Remembering ‘Star Trek: Enterprise’s Much-Maligned Finale, 15 Years Later
Between Star Trek: Discovery, Picard and the newest forthcoming Star Trek series, all on streamer CBS All Access, it’s a wondrous time to be a Trekker. Fifteen years ago, however, it seemed the sci-fi franchise was ending on a sour note, leaving the airwaves for the first time in 18 years with the series finale of Star Trek: Enterprise, which turned out to be an episode many fans and critics flat-out hated.
“These Are the Voyages…,” the series’ 98th episode, written by Enterprise co-creators Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, aired on May 13, 2005. It opens with Capt. Archer (Scott Bakula) piloting the Enterprise (the NX-01) home to Earth in 2161 for the ship’s decommissioning, while gearing up to give a speech at the signing of the Federation Charter. But when the voice of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) freezes the story, viewers realize that the Enterprise’s final journey is just a holodeck simulation.
In fact, it is the year 2370, and Commander Riker—troubled by the events of the TNG episode “The Pegasus”—is revisiting the events of the year 2161 at the urging of TNG’s Lieutenant Commander Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis).
Riker watches as Archer, en route to Earth, gets roped into a rescue mission that ultimately claims the life of Commander Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer). Through these holodeck visions, Riker finds inspiration for how to proceed in the Next Generation timeline.
TV history is rife with polarizing series finales—think Sopranos’ abrupt cut to black, Lost’s flash-sideways reveal, St. Elsewhere’s snow globe—but the decision to end Enterprise with a frame story centering on TNG characters was understandably maddening for viewers. William Riker and Deanna Troi may be important characters in Star Trek canon, but Enterprise fans deserved a finale devoted to the characters they spent four seasons following, not an episode devoted to Riker as he learns a retconned lesson he never once mentions on TNG. It smacks of a stunt-casting ploy, one crafted more to generate buzz than to satisfy fans. Apparently, the episode would have capped off Season 4 even if the show were renewed for another season. As a season finale, “These Are the Voyages…” probably would have worked—and fans would have even gotten more time with Trip, since his death would have still been years in the future when the show returned for Season 5. As a series finale, though, the episode robbed viewers of closure.
Indeed, the holodeck contrivance and the nostalgic appearances of Riker and Troi turned off fans and critics alike. “That framing story, which is a self-serving epitaph on the part of TNG producers Berman and Braga, doesn’t do the Enterprise cast justice,” Sci Fi Weekly‘s Patrick Lee said at the time. “It reduces them to the status of lab rats, and Riker’s supercilious observation is condescending … It’s not surprising that the epilogue for the weakest Trek series ended up so anticlimactic.”
“For the first time ever in Trek history, a series ends with holographic versions of the real characters fans spent years following,” Phil Pirrello wrote for a Hollywood Reporter retrospective last month. “It’s shocking how much wrong they managed to pack into one normal-sized episode of television.”
Fan reactions at the time ranged from neutral to negative. “That’s how Trek comes to an end after a run of 18 consecutive years—with a somewhat ponderous whimper that still manages to show its self-affection,” fan reviewer Jamahl Epsicokhan wrote after the episode aired. “Maybe too much misdirected affection for TNG. And not enough for the characters we’ve been watching for the past four seasons.”
Commenters on Epsicokhan’s post, however, weren’t so charitable—and expressed vitriol toward Braga and Berman. “It was just a total mess,” one wrote. “Why bring back two TNG characters? Why kill off Trip? Why set it years after the previous episode? The blame lies in the people who wrote the episode, responsible for [Enterprise’s] failure in the first place.”
Wrote another, “What exactly did the cast of Enterprise do to deserve this finale?”
Perhaps some of the cast members were wondering the same thing. Jolene Blalock, who played Vulcan Commander on the show, called the finale “appalling” in an interview with the Toronto Star. Anthony Montgomery, a.k.a. Ensign Travis Mayweather, told TV Zone Special, “I feel there could have been a more effective way to wrap things up for our show as well as the franchise as a whole. It just seemed to take a little bit away from what the Enterprise cast and crew worked so diligently to achieve over the past four years, do you know what I mean?”
For his part, Frakes admitted in 2008 that “everybody probably” feels the episode was a disservice to Enterprise. “The theory was it was a valentine to the fans,” he added in an IF Magazine interview, “but the reality is it was a bit of a stretch to have us shut down their show.” (Less than a year later, he said the episode “stinks.”)
Braga defended the episode at the time, but at a 2017 panel at the Star Trek Las Vegas convention, he gave fans a mea culpa. “I thought it was the coolest thing ever when we were writing it, the idea of doing a ‘lost episode’ of The Next Generation, but they’re going to the holodeck to look back at Enterprise,” he said at the time, per TrekMovie.com. “Rick and I thought was a great sendoff to Star Trek, and it didn’t work out so well … It was a kind of a slap in the face to the Enterprise actors. I heard it from everybody. It was the only time Scott Bakula was ever mean to me. I regret it.”
Even a transcription site prefaces its “These Are the Voyages…” transcript with a warning: “Transcriber’s note … Worst Trek Episode Ever!”
Luckily, writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman and producer J.J. Abrams reinvigorated the franchise with the 2009 film Star Trek, which honored the original story while finding a new “final frontier” in an alternate timeline—and kicked off a $1 billion big-screen trilogy. And in 2017, the franchise returned to the small screen with Discovery, the first of many CBS All Access Star Trek series on the air or in the works.
Now that “These Are the Voyages…” isn’t the last story Trekkers will get from the franchise, perhaps they’ll come to view the episode as Sirtis did in 2005: “a good episode” but not “a good last episode.”
What did you think about the Enterprise series ender? Let us know in the comments below.
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It was a bad ending to what I think was a great show. I think the best of all star trek series. The cast deserved a much better send off, in fact they should have given enterprise another couple of seasons. The best thing about the show was the crewe. They all got along and had each others back and most of all they were all likable. Now compared to discovery and Picard enterprise is way way better. I mean enterprise was made in a time when you could sit and watch startrek with your kids, now it's all blood and guts with f bombs throw in.
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I've been a Star Trek fan since I was a kid in the 60's. I was also a fan of Enterprise, and I will always believe that with better writing, the series could have lasted much longer than it did. I can also say that I was livid after watching the series finale when it originally aired. It was basically a "bit*h slap" to the entire cast of Enterprise. There should be a special place in Hell for writers who do what they did to that series finale.
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I have watched all the episodes and for a prequel it was good. But I agree that the last episode was horrible. First killing off Commander Tucker ruined it for me. Second if the writer s couldn't think of a decent ending, then Terra prime should have been the last episode. TOS didn't have a final episode. Many shows don't. They just go into rerun land. Better that than a bad ending. Too bad they didn't have another Mirror Mirror episode. That would have been cool. Or another adventure with Shran in it. I loved him.
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They DID have a "Mirror, Mirror" episode, in fact, several of them, with no explanation about how the "Star Trek" "alternate universe" became "Enterprise's" "Universe". That helped kill "Enterprise" for me.
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Trip and tpol lost their child and flox tells trip who tells tpol in tears that it was possible for a human and a vulcan have a child giving us the the indication they would be a couple and have a child then in the last episode which takes place several years later at the end of their mission when enterprise is about to be decommissioned we find that they do not carry on together ...well what a disappointment! ...we thought the series was awesome,one of the best star trek's we were let down ...
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On a broader note, I really enjoyed the characters T'pol and Shran on Enterprise.
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Very disappointing and disrespectful of the actors who worked so very hard to make this series entertaining and popular. It needs to come back and get fixed.
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P.S. I also have to wholeheartedly agree with Lee in that the new 'Star Trek.' shows (though I think 'Star Trek: Discovery.' is still very much in the same spirit and tradition of previous 'Star Trek.' shows) absolutely should NOT have F-bombs. That just isn't 'Star Trek.' and I often wonder what Gene Roddenberry would think of it. I imagine that he'd be absolutely horrified! Live Action 'Star Trek.' shows that adults watch should always also be suitable for kids to watch along with their parents.
There's absolutely no need for swearing or excessive violence and gore. Although to be fair the F-word has so far only been used once in both 'Star Trek: Discovery.' and 'Star Trek: Picard.'. So I can only hope that the producers of those shows and the upcoming 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.' will take the fan criticism on board and will refrain from giving our beloved franchise such ill-judged and wholly unnecessary modern trappings.
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I loved Enterprise! The final episode was Terrible! A great disappointment !!! Enterprise was actually one of my favorites! Besides the original Star Trek which I greatly enjoyed Voyager and Enterprise were my favorites! I hope the writers of the future Star Treks always keep relationships between the characters strong.
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My whole problem with Enterprise didn't even include the finale. (Which, yes, was kind of crazy.) But the show had (IMO) gotten on the wrong path much earlier. I don't remember exact details, but during the course of the series, an alien race launched an attack on Earth, using a laser to literally gouge out a huge swath of it-- in the US, no less. As a result of this attack, more than 5 million people on Earth died. And yet... there is absolutely NO reference to or context about this attack in any later Trek series. You'd think that an attack with such devastation would have been referenced as a major incident in Earth's history. But wait, there's more!!! The Enterprise Captain had dealings with some sort of "temporal police." So they (the writers) could easily have had the captain somehow manage to rewrite Earth's history to erase this incident, but as far as I know it didn't happen. It would be like discussing US History in school, with no mention of World War II, or 9/11.
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I watched 'These Are The Voyages.' again recently after a few years and even now it's painful when Riker first pauses the Holodeck simulation and you realize that something's going to be a bit off about the episode. The basic premise of the episode probably should have been done years before as an episode of TNG (although of course not involving Archer's Enterprise crew since that series didn't exist back into the TNG days!).
Still; at least 'Enterprise.' got to turn Star Trek canon on its head in the episode 'Carbon Creek.' by suggesting that the Vulcans had actually made contact with earth centuries before Zefram Cochrane's first warp flight!
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It would've been considered a good episode if the show continued with a fifth season. The fact that it was the series finale didn't help the series and left a bitter taste in the mouth. I actually liked the series, maybe not as much as the others, but I still liked it. It's Star Trek after all. What's not to love about Star Trek?
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I think I was one of the few people that didn't absolutely hate the theme song, which had (gasp!) lyrics. I think part of it had to do with the visuals. I loved seeing all the incarnations of vessels named "Enterprise" throughout history and "future history."
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It took years for those darn lyrics to grow on me. But I would have enjoyed the beginning more with an instrumental version of the exact same music. Then they could have added the lyrics for seasons three and four instead of just "jazzing it up" the way they did.
But those visuals!
I was in love with the visuals from day one! Truly one of the best things about the series.
That scene where the two warp drives unfold from Zefram Cochrane's ship...
...Gets me every time!
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Agreed.
A truly horrible way to end a good series with some GREAT characters. I developed emotional connections to all of the characters; particularly of Hoshi, Pholx, Shran, and T'pol. I was truly hurt to see them fail to get the send off they deserved.
The series served as an excellent bridge from our real life modern day world to the days of Star Trek in the distant future. We get the scientific explanations of the beginnings of all of the warp tech, replicator tech, transporter tech, the politics of the Starfleet, how the Federation of Planets developed, and so much more. In addition to being entertaining, it also felt "educational" in regard to the rest of the Star Trek universe, which made it completely fascinating. A show such as this simply deserves better than the treatment it got in its final episode.
They can make it up to us by letting Jolene Blalock reprise her role as T'Pol for an episode or two in the new upcoming Captain Pike series. Vulcans live 200 years, which at age 160ish, means she's very much alive during Spock's science officer days.
CBS, please make it so!
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This was by far my favorite Star Trek series. I thought the writing was far superior to the other series and I was a big fan of the characters, including Captain Archer who I thought was the best TV series captain. But I also thought this Next Generations twist was demeaning to the entire series and especially so since it ended up being the last episode.
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I had put this mess out of my mind, until this article brought it up again. That massive weapon's attack on Florida (I believe) was just stupid, for the very reason you wrote. There is no way that would have been ignored in every show and movie set in the "future." And then I had to be reminded of the killing off of Trip. 🙁
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Like you, I had put the finale (and much of the series in general) out of my head. Trip killed off? I didn't remember that either. I do remember an episode where a clone of him was killed.
Yeah, I think the writers made a huge mistake with that Xindi storyline. It could have easily been fixed with a Dallas-like "shower scene," in which we find out that the whole Xindi attack was erased from the timeline. And then more crazy, cheesy time-travel with Riker wouldn't have been necessary.
Too bad, it was a decent show in the beginning.....
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I loved the Enterprise series and hated the finale. I don’t know what was going on between the writers, actors and directors at that time, but the “front office” blew it. It was totally disrespectful to the actors and fans of Enterprise. TNG coming across as smarmy, smug and superior. Enterprise viscerally conveyed to viewers the wonder and danger of space exploration in its infancy. A captain who had to learn the hard lessons that eventually became the “Prime Directive”. He embodied the pioneer spirit and ruthlessness needed to carve out a human presence. A young Wyatt Earp with all his flaws. He even had the equivalent of horse thievery, the desperation in taking another crews warp drive knowing it meant that crew might not make it home. People say T’pol was cold, but I found her the most emotional and vulnerable Vulcan of any series. I’ve always felt her vulnerability came from the love she felt for Archer and understanding he could never return it. This prequel turned out to be ahead of it’s time and I think today’s audiences would be more accepting of its nuances. It deserves a movie and proper ending.
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I just binged the series and I am so utterly disappointed at the last episode. I loved watching the characters, their growth, and became quite attached to such an amazing crew!! The storytelling was on point and then you get to the last episode and you're like WTF, it did no justice to all the characters who deserved so, so much better.
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The whole episode could have been nothing more than Berman and Braga standing there flipping off the camera with not a word said, and it wouldn't have been as big a middle finger to the fans and cast as what they gave us.
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Watching holo-cadavers of a truly dedicated and accomplished crew of actors as Riker's puppets was an insult and a travesty of epic proportions. I had to imagine a more befitting and honorable finale for the Enterprise Crew and Trip. (They surely missed the mark and disparaged the show, characters, actors, and fans.) Salute and 21 Gun honor!
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I love Star trek Enterprise and I loved season finale. the sadness of trip and t'pol never getting together even though there was love there is still a haunting memory, 18 years later.
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I just reckon they should have gone with Archer fading to a new scene and going' oh boy' as if it was all just quantum leap
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So disappointed. Loved the actors.
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The last episode of Star Trek's Enterprise was ok for an episode but not a "last episode". The series actually needed a fifth season and deserved a 5th season but was forced to retire at least one year early. Network executives must have been weary of all the Star Trek shows of that time period, and wanted to bring on some shows that weren't Trek related. To bad as Enterprise was a good show and I was a fan.
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I eventually became fond of the theme song, but I remember That Night, everyone waiting for the new Star Trek! They showed the first scenes, then to the music - and it wasn't Star Trek music!?! I thought, "Why would they alianate millions of fans Before we even saw the episode!?! But I got over it, and enjoyed the series. Then the finale - all the Years of ST and the writers knew Nothing about the fans!?! You don't EVER kill a main character in ST unless you plan on ressurrecting them in the next show/movie! Or unless he's William Shatner and you're tired of paying him.
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I love enterprise - I have seen all four season at least five times. I just never understand fans - if your a fan then you will always enjoy the effort why go into a show with some much criticism. But enterprise I was disappointed when it was cancelled, I enjoyed the journey- all the main characters were so interesting. They may have not been Kirk or Spock but they had charm and style, they were fit and gave the feeling of that old military mind set. I will always support Star Trek in all its forms, to watch men and women boldly go where one has gone before.
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I loved Enterprise! And Voyager too! However, I was bitterly disappointed with Trip's demise. I was pretty upset, and even cried. It was like losing an old friend, and who was I going to talk to about it? Luckily because of Star Trek Day 2020 I found my way here and now I can vent and let it out! Trip and T'Pol were two of my most favourite Star Trek characters ever and when the series ended it should at least have given fans a promise of future contact between them. I watched the final episode twice to actually be able to comprehend that Trip was gone. It could have ended when T'Pol says, "However long it takes, I believe I am going to miss you". (Or words to that effect.) Then that would have given us hope that the future episode with their son was likely to happen. I mean really, I watched 98 episodes in five months here in Melbourne, Australia. I had invested a lot of time in this series and these characters. The final episode should have been more about what they all would be doing next. I liked Shran too!
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Enterprise's final episode was nasty, as nasty as the opening song I'd say. Why kill Tucker, why the Xindi attack on Earth was left in the timeline when time travelling was part of the whole plot, why bring back Riker and Troi, why why why?!
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Yeah totally wrong. Cause it was the last episode what the hell was the point of killing off poor trip. It should have been at least a happy finish not a sad one. It was a real letdown.
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I thought it was aweful! Tripp was my favorite character, and I wanted him and T'pol to be the first human-vulcan couple to have a happily ever after! To add insult to injury, Riker was always my least favorite character, and that plot involving him was insulting and irritating and stupid and took up time we needed to see completion of the Enterprise timeline! All the other star trek series I watch again and again, but that final episode of Enterprise ruined the whole series for me and I can't watch it again!
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I really liked Enterprise I agree the ending was horrible. But I also think that if they just got rid of the whole TNG part it would have been a good sendoff (except for killing off trip).
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I loved Enterprise, I thought it ended a year too soon. I absolutely hate the Finale. Killing Trip was a huge waste. I really enjoyed Shran and getting to know more about Andorians. It was great watching the fledgling beginnings of the Federation. I would love to see some of the Characters in the new Pike series.
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T'Pol, for sure. She'd be the equivalent to a 70 year old. Not sure who else would have survived that long.
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Loved the series hated the ending killing Trip worst decision ever
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As a star trek fan since the beginning in 60's, it was really depressing to watched a final episode of a st series that could has set a more indepth appreciation for the whole st franchise. It appeared to be like dispossal of sorts to wrap unwanted series. Making an st series should be an honor to the sci fi classic it is and overall institution which is proven to have had an impact into american and the world history. It should not be bound by network policies or burocracy of any level. Fans from all over the world watch these series, movies, buy merchandize, go to conventions so yes, we pass judgement over every st series, movies, everything. Has anybody wandered what Mr. Rodenberry (god rest his soul) could have said if he was alive at the time. To all parties concern who are responsible for making st series and movies, remember what the fans did back in the sixties when the network abbruptively cancel the first st series before its time and fans flooded the studios and letters none stop...with technology nowadays and even 15 years later, do you think social media (fans) has forgotten?, we havent.
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Just binged this show on Prime Video. Loved it! Loved the characters..all of them. But the ending eposode was a disservice to the fans and actors. The killing of Tripp was absolutely the worst part. For what reason? The show did not have a happy ending and I totally felt cheated.
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Well, 15 years later the last episode is STILL terrible! But I've settled this in my mind by imagining a two-part "true" finale (called "Braga Docious") in which Trip discovers a malicious sabotage to the Enterprise intended to ingloriously destroy the Enterprise and its crew by exploding the warp engines and engulfing everyone with green gelatinous goo. (Oh wait, that's what "These Are the Voyages" did!) Anyway, Trip and T'Pol discover that this attempted sabotage was carried out by an evil race of beings ("The Braga") from just behind the Zeta Quadrant. When Archer learns that Shran had former dealings with The Braga, he brought Shran aboard. The two of them set the Xindi-Insectoids and Reptilians against these evil beings. And they were never heard from again.
I've seen the whole series 3 times, the third time with my 13 yr old granddaughter. She fell in love with several of the characters, especially Trip. When we came close to the end of the series, I warned her about the last episode. She refuses to watch it. I'm glad to hear that Braga somewhat apologized for the episode. Since it is all fiction anyway, my 2-part finale has fixed it for me.
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Terra Prime should have been the finale. It worked as a season finale and was a very good two part episode with the themes of the show perfectly realized. These are the voyages had many problems, but the Riker stuff is probably further down on my list of things wrong with it. The main thing was the six year time jump where the characters never grew at all. They still had the same ranks and were doing the same things, so it really made no sense. None of them had new jobs, were married, had kids or promotions in six years? They were just all wondering around the enterprise, I guess. The Trip/Tpol stuff went nowhere and there was no happy ending. I do not think the "idea" of Riker coming back was bad in itself, but doing so for a long forgotten TNG story was clunky and was the bad idea. Maybe have him do the holodeck thing when he as captain of his own ship and makin a decision on some new problem would have been the better call.
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This show was gearing up to be my favorite of them all, and then came the Xindi.I had to keep telling myself this storyline would be over soon, but by that time it was too late for me to get back into it. Then came that pitiful last episode, where they might as well have killed off Spok or Dr. McCoy. And just like that they were gone. Archer is still my favorite Captain,can't blame him for bad writing.
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Haven't watched Discovery, and don't plan to. I'm not setting my Grandchildren down in front of a show throwing F-bombs around.
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This was a great series. I've watched it end to (almost) end 3 times already. I truly believe season 3 in particular could have been made into an awesome movie - it was that good.
Like everyone else, I couldn't believe the series finale. Seeing Riker in the scene broke the entire line and effort by the series actors. Sorry but no pass to the writers on that one. That was appalling, period. If they had no good ideas, they should have passed the work on to someone else instead of setting it on fire and going down with it.
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Just watched the series for the first time and literally just watched the final episode an hour ago. I've been ranting ever since, lol. I didn't even mind it being framed as Riker learning a lesson but this was supposed to be the send off for a crew that had spent ten years together. It should have told us where these characters went next. It should have had new beginnings and taking previously feared steps in life. Instead we got told Shran had been thought dead but was alive which since we'd not know he was supposed to have been dead had no meaning beyond, hey nice to see you dude! And then after the previous episode seeming to set up Tpol and Trip actually having a relationship (as opposed to apparently having had sex once and then brooding over it for years) we find out nope, nothing happened in the intervening time and that was fine, but they kept harping on their connection so a good narrative would have delivered something on that front. Something more than Tpol wanting to meet his parents after he's dead. And this is coming from someone that HATED their "romance" I didn't even ever really like Trip but I left the episode/series feeling so damn incomplete. Trip's death was completely random and meaningless (and not even shown!) beyond making sure Archer got to give a speech and by the time he does, just a couple days later, none of the crew even seems to remember Trip died. Emotionally, the episode was just off. Such a let down.
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I liked Enterprise a lot, and I enjoyed the final episode. It wasn't perfect, but it was different. Most series finales are disappointing. There's no good way to say goodbye to beloved characters and universes. Berman and Braga took a bold shot and tried something different. It didn't work out as well as they'd hoped, but it was a good idea in principle. The only disappointment I had with Enterprise is that it was only four seasons. I would have enjoyed seeing Shran on the bridge, a few more Tellarite stories, maybe some Rigelians, and a bunch of new worlds and species. There's a lot there. Denobula would've been an interesting visit. It wasn't what it could have been, but it was still excellent.
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Television and entertainment in general, as well as the United States, have been deteriorating ever since.
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Having been a Trekker from the very beginning, watching "Mantrap" on a black-and-white TV (Incidentally, I am a Trekker, a serious Science Fiction Fan, as opposed to a "Trekkie", going to "cons", getting autographs, dressing up in weird costumes, buying a lot of junk, and believing in "Star Wars"), I was dismayed by what was done to Gene Roddenberry's vision. Gene Roddenberry & Co. started out with a good vision and scripts, toward the end of the "Golden Age" of Television, but NBC fought Roddenberry tooth and nail all through the series, and tried to drive a stake through Star Trek's heart in the third season, relegating it to the Friday night dustbin. There were good scripts later, but the producers and writers were only interested in making money, and it showed. The scripts ignored Federation, and Earth "History" (example: Robert April was Kirk's Enterprise's first Captain) and they got more and more ridiculous with each succeeding series. It wasn't quite as bad as "Lost in Space", or "Spaceballs", but it was bad enough. As far as I have been able to determine; Television, and Corporations are afraid of good Science Fiction, because it makes people think, and they can't have that. Roy Thinnes said as much without saying much at all about ABC's cancellation of "The Invaders", which incidentally occurred at about the same time "Star Trek" was cancelled, Richard Nixon ran for President, and Ronald Reagan was Governor of California and becoming nationally recognized.
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Robert April was never retconned, so im not even sure what you’re talking about. Enterprise 1701 had three captains, Pike, April, and Kirk. That has never changed.
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Today is Sept 30th, 2022 and I just finished the reruns of all 4 seasons of Enterprise. I remembered the ending with Riker before, and watched that last episode very carefully this time to see if it was a simulation, (muttering under my breath, "it was still a fantastic Star Trek series, even for a simulation.") If the script would have had Riker program the scenes from the historical database on the incident Riker was looking for, I could have gone alone with that, because we've seen that on too many occasions to count, where scenes have been recreated to help solve problems, it would have been acceptable.
At one point Deanna Troi tells Riker that Archers father invented the warp 5 engine, and there were other clues that made it seem like it wasn't just a simulation. In fact, why would there have needed to be 4 seasons of holodek simulations of a fictitious show loaded into the computer database anyway? And who programed them and why. In spite of people within the Franchise who wanted to take the limelight off of Star Trek Enterprise in that last episode, it was because it was a hell of a show, and could have gone down as one of the best Star Trek series of all time. Ill take the win, because no matter what, even for a simulation, it was one hell of a series.
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YEP. Archer and Janeway are my favs.
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Last ENTERPRISE ep?; it STINKS. Did the writers hate the fans???
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It was a sucky finale for series that finally found its footing in the final two season. I don't blame Johnatan or Marina, but the director and producer left a real stinker for them to be associated with. Worse was killing off Trip like it was some kind of memorable moment to see a key character die off. Too bad it did not have one more season to take us to the Romulan War and NX Refit.
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Just finished watching it in reruns last night. Hated the ending . Even though I knew it wasn't going to happen you keep wanting T'pol to let someone know she loved Trip.
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I was watching Enterprise on Netflix. I loved the series! I am 66 and was brought up on ST:TOS. For me Enterprise is the only worthy successor to ST:TOS. I loved the crew and their interplay. Now, I had read so much critique of the final episode I decided to miss it. I didn't want to see Trip die, I wanted him and T'Pol to get together. I didn't want to see anyone from the other ST versions. And for me Enterprise is never decommissioned! She is in permanent space exploration and adventure...so yes I'm glad i missed the finale. I'll just have to go back to the beginning and start all over again. Why oh why did they cancel Enterprise?! Stupidest decision ever... 😪😠
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The worst thing about Star Trek Enterprise was Scott Bakula's acting.
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Just finished rewatching Enterprise before it leaves Netflix. Such a bad finale. Being TNG fodder in hologram form no less. Plus, after 10 years of them serving on Enterprise, Hoshi and Travis were still Ensigns?
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P
I hated the show from the start and I absolutely love that it turned out to be nothing more than a holodeck program Riker was running.
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O
Killing a key character on a series finale is rude to the fans, especially right after Trip and T’pol were talking about having a baby naturally eventually. And the last few episodes were just random snips of stories that had no context on the rest of the show. They could have gone so much farther with the Temporal Wars, or the alternate Terran Empire universe (basically all they did was make the women sleep around and kill everyone, what the flip?). Ending that mess by skipping years of missions, and turning the final one into a cheesy holodeck simulation… that’s a sloppy way to announce “the show got canceled, so let’s modge podge in some bits of material we couldn’t fit elsewhere “… Third graders get their creative writing projects flunked for writing endings like that…
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O
It was the worst show ever, until the last two eps of GOT. I just watched it tonight again and every time Riker showed up I skipped that part. And ended it when Archer walked up to give his speech to applause. But killing Trip? Seriously. At least it was all just a staged event in a ST: Novel. They deserve a better ending.
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C
To take the most beloved character of the series, Tripp, and murder his child, murder his relationship with T'pol, murder him, and murder the show with such a callous framing of a finale is unforgivable. They've made such a hash of the Star Trek universe.
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B
New ending Trip and T'Pol fall in love and she becomes pregnant and all the crew decides to colonize a new planet together and use enterprise as a transport to build the new world but then planets enters a quantum field that maroons ship and planet colony in a new universe, Hoshi and Capt Archer fall in love and the entire crew becomes space pirates in this new dangerous universe full of hostile inhabitants in order to find supplies for the new colony. Capt Archer builds a fleet of ships and the colony grows and everyone raises families together. This new universe is very strange but then they find a way home back to earth through this time warp into the future and they discover earth has been taken over by cybernetic humans and they need the pirate fleet to make trips back and fourth to free earths enslaved humans from the cyborgs.
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B
I've never felt this way watching a TV show before. I got real upset, I actually left the room when it was over in anger. This was different than when our heroes didn't get home right after blowing up the weapon and saving humanity; this one hurt. The ending montage, listening all three captains of the Star Ship Enterprise say their piece was very nice and touching. Very, very nice. All in all a very selfish episode WRT Berman. It was obvious to me that this "Valentine to the Fans" was not written for the Enterprise fans, but to satisfy Berman's ego with regard to TNG. I felt left out of the end of Star Trek. I don't understand how Berman could give us so much great Trek throughout the years and then just cast off a group of fans like this. I guess that's what hurts so much about TATV. So Terra Prime and Archer's speech to the council is the finale for me. (and a damn good one too)
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B
Visuals were the best of the franchise and hold up well to this day. All they needed to do was use 'Archer's Theme' for the music.
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C
Horrible
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P
Simply aweful
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O
It was crap,nothing good about it at all.A slap in the face for Enterprise actors and a slap for the four seasons that viewers watched it.The makers should have been ashamed at the time and now
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R
The "gouge" covered Florida, Cuba and Venezuela. It killed 7 million, not 5. The alien race were the Xindi. It's temporal agents. It's time lines, not entire history that are changed. A corrected time line included the attack on Earth by the Xindi but it erased the temporal wars.
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B
I think the reason it isn't in the history books is because they went all in on time travel. So we are actually on a different timeline. IDK time travel generally sucks due to this issue. But think of it as back to the future 2. Temporal time police and Archer are trying to get the timeline back to the closest to what actually happened.
The storyline itself was a bit too long and slow in parts.
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O
I thought then and now that the finale for this series was awful, buff said.
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R
Me I'm an original treky fan going back to the 60s star trek , what they did in the last episode of enterprise was bloody awful robbed the entire cast of a fond fair well , PS and killing off Trip what were you people thinking a brain explosion .
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B
I've been re-watching these episodes and I think the problem with the series as a whole was Berman's ego and his desire to put a Seven of Nine-type character on the Enterprise - in the form of T'Pol. She was colorless, humorless and just not likeable. There weren't enough strong characters. The premise was interesting - it was just poorly executed on the part of the showrunners. I felt and still feel bad for Scott Bakula. What a misuse of a talent.
3 4
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O
I disagree. I loved T-pol
9
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O
ABSOLUTELY!
I'm hoping to see an elderly T'Pol on the upcoming Captain Pike series. Nothing big. Just a cameo or two.
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-
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W
I never thought the holodeck thing diminished Enterprise, as the events of the series were true in the Trek universe. Bakula was a great lead but, if anything undermined the show, it was the fact that it was supposed to be a prequel to the original Star trek but was far too different from it for that to have had credibility. Never easy to try to set something before another show, especially when the show in question wrapped more than 30 years before, but they larded Enterprise with too many virtue signaling storylines. It still was a decent show.
3
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C
Enterprise was just bad to begin with. Personally, I hate prequels. That being said, the reason Enterprise was cancelled was due to poor ratings. The final was actually good hoping to tap into the popularity of TNG.
7
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R
I thought the Enterprise finale was one of the most inspiring and awesome episodes of any Star Trek episodes I have ever seen. I am shocked that anyone would think otherwise. It was inspirational. Intelligent. Far-sighted and heart rendering was it's storyline and conversation. It was beyond reasonable, believable and awesome. Anyone that didnt like it just didn't get it. I wish we could view history that way with so much realism as a hologram. I would love to see our founding fathers ponder over our beginnings. The best episode ever was the Enterprise finale.
2 11
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J
Sometimes people do "get it"... but they just don't like it. Which seems to be the case with a majority of responses here.
2
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O
I get it, abd it was still a horrible episode and an insulting ending to the series.
1
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O
I do get it.
I think the plot of the episode was actually pretty good.
I didn't mind seeing Troi and Riker. The problem is that it's the send off of the series. It was way too cold and abrupt. The characters we grew fond of simply deserved more after an emotional four year run.
1
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