Skip The Riker Episode & Watch Star Trek: Enterprise’s REAL Finale Instead

Star Trek: Enterprise had a real ending in season 4 that wasn't "These Are The Voyages...", the final episode starring Commander Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes). United Paramount Network (UPN) canceled Star Trek: Enterprise in season 4 due to various reasons, including low ratings and a change of direction by the network. Enterprise became the only Star Trek series executive produced by Rick Berman that did not run for seven seasons like Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Still, Rick Berman and his executive producing partner, Brannon Braga, attempted to bring some of Star Trek: The Next Generation's old magic to the beleaguered Star Trek: Enterprise. "These Are The Voyages..." was set aboard the USS Enterprise-D during Star Trek: The Next Generation season 7, episode 12, "The Pegasus." Consulting holographic recreations of Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and the crew of the NX-01 Enterprise from 200 years in the past, Riker sought a solution to his personal dilemma.

20 years later, Star Trek: Enterprise's series finale is still reviled by Star Trek fans, and even Star Trek: Enterprise's actors never lost the bad taste in their mouths from their final episode. However, if one ignores "These Are The Voyages...", the two episodes that immediately precede it are a two-part saga that serves as a far more worthy ending to Star Trek: Enterprise's 4-season mission.

“Demons” & “Terra Prime” Are A More Fitting Ending For Star Trek: Enterprise

Enterprise's Final 2-Part Story Is Even More Relevant Today

Star Trek: Enterprise season 4, episode 20, "Demons," and Star Trek: Enterprise season 4, episode 21, "Terra Prime," comprise a two-part saga that works as a better finale than "These Are The Voyages..." "Demons" and "Terra Prime" involve a xenophobic faction led by John Frederick Paxton (Peter Weller) seeking to exile all aliens from Earth and prevent the coalition that will become the United Federation of Planets. Paxton's militant group, Terra Prime, also cloned a child from the DNA of Subcommander T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) and Commander Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer) to 'prove' that a human/Vulcan hybrid is an abomination.

Star Trek: Enterprise's "Terra Prime" and "Demons" pay off the series' long-form story of Captain Archer and the NX-01 Enterprise forming the crucial alliances that would form the early version of the Federation. "Demons" and "Terra Prime" also contain emotional performances by Jolene Blalock and Connor Trinneer that conveys the depth of Trip and T'Pol's relationship. Ensign Travis Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery) even gets some backstory development, while Lt. Malcolm Reed's (Dominic Keating) history with Section 31 comes into play.

Terra Prime's goal of 'deporting' all aliens from Earth hits even harder today, as the current political climate in the United States has become more hostile towards immigrants. Terra Prime's racist views are meant to protect the sanctity of the human race, but Star Trek's timeline proves they're on the wrong side of history. Meanwhile, the hypocritical John Frederick Paxton is using alien technology to stay alive from a fatal disease. "Demons" and "Terra Prime" are powerful Star Trek episodes that show Enterprise in its best light.

Why Star Trek: Enterprise’s Real Finale Isn’t The Episode With Riker

"These Are The Voyages..." Is A TNG Holodeck Episode

Star Trek: Enterprise's series finale, "These Are The Voyages..." might have been a fan-favorite episode if it aired at any other point during the series' run, but as a series finale for Enterprise, it's a failure. "These Are The Voyages..." is an ersatz episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation about Commander Riker and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis). Captain Archer and his NX-01 Enterprise crew never actually appear because they are all holograms in Enterprise's finale.

Essentially, "These Are The Voyages..." is a Star Trek holodeck episode where Enterprise's characters provide support to Riker. This isn't to say there aren't entertaining moments in "These Are The Voyages..." Jonathan Frakes is in top form as Riker, and when Will poses as the NX-01's unseen Chef, each Enterprise character gets a fun scene in the galley with Riker. There are also amusing moments of Riker and Troi touring the NX-01 and commenting on the size of Captain Archer's ready room and his lack of goldfish.

However, because it was the final episode, Rick Berman and Brannon Braga decided to kill off Commander Trip Tucker to shock the audience. This backfired badly as viewers were left with the impression that Enterprise's finale disrespected the show's characters, with Trip's death as the final insult. If Star Trek: Enterprise season 5 had happened, Trip would have been part of it, but as it stands for the last 20 years, Enterprise's finale remains infamous for killing one of its most popular characters.

Why Star Trek: Enterprise Ended With A Riker TNG Episode

Enterprise Tried To Say Goodbye To 18 Years Of Rick Berman's Star Trek

In separate interviews on The Shuttlepod Show in 2022, Rick Berman and Brannon Braga took responsibility for the failures of Star Trek: Enterprise's finale. Berman explained that Enterprise's cast and crew learned the show was canceled during production of "In a Mirror Darkly," Enterprise's Mirror Universe two-parter. This left only 3 episodes remaining from Star Trek: Enterprise season 4's 22-episode order to wrap up the series, which, if it had gone seven seasons, would have depicted the founding of the Federation.

According to Rick Berman, the decision to set Star Trek: Enterprise's finale in Star Trek: The Next Generation's 24th century era was a way to show the 'end of Enterprise' - the founding of the Federation - as something that already happened and was significant to Starfleet in the future. Brannon Braga also admits that killing Trip was a mistake in Enterprise's finale. Ultimately, Berman and Braga's goal was to sync Enterprise to TNG as a way to say goodbye to the 18-year era of Star Trek executive produced by Rick Berman.

20 years after "These Are The Voyages..." aired on UPN, viewers still regard Star Trek: Enterprise's finale with disdain. While Enterprise itself has been reassessed by old and new audiences, thanks to streaming services like Netflix and Paramount+ encouraging binge-watching, "These Are The Voyages..." still leaves a sour taste in fans' mouths.

Because Captain Archer and the NX-01's crew are holograms, many fans consider the events of "These Are The Voyages..." as apocryphal. Although not intended as the series finale, "Demons" and "Terra Prime" together amount to a more satisfying farewell to Star Trek: Enterprise.