2022/09/10

The creators, the showrunner, the cast and crew all knew it, this was going to be Star Trek: Enterprise’s last season. The 4^th season renewal was a miracle, Brannon Braga was done with being a showrunner and asked Manny Coto to be the next showrunner. Manny, just came over from Odyssey 5 where he was also showrunner. He already was onboard in season 3 but in season 4 became the showrunner. Manny Coto is a HUGE Star Trek fan and seeing the result of the fourth season, you can understand when Brannon Braga said: If Manny Coto was onboard and showrunner on the first season, it probably would have become an even better show than it is today. It is not a quote, but he says it in so many words on a special feature on the 4^th season Blu-ray set.

Because Manny is such a HUGE fan, who had a very good feeling what the fans wanted to see in this 4^th and last season, and also because it was 99.99% sure it was the last season, he had a free pass to go a little extra wild. After a season arc Manny Coto thought of a different strategy, a season long with mostly 2 and 3 part episodes. Get to topics that were never been done before, like, see the birth of the Federation…oh man I would have loved to see 3 more seasons of this, such a shame! I believe this has never been done before, beside the fact that it is more interesting, it saves budget because you can use sets of 2 or 3 episodes which saves a lot of money.

The Season starts with the 2-parter “Stormfront”, Archer wakes up in 1940’s where the Nazi’s are working together with aliens who are building a device to get home. Meanwhile the Enterprise crew thinks their captain is dead. Daniels of course also shows up again, he has been damaged by the time traveling and is dying in sickbay. “Stormfront” is not my favorite episode but still very enjoyable. Somehow TV shows always go back to the 2^nd World War. What also is obvious when watching the first episode, the PQ is so much better than in the first 3 seasons, of course because it was being filmed in HD starting from season 4!

“Home”, the 3^rd episode of the 4^th season is one of the few 1 hour episodes, “Home” is also one of my favorite season 4 episodes. It is a quiet, in between episode, Archer has a troubling mind over what happened in the conflict with the Xindi. T’Pol is getting married on Vulcan, Trip accompanies her and has a hard time seeing her get married while in fact he has feeling for her and we know the feelings are mutual. You know I am not a Trip fan, still I really enjoy this episode. Great performance also from Joanna Cassidy who play T’Pol mom, T’Les.

Then we have a first 3-parter of the season, “Borderland”, “Cold Station 12” and “The Augments”. Of course the icing on the cake, for me at least, was the role of Brent Spiner as Dr. Arik Soong. Of course a definite reference to the Eugenics Wars, also something, I imagine, Manny Coto really wanted to do an episode about. Although I really like these 3 episodes, I really disliked the Malik character, really annoyed me. You can say, you are supposed to, but I have other thoughts about it, still it was great Star Trek. Also the way people were sold as slaves on the market where T’Pol is being held by the Orion, they are nothing more than meat that is being sold, disturbing yes, but a nice scene in the sense that you know as a fan that is what the Orion does.

The Next 3-parter is probably one of my favorite season 4 stories. “The Forge”, “The Awakening” and “Kir’Shara”. This was a long time coming, an in depth look at the Vulcans, and that there are many types of different Vulcan, like the humans. It starts after a bombing, which destroys the Earth embassy killing lots of humans and a number of Vulcans. It also kills Admiral Maxwell Forrest while he is saving Ambassador Soval in the process. Archer and T’Pol are investigating and do have a trail which leads to a Vulcan religious faction hiding in the treacherous desert. An exciting but perhaps not all surprising twist about T’Pol mother T’Les. Administrator V’Las (Robert Foxworth) shows us that there can also be very treacherous Vulcans.

The Next two episodes are single hour episodes but both aren’t that interesting either. First one is called “Deadalus” Dr. Emory Erickson comes to Enterprise under false pretenses, he is the inventor of Earth transporter and he comes with his daughter Danica, played by Leslie Silva (from Odyssey 5). He is there to try and get his son back who he believed is lost inside the transporter for several years now. It is not a really bad episode, but it is bland, it did not reach me emotionally also.  The other episode “Observer Effect”. Episode did remind me of season two’s “The Crossing”, in the way that beings overtook the bodies of the crew. The story is different but I didn’t found this an interesting episode, never did with all my rewatches, perhaps because it did remind me that the taking over thing had been done before.

Next up, another 3-part story, “Babel One”, “United” and “The Aenar”. This time the Andorians and the Tellerites. And what later turns out also the Romulans, they are testing an unmanned ship to cause havoc and the ship can take on other forms and shapes. I thought this was another top-notch 3 parter. The Enterprise is asked to escort the Tellerites to the peace talks with the Andorians. When Archer is attacked by what seems an Andorian ship, Archer must prove who is responsible. The Romulans use an Aenar for their remote controlled ship. Archer and Shran, who were in a fight to the death before, go to the Andorian Home world  to find the Aenar. I was especially taken by the Aenar.

Next up a two-parter where Dr. Phlox is being kidnapped because of his professional skills as a doctor. “Affliction” & “Divergence” are about the Klingons who are trying to create Augment Klingons, to make them stronger, faster like we’ve seen in the Augements episodes at the beginning of the season. They however cannot make it work so they kidnap the Enterprise doctor on Earth. With these episodes Manny Coto tries to explain why Klingons in the Original Series do not have ridges on their foreheads. Some impressive guest stars: James Avery as General K’Vagh, who unfortunately passed away several years ago, and John Schuck as Antaak, the Klingon doctor. Of course the Section 31 bit was for me the icing on the cake because this originated from Deep Space Nine, my favorite Trek show.

“Bound” is another 1-hour episodes where 3 Orion women board the Enterprise, of course under falls pretenses, and cause havoc with their feminine whiles. Trip seems not me be influenced, because of his feelings for T’Pol. It was an okay episode but not especially interesting.

The episodes “In A Mirror Darkly” parts one and two are fan favorites. Everybody speaks fond of them as being the best, exciting episodes of the seasons, perhaps of the series. Of course these are alternate universe episodes like we’ve seen in The Original Series and Deep Space Nine and even Discovery. I believe the actors had a hell of a time playing these characters who were totally different from what they normally play. This is always nice for an actor I reckon. I don’t hate these episodes, but they are not the first episodes when I think of the best of episodes. In last few rewatches I always managed to fall asleep during the first or the last episodes. Not once, but every time! So with this last rewatch I was determined to stay awake, which I pulled off. These are two fun episodes, nice to see Vaughn Armstrong back as a Captain this time.

With 3 more episodes to go, we have one more 2-hour episode and one finale. Although, knowing the finale, I guess it’s best to see the last 2-parter as the series finale of Star Trek: Enterprise. This two-parter “Demons” & “Terra Prime” is also one of the best of the season, guest star Peter Weller, whom of course also was the lead actor on Odyssey 5 where Manny Coto was showrunner. It’s about discrimination actually. Just as Earth is in the process with other worlds to iron out an interplanetary alliance, there is a xenophobic faction called Terra Prime, led by Paxton (Peter Weller). They want all aliens from our world, he threatens to bomb earth if the aliens don’t go. Of course the other worlds begin to question if Earth is ready to become a member of such an Alliance. In this episode we also find out that T’Pol and Trip have a baby, it actually is a clone, although it’s not their “real” baby, they care for it a great deal. Fun trivia, at one point it is clear that Paxton has an illness, it is called “taggert” disease. This is the name of Peter Weller’s character on Odyssey 5! 😊

Well nothing more left than the finale “These Are The Voyages”. When I first saw this, it was a huge letdown, really disappointed because it wasn’t an Enterprise finale, it was a Next Generation episode. To be honest, if this episode had been done in the middle of the season for instance, I think I would have found it an entertaining episode, but as a series finale! Sure there are some great moments in the episode but the fact that it is an simulation on board of the Enterprise D overshadows everything. Even killing off Trip in the finale episode, I didn’t understand and you know he’s not my favorite character! Manny Koto did not have anything to do with the series finale, that was all Brannon Braga and Rick Berman, they really misjudged this in my opinion. In the special features on the Blu-ray set the ins and outs of the last episode are addressed by Brannon Braga and Rick Berman. It is something that Enterprise fans will have to live with, for me “Demons” & “Terra Prime” is the series finale but I much rather would have had a real Enterprise series finale!

If you are a Star Trek: Enterprise fan, get these Blu-ray’s, the special features are a must have for every Enterprise fan. If you only see the NEW the special features on season 4. Several hours of new stuff! (Final Word after the special features)

Special features Blu-ray set Season 4:

All the special features you’ll find on the older DVD sets are here too, but there also new special features, deleted scenes, all in HD!

• Extended Scene (HD, 1:17): From "Home."
• Script Gallery: Original Ending (HD): From the supplement description: "The...script pages represent the original ending to the episode "Home" written by Michael Sussman. The scene was dropped prior to the start of principal photography due to time and budgetary constraints."
• Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise Part One: New Voices (HD, 26:49): A look at the effort to link the series to the original program, Manny Coto's lead role in the series and his vision for season four, Brannon Braga's departure, the series' potential and Coto's push towards a true "prequel" show, his vision for what the series might have been, the World War II storyline, the Vulcan arc, and Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens' contributions.
• Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise Part Two: Memorable Voyages (HD, 29:42): An examination of the "make or break" season four, budget cuts and the resultant blessings in disguise, Brent Spiner's appearance on the program, the effort to bring William Shatner onto the show, the Mirror Universe episodes, recreating the 1960s starship style, and the Trip-T'pol relationship.
• Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise Part Three: Final Approach (HD, 30:05): An examination of the show's descent towards cancellation in the shadow of UPN's own troubles, network versus studio interests, creative differences, the politics of the cancellation, the network's failure to properly read demographics and ratings, the one-year head-to-head comparison between Enterprise and Battlestar Galactica, the fans' efforts to save the show, emotional farewells, Archer's final major speech, thoughts on the final episode, and what might have been in future seasons.
• Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise Part Four: End of an Era (HD, 29:14): This piece begins with a look back at Rick Berman's tenure at the top and moves on to feature cast and crew recalling their thoughts on the series' end and Brannon Braga's hopes for the franchise's future.
• In Conversation: Writing Star Trek: Enterprise (HD, 1:29:52): Consulting Producer David A. Goodman, Co-Producer André Bormanis, Producer Michael Sussman, Co-Producer Phyllis Strong, Co-Producers Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, Co-Executive Producer Chris Black, and Brannon Braga remember a number of anecdotes that evolve into detailed, oftentimes fascinating discussions across a wide swath of Star Trek history and the Enterprise production experience. Discussions include the shape the series took versus the shape it was imagined to be, the joys and challenges of the Enterprise writing process, and the franchise's television future.
• Archival Mission Logs: That's a Wrap! (HD, 9:01): Cast and crew interview and speech snippets from the wrap party.
• Archival Mission Logs: Photo Gallery (HD).

Final World:

As I said, I concluded during my last watch that season 4 is definitely my favorite season. Sure, it has some mediocre episodes but it is only a few episodes for the most part all stories are entertaining, and definitely establishing a link to the Original Series. Manny Coto did a wonderful job and I sincerely wished that he was at the helm from season one on, not to discredit Brannon Braga and Rick Berman, they’ve done a wonderful job all these years and also created a large number of great Enterprise episodes but with Manny at the helm from season one, I think the fans would not have dropped Enterprise so early on, I think Manny Coto’s idea’s would have given Enterprise at least more than 4 seasons but saying this afterwards is easy of course, we will never know. 

Screencaps: TrekCore / Blu-ray Extra's: Blu-ray.com