Enterprise | Season 4

Terra Prime

Directed By: Marvin V. Rush
Teleplay By: Judith Reeves-Stevens & Garfield Reeves-Stevens and Manny Coto
Story By: Judith Reeves-Stevens & Garfield Reeves-Stevens and Andre Bormanis

Rating:

Reviewed on: 11 August 2005
Reviewed by: Michael Axe

In Brief:

Review: (Contains Spoilers)

There are two ways of judging this episode – how well does it work as a story, and how well does it work as the (in effect) final episode of Enterprise ? Thankfully, this episode works on both levels, and gives the show a damn good swan-song.

That's not to say that it's a perfect final episode by any means – but you have to bear in mind the external pressures that were on it. Every other Trek series has know that its final season was its final season, and that the final episode would be the final episode, and so could build towards it accordingly. Enterprise , on the other hand, was most certainly cancelled before its time. Yes, it took a couple of seasons to find its feet, but that's true of most shows, and certainly true of most Trek series. But when Enterprise was good, it was as good as anything else Trek has produced – and certainly better than the majority of low-brow entertainment on television that HASN'T been cancelled because it appeals to the lowest common denominator.

Anyway, now is not the time to protest the injustice of the cancellation, now is the time to reflect on what was good about Enterprise – and a lot of that is summed up nicely in this episode. The very premise of the show was encapsulated perfectly in the words of the theme tune – “we've come a long way, getting from there to here”. That's what the series has always been about – showing how Humanity got from where it is now in the early 21 st Century, to where it was seen to be in Kirk's era. In the series we've seen Humanity's technological advances, we've seen Humanity building alliances and forging relationships with other races, and we've seen Humanity exploring the great unknown. But what we hadn't seen, until now, was how Humanity evolved into the civilisation seen in Kirk's era.

It had been established that the aftermath of the Third World War, Cochrane's warp flight and First Contact with the Vulcans had all helped to unify Humanity in a way never before seen, but the kind of sociological change that would be needed to create the harmony seen in Kirk's era would not happen overnight. This episode not only exposes the underbelly of Humanity's darker side, but also sounds a note of hope that decent people will not be diverted from building bridges by threats from people determined to only look after “their own”. In the current political climate, this is as important a message today as ever, and in this respect, this episode shows one of the most difficult obstacles Humanity will need to overcome in order to get “from there to here”. It is in this way that this episode is a perfect finale for a show that was all about Humanity becoming something greater than it had previously been.

As with part one, the concluding episode is full of great writing and fantastic performances. Weller continues to deliver a standout performance as an extremist who is a mass of contradictions, but who has come to terms with the fact that, in his own words, he's not the “first significant historic figure to fail to live up to his own ideals”. Equally telling was the scene between Tucker and his captor, where the prejudice against aliens is revealed to be based on nothing but rhetoric, fear and rumour – the xenophobe hadn't even seen a Vulcan before. As with so much in this episode, this attitude can (sadly) be seen all around us in today's society, where politicians and so-called leaders are able to dehumanise other races, countries and social groups, claiming that because they are different they are inherently wrong.

But this episode also captures the better side of Humanity – be it in T'Pol's argument with Paxton about the perpetual evolution of species, or in Archer's defiance to not let the diplomatic efforts fall apart because of Paxton's actions – and of course Trip and T'Pol's relationship represents the fact that individuals can often rise above the prejudices that their societies as a whole take longer to come to terms with. This was, ironically, what made them such a threat in the eyes of Paxton and Terra Prime – it wasn't just the fact that it would “pollute the gene pool”, it was the fact that relationships such as theirs always show that people – be they human, Vulcan, black, white, American or Middle-Eastern – are not really all that different from one another once you strip away the superficial surface layer. That was what really scarred Paxton – and that message is what Star Trek as a whole has always been about.

As well as being a stand-out episode in its own right, this episode also brings a nice sense of having come full circle for a lot of the crew, which is a welcome touch for the finale. Trip and T'Pol are finally passed the stage of dancing around each other, and with the (brief) introduction of Elizabeth, it is clear that they have what it takes to start a family of their own one day. Hoshi has grown from the frightened ensign she started out as to a take-charge officer, and Phlox has found a “second family” in his crewmates. Reed has come out of his shell and become a much loved member of the crew, and even his ties with the fledgling Section 31 pays dividends (and, in the same scene, we see that the Section 31 of this era still has its heart in the right place, despite being on the road to ruin – paved with best intentions as it always is). Even Mayweather gets a fair bit to do, and although his character has arguably seen the least amount of growth, it's at least nice to see that he may be maturing to a stage where he will start to value stability over adventure. And, of course, there's Archer – a man who has grown from an engineer, to an explorer, to a leader, to a diplomat. Yes, his final speech to the conference may have been a little hokey, but it symbolised his ability to bring all of the races together, and highlighted that Humanity's growth is a much about what happens in each of us each day as it is about what new technology is invented or what new star systems are explored.

When all is said and done, I'm sure that the seventh season of Enterprise would have built towards a finale that would have surpassed this one, but alas, we'll never know. What I do know, is this story is the final “proper” Enterprise episode, and the writers did not have the luxury of having another three years to plan it out. In those circumstances, this is a damn near perfect swan-song, that brings a sense of closure to the characters (even though we know their mission continues) and brings a sense of triumph to the series (even though we know the Federation isn't yet founded). This episode has a message that represents both what is at the heart of Enterprise and the entire Star Trek universe, and as such, proudly reminds us that this show deserves its place in Trek history.

This final season has, in my opinion, been Enterprise 's best, and has only served to demonstrate what more could have been done in further seasons. So although it was taken from us before its time, we must ensure that history never forgets the name … Enterprise .

Michael Axe is the author of a number of novellas and screenplays, and is a main reviewer for ST Universe. All his reviews are copyright © Michael Axe and are used here exclusively with his permission.