Full Circle

The last show ended, as the first show started, with laughter.

As Antonia packed, I found myself watching the last episode of Star
Trek: Enterprise, as long ago I had also, along with her, watched the
first episode, back in Ann Arbor.

Back then, we laughed at the theme song, so ... weak.

Now, we were forced to laugh at the audacity, the sheer mediocrity,
nay, the utter disaster that was the last episode of a once promising
show.

My sadness was less with the end of the show than with the poorness
of the script. My conception of a series finale is an episode that
can bring some sense of closure, with an opening for future character
development. In short, leaving open the possibility of that
proverbial 21st chapter that science fiction shows are leaning
towards these days, the motion picture sequel.

Instead, the script writers settled for a play within a play device
that not only killed off principal characters, but also in a spirit
of true hollowness, merely referenced the possibility of great
moments. A show chastened by the reality of its cancellation,
ignominiously slinking off of televion without exit with dignity. The actors deserved better.

For the first time in memory, there will not be new episodes of Star
Trek coloring the horizon. Orson Scott Card puts it best. Sigh.