And so at last, Enterprise's infamous final episode. Will it live down to its reputation?
THE PLOT
It is six years later... and the entire crew is still together, all still at the same posts they've held for roughly a decade now. Meaning that the story starts with a major plausibility problem. Enterprise is on its way to the signing ceremony for the founding of the Federation, when they receive a message from Shran. He tells Archer that he is calling in the favor he is owed, and will need Enterprise to make a slight diversion in its route.
Shran's child has been kidnapped by some former associates. These criminals believe that he stole something, and are threatening to kill his daughter if he does not return it. Archer agrees to help - but he doesn't count on the high price that will be exacted before this adventure is concluded.
Meanwhile, in the distant future, Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) watches the entire set of events unfold, through the wonders of his Enterprise's holodeck.
CHARACTERS
Capt. Archer: We are told that Archer hates giving speeches. Is that why he's so bad at them? In any case, we see Archer worrying and fussing over this speech in much the same way he worried and fussed over the introduction to his father's biography back in Singularity. He remains a loyal friend, and doesn't even seem to seriously consider rejecting Shran's demand for help. Scott Bakula may have been (understandably) disgruntled about this final episode, but his relaxed performance is actually better than much of the work he's done this season - though I could wish for more of a reaction to some late events.
T'Pol/Trip: In the six years since Terra Prime, they have kept up a neutral working distance. They still work together, but there is no relationship anymore. With reassignment coming up, T'Pol confesses that she is going to miss Trip. This leads to a nice character moment in which Trip guarantees her that they will not lose touch with each other. With that level of feeling still existing, it seems strange that they would only be having that conversation now, but it does provide one of the episode's better moments.
Shran: Went on to marry Jhamel after the events of The Aenar, and eventually fell in with a criminal crowd after leaving the Imperial Guard. He faked his own death to evade them, which worked for a time. He retains trust in Archer, turning to the "pink-skin" for aid in his hour of need, and the two still work together. There's a sense in the first half of the episode that Shran is probably hiding something... but since Shran disappears from the episode's second half, this never gets any payoff.
THOUGHTS
The above points to one of the biggest problems with These Are the Voyages... There is the groundwork for a decent episode here. The problems don't come from the basic plot. A final adventure with Shran, just before attending the founding of the Federation? Given the limits of a single-episode finale, that's actually not a bad starting premise. With only one episode to work with, this was never going to be the next All Good Things... But there's nothing wrong with the central story idea, which had the potential to at least make an enjoyable epilogue.
Then Rick Berman and Brannon Braga added the damn frame.
The story is framed by Riker (Jonathan Frakes) viewing these events in the holodeck while making a difficult decision related to the TNG episode The Pegasus. The entire story is filtered through his viewpoint. This still didn't have to be disastrous, if the Riker/Troi bits had simply been used as bookends: A short opening scene and a closing scene to act as a button on the franchise would have been fine, had they otherwise left the Enterprise episode to work on its own.
Instead, Riker keeps interrupting the action for filler scenes. We get pointless scenes of Riker listening to the regulars' confessions while playing the part of "Chef" (who we learn here was something of a counselor to the crew, even though that's never been alluded to in the preceding 97 episodes). Probably a good third of the episode is gobbled up by Riker - leaving inadequate time to properly develop the main story.
Add to that the idiocy of setting this story six years after the main series, while at the same time leaving all the characters exactly where they were in Terra Prime. That's as idiotic as it is unnecessary. If you want a workaround that allows all of these characters to have moved on, but brings them together on the ship, simply throw in a line or two about how they've all been brought back together on their old ship for ceremonial purposes. That would be very plausible - far more so than trying to convince viewers that not a single member of the crew has moved on to anything more in their career (or personal relationships) in a six-year span!
I will say that the kidnapping plot works reasonably well for the first 30 minutes, with the rescue of Shran's daughter being one of the better-directed planetbound action scenes of the season. Things only truly become dire in the final 15 minutes, when it's clear that the writers are trying to squeeze too much incident into too little time.
Had the Riker material been jettisoned, and the extra time used to flesh out the story, this would likely have been a reasonable final episode. Speaking for myself, if a "button" was really needed to link Enterprise to the rest of the franchise, I'd have preferred to have seen bookends with an older Archer and T'Pol attending the launch of the TOS Enterprise.You could even have the same melding of the voice-overs (Archer, Kirk, Picard) over the TOS Enterprise in flight. The same thing would be accomplished, without gobbling up a good third of the episode or making the Enterprise regulars guest stars in their own series!
Judged simply as an episode, These Are the Voyages... is very flawed, but far from the worst of the series or even the season. Judged as a finale, however, it is an almost complete failure, unworthy of the series (let alone the franchise!) it intends to celebrate.
Final Rating: 3/10.
THE PLOT
It is six years later... and the entire crew is still together, all still at the same posts they've held for roughly a decade now. Meaning that the story starts with a major plausibility problem. Enterprise is on its way to the signing ceremony for the founding of the Federation, when they receive a message from Shran. He tells Archer that he is calling in the favor he is owed, and will need Enterprise to make a slight diversion in its route.
Shran's child has been kidnapped by some former associates. These criminals believe that he stole something, and are threatening to kill his daughter if he does not return it. Archer agrees to help - but he doesn't count on the high price that will be exacted before this adventure is concluded.
Meanwhile, in the distant future, Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) watches the entire set of events unfold, through the wonders of his Enterprise's holodeck.
CHARACTERS
Capt. Archer: We are told that Archer hates giving speeches. Is that why he's so bad at them? In any case, we see Archer worrying and fussing over this speech in much the same way he worried and fussed over the introduction to his father's biography back in Singularity. He remains a loyal friend, and doesn't even seem to seriously consider rejecting Shran's demand for help. Scott Bakula may have been (understandably) disgruntled about this final episode, but his relaxed performance is actually better than much of the work he's done this season - though I could wish for more of a reaction to some late events.
T'Pol/Trip: In the six years since Terra Prime, they have kept up a neutral working distance. They still work together, but there is no relationship anymore. With reassignment coming up, T'Pol confesses that she is going to miss Trip. This leads to a nice character moment in which Trip guarantees her that they will not lose touch with each other. With that level of feeling still existing, it seems strange that they would only be having that conversation now, but it does provide one of the episode's better moments.
Shran: Went on to marry Jhamel after the events of The Aenar, and eventually fell in with a criminal crowd after leaving the Imperial Guard. He faked his own death to evade them, which worked for a time. He retains trust in Archer, turning to the "pink-skin" for aid in his hour of need, and the two still work together. There's a sense in the first half of the episode that Shran is probably hiding something... but since Shran disappears from the episode's second half, this never gets any payoff.
THOUGHTS
The above points to one of the biggest problems with These Are the Voyages... There is the groundwork for a decent episode here. The problems don't come from the basic plot. A final adventure with Shran, just before attending the founding of the Federation? Given the limits of a single-episode finale, that's actually not a bad starting premise. With only one episode to work with, this was never going to be the next All Good Things... But there's nothing wrong with the central story idea, which had the potential to at least make an enjoyable epilogue.
Then Rick Berman and Brannon Braga added the damn frame.
The story is framed by Riker (Jonathan Frakes) viewing these events in the holodeck while making a difficult decision related to the TNG episode The Pegasus. The entire story is filtered through his viewpoint. This still didn't have to be disastrous, if the Riker/Troi bits had simply been used as bookends: A short opening scene and a closing scene to act as a button on the franchise would have been fine, had they otherwise left the Enterprise episode to work on its own.
Instead, Riker keeps interrupting the action for filler scenes. We get pointless scenes of Riker listening to the regulars' confessions while playing the part of "Chef" (who we learn here was something of a counselor to the crew, even though that's never been alluded to in the preceding 97 episodes). Probably a good third of the episode is gobbled up by Riker - leaving inadequate time to properly develop the main story.
The result is inevitable: Dropped threads and abrupt script turns, which gradually sink a potentially decent episode. There's much build-up to the effect that Shran is hiding something, and this feels in-character for the Andorian. The character's final mention of the episode has Archer implying that he's going to find out Shran's secret and drag it into the light. But this is never followed up, because Shran disappears from the episode after that scene.
Also, we are specifically told Shran's enemies cannot go faster than Warp Two. This is a plot point, one we are given no cause to doubt. With no explanation, however, they are somehow able to to catch up with Enterprise, and even manage to board the ship. How? Never explained. The aliens are able to do all this to generate an unconvincing crisis that comes out of nowhere, makes no sense, and is resolved (unconvincingly) just a few minutes later.
Add to that the idiocy of setting this story six years after the main series, while at the same time leaving all the characters exactly where they were in Terra Prime. That's as idiotic as it is unnecessary. If you want a workaround that allows all of these characters to have moved on, but brings them together on the ship, simply throw in a line or two about how they've all been brought back together on their old ship for ceremonial purposes. That would be very plausible - far more so than trying to convince viewers that not a single member of the crew has moved on to anything more in their career (or personal relationships) in a six-year span!
I will say that the kidnapping plot works reasonably well for the first 30 minutes, with the rescue of Shran's daughter being one of the better-directed planetbound action scenes of the season. Things only truly become dire in the final 15 minutes, when it's clear that the writers are trying to squeeze too much incident into too little time.
Had the Riker material been jettisoned, and the extra time used to flesh out the story, this would likely have been a reasonable final episode. Speaking for myself, if a "button" was really needed to link Enterprise to the rest of the franchise, I'd have preferred to have seen bookends with an older Archer and T'Pol attending the launch of the TOS Enterprise.You could even have the same melding of the voice-overs (Archer, Kirk, Picard) over the TOS Enterprise in flight. The same thing would be accomplished, without gobbling up a good third of the episode or making the Enterprise regulars guest stars in their own series!
Judged simply as an episode, These Are the Voyages... is very flawed, but far from the worst of the series or even the season. Judged as a finale, however, it is an almost complete failure, unworthy of the series (let alone the franchise!) it intends to celebrate.
Final Rating: 3/10.
Previous Episode: Terra Prime
Season Four Overview
Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: Enterprise
Review Index
After close to four months of waiting - having checked in far too frequently to see if it was up yet - I finally got to read the Star Trek review I'd anticipated the most.
ReplyDeleteYou may be wondering why I was so interested. It's fairly simple: there are very few people that have posted as many reviews analyzing Star Trek as you you have, let alone with your approach. I was looking forward to reconciling my own perception of the episode with yours (especially since there have been several episodes I did not enjoy very much that you did).
Having read through it, I was not disappointed. Sure, on some level I might have hoped for an even longer review but most of the additional things I would want from it are more likely to be covered in the season/series overview anyway.
What the review provided (that I was happy to see) was a structural deconstruction of the mechanics of why they episode did not work as well as it could have, as opposed to an idealogical or stylistic disagreement or endorsement with the subject matter of the episode as a whole.
By examining several of the decisions made in terms of structure, screen time, plot devices and other elements, there is a sense of thoroughness to the discussion of why the episode does not work (an evaluation that in the end we both seem to share).
So it has been interesting to read, more so in the "things I missed that didn't work" than in the "things I missed that did work" category, but very much appreciated either way. Thanks for the great job you did in reviewing the series - I eagerly await the overview.
*Start Tangent*
DeleteAlso, on a barely related note, I just wanted to let you know that I was thinking of a lot of your B5 reviews when I met JMS at signing recently.
He was sporting some of his usual repertoire.
Me: As the son of two parents with psych. degrees, I wanted to ask whether you felt your psych. degree helped you on the show?
JMS: I've got two degrees, one in clinical psychology and the other in sociology. But no, they just make me unemployable in two fields.
*End tangent*
After you finish your Enterprise review, it would be great to see you complete the B5 ones as well. The reviews are a highlight.
Have to agree about almost everything - except the rating.
ReplyDeleteThat Riker frame, just... yuck. Just made me cringe inside.
I don't see how the death of trip advanched that story either... and I find it hard to see how the whole thing might have helped Riker in the end, though at the end of this episode I really stopped caring about that.
For me, by far the worst episode of Enterprise. Compared to this one "A Night in Sickbay" was a joy to watch.
Really undeserved bad end for a series wich was quite good (and sometimes, great) during season 1, 3 and 4.
what a stupid episode finale of star trek the Enterprise. The death was Trip was stupid too.
ReplyDelete