like that?" Trip grabs a carrot and leaves the room, and Riker knows what he's going to do, because, of course, he DOES know one or two people like that. He can trust Troi. He can trust Picard. And he can trust himself, and his own instincts.

The Ceremony: Hoshi, Reed and Mayweather take their seats at the ceremony. They're talking about what Archer might do next. Will he get another ship, or be promoted? No one knows, so their future plans are on hold, too. It's a pleasant enough conversation, but hardly a good way to say goodbye to these characters forever. And if any of them is sad about Trip's death, we don't see any indication of it. They've all been together for ten years as good friends and colleagues – a surrogate family – and it's like he never existed. But what do we expect, anyway? These are holograms, remember? Maybe Riker erased Trip from the program completely, just to speed things along. Ugh.

Speech Preparations: Phlox and T'Pol are waiting in the wings with Archer, who is about to give his speech. He's nervous and pacing, reading over his notes. Finally, T'Pol can't take it anymore. She practically tackles him to fix his collar. "Stand still," she grumps. "If you hadn't waited until the last minute, you would have had time to memorize your speech."

Well, that's cute, but she surely knows what the speech-writing delay was, right? The death of his best friend and her one-time lover? Again, it's like Trip never existed. It's the final scene of the final episode of Star Trek for the foreseeable future, and all it's doing so far is making me mad!

Ahem. I have to get a hold of myself. It's time for the big finish.

Phlox says there are dignitaries out there from eighteen different worlds. He has a good feeling about this charter, and tells Archer he should be proud of what he's accomplished. Archer waves off the credit once again, which annoys T'Pol, who thinks it's illogical not to take credit where credit is due. Phlox smiles his big grinchy grin (another nod to 'Broken Bow') and leaves to join his three wives. Someone arrives to tell Archer that it's time.

He turns to leave, but T'Pol calls out to him. "You look...heroic," she says. He walks back to her and gives her a big hug which I have to begrudgingly admit is really sweet. He walks out to give his speech and the assembled crowd begins to applaud.

Riker and Troi, looking on, smile with genuine pride and nostalgia. "You wish you could tell them that this alliance will give birth to the Federation," she says. Riker has decided to tell Picard about the cloaking device. He'll be disobeying an order from an Admiral, but he knows it's the right thing to do, and he trusts Picard. He calls for the arch, and asks if Troi will stick around to hear the speech. She doesn't have to. She memorized it in grade school. They leave the holodeck together.

End Program.

Picard, Kirk, and finally, Jonathan Archer, all three Enterprise captains, do the voice-over as the Enterprise-D, the Enterprise NCC-1701, and finally, the Enterprise NX-01 fly through the wonders of space, where just beyond the next planet, just beyond the next star, there's something magnificent and something noble.

Dammit! I've done it again! I've half talked myself into liking this thing! That's the problem with writing reviews. You start out absolutely LOATHING an episode, and by the time you've gone through writing about it, you start to see the good in it. I HATE when that happens!

All right, all right! I'll admit that there's good in this episode. A little bit. And I'll acknowledge it before I'm done, okay? But first I'm going to talk about the stuff that made me feel dispirited and sick when I turned off the television, because I DID feel dispirited and sick when I turned off the television!

None of it is REAL! I guess when I heard about the TNG characters watching the events via the holodeck, I assumed that we'd be moving back and forth between the centuries. I thought we'd be seeing real Enterprise events, and then watching the historical version of those events, with, perhaps, some clever and amusing differences. That's not the case, though. Everything we see is on the holodeck, and we know that's not accurate! They don't even make recordings that detailed in the 24^th century. Chef Riker's conversations with the various crewmembers just served to accentuate the fact that they weren't real! The characters Riker was watching had no depth to them, really. They were just a collection of ones and zeroes! And if they weren't real, why should we care much about them?

Hollow Lives: What might have salvaged the episode is if we'd gotten a glimpse into the six years that had elapsed since 'Terra Prime.' We didn't, though. The lives of these characters over the last half-decade appear to have been as hollow as the program Riker's running. They're all in the exact same positions, even the same chairs? No one got married? No one got promoted? Not one of them left the ship? I guess we can assume they had lots of stand-alone adventures, but we don't get to hear about any of them. An episode like this gives you a tremendous opportunity to explore the possibilities of your characters, but that was sadly lacking here.

I'm most disappointed about Trip and T'Pol. I find it difficult to believe that they could care about each other as much as they clearly do, yet remain in a holding pattern for six whole years. Talk about a wasted opportunity! If they'd gotten married and had a baby, or if they'd had a horrible fight and never spoken to each other again, if SOMETHING had happened between them, it might have given the episode, and Trip's death, a little more depth and meaning.

Trip's Death: Wow, I didn't see THAT one coming! This is one time I wish I DID read detailed spoilers – it might have been good to be prepared for this. This is probably the number one reason the episode made me feel so empty. Trip was the most appealing major character on the show, hands down. You could always count on Trip to make you smile, or tug at your heartstrings. I'd have to call him the heart of Enterprise in that respect.

Part of the fun of a series finale is envisioning how the characters are going to go on. TNG's finale, 'All Good Things...' ended with the senior staff sitting around a table playing poker. "Five card stud, nothing wild. The sky's the limit," was the last line, spoken by Picard. 'The sky's the limit' is a darned good way to end a series. That let's us imagine the myriad possibilities for the characters we've grown to love. But when I try to envision how the Enterprise characters will move on, I first have the nagging suspicion that they won't move on at all, having just seen a completely stagnant six years. And then I have to envision them moving on without Trip! And I hate that.

Yes, life can turn on a dime and people die. But we're ending Star Trek here, folks, at least for now! Couldn't we have ended it a little happier?

Bleah.
:(

Series Finale vs. Franchise Finale: I've read that some of the powers that be have already tried to defend this episode, saying that the two part 'Terra Prime' arc was intended to be the Enterprise finale, and 'These are the Voyages...' is more of a franchise finale. There are some problems with that. First of all, 'Terra Prime' wasn't good enough either, but I'll get into that more when I review it. Secondly, not everyone liked 'The Next Generation,' you know. *I* did, but some of Enterprise's younger viewers have no idea what the fuss was about. And while I liked TNG, I never particularly cared for Riker, and 'The Pegasus' is nowhere on my list of favorite TNG episodes. Maybe real Riker aficionados enjoyed 'These are the Voyages...' immensely, but that's not a broad enough portion of Enterprise's audience.

Good Intentions: I promised I'd talk about the good in the episode. It did have some admirable broader themes. Riker is exploring the very heart of human existence, really – friendship, loyalty, and doing what's right. The Enterprise program certainly showed those things well, even if it we can't be sure it's exactly how the details of the events unfolded.

The signing of the charter that will give birth to the Federation, of course, is a worthwhile topic for the last episode. The fact that it took six years after 'Terra Prime' for this to occur is probably a good sign that Earth has worked through its xenophobe issues. If all of the parties were willing to work this hard to see it through, then they're really ready to commit to such an alliance. We know that over the next centuries the Federation will have its problems, but no one can say that it's not, bottom line, a good organization with noble intentions.

A good organization with noble intentions. I guess that phrase could also be used to describe the Trek franchise. If they sometimes miss the mark, as they did with this episode, we'll have to forgive them. They've given us a wondrous universe to imagine in for the past thirty-five years, and I'm grateful.

Character Interactions: Except for Troi and Riker's scenes, all of the character interactions on Enterprise were at least partial 'fabrications,' but we'll overlook that for now. With that in mind, the interactions ran the gamut from the sublime to the awful this week. As I've said, all of Chef Riker's scenes with the various crewmembers were contrived by definition, although I'll admit I liked Riker's little peck on T'Pol's cheek once he froze the program. Any scene with Shran in it is always fine by me. It's a matter of record, I suppose, that Archer did help Shran out of this jam, and that's a nice canon end to an interesting relationship. I like Shran. I'm glad he got a happy ending. It may also be a matter of record, or a matter of legend, that Trip's last action was to smile and wink at his best friend, Jonathan Archer. It was sweet, and very like Trip, so I liked that, too.

I thought the best scene of the episode was the one with Archer and T'Pol after Trip's death. It had real depth of feeling to it, and Archer's Best Speech Ever. My least favorite scenes were those at the ceremony, because the characters were so two-dimensional. Someone could have at least sighed sadly and said, 'Trip should have been here to see this with us...'

Archer Watch: I couldn't help but admire Archer this week. In fact, I actually liked him! He was sheepishly cute while he was working on his speech, and he was a good and faithful friend to Shran. Sure, he got himself hit on the head with a rifle butt during the alien raid, but that was Trip's doing. He faced the loss of his best friend with courage, and even helped T'Pol through it. And I like that he hugged T'Pol. There's not enough hugging in Star Trek. <g> When I remember Archer, I hope his 'beyond the next star' speech is what comes to my mind.

The Last Mayweather Watch: He goes out the way he came in – practically invisible. The good news for Harry Kim is that he's NOT the oldest ensign in Starfleet history. If Mayweather didn't get promoted after ten years, that honor will forever be his!

'shipper Watch: Well, you know how I feel about Trip and T'Pol. I wish something had happened between them in all that time. The one scene they had together was sweet, though. I liked Trip's outrage at the very suggestion that they might not ever see each other again.

For the Archer/T'Pol fans out there, Trip's death opens up some possibilities. T'Pol seemed unable to connect with Trip, but perhaps she was also unable to connect with anyone else as long as he was around. Archer and T'Pol have a beautiful friendship. Their scene in Trip's quarters was lovely, and the hug was, too. A beautiful friendship can remain just that, or turn into something more in time.

[Note: Many of the 'best lines' appeared elsewhere in the review, but I'm including them here for posterity.]

Best Lines:
"Reed's shorter than I expected him to be." (Riker, to Troi. Ha! You should see how short Barclay made YOU in the 'Goddess of Empathy' program, pal!)
"They took her in the middle of the night. I was in the next room, asleep, USELESS!" (an anguished Shran, to Archer)
"You have to help me. It's my little girl." (Shran, to Archer)
"This alliance is based on friendship and loyalty – exactly what Shran is asking for right now." (Archer, to T'Pol)
"Humans believe that sometimes you have to follow your instincts – a very illogical approach, but one I've come to embrace." (T'Pol, to Chef Riker)
"I think I went as a little girl, but I get all those museum ships mixed up." (Troi, to Riker, regarding the Enterprise NX-01)
"It's been a hell of a run, Malcolm. I never thought it would come to an end." "All good things..." (Trip and Reed)
"The Captain thinks there will be another Enterprise before too long." "I imagine." "It won't be the same." "That's okay." (Reed and Trip)
"Computer, freeze program. He's CUTE!" "Don't get any ideas." (Troi and Riker, regarding the Archer hologram)
"Do you ever miss him?" "I'm a Vulcan. I don't 'miss' people." (Chef Riker and T'Pol)
"We can handle this without you." "That's flattering." "You know what I mean." (Trip, Archer, Trip)
"There's EVERY way of knowing. I can guarantee we're not gonna lose touch. Stop thinking like that." (Trip, to T'Pol)
"However long it may be, I believe I am going to miss you." (T'Pol, to Trip)
"Thanks, Pink Skin!" (Shran's daughter, to Archer)
"Can I get a rain check?" "You can check me for rain if you wish, Counselor." (Troi and Data, over the intercom)
"Here's to the next generation." (Archer, to Trip)
"There's just one other thing I have to tell you – you can all go straight to hell!" (Trip, to the alien boarding party)
"Trip?" (Archer, to the smoky silence)
"Sorry about the rifle butt." (Trip, to Archer)
"Trip told me as the years went by I would miss her less, but he was wrong, because I find myself missing her more. Why would he tell me that?" (T'Pol, to Archer, regarding her mother)
"Time heals all wounds, but absence makes the heart grow fonder. I guess it's a little tricky. Emotions have a way of contradicting themselves." "And you wonder why we suppress them." (Archer and T'Pol)
"You know, he'd never admit it, but this thing means a hell of a lot to him. He's real proud to be one of the people signing this charter, and he ought to be." (Trip, to Chef Riker)
"I can count on one hand the people I really trust. I'm talking about the kind of trust where you know someone's not going to hurt you. You know they'll always be there for you, no matter how hard things get. You ever know anyone like that?" (Trip, to Chef Riker)
"Yeah. One or two." (Riker, to Trip)
"I'd wish you good luck, Captain, but you've always had an ample supply." (Phlox, to Archer)
"You look...heroic." (T'Pol, to Archer)

THE Best Line:
"When I took command ten years ago, I saw myself as an explorer. I thought all the risks would be worth it, because just beyond the next planet, just beyond the next star, there would be something magnificent, something noble."

Rating: I intended to give this a 6/10, but in writing the review, I've talked myself into thinking that's too low. It WAS appalling, in many ways. But it was also well-intentioned, and the Archer/T'Pol scene alone should kick it up a point. So 7/10 it is, a disappointing rating for the last Star Trek for the foreseeable future.

Next Week: I can't believe it. Not only is there no next week, there's also no next year. Or the year after that! Star Trek has been an important part of almost my entire life! I'm going to miss it terribly. I hope everyone else misses it, too, and perhaps, someday, a new Trek will dawn. I honestly believe that will happen, so...here's to the NEXT generation!

Keep checking back with me. I still have a 'Terra Prime' review to post. I also intend to do my annual seasonal review. And I'll have a review of the series as a whole.

Peace and long life to you all!

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