And the three stars for the Enterprise review goes to...

...TV Squad member "ken"! He gets three stars added to his Top Contributor entry over on the right. Here's his review:

Well, it's all finally over. The NX01 has flown her final mission and I'm sorry to admit that I'm relieved.

Despite my devotion to previous Trek series', I never fell in love with Enterprise. It was as if another person had put on my best friend's clothing and pretended to pass themsleves off as him.

I suppose the finale ended as good as we could've expected for this series. While it wasn't great, it wasn't entirely awful either. Personally, I felt the greatest moments were the recreations of the Enterprise D, my first and truest love. I've seen every TNG episode dozens and times, and seeing new footage of the EntD, footage I haven't completely memorized, was utterly captivating.

This being said, I'm trying to figure out what the Riker/Troi subplot offered this story. There was never a burning question about how Riker came to his decision in "The Pegasus". I'm afraid that this "flashback insight" didn't do much to contribute to either story, despite the pleasant scenes with Riker as Chef. Instead, I see it as a blatant attempt to use the popularity and reputation of TNG to boost the final ratings, and mask the ho-hum plot of Enterprise.

I was alarmed by the sudden shift ahead in time. The finale takes place six years ahead in the future, and the NX01 is ready for the scrapheap. What's happened in those six years? We have invested four seasons in these chararcters only to have seemingly awaken from a coma, without any hint of the past.

This story seems a hackneyed attempt at glossing over the Trek timeline, e.g. the Romulan Wars. I'm reminded of the child who spitefully knocks the pieces off of a gameboard because they are losing. Rick Berman and Brannon Braga have lost this game, and want to take their ball and go home.

John Billingsley (Phlox) proved again that he was one of the strongest, and underused characters in the series. His delivery regarding his first days aboard Eneterprise was moving and heartfelt. As if in contrast, Scott Bakula failed to provide any emotion. Despite his stunning work on Quantum Leap, he just never seemed to fit into the role of Jonathan Archer, and appeared to phone in his final performance.

Ultimately, finishing the series with the forming of the Federation was a fitting concept, albeit clumsily executed. Having Archer talk about his speech for the entire episode, and then never actually HEARING it was both a dissapointment and an insult to long time fans. Rick Berman and Brannon Braga have driven the final nail into the franchise's coffin.

The original Trek was all about stories that paralleled the current events of the day. It's a shame that in OUR day, a story about the unity of all races couldn't have been delivered in a more poignant and compelling manner, living up to the ideals and spirit that Gene Roddenberry lovingly crafted into his creation many years ago.