Thanks guys. I wasn't even sure there was a series Finale. I never watched Enterprise when it ran. In fact, I never really watched anything but TOS til I bought each series season as a completion issue
I was really surprised with Enterprise. I didn't watch it when it was on, either. Well, the first episode and I didn't really care for it so I stopped watching. I wasn't even going to buy it on DVD, but then Paramount announced that Star Trek: The Animated Series was coming to DVD so jsut to have the entire Star Trek library, I bought Enterprise.
The first season was a little shakey. Second season seemed to get better. By the third season (my personal favorite season) I was hooked.
Like everyone else, I thought the series finale was a total misfire.
Now that they're doing the "young Kirk and Spock" movie (due out Christmas 2008), I'm kinda hoping they throw in a few Enterprise nods. A Scott Bakula cameo as an old Admiral Archer would be cool.
According to the biographical display seen in one of Enterprise's last episodes, writer Mike Sussman wrote a section of text which states that Archer "...died at his home in upstate New York in the year 2245, exactly one day after attending the christening ceremony of the first Federation Starship Enterprise, NCC-1701."
Whether or not this is carried over is up in the air, but it's possible; Archer was born in the year 2112, and him living just up to the time of Robert April is interesting.
Also, agree wholeheartedly that you should skip "These Are The Voyages..." at all costs. That episode can damage your cerebellum, and causes breast cancer in passing Chihuahuas.
The rest of Season 4, however, is stunning; Manny Coto bringing Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens onboard as executive story editors was a stroke of genius, and for ten or twelve years prior to that point was something I'd long stated should've taken place.
Too bad Braga and Berman had to cock it all up at the very end.
I watched the show when it originally aired and always had a kind of "take it or leave it" attitude. Season four was a true revelation for the show, as it at last cashed in on some of the prequel goodness that comes from being part of the Star Trek universe. I have been watching the re-runs in syndication on sci-fi channel and may have under-estimated the series. I do have to agree with othe posters about the last episode (calling it a series finale is a little too grandiose.) To me, the show will always be the fourth best live action star trek series of all time. 1) TOS 2) DS9 3) TNG 4) ENTERPRISE 5) VOY
IMO, you have to watch the final episode. It serves as a brutal reminder to fans that they should have kept their mouths shut. We'll probably never know what was planned for the next 3 years.
Ok, it can serve as a reminder to studios too - to not listen to the complaints. There wil probably never be another Star Trek series because of what happened.
Glenn- Are you suggesting that there was a lot of fans who wanted to see the Generations of the Star Trek series combined, ie: the visiting characters who appear in the finale?
I'm not sure I understand your meaning, or that I agree with that. I thought the whole thing was Berman and Braga's idea as a "Valentine to the fans". I do agree the finale was brutal to watch.
It was not so much an "Enterprise" finale as it was a grand finale for ALL of the Star Trek episodes. They didn't need to put it in, but because they did, it came across to me as a message.
A 40 year run on one premise cannot be matched anywhere, (soaps don't count - not in prime time! ) - and it looks like no one will ever attempt anything like that again. That's the sad part.
The same could be said for any number of Enterprise episodes. New viewers should be hesitant aboud viewing much of season one and most of season two also.
These kind of books are well and good for the die-hard Trek fan (of which I number myself) but anything in these novels is not part of Star Trek "canon" so until it is seen, or referred to, on screen it never really happened. It is a shame though as Season 4 of Enterprise seemed on the brink of mid-series greatness much like TNG and DS9. I think you have to give the creators a bit of a pass on the Enterprtise "finale" as it was hastily improvised due to the uncertain future of the show. TNG's finale was pretty good, but was pre-planned and scripted as the series had announced it was ending. DS9's swan-song (also produced with plenty of time to script) was a cheesy clip show that really demonstrated the tired 7th season of a Trek show that was past its prime. Voyager's finale was action packed and somewhat entertaining and was like its predecessors in the pre-determined seventh and final season. And what about TOS? Do we judge it by its last episode?
Ok, maybe you can just jump from Enterprise's penultimate episode to the final scene of These are the voyages.. and skip the first 38 minutes. And in the interests of your mental health, don't go asking..but why is he and she from.... there? Just don't ask!!