A Look Back: Star Trek: Enterprise – These are the Voyages…
By D. Goodman
It was 14 years ago that the series finale of Star Trek: Enterprise aired and unfortunately, time has not helped it get any better.
When you have a franchise that has stood the test of time like Star Trek has, for every episode that fans consider a classic, there are usually just as many that are remembered for another, less noteworthy reason altogether.
Yes, as tough as this may be to admit, there has been an awful lot of really bad Star Trek to go along with the good.
“Turnabout Intruder”, “Spock’s Brain”, “Threshold” and “Sub Rosa” are just a small handful of Star Trek episodes that everyone really wishes they could forget. They have become legendary thanks to their total lack of watchability and overall awfulness.
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However, there is one that stands above the rest. A Star Trek episode that is universally loathed and regularly makes the top of any Worst of Star Trek list. A crapfest the likes of which the franchise had never seen before or thankfully, since.
Of course we’re talking about “These are the Voyages…” the series finale of Star Trek: Enterprise and the final Star Trek episode to air on television until Star Trek: Discovery came along.
According to co-writers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, “These are the Voyages…” was intended as a valentine to Trek Nation and a celebration of almost two decades of non-stop Star Trek on television. Instead what they got was a poorly written, horrendously executed finale that managed to alienate the fanbase of Enterprise while simultaneously pissing off most of the cast and crew.
For those who are lucky enough to have never seen the episode, “These are the Voyages…” features Riker and Troi, neither of whom were members of the cast, as they use the holodeck to recreate the end of Captain Archer’s mission aboard the Enterprise and the formation of the United Federation of Planets.
Oh. And Commander Tucker, one of the few characters on Enterprise that the fans seemed to like, gets killed in an entirely meaningless way that made absolutely no sense.
Basically what that means is that “These are the Voyages…” is a episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation masquerading as the Enterprise series finale. There is no sense of closure, no resolution for any of the characters the fans of the show had come to know and love. Instead, Berman and Braga give a huge middle finger to Enterprise and instead make a Next Generation episode no on asked for or cares about.
That’s one hell of a valentine if you ask me.
After “These are the Voyages…” aired several of the cast came forward about their displeasure with the episode. Jolene Blalock called it “appalling” and both Connor Trinneer and Anthony Montgomery have said how disappointed they were with the final result. Even Jonathan Frakes has said that while he enjoyed working on Star Trek again, the story seemed to be a disservice to the fans and cast of Enterprise.
Usually time can soften how many fans feel about a bad Star Trek experience. “Spock’s Brain” has become something of a cult classic and Space Abe Lincoln from “The Savage Curtain” has become almost as iconic as the Gorn.
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But all fans agree that “These are the Voyages…” is still just a steaming pile of crap with a healthy dose of garbage sprinkled on top.
Star Trek: Enterprise deserved better. It still does.