What was wrong with "These are the Voyages"

[Tallifer]

1/10

I avoided all spoilers before seeing this today. I did know however that this episode is universally hated by Trekkies, and I did know that the episode was hijacked by Picard's crew, so I had very low expectations.

Nothing prepared me for how bad this was. At least in the movie "Generations" the two crews joined up for a fun story. Here we get two people talking about a story and see bits and pieces of that story. Furthermore the story is in no way a finale for a series: Enterprise thwarts the kidnapping of Shran's daughter by some nameless alien mobsters. Interesting mid-season filler for season 2 maybe.

And the fourth season was otherwise so terrific! And seemed to be leading to greater things: I presume that Cotto intended Season 5 to be about the Romulan and Klingon wars. Farewell Star Trek.

 

[GNDN]

What was wrong...

T'Pol wouldn't have allowed THIS

ok, I know it's Riker's fantasy holonovel, but 'haterz gotta hate' And I like Frakes/Riker!...just not in ENT...

I've always found this scene and some of the other Riker moments here to be more vaguely reminiscent of Kirk (yet poorly written), and wonder if any of this is left over material from TPTBs concept of bringing in William Shatner (at one point I heard it suggested that he would portray chef)

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Once again I was struck by how BORING Troi and Riker are, sitting in their plush lounges, wittering on about the Pegasus..

The kid thought it was a terrible episode. She said:

"What was the point of Trip dying, in such a stupid way, just to show Riker he can disobey a command."

"How come there has been nothing between Trip and T'Pol since the baby died, that doesn't make any sense."

 

[GNDN]

Your kid should have been a staff writer

 

[JiNX-01]

Once again I was struck by how BORING Troi and Riker are, sitting in their plush lounges, wittering on about the Pegasus..

The kid thought it was a terrible episode. She said:

"What was the point of Trip dying, in such a stupid way, just to show Riker he can disobey a command."

"How come there has been nothing between Trip and T'Pol since the baby died, that doesn't make any sense."

So, how old is your daughter?

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

She is 16. She enjoyed ENT, especially some of the fourth series arcs. Wants to complete her TOS watching and then rewatch DS9. After TATV last night she requested we watch some Doctor eps from VOY which we did. She said the only good thing about TATV was that it had Shran in it.

 

[JiNX-01]

She said the only good thing about TATV was that it had Shran in it.

Unfortunately Shran was totally out of character. In Shadows of P'Jem he told Archer he couldn't sleep until he repaid the captain for exposing the Vulcans' surveillence station.

Yet after he leaves the Imperial Guard, this honorable, decent Andorian -- a husband and father -- joins up with a bunch of criminals? Really? Is he actually that stupid?

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I like to think there was an untold story that would make it all meaningful.

 

[Skywalker]

She said the only good thing about TATV was that it had Shran in it.

Unfortunately Shran was totally out of character. In Shadows of P'Jem he told Archer he couldn't sleep until he repaid the captain for exposing the Vulcans' surveillence station.

Yet after he leaves the Imperial Guard, this honorable, decent Andorian -- a husband and father -- joins up with a bunch of criminals? Really? Is he actually that stupid?

The writer of the holonovel couldn't find any record of Shran's life after the Aenar incident, so he/she took dramatic license.

 

[Admiral Shran]

Shran is definitely out of character in TATV.

What's worse, though, is that they intentional kept him out of Demons and Terra Prime so they could use him in "the finale."

 

[Gaith]

Is it a deliberate omission that TATV is the only Ent episode without a review in the trektoday episode guide?

Almost certainly an accident. Trek Today reviewer Michelle Erica Green thought it was okay:

There are probably two reviews that could be written of this episode: the critical reactions of an Enterprise viewer and the overall impressions of a longtime Star Trek fan. Being both, I must admit from the outset that the latter overwhelms the former for me; it's hard for me not to enjoy any episode that features Riker and Troi (their relationship is one of the few things I love unreservedly in Insurrection and Nemesis), and it's hard for me not to get a little choked up being told that Kirk and Picard's famous voiceover was originally their predecessor's speech to the assembly that became the UFP. As a Next Generation episode I'd give "These Are the Voyages..." decent marks - not perfect ones, but it's perfectly in character, the storyline fits nicely into the events of "The Pegasus" and I love the casual way Data slips in, even if it's just his voice.

...

I don't think that "These Are the Voyages..." is the stink-bomb of an episode that some of the early reviews have claimed, nor do I think it's the glorious send-off for the Star Trek franchise that some folk at Paramount would like us to believe. It's more an orphan episode of an orphan series that never quite worked out its continuity issues, that never fully embraced its role as a prequel to Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek...that provided several seasons of entertainment and likeable characters, but, had it not borne the Star Trek label (and who can forget that it didn't for two full seasons), would never be classed as the sort of groundbreaking, gutsy science fiction that Next Gen and Deep Space Nine were and that I hope the next incarnation may be.

Seems pretty fair to me.

 

[Reliant Robin]

You missed a bit:

But I don't think any Enterprise fan could be blamed for being disappointed at this sendoff for this cast and crew

But thanks for the link, weird it's not linked from the Ent main page, unless all my rage has caused my eyes to fail.

 

[Mach5]

Trek Today reviewer Michelle Erica Green thought it was okay:

I honestly never liked her reviews.

 

[lurok]

Was nice to read her give due credit to the ENT cast...

 

[Reliant Robin]

Trek Today reviewer Michelle Erica Green thought it was okay:

I honestly never liked her reviews.

She doesn't like Malcolm, which makes me fundamentally question her judgement.

 

[Hopeful Romantic]

...it's perfectly in character, the storyline fits nicely into the events of "The Pegasus"...

I guess I watched different versions of Enterprise and "The Pegasus."

 

[Mach5]

...it's perfectly in character, the storyline fits nicely into the events of "The Pegasus"...

I guess I watched different versions of Enterprise and "The Pegasus."

As Dr. Cal Lightman put it: "No one can tell the whole truth, it's subjective. It's filtered through our own experiences. And that's the REAL truth."

I for one find that whole review ridiculous (ESPECIALLY the "in character" and "fits nicely" bits), but hey... Not everyone sees TNG and its characters the way I always saw them. But here's the part that made me grin:

but, had it not borne the Star Trek label (and who can forget that it didn't for two full seasons), would never be classed as the sort of groundbreaking, gutsy science fiction that Next Gen and Deep Space Nine were and that I hope the next incarnation may be.

Hi there!

 

[Winterwind]

Trek Today reviewer Michelle Erica Green thought it was okay:

I honestly never liked her reviews.

That's two of us. Her reviews are often far less objective reviews and more akin to personal rants.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

...it's perfectly in character, the storyline fits nicely into the events of "The Pegasus"...

I guess I watched different versions of Enterprise and "The Pegasus."

To me the point is-- who the fuck cares about "the events of The Pegasus"? IT'S ENT'S FINALE not a TNG ep. Or so we were told.

 

[Captain Robert April]

I found the whole bit of Riker doing this soul searching about the Pegasus ludicrous since we already saw him do precisely that in the actual episode, not to mention that there was ZERO TIME for him to zip off to the holodeck and play around in a holonovel during "The Pegasus", especially since they spent the majority of the episode playing cat-and-mouse with a Romulan warbird.

"Where are you going, Number One?"

"Oh, just down to Holodeck Three, Captain, to work through some personal demons."

"Need I remind you, Commander, that we're currently on Red Alert?"

Oops.