Review Text
In brief: Like part one, the underlying storyline is sound, but the execution is a little on the clunky side.
John Frederick Paxton blames Starfleet for Earth's relationships with alien species, so in his ultimatum demanding all non-humans to leave Earth, he makes Starfleet Command his first target. He'll blow it up if his demands are not met on deadline.
Elsewhere on Earth and far away at the Vulcan and Andorian embassies, Terra Prime members are protesting, in what is part of a larger coordinated effort. Soval makes an interesting point: "The fact that Paxton has the support of so many of your people is ... troubling." And the Andorian ambassador is similarly concerned: "Earth men talk about uniting worlds, but your own planet is deeply divided. Perhaps you're not ready to host this conference."
To me, this notion is at the core of "Demons" and "Terra Prime." Archer, Starfleet, and the government powers-that-be want the conference to go forward. But what do the people want? Is public opinion really so fragmented? Is this simply a matter of a vocal minority? If there is this dramatic divide on Earth, is Earth ready to move forward and become something bigger than itself?
All good questions that the episode poses, although it admittedly doesn't deal with them in a whole lot of detail. The story is more about stopping Paxton from carrying out his doomsday scenario, and, when successful, looking ahead to addressing these tough questions in the future.
To that end, "Terra Prime" is successful up to a point. It has moments of thoughtful dialog and debate. It also has moments of clunky action execution. Like "Demons" before it, this episode can never really overcome clichés or convention to qualify as great Trek.
In an effort to approach Paxton's ship on Mars without being detected, the Enterprise hides behind a comet and deploys a shuttlepod with an armed boarding party to follow the comet as it crashes to the surface. Perhaps I'm misinformed, but wouldn't a comet impact of this magnitude be disastrous? At the very least, shouldn't the shuttlepod be vaporized in the blast? (Perhaps not. I'm no expert, so maybe I shouldn't question the science.) In the episode's best touch, the shuttlepod flies over a fenced-in piece of history on the Mars surface: "Carl Sagan Memorial Station" reads the inscription on the stone, which sits next to NASA's Mars rover.
Meanwhile, T'Pol and Trip, who were captured during their investigation in "Demons," face off in a war of wills against Paxton. Paxton calls the baby and everything she represents a threat to humanity, saying humanity will be destroyed as alien species are brought into the genome. For Paxton, anything "impure" represents the road to annihilation. He is, of course, a narrow-minded fool, and T'Pol explains the opposing point of view with a statement that is sublime in its succinctness: "Life is change."
But I was never quite sure why Paxton had this child cloned in the first place. Apparently it was meant to be the poster child for the destruction of humanity, but as such a poster child, it seems awfully ineffective. Why create something you hope to prevent, unless its creation compellingly demonstrates your point of view? (This child doesn't.) Furthermore, why use DNA from Trip and T'Pol (acquired, by the way, by a Terra Prime agent hiding on the Enterprise)? Was Terra Prime using them as an example because they'd had a sexual relationship in the past? It's a point the episode never makes; it's not even revealed that Terra Prime knew about the relationship. So is this instead supposed to be an ironic coincidence?
Speaking of Terra Prime agents, it turns out that Gannett isn't actually an agent of Terra Prime, but rather an agent of Starfleet Intelligence sent to find the real agent aboard the Enterprise. So at least Travis wasn't played as a total pawn in the previous episode. Gannett has an exchange with Travis here that would qualify as characterization, but again (and alas), Anthony Montgomery's performance is so hopelessly wooden that the scene sinks.
On the bridge of the Enterprise, Hoshi is in charge of Plan B, which is to destroy the verteron array if the away team doesn't take control of it before the deadline expires. It's trial by fire, and in a situation reminiscent of "The Doomsday Machine," Hoshi must contend with an authority figure who's practically salivating to take control of the situation from her as things go down to the wire.
Paxton ultimately is exposed as a hypocrite using alien medical treatments to keep himself alive. (You'd think someone in all these years would've recognized Paxton's condition if T'Pol can figure it out after observing two seconds of his hands shaking.) What is it about individuals who think they know what's right for everyone else and yet they themselves live in hypocrisy? In real life, these people make my skin crawl. In "Terra Prime," the plot machinations are moving too fast to permit that.
The action showdown that averts the crisis is clumsily handled. First we have Trip conveniently MacGyvering his way out of a holding cell. And then we have a wrestle for domination of the control room, where Archer simply has to stun Paxton and everything would be over, but instead he hesitates, permitting the window behind him to shatter because of the air pressure, etc., allowing Paxton to make one last move, etc. Amusingly, the verteron array actually ends up firing — hitting nothing because Trip reprogrammed it, but making Archer look rather incompetent as action heroes go. (And didn't the dialog say that the air pressure on Mars due to terraforming was essentially Earth-like? Why, then, would the window explode?) Then there's the business regarding the Terra Prime agent aboard the Enterprise, which exists only to tidy up loose ends of the plot.
So, no, "Terra Prime" is not sold on its action or Archer's would-be heroics. It's sold on its concept of humanity striving to be better, and on Archer's attempt to not only see this alliance through, but to see it through for the right reasons. The uncertainty sparked by the events of Paxton's plan puts the talks on hold (no doubt to give room for the series finale), but the story itself is hopeful that things will get back on track. Archer has a speech near the end that is nice, traditional, old-fashioned Star Trek, and it even includes the cliché of the Gradual Applause Crescendo. Given the way "These Are the Voyages" ends, this moment in "Terra Prime" is much more satisfying as a send-off for the Enterprise crew.
The eventual death of Trip and T'Pol's child (due to an errant cloning process) is tragic — perhaps unnecessarily so. But it's well played, and reveals depth to the bond between Trip and T'Pol — a depth that has rarely been demonstrated in the year-plus since their relationship began. It bodes well for their future. Too bad I've seen the finale and know what their future is. But, for this moment, it works.
Next: Riker. Troi. The holodeck. Oh, yeah, and the NX-01 crew, too.
Previous episode: Demons
Next episode: These Are the Voyages...
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62 comments on this post
stallion
Two years after Enterprise got canceled I saw Demon and this episode and it converted me into Enterprise. My favorite part was Archer giving his speech, Phlox telling Archer he never expected to be apart of a another family, the ending scene and so on. I keep hearing a lot of fans say that season four put Enterprise in the right direction. I loved this Episode so much that it made me buy season four on DVD, than three, two, and one and it made me a fan. Just like all Trek Series Enterprise had it bad episodes but for me it was mostly great. The show reminded me why I love Star Trek. I loved episodes like Dear Doctor, Shuttlepod One, Cogenitor, Dead Stop, Damage, Forgotten and etcs. I think people are hard on this show and it's shame it didn't finish it run.
stallion
I also want to add that one reason I didn't watch Enterprise during it run was because I was a little bit burned out of Star Trek. I watched Voyager and DSN reguarly and at the sametime watched the reruns of TOS and TNG for the first time. I did watch Enterprise and most of the episodes I happen to watch was good. It was nice to know that after all these years Trek was still producing great episodes. So I was burned out on Trek and at the sametime it was my last year of High school and I wanted to enjoy it.
Stef
Just being super-ultra-pedantic: T'Pol didn't notice Paxton's hand shaking. She scanned him with her medical scanner (tricorder mark 1?) when she was scanning her baby. Paxton turns his back to leave and she quickly scanned him, discovering his disease.
I was disappointed that with the number of black people in authority, no one tried the "you'll be next" tactic. Combined with Paxton's disease and the cloning of the baby (which none of Paxton's people seemed to know about), some kind of turncoat behaviour from Paxton's followers would have been far more entertaining.
I agree somewhat with Stallion, Enterprise is nowhere near as bad as people make out. (Bound being the obvious exception of course). When you consider the utter dross that Voyager regularly put out...
Jakob M. Mokoru
Well - this episode is Enterprise as it should have been. A prequel series should do exactly this kind of things.
So it is an appropriate - although not great - ending to an fairly entertaining - although not great - series (for my part I do not consider These are the voyages... an ENT-episode).
RussS
So the baby dies.
Why is this neccesary?
Star Trek Enterprise is about an optimistic future. The baby should have lived. The could have written it any way they want.
The last, absolute last thing I wanted to see after four years of finally getting used to (and liking) T'Pol was to watch her hold her own daughter in her arms and then have the baby die. Wow, what optimistic symbolism.
Idiots.
Carbetarian
This was a much better ending than the actual ending of this show. Unfortunately, "These Are The Voyages" was actually the first episode of this series I ever saw. Even before getting to know the NX-01 crew, I thought TATV was a terrible episode and a total kick in the face to both the cast of Enterprise and their fans. Now that I've seen pretty much the whole series, I can honestly say TATV is one of the most insulting episodes of Star Trek ever filmed. Granted, this show was never really great. But, it deserved much better than the ending that it got.
Call me an old romantic here, but I really wanted to see Trip and T'Pol live happily ever after with their baby. I actually cried during that last scene. The baby should have lived. That part of this ending was just incredibly sad and pointless. It would have been much more in line with the Archer's optimistic speech for the baby to live. Although, I give this episode credit for really making me care deeply about both Trip and T'Pol. I love that T'Pol named the baby after Trip's sister. It just breaks my heart that the baby had to die like that.
Archer's speech was great. I've never been a fan of Captain Archer in general. But, he really pulled that speech off well.
All in all, I find myself vaguely sad that Enterprise didn't get a fifth season. The first season was mediocre and boring. The second season was just awful. But, the third and fourth season finally showed a good amount of potential.
At any rate, I'd give this episode three and a half stars. I would have even gone for four stars if the baby had lived.
As a series I would rank the seasons like this:
Season one: two stars
Season two: one star
Season three: two stars for the first half of the season, three for the last half
Season four: three stars
For the series as a whole: two and a half stars
Grumpy
"...it's not even revealed that Terra Prime knew about the relationship. So is this instead supposed to be an ironic coincidence?"
One of Paxton's goons made some snide remark to Trip, which stood out because A) who would even know? and B) it really *was* a coincidence. Seems like the on-board spy just grabbed the first human and Vulcan DNA he could get his hands on (and it must've happened as soon as the ship returned from the Xindi mission, or else Elizabeth wouldn't be fully gestated). Which raises the further question, why get the DNA from Enterprise at all? There were plenty of humans and Vulcans closer at hand.
It must be said, the idea of terraforming Mars using comets steered by Trekkian tech is pretty cool.
Jay
It's hard to believe that in nearly a century since First Contact, no human and Vulcan pair ever fell in love and contemplated reproduction.
Paul
Aren't Trip and T'Pol fairly recognizable among humans -- considering their role in the Xindi mission? Would it make sense to send them undercover at all.
Steve
wow, how accurate was that array? Hitting a moving starship thousands of miles away. And only at 2% of power.
Pity they didn't use that to target the Xindi weapon.
Har har.
Milica
The Trip/T'Pol final scene was truly heartbreaking and made me cry. The writers are cruel.
Vylora
I have to admit...the final scene in this episode was absolutely heartbreaking.
Yanks
This episode is the Enterprise series finale for me; I cannot and will not recognize the abortion that is named “These are the Voyages”.
This episode embodies everything Trek represents. It is a heart tugging story about diversity and self exploration. You have the background of T’Pol, whom had professed her feelings for Trip and Trip sharing those feelings and staying away. Then the two of them, Vulcan and Human, brought together because the epitome of a "anti IDIC human" like Paxton, using the fire of xenophobia to further his Arian-centric goals, created Elizabeth for the sole purpose of isolating humanity from the newly found diverse community of aliens. A helpless, completely unaware, innocent little Elizabeth, with no understanding of her importance or control of her fate, ends up being the magnet that led to Paxton's demise and the reunification or Trip and T'Pol. T'Pol's very simple line while holding her emotions at bay as Trip struggles to contain his, holding the Vulcan IDIC given to her by her mother… “She was important” symbolizes the very heart of Trek - Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combination. Then we are treated to Archer’s finest moment as he addresses the council and speaks not only to the exploration of space, but to inner exploration and tolerance and pleads for all to join together in a most noble cause.
Cloudane
I however haven't seen the finale next, and it probably would've been better without implied spoilers. Oh well.
I agree with the numerous comments about the baby dying. They even named her Elizabeth, which I thought was a wonderful (and emotional) suggestion from T'Pol and way for her name to live on. Now poor Trip gets to lose another Elizabeth. Depressing, heartbreaking (made me cry too), and pointlessly so :( I would almost say, since the writers had become cynical, maybe it was indeed time to end.
However, I loved the speech. I'd have been happy for that to have been the ending.
Well.... one more to go o.o
Yoon
It seems Trip and T'Pol forgot about their vulcan son who became the captain of the Enterprise after the ship was thrown back in time 100 years during the end of the Xindi mission.
You'd think they would mention something about this daughter being their second child, etc. And Trip sobbing at the good news from Phlox that the humans and vulcans can breed... shouldn't they already know this?
Patrick
They should also know its possible for humans and Vulcans can breed from the dead future pilot in "Future Tense".
CONTINUITY!!!!
Nebula Nox
I'm crying...
Latex Zebra
Good to see Peter Weller didn't get typecast as a Trek villian as a result of these episodes.
Yanks
^^ LOL...
Necro
While I do agree there were several continuity errors, such as the pilot in "Future Tense" (which was pretty much a mixed bag of alien DNA so I guess Paxton was a little correct), and of course Trip and T'pol's son, this episode was well done.
The speech was totally what a captain of Trek would be like and it's totally what Trek is all about. I even felt a little moved. I really enjoyed the look on Soval's face during that scene.
The death of Liz really moved me and the final scene with Trip and T'pol totally broke me. You know T'pol is nearly losing herself as Trip has already done. The holding hands I take as a promise they will try for another child (their 3rd! writers) in their futures.
This was what I have waited for in Enterprise for a long, long while. I have just the final episode remaining.
John G
I think Jammer’s being a bit unfair here.
Paxton could have readily hidden his condition from others by simply claiming it was something else with similar symptoms, and T’Pol didn’t guess by just looking at him, she surreptitiously took a scan with the tricorder.
The baby’s death, while it made me cry, was also all too plausible. Paxton said as much himself — the point was the baby was SUPPOSED to die, as “proof” of the incompatibility of human and Vulcan. Thus it wasn’t incompetence that the baby was constantly ill, but malice BY DESIGN, to send a political message. Humiliating Starfleet officers (one of them a Vulcan) in the process was just added gravy for him. It makes perfect sense in a diabolical way.
Naturally after this experience they would have severe doubts about whether they really could have a child that easily, whatever they experienced in the Expanse. Lorian could well have been a fluke for all they knew, and having their “second” child die would certainly have made them wonder if it was possible after all. It’s still largely uncharted territory.
The baby’s death also had the further effect of driving T’Pol and Trip together, bridging the last gaps between them. They spent most of the past season denying their feelings for one another, and their shared personal tragedy was what finally really brought them together in a way nothing else can. So here too I see a kind of plot necessity — emotionally brutal, but very effective and hey, it’s not like life itself isn’t equally painful and unfair. (Having lost a baby myself, it really hit home for me and rang true, and the effect was similar.) So I thought it was actually good that everything wasn’t rainbows and bunnies in the end. Made it that much more believable to me.
All in all I thought this was a top-notch episode. 3.5, maybe even 4 stars from me.
Now I’m braced for the worst with the “real” finale…kinda hoping that people were overdoing the criticisms like many did with the series as a whole.
Snooky
So sad! the ending made me tear up.
I don't find it surprising Trip and T'Pol's genetic material was what was stolen -- not once we knew a Terra Prime operative was on board Enterprise. "People are beginning to talk" was a line in a previous season after the neuropressure treatments started. A ship that small, there are precious few secrets about relationships. No doubt the spy knew they were a couple, or suspected as much, and chose their DNA on purpose to make a point because he found it so distasteful.
Poor Trip and T'Pol. What a burden. I choose to believe they found happiness after this. Oh, you mean there's another episode? That's a holographic simulation, not truth. And a load of drek. Besides, the novels have explained what really happened!
THIS should have been the final episode -- the various species started to begin work on a federation, a wonderful Carl Sagan shout-out, a return to Earth -- and a glimpse of how Spock can exist. Very well done.
I had forgotten, with all the trashing ENT receives, that it could be this good.
Snooky
Forgot to mention a couple of things that I loved about this, the true ENT finale...
Archer's speech was well delivered. He was back to early, optimistic Archer. I loved when he said their real discoveries weren't what's beyond the stars, but what's inside them, the threads that bind us - while looking at Trip and T'Pol.
Phlox's speech about family also tugged at my heartstrings.
I do find it hard to believe the vast majority of humanity wouldn't find their heart melting at the sight of Elizabeth, though. She was so adorbs!! Everybody loves a baby. Even bigots have been known to think babies of races they hate are cute. She was such a good little baby actress, too. Does she have a SAG card?
I agree with John G., the point was the baby was supposed to die.
T'Pol holding her awkwardly and telling her logically, "I am your mother." Funny!
Now on to the hideous thing that stands as the supposed final episode... (Do I have to rewatch it?)
Yanks
No Snooky, you don't!!!
Eli
Overall, the fourth series had some solid arcs, and it was good overall. But, I thought, by the end, they had piled too many dire situations on top of dire situations. It would have been nice to have some quieter episodes exploring ideas or concepts. The Next Generation often had episodes like this. I like all Star Trek, but I am more of a fan of the understated single show episodes than the multi part conflict driven material prevalent in Deep Space Nine. Even in the big story arcs, the episodes that stand out to me are the episodes that explore one idea well, not the episodes in which the stakes are the highest.
I differ from others here in that I liked the low key first couple seasons. I thought the first two seasons were subtle, understated, and sometimes humorous. I liked Archer's imperfect qualities and found his imperfect decision making endearing. Others on this forum have criticized him for being a bad leader, but I thought he was just a guy learning how to do something new.
For me, this final arc about the Terra Prime terrorist group was unpleasant and not sufficiently rewarding. I know the good guys win in the end, but it still felt bleak. For me, the problem was that Enterprise never had time to explore 22nd century Earth. All we see of Earth is the xenophobia that was arose in the Xindi period. It would have been nice to see other components of 22nd century Earth culture. The character element was good (i.e. between Trip and T'Pol). But, the plot was felt forced and unbalanced. It was obviously orchestrated to to allow Enterprise to save the world yet again.
Lastly, I feel that all of these "the world is at stake" arcs have limited Archer's character. It seems like he is always upset, angry or threatening someone. I still like the guy, but sometimes I can't help but feel uncomfortable watching him.
Anyway, as a fan of the series I certainly would have wanted the show to continue. It would have been interesting to see the direction they took the characters. It also would have been interesting to see the founding of the Federation. My reservations for this last arc do not diminish my affection for the series as a whole.
NCC-1701-Z
As far as I'm concerned, this is the last episode of Enterprise. Slap on the ending montage from The Next Episode Which Must Not Be Named, and you have a serviceable, moderately satisfying ending to the series, especially with Archer's final Kirk-esque speech and Trip's mentioning that a Vulcan-human child is indeed possible giving us hope while simultaneously foreshadowing Spock.
Ranking the story arcs from Season 4:
1. The Vulcan arc - Despite flaws, easily my favorite. Tons of callbacks to TOS, fixed up the Vulcans after Berman and Braga screwed them up, with an interesting story, and all three episodes were relatively strong. Out of all the arcs, this one felt more like a TOS prequel than any of the others.
2. In A Mirror Darkly - Pure fun - it was great to see the TOS sets recreated to perfection, but some parts of the plot felt too brainless and action-driven. Still nice to see the actors playing mirror versions of themselves - I could tell they must have had fun. Overall, an interesting detour.
3. Terra Prime - Much like how the Vulcan arc put the Vulcans on a path to what they become in TOS, this arc showed Earth taking another step towards the utopian society of the Kirk/Picard eras, addressing the inevitable questions of how to deal with xenophobia and unite humanity in a common purpose. Some flaws but overall well done.
4. Klingon forehead arc - Honestly, most fans probably could have lived without this inconsistency being explained, but it was still a fun ride. Conclusion fell flat though and I felt Section 31 was underutilized.
5. Augments - It was nice to see Brent Spiner back on the show, but this felt too action-driven and not enough brain for my liking. *Too* much of an extended detour for my liking. Still some good moments, but it seemed like too much brainless action to drudge through to get to the fifteen seconds of Data foreshadowing at the end.
6. Romulan drones - This arc had some of the most potential but I felt it was wasted, especially with the anticlimactic ending. I would have preferred an ending where the drones get taken down through the Vulcans, Andorians, Tellarites and Enterprise working together, thus foreshadowing the Federation. (Never mind that if Romulan tech is this advanced in the 22nd century, extrapolate that to the 24th century and Picard is in deep trouble.)
T'Panga
crying like a vulcan/human hybrid baby right now :(
Peter
The tragic death of the baby-with-the-un likely-origin was handled well. It was a revelation to see Connor Trineer acting with plausible emotion without hamming it up.
Mind you there was quite a lot of piggy meat on display from Bwahahaha! Peter Weller as the despicable moustache twirling villain.
On the subject of baddies who the heck was Ensign Traitor anyway? I would have been happier if the terra prime agent on the ship turned out to be someone we knew-like Captain Archer-"hey it was me all along and even I didn't know" ( OK that is a quote from Patrick in SpongeBob).
Seriously though-tell my folks I'm sorry ( blows brains out)-really daft.
So next week I am watching the horrid holodeck episode-pass me Malcolm's sick bag.
Paul Allen
Yeah, when commenting about this episode, might be nice if folk don't give spoilers about subsequent episodes. Annoying and thoughtless.
Andrew
IMO not a good episode or finale (sure it is better than the actual one but that's not saying much). Paxton and Josiah came off as absolute morons (after being at least a little grounded in reason in Part I) and thus uninteresting, there was little sense of urgency, the creation of the clone/child and involvement of Gannett didn't make sense, the weapon firing but not succeeding was a cheat.
Diamond Dave
Extraordinarily ballsy move to wrap up the main series with a dead baby, but if nothing else it brings some genuinely emotional beats to the wrap up, and with Archer's concluding speech puts a cap on things fairly effectively.
Unfortunately the bulk of the episode devolves to a fairly standard actioner that doesn't really offer too much as this point. Better than the first one because of that depth noted above, but no classic by any means. 3 stars.
Nolan
I was dreading watching this episode because to do so meant Enterprise was over, and that hurt, because as I've said elsewhere I really like the plans the writers had for S5 and they didn't happen. But the Elizabeth died and everything was made even sadder. And the cast pulled off these devestating morose scenes like pros (well... Mayweather not so much. Imagine if he'd been the spy) and I regret even more that they weren't given the oppertunity to build on the potential they had shown this season.
I still hold out hope that CBS will bring Enterprise back, even for a short run. Particularily since the new series is to be an anthology (yeah, new crews and all that) there remains a wealth of material from this point in the lore's history, and I'm confident the Enterprise cast could handle it.
(Seriously, a refit to make NX-01 in line with TOS starship design, T'Pol being half Romulan, Shran as main cast, Romulan War and Federation build-up. Where do I sign up?)
Del_Duio
@ Nolan:
I don't think there's any chance they'll bring back ENT, as it's widely seen as the final nail in Trek coffin (to be fair, VOY built the coffin and had it half sealed before it even got to ENT).
I'd really like to see where the Alpha Quadrant is 20 years after the Dominion War, or a plan to get Sisko out of that wormhole, but that's probably not going to happen either.
I'd say the best bet would be one or two characters brought back for a stand alone episode somehow, which would be pretty cool.
dave johnson
Season 4 is what Enterprise should have been intermingled in it's first two seasons. I think the series could have had a shot at a full 7 seasons if they mixed in the season 4 arcs in seasons 1 and 2.
i just remember two problems here back then
1 - the continuity problems in seasons 1 and 2 pissed off a lot of people, including me . The Ferengi episode was the jump the shark moment for me in the first 2 seasons as it was nothing more than a ratings gimmick. I stayed with the series because I like Trek, but it was annoying more often than not and I can see why ratings declined to the point that they had to come up with this Xindi season to try to save the show.
2 - At the time leading up to Enterprise's debut we had just digested over 500 hours of Trek episides from three series overlapping in the 1990s' AND, at least in my market, Trek reruns of those three series were on several channels in multiple time slots and you could literally watch reruns all day and night if you wanted. The Trek market was so saturated that Enterprise came into a very Trek fatigued market.
I think the new series will struggle because it is on a subscription service; it migth end up being the most highly pirated series of the year; but payig customers may be a struggle. It will be hard for people to just pay 8 - 10 bucks a month for 4 episodes if they don't care about the rest of the platform. The NU Trek is starting to fizzle a bit as they alienated some people bringing back Khan and the 3rd one had such a one dimensional villian (like really? let's murder a bunch of people because the guy is pissed off earth is not at war??). This new series seems to be set in the prime Trek universe so it may be a referesher but in order to succeed it needs a lot of casual viewers and they will get confused if it is not in the same timeline as the current movie franchise. My hopes are not night for it.
Paul Mehlin
Only a few Trek episodes ever made me cry. This was one. Although there were errors with some continuities, it was nice to have some time back at & around Earth. The Terra Prime movement is not so far from some current-day thinking. Other reviews here are not as kind, but I thought this was a fine Star Trek two-parter, and I enjoyed it very much. Like others have mentioned, this was a good ending for the series.
Rahul
Reasonably good conclusion to the 2-parter, it better than the first part for me. I thought the scene with Travis flying the shuttlecraft behind the comet was really well done -- big budget stuff. The shootout scene with Paxton was, yes clumsy, but also dramatic with the Enterprise on the verge of blasting the "doomsday machine" and Archer etc. still on board and Hoshi being put under duress by the minister.
As for T'Pol/Trip and the hybrid baby, it was good to see T'Pol acting like a mother although the baby wasn't conceived in the usual way. Agree with Jammer here that it's an odd strategy for Paxton to try as far as showing why humans should not have aliens on Earth etc. T'Pol/Trip crying over the baby's death and also confirming that there's no issue with human/Vulcan children if "done right" also set things up for Spock.
Archer eventually gives his speech and sets in motion the events we all expect -- all the Star Trek ideals reiterated is nice to hear.
3 stars for "Terra Prime" -- a lot of the usual Enterprise action scenes but there's a good underlying story here with Terra Prime's xenophobia as well as the various loose ends coming together and fitting together reasonably well. Still question Paxton's methods but I guess Trip/T'Pol have sorted out their "relationship" with the hybrid baby experience.
Cmj
I enjoyed this episode. When Trip grabbed his shirt and cried, I started to bawl. So real. I didn't hate the next episode, but this would've been a great series finale. I'm glad I decided to give it a watch.
Gooz
Nice 2-episode arc. The baby was stupid. What was the plan? Clone cute baby and watch it die to prove a point? Instead of using any 2 random DNAs from easy-to-get vulcan and human, pick two people on a spaceship that is almost never around?
Glad the baby died. She would have ruined T’pol and Trip’s lives.
Nievesg
@Gooz I see your point, but I also see some logic on Paxton's plan (being a mother myself, my worst nightmare is the death of a child). I mean:
The baby was designed by Paxton to die, in order to destroy or at least interfere with any dreams of "happy future" for any hybrid couple. Such a symbol of death really spoils the fun.
And of course it would be more effective using DNA from Enterprise staff, not random, because:
1) For humans, Enterprise staff were heroes, celebrities (even signing autographs on the "Home" episode). And her captain was behind the Coalition conferences on tv news on that exact moment, on the spotlight.
2) For Vulcans, T'Pol was a revolution: the first case to break all ties to vulcan high command and fully join the human Starfleet. So T'Pol was the logical choice for Paxton's attack.
Concerning future... onboard the Enterprise their former careers were stuck: Trip brought warp2 to warp5 from paper to reality, and he could have developed warp6/7 and become the next Cochrane/Henry Archer... but what was he doing instead? Only maintenance of the same warp 5 engine for years! And T'Pol was becoming his assistant, instead of doing her real science research.
Perhaps a couple of years on Earth with the child might have been good to retake their science careers. And they could still take part on a few good Enterprise's missions occasionally (Trip had still family left for babysitting).
But well, it would never happen: Romulan wars were coming, the child died and the show got cancelled. A pity, I was really looking forward to the Romulan Wars.
I'm really thankful to people of this site who recommended me "The good that men do": a perfect closure for the Enterprise show, and besides with Romulans. Loved it!
methane
I agree with everyone who says the scenes with the baby were powerful.
Otherwise, I mostly agree with Jammer; this has the ingredients of a very strong story, but never reaches its full potential. The speeches don't quite come off as naturally as I'd like them to. There's several details that leap out at you if you think about the script a little bit (like why a mining base on the moon would have a warp drive, or why a defense system against asteroids & comets would need much firepower). While I applaud the attempt to give Travis more characterization, he had no chemistry with his ex.
That all probably makes it sound like I'm more down on these episodes than I really am. I'll give the two-parter 3 stars. Not a classic pair of episodes, but more solid work from Enterprise's final season.
Franco
"I'm sorry Travis" this show finale is a mess - the next episode doesn't count for it is a TNG special actually.
Jez
I totally disagree with those of you saying the baby should've lived. No, that would've been yet another deus ex machina and made the whole thing boring and unmemorable. Oh look, Phlox did his medical magic and the baby lives, yay! Nobody dies isn't is all great!
No, the final scene actually got me in the feels. It was far more poignant and I approve of the decision to kill the child off. I will actually remember that storyline.
Peter Swinkels
As I understand it, it was never said the air pressure was earth like due to terraforming. I have heard that while people can’t deal with Mars’ air pressure, about a 10th of earth’s pressure is enough to eliminate the need for a pressure suit. Breathing and dealing with the cold are another story.
Brian
While watching the episode all I could think was that the Terra Prime group was a racist bunch of radical isolationists and its name loosely translated to "Earth First". The name seems to have been borrowed for Trump's "America First" movement...
Karel
Brian — I, too, was struck by the parallels in the script and the current regime. I double-checked and sure enough, The Demon and Terra Prime episodes were first aired in 2005. That’s more than a decade before the MAGA madness overtook this country. Seems this is an example of life imitating art.
Yanks
Karel,
There isn't "MAGA Madness", only those that are butthurt. ... you know, walking around dressed up as vaginas, naked , screaming...
Steve McCullagh
Well these two episodes are certainly timely in 2018 considering the rise of Trumpism and the return to prominence of the Far Right. Sadly ahead of it's time.
Yanks
^^ Wow, what a stupid comment.
Jasper
Terrible ending for a reasonable series. I remembered Enterprise as awful, but ended up really liking it as I rewatched it (I had an opposite experience with DS9). But this two-parter about Nazis on the moon was rather bad. When Archer had the gun pointed at bad guy with a window cracking in the background he had at least a full minute to shoot the bastard! And what was up with the baby? What a stupid and pointless way to make your point. Why is that politics dude on the bridge with Hoshi? Those scenes were aggravating. Angry Archer making speeches is always a terrible idea. One prime star for these bad episodes. Looking forward to seeing Riker!
Jasper
Also, these episodes were such downers! What a sad way to end things.
Sam
So, there's a super weapon on Mars that can destroy anything in the solar system, and it's just sitting around completely unguarded? Who buys this nonsense?
Strejda
@Yanks I don't like how people compare every fictional supervillain to Trump, but there is something about a racist business man with daddy issues with working class supporters that seems familiar.
Nolan
Well, I've now lead my friend through his first (curated) Star Trek series. And yes, to satisfy my curiosity I'm going in chronological order. Which means that if we DO watch "These Are the Voyages..." it won't be for awhile.
He enjoyed Enterprise overall I think. His favorite character was Phlox, based more on his comedic elements I believe (I also skipped "Dear Doctor"), followed by Trip and Archer and Reed (again, more for his tongue in cheek characteristics I think)
Enterprise actually had plenty of comedic moments, though how many of those were intended are up for debate. There's some decent back and forth cheeky banter in the series. "Singularity" is a pretty funny episode in the vein of other "Crew not acting like themselves" episodes, such as Naked Time/Now and Dramatis Personae (I never understood the "Trek isn't comedy take, although that Short Drek "The Trouble with Edward" was insultingly bad) We also got some good laughs in over the running joke of Archer getting punched in the face every other week.
Season Four in a chronological context was a bit more difficult for a newbie though, despite being my favorite. As great as the Vulcan and Romulan Drone/United arcs were, they bungled the reveal that Romulans looked like Vulcans. There was no lead up at all, or even clear reference to it. It was expected the viewers would know. And yeah, 99% probably do, but I think if ya make a prequel, you gotta make it so one COULD watch it first.
This is also why the MU episodes are being pushed back for my friend until S3 of TOS, after "The Tholian Web," as there isn't a lick of context as to what is going on in those episodes.
As for Terra Prime, I forgot how emotionally impacting it was. T'Pol deciding her and Trip's dying daughter be named after his dead sister whelled me up, as did Phlox's admission of sadness over the loss of the child as well. And those just served to soften me up for Soval being the first to clap after Archer's speech, after the way their relationship grew and changed over the years. Then Trip's telling T'Pol about alien political delegats wishing to attend their daughter's funeral and Conner Trinner is acting his ass off in that scene....
As much as I think Enterprise hit its' stride and should've gotten its' 7 seasons and Romulan War arc, this episode does an exceptional job as a de facto finale, and at least leaves one feeling satisfied, and manages to bring some good emotion.
Onward to The Original Series!
Maya
@Nolan
You got two seasons of Discovery before TOS!
And I agree with the general opinion that this is a better Enterprise finale than TATV, even though I do have a soft spot for TNG, was just not appropriate
Nolan
@Maya
Alas, you have fallen into my trap. ;-P
As I said, I'm leading my friend through a "curated" watchlist. I've only picked the episodes that represent quintessential and/or good Trek, ones necessay for character/plot progression, ones I have a soft spot for, my favorites and the ones that spoke to me about the hope for humanity's future... I think you know where I'm going with this. Haha. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Besides, my friend has detailed his distaste for more heavily serialized works, where each episode is purely a stepping-stone to the next. That, coupled with Discovery ALSO delving into the Mirror Universe in a way that makes the Enterprise MU episodes more necessary to have seen, and my own distaste for what Trek has been serving lately, not to mention the unrelatability of the characters m, scatter-shot writing style and much more disregard to continuity than Enterprise dreamed of means I'm leaping right over it to get to that good ol' 60's filmmaking cheesiness. (And he's also enjoying TOS so far too, for entirely different reasons than Enterprise - more than Enterprise in fact, according to him.)
Gail
So no one else thought that Hoshi rocked as substitute captain? I thought she was looking exactly like a captaincy was in her future. She shut down that political guy with no trouble at all.
Gail NYC
Hoshi was great!
I too was struck by how (sadly) relevant this episode is, in 2020.
I'm also struck by the comments about how this was the "nail in the coffin" of the Star Trek franchise. Ha. Meanwhile, we've had a movie reboot and two more CBS series! Not quite dead after all!
H
I could take or leave the main plot of the episode tbh, but the last ten minutes—including the speech, Phlox's comment about finding a new family, and T'Pol and Trip's final scene—were very moving. Shame it didn't really deliver elsewhere, especially because of the reputation the actual finale has.
@Gail
Captain Hoshi was terrific! Glad Linda Park got this and the mirror episodes to go out on.
Jeffery's Tube
I can't think of any reason for Terra Prime to use Trip and T'Pol's DNA to create Elizabeth other than pure spite. Peter Weller's character must absolutely hate T'Pol for being the first Vulcan in Starfleet and for being considered a hero, and hate that she was having a relationship with Tucker. It must have been personal for him.
Elizabeth couldn't live because Spock is supposed to be the first Vulcan/Human hybrid. Of course, he was also supposed to be the first Vulcan to join Starfleet rather than going to the Vulcan Science Academy . . . but it turns out Spock was actually just the first Vulcan to go to Starfleet Academy, not to join Starfleet at all, so Enterprise skates on the continuity with that one. Barely.
Trip and T'Pol might not remember Lorian (from the E2 episode) at all. T'Pol and Archer remembered him immediately afterward, but in other episodes, Daniels says timeline changes take time to reach forward. Archer and T'Pol had recently traveled in time with Temporal Agent tech (Carpenter Street), which might have inocculated them from the changes for a little while, but then it caught up with them.
This episode was overall ridiculous--where was that "verteron array" when the Xindi weapon was approaching Earth?--but all things considered, it doesn't really matter too much. I'm not bothered by McGuffins if they allow a compelling story to be told. This also helps me enjoy Voyager quite a bit more than most, ha.
ZeroDave
Acting wise I think Billingsley gave a masterclass.
Anthony Montgomery....I mean Jesus he had 5 years and never got less wooden.
longtimefirsttime
Just finished this. I thought it was one of the stronger arcs in this season, which is definitely the best of them all. (The arc on Vulcan was the strongest IMHO.)
I agree with others that this arc only looks more timely twenty years later. If I had seen this when it first aired, I might have rolled my eyes, but the rabid xenophobes feel totally realistic nowadays.
@Gail and @GailNYC (same Gail?), I'm in total agreement. Hoshi made a great acting captain! I'm glad they gave her something to do before the series ended, and I appreciated the bit in the first episode of this arc about her improving the universal translator.
As for Gannett, she wasn't a very good spy. And I wish that the traitor had been someone we had actually heard of before. I figured it would be Kelby since he's one of the only crewmen we knew who's not part of the main cast, but I'm glad he wasn't *always* at fault.
Mike
Two weird and depressing episodes, talk about going out with a whimper!
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