Imagine: ENT entering its final season

[evcake]

Feh! Typical! The women want T'Baby stories and the men want a lot of war stories... How gender stereotypical!

Well, I wasn't going to say anything... ...but fewer ships and more 'ship, say I.

God I hope not! The TCW should be over and done with.

Seems tome the very nature of the TCW indicates it wouldn't ever be over. Time, as well as space, is vast.

Oh yes, more Soval! I see him as something of a substitute father for T'Pol. He might even start to appreciate Trip and the TnT relationship!

He could be part of the Vulcan's unofficial alliance with Earth against the Romulans. That would explain Enterprise ferrying him around instead of a Vucan ship.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

God I hope not! The TCW should be over and done with.

Seems tome the very nature of the TCW indicates it wouldn't ever be over. Time, as well as space, is vast.

Maybe so, but let that be told someplace else rather than on ENT, who has had too much of it already!

The only thing Daniels could be good for is undoing *the_abomination*, but since this very thread pre-supposes more ENT seasons and no *the_abomination*, the question is moot!

...but if you like TCW...?

[justTripn]

My defense for the contrived baby story--how else are we going to have a baby story? T'nT have to stay with the rest of the crew for the remainder of the show and space is no place for a baby. Grandma won't mind raising a grandchild after losing one child and almost losing a second (Trip during the Xindi war). Like little Alexander, Worf sent him home.

I say it creates great dramatic potential to link them by a living baby.

Yes, Archer could marry them? Bummer! Hmm . . . so why don't they marry? They never married in ShouldKnowBetter's stories--Rainbow's Foot and sequel. They are being unconventional and contrary. They have had enouph of what other people have to say about it. But mabye Archer secretly marries them in a small private ceremony, with just a few friends present---in the last episode.

[Elessar]

I think they should get married but wait to have a baby beacuse of the war... because they will both want to be with it. For one, that would require that the war is the main direction of seasons 5, 6, and 7 like it was in DS9. The ladies (or whoever, not to be stereotypical) may not want to see much war, but if there is a lot of progress in the war, enough such that the end of S7 and even a miniseries, can be about the war ending and the all of the winding down, reconstruction and federation-building that comes after it, then Trip and T'Pol can get married early on, support the research for a human-vulcan clone during the war (if anyone's doing it in their free time, if Phlox would have any free time) and then actually HAVE the baby so that they can raise it as a family, after the war.

I think that's the best way to have Trip and T'Pol have a baby and still be able to raise it. I second JT's point that you can have an onscreen relationship that isn't lovey dovey, I mean for pete's sake I don't know why we're (as a community) being forced to act defensive about it ALL! We've got Worf and Jadzia, Miles and Keiko in DS9, Paris and Torres, Miles and Keiko in TNG, all these examples of just this very thing. I don't know why they shied away from it in Enterprise.

[evcake]

To paraphrase my sister before the conception of my nephew, they could have a lot of fun trying. No vat, please.

Oh dear.Champagne goes right to my head.

[Elessar]

To paraphrase my sister before the conception of my nephew, they could have a lot of fun trying. No vat, please.

Oh dear.Champagne goes right to my head.

LOL. The vat wouldn't be the end of the world, to me anyway. People have grown to accept babies fertilized outside of the womb and grown in a surrogate mother, and Trip said something in "Unexpected" about asking Phlox if he could take the embryo out and raise it in a surrogate chamber, so obviously it's in their consciousness that it can be done. Maybe they're ok with it in that era.

[justTripn]

OK, OK, they wait . . . till they can raise the baby themselves. Yes, that would be responsible. SIGH!

But I kind of like the vat. I don't know why . . .

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Well, I do want them to have a T'Baby.... or two... or three...

But not on the show while it deals with the war and TnT being on board the Enterprise. There is no way that Starfleet in this era would allow them to have a baby while they both serve on a ship.

Still, it would be nice to see them having a baby and being the precursors to Sarek/Amanda/Spock. Since I like the idea of doing a mini-series about the foundation of the Federation right after the show ends (with the end of the war in 2160), I suggest they can have this baby in the mini. Make it a two-part feature length mini like what started off nBSG.

The first part could be about the aftermath of the war, the negotiations etc. and culminating in the founding ceremony in 2161. During this time Phlox - who'll become the UFP Surgeon General - can perfect his hybridization techniques and announce to TnT during the end of part one that they can now successfully conceive.

The second part can show how the early Federation tries to work. And we can also see TnT raising a T'Baby when they both serve on Earth.

ETA: I see now that was akin to what Elessar posted above.

[justTripn]

OK, one last try. In the fifth season of Enterprise, they don't MEAN to have a baby, but the research kind of gets out of hand (despite warnings from friends and collegues that this is a bad idea--the bilateral cloning--and they've argued, "No big deal, it's just research.")

Hey, people acting responsibly isn't the BEST recipe for drama! : D

How about a little accidental baby, that they have to send home to Grandma? I like it! Now they have to consult with each other with regard to everything concerning the child's upbringing. But there is no inconveint kid on screen to drag them down, in their adventures.

[Linda]

I think Trip's mom might need another girl to raise. It might be good therapy and in a sense, a triumph over adversity. They could make her middle name be Elizabeth and grandma could use any of the numerous Elizabeth nick names. She probably could not use 'Lizzie' for emotional reasons. How about 'Beth' or 'Bether'? I don't think a child is out of order here, even during war time. Hey, my husband was born during WWII. I am probably adding fuel to the gender gap here, but that is just the way it is guys.

[evcake]

What about parental bonding?

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Well, from my understanding of the characters, where TnT to have a baby (accidental of not) while serving on board the Enterprise, they'd most likely ask for a transfer to Earth (or another ground-based place) so they could raise the kid. If they wouldn't be allowed then I believe they'd resign. Their knowledge would come in handy for the private sector, or academic institutions.

But then it wouldn't be Star Trek: Enterprise anymore.

An alternative would be for them to have an accidental baby during the war and the war circumstances force them to leave their baby to someone else, like Trip's mom. I don't think they'd resign during wartime. Duty, loyalty and all that...

Still, I have a hard time imagining an accidental T'Baby. It's not like they're of the same species and T'Pol forgot to take the pill. To conceive a T'Baby it would take some genetic engineering. I don't know how it could "get out of hand" and accidentally produce a viable T'Baby without that being the intension.

I don't see the point of having a T'Baby that early either, if all they'll do - or be forced to do - is to give it up and we don't see much of it anyway. That's why i like the post-founding T'Baby better.

[evcake]

Still, I have a hard time imagining an accidental T'Baby. It's not like they're of the same species and T'Pol forgot to take the pill. To conceive a T'Baby it would take some genetic engineering. I don't know how it could "get out of hand" and accidentally produce a viable T'Baby without that being the intension.

I have one word for you: Conceptus.

[evcake]

I think Trip's mom might need another girl to raise. It might be good therapy and in a sense, a triumph over adversity. They could make her middle name be Elizabeth and grandma could use any of the numerous Elizabeth nick names. She probably could not use 'Lizzie' for emotional reasons. How about 'Beth' or 'Bether'? I don't think a child is out of order here, even during war time. Hey, my husband was born during WWII. I am probably adding fuel to the gender gap here, but that is just the way it is guys.

Do you think T'pol would be OK with T'Baby being raised all Earthling during such formative years? Might Soval and the Vulcan Consulate have a role? Remember ShouldKnowBetter's little Vulcan girl being raised by the human couple - T'Nel, I think her name was? Soval was keeping an eye on her upbringing.

[Rigil Kent]

Delurking for a moment to add my thoughts since KTR pestered me about it...

Forgive my bluntness here, but bringing in a baby like this is the domain of fanfic, not a Trek show. By having them suddenly have a kid, the show will have officially become a soap opera and will lose a lot of viewers.

Some of the elements I've seen here I like: justTrip'n's idea about using the marriage between Human and Vulcan being an allegory for gay marriage would be really neat if the modern Trek franchise didn't have a reputation for always doing such things wrong (case in point: Fusion. Moral of the story? Don't press charges against the rapist Or that inane Dear Doctor episode). Instead of it being an allegory, what we'd get is Hollywood lecturing, which is almost always off-putting to a large segment of the population. I rather like the idea of them never marrying (officially), but basically having a common law marriage instead. At the same time, I would also like to see the very small marriage ceremony with only the Main Characters present and conducted by Archer, so why not do both? See below.

And in regards to the more standalone episodes, I categorically disagree. They did that with season 1 and 2, and pretty much everyone agrees that those were, hands down, the weakest seasons. I'm fine with a couple of standalones throughout each season (providing they don't feel like ridiculously contrived filler episodes like too many of s3's fillers), but for the most part, I think they should stick to the arc. The problem that I've seen is that never utilized the mini-arcs the way they could have. Ep1 of an arc could have the ship showing up at a planet and opening relations, while ep2 could be an standalone episode ON that planet (like Trip gets in danger, or Travis meets a girl) with only the location of the planet really linking it to the previous episode, and then ep3 could resolve what began in ep1.

Anyway, my thoughts:

Season 5: Begin setting up the Romulan War. Continue the mini-arcs as the crew of ENT continue Federation building. CHANGE THE UNIFORMS! Seriously, find a way to make them bridge uniforms from the bugly jumpsuits to the unis in "The Cage" so T'Pol can start wearing one and look professional instead of "Catsuit!Girl." The TnT relationship moves to the background (they're still together, and learning what it means to be a bonded pair, but aren't the focus.) Mayweather, Reed and Sato are promoted (long, long overdue.) Archer continues his evolution into Leader; with T'Pol and Trip so often together off duty, he is also becoming more distant from the rest of the crew (burden of command and all that.) T'Pol Subplot through season: continuing to study Kir'Shara, learning to meld (from Soval, I suppose). Tucker Subplot through season: SFC hinting at possible promotion, but some of Trip's previous actions (Cogenitor, decision to disobey SFC orders in Vulcan arc) are being readdressed. Phlox is beginning to covertly work on cross-mating research for TnT (although he doesn't tell them this.) Construction of more Starfleet ships ramped up due to concern about the Romulan threat. Return to Vulcan to assist the rebuilding of that society. Bring in a couple new members of the would-be Coalition (that which will become the Federation) - a combined effort masterminded by Archer leads to a Coalition space station (Salem Station) being constructred. NO KLINGONS. Midway through season, Romulans begin attacking Boomer transports. End season with ECS Horizon (Travis' family) arriving at Salem Station just as it is attacked by Romulans.

Season 6: Begin season several weeks after the last season finale. The war has begun, although Earth is still unprepared. Due to the distances involved, engagements are sporadic and few. HIRE A MILITARY CONSULTANT. I'm serious - simply based on s3, it's obvious that this development team doesn't know how to write a war, so they need someone to tell them how things are really done. Abandon 1 season = 1 year, as this season covers two years or something. ENT continues to act as the spearhead of diplomacy, and races from episode to episode, trying to rally Earth's allies. As someone pointed out, Bakula wanted fewer episodes due to family, so we can promote him to the rank of Commodore or something. He is still listed as commanding officer, but is often only in a single scene of an episode (i.e. ep1 of arc has them arrive at a planet where he begins diplomatic stuff; ep2 of that arc has him contact ENT via comm with instructions while he stays planetside until act 5 of ep3.) Travis is disconsolate 'cause his family was killed by Romulans, but he doesn't push everyone away like Trip did in s3. Slowly ratchet up the tension with the war as the Romulans nuke a couple of Earth colonies. Midway through the season, ENT along with COL and a couple of the half-saucers gets into a major space battle with the Romulans (to appease people like me who want space battles); it is a significant defeat for the humans, and ENT limps away. The last half of season 6 should be tense and grim like the last half of season 3 (but without the crappy episodes like Harbinger or Doctor's Orders.) At least one episode should focus on someone other than the Big Three - I like focusing on Phlox as he is temporarily assigned to a medical ship to help with casualties; this ep can be used to look at Denobulan culture or maybe have that doctor from Stigma come back. Season should end with the ENT Team being broken up and reassigned (Archer to commodore/admiral job, T'Pol given ENT but no promotion, Tucker given another NX (heh. Endeavour, perhaps?) but no promotion, Reed becomes Trip's XO, Sato to R&D, Mayweather remains on ENT).

Season 7: Begin season in media res with a massive space battle over a year later. COL destroyed along with a couple of other ships. Andorians come into war (due to Archer's interactions with Shran). Vulcans are still having internal problems, so they can't do more than some technical support (which turns out to be more helpful than Andorian military support.) Having learned some lessons during the war, Starfleet vessels currently travel in pairs or groups for safety (so we can have TnT interact). Mid-season finale should be the final battle of the E/R War with there being lots of casualties, but the Earth forces (augmented by Coalition forces) defeat the Romulans. Last half of the season should revolve around Archer building the Federation and coming into his own. Both TnT are promoted to the rank of captain, and we learn that they are considering resigning from SF to start a family. All other characters are promoted too (Reed to CDR, Mayweather & Sato to LCDR). As the show is ENT, that means Archer uses his old ship to fly around. One thing I'd really want them to address is PTSS. Given the amount of combat these people have seen (for a "science ship", that is), it seems inevitable that someone is going to suffer from combat stress (I'd actually pick Archer or Reed myself, just to be different. Trip has T'Pol to help him through it, T'Pol is Vulcan, etc.) The second to last episode of the series would revolve around signing the Federation Charter, and the series finale would be a low-key affair with the Team together one last time before they ship out to other frontiers. During this final episode, I'd have TnT reveal that they are resigning from Starfleet and moving to Vulcan to start a family; as there are still problems with both Earth and Vulcan laws regarding inter-racial (literally) marriages, they can't really have an official ceremony. Despite that, Trip talks ADM Archer into doing the marriage ceremony aboard ENT with just the Team present ('cause it'd mean a lot to him). And then, just to bookend the series with the way that Broken Bow started, I'd have an older Jonathan Archer interacting with a young Robert April (who is playing with the same starship model that little Jonny Archer was playing with at the beginning of BB.) Have April make some sort of comment like he's going to be a ship's captain someday, and Archer departs to meet up with Trip and T'Pol again.

FADE TO BLACK.

Just my thoughts.