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John Frederick Paxton

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John Frederick Paxton is a character appearing in the fourth and final season of Star Trek: Enterprise , serving as the main antagonist of the episodes "Demons" and "Terra Prime," which comprise a two-part story.

He is portrayed by Peter Weller, who would later play another Star Trek villain, Alexander Marcus , in Star Trek Into Darkness , as well as Mr. Yin in Psych , Batman in The Dark Knight Returns , Christopher Henderson in 24 , Caleb Thies in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare , and Stan Liddy in Dexter .

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History [ ]

Paxton is the leader of Terra Prime , a movement dedicated to maintaining the genetic purity of humanity, and is also the head of the Orpheus Mining Colony stationed on Luna, a position he inherited from his father. He orders the creation of a Vulcan/human hybrid created from the DNA of Enterprise crewmembers Charles Tucker III and T'Pol to serve his goal of creating an Earth free of extraterrestrial influence.

Tucker and T'Pol learn of their daughter's existence and go undercover on Orpheus, only to be discovered by Paxton's men and brought before Paxton, who makes known his intentions to put an end to what he views as the contamination of humankind by aliens and returning Earth to its rightful owners. He then reveals that the Orpheus Mining Colony is actually a starship, which he commands to depart Luna and travel to Mars, where he's able to take control of the Verteron array (which is normally used to deflect meteorites and change the course of comets).

Once in control of the Verteron array, Paxton broadcasts a live video message to Starfleet Command and to the United Earth government, demanding that all aliens vacate Earth lest he use the Verteron array to fire on San Francisco, where Starfleet Command (whom he holds responsible for Earth's so-called contamination by aliens) is situated.

Paxton allows T'Pol to see her daughter, whom he contemptuously regards as a "crossbreed freak" and expresses his concerns that humanity will end up becoming a footnote in a historical text. T'Pol figures out that Paxton has Taggart's Syndrome, a disease that should have killed him many years ago, and that he takes regular injections of Rigelian gene therapy to manage his condition. She confronts Paxton with his hypocrisy, but Paxton is adamant in his views that he's trying to save humanity from extinction.

Paxton is later confronted by Captain Jonathan Archer, and the two men face off. As he and the Enterprise captain fight, he mockingly compares Archer to his late father Henry Archer, saying that the elder Archer was so desperate for the secrets to achieving warp flight that he willingly became the Vulcans' "pet human". However, Archer ignores Paxton's taunts and takes him down.

The cloning process his scientists used to create Tucker and T'Pol's daughter soon proved fatal to the infant. Paxton was also unsuccessful in preventing the formation of the Coalition of Planets. The delegates were nervous about going forward but an impassioned speech delivered by Archer salvaged the Coalition. Following the Earth-Romulan War the Coalition would evolve into the United Federation of Planets .

Paxton was imprisoned after the Terra Prime incident. He died in prison on May 26, 2155.

Alternate Timelines [ ]

In a timeline where Paxton was successful in destroying Starfleet Headquarters, he was imprisoned by United Earth. Paxton decided to martyr himself and refused to continue with the Rigelian gene therapy. He subsequently died in prison. His death led to increased support for the isolationist policy, who were then able to take a majority of the seats in the UE parliament. For the next century Earth pursued an isolationist policy before reaching out to the Interstellar Coalition.

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John Frederick Paxton

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John Frederick Paxton is a Legendary [5-star] crew member.

John Frederick Paxton is a version of Paxton from the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Terra Prime" (4x21) .

A leader of the xenophobic Terra Prime, Paxton turned the Orpheus Mining Complex into a weapon in an effort to expel all aliens from the Sol System.

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John Frederick Paxton

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John Frederick Paxton

John Frederick Paxton in 2155 .

John Frederick Paxton was a 22nd century Human man who led Terra Prime , a xenophobic group dedicated to forcing all extraterrestrial races and cultures from Earth .

  • 1.1 Alternate timeline
  • 2.1 External links

Biography [ ]

Paxton was an admirer of Colonel Phillip Green and his theories on the purity of the human race. However, he also used Rigelian gene therapy to treat himself for Taggart's Syndrome .

Toward the end of promoting xenophobia, Paxton authorized the creation of a Human- Vulcan binary clone from the DNA of Earth Starfleet officers T'Pol and Charles Tucker III , as proof of the idea the Human race was at risk. Paxton also plotted to commandeer the Verteron Array on Mars , and threatened to destroy Starfleet Command —site of the negotiations for the Coalition of Planets —if all aliens did not leave the Sol system immediately. He was eventually stopped by Captain Jonathan Archer and the crew of the Enterprise , and taken into custody. ( ENT episodes : " Demons ", " Terra Prime ")

Paxton was still enduring imprisonment as of 5 March 2155 . ( ENT novel : The Good That Men Do )

On 26 May 2155 , Paxton died in prison . ( ENT novel : Kobayashi Maru )

Alternate timeline [ ]

In an alternate timeline , Paxton successfully destroyed Starfleet Command , leading to a rise of isolationism on Earth lasting into the mid- 23rd century . After his imprisonment, he stopped taking Rigelian gene therapy to cure his Taggart's Syndrome and consequently died a martyr. This contributed to the Isolationist Party 's achievement of a majority of seats in the Parliament of United Earth in 2161 . ( TOS - Myriad Universes novel : A Less Perfect Union )

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External links [ ].

  • John Frederick Paxton article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
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Star Trek: Enterprise

“Terra Prime”

3 stars.

Air date: 5/13/2005 Teleplay by Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens & Manny Coto Story by Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens & Andre Bormanis Directed by Marvin V. Rush

Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan

"Earth men talk about uniting worlds, but your own planet is deeply divided. Perhaps you're not ready to host this conference." — Andorian ambassador

Review Text

In brief: Like part one, the underlying storyline is sound, but the execution is a little on the clunky side.

John Frederick Paxton blames Starfleet for Earth's relationships with alien species, so in his ultimatum demanding all non-humans to leave Earth, he makes Starfleet Command his first target. He'll blow it up if his demands are not met on deadline.

Elsewhere on Earth and far away at the Vulcan and Andorian embassies, Terra Prime members are protesting, in what is part of a larger coordinated effort. Soval makes an interesting point: "The fact that Paxton has the support of so many of your people is ... troubling." And the Andorian ambassador is similarly concerned: "Earth men talk about uniting worlds, but your own planet is deeply divided. Perhaps you're not ready to host this conference."

To me, this notion is at the core of " Demons " and "Terra Prime." Archer, Starfleet, and the government powers-that-be want the conference to go forward. But what do the people want? Is public opinion really so fragmented? Is this simply a matter of a vocal minority? If there is this dramatic divide on Earth, is Earth ready to move forward and become something bigger than itself?

All good questions that the episode poses, although it admittedly doesn't deal with them in a whole lot of detail. The story is more about stopping Paxton from carrying out his doomsday scenario, and, when successful, looking ahead to addressing these tough questions in the future.

To that end, "Terra Prime" is successful up to a point. It has moments of thoughtful dialog and debate. It also has moments of clunky action execution. Like "Demons" before it, this episode can never really overcome clichés or convention to qualify as great Trek .

In an effort to approach Paxton's ship on Mars without being detected, the Enterprise hides behind a comet and deploys a shuttlepod with an armed boarding party to follow the comet as it crashes to the surface. Perhaps I'm misinformed, but wouldn't a comet impact of this magnitude be disastrous? At the very least, shouldn't the shuttlepod be vaporized in the blast? (Perhaps not. I'm no expert, so maybe I shouldn't question the science.) In the episode's best touch, the shuttlepod flies over a fenced-in piece of history on the Mars surface: "Carl Sagan Memorial Station" reads the inscription on the stone, which sits next to NASA's Mars rover.

Meanwhile, T'Pol and Trip, who were captured during their investigation in "Demons," face off in a war of wills against Paxton. Paxton calls the baby and everything she represents a threat to humanity, saying humanity will be destroyed as alien species are brought into the genome. For Paxton, anything "impure" represents the road to annihilation. He is, of course, a narrow-minded fool, and T'Pol explains the opposing point of view with a statement that is sublime in its succinctness: "Life is change."

But I was never quite sure why Paxton had this child cloned in the first place. Apparently it was meant to be the poster child for the destruction of humanity, but as such a poster child, it seems awfully ineffective. Why create something you hope to prevent, unless its creation compellingly demonstrates your point of view? (This child doesn't.) Furthermore, why use DNA from Trip and T'Pol (acquired, by the way, by a Terra Prime agent hiding on the Enterprise )? Was Terra Prime using them as an example because they'd had a sexual relationship in the past? It's a point the episode never makes; it's not even revealed that Terra Prime knew about the relationship. So is this instead supposed to be an ironic coincidence?

Speaking of Terra Prime agents, it turns out that Gannett isn't actually an agent of Terra Prime, but rather an agent of Starfleet Intelligence sent to find the real agent aboard the Enterprise . So at least Travis wasn't played as a total pawn in the previous episode. Gannett has an exchange with Travis here that would qualify as characterization, but again (and alas), Anthony Montgomery's performance is so hopelessly wooden that the scene sinks.

On the bridge of the Enterprise , Hoshi is in charge of Plan B, which is to destroy the verteron array if the away team doesn't take control of it before the deadline expires. It's trial by fire, and in a situation reminiscent of " The Doomsday Machine ," Hoshi must contend with an authority figure who's practically salivating to take control of the situation from her as things go down to the wire.

Paxton ultimately is exposed as a hypocrite using alien medical treatments to keep himself alive. (You'd think someone in all these years would've recognized Paxton's condition if T'Pol can figure it out after observing two seconds of his hands shaking.) What is it about individuals who think they know what's right for everyone else and yet they themselves live in hypocrisy? In real life, these people make my skin crawl. In "Terra Prime," the plot machinations are moving too fast to permit that.

The action showdown that averts the crisis is clumsily handled. First we have Trip conveniently MacGyvering his way out of a holding cell. And then we have a wrestle for domination of the control room, where Archer simply has to stun Paxton and everything would be over, but instead he hesitates, permitting the window behind him to shatter because of the air pressure, etc., allowing Paxton to make one last move, etc. Amusingly, the verteron array actually ends up firing — hitting nothing because Trip reprogrammed it, but making Archer look rather incompetent as action heroes go. (And didn't the dialog say that the air pressure on Mars due to terraforming was essentially Earth-like? Why, then, would the window explode?) Then there's the business regarding the Terra Prime agent aboard the Enterprise , which exists only to tidy up loose ends of the plot.

So, no, "Terra Prime" is not sold on its action or Archer's would-be heroics. It's sold on its concept of humanity striving to be better, and on Archer's attempt to not only see this alliance through, but to see it through for the right reasons. The uncertainty sparked by the events of Paxton's plan puts the talks on hold (no doubt to give room for the series finale), but the story itself is hopeful that things will get back on track. Archer has a speech near the end that is nice, traditional, old-fashioned Star Trek , and it even includes the cliché of the Gradual Applause Crescendo. Given the way " These Are the Voyages " ends, this moment in "Terra Prime" is much more satisfying as a send-off for the Enterprise crew.

The eventual death of Trip and T'Pol's child (due to an errant cloning process) is tragic — perhaps unnecessarily so. But it's well played, and reveals depth to the bond between Trip and T'Pol — a depth that has rarely been demonstrated in the year-plus since their relationship began. It bodes well for their future. Too bad I've seen the finale and know what their future is. But, for this moment, it works.

Next: Riker. Troi. The holodeck. Oh, yeah, and the NX-01 crew, too.

Previous episode: Demons Next episode: These Are the Voyages...

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62 comments on this post.

Two years after Enterprise got canceled I saw Demon and this episode and it converted me into Enterprise. My favorite part was Archer giving his speech, Phlox telling Archer he never expected to be apart of a another family, the ending scene and so on. I keep hearing a lot of fans say that season four put Enterprise in the right direction. I loved this Episode so much that it made me buy season four on DVD, than three, two, and one and it made me a fan. Just like all Trek Series Enterprise had it bad episodes but for me it was mostly great. The show reminded me why I love Star Trek. I loved episodes like Dear Doctor, Shuttlepod One, Cogenitor, Dead Stop, Damage, Forgotten and etcs. I think people are hard on this show and it's shame it didn't finish it run.

I also want to add that one reason I didn't watch Enterprise during it run was because I was a little bit burned out of Star Trek. I watched Voyager and DSN reguarly and at the sametime watched the reruns of TOS and TNG for the first time. I did watch Enterprise and most of the episodes I happen to watch was good. It was nice to know that after all these years Trek was still producing great episodes. So I was burned out on Trek and at the sametime it was my last year of High school and I wanted to enjoy it.

Just being super-ultra-pedantic: T'Pol didn't notice Paxton's hand shaking. She scanned him with her medical scanner (tricorder mark 1?) when she was scanning her baby. Paxton turns his back to leave and she quickly scanned him, discovering his disease. I was disappointed that with the number of black people in authority, no one tried the "you'll be next" tactic. Combined with Paxton's disease and the cloning of the baby (which none of Paxton's people seemed to know about), some kind of turncoat behaviour from Paxton's followers would have been far more entertaining. I agree somewhat with Stallion, Enterprise is nowhere near as bad as people make out. (Bound being the obvious exception of course). When you consider the utter dross that Voyager regularly put out...

Jakob M. Mokoru

Well - this episode is Enterprise as it should have been. A prequel series should do exactly this kind of things. So it is an appropriate - although not great - ending to an fairly entertaining - although not great - series (for my part I do not consider These are the voyages... an ENT-episode).

So the baby dies. Why is this neccesary? Star Trek Enterprise is about an optimistic future. The baby should have lived. The could have written it any way they want. The last, absolute last thing I wanted to see after four years of finally getting used to (and liking) T'Pol was to watch her hold her own daughter in her arms and then have the baby die. Wow, what optimistic symbolism. Idiots.

Carbetarian

This was a much better ending than the actual ending of this show. Unfortunately, "These Are The Voyages" was actually the first episode of this series I ever saw. Even before getting to know the NX-01 crew, I thought TATV was a terrible episode and a total kick in the face to both the cast of Enterprise and their fans. Now that I've seen pretty much the whole series, I can honestly say TATV is one of the most insulting episodes of Star Trek ever filmed. Granted, this show was never really great. But, it deserved much better than the ending that it got. Call me an old romantic here, but I really wanted to see Trip and T'Pol live happily ever after with their baby. I actually cried during that last scene. The baby should have lived. That part of this ending was just incredibly sad and pointless. It would have been much more in line with the Archer's optimistic speech for the baby to live. Although, I give this episode credit for really making me care deeply about both Trip and T'Pol. I love that T'Pol named the baby after Trip's sister. It just breaks my heart that the baby had to die like that. Archer's speech was great. I've never been a fan of Captain Archer in general. But, he really pulled that speech off well. All in all, I find myself vaguely sad that Enterprise didn't get a fifth season. The first season was mediocre and boring. The second season was just awful. But, the third and fourth season finally showed a good amount of potential. At any rate, I'd give this episode three and a half stars. I would have even gone for four stars if the baby had lived. As a series I would rank the seasons like this: Season one: two stars Season two: one star Season three: two stars for the first half of the season, three for the last half Season four: three stars For the series as a whole: two and a half stars

"...it's not even revealed that Terra Prime knew about the relationship. So is this instead supposed to be an ironic coincidence?" One of Paxton's goons made some snide remark to Trip, which stood out because A) who would even know? and B) it really *was* a coincidence. Seems like the on-board spy just grabbed the first human and Vulcan DNA he could get his hands on (and it must've happened as soon as the ship returned from the Xindi mission, or else Elizabeth wouldn't be fully gestated). Which raises the further question, why get the DNA from Enterprise at all? There were plenty of humans and Vulcans closer at hand. It must be said, the idea of terraforming Mars using comets steered by Trekkian tech is pretty cool.

It's hard to believe that in nearly a century since First Contact, no human and Vulcan pair ever fell in love and contemplated reproduction.

Aren't Trip and T'Pol fairly recognizable among humans -- considering their role in the Xindi mission? Would it make sense to send them undercover at all.

wow, how accurate was that array? Hitting a moving starship thousands of miles away. And only at 2% of power. Pity they didn't use that to target the Xindi weapon. Har har.

The Trip/T'Pol final scene was truly heartbreaking and made me cry. The writers are cruel.

I have to admit...the final scene in this episode was absolutely heartbreaking.

This episode is the Enterprise series finale for me; I cannot and will not recognize the abortion that is named “These are the Voyages”. This episode embodies everything Trek represents. It is a heart tugging story about diversity and self exploration. You have the background of T’Pol, whom had professed her feelings for Trip and Trip sharing those feelings and staying away. Then the two of them, Vulcan and Human, brought together because the epitome of a "anti IDIC human" like Paxton, using the fire of xenophobia to further his Arian-centric goals, created Elizabeth for the sole purpose of isolating humanity from the newly found diverse community of aliens. A helpless, completely unaware, innocent little Elizabeth, with no understanding of her importance or control of her fate, ends up being the magnet that led to Paxton's demise and the reunification or Trip and T'Pol. T'Pol's very simple line while holding her emotions at bay as Trip struggles to contain his, holding the Vulcan IDIC given to her by her mother… “She was important” symbolizes the very heart of Trek - Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combination. Then we are treated to Archer’s finest moment as he addresses the council and speaks not only to the exploration of space, but to inner exploration and tolerance and pleads for all to join together in a most noble cause.

I however haven't seen the finale next, and it probably would've been better without implied spoilers. Oh well. I agree with the numerous comments about the baby dying. They even named her Elizabeth, which I thought was a wonderful (and emotional) suggestion from T'Pol and way for her name to live on. Now poor Trip gets to lose another Elizabeth. Depressing, heartbreaking (made me cry too), and pointlessly so :( I would almost say, since the writers had become cynical, maybe it was indeed time to end. However, I loved the speech. I'd have been happy for that to have been the ending. Well.... one more to go o.o

It seems Trip and T'Pol forgot about their vulcan son who became the captain of the Enterprise after the ship was thrown back in time 100 years during the end of the Xindi mission. You'd think they would mention something about this daughter being their second child, etc. And Trip sobbing at the good news from Phlox that the humans and vulcans can breed... shouldn't they already know this?

They should also know its possible for humans and Vulcans can breed from the dead future pilot in "Future Tense". CONTINUITY!!!!

I'm crying...

Latex Zebra

Good to see Peter Weller didn't get typecast as a Trek villian as a result of these episodes.

While I do agree there were several continuity errors, such as the pilot in "Future Tense" (which was pretty much a mixed bag of alien DNA so I guess Paxton was a little correct), and of course Trip and T'pol's son, this episode was well done. The speech was totally what a captain of Trek would be like and it's totally what Trek is all about. I even felt a little moved. I really enjoyed the look on Soval's face during that scene. The death of Liz really moved me and the final scene with Trip and T'pol totally broke me. You know T'pol is nearly losing herself as Trip has already done. The holding hands I take as a promise they will try for another child (their 3rd! writers) in their futures. This was what I have waited for in Enterprise for a long, long while. I have just the final episode remaining.

I think Jammer’s being a bit unfair here. Paxton could have readily hidden his condition from others by simply claiming it was something else with similar symptoms, and T’Pol didn’t guess by just looking at him, she surreptitiously took a scan with the tricorder. The baby’s death, while it made me cry, was also all too plausible. Paxton said as much himself — the point was the baby was SUPPOSED to die, as “proof” of the incompatibility of human and Vulcan. Thus it wasn’t incompetence that the baby was constantly ill, but malice BY DESIGN, to send a political message. Humiliating Starfleet officers (one of them a Vulcan) in the process was just added gravy for him. It makes perfect sense in a diabolical way. Naturally after this experience they would have severe doubts about whether they really could have a child that easily, whatever they experienced in the Expanse. Lorian could well have been a fluke for all they knew, and having their “second” child die would certainly have made them wonder if it was possible after all. It’s still largely uncharted territory. The baby’s death also had the further effect of driving T’Pol and Trip together, bridging the last gaps between them. They spent most of the past season denying their feelings for one another, and their shared personal tragedy was what finally really brought them together in a way nothing else can. So here too I see a kind of plot necessity — emotionally brutal, but very effective and hey, it’s not like life itself isn’t equally painful and unfair. (Having lost a baby myself, it really hit home for me and rang true, and the effect was similar.) So I thought it was actually good that everything wasn’t rainbows and bunnies in the end. Made it that much more believable to me. All in all I thought this was a top-notch episode. 3.5, maybe even 4 stars from me. Now I’m braced for the worst with the “real” finale…kinda hoping that people were overdoing the criticisms like many did with the series as a whole.

So sad! the ending made me tear up. I don't find it surprising Trip and T'Pol's genetic material was what was stolen -- not once we knew a Terra Prime operative was on board Enterprise. "People are beginning to talk" was a line in a previous season after the neuropressure treatments started. A ship that small, there are precious few secrets about relationships. No doubt the spy knew they were a couple, or suspected as much, and chose their DNA on purpose to make a point because he found it so distasteful. Poor Trip and T'Pol. What a burden. I choose to believe they found happiness after this. Oh, you mean there's another episode? That's a holographic simulation, not truth. And a load of drek. Besides, the novels have explained what really happened! THIS should have been the final episode -- the various species started to begin work on a federation, a wonderful Carl Sagan shout-out, a return to Earth -- and a glimpse of how Spock can exist. Very well done. I had forgotten, with all the trashing ENT receives, that it could be this good.

Forgot to mention a couple of things that I loved about this, the true ENT finale... Archer's speech was well delivered. He was back to early, optimistic Archer. I loved when he said their real discoveries weren't what's beyond the stars, but what's inside them, the threads that bind us - while looking at Trip and T'Pol. Phlox's speech about family also tugged at my heartstrings. I do find it hard to believe the vast majority of humanity wouldn't find their heart melting at the sight of Elizabeth, though. She was so adorbs!! Everybody loves a baby. Even bigots have been known to think babies of races they hate are cute. She was such a good little baby actress, too. Does she have a SAG card? I agree with John G., the point was the baby was supposed to die. T'Pol holding her awkwardly and telling her logically, "I am your mother." Funny! Now on to the hideous thing that stands as the supposed final episode... (Do I have to rewatch it?)

No Snooky, you don't!!!

Overall, the fourth series had some solid arcs, and it was good overall. But, I thought, by the end, they had piled too many dire situations on top of dire situations. It would have been nice to have some quieter episodes exploring ideas or concepts. The Next Generation often had episodes like this. I like all Star Trek, but I am more of a fan of the understated single show episodes than the multi part conflict driven material prevalent in Deep Space Nine. Even in the big story arcs, the episodes that stand out to me are the episodes that explore one idea well, not the episodes in which the stakes are the highest. I differ from others here in that I liked the low key first couple seasons. I thought the first two seasons were subtle, understated, and sometimes humorous. I liked Archer's imperfect qualities and found his imperfect decision making endearing. Others on this forum have criticized him for being a bad leader, but I thought he was just a guy learning how to do something new. For me, this final arc about the Terra Prime terrorist group was unpleasant and not sufficiently rewarding. I know the good guys win in the end, but it still felt bleak. For me, the problem was that Enterprise never had time to explore 22nd century Earth. All we see of Earth is the xenophobia that was arose in the Xindi period. It would have been nice to see other components of 22nd century Earth culture. The character element was good (i.e. between Trip and T'Pol). But, the plot was felt forced and unbalanced. It was obviously orchestrated to to allow Enterprise to save the world yet again. Lastly, I feel that all of these "the world is at stake" arcs have limited Archer's character. It seems like he is always upset, angry or threatening someone. I still like the guy, but sometimes I can't help but feel uncomfortable watching him. Anyway, as a fan of the series I certainly would have wanted the show to continue. It would have been interesting to see the direction they took the characters. It also would have been interesting to see the founding of the Federation. My reservations for this last arc do not diminish my affection for the series as a whole.

As far as I'm concerned, this is the last episode of Enterprise. Slap on the ending montage from The Next Episode Which Must Not Be Named, and you have a serviceable, moderately satisfying ending to the series, especially with Archer's final Kirk-esque speech and Trip's mentioning that a Vulcan-human child is indeed possible giving us hope while simultaneously foreshadowing Spock. Ranking the story arcs from Season 4: 1. The Vulcan arc - Despite flaws, easily my favorite. Tons of callbacks to TOS, fixed up the Vulcans after Berman and Braga screwed them up, with an interesting story, and all three episodes were relatively strong. Out of all the arcs, this one felt more like a TOS prequel than any of the others. 2. In A Mirror Darkly - Pure fun - it was great to see the TOS sets recreated to perfection, but some parts of the plot felt too brainless and action-driven. Still nice to see the actors playing mirror versions of themselves - I could tell they must have had fun. Overall, an interesting detour. 3. Terra Prime - Much like how the Vulcan arc put the Vulcans on a path to what they become in TOS, this arc showed Earth taking another step towards the utopian society of the Kirk/Picard eras, addressing the inevitable questions of how to deal with xenophobia and unite humanity in a common purpose. Some flaws but overall well done. 4. Klingon forehead arc - Honestly, most fans probably could have lived without this inconsistency being explained, but it was still a fun ride. Conclusion fell flat though and I felt Section 31 was underutilized. 5. Augments - It was nice to see Brent Spiner back on the show, but this felt too action-driven and not enough brain for my liking. *Too* much of an extended detour for my liking. Still some good moments, but it seemed like too much brainless action to drudge through to get to the fifteen seconds of Data foreshadowing at the end. 6. Romulan drones - This arc had some of the most potential but I felt it was wasted, especially with the anticlimactic ending. I would have preferred an ending where the drones get taken down through the Vulcans, Andorians, Tellarites and Enterprise working together, thus foreshadowing the Federation. (Never mind that if Romulan tech is this advanced in the 22nd century, extrapolate that to the 24th century and Picard is in deep trouble.)

crying like a vulcan/human hybrid baby right now :(

The tragic death of the baby-with-the-un likely-origin was handled well. It was a revelation to see Connor Trineer acting with plausible emotion without hamming it up. Mind you there was quite a lot of piggy meat on display from Bwahahaha! Peter Weller as the despicable moustache twirling villain. On the subject of baddies who the heck was Ensign Traitor anyway? I would have been happier if the terra prime agent on the ship turned out to be someone we knew-like Captain Archer-"hey it was me all along and even I didn't know" ( OK that is a quote from Patrick in SpongeBob). Seriously though-tell my folks I'm sorry ( blows brains out)-really daft. So next week I am watching the horrid holodeck episode-pass me Malcolm's sick bag.

Yeah, when commenting about this episode, might be nice if folk don't give spoilers about subsequent episodes. Annoying and thoughtless.

IMO not a good episode or finale (sure it is better than the actual one but that's not saying much). Paxton and Josiah came off as absolute morons (after being at least a little grounded in reason in Part I) and thus uninteresting, there was little sense of urgency, the creation of the clone/child and involvement of Gannett didn't make sense, the weapon firing but not succeeding was a cheat.

Diamond Dave

Extraordinarily ballsy move to wrap up the main series with a dead baby, but if nothing else it brings some genuinely emotional beats to the wrap up, and with Archer's concluding speech puts a cap on things fairly effectively. Unfortunately the bulk of the episode devolves to a fairly standard actioner that doesn't really offer too much as this point. Better than the first one because of that depth noted above, but no classic by any means. 3 stars.

I was dreading watching this episode because to do so meant Enterprise was over, and that hurt, because as I've said elsewhere I really like the plans the writers had for S5 and they didn't happen. But the Elizabeth died and everything was made even sadder. And the cast pulled off these devestating morose scenes like pros (well... Mayweather not so much. Imagine if he'd been the spy) and I regret even more that they weren't given the oppertunity to build on the potential they had shown this season. I still hold out hope that CBS will bring Enterprise back, even for a short run. Particularily since the new series is to be an anthology (yeah, new crews and all that) there remains a wealth of material from this point in the lore's history, and I'm confident the Enterprise cast could handle it. (Seriously, a refit to make NX-01 in line with TOS starship design, T'Pol being half Romulan, Shran as main cast, Romulan War and Federation build-up. Where do I sign up?)

@ Nolan: I don't think there's any chance they'll bring back ENT, as it's widely seen as the final nail in Trek coffin (to be fair, VOY built the coffin and had it half sealed before it even got to ENT). I'd really like to see where the Alpha Quadrant is 20 years after the Dominion War, or a plan to get Sisko out of that wormhole, but that's probably not going to happen either. I'd say the best bet would be one or two characters brought back for a stand alone episode somehow, which would be pretty cool.

dave johnson

Season 4 is what Enterprise should have been intermingled in it's first two seasons. I think the series could have had a shot at a full 7 seasons if they mixed in the season 4 arcs in seasons 1 and 2. i just remember two problems here back then 1 - the continuity problems in seasons 1 and 2 pissed off a lot of people, including me . The Ferengi episode was the jump the shark moment for me in the first 2 seasons as it was nothing more than a ratings gimmick. I stayed with the series because I like Trek, but it was annoying more often than not and I can see why ratings declined to the point that they had to come up with this Xindi season to try to save the show. 2 - At the time leading up to Enterprise's debut we had just digested over 500 hours of Trek episides from three series overlapping in the 1990s' AND, at least in my market, Trek reruns of those three series were on several channels in multiple time slots and you could literally watch reruns all day and night if you wanted. The Trek market was so saturated that Enterprise came into a very Trek fatigued market. I think the new series will struggle because it is on a subscription service; it migth end up being the most highly pirated series of the year; but payig customers may be a struggle. It will be hard for people to just pay 8 - 10 bucks a month for 4 episodes if they don't care about the rest of the platform. The NU Trek is starting to fizzle a bit as they alienated some people bringing back Khan and the 3rd one had such a one dimensional villian (like really? let's murder a bunch of people because the guy is pissed off earth is not at war??). This new series seems to be set in the prime Trek universe so it may be a referesher but in order to succeed it needs a lot of casual viewers and they will get confused if it is not in the same timeline as the current movie franchise. My hopes are not night for it.

Paul Mehlin

Only a few Trek episodes ever made me cry. This was one. Although there were errors with some continuities, it was nice to have some time back at & around Earth. The Terra Prime movement is not so far from some current-day thinking. Other reviews here are not as kind, but I thought this was a fine Star Trek two-parter, and I enjoyed it very much. Like others have mentioned, this was a good ending for the series.

Reasonably good conclusion to the 2-parter, it better than the first part for me. I thought the scene with Travis flying the shuttlecraft behind the comet was really well done -- big budget stuff. The shootout scene with Paxton was, yes clumsy, but also dramatic with the Enterprise on the verge of blasting the "doomsday machine" and Archer etc. still on board and Hoshi being put under duress by the minister. As for T'Pol/Trip and the hybrid baby, it was good to see T'Pol acting like a mother although the baby wasn't conceived in the usual way. Agree with Jammer here that it's an odd strategy for Paxton to try as far as showing why humans should not have aliens on Earth etc. T'Pol/Trip crying over the baby's death and also confirming that there's no issue with human/Vulcan children if "done right" also set things up for Spock. Archer eventually gives his speech and sets in motion the events we all expect -- all the Star Trek ideals reiterated is nice to hear. 3 stars for "Terra Prime" -- a lot of the usual Enterprise action scenes but there's a good underlying story here with Terra Prime's xenophobia as well as the various loose ends coming together and fitting together reasonably well. Still question Paxton's methods but I guess Trip/T'Pol have sorted out their "relationship" with the hybrid baby experience.

I enjoyed this episode. When Trip grabbed his shirt and cried, I started to bawl. So real. I didn't hate the next episode, but this would've been a great series finale. I'm glad I decided to give it a watch.

Nice 2-episode arc. The baby was stupid. What was the plan? Clone cute baby and watch it die to prove a point? Instead of using any 2 random DNAs from easy-to-get vulcan and human, pick two people on a spaceship that is almost never around? Glad the baby died. She would have ruined T’pol and Trip’s lives.

@Gooz I see your point, but I also see some logic on Paxton's plan (being a mother myself, my worst nightmare is the death of a child). I mean: The baby was designed by Paxton to die, in order to destroy or at least interfere with any dreams of "happy future" for any hybrid couple. Such a symbol of death really spoils the fun. And of course it would be more effective using DNA from Enterprise staff, not random, because: 1) For humans, Enterprise staff were heroes, celebrities (even signing autographs on the "Home" episode). And her captain was behind the Coalition conferences on tv news on that exact moment, on the spotlight. 2) For Vulcans, T'Pol was a revolution: the first case to break all ties to vulcan high command and fully join the human Starfleet. So T'Pol was the logical choice for Paxton's attack. Concerning future... onboard the Enterprise their former careers were stuck: Trip brought warp2 to warp5 from paper to reality, and he could have developed warp6/7 and become the next Cochrane/Henry Archer... but what was he doing instead? Only maintenance of the same warp 5 engine for years! And T'Pol was becoming his assistant, instead of doing her real science research. Perhaps a couple of years on Earth with the child might have been good to retake their science careers. And they could still take part on a few good Enterprise's missions occasionally (Trip had still family left for babysitting). But well, it would never happen: Romulan wars were coming, the child died and the show got cancelled. A pity, I was really looking forward to the Romulan Wars. I'm really thankful to people of this site who recommended me "The good that men do": a perfect closure for the Enterprise show, and besides with Romulans. Loved it!

I agree with everyone who says the scenes with the baby were powerful. Otherwise, I mostly agree with Jammer; this has the ingredients of a very strong story, but never reaches its full potential. The speeches don't quite come off as naturally as I'd like them to. There's several details that leap out at you if you think about the script a little bit (like why a mining base on the moon would have a warp drive, or why a defense system against asteroids & comets would need much firepower). While I applaud the attempt to give Travis more characterization, he had no chemistry with his ex. That all probably makes it sound like I'm more down on these episodes than I really am. I'll give the two-parter 3 stars. Not a classic pair of episodes, but more solid work from Enterprise's final season.

"I'm sorry Travis" this show finale is a mess - the next episode doesn't count for it is a TNG special actually.

I totally disagree with those of you saying the baby should've lived. No, that would've been yet another deus ex machina and made the whole thing boring and unmemorable. Oh look, Phlox did his medical magic and the baby lives, yay! Nobody dies isn't is all great! No, the final scene actually got me in the feels. It was far more poignant and I approve of the decision to kill the child off. I will actually remember that storyline.

Peter Swinkels

As I understand it, it was never said the air pressure was earth like due to terraforming. I have heard that while people can’t deal with Mars’ air pressure, about a 10th of earth’s pressure is enough to eliminate the need for a pressure suit. Breathing and dealing with the cold are another story.

While watching the episode all I could think was that the Terra Prime group was a racist bunch of radical isolationists and its name loosely translated to "Earth First". The name seems to have been borrowed for Trump's "America First" movement...

Brian — I, too, was struck by the parallels in the script and the current regime. I double-checked and sure enough, The Demon and Terra Prime episodes were first aired in 2005. That’s more than a decade before the MAGA madness overtook this country. Seems this is an example of life imitating art.

Karel, There isn't "MAGA Madness", only those that are butthurt. ... you know, walking around dressed up as vaginas, naked , screaming...

Steve McCullagh

Well these two episodes are certainly timely in 2018 considering the rise of Trumpism and the return to prominence of the Far Right. Sadly ahead of it's time.

^^ Wow, what a stupid comment.

Terrible ending for a reasonable series. I remembered Enterprise as awful, but ended up really liking it as I rewatched it (I had an opposite experience with DS9). But this two-parter about Nazis on the moon was rather bad. When Archer had the gun pointed at bad guy with a window cracking in the background he had at least a full minute to shoot the bastard! And what was up with the baby? What a stupid and pointless way to make your point. Why is that politics dude on the bridge with Hoshi? Those scenes were aggravating. Angry Archer making speeches is always a terrible idea. One prime star for these bad episodes. Looking forward to seeing Riker!

Also, these episodes were such downers! What a sad way to end things.

So, there's a super weapon on Mars that can destroy anything in the solar system, and it's just sitting around completely unguarded? Who buys this nonsense?

@Yanks I don't like how people compare every fictional supervillain to Trump, but there is something about a racist business man with daddy issues with working class supporters that seems familiar.

Well, I've now lead my friend through his first (curated) Star Trek series. And yes, to satisfy my curiosity I'm going in chronological order. Which means that if we DO watch "These Are the Voyages..." it won't be for awhile. He enjoyed Enterprise overall I think. His favorite character was Phlox, based more on his comedic elements I believe (I also skipped "Dear Doctor"), followed by Trip and Archer and Reed (again, more for his tongue in cheek characteristics I think) Enterprise actually had plenty of comedic moments, though how many of those were intended are up for debate. There's some decent back and forth cheeky banter in the series. "Singularity" is a pretty funny episode in the vein of other "Crew not acting like themselves" episodes, such as Naked Time/Now and Dramatis Personae (I never understood the "Trek isn't comedy take, although that Short Drek "The Trouble with Edward" was insultingly bad) We also got some good laughs in over the running joke of Archer getting punched in the face every other week. Season Four in a chronological context was a bit more difficult for a newbie though, despite being my favorite. As great as the Vulcan and Romulan Drone/United arcs were, they bungled the reveal that Romulans looked like Vulcans. There was no lead up at all, or even clear reference to it. It was expected the viewers would know. And yeah, 99% probably do, but I think if ya make a prequel, you gotta make it so one COULD watch it first. This is also why the MU episodes are being pushed back for my friend until S3 of TOS, after "The Tholian Web," as there isn't a lick of context as to what is going on in those episodes. As for Terra Prime, I forgot how emotionally impacting it was. T'Pol deciding her and Trip's dying daughter be named after his dead sister whelled me up, as did Phlox's admission of sadness over the loss of the child as well. And those just served to soften me up for Soval being the first to clap after Archer's speech, after the way their relationship grew and changed over the years. Then Trip's telling T'Pol about alien political delegats wishing to attend their daughter's funeral and Conner Trinner is acting his ass off in that scene.... As much as I think Enterprise hit its' stride and should've gotten its' 7 seasons and Romulan War arc, this episode does an exceptional job as a de facto finale, and at least leaves one feeling satisfied, and manages to bring some good emotion. Onward to The Original Series!

@Nolan You got two seasons of Discovery before TOS! And I agree with the general opinion that this is a better Enterprise finale than TATV, even though I do have a soft spot for TNG, was just not appropriate

@Maya Alas, you have fallen into my trap. ;-P As I said, I'm leading my friend through a "curated" watchlist. I've only picked the episodes that represent quintessential and/or good Trek, ones necessay for character/plot progression, ones I have a soft spot for, my favorites and the ones that spoke to me about the hope for humanity's future... I think you know where I'm going with this. Haha. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Besides, my friend has detailed his distaste for more heavily serialized works, where each episode is purely a stepping-stone to the next. That, coupled with Discovery ALSO delving into the Mirror Universe in a way that makes the Enterprise MU episodes more necessary to have seen, and my own distaste for what Trek has been serving lately, not to mention the unrelatability of the characters m, scatter-shot writing style and much more disregard to continuity than Enterprise dreamed of means I'm leaping right over it to get to that good ol' 60's filmmaking cheesiness. (And he's also enjoying TOS so far too, for entirely different reasons than Enterprise - more than Enterprise in fact, according to him.)

So no one else thought that Hoshi rocked as substitute captain? I thought she was looking exactly like a captaincy was in her future. She shut down that political guy with no trouble at all.

Hoshi was great! I too was struck by how (sadly) relevant this episode is, in 2020. I'm also struck by the comments about how this was the "nail in the coffin" of the Star Trek franchise. Ha. Meanwhile, we've had a movie reboot and two more CBS series! Not quite dead after all!

I could take or leave the main plot of the episode tbh, but the last ten minutes—including the speech, Phlox's comment about finding a new family, and T'Pol and Trip's final scene—were very moving. Shame it didn't really deliver elsewhere, especially because of the reputation the actual finale has. @Gail Captain Hoshi was terrific! Glad Linda Park got this and the mirror episodes to go out on.

Jeffery's Tube

I can't think of any reason for Terra Prime to use Trip and T'Pol's DNA to create Elizabeth other than pure spite. Peter Weller's character must absolutely hate T'Pol for being the first Vulcan in Starfleet and for being considered a hero, and hate that she was having a relationship with Tucker. It must have been personal for him. Elizabeth couldn't live because Spock is supposed to be the first Vulcan/Human hybrid. Of course, he was also supposed to be the first Vulcan to join Starfleet rather than going to the Vulcan Science Academy . . . but it turns out Spock was actually just the first Vulcan to go to Starfleet Academy, not to join Starfleet at all, so Enterprise skates on the continuity with that one. Barely. Trip and T'Pol might not remember Lorian (from the E2 episode) at all. T'Pol and Archer remembered him immediately afterward, but in other episodes, Daniels says timeline changes take time to reach forward. Archer and T'Pol had recently traveled in time with Temporal Agent tech (Carpenter Street), which might have inocculated them from the changes for a little while, but then it caught up with them. This episode was overall ridiculous--where was that "verteron array" when the Xindi weapon was approaching Earth?--but all things considered, it doesn't really matter too much. I'm not bothered by McGuffins if they allow a compelling story to be told. This also helps me enjoy Voyager quite a bit more than most, ha.

Acting wise I think Billingsley gave a masterclass. Anthony Montgomery....I mean Jesus he had 5 years and never got less wooden.

longtimefirsttime

Just finished this. I thought it was one of the stronger arcs in this season, which is definitely the best of them all. (The arc on Vulcan was the strongest IMHO.) I agree with others that this arc only looks more timely twenty years later. If I had seen this when it first aired, I might have rolled my eyes, but the rabid xenophobes feel totally realistic nowadays. @Gail and @GailNYC (same Gail?), I'm in total agreement. Hoshi made a great acting captain! I'm glad they gave her something to do before the series ended, and I appreciated the bit in the first episode of this arc about her improving the universal translator. As for Gannett, she wasn't a very good spy. And I wish that the traitor had been someone we had actually heard of before. I figured it would be Kelby since he's one of the only crewmen we knew who's not part of the main cast, but I'm glad he wasn't *always* at fault.

Two weird and depressing episodes, talk about going out with a whimper!

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Memory Alpha

Terra Prime (episode)

  • View history
  • 1.2 Act One
  • 1.3 Act Two
  • 1.4 Act Three
  • 1.5 Act Four
  • 2 Log entries
  • 3 Memorable quotes
  • 4.1 Story and script
  • 4.2 Cast and production
  • 4.4 Continuity
  • 4.5 Reception
  • 5.1 Starring
  • 5.2 Guest stars
  • 5.3 Special guest appearance by
  • 5.4 Co-stars
  • 5.5 Uncredited co-stars
  • 5.6 Stunt doubles
  • 5.7 Stand-ins
  • 5.8 References
  • 5.9 External links

Summary [ ]

On the bridge through Enterprise 's viewscreen , John Frederick Paxton , the self-proclaimed leader of Terra Prime , is continuing to speak of his threat to use the powerful verteron array . Captain Archer orders his communications officer Ensign Sato to block the transmission, but it is going system-wide. Suddenly, an infant with pointed ears appears on the screen. Over the image, Paxton says " The citizen soldiers of Terra Prime will act to protect you against the most dangerous enemy that humanity has ever faced. "

Act One [ ]

At the meeting hall at Starfleet , Paxton's video of the baby Vulcan plays on a large screen, in front of the gathered alien delegates. Nathan Samuels , through a communicator , orders that the transmission be blocked, but Starfleet cannot break through. He demands the officer he is speaking to find some way to contact Captain Archer on Enterprise .

On the bridge of Enterprise , Paxton, through the viewscreen, states that Terra Prime is devoted to the protection of life in all its diversity, so, for the next 24 hours, they will allow aliens safe passage through the solar system . They must leave as soon as possible before the deadline is up. Archer asks Lieutenant Reed to scan Paxton's ship for Vulcan life signs , so they can obtain a transporter lock on T'Pol, as well as the infant. Just after this, Paxton warns that if any extraterrestrial individual remains on the surface of the Earth, he will fire the verteron array directly at Starfleet Command , the institution he believes is responsible for putting all Humans at risk. He says Terra Prime does not want war, but he makes a solemn promise to the sons and daughters of Earth – their future will be secure because humanity will prevail.

Just then, Reed notes that Paxton's ship has targeted Enterprise . Archer orders the vessel be taken away from Mars , but Enterprise is hit by the beam leaving half its relays completely fried. Reed reports that the beam was fired at only at two percent capacity, Paxton could have completely vaporised Enterprise if he had fired at full power. Archer decides that discretion is the better part of valor in this case and has the ship put on a course back to Earth. At the conference hall, Ambassador Soval moves to speak with Minister Samuels. Soval notes that spontaneous demonstrations have begun forming around the Vulcan Compound due to Paxton's threat. Samuels believes that this is only an isolated incident, but Andorian Ambassador Thoris walks up and talks of similar demonstrations occurring at the Andorian embassy – they are using words not in the universal translator . Soval finds it troubling that Paxton has the support of so many Humans. Thoris thinks the proposed Coalition of Planets will be unsuccessful, as this proves that Earth is still deeply divided.

In Archer's ready room , Samuels orders the captain to attack the array but Archer cannot, as two of his people are being held hostage. The Council has been made aware of this, but the decision has been made. Without the use of the verteron array, in the next thirty months , fourteen comets will impact on the surface of Mars and could hit anywhere on the planet, including the populated domed cities . Archer proposes that he take a small team into Paxton's facility to stop them. Samuels notes that Paxton can destroy any ship that approaches but Archer has a solution to that.

Meanwhile on Mars, T'Pol and Tucker are held as hostages by Paxton. Paxton finally shows them their Vulcan - Human hybrid baby. He reveals an agent of Terra Prime on Enterprise obtained their bio-samples to create the child. Now that Paxton has fulfilled his part, he asks Tucker to help refine his targeting system for the array. Tucker at once refuses, but Paxton forces him to after he has Josiah aim a EM pistol at point blank range at T'Pol's head.

On a foggy night in San Francisco , Reed meets up once again with Section 31 agent Harris in a dark alleyway. Reed asks Harris for further information on Mars. He reveals that the planetary sensor grid on Mars has become prone to false signals in the denser terraformed atmosphere , which would allow a small vessel to arrive without being detected. Harris tells Reed that they will still need to reach the surface undetected but the crew of Enterprise has already come up with a solution to that – without Harris' help. Reed tells Harris that if the coalition is formed, Enterprise will be busier than ever and this will likely be the last time they will see each other. Harris wishes the lieutenant good luck and they part ways.

In a briefing with Samuels, Archer, Reed and Mayweather devise a plan to disguise a shuttlepod in the wake of the comet Burke which is currently heading toward Mars ' north pole. Samuels doubts this plan will work but Mayweather assures him he has experience with comets. Archer assures Samuels that if the plan is unsuccessful, Enterprise will destroy the facility.

At Orpheus , T'Pol is rocking the baby back and forth when Paxton enters and tells her that what she is doing will not make the child fully Vulcan or Human. She responds that Human and Vulcan genes created the child which proves that both species have more similarities than differences. Paxton nevertheless calls the baby a threat to humankind. During this, T'Pol notices Paxton's hand shaking. As he turns to leave, T'Pol quickly scans him. T'Pol says she will not let Paxton hurt her child but he cryptically says he will not have to before leaving.

On Enterprise , Archer has the ship taken on a course toward the comet Burke and toward Mars.

Act Two [ ]

In Enterprise 's brig , Mayweather visits Gannet after she has requested to see him. She tells the ensign she has not spoken to her lawyer to which Mayweather tells her she'll have to speak to Archer but she has been told he's busy. Brooks tells Mayweather that she does not work for Terra Prime – she's an agent for Starfleet Intelligence . After opening the brig's door, he asks why she has not contacted her division head to free her already. She tells him if she had done that, her cover would be blown and the Terra Prime operative would know her true occupation. Mayweather is contacted on his communicator by Reed, informing him they are assembled in the launch bay . Brooks tells Mayweather that she is telling him all of this because he and the assault team are going after Paxton and since there is an operative on board, he could know they are coming. Mayweather sarcastically tells her he's " touched " by her concern and leaves.

In the launch bay, Archer leaves Ensign Sato in command of the ship. He reminds her of when she first came aboard Enterprise and used to jump when the warp engines hiccupped. She says she still does – she is just now better at hiding it.

Tucker is in Orpheus' weapons room, doing what Paxton told him to – fix his targeting array. While Greaves supervises Tucker and his repairs, he goes into a xenophobic rant about Vulcans and how they refused to assist Earth during World War III and sat back while millions of Humans died. When the Terra Prime operative refers to Tucker and T'Pol's daughter as some " half-Human thing, " Tucker punches him in the face. While Greaves falls back in pain, Tucker sabotages the targeting system. Greaves kicks Tucker to the ground and calls the engineer " a traitor to humanity. "

On Shuttlepod 1 , Archer, Reed, Mayweather, and Dr. Phlox are being rocked around inside. The shuttlepod's inertial dampers were taken off-line so it would appear to be a chunk of the comet. Reed becomes nauseous and Phlox hands him a bag to throw up in.

After Tucker has been caught sabotaging the weapons, Paxton arrives. He knows Tucker has been trying all along to sabotage the targeting systems, as Paxton has been monitoring his progress the whole time. Paxton tells Tucker that in only two hours, he will fire the beam at Earth but the way the targeting system currently is, he will take out half of San Francisco, along with Starfleet. When Tucker refuses to work on the system further, Paxton states " If you are so eager for a bloodbath, a bloodbath is what you'll get. " Paxton orders that Tucker be put into the detention center, equipped with a news screen, so Tucker will see the numerous deaths resulting from his actions.

T'Pol holds her child up in her quarters. She tells the baby she is her mother and she will need a name. She scans the child and looks concerned.

Meanwhile, on Shuttlepod 1 , Archer reports that the sensors have picked up ionization from the Martian atmosphere. However, there is a sudden, violent jolt. The shuttlepod's engine has suddenly shut down without warning. Also, Mayweather's console has locked up and the hull plating is offline. The shuttlepod is spiraling out of control and coming in hot with the comet.

Act Three [ ]

Mayweather bypasses from auto flight control and has switched to manual, despite the speed the shuttlepod is traveling. Mayweather has no choice, as they are out of options. The shuttlepod levels off with five seconds to spare before the comet impacts on Mars' ice cap . The comet Burke crashes on the surface… and Shuttlepod 1 emerges from the impact, flying away. " Well, that was fun. Can we do it again? ", Reed sarcastically asks. Mayweather pilots the shuttlepod over the Carl Sagan Memorial Station to a ridgeline and lands it there. The four Enterprise crewmen exit the shuttlepod in thermal garments and make their way to Orpheus.

Carl Sagan Memorial Station

Carl Sagan Memorial Station on Mars

When Tucker is thrown into his cell, he creates a makeshift tool using pieces from around the room and items on his miner 's belt. He opens a door panel and notes that it is a mark three interlock and starts to bypass it.

In Paxton's office, T'Pol is brought in by Josiah. Paxton has been told that the Vulcan has something she wants to say to him but she wants to talk in private. " I keep no secrets from my men, " he says. " You and I both know that's not true, " she states. Paxton tells Josiah to leave. T'Pol tells Paxton that he will arrange for her daughter to have medical care at once at the Utopia Colony . Paxton wonders what makes her think that she can dictate terms to him. " This, " she says. T'Pol takes his shaking right hand and reveals that she knows he is suffering from Taggart's Syndrome and is using Rigellian gene therapy to treat it, making him not only a terrorist but a hypocrite. When Paxton asks what is wrong with her child, T'Pol tells him she is suffering from an elevated white blood cell count and low grade fever. Paxton tells her that her child's two halves are at war with each other and that conflict was inevitable. He has T'Pol taken away and tells her that both the Coalition and her child were doomed from the beginning.

On Enterprise 's bridge, Samuels emerges from a turbolift and tells Sato that Paxton's deadline is up. He believes that Archer and his team have failed in their mission. Sato tells the minister that the array will need two minutes to fully power up. Samuels is incredulous but Sato insists that she will only order to destroy the array if there is no other choice. Samuels gives her an order to destroy the array now . Sato refuses, stating she is following Captain Archer's orders, not his. Samuels asks to be patched in to Admiral Gardner , but Sato belays that, telling Samuels that they need to maintain radio silence. " You're risking the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. " " I know what I'm doing, " Sato tells him.

When Archer, Reed, Phlox, and Mayweather finally infiltrate the Orpheus Mining Complex, they find Tucker in a corridor and they team up together to defeat Paxton. They manage to get into the control room. Archer contacts Enterprise and informs a relieved Sato they have made it. Archer orders Tucker to shut down the array. Greaves tries to prevent Tucker from shutting down the array, shooting him. Greaves is also shot and a firefight ensues between Paxton and Archer. A phase-pistol shot from Archer misses and hits the window, causing the viewport to crack and the room begins to depressurize. Reed is hit by Paxton and is taken out the room by Mayweather and Phlox. While Archer puts his mask on Tucker, Paxton speaks about Henry Archer and tells Captain Archer the reason why he turned his back against Humanity. He says Henry embraced the Vulcan aliens only because he wanted the warp five engine so badly. Paxton tells Archer they should go to the stars taking worlds and taming their civilizations. " The galaxy's more crowded than we thought, " Archer tells him. After telling Paxton it is over, the window at this point breaks and Paxton is able to arm the weapon, since he's used to breathing with low oxygen . The beam fires harmlessly into the Pacific Ocean near the Golden Gate Bridge , and not at San Francisco. This is a result of Tucker's intervention.

Later, Mayweather finds T'Pol and her daughter. " She's dying, " T'Pol tells the ensign.

Act Four [ ]

In sickbay , Dr. Phlox is trying to find a cure for the baby, now named Elizabeth (for Tucker's late sister ) by T'Pol. Tucker tells her that his sister would have liked that. Phlox informs Elizabeth's parents that she is dying due to an apparent incompatibility between Human and Vulcan DNA and he is doing his best to stabilize her nucleotides however he is hampered since there has never been a child like her before. " Her name is Elizabeth, " T'Pol tells the Denobulan doctor.

In the launch bay, Reed and Mayweather discover that the Shuttlepod 1 was indeed sabotaged, confirming there is a Terra Prime operative on Enterprise . After the two initially suspect Commander Kelby of wrongdoing, he reveals that the shuttlepod underwent maintenance by Ensign Masaro . After discovering this, the crew scrambles to protect Nathan Samuels from harm. With the whole ship searching for him, Archer is confronted by the operative in a corridor, revealed to be Masaro. In a corridor, he apologizes to his captain, then puts a phase-pistol to his head and pulls the trigger .

Suicidal tendencies

Masaro seconds before killing himself

In front of the assembled alien delegates, Samuels tells them that in the last week, they have all seen what Humans can be at their worst. However, he insists they cannot and must not use that as an excuse to end a dream that started here in the room. Instead, he wants to properly honor the people who made the conference possible – the crew of Enterprise . Archer steps forward and begins to speak. " Up until about a hundred years ago , there was one question that burned in every Human, that made us study the stars and dream of traveling to them. Are we alone? Our generation is privileged to know the answer to that question. We are all explorers, driven to know what's over the horizon, what's beyond our own shores. " Archer believes, however, that the more he's experienced while exploring in space, that the most profound discoveries are not necessarily beyond the next star. They are within everyone, woven into the fabric that binds them all together to each other. " A final frontier begins in this hall. Let's explore it together. " Ambassador Soval, who had once opposed Archer's appointment as captain of Enterprise , stands up and begins to applaud. Soon, everyone in the room joins him.

Archer addresses delegates

Archer holds a speech at the founding ceremony of the Coalition of Planets

In a corridor on Enterprise , Gannet Brooks, now released, walks with Mayweather. She hears the conference is back on track now, though Mayweather says it will take years to iron out all the details. She tells the ensign that because of him, it will now happen. He tells her he was just doing his job. " So was I, " she says. Upon stopping at the transporter alcove, she asks if that is the fast way down to Earth. Mayweather instead offers to take her down the old fashioned way and they head to the launch bay holding hands.

Later, a tearful Tucker arrives in T'Pol's quarters, where she is sitting on her bed holding an IDIC pendant. Tucker informs T'Pol that the delegates want to attend Elizabeth's memorial. Though they are both still mourning their devastating loss, Tucker tells T'Pol that Phlox has determined that Elizabeth's death was caused by the flawed cloning process and that in the future, a Human and a Vulcan could indeed have a natural child . In an ironic turn for the woman who refused to shake his hand when they first met , T'Pol takes the sobbing Tucker's hand in hers as they sit together.

Log entries [ ]

Memorable quotes [ ].

" There's nothing normal about it. " " She's not an 'it'! "

" If this coalition of Archer's works, then you'll be busier than ever. " " Quite right. So I suspect this is the last time we'll ever meet. " " Always the optimist. "

" You can't stop it from firing, I locked it. "

" She's dying. "

" Terra Prime… forever. "

" There are protesters chanting outside the Andorian embassy… and they're using words that aren't in the universal translator. "

" Hello. I'm your mother. You're going to need a name. We should discuss that with your father. "

" Well, that was fun. Can we do it again? "

" 32! " " Hmm? " " This is the thirty-second planet I've set foot on! " " 248! "

" When you invited me to join this crew, I thought it would be an interesting… diversion, for a few months… some time away from the complications of family – which on Denobula can be extremely complicated. I didn't expect to gain another family… it hurts as if she were my own child. "

" Up until about a hundred years ago, there was one question that burned in every Human, that made us study the stars and dream of traveling to them. Are we alone? Our generation is privileged to know the answer to that question. We are all explorers driven to know what's over the horizon, what's beyond our own shores. And yet the more I've experienced, the more I've learned that no matter how far we travel, or how fast we get there, the most profound discoveries are not necessarily beyond that next star. They're within us, woven into the threads that bind us, all of us, to each other. A final frontier begins in this hall. Let's explore it together. "

" If a Vulcan and a Human ever decided to have a child, it'd probably be okay. That's sort of comforting. "

Background information [ ]

Story and script [ ].

  • Manny Coto originally pushed to have the short, gold-skinned species from " Journey to Babel " attend the Coalition of Planets conference, but it proved too expensive. He named the species Ithenite which was mentioned in " Azati Prime " before.
  • Ambassador Thoris was originally intended to be Shran , but the producers decided they wanted him in " These Are the Voyages... " instead. They consequently wrote him out of this episode's script.
  • An original version of the script had T'Pol singing a lullaby in Vulcan to her baby, when she says, " Hello, I am your mother. "
  • The final draft script of this episode was submitted on 14 February 2005 .

Cast and production [ ]

  • This episode marks the final appearance of Gary Graham , as Ambassador Soval, on the series. He and Harris actor Eric Pierpoint were previously regulars on the television series Alien Nation together. They played Matt Sikes and George Francisco, respectively. Interestingly, here their roles are reversed: Graham plays an alien while Pierpoint plays a Human.
  • The Carl Sagan Memorial Station plaque was the final piece of art design Michael Okuda created for the Star Trek franchise. ( ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary ) This would remain the case until he and his wife Denise Okuda were asked to return for PIC Season 2 . [1]
  • The final scene between Trip and T'Pol after the death of Elizabeth was extremely emotional for Connor Trinneer, as his wife had recently told him she was pregnant with their first child. ( ENT Season 3 Blu-ray , ENT Season 4 Blu-ray audio commentary )

Jay Chattaway scoring Terra Prime

Jay Chattaway working on this episode's score

Enterprise (NX-01) score

A commemorative keepsake made from musical phrases in this episode

  • The spotting session for this episode, held to analyze where music would be used, was on 23 March 2005 . At the session, the episode's composer, Jay Chattaway , found a rare occurrence in which not everyone agreed on the musical decisions which had to be made. " Interestingly enough, in this show, some people did not want to play Archer's [final] speech with music, nor the last big scene with Trip and T'Pol and the baby, " remembered Chattaway. " But I said, 'You know, I hear the music already in my head – I know what it's going to sound like.' That indicates to me that the music belongs there, that it's uniquely inspired by that scene. " Chattaway ultimately won those battles. Some of the musical cues he ended up writing for this installment were entitled "Trip Fights Back", "Archer's Speech", and "Grieving". ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 123 , pp. 36 & 32)
  • This episode was the final one for which Jay Chattaway, a veteran Star Trek composer, scored the music. More than three-fourths of the musicians who performed on this episode's score were the same as those on Chattaway's first Star Trek score, for TNG : " Tin Man ". Regarding the music for this historic installment, Chattaway reflected, " They [the musicians] actually turned down other work so that they could play it, which was very, very meaningful to me. It was very emotional. It was very hard for me to do the last score. I thought, 'Well, gee, I might not ever write a Captain's Log again.' I wouldn't turn the last cue ['Grieving'] in until I had rewritten it three times. I guess I was just hanging on – I didn't want it to end. " On his handwritten score for "Grieving", Chattaway wrote, " Fine! " on 21 April 2005 . To commemorate his final orchestration for Star Trek , Chattaway drew – on manuscript paper dated 22 April 2005 – a sketch of the Enterprise NX-01 , illustrated entirely out of musical phrases from this episode's score. He created copies of this for all the musicians, producers and engineers he had worked with over the years, the sketch turning out to be an extremely popular keepsake. ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 123 , pp. 35 & 30)

Continuity [ ]

  • This is the only episode where Hoshi Sato is seen in command of Enterprise NX-01 during a mission.
  • This is the final episode of Star Trek: Enterprise that is actually set in the 22nd century , and features the "real" versions of the characters. The series' finale, "These Are the Voyages…", is set in the year 2370 and only features holographic duplicates .

Reception [ ]

  • This episode originally aired on the same night as the series finale, " These Are the Voyages... ".
  • The book Star Trek 101 (p. 262), by Terry J. Erdmann and Paula M. Block , lists this episode as one of the "Ten Essential Episodes" from Star Trek: Enterprise .
  • Among the items from this episode which were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay is a pair of LCARS style button boards. [2]

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

  • Scott Bakula as Jonathan Archer
  • John Billingsley as Phlox
  • Jolene Blalock as T'Pol
  • Dominic Keating as Malcolm Reed
  • Anthony Montgomery as Travis Mayweather
  • Linda Park as Hoshi Sato
  • Connor Trinneer as Charles "Trip" Tucker III

Guest stars [ ]

  • Harry Groener as Nathan Samuels
  • Gary Graham as Soval
  • Eric Pierpoint as Harris
  • Adam Clark as Josiah
  • Peter Mensah as Daniel Greaves
  • Johanna Watts as Gannet
  • Derek Magyar as Kelby
  • Joel Swetow as Thoris

Special guest appearance by [ ]

  • Peter Weller as John Frederick Paxton

Co-stars [ ]

  • Josh Holt as Ensign Masaro
  • Amy Rohren as Tactical Officer

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

  • Geneviere Anderson
  • Nancy Avila as Starfleet Commodore
  • Ron Balicki as Orpheus miner
  • Breezy as Porthos
  • Ursula Burton as Computer Voice
  • Dominic Calandra as command lieutenant
  • Alien ambassador
  • Operations ensign
  • Steve D'Errico as Starfleet vice admiral
  • Amy Earhart as Vulcan delegate
  • Evan English as alien ambassador
  • Tarik Ergin as Tellarite delegate
  • Henry Farnam as Rigelian ambassador
  • Nikki Flux as Denobulan ambassador
  • Duncan K. Fraser
  • Andorian delegate
  • Dieter Hornemann as Vulcan delegate
  • Chase Hoyt as Starfleet lieutenant
  • John Jurgens as operations crewman
  • Lalita Lauren
  • Mark Major as Rigelian ambassador
  • Tom Miller as alien ambassador
  • Grace Norris as Elizabeth
  • Riley Norris as Elizabeth
  • NX Ops Crewman
  • Woody Porter as Starfleet rear admiral
  • Pablo Soriano as Tellarite delegate
  • Trey Stokes as Tellarite delegate
  • Ator Tamras as A. Tamras
  • David Venafro as Andorian delegate
  • James Ward as alien ambassador
  • Unknown actor as Human Orpheus miner

Stunt doubles [ ]

  • Shawn Crowder as stunt double for Connor Trinneer
  • Vince Deadrick, Jr. as stunt double for Peter Weller
  • Wayne King, Jr. as stunt double for Peter Mensah

Stand-ins [ ]

  • David Keith Anderson – stand-in for Anthony Montgomery
  • Jennifer Anderson – stand-in for Jolene Blalock
  • Jef Ayres – stand-in for Connor Trinneer
  • Michael Bailous – stand-in for Peter Mensah
  • Evan English – stand-in for Dominic Keating
  • Robin Morselli – utility stand-in
  • J.R. Quinonez – stand-in for Peter Weller
  • Richard Sarstedt – stand-in for Scott Bakula
  • Cricket Yee – stand-in for Linda Park
  • Stand-in for Ron Balicki
  • Stand-in for John Billingsley
  • Stand-in for Adam Clark

References [ ]

alien ; Andorians ; Archer, Henry ; atmosphere ; baby bonnet ; baby bottle ; Berlin ; Brooks' editor ; Canberra ; Carl Sagan Memorial Station ; chant ; citizen soldier ; coffee ; cola ; cross-breed ; cycle ; division head ; DNA ; domed city ; drink dispenser ; editor ; Fleet Operations Center ; footnote ; freak ; Gardner, Admiral ; gene ; generation ; genetic disorder ; gravity ; Green, Phillip ; guava ; hiccup ; hospital ; hot cocoa ; hull ; hull plating ; hull temperature ; iced tea ; inertial damper ; interspecies reproduction ; ion ; leader ; lowland ; Mars ; Mars Heritage Site ; Mars Historical Preservation Society ; medical care ; medical freezer ; medical text ; meter ; Milky Way Galaxy ; mining operation ; NASA ; news agency ; news screen ; nausea ; non-Human ; organic waste bag ; Orpheus Mining Authority ; Orpheus Mining Complex ; oxygen ; oxygen mask ; Pacific Ocean ; paranoid ; pressure suit ; radio silence ; ranking officer ; Rigellian gene therapy ; rover ; safe passage ; Sagan, Carl ; San Francisco Bay ; Shuttlepod 1 ; sling ; Sojourner ; suicide ; Taggart's Syndrome ; temperature ; terraforming ; thermal garment ; traitor ; transporter lock ; Utopia Colony ; vegetarian ; verteron array ; Vulcans ; World War III ; woven ; Xindi ; Xindi attack

External links [ ]

  • "Terra Prime" at StarTrek.com
  • " Terra Prime " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
  • " Terra Prime " at Wikipedia
  • " Terra Prime " at the Internet Movie Database

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Peter Weller

John Frederick Paxton

Tom Bergeron

Coridan Ambassador

Peter Mensah

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Patrick Fischler

Johanna Watts

Gannet Brooks

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Star Trek: Enterprise (2001–2005)

Peter weller: john frederick paxton, photos .

Peter Weller and Patrick Fischler in Enterprise (2001)

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Published Nov 16, 2023

Enterprise’s Ambitious Arcs

Revisit the birth of the Federation with these classic Star Trek: Enterprise storylines.

Star Trek: Enterprise

StarTrek.com

From The Original Series ' “ The Menagerie ” duology to the lengthy struggle against the Dominion as depicted in Deep Space Nine , the Star Trek franchise has never been a stranger to epic, multi-episode story arcs. Discovery and Picard have even been organized into season-long narratives, where each year’s adventures are dedicated to pursuing a specific plot.

However, no other Trek series has attempted what Enterprise accomplished in its popular fourth season — a year’s worth of episodes almost entirely divided into mini-arcs consisting of two- and three-part storylines. These installments served as exciting entries in the NX-01 Enterprise ’s journey while simultaneously connecting the show with other elements of Star Trek lore.

Let’s look back on the intriguing escapades chronicled in its final season.

1. The Temporal Cold War (" Storm Front " and " Storm Front, Part II ")

Star Trek: Enterprise

"Storm Front, Part II"

Fresh off of a yearlong search for the Xindi superweapon, Captain Archer and his crew found themselves transported back in time to a distorted version of Earth’s Second World War by the 31st Century temporal agent Daniels. Hoping to stop a cadre of 29th Century operatives from manipulating the timeline, Daniels once again enlisted Enterprise to intervene in the Temporal Cold War. Unbeknownst to anyone, the Suliban Silik stowed away on the mission and assisted Archer in foiling the plot spearheaded by an alien known as Vosk. The successful resolution prompted Daniels to send Enterprise to its proper time period.

This duology acted as the conclusion to Archer’s dealings with both temporal agents and the Suliban, two groups who the captain encountered on a fairly regular basis during the early phase of Enterprise ’s travels. According to Daniels, Vosk’s defeat helped bring about the end of the Temporal Cold War, a conflict that tied directly into Discovery ’s third season. Once Michael Burnham arrived in the 32nd Century, she learned that the war resulted in a ban on time travel. The disarray caused by the numerous temporal factions also distracted the Federation in the years leading up to The Burn.

2. The Augment Crisis (" Borderland ," "Cold Station 12," and "The Augments")

Star Trek: Enterprise

"Cold Station 12"

After genetically-enhanced humans attacked a Klingon Bird-of-Prey, Archer recruited their adoptive father, Arik Soong, to accompany Enterprise on an excursion to capture the Augments and prevent a war between the Federation and the Empire. Soong initially sympathized with his children, but his son Malik’s grandiose ambitions ultimately led the scientist to realize that the Augments were too dangerous to roam the galaxy. Enterprise narrowly managed to intervene before Malik released a biological weapon over a Klingon colony, and the remaining Augments were presumed to have perished along with their vessel.

This trilogy supplied a wealth of background information about the Augments and the Eugenics Wars, subjects that were initially touched upon as Kirk battled Khan Noonien Singh in The Original Series episode “ Space Seed ” and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . Links to The Next Generation -era also abounded, as Arik Soong was an ancestor of Data’s creator Noonian Soong. Upon returning to prison at the end of the arc, Arik mentioned that he intended to shift his focus to cybernetics and artificial lifeforms. While Starfleet temporarily averted a war with the Klingons, a conflict between the two powers ensued a century later during Discovery ’s first season.

3. The Vulcan Reformation ("The Forge," "Awakening," and "Kir’Shara")

Star Trek: Enterprise

"Kir'Shara"

A faction known as the Syrannites received blame for a deadly bombing at Earth’s embassy on Vulcan, so Archer and T’Pol set out to locate a potential suspect named T’Pau. The two encountered Syrran himself, who transferred Surak’s katra to Archer on his deathbed. At the same time, Vulcan Administrator V’Las raised the stakes by firing on Enterprise and accusing the Andorians of planning an invasion. Archer halted the hostilities when he located the Kir’Shara, which stored Surak’s true teachings, and smuggled the artifact to the High Command. Soon afterward, V’Las held a secret meeting with a Romulan operative to discuss reunification.

First introduced in The Original Series episode “ Amok Time ,” T’Pau appeared as her younger self in this arc, while Syrran’s interrogation of Archer featured questions originally heard in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home . The dissolution of the High Command and reformation of Vulcan society opened the door for improved Earth-Vulcan relations and paved the way for the Coalition of Planets. While V’Las’s discussion about reunification implied a Romulan takeover of Vulcan, the concept nevertheless suggested a connection to Ambassador Spock’s desire for a diplomatic reunion in The Next Generation two-parter “ Unification .” Discovery ’s “ Unification III ” established that Spock’s peaceful efforts prevailed centuries after his death.

4. The Federation's Preamble ("Babel One," "United," and "The Aenar")

Star Trek: Enterprise

"United"

A starship of unknown origin utilized holographic technology to hide its true identity so that it could destabilize diplomatic relations between humans, Andorians, Tellarites, Vulcans, and Rigelians. Unbeknownst to those species, the craft was under the remote command of Romulan Admiral Valdore. With Archer’s leadership, the Andorians, Tellarites, and Vulcans joined Enterprise in a hunt for the elusive vessel. Having lifted the veil on the plot, Archer and Shran learned that a captured Aenar was controlling the vessel and worked alongside the pilot’s sister to convince him to destroy the experimental Romulan weapons.

As its title suggested, the first entry in this trilogy began with Enterprise transporting a Tellarite delegation to Babel, the same location that Captain Kirk escorted Federation dignitaries to in The Original Series episode “ Journey to Babel .”

Additionally, the cooperation Archer organized between the local species acted as another cornerstone for the Coalition that would be founded in the coming years, particularly in light of the alliance initiated by the Andorians and Tellarites. Although Archer and his associates never definitively proved the Romulans were behind the attacks, Romulus’ interest in interfering with Earth would later resurface during the war that Spock described in “ Balance of Terror .”

5. The Klingon Contagion (“ Affliction ” and “ Divergence ”)

Star Trek: Enterprise

"Divergence"

In order to halt a devastating virus ravaging the Empire, the Klingons abducted Doctor Phlox so that he could work to find a solution. Outraged when he learned the virus had been caused by Klingon experimentation with DNA harvested from Augment embryos, Phlox refused to partake in any efforts to create Klingon Augments. Luckily, Phlox’s Klingon counterpart Antaak devised a method of halting the virus without amplifying the subjects’ intelligence or strength, a process which was accelerated when Archer allowed Phlox to use him to produce antibodies at an expedited rate.

This two-parter is primarily remembered for illustrating why Klingons appeared without cranial ridges in The Original Series. Antaak mentioned a potential for reconstructive surgery, which would also explain why Kor, Kang, and Koloth appeared with intact ridges on Deep Space Nine . The episodes cleverly incorporated information from the Augment arc that occurred earlier in Enterprise ’s fourth season.

While not specifically named, Malcolm Reed contacted a former employer who was clearly an agent of Section 31, an organization that would be further explored in DS9 and Discovery .

6. The Mirror Universe (" In A Mirror, Darkly " and " In A Mirror, Darkly, Part II ")

Star Trek: Enterprise

"In A Mirror, Darkly"

Set entirely in the Mirror Universe, this duology held the unique distinction of being a prequel to The Original Series episode “ Mirror, Mirror ” and a sequel to “ The Tholian Web .”

The two entries cataloged the Terran Empire’s fight against rebels a century before Kirk made his trip to this alternate dimension while also following up on the disappearance of the U.S.S. Defiant that took place in Tholian space. The alien uprisings foreshadowed the Terran Empire’s demise that was predicted by Mirror Spock and showcased in DS9’s own ventures into the Mirror Universe. These events also connected to Emperor Georgiou’s rule in Discovery , as rebels plagued the Empire in her era, as well.

7. The Coalition Confrontation (" Demons " and " Terra Prime ")

Star Trek: Enterprise

"Demons"

With a conference taking place to discuss the creation of a Coalition of Planets, John Frederick Paxton sought to foil the peaceful proceedings and spread the xenophobic message he shared with Colonel Green, a version of whom was initially seen in TOS’ “ The Savage Curtain .”

Paxton harvested Charles Tucker and T’Pol’s DNA to clone a Human-Vulcan child as a means to stir up anti-alien sentiments, but Archer and his crew defeated Paxton and succeeded in keeping the diplomatic meetings on track. The conference formed the seeds of a Coalition, which eventually gave birth to a Federation that endured into the 32nd Century. Although Tucker and T’Pol’s daughter perished, Phlox discovered that it was due to a cloning error rather than DNA incompatibility. This information explained the future presence of Human-Vulcan children, including our beloved Mister Spock.

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This article was originally published on April 17, 2021.

Jay Stobie (he/him) is a freelance writer, author, and consultant who has contributed articles to StarTrek.com, Star Trek Explorer, and Star Trek Magazine, as well as to Star Wars Insider and StarWars.com. Learn more about Jay by visiting JayStobie.com or finding him on Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms at @StobiesGalaxy.

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 are streaming exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the UK, Canada, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and Austria. Seasons 2 and 3 also are available on the Pluto TV “Star Trek” channel in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The series streams on Super Drama in Japan, TVNZ in New Zealand, and SkyShowtime in Spain, Portugal, Poland, The Nordics, The Netherlands, and Central and Eastern Europe and also airs on Cosmote TV in Greece. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

Graphic illustration of Moll folding over L'ak's body as he lays in a biobed in 'Erigah'

IMAGES

  1. John Frederick Paxton

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  2. John Frederick Paxton

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  3. John Frederick Paxton

    star trek enterprise john frederick paxton

  4. Demons (episode)

    star trek enterprise john frederick paxton

  5. John Frederick Paxton

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  5. Star Trek The original series Star Trek next voyage

  6. The Curious Case of the New Jersey: a Star Trek supplemental

COMMENTS

  1. John Frederick Paxton

    Background information []. Paxton was played by Peter Weller.With Star Trek: Enterprise third- and fourth-season Executive Producer Manny Coto having previously collaborated with Weller on the science fiction television series Odyssey 5 (which was created by Coto and starred Weller), Coto created the role especially with Weller in mind. (Star Trek Magazine issue 122, p.

  2. "Star Trek: Enterprise" Terra Prime (TV Episode 2005)

    John Frederick Paxton : My father never asked anything from anyone. His mining operations transformed the moon - from a mere colony into a completely self-sufficient world. And *that* is how we should go to the stars - taking the worlds we need and taming them, with Human hands and Human minds and Human souls.

  3. John Frederick Paxton

    John Frederick Paxton is a character appearing in the fourth and final season of Star Trek: Enterprise, serving as the main antagonist of the episodes "Demons" and "Terra Prime," which comprise a two-part story. He is portrayed by Peter Weller, who would later play another Star Trek villain, Alexander Marcus, in Star Trek Into Darkness, as well as Mr. Yin in Psych, Batman in The Dark Knight ...

  4. "Star Trek: Enterprise" Terra Prime (TV Episode 2005)

    Terra Prime: Directed by Marvin V. Rush. With Scott Bakula, John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock, Dominic Keating. Paxton threatens to destroy Starfleet Headquarters if all aliens don't leave Earth. Enterprise must shut down the verteron array on Mars, but it is extremely well defended.

  5. Terra Prime

    "Terra Prime" is the 21st episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and originally aired on May 13, 2005. The story was developed by Judith and Garfield ... John Frederick Paxton, the leader of the xenophobic human group Terra Prime, threatens to use an array on Mars to destroy ...

  6. "Star Trek: Enterprise" Demons (TV Episode 2005)

    John Frederick Paxton : A new era is at hand. An era that will expose the concept of interspecies unity as an absolute and vicious lie. An era that will witness the advent of a Human-centered consciousness that will place our world before all others. As of this moment, mankind casts off the shackles of alien interference and now determines its ...

  7. John Frederick Paxton

    Paxton. John Frederick Paxton is a Legendary [5-star] crew member. John Frederick Paxton is a version of Paxton from the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Terra Prime" (4x21) . A leader of the xenophobic Terra Prime, Paxton turned the Orpheus Mining Complex into a weapon in an effort to expel all aliens from the Sol System.

  8. EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: STID Co-star Peter Weller, Part 1

    And, of course, he'd previously ventured into the Star Trek universe with his appearances as the xenophobic figure John Frederick Paxton in the Enterprise episodes "Demons" and "Terra Prime."In fact, more than a few fans initially thought that his then-unrevealed character in Star Trek Into Darkness might somehow be related to Paxton ...

  9. EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: STID Co-star Peter Weller, Part 2

    And, of course, he'd previously ventured into the Star Trek universe with his appearances as the xenophobic figure John Frederick Paxton in the Enterprise episodes "Demons" and "Terra Prime."In fact - spoilers ahead -- more than a few fans initially thought that his then-unrevealed character in Star Trek Into Darkness might somehow ...

  10. John Frederick Paxton

    Sci-fi. Star Trek. For the mirror universe counterpart, see John Frederick Paxton (mirror). John Frederick Paxton was a 22nd century Human man who led Terra Prime, a xenophobic group dedicated to forcing all extraterrestrial races and cultures from Earth. Paxton was an admirer of Colonel Phillip Green and his...

  11. Demons (Star Trek: Enterprise)

    Star Trek: Enterprise episode: Episode no. Season 4 Episode 20: Directed by: LeVar Burton: Written by: Manny Coto: Featured music: Paul Baillargeon: Production code: 420: ... (2013), guest-starred as John Frederick Paxton, and other guest stars included Harry Groener, who had previously appeared in episodes of both The Next Generation and Voyager.

  12. John Frederick Paxton

    John Frederick Paxton Paxton Human Peter Weller Enterprise Legendary Crew Criminal Gambler Maverick Survivalist Villain Civilian Human Command Skill Diplomacy Skill Security Skill Attack Survival Training Criminal Mind ... Home › Star Trek Timelines › John Frederick Paxton. John Frederick Paxton. Posted on July 17, 2021 by erickelly ...

  13. "Terra Prime"

    John Frederick Paxton blames Starfleet for Earth's relationships with alien species, so in his ultimatum demanding all non-humans to leave Earth, he makes Starfleet Command his first target. He'll blow it up if his demands are not met on deadline. ... Star Trek Enterprise is about an optimistic future. The baby should have lived. The could have ...

  14. Terra Prime (episode)

    A Human isolationist leader threatens to destroy Starfleet Command unless all aliens leave the Sol system immediately. (2 of 2) On the bridge through Enterprise's viewscreen, John Frederick Paxton, the self-proclaimed leader of Terra Prime, is continuing to speak of his threat to use the powerful verteron array. Captain Archer orders his communications officer Ensign Sato to block the ...

  15. "Star Trek: Enterprise" Terra Prime (TV Episode 2005)

    John Frederick Paxton : My father never asked anything from anyone. His mining operations transformed the moon - from a mere colony into a completely self-sufficient world. ... STAR TREK ENTERPRISE SEASON 4 (2004) (9.0/10) a list of 22 titles created 06 Mar 2013 2023 TV List a list of 2442 titles ...

  16. Demons

    Star Trek: Enterprise Demons Sci-Fi May 6, 2005 40 min Paramount+ Available on Paramount+, Prime Video ... John Frederick Paxton TB Tom Bergeron Coridan Ambassador PM Peter Mensah Daniel Greaves PF Patrick Fischler Mercer JW Johanna Watts ...

  17. Find Your Calling with These Star Trek Episodes

    John Frederick Paxton, "Demons" In what are widely considered to be two of the best episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise, Starfleet battles a terrorist group intent on destroying everything that Archer and the crew have worked to achieve throughout their mission.

  18. Star Trek: Enterprise (TV Series 2001-2005)

    Star Trek: Enterprise (TV Series 2001-2005) Peter Weller as John Frederick Paxton. Menu. Movies. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. TV Shows.

  19. Trek Stars In Upcoming Action Films

    Star Trek fans know that Weller guest starred as John Frederick Paxton on Star Trek: Enterprise, in the episodes "Demons" and "Terra Prime," and will also appear in the now-shooting sequel to Star Trek (2009).

  20. RoboCop & Enterprise Actor Peter Weller Joins STAR TREK 2 Cast!

    He played John Frederick Paxton, a human Chief Administrator of an Orpheus Mining Colony on the Earth's moon and who also took part in a movement known as Terra Prime, a radical faction that ...

  21. Enterprise's Ambitious Arcs

    Revisit the birth of the Federation with these classic Star Trek: Enterprise storylines. ... John Frederick Paxton sought to foil the peaceful proceedings and spread the xenophobic message he shared with Colonel Green, ... Paxton harvested Charles Tucker and T'Pol's DNA to clone a Human-Vulcan child as a means to stir up anti-alien ...