These Are the Voyages...

ST episode
name =These Are The Voyages...


series =Enterprise
ep_num =98
prod_num =422
date =May 13, 2005
writer =Rick Berman
Brannon Braga
director =Allan Kroeker
producer =Mike Sussman
guest =Jonathan Frakes
Marina Sirtis
Jeffrey Combs
Brent Spiner (voice)
stardate =47457.1
year =2370/2161
prev =Terra Prime
next =none

"These Are The Voyages..." is the 98th and final episode of the UPN television series '. 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 '.

Production

Described by Berman and Braga as a "valentine"citequote to "Star Trek" fans, the episode featured guest appearances by Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis as their "" 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 a tip of the hat to the final episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation", "All Good Things...", Malcolm says, "All good things..." to Tucker in the engine room about the soon to be upcoming decommissioning of the original Enterprise.

Also appearing was Jeffrey Combs as his recurring "Enterprise" character, Commander Shran. Coto has suggested that, had "Enterprise" been given another season, Jeffrey Combs's character Shran would have been made a permanent addition to the cast.

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. Archer's dress uniform in the final scene no longer has a tie and his sleeve stripes are similar to those that appear chronologically later in the "Star Trek" timeline, specifically the original series pilot episodes "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)".

It was reported that "These Are the Voyages..." was originally written for possible use as the finale of the third season in 2004 had Paramount canceled the series at that point. However, series producer Mike Sussman has denied this in an interview with the "Trek Today" website, stating that, while the idea for such an episode dates back to the third year, it wasn't written until season 4. [ [http://www.treknation.com/interviews/mike_sussman.shtml The Trek Nation - Mike Sussman ] ] Rick Berman later told "TV Guide" that the episode was always intended for the fourth season finale, even if the series had been renewed. [ [http://www.tvguide.com/news/trek-enterprise-finale/050523-05 Trek Star Fires off Parting Shots] , Michael Logan, TV Guide, May 23, 2005, accessed February 6, 2008] However, in a July 2005 interview, Berman revealed that had the series been renewed, Trip Tucker would not have been killed off. [ [http://www.trektoday.com/news/250705_01.shtml TrekToday - Berman Bothered By 'These Are the Voyages...' Criticism ] ]

Plot details

"These Are the Voyages..." is set in the "" era of the franchise, specifically the episode "", and 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 charter that will eventually establish the United Federation of Planets; at the same time, the "Enterprise" is due to be decommissioned. The recurring "Enterprise" character Commander Shran requests the assistance of the "Enterprise" to save his daughter, Talla, his and Jhamel's offspring born in 2156, who has been kidnapped by a few "old business partners".

Meanwhile, Charles "Trip" Tucker faces a tragic fate. Before heading back to San Francisco to sign the charter, Archer and the crew take a detour to Rigel 10 to help Shran retrieve his daughter. This episode takes place on board the "Enterprise-D" as well as a number of locations from the "Enterprise" era.

The episode ends with Riker saying "Computer, end program" to turn off the holodeck (just as Archer is about to give his "famous speech"), then walking out. This is followed by a montage-shot of three "Enterprise"s: NCC-1701-D, NCC-1701 and NX-01, flying through space as Picard, Kirk, and Archer make the famous "These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise..." narration set to a reprise of the famous "" theme composed by Jerry Goldsmith, mixed with orchestrations of the themes of each series' intros respectively playing as each Enterprise appears. Mike Sussman revealed in interviews that this was his idea, not the idea of Rick Berman or Brannon Braga.

Cameos

In the last scene of the episode, after Archer steps into the Council Chamber, Riker walks up to Troi, standing in a walkway behind the audience. A number of behind-the-scenes "Star Trek" personnel have cameos in the following shots. "Enterprise" writer-producer Manny Coto is the gray-haired admiral sitting behind Malcolm Reed's left shoulder. To Coto's left is Michael O’Halloran, Rick Berman’s assistant on ' and "Enterprise" editorial staff member. To O'Halloran’s left is Larry Nemecek, author of "The Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion", and editor of the official fan magazine "Star Trek Communicator". Behind Coto are a man and a woman, who are Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, "Enterprise" staff writers and the authors of numerous "Star Trek" novels. As Riker stops when he gets to Troi, the camera pans to the left, and closes in on the two of them. As it does so, a man to Judith Reeves-Stevens's right becomes visible: this is writer and series science consultant Andre Bormanis. To Bormanis's right is a woman in purple: Manny Coto's assistant, production associate Donna Roone. To her right, the man who speaks to her at one point, is pre-production coordinator Juan Carlos Fernandez. In front of Fernandez is production associate/producer David Rossi. This use of cameos echoes "What You Leave Behind", the finale of ', which also featured the creative staff in a scene set in the holosuite program of Vic's nightclub.

Controversy and fan reactions

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. [ [http://www.trektoday.com/news/160405_02.shtml TrekToday - Braga & Paramount On 'These Are The Voyages...' ] ] 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. [ [http://www.trektoday.com/news/090505_02.shtml TrekToday - Blalock Again Blasts 'Enterprise' Finale ] ] Anthony Montgomery (Travis Mayweather) 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." [ [http://trekweb.com/stories.php?aid=43a43f1175dcc&topBrowse=all TrekWeb.com - Anthony Montgomery Says "These Are The Voyages..." Not an Effective Finale ] ]

In response to some of these criticisms, series producer Manny Coto stated that he personally considered the two-part story "Demons" and "Terra Prime" that preceded it was the actual finale of the "Enterprise" storyline. [ [http://www.trektoday.com/news/100505_01.shtml TrekToday - Manny Coto Praises 'These Are The Voyages...' ] ] [ [http://www.treknation.com/interviews/mike_sussman.shtml The Trek Nation - 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. The death of Engineer Trip Tucker was another object of controversy. Connor Trinneer himself (who plays Trip) said during a convention appearance at Dragoncon's Trek Trak 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. [ [http://www.treknation.com/articles/trinneer_trektrak2005.shtml The Trek Nation - Trinneer Regales TrekTrak with Tales of Tucker ] ]

Fans of the show have generally given the series finale a poor rating. The current average rating on IMDb for the final episode is 5.3, the lowest rating for any of aired episodes of the show. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0244365/eprate IMDb] ]

Pocket Books follow-up

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 "".

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 is 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 were answered in the next "Enterprise" book by the duo, "The Good That Men Do," which began 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 be revealed to have survived (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 cover up 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:
* Trip's alleged "death" actually happened in 2155, not (as the episode suggests) in 2161. In the novel, this is justified by the fact that the publicity over the formation of the Federation, which really did occur in 2161, would overshadow any lingering inconsistencies about Trip's death - by "hiding" it in 2161, Trip's disappearance from public life would be more easily forgotten.
* The novel shows us how Archer, Phlox and Malcolm Reed faked Trip's death and hired the alien pirates who are seen boarding the ship. They are initially the only ones who know that Trip is alive, although T'Pol later finds out as well. (A subtle visual clue in the episode reinforces this: as a gravely "wounded" Trip is being wheeled into a medical scanner, he turns to the captain and winks.)
* In the episode, Shran's daughter Talla was kidnapped, and the "Enterprise" crew mount a rescue. This was a cover up of the real kidnap victims, a group of Aenar who were being used by Romulans for their telepathic abilities.
* The episode indicates that Shran was discharged from the Andorian Guard for losing his ship, the "Kumari". This is largely true - the Andorian military, as Shran once pointed out, takes a very unforgiving view of any officer who loses their command.
* In the episode, Shran is already married to an Aenar woman, Jhamel, and Talla is their daughter. However the novel reveals that Shran is single, and Jhamel is already promised to another Andorian bonding group. However, in the course of the novel, one of the bondmates is killed and Shran joins the group, so Talla could still be born in the "real" timeline.
* The ending of the episode, supposedly showing us the signing of the Federation charter, was criticized for not mentioning the Earth-Romulan War in any capacity, and because no crewmember has been promoted in all that time. This is explained in the novel: the signing was not of the Federation charter, but that of the 'Coalition of Planets' (a precursor to the Federation), and the scene takes place in 2155 (not 2161) - so very little time has actually elapsed, and the Romulan War has not yet occurred.

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. [ [http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/help/faqs/faq/676.html startrek.com] ]

References

* [http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/ENT/episode/9655.html StarTrek.com Episode Information]

External links