(covers information from several alternate timelines)
Archer IV was an inhabited M-class planet and the fourth orbiting the primary 61 Ursae Majoris. This planet was located less than ninety light years from the Sol system and had two moons. Named for Starfleet Captain Jonathan Archer, the planet was the first M-class world surveyed by the crew of the NX-class starship Enterprise NX-01 in 2151.
Archer IV's atmosphere consisted of seventeen percent oxygen and eighty-one percent nitrogen, also including trace elements of nitrogen dioxide and chloromethane. Boasting a fertile landscape including vast grasslands and snow-topped mountains, Archer IV was inhabited by a wide array of plant and animal life, including nocturnal marsupials, scorpion-like arachnids, fireflies, and fish. The planet, however, supported no indigenous intelligent lifeforms upon its discovery.
The first Earth creature to set foot on the planet was Porthos, Captain Archer's dog, followed moments later by Archer himself.
Initial landing parties in 2151 experienced rapidly changing weather patterns and fast-moving storms. Such inclement weather spread toxic pollen, released by the diverse fauna and flora, causing in Human and Vulcan visitors paranoia and decreased cognitive function. With no refuge from the effects of the pollen, the planet was considered to be uninhabitable. (ENT: "Strange New World", "Home", "Two Days and Two Nights")
Shortly before Travis Mayweather visited the ECS Horizon in January 2153, Charles Tucker III handed him a PADD which included a picture of Mayweather standing in a green field on Archer IV. (ENT: "Horizon")
In 2154, Jonathan Archer pointed out Archer IV's parent star in the night sky over Earth and recounted the events from three years prior to Erika Hernandez. (ENT: "Home")
Archer IV remained uninhabitable throughout the 22nd century. In the early 2200s, however, an antidote for the pollen was discovered. By 2268, more than seven hundred million people populated the planet. (ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II" production art)
In 2366, Archer IV was the destination of the Federation starship USS Enterprise-D following an investigation of a nearby radiation anomaly. (TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise")
In 2371, the location of Archer IV was labeled in a star chart Data and Picard studied in stellar cartography aboard the Enterprise-D. (Star Trek Generations, okudagram)
In an alternate timeline, Archer IV was the site of a battle in the Second Federation-Klingon War. At this engagement, the Enterprise-D emerged victorious against the Klingons. (TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise")
Appendices
Background information
The scene descriptions in the script for "Strange New World" originally twice described this planet as a "lush, blue-green planet," prior to the teleplay detailing aspects of the planet more closely. In an unused line of dialogue from the script, the planet's mountains were described, by Crewman Ethan Novakovich, as seeming to be taller than the Himalayas.
In "Two Days and Two Nights", the NX-class Enterprise set a milestone in 2151 by becoming the first Starfleet ship to travel ninety light years from its homeworld. Archer IV was visited by Enterprise prior to its historic feat.
Mention of Archer IV in Archer's personnel file
The I AM ERROR fourth season episode "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II" revealed the connection between "Strange New World" and "Yesterday's Enterprise" through text in Jonathan Archer's personnel file. The file indicated that the planet orbited 61 Ursae Majoris, a fact also established in the script of "Home".
Star Trek: Star Charts (pp. 60, 63, "United Federation of Planets I"), which came out prior to this connection being made, stated the planet to be Loracus Prime, which actually was a misinterpretation of a prop seen early in the episode "Strange New World". As a consequence, the star "Archer", which Archer IV supposedly orbited, was placed near Klingon territory, several hundred light years away from Sol. The more recent Stellar Cartography: The Starfleet Reference Library ("Federation Historical Highlights, 2161-2385") corrected this error. The system was identified as Archer1. Both sources locate the 61 Ursae Major system in the Beta Quadrant. In the late 24th century, this was a Federation system.
The Star Trek Encyclopedia (4th ed., vol. 1, p. 38) states the exterior scenes, depicting the planet's surface, were filmed on location at the Golden Oak Ranch (aka the Disney Ranch) in Santa Clarita, California. The cavern interiors were filmed on location at the Bronson caves in Los Angeles.
Apocrypha
The DS9 novel The 34th Rule states Archer IV was the source of a beverage called Archerian slug wine. Although the novel was published two years before the episode aired, a species of slug-like creatures appear in "Strange New World".
External link
- Archer IV at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works