Terra Prime was quite good, and I thought an excellent example of what Enterprise should have been. It addressed issues that were appropriate for the era in which the show was set and helped fill in historical information of relevance to the Trek story. Further, it managed to appropriate current issues (racism, xenophobia, and terrorism) without beating one over the head.

Interestingly, this final two-parter is one of the few (indeed, perahps only) times that we got to learn anything at all about Mayweather. Hoshi’s run at command was interesting as well.

The death of the baby, however, was quite predictable. I will also say that Archer’s speech at the end was on the corny side.

Unfortunately These are the Voyages underscores Berman’s lack of understanding of what should have been done with Enterprise–here is the chance to focus on the founding of the Federation and instead we get a side-story about Shran’s kidnapped daughter and the ramifications of that event, including the poorly written, poorly acted, gratuitous death of Trip. One tunes in assuming that the story would be about the decommissioning of Enterprise and the signing of the Federation Charter, and yet we don’t actually get to see any of it (save a few minutes in the final act). It reinforces a view that I have had about Berman for a while now: that he, for some reason, doesn’t know how to deal with those issues, so he will talk about them in the background, but not actually address them.

Further, as a character episode I didn’t feel like we really learned anything about the characters—especially since this episode is set 6 years into the “future� and yet the characters don’t seem to have changed at all. Indeed, T’Pol acted more like she did in seasons 1-3 rather than in season 4.

The flashback aspect of the episode with Riker and Troi was interesting in a geeky, fan-ish sense, but didn’t really forward the story. I am not convinced by the profound nature of how Trip’s decisions were such a major lesson for Riker. Indeed, of all the stories in the Holodeck’s database, this was the best that Troi could cook up for Riker to view to help him with his ethical dilemma? If this was the best Troi could come up with, then she isn’t a very good judge of historical lessons.

Further: had it been up to me, I would have far preferred to have seen Riker and Troi on the Titan than to see them on the Enterprise-D (gee whiz, it has been over ten years since the end of TNG and Riker and Troi look those years and so it made it hard to see them as being at the appropriate time in question). And certainly I would have preferred the reason for the Holo-history to have been to do with the Federation, not with a diversion to rescue Shran’s daughter. (And for that matter, am I the only one not pleased to learn that Shran ended up getting involved in criminal activity and then having to go underground as a result?)

A side issue: what is the logic of having Trip and T’Pol’s relationship having ended six years prior? Certainly the events of Terra Prime seem to indicate that the relationship had serious potential.

I will say that I liked the very end with the three Enterprise’s…although it was odd how it went back in time, rather than starting with Archer, going to Kirk and then Picard. (And I would have shown the A, B, C and E as well as the D).

Indeed, if the goal of this episode was to connect Enterprise to the rest of Trek history, this was a half-measure at best–so much more could have been done.

I went into watching These are the Voyages with low expectations and still came away quite disappointed.

The bottom line of both episodes: Man! What a show this could have been if Manny Coto had been in charge from the beginning. Forget “franchise fatigue�—the main problem with the Trek franchise is Berman fatigue.