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Jonathan Archer

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Jonathan Archer was a 22nd century Human Starfleet officer and captain of Enterprise NX-01 , United Earth 's first full-fledged starship . In that role, he was responsible for greatly expanding United Earth's presence in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants and making first contact with more than a dozen species , among them Klingons , Andorians , and Xindi .

Considered by historian John Gill , as the " greatest explorer of the 22nd century, " Archer is widely credited with saving Earth from the Xindi and paving the way for the founding of the United Federation of Planets . He went on to become one of the Federation's earliest presidents . ( ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II ")

• 1 Early life
• 2.1 Before Enterprise
• 2.2.1 First mission
• 2.2.2 Year one: into the unknown
• 2.2.3 Year two: first contact
• 2.2.4 Year three: the Xindi attack
• 2.2.5.1 Returning home
• 2.2.5.2 Augment crisis
• 2.2.5.3 Seeking out the Kir'Shara
• 2.2.5.4 First contact with the Organians
• 2.2.5.5 Babel crisis
• 2.2.5.6 Klingon virus
• 2.2.5.7 Stopping Terra Prime
• 2.2.6 Final mission
• 2.3 Signing the Federation charter
• 2.4 Serving in the Federation
• 4 Moral conflicts
• 5.1.1 Henry Archer
• 5.1.2 Sally Archer
• 5.2.1 A.G. Robinson
• 5.2.2 Charles "Trip" Tucker III
• 5.2.3 T'Pol
• 5.2.4 Thy'lek Shran
• 5.2.5 Malcolm Reed
• 5.2.6 Phlox
• 5.2.7 Hoshi Sato
• 5.2.8 Maxwell Forrest
• 5.2.9 Travis Mayweather
• 5.2.10 Danica Erickson
• 5.3.1 T'Pol
• 5.3.2 Margaret Mullin
• 5.3.3 Caroline
• 5.3.4 Erika Hernandez
• 5.3.5 Riaan
• 5.4 Porthos
• 6 Alternate realities and timelines
• 7 Awards and honors
• 8 Memorable quotes
• 9 Key dates
• 10.1 Appearances
• 10.2.1 Reception
• 10.3 Apocrypha
• 10.4 External links

Early life [ ]

Jonathan Archer was born in 2112 to renowned warp scientist Henry Archer and his wife Sally . Despite being born in Upstate New York , ( ENT : " North Star ", " Storm Front ") Archer variously claimed to have lived "all" or "most" of his life prior to 2151 in San Francisco . ( ENT : " Broken Bow ", " North Star ")

Jonathan Archer as a boy in 2121

One of Jonathan's earliest inspirations for space sciences was a copy of The Cosmos A to Z , which he got on his eighth birthday , in 2120 , from his father. Jonathan spent hours staring at its front cover depicting the Arachnid Nebula . ( ENT : " Fusion ") His fascination for space led to him wanting to serve in what became the United Earth Starfleet from an early age, so, in at least one astronomy book he owned as a child, he styled his name on the ex libris as "Admiral Jonny Archer". ( ENT : " First Flight ") In 2121 , while he and his father built and flew a remote-controlled starship model, Jonathan eagerly asked his dad when " his new starship " would be ready to fly. Henry responded that it would take many more years, but that Jonathan should not distrust the Vulcans for having held back Humanity's technical progress, as they probably had their reasons. ( ENT : " Broken Bow ")

Prior to Zefram Cochrane 's disappearance in 2119 , Henry took Jonathan on a tour of the Warp Five Complex , where he met Cochrane, Tasaki , and other scientists working at the facility. Jonathan later revealed he was not aware of the significance of his father's work at the time. ( ENT : " Singularity ")

Also in his youth, Jonathan achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts . During his time there, he earned twenty-six merit badges , including a Wilderness badge which he received in a rain forest in New Zealand . ( ENT : " Rogue Planet ") In school, Jonathan was called to the principal 's office only once, for passing notes to Katy Bentley . ( ENT : " The Council ") On the day before he entered flight training, Jonathan asked his father what would happen if he failed. The elder Archer's response was, " Don't fail. " ( ENT : " Daedalus ")

Tragically, in 2122 , his father started suffering from frequent hallucinations and pain for years, sometimes not even recognizing his own son, the result of Clarke's Disease , dying two years later . However, the relationship that Jonathan shared with Henry's friend, Emory Erickson , strengthened, and Emory became like a surrogate father to him. ( ENT : " Cold Station 12 ", " Daedalus ")

While in ninth grade , around 2127 , Archer was chided by his teacher for waiting until the last minute to finish writing a speech, so he would have had more time to memorize it. ( ENT : " These Are the Voyages... ") As an undergraduate in California , Jonathan was an accomplished athlete in the sport of water polo .

During his senior year , he participated in the 2134 North American Water Polo Regionals . The match featured a come-from-behind victory for his team, who were down by two goals in the last minute of play. The nature of the rally became a mantra that Archer carried forward into later life, such that he always believed he could win, no matter the odds. Following the victory in the regionals, he and his team went on to participate in the championship round of the tournament that year. ( ENT : " Vox Sola ")

During his early 20s, Archer was on a trip to East Africa where he witnessed a gazelle giving birth. He remembered his surprise at seeing how fast the newborn managed to stand up on its feet and run along with the herd. ( ENT : " Shockwave, Part II ")

A few years before Starfleet was chartered , Jonathan gave serious thought to serving on a cargo ship , but decided against it. ( ENT : " Horizon ")

Starfleet career [ ]

Before enterprise [ ].

Commanders Archer and A.G. Robinson in 2143

Commander Archer in 2143 , observing Starfleet 's first warp 2 flight

At some point in his career, Archer had a commanding officer who didn't believe that the captain ought to befriend his crew. ( ENT : " Minefield ")

As a commander , Archer was one of four test pilots in the NX Program in the 2140s . In 2143 , he and A.G. Robinson became not-so-friendly rivals in wanting to be the first to fly the NX-Alpha . Though Commodore Maxwell Forrest ultimately gave the assignment to Robinson, Archer had spent the most time in the flight simulations and got the engines to a ninety-two-percent efficiency. Robinson, however, was determined to break warp two . He did, with Archer serving as the flight director in NX-Control , but the NX-Alpha was destroyed; Robinson managed to get out just in time via an escape pod . The incident led Starfleet to suspend the NX program at the urging of the Vulcans.

Robinson blamed the destruction of the craft on flaws in the engine Archer's late father had designed, which eventually led to the two of them coming to blows. Eventually, however, Archer reviewed the data and conceded that Robinson had been right. After devising engine modifications to compensate for the flaws, Archer and Robinson, with the help of Lieutenant Charles Tucker III , took the NX-Beta on an unauthorized field test. With Archer at the controls, the craft achieved a new speed record of warp 2.5 . Archer and Robinson were grounded for three months for their actions, but were successful in convincing Starfleet to resume the program. ( ENT : " First Flight ")

Later in the 2140s, Archer was on Titan as part of the Omega training mission , along with Tucker. When Tucker's environmental suit malfunctioned, Archer saved Tucker's life by preventing him from taking off his helmet on Titan's surface. ( ENT : " Strange New World ")

A few years prior to the launch of Enterprise NX-01, Archer was a guest aboard a Vulcan Maymora -class ship, the Yarahla , which made a run to a dark matter nebula . He helped set up the graviton telescope , and also spacewalked in a Vulcan EV suit . ( ENT : " Breaking the Ice ")

In 2150 , the final selection for the captaincy of Enterprise took place between Captains Robinson and Archer. Vice Admiral Maxwell Forrest gave the post to the latter, although Captain Gardner was originally considered the most suitable choice by Ambassador Soval . ( ENT : " First Flight ", " Shadows of P'Jem ") Archer's quarters aboard Enterprise were located on E Deck . ( ENT : " Unexpected ")

Commanding Enterprise [ ]

First mission [ ].

Captain Archer and Commander Tucker inspect Enterprise just before its launch in 2151

Jonathan Archer's mission as captain of Enterprise began in April 2151 , after a Klingon officer named Klaang was attacked on Earth by Suliban who, under the leadership of Silik , were trying to start a Klingon civil war as part of the Temporal Cold War . Enterprise 's historic launch coincided with the Klingon incident, and Vulcan Ambassador Soval believed the launch should be pushed off until the matter with the Klingons had been resolved.

Archer was not happy about the prospects of waiting around once again to launch the much anticipated warp five project and in fact believed that the Vulcan's suggestion to delay the launch was just another way to impede humanity's space exploration and expansion into the galaxy. Not wanting any further delays or interferences by the Vulcans, he suggested taking Klaang back to Qo'noS himself. Despite objections from the Vulcans, who believed Humans were too volatile and provincial to take on such a matter, Archer's proposal was fully supported by Admiral Maxwell Forrest , who gave Archer three days to assemble his crew and begin the mission. ( ENT : " Broken Bow ")

Archer recruited Denobulan physician Doctor Phlox as the ship's chief medical officer , Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker as chief engineer , and Lieutenant Malcolm Reed was assigned as the ship's armory officer . For the position of communications officer , Archer traveled to Brazil to recruit Hoshi Sato , who was an exolinguist and had a special aptitude with alien languages. It was not easy getting Sato, who was teaching at the time, on board but the prospects of being the first Human to decipher the Klingon language were very tempting. Finally, as a concession to the Vulcans, and to have access to their star charts , Archer had to agree to have a Vulcan science officer with the name of T'Pol on board. It was expected that her assignment was temporary and that she would leave after the Klingon had been returned to his homeworld . T'Pol herself looked forward to the end of her assignment on board Enterprise .

Even though halfway through it looked like the mission was not going to be accomplished, Archer was known for finishing what he had started. Moreover, he did not believe in giving up and returning home, as that would represent failure to the Vulcans and reaffirmation of their long-held beliefs that Humans were not ready for space exploration and should never have embarked on such a "foolish mission." After Klaang was returned to Qo'nos and war averted, Archer received word from Starfleet to "keep going" instead of returning to Earth.

Realizing the mission would have failed without T'Pol's help, he offered to have her on board as his science officer and second-in-command . He admitted that, ever since he could remember, he had seen Vulcans as an obstacle which had been keeping Humans from standing on their own two feet. However, having been given the opportunity to finally begin Enterprise 's missions, he realized he had to leave misgivings about Vulcans behind. T'Pol accepted his offer and made the request to her superiors personally.

Remembering his father and the dream he had envisioned, Archer gave the orders for Enterprise to finally set sail into the unknown. ( ENT : " Broken Bow ")

Archer's mission to Qo'Nos would be the last time a Earth starship would visit the planet until 2257 when the USS Discovery would visit it as an attempt to end the Federation-Klingon War . ( DIS : " The War Without, The War Within ")

Year one: into the unknown [ ]

Archer and his crew on their first away mission on a new M-class planet (later named Archer IV)

Archer and Enterprise made first contact with the Andorians at the ancient Vulcan monastery at P'Jem . Even though the Andorians were initially suspicious of Humans because of their alliance with the Vulcans, they gained some measure of trust , particularly in Archer, when he assisted them in exposing a Vulcan listening post hidden beneath the sanctuary . Even though the decision resulted in the destruction of the ancient monastery, it was the beginning of a close relationship with the Andorians, in particular with Thy'lek Shran , which later proved invaluable when the Andorians came to the assistance of Enterprise during the Xindi mission in the Delphic Expanse . ( ENT : " The Andorian Incident ")

Archer's next venture concerned the discovery of a pre-industrial society populated by the Akaali . A plague was ravaging the planet , and a woman named Riaan , an apothecary , was attempting to determine the cause. Archer helped her, and found that a hidden antimatter reactor in a curio shop owned by a man named Garos had contaminated the water supply. Garos was really an alien who was mining the resources of the planet. Archer exposed him, and when Enterprise disabled his ship , Garos was forced to leave. Archer had come close to Riaan during the events and became briefly romantically involved with her. ( ENT : " Civilization ")

Archer, with Daniels, in the Temporal Observatory

Archer again encountered Silik when Silik, in the disguise of a pilgrim invited on Enterprise , tried to disable the ship. He also met Daniels , who he thought was a crewmember, but was in reality a temporal agent from the future. Daniels informed Archer that Silik was trying to change the future, but Silik denied this and said it was Daniels who was the culprit. When Silik was found in engineering and confronted, he escaped; it was apparent he was the saboteur. ( ENT : " Cold Front ")

Archer helped rescue a Klingon ship that was losing orbit and falling into a gas giant . Bu'kaH , a survivor of the accident, was convinced to cooperate with Archer in a rescue attempt after he convinced her that she would be letting her crew die a dishonorable death. Bu'kaH reluctantly let Archer take her on a reinforced shuttlepod toward her ship, along with an antidote to a neurotoxin which had rendered the crew unconscious. The Klingon crew was rescued along with Hoshi Sato , T'Pol , and Malcolm Reed , who had become marooned on the ship in a previous rescue attempt. ( ENT : " Sleeping Dogs ")

Archer and T'Pol were captured on an away mission on Coridanite by rebels backed by the Andorians against the government supported by the Vulcans. Shran, along with Reed and Tucker, rescued them. ( ENT : " Shadows of P'Jem ")

Archer visited a planet where Eska engaged in hunting sentient beings, telepathic shapeshifters. When they were afraid, they emitted a chemical that gave away their location and made them easy targets. On Archer's orders, Phlox came up with a plan to mask the chemical, which shielded them from the hunter's scans. The hunters left when they could no longer use their scans, and the beings were safe. ( ENT : " Rogue Planet ")

Archer shackled to the bulkhead by the Ferengi

Archer made first contact with the Ferengi later that year, although the aliens in question remained anonymous; official first contact was eventually made by Jean-Luc Picard . The Ferengi captured Enterprise by rendering the crew unconscious, robbing the ship of all valuables. When Archer woke, he, along with Tucker and T'Pol, was able to play the Ferengi off against each other and retake the ship. ( ENT : " Acquisition ")

Archer accompanied an away team to a barren planet to salvage an abandoned ship. They had been told by D'Marr , an alien they met, about the ship and also that it was haunted. Arriving on the planet, the party found that a group of Kantare had inhabited the planet. Their behavior seemed strange, though, especially when Archer offered to transport them back to their homeworld. They learned that all but two of the Kantare were holograms created by Ezral , who blamed himself for the crash and the death of his friends. He had created the holograms to keep his daughter, Liana , company. Enterprise returned both to their homeworld. ( ENT : " Oasis ")

Archer, along with Travis Mayweather , was imprisoned in a Tandaran prison camp. The Tandarans were at war against the Cabal , and had interned innocent Suliban in the camp. Archer learned of the plight of innocent Suliban, who weren't involved with the Cabal but still suffered the wrath of the Tandarans by being imprisoned for years in these camps. Archer and Mayweather, along with Enterprise , escaped and released the Suliban. ( ENT : " Detained ")

Archer was captured by a symbiotic creature who had stowed away on Enterprise . The creature assimilated Archer's nervous system, along with others it had captured. When Enterprise offered to take it back to its home so it could be attached to its large host, it released Archer and the others. ( ENT : " Vox Sola ")

In February of 2152 , while fleeing from two hostile Mazarite ships , Archer gave the order to increase speed to Warp 5, the first time the NX-class ship's Warp 5 engine was pushed to its theoretical limit. The ship eventually reached a top speed of warp 5.2, faster than any other Earth vessel had traveled at that point. ( ENT : " Fallen Hero ")

During a visit to Zobral 's village, Archer and Tucker got caught up in a civil war , and after an attack, they became stranded in a vast desert. With Zobral's help, Enterprise rescued them. ( ENT : " Desert Crossing ")

While on shore leave on Risa , Archer met a Tandaran named Keyla , who, in the disguise of a Human, tried to obtain information about the Suliban from him. ( ENT : " Two Days and Two Nights ")

Archer and Daniels in the 31st century

In March of 2152 , after it appeared his ship's mission was over because due to destruction of a mining colony on Paraagan II , Archer was transported to April 9 , 2151 by Daniels, who revealed the Suliban were responsible for what had happened. Returning to the present, Archer used knowledge given to him by Daniels, including the technical skill to construct a quantum beacon , to board a Suliban stealth cruiser and prove what they had done.

As a result, Silik demanded Archer be captured. To save Archer, Daniels transported him to the 31st century , causing a major disruption in the timeline that apparently destroyed Earth. Fortunately, Archer and Daniels were able to repair the timeline, though not before Archer managed to learn that he was vital to the creation of the future United Federation of Planets . ( ENT : " Shockwave ", " Shockwave, Part II ")

Year two: first contact [ ]

Archer and Lieutenant Malcolm Reed on the hull of Enterprise

Archer made a regrettable first contact with the Romulan Star Empire . When Reed tried to disarm a mine attached to the hull , a spike thrust out of the mine and through Reed's leg, pinning him to the ship's hull. Archer, with Reed's instructions, was able to disarm the mine and save Reed. ( ENT : " Minefield ") This led to a stop at an automated repair station that was just as dangerous as the minefield. The station used humanoid brains as co-processors in its computer by physically connecting the captive's nervous system to its network. The crew escaped, but not before Mayweather became one of the station's adjuncts and had to be saved. ( ENT : " Dead Stop ")

After insulting the Kreetassans during an away mission, Archer's dog , Porthos , was infected with a deadly disease. Phlox cured him, but not before Archer spent a whole night worrying about the relations with the Kreetassans and comforting his dog. Phlox not only saved Porthos, but provided Archer with advice that solved the diplomatic problem. ( ENT : " A Night in Sickbay ")

Archer led a team of crewmen in teaching a mining colony to defend itself against Klingons. The crewmen stayed with the miners while they drove off the Klingons. ( ENT : " Marauders ")

Archer helped T'Pol track down Menos , a rogue Vulcan agent who had become a weapons smuggler. When Menos played on T'Pol's guilt concerning an earlier incident in capturing another rogue agent, Archer was able to help her put her guilt aside and do the right thing. ( ENT : " The Seventh ")

Archer considers that he may have to die to avoid contaminating Gosis ' pre-warp civilization

Archer and Reed were sentenced to death when exploring a planet. Reed had accidentally left behind a communicator , and when he and Archer tried to retrieve it, they were captured. Their captors believed they were super-soldiers sent by their enemies. Heeding T'Pol's long-offered advice on inter-species contact, Archer decided that he and Reed would have to be hanged in order to avoid contaminating the pre-warp civilization . This early, solemn consequence of the as-yet-uncodified Prime Directive was averted, however, when the crew of Enterprise saved Archer and Reed using a captured, cloaked Suliban cell ship . ( ENT : " The Communicator ")

Later that year, Archer granted asylum to Takret refugees. During a radiation storm, they had to take refuge in Enterprise 's catwalk . The military , pursuing the refugees, boarded Enterprise and almost destroyed it when they tried to start the warp engines. ( ENT : " The Catwalk ")

Enterprise investigated a black hole that was part of a trinary star system . However, the radiation from the trinary system affected the crew, causing odd behavior and rendering them comatose. Though the exposure would otherwise have killed the crew, Archer was woken by T'Pol and was able to pilot the ship away from danger. ( ENT : " Singularity ")

Archer was once again drawn into a dispute between Vulcans and Andorians. He avoided a war when he mediated a territorial dispute between the two species. ( ENT : " Cease Fire ")

Archer and Tucker were arrested and sentenced to Canamar for false crimes. A fellow prisoner was able to hijack the ship with their help, but when they found out the prisoner was going to beam off the ship and crash it, killing the rest of the prisoners and guard, they foiled his plot and were rescued by Enterprise . ( ENT : " Canamar ")

When Enterprise discovered a futuristic vessel adrift in space, Archer ordered it brought on board for further investigation, and a Human body was found in the ship. The Suliban and the Tholians claimed that the ship belonged to them, and demanded that Archer turn it over immediately. Archer was worried that the course of the Temporal Cold War could be affected. During the battle, as they tried to activate the ship, it vanished, and the Suliban and Tholians left. ( ENT : " Future Tense ")

Archer fights the Borg

Archer and his crew fought against the Borg two centuries before the USS Enterprise -D 's encounter with them. ( ENT : " Regeneration "; TNG : " Q Who ") Two Borg drones had been found in Earth's Arctic Circle and thawed out by a team of scientists that they then assimilated . These drones were from an unsuccessful attempt by the Borg in the 24th century to stop the flight of Earth's first warp-capable vessel via time travel. ( Star Trek: First Contact ) The drones, old and new, left Earth on an arctic transport which had belonged to the scientists. Enterprise intercepted and destroyed the ship, with Archer and Reed boarding it and setting explosives to make this possible. In the course of doing this, they fought and killed several of the drones. ( ENT : " Regeneration ")

During first contact with the Vissians , Archer became close with their captain, Drennik . Drennik invited Archer to join him when he took a Vissian strato-pod deep into a hyper-giant. This first contact ended tragically when Tucker interfered with a cogenitor , a third gender of the Vissians who were second-class citizens. Archer was asked by the cogenitor to grant asylum, which he denied after a meeting with the Vissians. Drennik contacted Archer and told him that the cogenitor had committed suicide . ( ENT : " Cogenitor ")

Archer's Klingon " tribunal "

In late 2152 , Archer was captured by the Klingons after assisting Raatooras rebels. Put on trial on Narendra III , he was spared the death sentence through the efforts of his lawyer , Kolos . Archer was sentenced to labor in the dilithium mines on Rura Penthe , but managed to escape. He was hunted by the Klingons for this offense, at first through bounty hunters such as the Tellarite Skalaar , resulting indirectly in Archer making Human first contact with the Tellarites. Skalaar believed the Klingons would return his ship to him, but when he found out they had scrapped it, he helped Archer escape. ( ENT : " Judgment ", " Bounty ")

During the expedition to the Delphic Expanse , Archer was hunted by Duras , who had been dishonored when Archer saved the Raatooras rebels from him. Archer destroyed Duras' ship and its crew with it. ( ENT : " The Expanse ")

Year three: the Xindi attack [ ]

Archer considers his new mission in the wake of the Xindi attack

After a Xindi probe attacked Earth in 2153 , Archer was given a new mission: search for the Xindi weapon, which required entering a dangerous region of space known as the Delphic Expanse, in order to find the ones responsible for the attack and prevent them from launching their weapon to destroy Earth. It took nearly six weeks before Enterprise came into contact with an actual Xindi , and even then he proved to be of little help, directing Archer to coordinates that contained nothing but a field of debris which used to be the planet Xindus . ( ENT : " The Expanse ", " The Xindi ")

In September of 2153, while investigating an abandoned Xindi vessel on a planet, Archer, Hoshi Sato, and Malcolm Reed succumbed to a virus that mutated them into Loque'eque , a primal lifeform. Tret , the leader of an alien race, attempted to kill Archer in order to eradicate the virus. Even after being cured by Phlox , Archer continued to suffer strange dreams of the Loque'eque city. Phlox kept a sample of the virus as per Archer's instructions, as destroying it would effectively make the Loque'eque completely extinct. ( ENT : " Extinction ")

Archer in the Delphic Expanse

While visiting a planet to obtain trellium-D , a substance that would protect Enterprise from the anomalies of the Expanse, Archer helped rescue a woman, Rajiin , from slavers . However, Rajiin was really an agent of the Xindi, sent to obtain information about the Humans. Thus, the first battle between Enterprise and the Xindi occurred. Xindi-Reptilians boarded the ship and took Rajiin so they could retrieve the information she had obtained. ( ENT : " Rajiin ")

Enterprise encountered a Vulcan ship in the Expanse. When Archer and T'Pol boarded the ship to see if there were survivors, they found that the crew had gone insane. The Vulcans were intent on killing them and, after they escaped, Archer's only choice was to destroy the ship. ( ENT : " Impulse ")

Archer spied on a Xindi research facility, and convinced a Xindi-Arboreal , Gralik , that the Humans were not a threat. Gralik gave Archer a canister of kemocite , fuel for the weapon, to analyze. ( ENT : " The Shipment ")

In October of 2153 , Archer suffered a mild concussion from an encounter with a spatial anomaly. He eventually recovered. ( ENT : " Twilight ")

Archer tries to blend into a Human population in the Delphic Expanse

Archer encountered a Human colony populated by descendants of 19th century Americans . He helped them reconcile with the Skagarans , who had originally kidnapped them from Earth to work as slaves on their planet. The descendants of the Humans had revolted and taken over the planet, relegating the Skagarans to slaves. Archer, following a gunfight with some local cowboys, helped convince sheriff and town leader MacReady to make changes to the area. When the Humans expressed a desire to be reconnected with Earth, Archer was forced to explain that his ship could not accommodate them. Nevertheless, he promised that Starfleet would eventually recover them. As a stopgap measure, he at least provided them with the current history of Earth to help them reintegrate with the main Human population. ( ENT : " North Star ")

Archer and T'Pol went back in time with the help of Daniels to stop the Xindi from producing a bio-weapon that would destroy Earth in the past. He killed the Xindi and returned to the present. ( ENT : " Carpenter Street ")

Archer dealt with a group of religious zealots who hijacked Enterprise , planning to use it in a religious war. When the lead zealot demanded that a crewmember be put to death for the "blasphemy" of taking scans of the "sacred realms", Archer tricked them into using the transporter on Archer himself; allegedly, it would disperse his atoms, but really he was just teleported to another part of the ship. After the ship was retaken, he returned the zealots to their homeworld, where he revealed their planet had been practically destroyed already, asking them before he left to consider if the "truth" really was that important. ( ENT : " Chosen Realm ")

An Andorian starship commanded by Shran helped Archer and Enterprise track down the Xindi weapon by following a signal from one of several kemocite canisters that Archer had planted when he visited a research facility earlier in the year. The Andorians captured the prototype of the weapon, but Shran was under orders to return it to Andoria . Before Shran could leave with the weapon, Archer activated it, and Shran was forced to jettison it before it exploded. Despite the conflict, Shran transmitted details of the weapon to Archer. ( ENT : " Proving Ground ")

In an attempt to gather the whereabouts of the weapon, Archer captured Degra and, using mind control, attempted to convince him that both had been in a Xindi prison. He tried to gain Degra's trust so Degra would give them the location of the weapon. Archer told Degra that the weapon had been used and Earth had been destroyed, but that a civil war had broken out among the Xindi, resulting in a great loss of life. Degra discovered the ruse, but not before he let slip that the weapon was on Azati Prime . ( ENT : " Stratagem ")

Archer caring for the Xindi-Insectoid young

On the way to Azati Prime, Enterprise discovered a damaged Xindi-Insectoid vessel with no life signs on board. There, Archer discovered a hatchery containing Xindi eggs, some of which were still viable. He was suddenly spattered by a strange liquid that spewed from one of the egg sacs, and Phlox determined that Archer had been hit by a mild neurotoxin that made him believe he was the eggs' caretaker, and his actions began to jeopardize their mission. ( ENT : " Hatchery ")

On the way to Azati Prime, Enterprise found a damaged ship containing an injured male alien. It was determined that the alien was a test subject and he threatened that his people, who were from another dimension, would take over the quadrant when Earth was destroyed. They were the Sphere-Builders , who had been manipulating certain Xindi species into destroying Earth. ( ENT : " Harbinger ")

Daniels pleads with Archer to make peace with the Xindi

Arriving at Azati Prime, a fierce firefight began. Archer discovered that the weapon was hidden in an ocean. At that point, he declared he was not going to order any more deaths, instead choosing to personally destroy the Xindi weapon, despite attempts by T'Pol and Daniels to talk him out of it. However, the Xindi intercepted and captured him, though they released him after a lengthy interrogation. Degra was starting to believe the war was being motivated by aliens. ( ENT : " Azati Prime ")

Archer forges an alliance with Degra

In February 2154 , Archer went before the Xindi Council to convince them not to launch the Xindi weapon at Earth. He had a hard time attempting to persuade them, but quickly made an ally of Degra. The other Xindi-Primate councilor , Jannar , and Kiaphet Amman'sor soon came around to Archer's side as well, but Commander Dolim betrayed the Council, stole the weapon, and killed Degra. ( ENT : " The Council ")

In a final battle to save Earth, Enterprise was joined by the Xindi-Aquatics and Xindi-Primates. As the fleet of Reptilian and Insectoid ships were destroyed, the Sphere-Builders, the aliens behind the plot, tried to intervene. Sato was captured by Dolim to decode the weapon's software so it could be activated. The MACOs , under the leadership of Major J. Hayes , rescued her, but Hayes was killed. Archer, along with Reed and the MACOs, used Degra's ship to intercept the weapon. Enterprise proceeded to destroy the spheres in the Expanse.

Boarding the weapon, Archer, with Sato's help, was able to cause a reversal overload that would destroy the weapon. As the away team beamed out, Archer was left behind and confronted Dolim, whom he killed. Enterprise destroyed all the spheres and ended the alien interference. Archer was believed to have been killed, having been aboard the Xindi weapon as it exploded while approaching Earth. ( ENT : " Countdown ", " Zero Hour ")

Archer trapped by Nazis in an alternate 1944

After the destruction of the Xindi weapon, Archer was saved when he was thrown back in time to World War II of an alternate timeline . He found that, as part of the Temporal Cold War, the Na'kuhl were helping the Nazis win the war by conquering America . Archer managed to destroy a Na'kuhl time conduit and end the war. ( ENT : " Storm Front ", " Storm Front, Part II ")

Year four: making friends… and enemies [ ]

Returning home [ ].

Archer back home on Earth in 2154

Following his return to Earth, Archer was dealing with the aftermath of the Xindi mission . He had a heated argument with Ambassador Soval during his debriefing which caused him to take some time off and rekindled his relationship with fellow starship captain Hernandez . ( ENT : " Home ")

Augment crisis [ ]

In May 2154, Archer was sent on a mission to stop a group of rogue Augments , relics of the Eugenics Wars who had been resurrected by Dr. Arik Soong . They had attacked and stolen a Klingon ship, and the Klingons threatened war unless the Augments were brought to justice. Archer, along with Soong, tried to find them. After Soong escaped and joined the Augments, Archer found them at Cold Station 12 , a Starfleet facility where other Augment embryos were stored. He was captured and left to die when the Augments triggered a self-destruct procedure. Archer disarmed the self-destruct, and was able to defeat the Augments, recapture Soong, and preserve the peace with the Klingons. ( ENT : " Borderland ", " Cold Station 12 ", " The Augments ")

Seeking out the Kir'Shara [ ]

The United Earth Embassy on Vulcan was bombed, resulting in the death of Archer's friend and mentor Admiral Maxwell Forrest . Although a Vulcan splinter group, the Syrrannites , was blamed, Ambassador Soval urged Archer to travel to their hideout in Vulcan's Forge and find the truth. Accompanied by T'Pol, he met their leader, Syrran , there. Syrran was secretly carrying the katra of Surak , and prior to his death by wounds from a sandfire storm , he transferred Surak's katra to Archer. Archer, guided by Surak's katra , met with the remaining Syrrannites led by Syrran's lieutenant, T'Pau , and found the long-lost Kir'Shara , a record of Surak's original teachings.

Archer activates the Kir'Shara

Archer and T'Pau headed to the Vulcan capital to confront the Vulcan High Command . It was discovered by Soval, Tucker, and Reed that the bombing had been the work of V'Las , the leader of the Vulcan High Command, who wished to wipe out the Syrranites and start a war of conquest against Andoria. Archer and T'Pau, after presenting the Kir'Shara to the Vulcan High Command, averted a war between Vulcan and Andoria.

In the process, the Vulcan High Command was dissolved, beginning a new era in the development of Vulcan society. No longer would the Vulcans hold back Humanity's advancement into space; for Archer, it was a lifelong dream fulfilled. The event was mutually beneficial: Vulcan society reverted to the more altruistic and logical path Surak had originally intended, and Archer gained a greater insight into Vulcans than ever before as a result of having carried the katra of Surak. ( ENT : " The Forge ", " Awakening ", " Kir'Shara ")

First contact with the Organians [ ]

Archer later made first contact with the Organians , though his memories of the event were completely erased. ( ENT : " Observer Effect ")

Babel crisis [ ]

He then become embroiled in high-level galactic intrigue when he rescued Commander Shran from the destruction of the Kumari , which Shran blamed on the Tellarites . However, Archer discovered the truth that the Romulan Star Empire , using a Romulan drone ship in attempts to manipulate other galactic powers into fighting one another, was trying to destabilize the entire region. Discovering the ruse, he organized a landmark combined fleet effort of Humans, Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites to search for the Romulan vessel, beginning the first steps in uniting these disparate races against a common enemy. ( ENT : " Babel One ", " United ", " The Aenar ")

Klingon virus [ ]

Archer again came into conflict with the Klingons. They were using Human Augment DNA in attempts to genetically engineer their own Augments, unleashing a virus that threatened the Klingon race with extinction. They kidnapped Phlox so he could help find a cure. Archer was able to rescue Phlox, but not before helping him find a cure for the virus. ( ENT : " Affliction ", " Divergence ")

Stopping Terra Prime [ ]

Archer addresses the proposed Coalition .

Archer foiled a plot attempted by John Frederick Paxton , leader of Terra Prime , a xenophobic terrorist group, who threatened to attack all alien ships and Starfleet Command with the verteron array on Mars . Archer fought Paxton and knocked him unconscious but was unable to stop the verteron array firing at Earth. After the array fired on San Francisco Bay without resulting in any humanoid casualties, Archer was instrumental in Paxton's arrest. Afterward, he was influential in restarting negotiations for the formation of a Coalition of Planets , giving a speech which persuaded delegates from various alien worlds to continue the steps towards an alliance with Earth. ( ENT : " Demons ", " Terra Prime ")

Final mission [ ]

Archer's final mission as captain of the Enterprise would be to Rigel X where he assisted in the rescue of Thy'lek Shran's daughter Talla . It was the last world Archer visited before the Enterprise was decommissioned , which he considered to be "poetic justice. ( ENT : " These Are the Voyages... ")

Signing the Federation charter [ ]

A holographic representation of Jonathan Archer at the signing of the Federation Charter in 2161

Archer's command of Enterprise ended in 2161 , after which he signed the charter ratifying the Coalition of Planets, which ultimately lead to the formation of the United Federation of Planets.

At the time of the signing, Sato had already heard rumors that he had been "tapped for admiral," but Mayweather and Reed agreed that "they'll never keep him behind a desk ." ( ENT : " These Are the Voyages... ")

Serving in the Federation [ ]

After the founding of the Federation, Archer went on to serve in the Federation Starfleet. At his retirement from Starfleet, he was Chief of Staff at Starfleet Command with the rank of admiral . Archer became an honorary member of the Andorian Imperial Guard in 2164 , Federation ambassador to Andoria in 2169 , served as Federation Councilman from 2175 to 2183 , and was ultimately elected President of the United Federation of Planets in 2184 , a post which he held for eight years until 2192 . ( ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II ")

In January 2155 of the Mirror universe , Commander Jonathan Archer learned about his counterpart aboard the USS Defiant . At first, he protested that his counterpart was not a great man but weak and foolish for his efforts in helping to form the United Federation of Planets (which he dismissed as a "Federation of Fools"), noting that great men should conquer other species rather than work together with them. ( ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II ")

Secretly, however, Archer resented his counterpart and was insanely jealous of his success, particularly when he learned that the other Archer had a long, respected career as a starship captain, diplomat, and statesman; had two planets named for him; and was noted as the "greatest explorer of the 22nd century." His preoccupation with his counterpart's success eventually drove him to have a mental breakdown, taking the form of hallucinations of the other Archer, who mercilessly taunted him about his own inadequacies. ( ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II ")

When Ensigns Brad Boimler and Beckett Mariner time traveled from 2381 to 2259 , Captain Pike informed the duo he tried to think how he would've felt setting foot on Archer's Enterprise . ( SNW : " Those Old Scientists ")

Moral conflicts [ ]

Captain Archer aboard Enterprise in 2154

As one of the first Starfleet captains to explore the galaxy , Archer was sometimes faced with moral decisions. Consequently, he was at times forced to bend the morals to which he once strictly adhered, especially during his time in the Delphic Expanse, though he told T'Pol he could not save Humanity if he lost what made him Human. ( ENT : " Damage ")

During Enterprise 's first year in space, the ship visited the Valakians , who were being killed off by an unknown epidemic; they would be extinct in less than two centuries. The other species on the planet, the Menk , who were a second-class species, were unaffected. Archer wanted to know if a cure was possible. Phlox told him that he had found a cure, but that what was happening was natural evolution and that the Menk showed evidence of an awakening and had the potential to become the dominant species on the planet, which wouldn't happen as long as the Valakians were around. Archer's decision to withhold a cure and let nature take its course was against all his principles, but he realized that he had no right to interfere in another culture and play god ; this could be used as an example of an early Prime Directive . ( ENT : " Dear Doctor ")

Enterprise was ordered to evacuate a group of Denobulan geologists from Xantoras , a world that had been taken over by the military. One of the evacuees was an Antaran named Hudak . Hudak was dying, but refused to be treated by Phlox, because the Antarans and the Denobulans were mortal enemies. Phlox wouldn't treat patients against their wishes even when Archer threatened to order Phlox to do so. Archer could not understand Phlox's attitude, but honored his wishes. Phlox was able to convince Hudak to be treated. ( ENT : " The Breach ")

When the Vissians informed him that their cogenitor had committed suicide due, in part, to Commander Tucker's actions, Archer told Tucker that he wasn't in the position to judge the rightness of the Vissian culture and that he hoped Tucker had learned his lesson about interfering in other cultures. ( ENT : " Cogenitor ")

Archer tortures Orgoth

Archer once went so far as to torture an Osaarian pirate named Orgoth in order to find his ship that had stolen weapons, food, and precious supplies. Orgoth's final words to Archer, who was adamant about retaining his own humanity in the Delphic Expanse, were to warn him that mercy wouldn't serve him well in the Expanse, which Enterprise had recently entered. ( ENT : " Anomaly (ENT) ")

Archer authorized Phlox to create a clone of Trip Tucker, Sim , so its neural tissues could be used to save Tucker, who had been hurt in an accident and was dying. This transplant would have ended Sim's life (although in Archer's defense, when Phlox proposed the procedure he believed that he could harvest the necessary tissue and leave Sim alive afterwards). Phlox refused to perform the operation until Sim agreed to it. ( ENT : " Similitude ")

Archer once ordered the destruction of a Xindi monitoring station to prevent it revealing Enterprise 's position to the Xindi. The facility's destruction killed three Xindi in the process. ( ENT : " Azati Prime ")

Archer was so obsessed with accomplishing the Xindi mission that he stole a warp coil from an Illyrian vessel; Enterprise needed the warp coil to be able to stop the Xindi weapon from destroying Earth. The theft left the Illyrian vessel with three years added onto its voyage home. Though he did leave them trellium , food, and supplies, Archer couldn't help but come into a conflict with what he believed was right and wrong. ( ENT : " Damage ")

Relationships [ ]

Henry archer [ ].

Young Jonathan and his father, Henry Archer, in 2121

As a boy, Jonathan often built model spaceships with his father. The two also spent time together flying the models.

On Jonathan's eighth birthday, his father gave him his first astronomy book, The Cosmos A to Z . Archer spent hours staring at the cover of this book, which featured an image of the Arachnid Nebula . Shortly thereafter, his father gave him a tour of the Warp Five Complex . ( ENT : " Fusion ", " Singularity ")

Sadly, Henry died from Clarke's Disease when Jonathan was twelve, leaving his mother to raise him. During the last two years of his life, Henry had difficulty recognizing Jonathan or his mother as a result of the disease. ( ENT : " Cold Station 12 ")

When Jonathan was on his way to sign the Federation Charter , he and his close friend Charles Tucker would share a drink from a bottle of whiskey that was given to Henry by Zefram Cochrane the day the two broke ground at the Warp Five Complex. ( ENT : " These Are the Voyages... ")

Sally Archer [ ]

Often, when Jonathan had trouble sleeping as a child, he would ask his mother to recite a poem for him. One poem he frequently requested from her was " The Song of the Wandering Aengus ". While listening, Jonathan imagined how the woman in the poem would appear, creating her image in his mind. He did not learn until years later that the poem was written by William Butler Yeats . ( ENT : " Rogue Planet ")

Friendships [ ]

A.g. robinson [ ].

Archer was close friends with fellow pilot Commander A.G. Robinson despite the two competing to become the first pilot to test the NX-Alpha . ( ENT : " First Flight ")

In March of 2153 , Robinson was killed while climbing Mount McKinley on Earth, a death Archer thought was senseless considering Robinson's close calls flying Warp trials. ( ENT : " First Flight ")

Charles "Trip" Tucker III [ ]

Archer helps Tucker on the Torothan homeworld in 2151

Archer met Charles Tucker III, or "Trip", during the NX Project. Archer was a pilot and Tucker was a lieutenant on Captain Jefferies' engineering team. After the NX-Alpha was destroyed and the project was going to be canceled, Tucker and Archer teamed up with A.G. Robinson to save the program. They launched the NX-Beta without permission, and were ultimately successful. ( ENT : " First Flight ")

Archer and Tucker's friendship continued to grow when both were assigned to the Australian Outback for survival training. Archer saved Tucker's life on a number of occasions. On Titan in 2147 , Tucker's EV pack froze up and he got nitrogen narcosis . Archer stopped him when he tried to remove his helmet. Archer later saved a delirious Tucker from heatstroke when they were stranded on a desert planet. ( ENT : " Strange New World ", " Unexpected ", " Desert Crossing ")

On Enterprise , Tucker became Archer's right arm. They had their meals together and shared many interests. Archer never got tired of listening to Tucker's Southern home-spun stories. Tucker, for his part, knew how to relieve Archer's stress. When Archer was upset about a first contact with the Kreetassans, Tucker gave him a data module of the Stanford versus Texas water polo match. ( ENT : " Vox Sola ")

No matter what kind of a jam he was in, Archer always knew he could count on Tucker, both professionally and personally as his friend. When in 2152 , Archer and Malcolm Reed – who had been trying to find a communicator left behind on a pre-warp alien planet – were sentenced to death, it was Tucker and his efforts that rescued them from execution by the natives. ( ENT : " The Communicator ") He also rescued Archer from bounty hunters who wished to turn Archer over to the Klingons . ( ENT : " Bounty ")

Tucker and Archer watching water polo

Archer and Tucker's relationship was not always stress-free. During first contact with a race known as the Vissians , who used a third gender called a cogenitor for reproduction , Tucker – who was upset at how it was treated – took it aside in an attempt to open its eyes. The cogenitor didn't have a name and was not allowed to leave its room or receive education. It was even treated somewhat lower than a second-class citizen, which was evidenced by Tucker pointing out, " Even Porthos has a name. "

Tucker had the cogenitor's DNA sampled and in a side-by-side comparison, Doctor Phlox discovered the cogenitor was intellectually on the same level as its counterparts, thus neither superior nor inferior to them. Tucker used this as an opportunity to take on the cogenitor, teaching it how to read and telling it that it had the same rights as everyone else and that it should stand up for itself, asserting its freedom and rights as an individual. When the cogenitor asked for asylum on Enterprise and Archer denied it, it committed suicide rather than keep living as it had.

Archer was both disappointed and furious that Tucker had jeopardized not only their first contact with the Vissians but had also indirectly caused the death of the cogenitor. Tucker told Archer that he had done exactly what Archer would do; a statement which left the captain even more upset, as he himself often had to wrestle with the fine line of doing what he thought was right and interfering with other species . Archer told Tucker it was not his place to judge the fairness of another culture and that he should never have interfered. While Tucker was shocked at how the situation had unfolded, as he never foresaw this going so far, Archer held him responsible for the cogenitor's death and asked him to weigh the repercussions of his actions. Archer did not formally discipline Trip, but made it clear how disappointed he was in him for having acted so impulsively and irresponsibly. ( ENT : " Cogenitor ")

" Whatever it takes "

After the first Xindi attack on Earth in 2153 , Archer was the one to break the news to the Enterprise crew. This was of particular significance to Tucker as his younger sister, Elizabeth , was an architect who lived in Florida – part of the area that had been destroyed by the Xindi weapon.

Even though Archer did not know whether Trip's sister was among the casualties, he comforted Tucker anyway, suggesting she may have been visiting elsewhere when the attack took place. When it turned out that his sister was among the victims killed, Trip's reaction was naturally one of anger towards the Xindi; he and Archer agreed that they would find the people responsible and hold them to account for their actions. " Whatever it takes, " Archer said. ( ENT : " The Expanse ")

During the Xindi mission, Tucker became seriously injured when an explosion on top of the warp core flung him to the lower engineering deck. Upon arriving in sickbay , he had lapsed into a coma, due to extensive neural damage he had sustained. Dr. Phlox insisted the only way to treat him was to use a Lyssarian Desert Larvae to create a clone of Tucker and then use that to harvest the required neural tissue.

Archer, aware of the moral implications, gave the order to proceed, thereby saving Tucker's life. Even though it was not an easy decision and he was aware that the clone would have to be sacrificed, Archer still bonded with him. Phlox gave him the name " Sim ", as he was an exact facsimile of Trip, including all of his memories and experiences. When the time finally came, Archer held a funeral service for Sim who he said was "one of [their] own." ( ENT : " Similitude ")

Later that year, Archer was infected with a Xindi-Insectoid neurotoxin causing him to act irrationally. He lost all sense of self and became obsessed with protecting a Xindi-Insectoid hatchery the crew had found. Archer went to great lengths to protect them, such as relieving senior officers of their duties and assigning MACO units to all decks of the ship. It was only due to Tucker's stubbornness that he became aware something was controlling the captain's behavior and, with the help of Phlox and T'Pol , they managed to incapacitate him and cure him of the neurotoxin. ( ENT : " Hatchery ")

As they grew closer to finding the Xindi weapon, Archer managed to convince the weapon's creator, Degra , to help them in their cause. This resulted in him coming aboard Enterprise , where he and Tucker came to blows over the death of Elizabeth. Tucker, out of respect for Archer, calmed down, eventually coming to realize that the whole situation wasn't Degra's fault, for he had simply been acting on what he had been told about Humans . ( ENT : " Azati Prime ", " The Forgotten ", " The Council ")

Sato comforts Tucker upon learning of Archer's supposed fate

The Xindi weapon finally reached Earth in February of 2154 , where it was destroyed by a strike team led by Archer. Even though they were successful in their mission, Archer was believed to have been killed in the explosion. This had a noticeable effect on Tucker, who couldn't seem to grasp what had happened.

However, he didn't have much time to grieve when it soon became apparent that the ship had been transported into the 20th century , right amid the events of World War II . Upon investigation, it was discovered that a Temporal Cold War faction was trying to alter the timeline on Earth so the allies never won the war. During an attempt to stop them, Tucker became reunited with Archer, who had survived the explosion and had been transported back in time like the rest of the crew, much to Tucker's relief. ( ENT : " Zero Hour ", " Storm Front ")

Later that year, Tucker became infected with a silicon-based virus , as part of an experiment by the Organians . While Tucker was under quarantine in the decon chamber and his health was continuing to deteriorate, Archer visited him periodically to check how he was. When one of the Organians revealed itself and their "experiment", a plea by Archer convinced the aliens to cure both Trip and Hoshi Sato . ( ENT : " Observer Effect ")

After a somewhat awkward courtship with T'Pol and the feelings he had developed for her, which she could not reciprocate at the moment, Trip requested a transfer to Columbia NX-02 , citing the new ship needed experienced crew. Realizing this was just an excuse, Archer asked Tucker for the real reason, but Tucker did not want to reveal his true motivation for leaving. Instead, he solemnly asked that Archer grant his request as his friend, to which Archer replied, " I'm asking you to stay… as a friend. " Despite this, Tucker still left Enterprise , which put somewhat of a strain on their friendship. ( ENT : " The Aenar ")

Trip eventually decided to return to Enterprise permanently, when he and T'Pol could no longer deny their feelings for one another. Archer and Tucker's friendship remained stable from this point on. ( ENT : " Divergence ", " Bound ", " Demons ")

In 2161 , Tucker died, saving the ship and crew. As he was placed into the medical imaging chamber , he gave one last smile to Archer, as if to reassure him that everything would be fine. ( ENT : " These Are the Voyages... ")

Archer with T'Pol in 2153

Archer and T'Pol together in sickbay in 2154

Archer's first encounter with T'Pol was not very pleasant for either one of them. Archer had just found out that the Vulcans wanted to delay Enterprise 's much anticipated launch due to the Klingon incident and to make matters worse, T'Pol interjected, berating Archer and humanity for their volatile and provincial nature that she believed rendered them unfit for space exploration. Archer was angered and his response to her was that he was restraining himself a great deal as he really wanted to just "knock [her] on [her] ass."

When she was later assigned to his ship as his first officer and science officer or as Archer called it "a chaperon", he was looking forward to her leaving after the mission was over as he found T'Pol cold, uncaring, cynical, and humorless. To make matters worse, T'Pol was not particularly fond of Archer's pet dog, Porthos , whose smell bothered her. She insisted on cutting vegetables with a knife as Vulcans do not touch their food and she did not find Archer's initial attempts at humor and breaking-the-ice worth entertaining.

In turn, Archer made it clear to her that she was not to disclose anything they discussed to her superiors on Vulcan. As the mission progressed, however, Archer and T'Pol found common ground. He was wounded saving her life in a fire-fight, and T'Pol assumed command and led Enterprise in pursuit of Suliban who had kidnapped Klaang. As the acting captain, she could have easily turned around and left but she chose to continue the mission, knowing that it was what Archer wanted.

This gave him a new-found respect for her, as he was surprised at the loyalty she exhibited after the initial cold reception. The mission was a success and when T'Pol was scheduled to leave Enterprise as agreed, Archer asked her to join his crew, as he no longer wanted to hold grudges and was instead eager to start freshly with the Vulcans. ( ENT : " Broken Bow ")

Archer and T'Pol sharing a blanket while being held hostage at the monastery

Archer began to trust T'Pol when she didn't turn a blind eye when the secret Vulcan surveillance listening post beneath the monastery at P'Jem was revealed and she helped Archer expose it to the Andorian Imperial Guard . ( ENT : " The Andorian Incident ")

When Ambassador V'Lar came aboard Enterprise in 2152 , she sensed a great bond between Archer and T'Pol, of "trust… and friendship." ( ENT : " Fallen Hero ")

T'Pol took meals in the captain's mess, and once drank wine and entertained Archer with a story of an ancestor who visited Earth before first contact. Archer convinced T'Pol to interact with the crew. She went to movie night with them, and actually liked a movie called Frankenstein . ( ENT : " Carbon Creek ", " Horizon ")

Archer lent T'Pol support when she was sent on a troubling mission for the Vulcans: She was to apprehend a former Vulcan agent who had become an arms dealer . Archer assisted her and reassured her self-doubts during the mission. The incident solidified the trust between the duo. ( ENT : " The Seventh ")

Archer opened up to T'Pol when his good friend and former rival, A.G. Robinson , died. T'Pol listened to Archer's story about the two of them and offered him a shoulder to lean on. ( ENT : " First Flight ")

Archer hugs T'Pol

In the end, it was T'Pol who was with Archer before he gave a speech at the signing of the Federation Charter . Overcome with emotion, T'Pol and Archer embraced before his speech. ( ENT : " These Are the Voyages... ")

Increased friction between Archer and T'Pol in 2152 lead Dr. Phlox, who also had a degree in psychiatry , to believe that Archer was sexually attracted to T'Pol but was frustrated; Archer believed a romantic relationship between him and his first officer would be inappropriate. Phlox believed that Archer's inordinate anger toward T'Pol's opinions on him and other unexpected behavior he exhibited stemmed from Archer subconsciously knowing that his attraction to her was inappropriate.

At first, Archer denied that there was any sexual attraction but after an erotic dream with T'Pol in it, he opened up to the doctor, wondering what to do. Phlox told him that simply being aware of it would be the best course of action, as talking to her about it would make matters worse. In a later discussion with T'Pol, Archer told her that he would like to minimize the friction between the two of them, a type of friction which could especially develop between people of the opposite sex .

Archer spoke to T'Pol, apologizing for the friction. T'Pol replied that she was also attracted to him, but pointed out that they were " not in a position to allow [themselves] to become attracted to one another. " ( ENT : " A Night in Sickbay ")

In the alternate timeline in which Archer was afflicted with anterograde amnesia, T'Pol resigned the captaincy and spent twelve years caring for Archer on Ceti Alpha V . Over the years, she learned more about Archer while he continuously forgot everything past the day he became ill. It became apparent, however, that T'Pol had begun harboring romantic feelings for Archer. In 2165 , a way had been found to eradicate the interspatial parasites that were preventing Archer from forming new memories. Phlox suggested to T'Pol that, if the treatment worked, everything between Archer and T'Pol might be different. ( ENT : " Twilight ")

Thy'lek Shran [ ]

Thy'lek Shran

Shran during his first encounter with Archer at P'Jem

Shortly after taking command of Enterprise , Archer encountered the Andorian Commander Thy'lek Shran . In their first confrontation, at the Vulcan monastery at P'Jem , Shran believed Archer's crew were there to help the Vulcans spy on the Andorians. While being kept hostage , Archer managed to contact Enterprise , which sent a rescue team . During a firefight inside the monastery's reliquary , one of the Vulcans accidentally destroyed a tapestry , which was covering the entrance to the Vulcans' listening post . Archer asked T'Pol to give Shran all the data she had collected, to which Shran said that he owed a debt to Archer. ( ENT : " The Andorian Incident ")

In 2152, Shran met with Enterprise crewmembers attempting to rescue Archer and T'Pol from the rebels on the planet Coridanite . He told them he had "lost sleep" over the fact that he owed a favor to Archer, and so wanted to help rescue him to write off his "debt". ( ENT : " Shadows of P'Jem ")

Later that year, Shran insisted to Vulcan ambassador Soval that Archer be the mediator at talks between their two species, because on their previous encounters, Archer had been "objective". The Vulcans were initially annoyed at the request, due to their disdain with Humans, but eventually agreed, and the negotiations were completed successfully. ( ENT : " Cease Fire ")

In late 2153 , Shran's ship, the Kumari , was dispatched to the Delphic Expanse to secure the prototype Xindi weapon, to use in their conflict with the Vulcans. Shran arrived in the Expanse and aided Enterprise , claiming (under false pretenses) that the Vulcans had only spared one officer to help Enterprise during their mission. The Kumari and Enterprise were able to effect a joint mission to steal the prototype, which was stored in the Kumari 's cargo bay.

However, Shran then informed Archer of the Imperial Guard 's plan, and gave Archer an escape pod so he could return to Enterprise . When encountering spatial anomalies, Enterprise caught up with the Kumari , and Archer told Shran that he would detonate the weapon in the Andorian ship's cargo bay if necessary. Shran thought he was bluffing, but Archer proceeded with his plan and, although jettisoned, the resulting explosion severely damaged the Kumari . Later, Shran covertly sent Archer invaluable information on the weapon. ( ENT : " Proving Ground ")

As the Xindi weapon approached Earth, the Kumari provided assistance, destroying Xindi Commander Dolim 's ship, telling Archer that now the Human was in his debt. ( ENT : " Zero Hour ")

In 2154 , Shran led a group of Andorian ships attempting to stop a Vulcan fleet launching a preemptive strike against them. As the Vulcans were ordered to destroy Enterprise , Shran went to their assistance again, claiming that Archer now owed him two favors. ( ENT : " Kir'Shara ")

The two met again in November of 2154, when the Kumari was attacked and destroyed by a Romulan drone ship posing as a Tellarite cruiser. Shran was very bitter about the loss of his ship, and openly blamed the Tellarites. However the Romulan plot was eventually revealed by Archer, who was attempting to keep an already fragile alliance between the Andorians, Tellarites and the Vulcans. ( ENT : " Babel One ", " United ", " The Aenar ")

In 2158 , Shran went into hiding. Three years later , he enlisted Archer's help in looking for his daughter, Talla , who had been abducted. The pair were able to initiate a rescue, with the help of the Enterprise 's crew. ( ENT : " These Are the Voyages... ")

Malcolm Reed [ ]

Reed and Archer in a tense moment in 2154

Early in Enterprise 's mission, Archer took steps toward forging a relationship with his senior staff , including his armory officer , Malcolm Reed. During the first year of their voyage together, Archer and Hoshi Sato took great pains to learn more about Reed, even going so far as to contact members of his family to discover his likes and dislikes. While the effort culminated in a friendly birthday celebration for Reed, the relationship between Archer and Reed failed to develop substantially. ( ENT : " Silent Enemy ")

Archer, with Reed, after they survived a Romulan mine blast

It wasn't until a full year after the launch of Enterprise that Archer and Reed were able to plan a private breakfast in the captain's mess . While Reed mistook the meal for a more professional meeting, Archer was able to coax the armory officer into a personal, though somewhat awkward conversation. Speaking freely, Reed revealed that he felt Archer was too lax a commanding officer. These sentiments were later repeated when Archer chose to risk his own life in an attempt to save Reed when he became trapped on the hull of Enterprise during the Romulan minefield crisis. Though both men survived and some level of trust was achieved between Archer and Reed, a closer relationship failed to materialize and Reed continued to doubt Archer's resolve as an effective commander. ( ENT : " Minefield ", " Singularity ")

In 2154 , following the Xindi mission, Archer and Reed clashed when Reed's loyalty to Section 31 put him in direct conflict with Archer. Performing a minor act of sabotage against the investigation into the disappearance of Dr. Phlox, Reed was subsequently thrown into the brig . Though several heated conversations took place, Archer was able to get through to Reed and the mission ultimately proved successful. ( ENT : " Affliction ", " Divergence ")

Phlox reassures Archer in 2161

Archer initially met Dr. Phlox in San Francisco upon learning of the incident involving the Klingon Klaang in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. Phlox was treating Klaang and saved his life; this impressed Archer, who recruited Phlox soon after to serve as chief medical officer aboard Enterprise . Phlox was one of only two aliens among the crew, and became one of its most valuable members. He became one of Archer's most trusted advisers and on many occasions, his counselor. Phlox also played devil's advocate for Archer. There were a few issues that they came into conflict over, but this only strengthened their friendship. ( ENT : " Broken Bow ")

Early in the mission, Archer and Phlox argued over a cure for an epidemic on the planet Valakis , whose population had two species, the Valakians and the Menk . Phlox discovered that the illness was genetic, and that the Menk were evolving and would become the dominant species, while the Valakians would become extinct. Archer wanted to give them a cure, but Phlox believed that it was not ethical, because such a cure would interfere with nature. Archer was eventually convinced that they had no right to play God , and gained a new respect for Phlox and his counsel. ( ENT : " Dear Doctor ")

Archer looked to Phlox for advice on how to deal with various races, since Phlox had experience in such matters. He sought advice on how to deal with the Klingon Bu'kaH , in order to persuade her to help with a rescue attempt. Archer was convinced by Phlox to apologize to the Kreetassans and avoided a diplomatic incident. He even told Phlox about his attraction to T'Pol. Phlox endeared himself to Archer when he saved Archer's dog, Porthos. ( ENT : " Sleeping Dogs ", " A Night in Sickbay ")

Archer returned the favor when an Antaran refused to be treated by Phlox because the Denobulans and the Antarans were mortal enemies. He convinced Phlox to set aside his preconceptions, and attempt to persuade the Antaran to accept treatment. Phlox's attempts were successful, and the Antaran gave his consent. ( ENT : " The Breach ")

Phlox and Archer continued their friendship for the rest of Enterprise 's mission, depending on each other for not only friendship, but counseling.

Hoshi Sato [ ]

Archer and Hoshi Sato work to diffuse the Axanar situation in 2151

A white-knuckled explorer from the beginning, communications officer Hoshi Sato was at first hesitant to reveal her misgivings to her captain. Not long after the discovery of a derelict Axanar vessel in 2151 , Archer was able to coax Sato into describing her fears.

While Archer was sympathetic, he nevertheless expected Sato to perform her duties and placed confidence in her abilities in diffusing a situation involving an attacking Axanar vessel. Taking strides to overcome her difficulties, Sato later made it a point to volunteer for missions, offering to join T'Pol and Malcolm Reed on a severely damaged Klingon starship, and later opting to stay alone with the alien Tarquin for a short time in 2153 . ( ENT : " Fight or Flight ", " Sleeping Dogs ", " Exile ")

Hoshi was Archer's choice for looking after Porthos before surrendering himself to the Cabal in 2152 . ( ENT : " Shockwave ")

By the end of the Xindi mission, Sato had become one of Archer's most valued officers, ultimately aiding him in disarming the Xindi weapon despite having been injured by Xindi-Reptilians . ( ENT : " Zero Hour ")

Maxwell Forrest [ ]

Admiral Maxwell Forrest was Archer's mentor and fully trusted him as a capable starship captain devoted to the mission. When the Vulcans, and in particular Ambassador Soval , objected to Archer returning Klaang back to Qo'noS , Forrest backed Archer up and gave him the Enterprise assignment, asking him to "[not] screw this up". After the success of the mission, he was so pleased that Enterprise got the green light to continue its mission of exploration and first contact. ( ENT : " Broken Bow ")

In 2154, when the Enterprise returned home from the Delphic Expanse, he forced Archer to apologize to Soval after an emotional outburst in debriefing, maintaining the respect Forrest had for Archer. ( ENT : " Home ")

He and Admiral Forrest remained close friends until the Admiral's death on Vulcan when the United Earth Embassy was bombed by what was assumed to be Syrrannite terrorists. ( ENT : " The Forge ")

Travis Mayweather [ ]

Archer comforts Travis Mayweather in the " sweet spot "

In many ways, Archer was a role model for his young helmsman , Travis Mayweather . Following the death of Mayweather's father in 2152 , Archer personally comforted Mayweather, and granted him permission to visit his family aboard the ECS Horizon . ( ENT : " Horizon ")

During their time in the Delphic Expanse , Mayweather was one of the few officers to whom Archer opened up. As the Enterprise neared Azati Prime , Archer refused to allow Mayweather to go on what amounted to a suicide mission, choosing to go himself. He confided in Mayweather that he had asked for too many sacrifices already, opting to pay what Mayweather described as a penance. ( ENT : " Azati Prime ")

Danica Erickson [ ]

Danica and Jonathan met when they were both children as Jonathan's father, Henry was a good friend and co-worker with Danica's father, Emory. During this time, Archer would constantly chase Danica around her backyard with a plastic laser pistol. ( ENT : " Daedalus ")

Romances [ ]

Archer's dream that helps him realize he is sexually attracted to his first officer, T'Pol

In 2152, Archer took Porthos on a mission to get plasma injectors. During that visit to the Kreetassans homeworld, Porthos urinated on a sacred tree – offending the Kreetassans – and acquired a pathogen. While Porthos was sick, Archer realized – thanks to Phlox – that he was sexually attracted to his first officer. He knew that sexual attraction was inappropriate and Phlox coached him to be aware of it. He and T'Pol discussed it. ( ENT : " A Night in Sickbay ")

During the Xindi mission, Archer and T'Pol discussed Rosemary's Baby when Enterprise was hit by an anomaly. Archer saved T'Pol from the anomaly, but became infected with parasites that kept him from creating long-term memories. T'Pol was subsequently made Captain, but she resigned her commission to become Archer's caregiver. She fell in love with him. Archer's parasites were eventually removed, and when that happened, the years T'Pol was his caregiver never happened. It's unclear if their relationship had ever become romantic in this timeline, but she stated at one point that their relationship was much deeper than it had been previously. ( ENT : " Twilight ")

Margaret Mullin [ ]

In 2136 , when Archer was 24 years old and in flight school in San Francisco , he met Margaret Mullin , with whom he became romantically involved. The night before he graduated, he asked her to marry him. Margaret turned him down as she did not want to become "a Starfleet widow." ( ENT : " Twilight ")

Caroline [ ]

Some time prior to 2143 , Archer had a relationship with Caroline . When she moved to New Berlin , however, he decided to get drunk in the 602 Club . ( ENT : " First Flight ")

Erika Hernandez [ ]

Later in the 2140s, Archer was romantically involved with Hernandez . However, he discontinued the relationship when he became Erika's superior officer. In 2154 , after Erika became captain of the Columbia NX-02 , they briefly rekindled their romance. ( ENT : " Home ")

Riaan and Archer

In 2151 Archer had a brief romantic relationship with Riaan , an Akaali female apothecary he met when they made first contact with their species . He introduced himself as " Jon " to her and told her he was from another city. When his translator malfunctioned and he was in danger of being exposed as an alien , Archer quickly kissed her to prevent her from asking questions. When later on they got to know each other better and came closer and he was about to leave the planet, he kissed her again while she joked that the translator must have malfunctioned again. ( ENT : " Civilization ")

Porthos [ ]

Porthos was Archer's pet beagle – his "buddy" as he once called him – and he had him since he was six weeks old. Archer's girlfriend 's mother had a beagle that he was particularly crazy about. Even after Archer and her daughter broke up, he stayed in touch with the mother. When the dog got pregnant, he was the first one she called. There were four males in the litter, the four Musketeers as they were called. ( ENT : " A Night in Sickbay ") Porthos lived with Archer on Earth in mid- 2150 before moving to Enterprise in April of 2151. ( ENT : " Broken Bow ", " Shockwave ")

On Enterprise , Porthos had a dog basket in Archer's quarters as well as a mat he could lie down on in the captain's ready room. Archer also kept a small supply of cheese in a cupboard, something he gave Porthos as a treat now and then, until he realized the "treat" was causing him mild gastrointestinal distress . ( ENT : " Broken Bow ", " Dear Doctor ")

Aware that Porthos needed to get off the ship from time to time, Archer occasionally allowed him to visit habitable planets and took him on certain away missions . It was on one such visit to the Kreetassan homeworld that Porthos picked up a deadly pathogen . Archer was incredibly upset that his "best friend" was at risk of death, and stayed at his side until Doctor Phlox could develop a cure. Porthos eventually made a full recovery. ( ENT : " Fight or Flight ", " A Night in Sickbay ")

In 2153, Archer allowed Porthos to accompany Enterprise to the Delphic Expanse in search of the Xindi weapon to the objection of Commander Tucker who believed the Expanse may have unknown properties which could affect him. Early on during the Xindi mission, it became evident that Porthos could sense the anomalies present in the Expanse. He had attempted to alert Archer to one, however, the captain did not understand the warning until after the anomaly had passed through his desk. ( ENT : " The Expanse ", " Anomaly (ENT) ")

Alternate realities and timelines [ ]

Archer in an alternate timeline

In 2153, an anomaly infected Archer's hippocampus with interspatial parasites , causing anterograde amnesia by impairing the synaptic pathways that allowed him to form new long-term memories. Though the crew tried to keep Archer up to date so he could function as captain, Starfleet Command eventually relieved him of command; he spent most of his time in his quarters. Earth was destroyed in 2154, but Archer remained on board until 2156 , when Enterprise reached Ceti Alpha V. T'Pol took care of him for nine years (she apparently developed feelings for him as time went on, although Archer naturally could not reciprocate them, as he would never remember having done so the next morning). In 2165 , Phlox arrived from Denobula with a cure. Destroying one of the clusters of parasites, Phlox and T'Pol discovered that destroying them now also destroyed their existence in the past as well, and realized that, by destroying the parasites in the present, they could completely change the outcome of Enterprise 's original mission in the Delphic Expanse. As Enterprise was boarded by Xindi forces, Archer initiated a subspace implosion, eradicating the remaining parasites and thus preventing himself from ever having been infected in 2153. ( ENT : " Twilight ")

In 2154, Enterprise was flung to the year 2037 while en route to the Xindi Council planet . Archer decided that the ship would become a generation ship, and that the crew's descendants would be the ones to complete the ship's mission and stop the Xindi weapon . Archer eventually married an Ikaaran woman named Esilia . One of his descendants was Karyn Archer . ( ENT : " E² ")

In 2258 of the alternate reality created by Nero 's attack on the USS Kelvin , Archer was still an admiral in Starfleet . Montgomery Scott attempted to prove his theories about transwarp beaming by beaming Admiral Archer's prized beagle . The dog was never seen again, and when Scott was transferred to a small, cold, and almost forgotten research outpost on Delta Vega , he believed that his blunder was the reason he ended up there. ( Star Trek )

Awards and honors [ ]

Starfleet biography of Jonathan Archer, circa 2268

In 2154 , several dozen North American schools were renamed for Jonathan Archer following the successful resolution of the Xindi crisis , including the former high school of Hernandez . ( ENT : " Home ")

Archer earned an impressive list of commendations during his career, including the Starfleet Medal of Valor with clusters, the Star Cross , the Preantares Ribbon of Commendation , and the Federation Citation of Honor . ( ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II ", biographical display )

Listed among Starfleet's finest captains during the 2250s .

In the 23rd century , historian John Gill hailed Archer as "the greatest explorer of the 22nd century ." ( Biographical display in ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II ")

In 2256 , Archer was one of Starfleet's most decorated captains, ranked among other legends such as Robert April , Matt Decker , Philippa Georgiou , and Christopher Pike . ( DIS : " Choose Your Pain ")

Two planets were named for the former captain: Archer's Planet in the Gamma Trianguli sector , and Archer IV , the first M-class planet explored by Enterprise . ( Biographical display in ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II ") Archer's Comet was also named in his honor. ( ENT : " Breaking the Ice ")

There have been at least three Federation starships named the USS Archer , with the registry numbers NCC-627 , NCC-44278 , and NCC-76725 , respectively. ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds "; Star Trek Nemesis ; PIC : " Võx ") In 3190 , Archer Spacedock was named in his honor when the Federation began retro-fitting their existing fleet in order to carry out Starfleet's original mission of exploration. ( DIS : " Kobayashi Maru ")

Memorable quotes [ ]

" Volatile? You have no idea how much I'm restraining myself from knocking you on your ass. "

" We can't be afraid of the wind, ensign. "

" Human beings have a code of behavior that applies whether they're Starfleet officers or space boomers, and it isn't driven by revenge. Just because someone isn't born on Earth doesn't make him any less human. "

" Someday … my people are going to come up with some sort of a doctrine, something that tells us what we can and can't do out here, should and shouldn't do. But until somebody tells me that they've drafted that directive … I'm going to have to remind myself every day … that we didn't come out here to play God. "

" Once you give up, the game's over. "

" An old girlfriend's mother had … this beagle I was crazy about. Even after her daughter and I broke up, we stayed in touch. When the dog got pregnant, I was the first one she called. Four males in the litter – the Four Musketeers. I've had Porthos since he was six weeks old. "

" I don't like bullies, Trip. Not on Earth, and not out here. "

" I need what was taken from me. There's too much at stake to let my morality get in the way. "

" I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to find your ship. And if that ends up causing me remorse, then it's something I'm willing to live with. "

" We'll find a way through this. But I won't leave anyone behind, not if I can help it. I can't try to save Humanity without holding on to what makes me Human. "

" I need Trip. Trip . I'll take whatever steps necessary to save him. " " Even if it means killing me? " " Even if it means killing you! " " You're not a murderer. " " Don't make me one. "

" You did the right thing. " " It seems the longer we're out here, the more I have to keep telling myself that. "

" We're in bad shape – I can't deny that, but we're still in one piece. Enterprise is a tough ship. She took more than anyone could ask her to and then some. And so have all of you. I wanted to say thank you. I only wish I could thank the eighteen crewmen who were lost. Like you, they understood how important our mission is, and they accepted the risks. We came into the Expanse not knowing what we'd find, with no one to rely on but ourselves. We're going to succeed – to accomplish our mission – for everyone on Earth who's relying on us, and for the eighteen. "

" You've changed, captain. " " And not at all for the better! "

" I've been told that people are calling us heroes. When it comes to my crew, you won't get any argument from me. But I think it's important that we remember the heroes who aren't with us – the twenty-seven crewmen who didn't make it back. Without their sacrifice, I wouldn't be standing here right now. None of us would. But I'm sure I speak on behalf of my entire crew when I say … it's good to be home. "

" 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. The final frontier begins in this hall. Let's explore it together. "

" Here's to the next generation. "

" Just beyond the next planet, just beyond the next star … "

Key dates [ ]

Archer performing a Vulcan salute

• 2112 : Born in Upstate New York on Earth to Henry and Sally Archer
• 2124 : Henry Archer dies of Clarke's Disease
• 2143 : Along with A.G. Robinson , becomes the first Human to achieve warp 2.5
• 2150 : Becomes commanding officer of the starship Enterprise NX-01
• Becomes one of the first Humans to set foot on Qo'noS
• Makes first contact with the Suliban
• Makes first contact with the Xyrillians
• Makes first contact with the Andorians
• Initiates first Human-initiated first contact with a sentient species, the Akaali
• Makes first contact with the Kreetassans
• Orders Enterprise to exceed Warp 5 for the first time.
• Travels to the 31st century and learns he will become an important part of the formation of the United Federation of Planets
• Makes First contact with the Arkonians
• Makes first contact with the Tholians
• Put on trial on Narendra III by the Klingons
• Makes first contact with the Tellarites
• Transformed into a Loque'eque
• Travels back in time to the year 2004

Archer transformed into a Klingon hybrid in 2154

• Travels to the mid- 20th century
• Holds the katra of Surak for a short time
• Makes first contact with the Organians
• Transformed into a Klingon hybrid
• 2155 : Attends the opening ceremony of the Coalition of Planets
• Helps rescue the daughter of Shran
• Signs the Federation Charter
• 2169 : Becomes Federation Ambassador to Andoria
• 2175 : Serves as Federation Councilor
• 2184 : Is elected Federation President
• 2192 : Steps down as Federation President

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

• " Broken Bow "
• " Fight or Flight "
• " Strange New World "
• " Unexpected "
• " Terra Nova "
• " The Andorian Incident "
• " Breaking the Ice "
• " Civilization "
• " Fortunate Son "
• " Cold Front "
• " Silent Enemy "
• " Dear Doctor "
• " Sleeping Dogs "
• " Shadows of P'Jem "
• " Shuttlepod One "
• " Rogue Planet "
• " Acquisition "
• " Detained "
• " Vox Sola "
• " Fallen Hero "
• " Desert Crossing "
• " Two Days and Two Nights "
• " Shockwave "
• " Shockwave, Part II "
• " Carbon Creek "
• " Minefield "
• " Dead Stop "
• " A Night in Sickbay "
• " Marauders "
• " The Seventh "
• " The Communicator "
• " Singularity "
• " Vanishing Point "
• " Precious Cargo "
• " The Catwalk "
• " Cease Fire "
• " Future Tense "
• " Canamar "
• " The Crossing "
• " Judgment "
• " Horizon "
• " The Breach "
• " Cogenitor "
• " Regeneration "
• " First Flight "
• " The Expanse "
• " The Xindi "
• " Anomaly (ENT) "
• " Extinction "
• " Impulse "
• " The Shipment "
• " Twilight "
• " North Star "
• " Similitude "
• " Carpenter Street "
• " Chosen Realm "
• " Proving Ground "
• " Stratagem "
• " Harbinger "
• " Doctor's Orders "
• " Hatchery "
• " Azati Prime "
• " The Forgotten "
• " The Council "
• " Countdown "
• " Zero Hour "
• " Storm Front "
• " Storm Front, Part II "
• " Borderland "
• " Cold Station 12 "
• " The Augments "
• " The Forge "
• " Awakening "
• " Kir'Shara "
• " Daedalus "
• " Observer Effect "
• " Babel One "
• " The Aenar "
• " Affliction "
• " Divergence "
• " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II " (file photo and hallucination only)
• " Terra Prime "
• " These Are the Voyages... " (hologram)

Background information [ ]

Jonathan Archer was played by Scott Bakula in all episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise set in the prime universe and the 22nd century, with the only non-appearance of the prime Archer being " In a Mirror, Darkly ", which still include Bakula playing a version of the character. Prior to playing Archer, Bakula never considered that he might like to play a captain in Star Trek . ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , p. 36) The young version of Archer in "Broken Bow" was portrayed by Marty Davis .

The character of Captain Archer was initially conceived by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga . They originally imagined the character as " a captain who was an adventurer and who was lighthearted, " said Berman. " A little bit of Captain Kirk and a little bit of Chuck Yeager . " ( Broken Bow , paperback ed., p. 248) Braga noted, " We knew we wanted our captain to be a down-to-earth, Harrison Ford kind of guy. " ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 2, Issue 9 , p. 21)

Archer's first name was originally to have been "Jackson". ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 33, No. 5, p. 21) He was to have been called "Jack" colloquially. [5] While having the first name "Jackson", a character description of Captain Archer was written in the ENT series bible. It described him as " Early 40's. Physical. Intensely curious. Born and raised an explorer by his father, an engineer who worked on the warp 5 project. Unlike the Captains in centuries to come, Archer exhibits a sense of wonder and excitement, as well as a little trepidation about the strange things he will encounter. He holds a grudge against the Vulcans, who he blames for impeding humanity’s progress. But his Science Officer is Vulcan, and he's struggling to reconsider those preconceptions. Although he has a strong sense of duty, he's a bit of a renegade – he's not afraid to question orders or even disobey them, if he feels in his gut that he's right. Archer was there when the first girders on the Enterprise were put into place. And when the Vulcans tried to suspend the maiden launch after the Broken Bow Incident, claiming humans weren't ready for interstellar travel, Archer helped persuade Starfleet to press on […] The Kirks and Picards and Janeways will one day have the benefit of the Captains who preceded them. But Jackson Archer is the prototype. He's making history with every light year. Because he knows his Captain's Logs will be studied for years to come, he keeps especially detailed reports. "

While Archer was still planned to have the first name "Jackson", a character breakdown sheet sent from Paramount to talent agents, upon seeking an actor to play the role, described the character thus; " Early 40s. Physical. Bold personality. Intensely curious. Born and raised an explorer. Unlike the Starfleet captains in centuries to come, he exhibits a sense of wonder and excitement, as well as a little trepidation about the strange things he will encounter. He holds a grudge against the Vulcans, who he blames for impeding humanity's progress. But his science officer is Vulcan, and he's struggling to reconsider those preconceptions. Although he has a strong sense of duty, he's a bit of a renegade – he's not afraid to question orders or even disobey them if he feels in his gut that he's right. " [6]

Rick Berman and Brannon Braga definitely had a certain type of actor in mind for the role of Archer. Berman explained, " We were looking for a little Han Solo quality. We were looking for a little boyishness. We were looking for somebody who had a sense of excitement and awe and was his own man, someone who was young and fit, someone who embodied those heroic qualities that haven't really existed since Captain Kirk. " ( Broken Bow , paperback ed., p. 254) Berman commented further, " We sort of thought of a Han Solo type, a younger Harrison Ford. Somebody with a sense of humor, and somebody who […] was very human and very accessible. " (" Broken Bow " audio commentary , ENT Season 1 DVD / Blu-ray )

Archer's first name was eventually switched to "Jonathan". This was because research turned up exactly one person in the United States of America with the name of "Jackson Archer". ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 33, No. 5, p. 21) The change was listed as one of six revisions of character names in a one-page "script note" at the start of the final draft script of " Broken Bow " (the page was dated 1 May 2001 ).

The revised final draft script for "Broken Bow" established that Archer was nine years old in the very first scene of Enterprise , set in 2121 , and thirty-nine in 2151 . [7] However, a "Behind the Scenes of Enterprise " section in the novelization of Broken Bow (paperback ed., p. 251) states that he was created as "a man in his mid-forties." When the adult version of Archer was introduced in the script, the teleplay quoted a section from the series bible and character breakdown, stating, " Unlike the Starfleet Captains in centuries to come, he exhibits a sense of wonder and excitement. " [8]

British actor Simon MacCorkindale claimed he was offered the role of Captain Archer, but turned it down. [9] Brannon Braga, however, once stated that Scott Bakula was the only actor seriously considered to play Archer. (" Broken Bow " audio commentary , ENT Season 1 Blu-ray ) Rick Berman reminisced about the option of casting Bakula, " When his name was brought up to us by the studio, we jumped for it. " ( Broken Bow , paperback ed., p. 254) Braga noted, " Scott Bakula was an actor who was pretty much the actor who we had in mind all along for the role […] We actually had a meeting with Scott, to discuss the […] character, and he just seemed so perfect. He seemed like he really was Jonathan Archer. He was not your typical spit-and-polish captain. He was more of an everyday guy, with some extraordinary abilities, who… was perfect. And people kinda knew […] Scott Bakula, so you felt like you kinda knew the guy already. So, in every regard, Scott was just perfect in the role. " Berman believed the phrase "a very intelligent and very gracious man" could be applied to both Archer and Bakula. (" Broken Bow " audio commentary , ENT Season 1 DVD / Blu-ray ) Shortly after Bakula was cast, Berman enthused, " “Scott personifies the charm and intelligence that the role calls for. " [10] When first asked to play Captain Archer, though, Bakula was uninterested in the offer. " I may have even said, 'I'm not interested in, you know, the next captain [after Janeway].' " When Bakula was informed he would be playing "the first captain," about 100 years before Kirk, Bakula accepted the part. ( The Captains ) " They had him pretty much on the page when I got the pilot script, " Bakula reflected. " It was exciting to read him because he's a lot like Kirk: very emotional and very given to being angry, and, sometimes, acting before he thinks. I thought that was a great way to go, and I thought it would be an exciting kind of character to create. " ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 2, Issue 7 , p. 14) Berman reminisced, " When we found out that Scott was interested, it was very exciting for all of us. " (" Broken Bow " audio commentary , ENT Season 1 DVD / Blu-ray ) The fact that the role of Captain Archer went to Bakula partly made him the most widely known actor to be hired to play the lead role of a captain in a Star Trek series. " As a recognized actor he brings a little validity to the show, " Berman remarked. " It doesn't hurt to have someone who is recognizable […] I cannot think of a single soul I would rather have playing that role. " ( Broken Bow , paperback ed., pp. 253-254) Bakula was forty-six when he began appearing as Archer.

The call sheets throughout Star Trek: Enterprise consistently omitted Scott Bakula's name, referring to him as "Archer", whereas the other key cast members were actually referred to by their own names on those same call sheets.

Scott Bakula found the ENT producers allowed him "a fair amount of input" in shaping the persona of Jonathan Archer. ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 2, Issue 7 , p. 14) " We didn't realize how likeable and down-to-earth Scott would be, " Brannon Braga divulged, shortly after ENT Season 1 began, " so we're giving him more moments that are a little bit more laid back. " ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 2, Issue 9 , p. 22)

Following the casting of Scott Bakula as Jonathan Archer, Brannon Braga observed about the captain, " He's a bit of a Davy Crockett-type character in that he's got the flair for frontier diplomacy, but there are no protocols. " ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 2, Issue 7 , p. 16)

Brannon Braga and Rick Berman wanted Archer's command style to initially be indecisive (such as in the second installment of ENT, " Fight or Flight "). " That [indecisiveness] was planned, " remarked Braga, following the first season. " We wanted a captain who was gung-ho to get out there and explore, and then realizes the galaxy's not quite what he expected […] You could say he's indecisive, but to me, that's part of the fun. We want to see him frustrated. Gradually he does start to get his space legs. But that's something you want to see depicted, because it's good character drama. " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 139 , p. 23)

Archer was altered for the third season , as a reaction to Earth being threatened by the Xindi. " We set up a harder-edged Archer, who's willing to kill or torture a man if he has to. It's a loss of innocence, " Braga explained. " Archer went out into space wide-eyed and all-embracing. And here he is now, realizing that maybe the Vulcans were right – maybe we weren't ready […] He has to take a different view of what it's like to be out there on a ship. It's no longer about exploring. It's about saving his people. So there's definitely a corruption of his character. " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 151 , p. 28) The change in Archer's personality was noted in the final draft script of " Chosen Realm ", with a scene description referring to Archer as having "judicious caution borne of time spent in the Expanse."

Archer's hairstyle changed, during the course of the series, from a classic comb-over to a shorter, straight-banged haircut that he ended up sporting by the conclusion of the show's third season. Between production of that season and the fourth one , Hair Designer Michael Moore commented, " The short hair on him was a good move. When we first started, they went with the traditional cut kind of longer, part to the side and all. It kind of morphed into what it is now. We just blow it dry really quickly with a little product in there to give it a little texture so it doesn't lay down flat or anything. That's the extent of his look – pretty no-nonsense. " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 152 , p. 30)

In the final draft script of ENT's penultimate episode, " Terra Prime ", Archer was regarded as "the man who summoned the future."

In November 2012 , Brannon Braga stated on his Twitter account that the show's fifth season would have revealed the mysterious Humanoid Figure (aka Future Guy) in the Temporal Cold War to be Jonathan Archer, "trying to correct history." [11]

Reception [ ]

Some fans were at first hopeful that, due to the retro approach of Enterprise , Archer would be very similar to Kirk. When it was revealed that Archer was to originally be depicted as indecisive, however, some of those fans were initially unsure what to make of the new captain. ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 139 , p. 23)

Paramount was initially noncomittal to confirm repeated claims that Scott Bakula had been cast as Jonathan Archer. On 25 April 2001 , Daily Variety reported, " Meanwhile, Paramount Network TV declined comment on ongoing reports that Scott Bakula has been tapped to lead the next Star Trek series, subtitled Enterprise." [12] However, by the time filming was actually about to start, there was a formal announcement that Bakula had indeed been selected; with filming set to begin on the following Monday, a Daily Variety report on Friday 11 May 2001 declared, " The Enterprise has a new captain: After weeks of negotiations, Scott Bakula is officially on board the next Star Trek series. " [13]

Early in the run of Star Trek: Enterprise , Malcolm Reed actor Dominic Keating remarked, " The fact that they've got Scott Bakula as the captain is just terrific. " ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 2, Issue 7 , p. 26) At about the same time in the making of the series, Maxwell Forrest actor and veteran Star Trek performer Vaughn Armstrong referred to Bakula as having "a volatile undercurrent that will make his character pretty exciting." ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 2, Issue 9 , p. 47)

UPN , the network that aired Enterprise , did not share the enthusiasm of Keating and Armstrong, however, as they were of an opinion that Bakula's performance was one of the reasons for the poor performance of the series; Brannon Braga has revealed that, by the end of Season 3, UPN had decreed that if the series was to be renewed for a fourth season – the network actually already of a mind not to do so – a necessary step would be ridding the series of Bakula (who was, in effect, already looking for a new job, as he too was led to believe that Enterprise would not be renewed). Rick Berman fought UPN's decree tooth and nail, successfully as it turned out. That the series was renewed for a last season, and thus allowed for an encore of Jonathan Archer, was in no small part due to the fact that strong backing was received from an unexpected corner, as Bakula has unequivocally cited Garry Hart – a former UPN head and Star Trek supporter, who had just been promoted to another position within the conglomerate – as the driving force behind the renewal, thereby thwarting the cancellation intents of the person or people who succeeded him at UPN. ("Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise ", ENT Season 4 Blu-ray special features)

In 2003 , Mark Jones and Lance Parkin , writers of the review reference book Beyond the Final Frontier (p. 357), commented about Archer therein, " Scott Bakula often appears surprisingly stiff, given the warmth, intelligence and humour he demonstrated on Quantum Leap – you get the sense he's not being given the freedom and creative control he had on that show. However, even on low power, he dominates the show. "

Apocrypha [ ]

The novel Beneath the Raptor's Wing gives Archer's middle name as "Beckett", a nod to Sam Beckett (also portrayed by Scott Bakula) in Quantum Leap .

In the Star Trek: Myriad Universes novel, A Less Perfect Union , John Frederick Paxton destroys Starfleet Command and ends the talks for the Coalition of Planets. Archer continues to work toward creating a political alliance between Vulcan, Andoria, Tellar, and other worlds, with the belief Earth would eventually join as well. His actions are opposed by the Isolationist Party, who has taken control of the Parliament and recalls him for court martial. In this novel, he also performs the marriage between Trip Tucker and T'Pol. He also married Erika Hernandez sometime prior to 2199 and died sometime after 2244 .

At the very end of the novelization of Star Trek , "Archer's prized beagle" rematerialized on the Enterprise transporter pads, moments before the ship jumped to warp on its new voyage. A similar scene is depicted at the end of IDW's " The Truth About Tribbles, Part 2 ", but in this version, the beagle rematerializes months after the events of the film rather than during it and occurs as a result of various attempts at continued experimentation with Transwarp by Montgomery Scott in his desire to save the beagle.

External links [ ]

• Jonathan Archer at Wikipedia
• Jonathan Archer at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Jonathan Archer at the Star Trek Online Wiki
• 3 Ancient humanoid

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The problem with "Archer's Theme"

Discussion in ' Star Trek: Enterprise ' started by You_Will_Fail , Mar 29, 2012 .

You_Will_Fail Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

Is I felt it was a bit too cheerful/hopeful for a theme that ends the show, a bit like TNG's theme. I think DS9 and VOY got the balance right, the theme over the end credits should be able to fit perfectly with a happy or whimsical ending, as well as a thoughtful or sad one. Whatever way a VOY/DS9 episode ended, the theme fit perfectly, unlike ENT and TNG.  

Harvey Admiral Admiral

For most (all?) of the show's run on UPN, we couldn't even hear the theme. The first time I heard it was when I bought the soundtrack album for the pilot episode (and then later on DVD). I'm hard pressed to even remember it now.  

Gaith Vice Admiral Admiral

Pure Muzak. Ugh.  

teacake Fleet Admiral Admiral

Oh look it's Gaith! :: waves to Gaith :: How come you couldn't hear it on UPN? Commercials? It reminds me of the Shire theme in LOTR. It lacks a space grandeur IMO but it's not horrible.  

Hola!  

Mach5 Admiral Admiral

Broken Bow had much superior end credits (Faith of the Heart acoustic).  

horatio83 Commodore Commodore

In my opinion the problem of this theme is that it doesn't fit Archer, especially his nervous energy and inability to sit still, as well as Faith of the Heart.  

teacake said: ↑ How come you couldn't hear it on UPN? Commercials? Click to expand...

xortex Commodore Commodore

It's really Berman's theme. I guess he wanted a hopeful goody two shoes uplifting, optomistic theme. If you listen to it while thinking of J William's Darth Vader music in the background, you'll see what I mean. They fit together perfectly.  

Enterprise is Great Vice Admiral Admiral

Huh? How does Archer's Theme fit anywhere with the Imperial March theme?!? They're nothing alike.  

So who is doing the marching, Archer?  

No. Mirror Archer.  

I think Mirror Archer was doing more of a two-step than a march.  

RandyS Vice Admiral Admiral

Harvey said: ↑ teacake said: ↑ How come you couldn't hear it on UPN? Commercials? Click to expand...

Gagarin Commander Red Shirt

It reminds me of the theme they'd play at the end of some bad early 90's sitcom that would be syndicated on USA Network... "Enterprise was filmed before a live studio audience!"  

Commander Riker Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

muzak + watered down electric guitar (top gun muzak)  

Gagarin said: ↑ It reminds me of the theme they'd play at the end of some bad early 90's sitcom that would be syndicated on USA Network... "Enterprise was filmed before a live studio audience!" Click to expand...

RandyS said: ↑ Harvey said: ↑ teacake said: ↑ How come you couldn't hear it on UPN? Commercials? Click to expand...

Harvey said: ↑ RandyS said: ↑ Harvey said: ↑ They'd squeeze the image (to the point that you couldn't read the credits) and mute the audio in favor of a promo for upcoming programming (either the next episode of Enterprise or something else). Click to expand...

To be honest, I haven't listed to that CD all that much. Despite the fact that Enterprise featured the most melodic music of the franchise since Ron Jones' work on Star Trek: The Next Generation , McCarthy's score to the pilot episode is rather unremarkable. It took the series a few episodes to break out of the sonic wallpaper mode and, unfortunately, only snippets of that music have found their way online (let alone an official release).  

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5 Things Only Adults Notice In Star Trek: Enterprise

From its almost universally hated theme song to its bare-bones, submarine-inspired ship energy, "Star Trek: Enterprise" tells one of the most fundamentally different stories in the Trek canon. Long before Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) spread Federation ideals through the galaxy and Jean-Luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) welcomed diplomats aboard his Space Hilton, the prototypical Enterprise NX-01 brought pre-Federation humanity to the stars — and what a wild ride it was.

Originally airing on the UPN network during the early 2000s around the same time as "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer," "Enterprise" was part of a lineup that was meant to appeal to a fairly young demographic. For viewers who were still pretty young during the show's first run, rewatching from the business end of adulthood can be pretty eye-opening. From a storyline that's meant to parallel real-world events to steamy "Star Trek" scenes that would make even Q blush, here are five things only adults notice when watching "Enterprise."

1. There's a reason fans call Enterprise Sexy Trek

Among the Trekkie community, "Enterprise" is frequently referred to as "Sexy Trek," which is saying something in a franchise brimming with spandex, holodeck hookups, and even a candle sex ghost. Every Trek from "The Original Series" onward has its share of thirst traps from Kirk and William T. Riker's (Jonathan Frakes) horny space diplomacy to the generous use of Dabo girl underboob at Quark's bar. But "Enterprise" is a master class in sculpting a plot around lust-inducing eye candy. 

While a millennial-era teenager might not have fully realized how gratuitously sexual "Enterprise" is, the salacious undertone can almost feel cringe-inducing at times when viewed through adult eyes. And nowhere is this more obvious than the ship's decon chamber, where the ship's hottest crewmates get to oil each other up while hanging out in their space undies after each mission.

One of the show's most unabashedly thirsty scenes is in "Xindi," when T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) strips away her top while directing Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer) in the art of Vulcan neuropressure. "You can apply considerable pressure," she directs him while cupping her nacelles for modesty's sake. "Harder...harder...just like that," before gasping and then directing him to "Please disrobe" so she can return the favor. And then there's that moment in "Shockwave" when a sweaty Hoshi Sato (Linda Park) loses her shirt while jumping down from an air vent. "In a Mirror, Darkly" brings Sexy Trek to its logical conclusion by pairing some of the franchise's most revealing crop tops with unnecessary girl-on-girl fighting and a steady stream of horny dialogue.

2. Archer is incredibly unprofessional

Captain Jonathan Archer's (Scott Bakula) personality throughout "Enterprise" serves as a constant reminder of how far Starfleet progresses as the decades and centuries pass. In contrast with the refined professionalism of later captains like Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks), and Picard, Archer is fairly rough around the edges — which makes sense since he's literally writing the book on what it means to be a Starfleet leader. But a few rewatches in, his frequently unprofessional behavior can seem almost out of control at times, and it's hard to imagine Archer would make it far in the Picard-era Federation.

Rudeness, temperamental behavior, and an overall lack of respect for alien cultures are some of the hallmarks of Archer's early command. This serious lack of professionalism can be seen in the pilot episode "Broken Bow" as Archer appears before Starfleet Command and the Vulcan Council. When he is told the Vulcans want to delay the Enterprise launch, Archer immediately becomes disrespectful, mouthing off to the Klingons and his superiors before entering a medical treatment area without asking. When T'Pol calls humanity "volatile," he responds, "Volatile? You have no idea how much I'm restraining myself from knocking you on your a**." 

In "A Night in Sickbay," Archer angrily complains to members of his crew about having to "grovel" after offending the Kreetassians. He then negligently lets his dog Porthos urinate on the Kreetassan planet, leading to an interplanetary diplomatic crisis Archer stubbornly refuses to take responsibility for until he's forced to.

3. The Xindi storyline is meant to parallel 9/11

"Star Trek: Enterprise" aired just two weeks after the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001. Although younger audiences might not have caught it, the show's Xindi storyline drew heavy inspiration from this real-world terrorist act and its global impact. Beginning in the Season 2 finale, the Xindi storyline begins with a seemingly unprovoked devastating attack on the Earth from a previously unknown alien species ("The Expanse"). During the attack, an alien probe appears above the planet to carve out a 4,000-kilometer path of destruction running from Florida to Venezuela, killing 7 million victims and leaving the world stunned and horrified.

As Starfleet grapples with the fallout, Archer and his crew soon discover the attack was perpetrated by the Xindi, a race of aliens made up of five distinct species. It's later revealed that the attack was just a test run for a larger weapon meant to destroy the Earth ("Azati Prime"). Veteran Trek producer/director David Livingston confirmed the familiar story origin on the Season 3 video commentary, noting, "The Xindi were destroying parts of Earth. So, it was reflective of what was going on at the time." On Bob Saget's "Here For You" podcast, Scott Bakula later added, "Of course, our series was colored by 9/11 happening. We were shooting then and that eventually took over the direction of our show in terms of mirroring that event and casting it into the studio and painting it with the StarTrek brush."

4. The show recycles a lot of other Trek stories

Watch "Star Trek" long enough, and you might eventually start to realize that some of the plots feel awfully familiar. In a franchise with hundreds of episodes, it should hardly come as a surprise that tried-and-true sci-fi tropes keep showing up across Starfleet eras. But one of the more common criticisms of "Enterprise" is its writers' alleged overreliance on sliced, diced, but ultimately rehashed plots from other "Star Trek" series. Whether intentional or coincidental, many of the NX-01's adventures do seem to mirror other stories in the franchise pretty closely.

"Oasis," which starred eventual Borg Queen Annie Wersching and René Auberjonois (Odo on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"), finds the Enterprise crew exploring a supposedly haunted ship populated by hologram-generated illusions. The plot so closely resembled the "Deep Space Nine" episode "Shadowplay" that Auberjonois mentioned it to Bakula while on set. 

The episode "Dawn," which found Trip Tucker stranded with an alien he could not communicate with, is like a Wish.com copy of "The Next Generation" episode "Darmok," which in turn borrows heavily from the film "Enemy Mine." And "Vanishing Point," which features a terrified Hoshi believing that she's dematerializing after a transporter accident, is like a darker take on "The Next Generation" episode "The Next Phase." "Terra Nova" resembles the "Voyager" episode "Friendship One," and "Precious Cargo" marks the third use of "The Original Series" plot from "Elaan of Troyius," which showed up in the "Next Generation" episode "The Perfect Mate."

5. It has more character development than most Star Trek series

"Star Trek: Enterprise" might be something of an intergalactic hot mess — particularly in Season 1 when writers didn't seem to know what to do with some characters. But when taken as a whole, many fans have noticed this series presents some of the best character development in the "Star Trek" franchise. Nowhere is this more evident than with Archer, who grows from something of an anti-Vulcanist bigot with little respect for the serious historical implications of the crew's every interaction to a fully-formed diplomat with a commitment to creating a brighter future for humanity.

At the beginning of the show, T'Pol appears to be a stereotypical Vulcan — she seems to have little interest in being more than the Enterprise's space babysitter and frequently expresses a repressed disdain for humanity's food, habits, and even smells. As the series progresses, we see her grow, face personal demons, and form powerful friendships, particularly with Hoshi, Archer, and Trip. By the end, T'Pol has blossomed into a voice for interspecies cooperation who has come to deeply value her human counterparts.

Hoshi begins "Enterprise" as a brilliant linguist who is afraid of everything and struggles with severe anxiety. While aboard the Enterprise, she learns to rely on those around her for guidance and support and actively works on managing and overcoming her own mental health hurdles. Likewise, Trip matures both in his professional growth and his relationships with other characters, particularly with T'Pol, as seen when he puts her feelings before his own when faced with her arranged marriage to Koss ("Home"). Despite the show's rocky start, the crew's personal growth helps make "Enterprise" one of the most powerful character-driven stories in the "Star Trek" canon. 

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Brings Back Enterprise Captain Archer Tribute

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 1 - "Red Directive"

• Season 5 of Star Trek: Discovery pays tribute to Captain Archer from Star Trek: Enterprise.
• Archer Space Dock in Discovery serves as a hub for Starfleet upgrades and new starship construction in honor of Jonathan Archer.
• Captain Archer's legacy and impact on the formation of the Federation are essential to Star Trek: Discovery's future.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 brought back the 32nd century Starfleet's tribute to Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) from Star Trek: Enterprise. Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Enterprise are TV series at opposite points bookending Star Trek 's Prime Universe timeline . Enterprise is set in the 22nd century and charts the pioneering voyages of the NX-01, the first Starship Enterprise commanded by Captain Archer. Star Trek: Discovery seasons 3-5 are set over a thousand years later in the 32nd century.

Star Trek: Discovery season 1 began in 2256, a century after Captain Archer's NX-01 Enterprise first set off to explore the galaxy. Although Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the USS Discovery's crew never met Archer, Star Trek: Discovery certainly bore the influence of Star Trek: Enterprise , especially in Discovery 's early seasons. Both series were Star Trek prequels, and Discovery 's original blue Starfleet uniforms were a visual link to the distinctive blue jumpsuits worn on Star Trek: Enterprise by Captain Archer's crew .

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

Star trek: discovery brings back archer space dock, captain archer's spirit is part of the 32nd-century starfleet.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5's premiere , "Red Directive," saw the return of the Archer Space Dock. Following a mission to Q'Mau where Captain Michael Burnham, Captain Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie), and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) were unable to apprehend couriers Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis), the USS Discovery and USS Antares used their combined shields to protect a Q'Mau settlement from an avalanche. Afterward, a dusty Discovery jumped back for repairs at the Archer Space Dock near United Federation of Planets headquarters.

The goal of the Archer Space Dock is to upgrade the existing Starfleet and build the next generation of starships.

The Archer Space Dock was introduced in Star Trek: Discovery season 4's premiere, "Kobayashi Maru." The facility was unveiled by Federation President Laira Rillak (Chelah Horsdal) to the first new class of Starfleet Academy. The goal of the Archer Space Dock is to upgrade the existing Starfleet and build the next generation of starships. It was only fitting to name the Archer Space Dock after the Captain of the first Starship Enterprise, and the first Federation President, Jonathan Archer .

The Archer Space Dock is reminiscent of previous facilities that have built and repaired the USS Enterprise throughout Star Trek .

Enterprise’s Archer Is An Important Part Of Star Trek: Discovery Millennium Celebration

The federation began with archer a thousand years ago (give or take a few decades).

Although Captain Jonathan Archer wasn't name-dropped like Star Trek: The Next Generation 's Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) was in Star Trek: Discovery season 5's premiere, Archer's spirit was evoked in the Federation's Millennium Celebration . Discovery season 5 is set in 3191, a thousand and 30 years after the founding of the United Federation of Planets . Captain Archer was a pivotal figure whose voyages forged the bonds between United Earth, Vulcan, Tellar Prime, and Andoria that led to the formation of the Federation.

Captain Archer was aware of events in the 30th century as a result of his involvement in the Temporal War in Star Trek: Enterprise.

Jonathan Archer is essentially the George Washington of the Federation . After his decade-long run as Captain of the Enterprise, Archer served as the first Federation President. There would be no Federation without Jonathan Archer, and he would be pleased to know that the Federation still endures in the 32nd century. Star Trek: Discovery is forging the future in the 32nd century, but the Archer Space Dock shows the Federation never forgets it was Captain Jonathan Archer who helped it begin.

Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Enterprise are streaming on Paramount+

Cast Blu del Barrio, Oded Fehr, Anthony Rapp, Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Wilson Cruz, Eve Harlow, Mary Wiseman, Callum Keith Rennie

Franchise(s) Star Trek

Writers Alex Kurtzman

Directors Jonathan Frakes, Olatunde Osunsanmi

Showrunner Alex Kurtzman

Where To Watch Paramount+

Cast Dominic Keating, Connor Trinneer, Linda Park, John Billingsley, Scott Bakula, Jolene Blalock, Jeffrey Combs, Anthony Montgomery

Streaming Service(s) Paramount+

Writers Rick Berman, Manny Coto, Brannon Braga

Showrunner Manny Coto, Brannon Braga

Creator(s) Rick Berman, Brannon Braga

Screen Rant

Star trek’s origin movie could be the second to break tradition.

The upcoming Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie could be the next to break a Star Trek movie tradition that only one other film has broken.

• Paramount confirmed Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie by director Toby Haynes will release in 2025.
• The film may not focus on Starship Enterprise as it's set decades before J.J. Abrams' Star Trek (2009).
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is the only Star Trek movie that isn't set aboard the USS Enterprise.

The upcoming Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie could do something only one other Star Trek movie has done. At Cinema Con 2024, Paramount Studios confirmed the Star Trek origin film that had previously been rumored, and revealed that it was slated for a 2025 release. Not to be confused with Star Trek 4 , the presumed sequel to 2016's Star Trek Beyond , the Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie will take place decades before J.J. Abrams' 2009 Star Trek film . Toby Haynes, who directed Black Mirror's Star Trek- inspired episode, "USS Callister," will direct the film, based on a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith.

J.J. Abrams will reportedly be a producer on Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie , and the story will be set within the alternate Kelvin timeline established in Abrams' prior Star Trek films. Almost no information has been revealed about the plot or cast of the movie, or exactly where it will fit within the Star Trek timeline. With the resurgence of Star Trek television on Paramount+, the studio seems ready to bring the franchise back to the big screen. One thing nearly every Star Trek film has had in common is that they focus on the adventures of the Starship Enterprise, but Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie could be about another ship entirely.

Every Upcoming Star Trek Movie & TV Show

Star trek’s origin movie may not be about the starship enterprise, star trek iv: the voyage home is the only other trek movie not set on the uss enterprise..

Star Trek 2009 established the alternate Kelvin timeline branched off from Star Trek's Prime timeline in 2233 when the Romulan mining ship Narada emerged from the future. The Captain of the Narada, Nero (Eric Bana), blamed the destruction of Romulus on the Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and the United Federation of Planets. When Nero destroyed the USS Kelvin, whose First Officer was Lt. George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth) , this event altered the future, as well as the life of James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), and created a new timeline. The USS Enterprise that would become Captain Kirk's was not launched until 2258 in this timeline, meaning the Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie might not feature the iconic Starship Enterprise at all.

Noah Hawley's canceled Star Trek movie was reportedly also to feature a different crew and ship besides the USS Enterprise.

Currently, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is the only Star Trek film that does not heavily feature the USS Enterprise, as it had been destroyed in the previous film, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew use a commandeered Klingon Bird-of-Prey dubbed the HMS Bounty to travel back in time in The Voyage Home , but the new USS Enterprise-A is commissioned at the end of the film. At this point, the Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie could feature any number of ships that have been referenced in various Star Trek projects, or it could feature a completely new ship and crew. Then again, the next Star Trek theatrical feature film could end up featuring a starship named Enterprise, after all.

Could Captain Archer’s NX-01 Enterprise Appear In Star Trek’s Origin Movie?

How far back in time will the untitled star trek origin movie go.

The success of Star Trek: Picard season 3 made it clear that many viewers love to see returning characters and callbacks to previous Star Trek projects, which could influence the Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie. If the film goes far enough back in the timeline, it could depict the original Enterprise NX-01 commanded by Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula). The NX-01 launched in 2151, paving the way for what would become the United Federation of Planets. It's unclear (and perhaps even unlikely) that the Star Trek origin film would go this far back in time, but with time travel, flashbacks, and alternate timelines, anything is possible.

Admiral Archer and callbacks to Star Trek: Enterprise have been referenced in J.J. Abrams ' Star Trek movies.

Paramount recently revealed that Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh's Star Trek: Section 31 film will be set in Star Trek's "lost era" before Star Trek: The Next Generation , and the studio might want to explore other eras within the Trek timeline that have yet to be heavily featured. The Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie could depict the time just before or after Nero arrived from the future, or it could shift its focus to an era that has not even been considered. Either way, it remains to be seen if the Star Trek origin movie will become only the second Trek film that's not about the Starship Enterprise.

Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness, & Star Trek Beyond are available to stream on Paramount+.

• April 12, 2024 | BREAKING: ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Renewed For Season 4; ‘Lower Decks’ To End With Season 5
• April 12, 2024 | Interview: Wilson Cruz On How “Jinaal” Sets Up The Rest Of The Season For Culber On ‘Star Trek: Discovery’
• April 12, 2024 | Podcast: All Access Goes To Trill With ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ For “Jinaal”
• April 11, 2024 | Paramount Pictures Officially Confirms Star Trek Origin Movie For Its Upcoming Film Slate
• April 11, 2024 | Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Tries Too Many Connections In “Jinaal”

Paramount Pictures Officially Confirms Star Trek Origin Movie For Its Upcoming Film Slate

| April 11, 2024 | By: Anthony Pascale 181 comments so far

Today, the road to the next Star Trek feature film took a small but significant step towards becoming reality.

Paramount makes it official

Earlier this year, it was reported that Paramount Pictures was developing a new Star Trek feature film in parallel development to the “Star Trek 4” sequel to 2016’s Star Trek Beyond . Today the studio made the reports official as they announced their slate of films for 2025 and 2026, an official list which includes what Paramount is now calling “Untitled Star Trek Origin Story.” The studio also confirms the previously reported details: The film is “set decades before the original 2009 Star Trek film.” Toby Haynes ( Andor , Black Mirror “USS Callister”) is directing based on a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith ( The Lego Batman Movie ), with J.J. Abrams returning as producer.

The Star Trek movie was just one of many the studio confirmed as part of their 2025/2026 slate at their CinemaCon presentation today. Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins led the studio’s presentation at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. This is the first time Star Trek has been part of the studio’s annual CinemaCon event since Robbins took over in 2021.

The “Star Trek 4” sequel to Beyond was not part of today’s CinemaCon presentation, presumably because with the recent hiring of a new screenwriter , that film would not be ready for theaters by 2026. It has also been reported that the origin story movie is set to start filming by the end of the year. There are no details yet on the plot, specific time setting, or cast. If Paramount can move fast enough they could get the origin movie into theaters by 2026—in time for Star Trek’s 60th anniversary.

Find more news and analysis on  upcoming Star Trek feature films .

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Fool me once … ( also I want a movie but until someone gets a set built I’m not holding my breath )

I’m not pre-ordering my tickets…..

You would need a title and a premiere date to order tickets. This film has neither.

I’d wait to believe it until you actually see a movie trailer for it. Noah Hawley was in the casting stage when they cancelled his Trek movie. They might have even started on the sets.

The film is on Noah’s IMDB Credits list…

Yep. I heard ferries exist too!

Car ferries?

Even now, it potentially doesn’t matter. They could pull a Zaslav and shelve the film after it was all but released.

I won’t believe it until my butt is in the theater seat and the film starts playing.

We don’t need the origin story. We have it already. It was called “Enterprise”.

I didn’t realize there was such a large interest in a Star Trek origin movie. It’s their money to burn.

I still believe this is their way of rebooting the “prime” universe from the beginning and remaking it in a new image. I see no other point of doing an origin movie. First Contact and Star trek: Enterprise were origin enough IMO.

I don’t quite get it either. We already got that with First Contact and Enterprise. What else is there that could interest the general public.

Yeah, and for me, the period between First Contact and Enterprise just doesn’t seem that exciting. The period between Enterprise and the Nero incursion would be more interesting, I guess.

They wrote that the origin film would be “set decades before the original 2009 Star Trek film”. That film (in-universe) is set in 2233 (Nero incursion) and 2258 (main plot) respectively. So “decades before” would be after Enterprise, probably after the formation of the Federation, most probably before the Nero incursion, maybe around the turn of the century.

It’s just odd they are calling it an “origin” movie if it happens after Enterprise.

I’m curious what they mean by “origin”. The origin of Starfleet would be before Enterprise and the origin of the Federation would be after.

Also, the origin of Star Trek would have to be before the events of First Contact.

…assuming there is a concern about canon whatsoever, of course.

Many assumptions to be made at this point for sure.

Assuming this announcement doesn’t get added to the pile of previous unmade-movie announcements.

They’re calling it an origin movie to appeal to newcomers and casual fans.

Maybe we’ll see the founding of the Federation?

We already saw that in the infamous final episode of Enterprise. If they revisit that, they’d have to include the NX-01 crew and do a *lot* of deaging. 😉

They could show the first year of the Federation or something.

The obvious way to go is just do the Romulan war which leads into the founding of the Federation and what Enterprise was supposed to do.

That’s really the only thing fans actually want to see in terms of a prequel story.

Which was already scripted for Berman nearly 20 years ago by the band of brothers screenwriter.

Yep. I heard that’s what they were considering doing until the Kelvin movie got greenlit instead.

Overall the Kelvin movie was probably the better choice in terms of box office but I probably would’ve preferred the Romulan war idea because it did sound more original and different.

For how little Trek lore has fleshed out that imaginary bit of history, do we really need to be putting some detail to how we went from post-apocalyptic hellhole to utopian paradise in fifty years? Maybe some enterprising human stole a replicator off a Vulcan ship and reverse engineered it? Seeing the sausage being made may not be a great on screen adventure…

Eastern Europe isn’t the best example – while they’ve done okay extricating themselves from the communist wasteland, it was (and is) without its setbacks.

that’s what makes me so crazy. Discovery was the chance to reboot the “prime” universe but they have stubbornly stuck to this quisling versio

Not only that, they already did a Star Trek origin movie. Star TRek 2009. But sure lets put more money in it, have it fail, and then blame the box office on why we will never get more trek. Thats a great idea!

First off do we even know what they mean by “origin”?

Could be about the founding of the federation, the Romulan War, or the early days of starfleet pre-Enterprise.

It may have nothing to do with Kirk and Spock, the Enterprise, might not be any kind of reboot or reset.

My gut says it’s set in the Kelvin timeline and it takes place post USS Kelvin but pre-2009 Trek. And I’m fine with that.

They already said it will be based in the prime universe, not the Kelvin. I don’t know why they framed that press release that way but I guess since the Kelvin movies are the current movies they wanted to make clear to people this movie is before all of that I guess.

And obviously will have nothing to do with Kirk and Spock because it will be before they were even born.

These announcements feel like Groundhog Day, don’t they? Maybe that’s the story they should tell.

A feature length version of Cause and Effect…

I’m guessing Romulan Star Empire Wars era setting.

Yeah, maybe it’s the concept Rick Berman pitched: a Romulan War film where the NX-01 is off vacationing at Risa.

How about Star Trek: Federation . Founding of the Federation, which is immediately followed by a crisis requiring the urgent launch of USS Federation (NCC-01). Scott Bakula has a cameo appearance as President Archer.

Here we go! :D

Star Trek Origins: The Future Begins

Yeah but it’s not as exciting when we literally have a thousand years of that future now.

This is why prequels bore so many people when we already know so much about the future it’s setting up.

At least with the Kelvin movies they were smart to not make it a traditional prequel and people still hated those too.

I will never understand the obsession of going backwards when you have a fanbase that is constantly begging to go forward and prequels don’t attract new fans at all because they are made for oddly old fans in mind. You only cared about how Anakin became Vader in the prequels if you watched the OT.

We really know almost nothing (in canon) about the entire century that elapses between Enterprise and Discovery , though. I would have preferred Kelvin Movie 4 or even a post-TNG original movie (maybe with Patrick Stewart making a cameo) but I could get behind a canon treatment about the first years of the Federation.

If it’s really something good or interesting fine. If it’s just ‘this is how the Federation was formed” we already got that already.

Now if it’s the Romulan war or something then that’s at least something people can get excited about. But yeah we already know how it ends so maybe that won’t be it either.

I just can’t really get to excited about a prequel movie.

Yeah, I think the Romulan war would be a great premise for a movie, BUT according to TOS the battles were fought with “primitive atomic weapons and in primitive space vessels which allowed no quarter, no captives, nor was there even ship-to-ship visual communication; therefore, no human, Romulan or ally has ever seen the other.”

In other words canon would have to be completely ignored – we all know Enterprise completely disregarded the TOS take of the war as the NX-01 had visual comms, phase cannons and photonic torpedoes. If the story is a good one, I am totally good with ignoring canon, but of course others are not.

Yeah that’s always the issue with the Romulan War thing, it’s really hard to make a compelling story about it when you are fighting it without directly engaging the enemy.

That said I’m 100% convinced they will just ignore that and do what they want or just find an excuse to change ot. Look at SNW, this the show that has shown the Gorn years before they were supposed to be seen and completely changed Khan’s original timeline using TCW as the reason..

Discovery had an entire Klingon War when that didn’t remotely exist in canon.

So yeah it probably won’t matter that much end of the day. They will just make what they want and then will use some excuse to do it. That’s been the case since Enterprise as you said.

So, it would be set after Enterprise and before the Kelvin fiasco. Awesome.

Probably the Romulan Wars. And with no Enterprise. Not excited

If only I could insert the Will Farrel “I don’t believe you!” GIF.

Whatever this turns out to be, hopefully it will be interesting. More likely it will turn out to be just another dead Trek movie project.

So many of these stories do seem to go absolutely nowhere! However, I am not as negative about an origin story as some fans are. At this point, I am more neutral on the movie. I can see that under the right circumstances it could be quite interesting. Although prequels can be a tough sell to Star Trek fans. Ultimately the fact that’s a movie could work in its favor though. Less storylines to produce over the years might help keep the story focused! Though I am not sure it would be a box office draw.

I’ll believe it when I’ve seen it in theaters, listened to TrekMovie’s review, and have the blu-ray on my shelf 4 months later.

Where to place the Blu-ray tho?

Before ST09 or after Beyond? …or.. Before TOS?

They go in order of release, for me. But could this be the first Trek film I don’t purchase on disc? Time may tell…

It’s an origin story taking place in the prime universe so it will go either before or after Enterprise basically.

I’ll believe it when it actually happens. Also, Seth Grahame-Smith is not a good writer, so that doesn’t bode well.

My thoughts exactly.

I liked the book Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, but not the movie.

I absolutely loved the Lego Batman movie, though. If he is able to incorporate Trek lore with as much care as he did for Batman, it could turn out to be a very good movie after all.

I’ll believe it when I’m sat i theatre turning off my phone with my Star Trek Origins screensaver and eating popcorn out my STO popcorn bucket (the lid in shape of the Starfleet A insignia )

He co wrote The Flash right? I really liked that , I could imagine something similar happening with Nero as happened with Zod in that (going back to 1st film via timetravel)

This is what’s over at Box Office Mojo: Untitled Star Trek: Beyond Sequel (????)

Grain of salt, anyone?

There are apparently two movies planned. Origin and Trek 4…

Actually there are three now including one that we all thought was DOA two minutes after it was announced.

Three movies in development from a studio who has cancelled four of them for 8 years now. And this will be the fourth new script for the next Kelvin movie.

That’s why everyone is very very confident this one is happening for sure. 🙄

The only thing we can take to the bank is we will see Section 31, starring Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh!!

Pretty much.

And a studio that is broke and in debt with junk status. None of these will likely be made or just the super cheapy origin movie if they can keep the budget low.

I’m pretty sure you got your facts wrong.

Sigh. Why do the powers that be always want to go backward in the ST timeline and do origin stories and such?

Lack of confidence in new ideas and to make it as cheaply as possible, are two things that come to mind right away.

It’s simple. They don’t want all that trek nerd baggage. They want a movie anyone would go to see and understand.

How’s that working for them?

You don’t get it.

I don’t get it either? It’s not like the prequel stuff has been huge home runs or big money makers.

The Star Wars prequels made a lot of money. That’s what Paramount still looks at, even though they have yet to duplicate that financial success.

Yes but that’s STAR WARS! It’s going to make a lot of money period. And those prequels came out when it was just the OT and nothing else for literally decades. There was a lot of hype just returning to those stories.

This is not the same thing, especially when we already had so many prequels in Trek now and with mixed results. That said I’m not saying it can’t be successful but I don’t see any huge hype around it either because most fans just seem to want to go forward and not backwards.

All the negativity over this ‘announcement’ is well deserved. Just make a fcking movie already Paramount, Jesus.

But I suspect IF this one is real it’s probably a much cheaper movie being new actors and maybe something with a lot less explosions and FX. I suspect it will probably be around $100 million.

It’s certainly doesn’t sound like something they are pushing to make a billion dollars or anything. Only people who cares about a prequel will be mostly old fans and even they aren’t exactly excited about yet another prequel judging by all the reactions so far. Maybe they will attract an A list star or a well respected one to bring more hype to it.

But same time I been pushing to just do something NEW with new characters and setting forever now. Stop trouting out Kirk and Picard, take a real chance with the franchise for a change. I was hoping it would be Post Nemesis but I should be happy I finally got half of what I wanted lol.

But I’ll believe it when I see it. I have literally been saying this line for six years now and I’m really tired of saying it. 🙄

Yup, exactly. Assuming it even happens, the premise sounds weak. Not surprised.

Yep. Unless it’s something truly mind blowing it’s not going to elicit a lot of excitement. Sure we’ll all go lol but I don’t see this thing having any real pull beyond the true believers.

It probably got the greenlight because its really cheap and it’s becoming embarrassing how long this franchise has languished.

I really only go to movie theaters to see Trek films (much prefer the comforts of home to see movies), so yup I’ll be going, good or bad. And yes, it is really pathetic the way this franchise has been treated on the big screen for the past 20 years. Disgraceful.

Ummm… what premise?? The only thing we know is that it is an origin movie. Nothing else. There IS no premise yet…

I think he means just another origin story itself feels a bit tired. But yes we don’t specifically know what that means yet but anything before TOS at this point just doesn’t really get a lot of fans all that hot and bother.

Whatever it ends up being it’s just filling in to more history we already know.

I get it. But no matter what era they make a movie in, there will be complaints. We have done prequels – some fans hate that. We have done same era as TNGish – fans complained. Likewise, we have had a show set in the future (soon to be another) – fans complained. There aren’t many options left.

Before TOS: Enterprise, JJ movies, Discovery, SNW just after TNG era: Picard, Prodigy, Lower Decks Future: Discovery, Starfleet Academy

Do they just make things in the era of TNG, DS9 and Voyager? No matter what is produced, there will always be a fan base that is unhappy.

I’m going to start reporting you now. One guy got the boot for being an obsessive troll and like you was already banned before anyway.

Leave me alone from this point on. I mean it.

What a total disappointment. I wanted to see the Kelvin crew return. It’s going to be 10 years between films.

Please be Kirk and Spock at least.

Check the first paragraph of the article out again. This one is presumably being developed ‘in parallel’ to the Kelvin crew sequel.

Recast Kirk and Spock, I presume?

I wouldn’t be surprised if the main character is Kirk’s great grandfather, Tiberius something or other.

And not surprised there was no announcement of the next JJ verse movie. I predicted a few weeks ago that one wouldn’t get made by 2026 or the 60th anniversary. Frankly I don’t even know why they are even bothering with it anymore? Whenever it’s supposed to come out it’s already going to be the last one and over 10 years since the last one came out.

What’s even the point? They are clearly moving on from it.

As far as the origin movie why not just make it for the 60th anniversary? Why rush it? It’s already been nearly a decade, what’s one more year at this point and you can Marley it better in an anniversary year.

Its the reverse of ST 6, here we getting the prequel movie instead of the final cast film (for the anniversary)

Someone on another board said we are probably getting the sequel to First Contact so it would make sense to have it for the 6Oth anniversary 30 years apart lol.

“[S]et decades before the original 2009 Star Trek film?”

Gimme Archer & T’Pol, or else…

Neither actor has any interest in returning to Star Trek, so that won’t happen.

No, no no. You’ve got it all wrong. It’s a story about a little design firm vying for the chance to design the Enterprise. It’s a story about a plucky band of mechanical engineers and physicists who come together to do the best pitch of their lives in a bidding war with three other firms. So, an origin story…from a certain point of view. ;)

I would watch,THAT!

I would write that!

I would direct that! (If I was Christopher Nolan)

No, I want Nolan doing ThePrisoner! He’s already got a script from the guy who wrote 12 Monkeys and the best stuff in Blade Runner, from over a decade back.

You probably meant it as a joke, but I’m also intrigued by this idea :D

Charlie Kaufmann does star trek.

Sure, you can store anti-matter in a glass jar. What could possibly go wrong?

Y’know, I know this is said partly in jest, but I wouldn’t mind that kind of movie if it was sort of a space race / WWII / Cold War drama, kind of a mix of Oppenheimer and The Right Stuff.

There’s a geo (spatio?) political angle (firm up the borders of the Federation, mitigate threats, and establish new allies while keeping up the exploration / first contact initiatives), the pressure on the engineering team to deliver groundbreaking new tech (and probably the cost of failed experiments, accidents, etc.), and then recruiting and training a new kind of crew – a starship crew (as Captain Merrick described them in ‘Bread and Circuses’.)

In essence, the origin of Starfleet as we know it – the first long-duration missions, the best of the best crewmembers, cross-trained, multidisciplinary, and for the first time, widely multi-species, etc.

Glad you all like. Paramount, you can send the check to: bmar, care of….

I’m thinking there’s going to be peace in the Middle East and nuclear fusion power is going to be a reality before they ever get back to the theaters.

Once upon a time I enjoyed Star Trek. Since the Nu Trek era began. I havent enjoyed any of the story arcs. They are just too aweful. There is a multitude of reasons why throught the web. Strange New Worlds S1 corrected course, however S2 not so. There are forces at work at Paramount. They are hell bent to destroy Star Trek. If Kurtzman and crew are in charge of the new movie. Get ready for more fantasy drama nonsense, and less plausable sci-fi.

Same here. I can’t get into NuTrek much at all. It feels like a shell of the golden era. For me that will always be 1966-2005.

But if others like it and getting new fans I’m very happy for them.

Same here. I’ve found a few gems in SNW S1, PIC S3, and S1 of Prodigy, but otherwise have been very disappointed in “NuTrek.” Of course I wish the franchise the best, but so far it’s been more misses than hits for me.

Yes I truly love Picard season 3! The best thing to come out of NuTrek so far. I don’t hate SNW but it railroads canon too much for my taste but it does feel like Star Trek again.

I haven’t seen Prodigy yet but I plan to watch it when season 2 begins and will watch season 1 before that one. Everyone kept saying it’s for kids and I’m far from a kid these days lol. But others here convinced me it’s a show for adults too so will give it a go

Wow, hell-bent on destroying Trek. Hell-bent, you say!! Just a tough melodramatic, are you?

Really don’t care about prequels and just want to keep going forward. Why not a movie in the 25th or 26th century with new crew and characters?

I may care more if Archer is involved or something. But I suspect this movie will bomb like the last one did. Only fans cares about prequels. New fans won’t care at all.

At least it’s in the prime universe again I guess.

But 25th or 26th century would still be a prequel to Discovery’s 32nd century :D

That doesn’t bother me because we don’t know anything about those time periods. We already know plenty about everything before TOS because it’s all been said or told now

Yeah I said this to another member the other day discussing any post Picard stories and that it will be completely new stories in a period we don’t know so it’s not the same thing. When you’re doing something like a TOS prequel you only have so much room and while it can certainly be interesting and creative it basically just like filling in to more stuff we already know.

That said the Section 31 movie time period is at least more interesting because it covers a much wider time period and they can be a lot more freer with the technology, etc so looking forward to that at least.

Yes I will admit although I’m not a big fan of the Space Nazi the time period of the movie intrigues me more. I always been curious of this period and the lead up to TNG, mostly because we know very little about it.

Discovery (in my view) kind of ruined everything in the Trek timelime. Just my opinion. Anyone who wants to just forget it happened, I’m in. Kidding, not kidding.

Agreed! I also don’t think it will be allegorical science fiction or be anything thought provoking. It will be a fast paced action adventure story that’s empty of depth and soul. Modern Star Trek is more interested in spectacle than compelling stories.

I’d guess that it means “origin of the TOS crew,” but that’s kind of weird, because we saw that in 2009.

Maybe this time they’ll start when they’re toddlers. (I kid, but not really). :)

They are going to re-do ‘A night in Sickbay’ like they did with Wrath of Khan/Into Darkness. It’ll be the same but different…..

Could this be their way of doing a George Kirk movie?

I would want to watch that, colour me intrigued…

“set decades before the original 2009 Star Trek film.”

Original 2009 Sta Trek film Sounds so wrong.

there is only two star trek origin stories i want to see the formation of the federation and it’s first few years if they have to adapt the rise of the federation novels for the movie and the origins of the borg they could adapt the plot ffor thet from the star trek destiny novels for a movie

Spot on, on both points!

2025? I hope it works out…

First we hear we are getting a Star Fleet Space Academy series that no one wants. The idea was mentioned in the 1980’s and shot down by fans. Now a retake on a Star Trek Origins films. Is any one currently running the Star Trek franchise in TV/streaming or film even listening to what the fans both old and new are saying?

It would seem not, sadly. How about establishing the time period between TUC and TNG, there’s a literal ton of stories to tell there? How the possibilities for storytelling within the franchise have been squandered over the years makes me frustrated, and frankly confused. SO many missed opportunities.

The upcoming section 31 movie will be set during that time frame as we know a young Rachel Garrett who later in life will be the captain of the enterprise c and defend the Klingon colony of narendra 3 will be in the movie maybe we will get to see the ent-b also again

Pointless movie as no audience will come see it at best it will make half its budget back. I mean they spent $250M on the 2009 movie and it showed on screen….you already know they are not spending that level otherwise it would be a Kelvin cast sequel!

I believe they spent just under 160 mil on the 09 (not counting the interest payments for holding the finished film for six months to get a summer release, or prints/advertising.) You’re probably thinking of BEYOND with the 250 number.

I still can’t see the money on screen in the 09, shooting in the damn brewery was Corman-level cheap.

The Numbers have the 09 costs 140 and BO Mojo sez 150, so yeah, way under the 250m you mention.

Can the ethos of Trek be distilled by JJ? Bob orci was bad for trek.

Kurtzman seemed to fall into trap w/discovery season 1.

Season 2, Picard, Lower Decks and SNW definitely sealed my thinking that Trek was in right hands.

Is section 31 and Rachel Garrett the right pivot for Trek? I thought 24th/25th century had plenty of stories to still tell.

Enterprise C, and possibly Tasha Yar/Sela after the events of Yesterday’s Enterprise! This should reboot TNG/Picard if ST: Legacy doesn’t happen.

Lower Decks makes me laugh Picard made me cry (good) SNW made me feel like Kurtzman should be trusted 💯

Great. Abrams ruined Star Wars and he’s finishing of Star Trek.

JJ had a planed out story plot for what he wanted to happen in the sequels but rian johnson chose to deviate from what jj had payed out so when jj returned for episode 9 he had to try and make the best of it and make his original story plot work but with the changes Johnson had made altering it so he had to come up with another evil sith mastermind and chose palpatine and he did course correct Rey’s lineage though it was different from who he had initially planned it to be and with Carrie fishers untimely passing he had to rewrite more and he had Luke show up as a force ghost to help rey when she returned to ach-to as apparently he was never going to have Luke die until the the final battle

I hope it has nudity

….and “Invincible” level action. It’ll be a hard R Quinton Tarentino could love.

Yes, we are on the same page.

CinemaCon basically works like a network upfront. You see clips and hear a lot of announcements. When there’s no cast or start date for announced projects, there’s maybe a 50/50 chance that the project will actually move forward (I was with a former employer for over 8 years and we announced a lot of stuff that generated a lot of buzz but then never materialized).

I think Brian Robbins will be gone within the next 12 months and if Robbins is pushed out this film is dead in the water.

This is probably the right answer.

I have next to no faith this will actually happen but they only have themselves to blame lol.

I remember a former poster kept saying ‘well this a new regime ‘ they aren’t the old guys’. Uh huh. It just shows end of the day they might be different but they still answer to the same shareholders and they know another Trek film is risky. Maybe this will finally get beyond a script this time but no one will be convinced until they start shooting the thing.

Rehashing old fandom letter campaign complaints from 40 years ago, don’t equate to the modern sci-fi fan, let alone the majority of Star Trek fans of 2024. The majority of complaints in the article comments are that there isn’t enough new future timeline Star Trek, so why would people NOT want a Star Fleet Academy series – new stories, new characters, new ships, new alien species/planets etc? An Origin movie is a vague enough description that it’s probably likely that the fandom can’t come anywhere close to a correct theory on when in the Trek timeline, this movie could be set.

I agreed with a commenter earlier, a George Kirk prequel movie would satisfy a lot of the fans, and hopefully generate enough interest for new and casual Star Trek moviegoers to warrant their going to a cinema complex. As to want the hardcore Star Trek fandom really want? There is too much dissent and bitter recriminations gone by, for any serious agreement by the fandom of their requirements, to stick for any longer than the next Trek major media article to be issued. And even if a majority agreement could be achieved – then we have the Mount Everest of EP Alex Kurtzman / Secret Hideout control of Trek production, to climb. A movie or series could have a billion-dollar budget, stellar A-list cast and crew, critical media acclaim for the story / screenplay. A favourable release timing and viral marketing, but fall at the last hurdle – the box office, due to the mountain of hate piled up against Paramount, Kurzman and his associates.

Now, as to the overall custodianship of the Trek franchise and its operation as a business, in general by Paramount, and its contracted creatives? Well, that’s a whole Hollywood chapter in itself. And is any of that even relevant in the long term, with the behind-the-scenes Harry Potter Wizard chess moves that are going on at the studio ownership, and network controlling interest levels? Apologies for the extended and extensive reply.

The first thing to do in order make a successful Star Trek movie is to ignore Star Trek fans.

God, please, no origin stories.

Star Trek: The Beginning, Part 1 — A Final Frontier Origin Story

Star Trek has always been a production dealing with many human issues pushing open the veils of awkwardness, embarrassment, and unaddressed behaviors that represent our culture planet wide. Thank You Star Trek. The one thing Paramount+ did that was just totally in bad taste was cancel Prodigy, bunch of morons.

Every fan’s preferences are different, but over the years I’ve ended up streamlining various ‘franchises’ I enjoy to my own liking when it comes to a re-watch – and these days my own limited Star Trek ‘canon’ purely consists of kicking things off with ‘The Cage’ pilot storyline….followed by my specific favourite TOS episodes in ‘production order’ (starting with ‘Where No Man Has Gone Before’, and skipping ‘The Menagerie’ two-part storyline)….followed by all the TOS movie storylines….and ending the Kirk crew’s adventures with ‘The Undiscovered Country’ as my preferred send-off for them all….then skip the antics of the ‘Generations’ movie, and instead continue on with my specific favourite TNG episodes (starting with the ‘Encounter At Farpoint’ introduction to Picard and his crew)….and then conclude the entire thing with the ‘First Contact’ movie’s storyline – which covers the development of ‘warp drive’, bringing everything full circle, and giving me all the ‘origin’ specifics I need..

All other ‘Trek-related shows and movies since then remain firmly on my ‘one-watch-only’ list, but I’m more than content with what I’ve outlined above.

I don’t know if I’ll ever get a ‘Star Trek’ movie which goes much deeper than glossy ‘pew-pew’ action and explosions in the future, but I remain hopeful.there might be a storyline that I really like again.

In the meantime, for my latest ‘alien contact’ fix, I’ve just finished up enjoying the excellent ‘Three-Body’ show’s inventive storyline and characters – the subtitled, 30-episode one produced by Tencent, which is currently available on YouTube and Amazon Prime (not the muddled 8-episode ‘3 Body Problem’ version by Netflix) – So much so, that I’m intending to buy the actual trilogy of books by the Chinese author, as I can’t wait for the next season to be made to find out what happens next. Some big ideas to come by all accounts, and I’m there for a bit more of that. .

The Netflix series is Superior

You’re welcome to your own preference of course.

But I far preferred the slow burn of the mystery and character build-ups in the Tencent version compared to the condensed and altered Netflix adaption. I just happen to find it a more satisfying and riveting version overall – and I will always prefer the way the ‘Judgment Day’ tanker got ‘nano-spliced’ in the Tencent version. Such an awesome sequence from start to finish!

Anyway, if the Netflix version actually gets a second season, I’ll certainly check it out too….but I am definitely looking forward to the next season of the Tencent show, which has been greenlit already.

The Tencent version is just boring to me and you can feel the Party’s hands all over it. Glad you liked it though.

we don’t need origin stories for everything! in media res is the way to go – almost always – TOS just dumps you right in the middle of events without even the clunky intros of TNG Encounter at Farpoint.

If this movie does well will IT get an origin story? We’re going to end up at the pool of goo at the dawn of humankind waiting for Picard and Q to show up…

im happy with any good trek news… even if they made a direct sequel to the final frontier… but how many origin stories do we need? i’d be happy if someone forged a path forward and created new things…

So this one is set in the five-minute period between Enterprise and Discovery? Or the as-yet unexplored time between April 5th 2063 and Enterprise where it’s “stone knives and bear skins” and no Trek tech to speak of? Enterprise was the prequel! How’d that one work out?

If the movie is made ,I will judge it then.

I wanted the 4th Kelvin, do they know who their audience is? Nobody i know, Star Trek fan or general audience bothered to go see Beyond. It was like Nemesis all over again. The trailer was terrible, the movie was kind of meh to be honest. So in the intervening years since the 2009 somewhere they lost the audience. Star Trek 2009 was an event movie, and 2015 Force Awakens was as well. Good job letting JJ go to Disney so Star Trek died as a film series.

I’m guessing the fourth movie is still too costly to risk making another one at least right now.

Someone threw out an an interesting theory on the last thread discussing this for the 47th time that they suggested Paramount have no plans to actually make another Kelvin movie but just as a rouse for the next company that buys the studio.

It really makes sense at this point, they can dangle the idea the movie is in ‘development’ and then when someone actually buys it they can just decide to make it or cancel it.

I mean it doesn’t sound crazy considering where we are. It’s a movie that is working with their fourth new writer but there is still no director or even a starting date of any kind within the the next two years.

Them you have this origin movie that was just announced a few months ago and that’s already scheduled to come out next year. My guess is it will probably cost half of what another Kelvin movie would be. But yeah who knows if that will get made either, but it has a better chance than a Kelvin movie.

I can’t name anyone who actually wants an origin movie. By the way, didn’t we get that one with First Contact already anyway?

It’s not up to you or anyone you pretend to know.

Another prequel? This is getting ridiculous now. Remember when Star Trek used to go forwards? Enough already!

Kurtzman said he didn’t have the authority to greenlight legacy. I wonder if that will be like Bennet’s academy years and never happen.

18 months is not enough time for a movie of this size unless this is ready to shoot in july.

The JJ-verse is an aberration no one is particularly a fan of. There is no one who wants to how that mess started. It’s done nothing but foul everything that went before, leaving ST-ENT, of all things, as the only remaining official classic canon. Bugger that.

I need Star Trek that is hopeful, aspirational, and inspirational. 15 yrs later neither Bad Robot or Secret Hideout has done anything close to that. Sec 31 and Starfleet Academy aren’t anything viewers want. I wish they’d just stop.

lol,if you say so…

EXCLUSIVE: Former Anonymous writer of Trek 4 shares his experience

Interviewer: Hello, we are here today to talk to a former writer for the very very very (like really very) long delayed fourth Kelvin movie. With the announcement of a prequel movie being released instead and yet ANOTHER new set of writers for the next Kelvin movie, we reached out to the only person who returned our calls; a former writer from the 2023 project.

To give us an honest insight into his experience he wishes to remain anonymous. For the sake of this interview he will be simply referred to as ‘GotohellParamount’. Thank you for meeting with me today.”

GotohellParamount’: “You’re welcome.”

Interviewer: “It sounds like your experience working on the last movie didn’t end too well. How is your relationship with the studio today?”

GotohellParamount: “Bleep them in their bleeping bleepholes. I hope they all die from bleeping Ebola.”

Interviewer: ‘That’s some pretty colorful metaphors. Can I ask what happened?”

GotohellParamount: “Their bleeps that’s what. We spent a year working on that movie. We lost the director to go work for Marvel because these bleepholes kept bleeping us around. I got so frustrated I finally texted the Head Studio Guy and said ‘will you people stop bleeping around!? Get off your bleeps and let’s make a movie already!!’

Three weeks went by and I finally got a response from them. It simply read ‘K’. Bleepholes!!! By the way you’re not going to ‘bleep’ any of these words out are you?”

Interviewer: “Um…of course not. Can you tell us a little about what the movie was about?”

GotohellParamount: “The gist was a huge black ship comes from the 25th century to the 23rd century wiping out solar systems in the Federation. It was a new villain who wanted…wait for it…vengeance. That bleep was going to be bleeping awesome!!”

Interviewer: “So who was going to be the villain?”

GotohellParamount: “That’s the greatest part of it all. He was going to call himself…you ready: Kaos. JJ Abrams himself came up with that name. But then the true reveal was that he was indeed Kirk’s great great great great great great great great great great grandson from the future and came to stop Kirk from destroying his planet so he had to destroy the Federation first. We were even thinking Chris Pine can play both parts but Paramount was worried he would demand twice the salary.”

Interviewer: “I interviewed Chris Pine a few months ago and he was hoping there would be more scenes of him riding another motorcycle. Did you include that in the script?”

GotohellParamount: “Do you remember the ending of Mission Impossible 2 with the motorcycle duel? Pretty much the same ending with our movie with Kirk versus his evil grandson; except it was going to take place either on Romulus or in San Francisco. We were still figuring it out. There was even talk of it happening on a lava planet… but that would’ve ballooned the budget.

Interviewer: “Sounds very exciting. How was he going to wipe out the solar systems?”

GotohellParamount: “The ship he was on had the power to destroy stars by breaking down their fusion reactions. The FX was going to be bleeping sick.”

Interviewer: “Wait so the ship was a…Star destroyer?”

GotohellParamount: “Yep but to get around copyright issues JJ wanted to call it a Destroyer of Stars. The man is a bleeping genius I tell you.”

Interviewer: “It’s definitely a name.”

GotohellParamount: “We were so proud of the script. We gave it to JJ to read it. After he put it down, he took off his glasses put his hand on my shoulders and said ‘this is the most original Star Trek story I’ve ever read and I’ve read three of them.’ You have no idea how much that meant coming from such a visionary like him.”

Interviewer: “I’m sure you were. Was there any casting possibilities before it was shut down?”

GotohellParamount: “Was there?? We reached out to some incredible actors! Robert Downey Jr, Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy and Matt Damon. We wanted him to actually play Kirk’s evil grandson.

Interviewer: “Wait… weren’t all of them in Oppenheimer?’

GotohellParamount: “(Hard shrug)! I don’t know I haven’t seen it yet. Unfortunately Matt Damon’s agent was the only one who bothered to call us back. Apparently he always wanted to work with John Cho. Go figure? Too late now unfortunately.”

Interviewer: “Well that’s all the time we have. Thank you for your incredible and honest insight. Any thoughts on the new movie announcement or the chances either one will actually get made?”

GotohellParamount: (Laughs for three minutes). That’s it.”

Interviewer: “Thank you.’

I laugh every.single.time! 😂

Well done per usual.

Nice. Don’t forget to throw the Beastie Boys in there someplace…wouldn’t be a Kelvin film without them…

This was indeed hilarious! 😂

I love how you parody JJ Abrams. He doesn’t seem to have an original bone in his body looking at both his Star Trek and Star Wars movies.

Another prequel? Why can’t they come up with new material?