The Great Chronological Run-Through

[Deranged Nasat]

"In A Mirror Darkly", part one

Definitely the best teaser scene of the series. The familiar majesty and dignity of First Contact is as moving as ever, and then the mood is hilariously subverted when Cochrane pulls a gun. Then the brooding, dramatic music starts, for an opening credits sequence that supposedly tells a similar story to the normal opening, about the successful expansion into space and the steady advancement of technology, but can't actually stop itself dropping out of any real narrative and instead descending into "Violence! Explosions! Kill!" Entirely fitting for the Terran Empire, a nation that wears the outer shell of sophistication but only holds its thuggish nature in check behind the thinnest of veneers.

Here we see Humanity greeting the Vulcans in the spirit of the large-scale conflict they've just endured, viewing them as another enemy they need to overcome, a threat to be conquered and a simultaneous opportunity. Notably, it's always seemed to me that there was no advance planning at First Contact - the man who cries "board their ship!" wasn't, I assume, actually in cohorts with Cochrane, there was no pre-determined plan, he just had the same cultural outlook and made the obvious rallying cry independently. A hundred years later, after Vulcan technology has made Humans a dominant power, Archer insists that Cochrane "turned the tables" on a Vulcan invasion force, and keeps the cultural memory of supposed Vulcan duplicity alive, as a means of reminding T'Pol that she should know her place.

Humans here took the quick and easy route to prominence, becoming a major power before "our" Earth did, given the aliens incorporated into their institutions on the lower and mid levels. There are multiple Vulcans and a Tellarite here, in addition to Phlox and T'Pol, and part two will also show us Andorians and Orions. The Terran Empire has also bitten off more than it can chew, though; it's strongly implied that the empire is close to breaking down in the face of armed revolt, including a recent disastrous defeat at Tau Ceti. Even though this Earth achieved prominence faster, the conquests must, it seems, also be fairly recent, or only partial, since part two will show us familiar-looking Vulcan, Andorian and Tellarite ships that have clearly developed outside of the Earth design lineage. Earth has come too far, too fast and too brutally - its only hope to retain its position now is to cheat, by stealing from the future and giving itself a boost. The empire is self-defeating, and in planning to grab Defiant here they're only delaying the inevitable.

The fact that their warp reactors are unshielded and unsafe in relation to those of the prime universe also reinforces this impression of short-term gain/impending disaster.

It's great to see Forrest again. Maximilian Forrest rather than Maxwell Forrest, of course. I suppose the former sounds more militaristic. Other changes from our universe include Porthos' breed (very amusing) and the fact that Reed and Mayweather are MACOs and Hoshi is the Captain's Woman, which actually works quite well given that the skills of a communications officer and protocol officer (as she was also described quite recently) actually translate quite well to what the reality of the Captain's Woman role seems to be). I think that both Evil Phlox and Evil Reed are great, being recognisably the same people only with a sadistic outlook. I'd say Archer and Trip are transferred over well, too. With T'Pol it's harder to say, since in this universe her race is always going to be an obstacle and she can never earn rust as our T'Pol did, but her relationship with Trip is again familiar yet darkly twisted.

The Enterprise has left Gorlan Station. We don't know who the Gorlan are, but in a century's time James Kirk will massacre them to suppress an uprising. In our universe, Picard will own a Gorlan prayer stick, having traded a bottle of very old Saurian Brandy for it.

Interesting that a Suliban ship with a cloaking device exists in this universe (and in Enterprise's custody). Since only the Cabal would have access to such stealth technologies, does this mean that the Temporal Cold War is known to the Imperial Starfleet? Perhaps this is why Archer's claim that the captured ship is from the future as well as another universe is accepted comparatively easily.

First Appearances of Things That Are Important

The Mirror Universe, of course. "Meanwhile, in the Mirror Universe..." will be an ongoing story arc for the rest of this project, and it will join up with the main narrative a number of times.

Constitution-class starships, in the form of USS Defiant.

The Tholians featured in "Future Tense", but here they make their first physical appearance. The Tholian Web weapon also makes its chronological debut, here deployed in a far more effective manner than in "The Tholian Web".

Next Time: Part two!

 

[Deranged Nasat]

"In a Mirror Darkly", part two

Bookends of greatness, here. As the Mirror Universe story opened with a brilliant teaser, so it ends with a line that makes me smile every time. It's so natural and sensible a development that it doesn't really register as a twist even though it is. It just feels right. But of course.

"You are speaking with Empress Sato... prepare to receive instructions".

Now that the Mirror Universe has been established as a setting, we get the comparison with the normal universe, and so the thematic point of this side-trip. Archer learns about the Federation and is confronted with the revelation that a path he would always have considered foolish and unthinkable brought his counterpart the recognition and status that this Archer craves. It turns his fierce ambition into sheer zealotism, now that he's competing against this ghostly other self, desperately trying to promote his vision of the Empire and Archer the great warlike leader so as to regain that shattered sense of stability in his worldview. He's not fighting against corruption or the rebellion, or for the empire, or even for his own gain - he's fighting for the survival of his identity.

Parallel to this, the knowledge of the alternate future and its Federation fires up T'Pol and Phlox, by giving them a non-abstract context for a society in which their peoples aren't subordinate to Humans, and so a platform for the emergence of a more aggressive, proactive side to their discontent. This affair began as an effort to acquire future alternate technologies, but has become about the acquisition - the accidental acquisition - of alternate future ideas, which begin to unravel or transform the society of the empire (or this microcosm of it anyway). Once again, the short-sighted, immediate-results approach of the Terran Empire has unforeseen consequences.

We'll be back very soon to see how Empress Sato is getting on.

Continuity

The Denobulans are not a part of the rebellion, and are considered - by Archer at least - to be a non-threatening people. T'Pol's comment about Humans and Denobulans being equals in the Defiant's universe suggests that Denobula will be a member of the Federation- that is, that there is a system of law that encompasses both Humans and Denobulans.

We also get some details about the future of some of our characters - Archer will be a revered figure with two planets named after him, Hoshi Sato will marry and be known as the inventor of linguacode.

After the appearance of Forrest in part one, there are a few familiar faces in this part too. Along with Soval, bearded though he may be, and Kelby (poor Kelby, always a butt-monkey, here he gets eaten by a Gorn) the Andorian officer is someone we know - he's one of Shran's people, who often manned one of the forward bridge consoles on Kumari, and who survived the ship's destruction.

The Gorn were mentioned by Harrad-Sar, but this is the first appearance of one. I liked the fact that, as with the Tholians, we heard Slar speaking in his own language, and that we heard the original and the translation at once.

Mayweather and Archer beat up a blue Xarantine. They're usually yellow, Xarantines. I'm assuming that this is natural diversity and not that "Xarantine in the mirror universe are blue".

Next Time: Archer and co lay the real groundwork for that Federation of Planets in "Demons".

 

[Enterprise1701]

Interesting that a Suliban ship with a cloaking device exists in this universe (and in Enterprise's custody). Since only the Cabal would have access to such stealth technologies, does this mean that the Temporal Cold War is known to the Imperial Starfleet? Perhaps this is why Archer's claim that the captured ship is from the future as well as another universe is accepted comparatively easily.

I've always thought that since this is the "mirror" universe, the Suliban in this reality are more advanced and stopped their homeworld from becoming uninhabitable on their own. And they offered some advanced technology to the Terran Empire in exchange for becoming a protectorate.

I do suppose, though, that there must be a time war(s) in this reality as well because some people must possess time travel and war against each other at some point. Plus, Rise Like Lions shows an alternate version of "Captain's Holiday".

 

[Deranged Nasat]

"Demons"

What's great about late season four is that it ties the entire Enterprise series together and makes a triumph out of the various shifts in direction. A thematic unity emerges, as the different approaches become different faces that Archer and Enterprise had to adopt as they unknowingly built the foundation of the United Federation of Planets. It's not just about laying the groundwork for the original series era and the Federation, it justifies the entire show. Enterprise, we now see, is the story of Archer and his effort to find the role that Humanity will play among the stars. He begins as a naïve yet frustrated man, defined by the twin poles of his eager optimism and his deep resentment of the Vulcans. An idealist, he views space travel as a journey of joyful exploration and discovery, and revels in the freedom from patronizing authority. Before long, though, he finds himself sucked inadvertently into interstellar politics and the headaches of diplomacy, getting himself and Humanity entangled in the wider politics of the region, particularly the feuds and conflicts in which Vulcan has long been embroiled. He also finds far more frequent hostile action than he anticipated, and eventually the Xindi Crisis sees him take on another unwelcome identity - that of a desperate, battle-hardened warrior fighting to save Earth, and his idealism takes a considerable blow in the face of the galaxy's hostility (see particularly the Xindi mission's aftermath in "Home"). In season four, though, he and his crew begin to unite all of these various roles - idealist, explorer, diplomat, defender - together. The idealistic focus on discovery and the drive to explore; the political and diplomatic involvement with Earth's neighbours; the committed military defence - all these faces that Archer has been required to wear have found their peace with each other. Together, they've forged the character of the Federation Starfleet out of the Earth Starfleet. The realization of Archer's original idealistic dream is now at hand.

So: delegates from Earth, Vulcan, Andoria, Tellar, Rigel, Denobula and Coridan (plus observers or participants from several other nations) have gathered on Earth to discuss the formation of a permanent alliance, building on the work of Enterprise. "With this Coalition of Planets, we seek to strengthen our bonds of friendship, render permanent the peace that now exists among us, for the ongoing exploration of our galaxy". Archer's hard-won triumph through adversity.

On the eve of that triumph, though, there's a final phase of preparation to cover. After winning the trust of the various aliens, guiding Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites through their fear and distrust, now Archer and Enterprise return to Earth in order to help the Humans. It's very "scouring of the Shire" in its way, though less biting and more the natural final piece of the puzzle.

It's great to actually see Humanity in its entirety rather than filtered through Starfleet. Humans in suits! In uniforms that are not military in nature! Politicians and businessmen! Political movements and journalists! Luna! Mars! Acknowledgment that these different worlds have different demographics! We've come home, and the familiar Earth is just as intriguing and open for exploration as any of the alien worlds.

Terra Prime is a logical outgrowth of the xenophobia we saw previously, most notably in "Home". Of course, Terra Prime predates the Xindi attack; it's simply, and logically, experienced a resurgence in popularity since. Their spokesman brings up the point that the Xindi never made reparations for their murder of seven million people - probably the only point that really strikes a chord with the audience, and points to the undercurrent of legitimate fear and anger that symbiotically supports/is fuelled by the group's otherwise unconvincing anti-alien rhetoric (unconvincing in its arguments, I mean, not in the episode's presentation).

Continuity

Fittingly for the first half of a story that is really the series finale (we all know it is, don't lie), this one references many of the events that led us to this point. The Xindi attack, the Expanse and its Spheres, the embassy bombing on Vulcan, Enterprise getting the Tellarites and Andorians to talk - all of this is mentioned at some point, rather fluidly and organically. By now, the show has built up a real sense of history. Reed's connections in Section 31 are again important to the plot, with Harris making a reappearance. Also, Travis recalls the warp transfer in which Trip crossed over from Columbia in "Divergence", which was indeed his most recent piloting trial/triumph.

Hoshi mentions something she "picked up" on what's implicitly the ship's previous mission as having been useful in helping her program the translators for the delegates. This, presumably, refers to all the goodies she acquired or poked around in at Tura Prex and the other Thelasian locations. If you're looking for the meat of any implied Hoshi-and-her-job developments, you need to read the books. Everyone gets something to do in this one, even poor Travis, whose subplot is sadly meaningless mostly because it's too late for the poor guy by this point!

Finally, of course, T'Pol and Trip's relationship, apparently stabilized in "Bound", faces its first challenge thrown against their union from without, rather than generated from within (causing friction or confusion between the two of them). Our baby 'ship is all grown up!

The Tellarites are calling for coordinated trade sanctions against the Orions, a result of Orion piracy. Coridan is resisting this, defending its relationship with the Orions and accusing Tellar of seeking to deprive Coridan of trade. I assume that just as Earth has experienced an upswing in influence and power since Vulcan stood down the High Command, so too has Coridan.

Along with the big seven (Humans, Vulcans, Andorians, Tellarites, Rigelians, Denobulans, Coridanites), there are several other species present. Keeping in mind that some of them might be attached to the Rigel delegation (there are many species present in the Rigel system), we also have a bulbous-headed humanoid people which the books have tentatively identified as Tesnian (mentioned in "Shuttlepod One"). There's one delegate who from the front sort of resembles a strangely bewhiskered Reptilian Xindi (which of course he isn't) but from the back, with his pointed bicycle-helmet skull, and in his general colouration and profile, appears Arkonian. I'm assuming then that he's a racial variant of Arkonian. Since they sell ships to Tellar, maybe the Tellarites invited them to send an observer. After all, Vulcan is up to something here, so I imagine the Arkonians will be warily watching.

As a final note of interest, artificial gravity was introduced among Humans relatively recently; within the last few decades.

Next Time: "Terra Prime"

...Forever.

 

[Christopher]

I'm wondering how you're going to handle "These Are the Voyages," since technically the entire story is simultaneous with "The Pegasus."

 

[Deranged Nasat]

I'm wondering how you're going to handle "These Are the Voyages,"

So am I!

I suppose I'll just watch/review it after "Age of the Empress" (itself after "Terra Prime"), with an eye toward The Good That Men Do. Although, actually, maybe I won't do it separately but discuss it in the post for TGTMD, having watched it, essentially, as a part of that novel. Multi-media event! Jake and Nog give all the commentary we need on the actual episode anyway. Also, I'm fine with their interrupting the series from their comfortable seats in the future, so I can't moan about Riker and Troi (who, unlike Jake and Nog, have at least featured already thanks to the wonders of time travel, so anyone actually exploring Trek in this way would actually know who they are).

I suppose:

"Now, things are happening. Centuries from now, they'll be remembered like this" - cue TATV - "but really they happen like this" - cue TGTMD. Or, "let's take a look at how Archer and co will be remembered by the great Federation we've just watched them set the stage for, before we return to their story and what really went down".

Put another way, sometimes this project doesn't really make sense and I just bullshit my way through.

 

[Stevil2001]

Save it until "The Pegasus" and treat it as a long-lost flashback! Technically none of the episode takes place in C22, after all.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

Save it until "The Pegasus" and treat it as a long-lost flashback! Technically none of the episode takes place in C22, after all.

Your logic speaks to me. I'll probably watch it again and review it again after "The Pegasus". After all, First Contact is going in twice.

 

[Paper Moon]

Yeah, chiming in here from the gallery: the novelverse continuity makes it clear that "These Are The Voyages…" both does not take place in the 22nd-century and that it is not historically accurate at all. Watch it with "The Pegasus" and take it as a moment to reflect on how much chronological distance there is between the two stories, with commentary on historical revisionism and loss– and, implicitly, how loooooong of an epic the Trek story is.

I'd also save the framing parts of The Good That Men Do for last, because that'll be an epic "full circle" moment, to have gone through all of the ENT relaunch, TOS lit, movie-era stories, Lost Era, TNG, DS9, VGR and various relaunch tales– and then, boom, back to the beginning. That'd be epic.

(And I wonder if Disavowed will put the framing story of The Good That Men Do in a different light...)

Also, it seems more fun to keep the chronology as in-universe as possible; again, make it easier to appreciate the narrative epic.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

Yeah, chiming in here from the gallery: the novelverse continuity makes it clear that "These Are The Voyages…" both does not take place in the 22nd-century and that it is not historically accurate at all. Watch it with "The Pegasus" and take it as a moment to reflect on how much chronological distance there is between the two stories, with commentary on historical revisionism and loss– and, implicitly, how loooooong of an epic the Trek story is.

I'd also save the framing parts of The Good That Men Do for last, because that'll be an epic "full circle" moment, to have gone through all of the ENT relaunch, TOS lit, movie-era stories, Lost Era, TNG, DS9, VGR and various relaunch tales– and then, boom, back to the beginning. That'd be epic.

(And I wonder if Disavowed will put the framing story of The Good That Men Do in a different light...)

Also, it seems more fun to keep the chronology as in-universe as possible; again, make it easier to appreciate the narrative epic.

Well put, Paper Moon. Yes, you've convinced me. It is best that I try to keep to the gimmick of this as much as possible, and it's true that TATV isn't a 22nd Century story. Okay, I'll not watch TATV, I'll just go straight into The Good That Men Do. It will be interesting to approach it in its role as the first relaunch tale alone; that is, minus its other purpose as a response to TATV. (I was already planning to have TGTMD reread - or at least the framing story on its own read - at the end of the project, when we reach the 25th Century).

Okay, I'll skip TATV and the framing story (which we don't actually need) and keep to a strictly in-universe chronology, which would be more in keeping with the point of this thread, you're right.

 

[Enterpriserules]

^ I am breathing a sigh of relief. I still really hate that episode

 

[KRAD]

It should be pointed out that "These are the Voyages" doesn't actually fit in with "The Pegasus" at all. Seriously, there's nowhere in the episode to put it, and the decision Riker makes is to embark on a course of action he never actually embarks on at any point in the episode.

 

[Skywalker]

I still don't get why they decided to tie it into "The Pegasus" and try and convince everyone that Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis still looked just like they did more than a decade earlier. I've always liked the basic idea (Riker is faced with a difficult decision and looks back on a moment in Enterprise history to help him through it) and I've never had a problem with Trip dying, but the execution of it all was just so, so bad.

If it were up to me, I would have set the 24th century storyline after Nemesis. Instead of typing up the whole thing again, though, I'll just quote a post I made a couple of years ago about the subject. Unfortunately it still doesn't solve the episode's biggest flaw, in that it devotes too much time to characters from TNG when the focus should be solely on the ENT crew, but if such an episode had to be produced, this is how I wish it had gone.

Spoiler: I doubt this counts as story ideas, but just in case...

Instead of setting it during "The Pegasus," I had the idea to set it shortly after Nemesis. Following the death of Data, Picard has decided to retire from Starfleet and watch over the development of B-4. Since Riker had yet to take command of the USS Titan, he is instead selected by Starfleet to replace Picard as captain of the Enterprise. Riker is still deeply affected by Data's death, however, and now questions whether or not he's worthy of following in the footsteps of Picard, Kirk, and the other captains of the Enterprise. Troi convinces him to view a program on the holodeck that she thinks will help him.

Flash back to 2161. A year removed from the Romulan War, Archer and his crew are on their way to Earth for the decommissioning of Enterprise and the signing of the Federation Charter. They are ferrying Shran, now an ambassador for the Andorians. En route to Earth, Enterprise is contacted by Tarah (Suzie Plakson's militant Andorian hardliner from "Cease Fire"), who escaped from prison some time ago and is now a member of an extremist anti-unionist terrorist organization (sort of an Andorian Terra Prime). Tarah tells Shran that her organization has kidnapped his daughter, Talla, and will kill her if Shran doesn't come to Rigel X and turn himself over to answer for "crimes against Andoria."

Even though they all know it's a trap, Archer and crew voice their support for Shran and head for Rigel X to rescue Talla. Trip tries to convince Archer to stay on the ship, but Archer insists on going down to the planet. When they arrive for the exchange, Tarah hands Talla over, but then attacks the rescuers when Archer reveals himself, as she blames him for Andoria's collusion with the Vulcans as much as she does Shran. The rescue team fights their way back to the ship and resume course for Earth.

Back on Enterprise, Archer and Trip are discussing the upcoming ceremony and toast to the new Federation when the ship comes under attack. As they rush to the bridge, Tarah and two other terrorists beam aboard, blocking their path. Tarah orders Archer to bring them to Shran, Archer refuses, and Trip attacks one of Tarah's henchmen. A fight ensues, and Archer and Trip manage to take down the henchmen before Tarah gains the upper hand on them. Just as Tarah is about to shoot Archer, Trip jumps in front of him and takes the shot himself. Before she can get another shot off, Tarah is stunned by Reed, who has just arrived with some MACOs. They rush Trip down to sickbay, but because Andorian weapons have no stun setting, Trip is grievously wounded and the outlook is grim. As Phlox preps Trip for surgery, Trip leaves Archer with a few words of encouragement.

Later, Archer and T'Pol discuss Trip and his impact on their lives. Enterprise is nearing Earth, and it's almost time for them to say goodbye. Riker has played pretty much the same role throughout this program as he did in the actual episode, and has one final discussion with Trip while posing as the ship's chef. Riker and Trip discuss the relationship between a captain and his duty to both his ship and his crew, and Trip tells Riker that there comes a time in every captain's career when he'll suffer a great loss, and that he can't let his fear of the unknown hold him back.

On Earth, Hoshi, Reed, and Travis, subdued but optimistic, await Archer's speech and discuss their own futures. Archer prepares to give his speech, and after Phlox departs to join his wives, Archer tells T'Pol that he will retire from Starfleet after Enterprise's decommissioning, having grown weary of war and watching friends and loved ones die (a reference to the missing Erika Hernandez would fit nicely here). T'Pol understands his decision, but leaves Archer with a few words to reassure him that Trip will always be with them. Just before he heads out, Archer turns back and hugs T'Pol.

Archer delivers his historic speech, and as the audience applauds, Riker ends the program and goes to speak with Picard, who is packing his things in his ready room. Picard informs Riker that he has also grown weary of all the war and death that he's seen, having lost so many, including his brother, his nephew, Tasha Yar, and now Data. Riker mentions that he's not sure if he really has what it takes to command the Enterprise. Picard merely smiles and tells Riker that every captain has questioned his own worthiness at one time or another. He says that it's not a lack of fear that makes a captain, it's what that captain does with his fear, and tells Riker that he's more than ready to take over.

As they exit the ready room and step onto the bridge, Riker thanks Picard for everything he's done for him, and Picard tells Riker that he'll do the Enterprise proud. For the last time, he tells Riker, "You have the bridge, Number One," before stepping onto the turbolift and leaving Riker alone on what is now his bridge.

The episode then ends much the same way, except starting with the Enterprise-E and Riker beginning the famous speech.

Riker: (over the 1701-E) "Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise..."
Picard: (over the 1701-D) "...its continuing mission: to explore strange, new worlds..."
Kirk: (over the 1701) "...to seek out new life and new civilizations..."
Archer: (over the NX-01) "...to boldly go where no man has gone before."

 

[Deranged Nasat]

Skywalker, that's a truly great rewrite. That episode would achieve exactly what it was that TATV was trying to do. I greatly approve.

I mean, er, Binks, meesa thinkin' yousa idea bombad!

Fortunately, we can turn our backs on the TATV that is and focus now on the real series finale.

"Terra Prime"

I love how Soval rises to applaud Archer, showing his support and rallying the delegates. It's such a satisfying moment, demonstrating how the character has progressed from obstacle to genuine friend, and how Vulcan has changed and evolved over the course of the series just as Humanity has. It also justifies the argument T'Pol offered to Soval at the end of the first season - that the troubling events of that first year should be viewed as a learning experience for both Humans and Vulcans. Soval has only two short appearances in the episode, but they're very welcome ones; I'm glad the character got his recognition as an integral part of the Enterprise story.

In a similar and rather low-key way, hearing Trip easily and with conviction defend Vulcans is a sign of how far he and the other Humans have come. He began the series as the most outspoken critic of Vulcans, even sliding into some mild racism at times for all that he genuinely tried to understand them, but now he's an effective ambassador for Human-Vulcan relations.

Speaking of characters, once again everyone gets something to contribute, which definitely makes this feel like the finale. Hoshi gets to demonstrate her newfound confidence by taking command and standing her ground with Samuels (after using her linguistic skills to program the functional portable translators last episode). Travis gets to do some genuinely impressive flying. Phlox drops his cheery detachment at the end to show just how close and invested he is with regards to the rest of the crew.

Elizabeth's death is genuinely moving, and really makes me feel for T'Pol and Trip.

Some viewers, I know, have a problem with Paxton's hypocritical use of the gene therapy, suggesting that it weakens the character - that is, the writers were unwilling to let his flaws stand as they were and sought to undermine him by hammering home the point that He Is Wrong. I myself don't really mind the hypocrisy, since the episode (indeed, Paxton himself) acknowledges that many ideological leaders fail to live up to their own ideals - suggestive of some manner of self loathing or other identity issues informing part of their rhetoric. Since this point is made, and in a reasonably self-aware manner by Paxton, I can view it as a deliberate attempt to further flesh out the various contributing causes to the xenophobia of Terra Prime and similar groups, and not simply an effort to discredit Paxton further in a heavy-handed fashion. Indeed, I think Paxton is handled well throughout - particularly his conversation with T'Pol, in which he notes that by his logic her people are just as much at risk from integration as his own, and wonders if that matters so little to her. His distaste for the loss of Human genetic purity is even more interesting given that we know, from such episodes as "Future Tense", that Human will indeed likely become "a footnote in a medical text" some day. T'Pol's simple reply that change is natural in life, including in genetics and species development, is perhaps as indicative of how far she's come as Trip's defence of Vulcans was for him.

I'm glad Kelby wasn't the mole. That would have been a bit lazy, and not really fair to the poor guy. It's not his fault he isn't Trip, there's no need to punish him for it. Ironically, if it were Kelby it would have made some sense, though. After all, very shortly before this Kelby was influenced by an alien into turning against his fellow Humans and trying to destroy the ship. If he already had a tendency to evaluate the Three Sisters not as individuals or products of a certain culture but simply as "aliens", I could see him deciding that Terra Prime was the way to go. We might understand, as distasteful as his response would be, why he might decide that Humans needed to reject liaison with aliens and hold them at arms' length, aggressively if need be. As it is, and as I said, I'm quite glad it wasn't him, though it does mean we don't quite know why Masaro thought he should do what he did. In some way, though, that perhaps underscores the point Andorian ambassador Thoris made at the beginning, about the deep divisions in Earth society. It's a genuine mystery to us, and to Archer, and that's maybe part of the problem. Maybe Earth's most forward-reaching leaders are out of touch with what the population, or large portions of it, wants - and that's given people like Paxton a platform they wouldn't otherwise have. Big changes, no matter how positive, are always difficult.

Continuity

T'Les' IDIC symbol makes an important reappearance, hung on Elizabeth's cot by T'Pol (and clutched by a grieving T'Pol in the aftermath).

Thoris (Anlenthoris ch'Vhendreni) makes his first appearance. Along with Nathan Samuels, he'll be an important part of the political scene going forward. He's sort of Soval's counterpart, as they'll both be working their way up in parallel, from ambassador to foreign minister to Federation politician.

Soval is present among the Vulcan delegation, and is addressed still as "ambassador". Whether he's leading the Vulcan delegates or is simply attending alongside them since he's on Earth anyway is unclear. Thoris is indeed the Andorian ambassador. The Denobulan delegate is likely not the Denobulan ambassador to Earth, as the ambassador was described with a male pronoun in "Affliction", whereas their representative here is female. It's possible the ambassador was recently replaced, but more likely she came especially for the conference, just as the Tellarites' lead ambassador did (according to Rosetta). The books have named the (exo)female Rigelian Jelna as Boda Jahlet, and the leader of Rigel's delegation. We'll be seeing more of her in the novels to come. Her (exo)male counterpart is still unnamed, and it's not clear if he's another, more junior ambassador, a chief aide, her consort, or something else entirely. I note that while some delegations - e.g. Vulcan, Andor and Tellar - have at least three representatives, others - like Denobula and Coridan - have a single ambassador.

Rigelian gene therapy has apparently been available to Humans for decades despite Rigel being relatively unknown. This isn't really a contradiction, as Earth was allied with, and trading with, people who had a relationship to Rigel, and was also a participant in the Interspecies Medical Exchange, so Rigelian goods and techniques finding their way to Earth is entirely possible, even likely, without direct Human-Rigelian exchange.

Next Time: Back to the Mirror Universe in "Age of the Empress".

 

[Stevil2001]

It should be pointed out that "These are the Voyages" doesn't actually fit in with "The Pegasus" at all. Seriously, there's nowhere in the episode to put it, and the decision Riker makes is to embark on a course of action he never actually embarks on at any point in the episode.

There's an integrated version of the two episodes on YouTube. I must try to watch it and see how it holds up someday.

 

[Sci]

The week after "Terra Prime" and "These Are the Voyages..." aired back in May 2005, I posted a review of both episodes to my LiveJournal. Your review inspired me to go back and re-read it; I think it was a decent review, so I'm going to put it here under the spoiler tag:

Spoiler: Terra Prime

Season Four of Enterprise consisted of 22 episodes. Now, one of the big irritants of the season was that we lost two episodes of the season to the Mirror Universe; "In A Mirror, Darkly, Part I" and "In A Mirror, Darkly, Part II," while fun episodes, were set entirely in the Mirror Universe and, as such, we basically didn't get to spend two episodes of the final season with the characters that the show's about.

So, we picked up with Our Heroes again in episode 4.20, "Demons," which was part one of a two-part arc that concluded in the first episode of Friday evening, 4.21, "Terra Prime."

"Terra Prime" is quite possibly my favorite episode of Enterprise ever, and is definitely up there in the top ten or so best episodes of the various Star Trek series. I loved it. It had a wonderful balance of action and theme and characterization. That's not to say that it was absolutely perfect -- the entire "Travis' ex comes aboard, works for Starfleet Intelligence, and there's a spy aboard the NX-01" thread could have been dropped completely without any noticable problems. Part of the reason that thread was there, I'm guessing, was to give Travis something to do for once, but the simple truth is that Anthony Montgumery is a godawful actor.

But, the good vastly outweighed the bad. Harry Groener, who was absolutely wonderful as the cheerfully and wholesomely evil Mayor Richard Wilkins III on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was great fun as Minister Nathan Samuels, a United Earth minister trying desparately to get Vulcan, Andor, Tellar, Denobula, Rigel, and Coridan to create a formal Coalition of Planets with Earth (a precurser to the UFP). He wasn't given a lot to do, but he what was given was good -- especially his showdown with Hoshi (Linda Park). Park often manages to steal her scenes when Hoshi is given something interesting to do, and seeing Hoshi in command of Enterprise was a great epithany. There was so much room for growth there.

Every character was given something to do, in fact. John Billingsley often steals entire episodes, as he is Enterprise's best actor, and his scene in sickbay with Archer, talking about how he had never expected to gain another family aboard the NX-01 broke my heart -- in part because it was rather obviously a reference to the sense of loss that must have prevailed on the set after the cancellation was announced.

Scott Bakula's Archer came across as being truly heroic for once, which I did appreciate quite a bit. Far too often in the series, Archer has come across as being, well, a wimp. (During his "dark night of the soul" arc in Season Three, I kept expecting him to tear up while saying to himself, "No! DarkMorallyAmbiguous!Archer doesn't cry!") In "Terra Prime," he was left to confront the villain, and while his character doesn't have much to do emotionally, it was nice to finally believe that this guy could have been Captain Kirk's childhood hero.

But the show absolutely belongs to Jolene Blalock's T'Pol and Conner Trainer's Trip. In the previous episode, the two discover that Terra Prime, an anti-alien terrorist organization, had artificially created a daughter of them from cloned tissue in order to try to scare xenophobic Humans into believing that an alliance with aliens will lead to the dillution of the Human genone and thus extinction; when T'Pol and Trip are finally able to get to the baby, Blalock and Trainer just blow me away. They spend a good portion of the episode just staring at the baby -- who's eventually named Elizabeth, after Trip's late sister (slain by the Xindi in 2.26, "The Expanse," along with 7 million other Humans) -- while she's in an incubator, but these actors managed to bring across a lot of intensity to their scenes. We really believe that a Vulcan and a Human love their daughter, even though they've only just met her.

The final scene of "Terra Prime" blew me away, especially. Elizabeth, due to imperfections in the cloning process, has died; the scene begins with a closeup of Blalock's T'Pol, hunched down while sitting on her bed in her quarters, holding a Vulcan IDIC medalleon very close to her face, completely stoic. Trip enters, and informs T'Pol of the fact that the alien delegates and UE minister want to attend Elizabeth's memorial service... and that Dr. Phlox has determined that it was Terra Prime's fault that Elizabeth died, not incompatibilities with the Human and Vulcan genomes. Trainer just blew me away in this scene; he's trying desparately to hold himself together as he delivers this final line that just breaks my heart. "So, if a Vulcan and a Human were to ever decide that they want to have a child... it should be okay." The dude can act. The scene is wonderfully paced, perfectly acted; as a dedicated Trip/T'Pol shipper, it just breaks my heart -- and, I'm truly believing that both characters are in terrible pain from having lost a child, which is far more than I can say for previous seasons -- where I never really believed that Trip had lost his sister until nearly two thirds of the way through Season Three, even though he'd lost her in the Season Two finale, because the writing was so shallow and the acting reflected this.

Normally, that'd be a really dark note for a Star Trek episode to go out on. But, ya know, the thing of it is, as dark as it can get, Star Trek is not a tragedy. And Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens and Manny Coto, the writers of "Terra Prime"'s teleplay, understand that. As painful as that scene is, as dark and as depressing as it is, Star Trek is not a tragedy, and their teleplay reflects that. Because the last thing we see is T'Pol taking Trip's hand in hers. It's sad, it's terrible, but they'll get through this together. There is hope for a better future. The scene is a tragedy, but these two characters' lives will not be.

I love it. That final scene alone makes that episode one of my favorites in Trek history.

I will add this in regards to "Terra Prime:"

I really think that final image, of T'Pol taking Trip's hand into her own, is so important to the thematic unity of the show, and to its larger connection to the Star Trek Universe. As I wrote 9 years ago, Star Trek is not a tragedy -- it is, rather, a comedy, in the old traditional sense of the term, of a story that begins in sorrow but ends in joy. ENT could end on a tragic note... but only if it gave us a sense of joy to come.

Also:

Why is it that the United Earth Starfleet, an agency previously so threadbare that it barely could even be said to have a fleet, and which had previously never ventured far enough beyond the Sol system to even realize they'd be encountering hostiles on a regular basis, already has its own intelligence bureau? That would be like finding out someone's working for NASA Intelligence. It just doesn't make much sense yet. MACO Intelligence, I could buy. Sort of. (Why didn't they ever give the MACOs a decent service branch name?)

* * *

I meant to post this in response to the review of "Home" a few weeks ago, but! Musings on Earth...

What's In A Name?: Unless I am very much mistaken, "Home" is the first episode of ENT to explicitly establish that, yes, Earth is united into a single planetary state and to introduce that state's emblem, whilst "The Forge" is the first episode to explicitly establish that the name of that state is "United Earth" (via the sign on the embassy). The name "United Earth" harkens back, however, to the early TOS episode "The Corbomite Maneuver," in which Captain Kirk refers to the USS Enterprise as a "United Earth ship." So I suppose "The Corbomite Maneuver" might be said to have established the name of Earth's planetary state, even though the 1701 has since been retconned as a Federation starship rather than a United Earth starship.

(Compare "United Earth" to the names of other versions of a planetwide Earth state, and I think it's probably the strongest -- even if it lacks a definite article. "The Earth Alliance" from Babylon 5, for instance, while it had a nice logo, always seemed like a very weak sort of name. Though I suppose nothing could quite beat "the Fourth Great and Powerful Human Empire" from Doctor Who for sheer egotism.)

Second side-note: One of the interesting tidbits about the WikiLeaks cables was reading the U.S. government's typical formula for naming its embassies: "U.S. Embassy [City name]" -- "U.S. Embassy London," for instance. Do you suppose that makes the building we saw blown up in "The Forge" officially "U.E. Embassy ShiKahr?"

That's Too Graphic: Gotta say, while I like the U.E. emblem in terms of aesthetics, I don't like the fact that it's so similar to the Federation emblem. I mean, yeah, obviously we all know the UFP emblem is based on the United Nations emblem, and obviously they wanted to try to evoke some of the feeling of the UFP and U.N. emblems with the U.E. emblem. But I just really would have preferred to see a design that doesn't resemble the Great Seal of the United Federation of Planets. It makes the Federation seem too much like it's controlled by Earth, rather than Earth just being one of many equal member worlds.

Taking a Constitutional: "Demons" is the first episode to establish anything about the U.E. government -- specifically, that some of its highest officials hold the title of "Minister." This implies that United Earth is a parliamentary republic -- something that The Good That Men Do, Kobayashi Maru, and To Brave the Storm all confirm, establishing Nathan Samuels as the Prime Minister of United Earth, Lydia Littlejohn as the President of United Earth, and the existence of a Parliament of United Earth. (Though it was the short story "Eleven Hours Out" in Tales of the Dominion War, published in 2004 and set in 2375, that first featured a United Earth Prime Minister.)

Take Me To Your Leader: Lydia Littlejohn was first established as Earth's President in Starfleet: Year One by Michael Jan Friedman, a book that has since been almost completely contradicted by the canon, as it was written before ENT was produced. In it, President Littlejohn is depicted as being Earth's head of government and head of state. To Brave the Storm makes it very clear that, as in most parliamentary republics today, the Prime Minister is the head of government and the real leader and the President a mostly ceremonial head of state.

Meanwhile, "Demons"/"Terra Prime" seems to imply that Nathan Samuels is the cabinet member responsible for United Earth's foreign policy, as he is only ever addressed as "Minister" (short for United Earth Foreign Minister, presumably) and is explicitly established not to be in the United Earth Starfleet's chain of command. The Good That Men Do establishes him as Prime Minister, though it does feature one or two scenes of him being addressed as "Minister" rather than "Prime Minister." I suppose one could either interpret Samuels as being P.M. in "Demons"/"Terra Prime," or one could assume that a general election was coming up, which he won between "Terra Prime" and The Good That Men Do.

(The bit about him not being in the UESF chain of command still works either way. Prime Ministers aren't necessarily in the formal chains of command for their nations' respective armies; often the chain of command flows from the head of state to the defense minister to flag officers in the services themselves. The head of state, as a ceremonial officer, simply issues the orders the head of government advises them to.)

Fixing the Cabinet: The later books seem a bit inconsistent on some of their terminology for members of the cabinet. Haroun al-Rashid's office is Interior Minister, while Thomas Vanderbilt's is Defense Secretary. Just why one cabinet member is a minister and another is a secretary is never made clear. Tthough one supposes it may be related to the way some members of the British Cabinet are formally entitled "Secretary of State for [Whatever]," yet are informally referred to as ministers.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

Excellent notes, Sci. Very interesting analysis (Earth politics isn't exactly a point of focus for me, nor do I have much in the way of knowledge regarding the intricacies of government systems, so your input here is appreciated).

The week after "Terra Prime" and "These Are the Voyages..." aired back in May 2005, I posted a review of both episodes to my LiveJournal. Your review inspired me to go back and re-read it

I can't believe it's been almost a decade. My goodness.

Agreed on the strength of the acting from Billingsley, Blalock and especially Trinneer in the scenes involving the dying Elizabeth. As you say, they truly sold it. It's also interesting to me how it shows three differing approaches to personal grief when sharing pain with others, across three species and cultures. The Denobulan drops his usual deflective shield of cheery disengagement to straightforwardly admit to/demonstrate his pain and empathic commitment; the Human is tearful and groping for reassurance while also trying to reassure his partner, trying to "put on a brave face" while needing emotional comfort; and the Vulcan is stoically silent and withdrawn, but clearly in great pain and grief, and quietly accepting the hand offered by a loved one without comment. It's a great way to underscore the point of where Terra Prime were wrong. All species already deal with the need to balance their autonomy with letting the barriers down, and they can work through it in their own ways while still being a functioning community. Terra Prime doesn't think that's possible, but we see that it is.

Just as with the name United Earth, actually, given something I'll discuss in more detail below: keeping the different origins in mind even if you're emphasizing the coming together.

I really think that final image, of T'Pol taking Trip's hand into her own, is so important to the thematic unity of the show, and to its larger connection to the Star Trek Universe.

And of course, T'Pol is clutching the IDIC symbol at the time, if I recall correctly. Which as well as its usual symbolism of flexible community through diverse individuality is also T'Pol's personal symbol of both loss and growth, having lost her mother but having found the true path of Surak. As she has now lost Elizabeth but she and Trip have gained something too, as implicitly have Humans and Vulcans (and of course the final lines are a foreshadowing of Spock).

Why is it that the United Earth Starfleet, an agency previously so threadbare that it barely could even be said to have a fleet, and which had previously never ventured far enough beyond the Sol system to even realize they'd be encountering hostiles on a regular basis, already has its own intelligence bureau? That would be like finding out someone's working for NASA Intelligence.

Very good point!

Unless it was formed during a conflict with other Sol nations (as Last Full Measure hinted might still have been happening to some extent in the fairly recent past)? Maybe it was orientated toward Mars or Titan or settlers in the Jovian moons or something, or anti-UE factions in the outer system or who set up nations-in-exile at Alpha Centauri or something, and the Intelligence division is retained even if there isn't actually anything much for it to do now.

Or...we can perhaps assume there's a long-running and deadly serious shadow conflict in play, in which Earth's finest coolly attempt to get their hands on the Draylaxians' prized recipe for biscuits? Many an agent has been driven to early retirement or madness by sifting through intercepted cookery show communiques or trailing famed Draylaxian chefs.

(Compare "United Earth" to the names of other versions of a planetwide Earth state, and I think it's probably the strongest -- even if it lacks a definite article. "The Earth Alliance" from Babylon 5, for instance, while it had a nice logo, always seemed like a very weak sort of name. Though I suppose nothing could quite beat "the Fourth Great and Powerful Human Empire" from Doctor Who for sheer egotism.)

Were I to create a future Earth government, I would name it the Terran Ascendancy. It sounds grandiose, dignified and uplifting, and it also has a nice sense of the slightly ominous, as though I'm about to mount a podium and rant while shaking my fist, to the braying cheers of the fanatically loyal. Not that I would, of course; there’s just the slightest uneasy sense of that in the name somewhere, just enough to make people uncomfortable.

On a serious note, I too like "United Earth", because by its very nature it's indicative of a history. After all, anyone hearing the name will know that there must have been a non-united Earth, a sense of shared origin without a shared government, which came later. The name seems, to me at least, to be respectful of the fact that there were many varied countries and nations, and that they aren't being swept away or denied by the unification – which in turn implies that this was a voluntary and well-considered unity, not an effort to erode the nations pushed through by those seeking to control. After all, by freezing the name on the act of unity, you keep the pre-unified state alive, in acknowledgement.

Haroun al-Rashid's office is Interior Minister, while Thomas Vanderbilt's is Defense Secretary. Just why one cabinet member is a minister and another is a secretary is never made clear. Tthough one supposes it may be related to the way some members of the British Cabinet are formally entitled "Secretary of State for [Whatever]," yet are informally referred to as ministers.

Is it possible that the newborn United Earth melded various governments together and as such ended up with nomenclature that wouldn't completely make sense in any of the contributing systems? A mongrel government, as it were, at least linguistically? I imagine uniting however many nations or federations must have been a process with a great many compromises, little bits that were installed as placeholders and never got changed, people insisting on such and such a piece of ceremony even if it contradicted another bit, odd titles working their way in, disassociated from the context that gave them meaning, things like that?

 

[Deranged Nasat]

"Age of the Empress"

The most notable thing about this piece is that it continues the implicit theme of the instability inherent to the Terran Empire. The story reinforces the notion that Earth is only able to retain its grip on local space by, essentially, cheating. Empress Sato depends not only on future technology but on psychological warfare stemming from her access to future information. Her entire strategy for keeping the empire afloat and her own position secure is a combination of flat-out lies and the indirect influence of another reality.

The other theme, and the additional reason why such a destructive and short-sighted system manages to endure, is the uncontrolled urge to self-advancement that leads to frequent backstabbing. In this story, first Andoria and then Vulcan turn from the rebellion with the promise of elevated status within the empire. The chance to take advantage of the Terrans having overextended themselves is crippled by the automatic pursuit of influence and power at the expense of reason or unity. I enjoyed the somewhat twisted though disturbingly logical application of Surakist values to inform T'Pol's decision of supporting Sato, with Vulcan newly a partner to Earth. By ending the rebellion now and stabilizing the empire, bloodshed has been averted. In the long term, though, all that's happened is that the collapse has been postponed, and it will be even rougher when it finally comes. You can't prop up such a self-destructive system forever. Sometimes, when you're being driven at full speed toward a brick wall, you have to jump out of the car, and accept the injuries. What T'Pol and the Surakists have done here is prevent injury by keeping everyone in the car, with the brick wall still looming.

We learn that a Vulcan-Andorian conflict took place in this reality as it did in the prime one; alongside the empire's endemic cultural tendencies, picked up by all its members, it's implicitly this rivalry that informs the two worlds' willingness to fight for second place under the Terrans rather than unite in opposition to the current system. It's a fun reflection/inversion of what happened in the prime universe - e.g., "Proving Ground", "Awakening", where Vulcan and Andor were more interested in answering the supposed threat posed by the other than in maintaining their good relations with Earth. Here, the two are more interested in outcompeting one another than they are in breaking their ties with Earth. It's the same story, only with the Humans the overlords and not the lesser newcomers.

As an aside, we get an explanation here for why the rebels of In A Mirror Darkly were using familiar, native starship designs: surplus, decommissioned vessels "liberated" from storage when the Andorian Guard and other colonial forces "look the other way".

The principle members of the rebellion are Vulcans, Andorians, Tellarites and the Orion Colonies.

Continuity

Naturally, many familiar faces show up, with this story populated by alternate versions of characters we already know. A.G Robinson (not yet dead in this universe), Arik Soong, Gral (the rebel mastermind), Paxton - mentioned only (involved in the business of binary clone production, and a geneticist himself here - which makes sense enough given his dependency on gene therapy), T'Pau (one of the few characters to actually truly benefit from being "mirrored" and not just in there for continuity thrills, in that we get a different take on her ruthlessness within an otherwise admirable counter-culture), and two of the Three Sisters (also rebels, and interestingly more overtly a hierarchy than they are in the prime universe).

We have additional confirmation of the more rapid expansion and increased military development of this warlike Earth compared to the familiar. There are dozens of NX starships - the class is in full-scale production - as well as the Imperator dreadnaught. Speeds of warp eight are possible. There's also a full series of starbases, whereas in the prime universe the first is still in the planning stages. (Berengaria's starbase in the Mirror Universe was, however, destroyed by Gral).

This is the first story, chronologically, to make use of Andorian Imperial Name gender prefixes, e.g. ch'Berro. Shran, however, isn't identified by Imperial Name and is referred to simply as Thy'lek Shran.

Beta III has just been conquered in the name of the Terran Empire by General Shran. Implicitly, Landru controls it just as he does the prime version. Other worlds and systems mentioned for the first time in this one are Tantalus V, Syrinx III (confirmed here as an Andorian religious retreat), Antos IV and Devolin.

Thanks to the Defiant's databanks, Sato and T'Pol learn of the Romulan War (due to start very soon in the prime universe, we're told) and are now able to anticipate Romulan aggression, turning their attention to the relevant region in a cautious manner.

Next Time: The Good That Men Do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPatfgoNBRo

 

[Avro Arrow]

(Compare "United Earth" to the names of other versions of a planetwide Earth state, and I think it's probably the strongest -- even if it lacks a definite article.

Maybe I'm misinterpreting what you're saying, but why would a definite article be an actual part of the state's name? Is your own country's name not "United States of America", rather than "The United States of America"? Just because English usage generally precedes it with "the", I've never taken that to mean it's part of the official name. Am I just way out there?

(On another note... is it wrong that I think the actual state name is probably actually "United Earth <something>", and it's just colloquial use that would shorten it to "United Earth" in general conversation, much as your own country is often referred to as just "America"? This would work with the embassy sign, too, because as you note later in your post, the American embassies are referred to as "U.S. Embassy".)

"The Earth Alliance" from Babylon 5, for instance, while it had a nice logo, always seemed like a very weak sort of name.

I've personally always liked the sound of "Earth Alliance". In fact, my first thought on the full name of the UE state was "United Earth Alliance", but I figured sounded too much like copying from B5!

That's Too Graphic: Gotta say, while I like the U.E. emblem in terms of aesthetics, I don't like the fact that it's so similar to the Federation emblem. I mean, yeah, obviously we all know the UFP emblem is based on the United Nations emblem, and obviously they wanted to try to evoke some of the feeling of the UFP and U.N. emblems with the U.E. emblem. But I just really would have preferred to see a design that doesn't resemble the Great Seal of the United Federation of Planets. It makes the Federation seem too much like it's controlled by Earth, rather than Earth just being one of many equal member worlds.

It's kinda funny, but I'm completely opposite to you here! I actually like that there is a design lineage from the UN logo to the UE logo. Presumably, in universe, the United Nations and the New United Nations were both considered precursors (at least spiritually) to the eventual United Earth government. But I don't like the particular design they used, because having only one branch of laurel leaves (or whatever they are) makes the design look unbalanced to me. (If they had included two branches, I would have been happier, but presumably you would have been less happy, because then it would look even more like the UFP logo! )

or one could assume that a general election was coming up, which he won between "Terra Prime" and The Good That Men Do.

This is my preferred interpretation. Nothing in "Demons"/"Terra Prime" led me to believe that Samuels was actually the head of Earth's government at the time.

 

[Christopher]

Is your own country's name not "United States of America", rather than "The United States of America"? Just because English usage generally precedes it with "the", I've never taken that to mean it's part of the official name. Am I just way out there?

That's unclear. The original Articles of Confederation said that it would be called "The United States of America," and the preamble to the Constitution refers to itself as "this Constitution for the United States of America." Grammatically speaking, it should take the definite article, because it's referring to a specific set of states rather than states in general. You don't say "I'm from States," you say "I'm from the States." So the definite article is implicitly required even if it isn't part of the official name -- in the same way that you'd say "The crew of the USS Enterprise" rather than "The crew of USS Enterprise," because "The crew of the United Star Ship" is grammatically correct. Drop the USS and you can just say "The crew of Enterprise." So you can say "America" without an article, but you can't use "United States" in a sentence without using the article, because you're referring to a specific set of united states rather than the general concept of states that are united. It may not be official, but it's still necessary.

But "United Earth" works because "Earth" in this context is a place name that doesn't need an article -- you can say "I'm from the Earth," but it's more standard to say "I'm from Earth" (or would be if we had more occasions to use that phrase). If it were "the United Nations of Earth" -- or, in my Only Superhuman universe, "the Union of Earth and Cislunar States" -- then you'd need the article, because then it's "the Noun of Place Name" rather than "Adjective Place Name."

One thing to consider: The U.S. of America does not encompass all of America, since that name refers to the continents of North and South America collectively. The USA is simply a union of states that are located in America. So something like 'United Nations of Earth" could indicate that only certain Earth nations are included, perhaps most but not all. By contrast, calling it "United Earth" suggests that the unity encompasses every part of Earth, rather than just certain nations thereof.

I've personally always liked the sound of "Earth Alliance". In fact, my first thought on the full name of the UE state was "United Earth Alliance", but I figured sounded too much like copying from B5!

"United Alliance" would be an oxymoron, I think. An alliance is a partnership of distinct sovereign states that are cooperating toward a particular goal but retain their full political independence. But "united" means that the entities are joined into a single political body. Well, granted, that isn't true of the United Nations, a name that represents the ambitions of that institution's founders more than its reality. But United Earth in Trek does seem to be a unified federal state, so I don't think "Alliance" would fit.

It's kinda funny, but I'm completely opposite to you here! I actually like that there is a design lineage from the UN logo to the UE logo.

It sounds to me like Sci is more concerned with the similarity of the UFP logo to both those Earth logos, because it implies an Earth-dominated UFP. But we're kind of stuck with that, since the practice of basing the UFP logo on the UN logo goes back to TMP canonically and (sort of) to the Star Fleet Technical Manual before that.