10 Star Trek Episodes That Just Didn't Work
1. These Are The Voyages - Enterprise
There are elements to this episode that are not that bad. Riker and Troi are always fun to see on-screen, while Jeffrey Combs is his usual great self as Shran. The gag of having Riker be 'Chef' is a delight and the episode teases us with the formation of the Federation, a huge historical moment which has never been depicted in Star Trek.
That's unfortunately where the positives end. Jumping forward in time, both the ten years aboard Enterprise and to The Next Generation era, hurts any pathos that had been built up in Enterprises' fourth season. The senseless death of Tucker was added for pure shock value and feels cheap. While the show had been cancelled, the character's death feels like a hastily added moment just to convince fans that it wasn't coming back.
The whole episode is a rushed piece, unwilling to give the series a proper send off, slotting it unceremoniously into the context of an older, far superior story - The Pegasus.
If there was ever a show that deserved a tribute episode or a stand-alone special to finish out the story, it is Enterprise. These Are The Voyages feels like a home movie featuring the regulars as guest stars and is not befitting the ending of a truly great show.