Memory Alpha
Memory Alpha
No edit summary
m (lf)
Tag: sourceedit
(45 intermediate revisions by 16 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
 
{{realworld}}
 
{{realworld}}
{{sidebar episode|
+
{{sidebar episode
<!-- See [[Memory Alpha:Episode data project]] -->
+
|<!-- See [[Memory Alpha:Episode data project]] -->
 
| aSelf = Terra Nova (episode)
 
| aSelf = Terra Nova (episode)
 
| sTitle = Terra Nova
 
| sTitle = Terra Nova
Line 33: Line 33:
 
{{Ep disambiguation|ENT|Terra Prime}}
 
{{Ep disambiguation|ENT|Terra Prime}}
   
''Enterprise'' investigates the mystery of a lost Earth colony whose inhabitants disappeared decades before. But that doesn't mean they left.
+
''Enterprise'' investigates the mystery of a lost Earth colony whose inhabitants disappeared decades before. But that doesn't mean they left.
   
 
== Summary ==
 
== Summary ==
[[File:Terra Nova colony, surface profile.jpg|thumb| A profile of the [[Terra Nova colony|colony]] on [[Terra Nova]]]]
+
[[File:Terra Nova colony, surface profile.jpg|thumb|A profile of the colony on Terra Nova]]
The crew of ''[[Enterprise (NX-01)|Enterprise]]'' is going to investigate what happened to the [[Terra Nova colony]]. This was the first extra-solar [[Earth]] [[colony]], and they lost all contact after a couple of unfriendly transmissions. When they arrive at the colony, they find no one, only a ghost town. The site also has a low level of [[radiation]] that would be harmful to [[Human]]s in the long term.
+
The crew of {{NX|Enterprise}} is heading towards [[Terra Nova]] to investigate what happened to the long lost [[colony]]. [[Helmsman]] [[Ensign]] [[Travis Mayweather]] is the most excited to visit, as he has been fascinated by the colony since his childhood. Terra Nova was the first extra-solar [[Earth]] colony, after [[New Berlin]] on [[Luna]], [[Utopia Planitia]] on [[Mars]] and a few asteroids were colonized by Humans just in the [[Sol system]]. The colony was referred to as "[[The Great Experiment]]" and [[Earth]] had lost all contact after a couple of unfriendly transmissions. When ''Enterprise'' arrives at the colony, the crew finds no one, only a ghost town, built from disassembled components from the {{SS|Conestoga}}, the vessel that transported the colonists for nine years to the colony. The site also has a low level of [[radiation]] that would be harmful to [[Human]]s in the long term.
   
An [[away team]] composed of [[Travis Mayweather]], [[T'Pol]], [[Jonathan Archer]] and [[Malcolm Reed]] is dispatched. They make an unfriendly [[First Contact]] with strange Humans, resulting in [[Lieutenant]] Reed being taken hostage. Archer and [[Phlox]] then return, unarmed, to try to build trust with the residents. The doctor offers to take [[Nadet]] to ''Enterprise'' to treat her [[lung cancer]].
+
An [[away team]] composed of Ensign Mayweather, [[Subcommander]] [[T'Pol]], [[Captain]] [[Jonathan Archer]], and [[Lieutenant]] [[Malcolm Reed]] is dispatched, going down to the [[planet]] in ''[[Shuttlepod 1]]''. After Reed notices some rustling in the woods, the crew converge at a [[cave]] opening. Archer and Reed head into the cave to investigate. The two make an unfriendly [[first contact]] with strange humanoid figures, resulting in Reed being shot with an [[MK-34]] [[machine gun]] and being taken hostage. Mayweather, T'Pol' and Archer scramble back to the shuttlepod, where T'Pol reveals that the inhabitants in the cave are actually Human beings.
   
  +
After returning to ''Enterprise'', Archer calls a meeting in the ship's [[situation room]], asking the [[chief medical officer]], [[Doctor|Dr.]] [[Phlox]], to accompany him back to the colony. Archer and Phlox then return alone, unarmed, to try to build trust with the residents. The doctor offers to take [[Nadet]], an elderly [[Novan]], to ''Enterprise'' to treat her [[lung cancer]].
It turns out that the [[Novan]]s were opposed to a second convoy of Humans going to live in the home they struggled to build. Following that, relations with Earth degraded and, when an [[asteroid]] hit the [[planet]], the colonists erroneously concluded that Earth was taking the colony back by force. The ensuing radiation from the impact left only the children surviving, which led to three generations of hatred for off-worlders and a migration to the "underside," a network of caverns where there was no radiation. With this insight, it becomes clear why the Novans are still suspicious, even when Phlox offers his help.
 
   
 
It turns out that the Novans were opposed to a second convoy of Humans going to live in the home they struggled to build. Following that, relations with Earth degraded and, when an [[asteroid]] hit the planet, the colonists erroneously concluded that Earth was taking the colony back by force. The ensuing radiation from the impact left only the children surviving, which led to three generations of hatred for off-worlders and a migration to the "underside," a network of caverns where there was no radiation. With this insight, it becomes clear why the Novans are still suspicious, even when Phlox offers his help.
Phlox later discovers that the water supplies of the underside have recently been [[poison]]ed by radiation and that could lead to the colonists' descendants' extinction. T'Pol suggests that the Novans be relocated in caverns in the southern hemisphere where there is no radiation. [[Jamin]]'s first impression is that Archer has simply found a plan to take their home from them, but he finally agrees to talk to his people about the idea.
 
   
 
Phlox later discovers that the water supplies of the underside have recently been [[poison]]ed by radiation and that could lead to the colonists' descendants' extinction. T'Pol suggests that the Novans be relocated in caverns in the southern hemisphere where there is no radiation. Archer tries to get through to Nadet by showing her a photo taken of a young girl named [[Bernadette Fuller]] and her mother [[Vera Fuller|Vera]] before the asteroid hit Terra Nova. Archer seems to be getting through to her with the photo. However, [[Jamin]], Nadet's belligerent son, believes Archer has simply found a plan to take their home from them, accuses him of lying and demands the captain return him and his mother back to their home. Later, in ''Shuttlepod 1'', Nadet and Jamin appear to finally agree to talk to their people about the idea.
When they return to the planet, the rescue of a wounded Novan helps build trust between Nadet's son and the captain. When they finally reach the other Novans, Nadet insists on telling them what awaits them and they finally accept the relocation plan, avoiding extinction.
 
{{pna-episode}}
 
   
  +
When they return to the planet, ''Shuttlepod 1'' is engulfed in a sinkhole and plunges eight meters below the surface. Jamin requests Archer's [[phase pistol]] and Archer reluctantly hands it over after he threatens Reed's life. Later, Archer, Jamin, and Nadet hear the screams of a Novan named [[Akary]]. Archer and Jamin scale a large sinkhole to get to Akary, during which Archer nearly falls, but is pulled back up by Jamin. The two finally make it to Akary, but he is trapped by a large [[tree]] trunk. After both being unable to lift it off Akary's broken leg, Archer demands his pistol back from Jamin and is able to slice the trunk in half with the beam. The rescue of Akary helps build trust between Nadet's son and the captain. When they finally reach the other Novans, Nadet insists on telling them what awaits them and they finally accept the relocation plan, avoiding extinction.
== Log Entries ==
 
*''Captain's starlog, supplemental. Sub-Commander T'Pol has discovered the remnants of an impact crater that could explain the radiation.''
 
   
  +
Afterwards, in the [[captain's mess]], Archer, Tucker, T'Pol, and Mayweather eat dinner together and discuss the recent events with the colony. Archer suggests that Mayweather write the official report for [[Starfleet]], as he was the most eager crewman on ''Enterprise'' to visit Terra Nova.
== Memorable Quotes ==
 
  +
 
== Log entries ==
 
*"''Captain's starlog, supplemental. Sub-Commander T'Pol has discovered the remnants of an impact crater that could explain the radiation.''"
  +
 
== Memorable quotes ==
 
"''I'm not familiar with the early years of Human space exploration.''"<br />
 
"''I'm not familiar with the early years of Human space exploration.''"<br />
 
"''Really? Every school kid on Earth had to learn about the famous Vulcan expeditions.''"<br />
 
"''Really? Every school kid on Earth had to learn about the famous Vulcan expeditions.''"<br />
 
"''Name one.''"<br />
 
"''Name one.''"<br />
 
''(after long pause) "History was never my best subject.''"
 
''(after long pause) "History was never my best subject.''"
: - '''Trip''' and '''T'Pol'''
+
: - '''Tucker''' and '''T'Pol'''
   
   
 
"''Asking favors of the Vulcans usually ends up carrying too high a price.''"
 
"''Asking favors of the Vulcans usually ends up carrying too high a price.''"
: - '''Trip''', to T'Pol
+
: - '''Tucker''', to T'Pol
   
   
 
"''My experience with Humans is limited, but I've come to learn that they are quite resourceful.''"
 
"''My experience with Humans is limited, but I've come to learn that they are quite resourceful.''"
 
: - '''T'Pol''', to Captain Archer
 
: - '''T'Pol''', to Captain Archer
  +
  +
  +
"''I promised my dad I'd see this place someday.''"
  +
: - '''Mayweather''' seeing Terra Nova on ''Enterprise''{{'}}s viewscreen
   
   
Line 70: Line 77:
 
"''Those weren't aliens. They're Human.''"
 
"''Those weren't aliens. They're Human.''"
 
: - '''Mayweather''' and '''T'Pol'''
 
: - '''Mayweather''' and '''T'Pol'''
  +
  +
  +
"''I'm leg broke!''"
  +
: - '''Akary'''
   
   
 
"''If these are the descendants of the original colonists, they've never seen other Humans before. Maybe, we look as strange to them as they did to us.''"
 
"''If these are the descendants of the original colonists, they've never seen other Humans before. Maybe, we look as strange to them as they did to us.''"
 
: - '''Archer''', after realizing who the Novans really were
 
: - '''Archer''', after realizing who the Novans really were
  +
  +
  +
"''How are you holding up?''"<br />
  +
"''Not badly, all things considered. But I really wouldn't mind getting this bullet out of my leg.''"
  +
: - '''Archer''' and '''Reed'''
  +
  +
  +
"''You Humans tried to gut our go-befores when they lived on the overside. Now you're trying to gut us!''"
  +
: - '''Nadet'''
   
   
Line 82: Line 102:
 
"''1937. Never found a trace of her. A lot of people spent years &ndash; decades &ndash; trying to figure out what happened to them. But neither of those mysteries holds a candle to Terra Nova. And ''we'' solved it!''"
 
"''1937. Never found a trace of her. A lot of people spent years &ndash; decades &ndash; trying to figure out what happened to them. But neither of those mysteries holds a candle to Terra Nova. And ''we'' solved it!''"
 
: - '''Mayweather''' and '''T'Pol'''
 
: - '''Mayweather''' and '''T'Pol'''
  +
  +
  +
"''Giant rocks falling from the sky, shale! It's all shale! Take us back!''"
  +
: - '''Jamin'''
   
   
 
"''He speaks in shale.''"
 
"''He speaks in shale.''"
: - '''Novan''', saying "''He lies''"
+
: - '''Athan''', saying "''He lies''"
   
  +
== Background Information ==
 
  +
"''What the hell do you think this is, a slave ship?''"
*[[Erick Avari]] previously played [[Vedek]] [[Yarka]] in {{DS9|Destiny}} and [[B'iJik]] in {{TNG|Unification I}}.
 
  +
: - '''Archer''' to T'Pol
* This episode is one of seven ''Star Trek'' episodes with Latin names, in this case meaning "New Earth." (It also happens to be the Latin name for Newfoundland.) The others are {{e|Sub Rosa}}, {{e|Dramatis Personae}}, {{e|Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges}}, {{e|Non Sequitur}}, {{e|Ex Post Facto}}, and {{e|Vox Sola}}.
 
  +
* Near the end of the episode, Mayweather mentions the mystery of [[Amelia Earhart]]. This mystery was solved 220 years later by the crew of {{USS|Voyager}} in {{VOY|The 37's}}.
 
 
== Background information ==
  +
=== Script, cast, and production ===
  +
[[File:Vince Deadrick, Jr. and Steve Blalock.jpg|thumb|Stunt Coordinator Vince Deadrick, Jr. with stuntman [[Steve Blalock]], during production on this episode]]
  +
* The final draft script of this episode was issued on {{d|6|August|2001}}.
 
* [[Erick Avari]] previously played [[Vedek]] [[Yarka]] in {{DS9|Destiny}} and [[B'iJik]] in {{TNG|Unification I}}.
  +
* Stunt Coordinator [[Vince Deadrick, Jr.]] was pleased with the amount of space that the stunts for this episode were given. He later reminisced, "''We had [[Scott Bakula|Scott [Bakula]]] dangling from a ledge, and we had him on a cable, which was great. We had some meat there.''" ({{STC|138}} p. 42)
  +
  +
=== Trivia and continuity ===
 
* This episode is one of eight ''[[Star Trek]]'' episodes with Latin names, in this case meaning "New Earth." (It also happens to be the Latin name for Newfoundland.) The others are {{e|Sub Rosa}}, {{e|Dramatis Personae}}, {{e|Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges}}, {{e|Ex Post Facto}}, {{e|Non Sequitur}}, {{e|Alter Ego}}, and {{e|Vox Sola}}.
  +
* In an apparent nod to ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'', when Archer and Reed enter the abandoned surface colony, Reed spins the wheel of an overturned bicycle &ndash; just like Dr. [[Leonard McCoy]] did in a desolate city in {{TOS|Miri}}. {{incite}}
 
* This is the first episode to name Phlox's species, [[Denobulan]].
 
* This is the first episode to name Phlox's species, [[Denobulan]].
 
* Near the end of this episode, Mayweather mentions the mystery of [[Amelia Earhart]]. This mystery was solved 220 years later, by the crew of {{USS|Voyager}}, in {{VOY|The 37's}}.
  +
  +
=== Reception ===
  +
* In a {{y|2011}} interview, [[Brannon Braga]] cited this as his least favorite episode from the entirety of ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]''. "''There happens to be an irony there. It was about finding a lost colony of humans, but it was boring and it was unfortunate that it was such an early episode,''" Braga critiqued. {{st.com|brannon-braga-from-tng-to-terra-nova-part-2||article}} He also described the installment as "terrible" and one of several first-season "mediocre scripts" which were an attempt to "go after something" and which were visually improved to a "great" extent by the cast and production crew. Braga concluded by calling it, "''Not a bad concept, but not [...] a good episode.''" ("To Boldly Go: Launching ''Enterprise'', Part III: First Flight", [[ENT Season 1 Blu-ray]] special features)
  +
* This episode achieved a Nielsen rating of 5.1 and was watched by a total average of 8.35 million viewers. [http://archive.is/nRhKY]
  +
* In {{STM}}'s "Ultimate Guide", this episode was rated 1 out of 5 arrowhead insignia. ({{STM|164}}, p. 78)
  +
* The unofficial [[Reference works|reference book]] ''[[Beyond the Final Frontier]]'' (p. 360) comments about this episode, "''The first major misfire of the show, 'Terra Nova' isn't really about anything, and the big revelations are never anything but predictable. Perhaps it's because the 'first Human colony' is presented so pessimistically, but the whole episode just feels wrong.''"
   
 
=== Video and DVD releases ===
 
=== Video and DVD releases ===
*UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, [[Paramount Home Entertainment]]): Volume 1.3, <!--catalogue number x, -->{{d|10|June|2002}}.
+
* UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, [[Paramount Home Entertainment]]): Volume 1.3, <!--catalog number x, -->{{d|10|June|2002}}
*As part of the UK VHS collection ''[[Enterprise 1.1-1.3 Collectors Edition]]'': {{d|19|August|2002}}
+
* As part of the UK VHS collection ''[[Enterprise 1.1-1.3 Collectors Edition]]'': {{d|19|August|2002}}
*As part of the [[ENT Season 1 DVD]] collection.
+
* As part of the [[ENT Season 1 DVD]] collection
  +
* As part of the [[ENT Season 1 Blu-ray]] collection
   
 
== Links and references ==
 
== Links and references ==
Line 102: Line 144:
 
* [[Scott Bakula]] as [[Captain]] [[Jonathan Archer]]
 
* [[Scott Bakula]] as [[Captain]] [[Jonathan Archer]]
   
=== Also Starring ===
+
=== Also starring ===
 
* [[John Billingsley]] as [[Doctor]] [[Phlox]]
 
* [[John Billingsley]] as [[Doctor]] [[Phlox]]
 
* [[Jolene Blalock]] as [[Subcommander]] [[T'Pol]]
 
* [[Jolene Blalock]] as [[Subcommander]] [[T'Pol]]
Line 110: Line 152:
 
* [[Connor Trinneer]] as [[Commander]] [[Charles Tucker III|Charles "Trip" Tucker III]]
 
* [[Connor Trinneer]] as [[Commander]] [[Charles Tucker III|Charles "Trip" Tucker III]]
   
=== Guest Stars ===
+
=== Guest stars ===
 
* [[Erick Avari]] as [[Jamin]]
 
* [[Erick Avari]] as [[Jamin]]
 
* [[Mary Carver]] as [[Nadet|Nadet/Bernadette Fuller]]
 
* [[Mary Carver]] as [[Nadet|Nadet/Bernadette Fuller]]
   
=== Co-Stars ===
+
=== Co-stars ===
 
* [[Brian Jacobs]] as [[Athan]]
 
* [[Brian Jacobs]] as [[Athan]]
 
* [[Greville Henwood]] as [[Akary]]
 
* [[Greville Henwood]] as [[Akary]]
   
=== Uncredited Co-Stars ===
+
=== Uncredited co-stars ===
 
* [[Steve Blalock]] as a [[Unnamed Novans#Attacker|Novan]]
 
* [[Steve Blalock]] as a [[Unnamed Novans#Attacker|Novan]]
* [[Solomon Burke, Jr.]] as [[Billy (Starfleet)|Billy]]
+
* [[Solomon Burke, Jr.]] as {{dis|Billy|Starfleet}}
* [[Cecilia Conn]] as a [[Unnamed Enterprise (NX-01) personnel#Female command division crewman (mess hall)|command division crewman]]
+
* [[Cecilia Conn]] as a [[EnterpriseNX command crewman 004|command division crewman]]
 
* [[Clay Drayton]] as a [[Unnamed Novans#Older man|Novan]]
 
* [[Clay Drayton]] as a [[Unnamed Novans#Older man|Novan]]
 
* [[Trinity Drayton]] as a [[Unnamed Novans#Kids|Novan girl]]
 
* [[Trinity Drayton]] as a [[Unnamed Novans#Kids|Novan girl]]
Line 127: Line 169:
 
* [[Chad Evans]] as a [[Unnamed Novans#Kids|Novan teen]]
 
* [[Chad Evans]] as a [[Unnamed Novans#Kids|Novan teen]]
 
* [[Tracy Foley]] as a [[Unnamed Novans#Woman|Novan woman]]
 
* [[Tracy Foley]] as a [[Unnamed Novans#Woman|Novan woman]]
* [[Stacy Fouche]] as an [[Unnamed Enterprise (NX-01) personnel#Female engineering/ bridge crewmember|operations division crewman]]
+
* [[Stacy Fouche]] as an [[EnterpriseNX operations crewman 012|operations division crewman]]
* [[Bryan Heiberg]] as an [[Unnamed Enterprise (NX-01) personnel#Engineer (2151-2152)|operations division crewman]]
+
* [[Bryan Heiberg]] as an [[EnterpriseNX operations engineer 003|operations division crewman]]
 
* [[Dieter Hornemann]] as a [[Unnamed Novans#Guards|Novan guard]]
 
* [[Dieter Hornemann]] as a [[Unnamed Novans#Guards|Novan guard]]
 
* [[Redondo Philip]] as a [[Unnamed Novans#Guards|Novan guard]]
 
* [[Redondo Philip]] as a [[Unnamed Novans#Guards|Novan guard]]
Line 145: Line 187:
   
 
=== References ===
 
=== References ===
[[Asteroid]]; [[beresium]]; [[biosign]]; [[cancer]]; [[SS Conestoga|''Conestoga'', SS]]; {{ShipType|Conestoga}}; [[Joseph F. Crater|Judge Crater]]; [[digger]]; [[Amelia Earhart|Earhart, Amelia]]; [[geology]]; "[[The Great Experiment|Great Experiment, The]]"; [[Mark Logan|Logan, Mark]]; [[Luna]]; [[Mars]]; [[millirad]]; [[Mitchell (Captain)|Mitchell, Captain]]; [[MK-33]]; [[MK-34]]; [[New Berlin]]; [[Novan]]s; [[phase pistol]]; [[radiation]]; [[shale]]; [[stun grenade]]; [[Tracey]]; [[Terra Nova]]; [[Terra Nova colony]]; [[Charles Tucker I|Tucker, Charles I]];
+
[[anorthosite]]; [[asteroid]]; [[beresium]]; [[bio-sign]]; [[cancer]]; [[SS Conestoga|''Conestoga'', SS]]; {{type|Conestoga}}; [[crater]]; [[Joseph F. Crater|Judge Crater]]; [[cytolytic injection]]; [[Denobulan]]; [[Digger]]; [[Amelia Earhart|Earhart, Amelia]]; [[Earth]]; [[ejecta]]; [[erosion]]; [[feldspar]]; [[geology]]; [[Geologic depression]]; "[[The Great Experiment|Great Experiment, The]]"; [[Mark Logan|Logan, Mark]]; [[Luna]]; [[lymphatic system]]; [[Mars]]; [[millirad]]; {{dis|Mitchell|Captain}}; [[MK-33]]; [[MK-34]]; [[New Berlin]]; [[Novan]]s; [[phase pistol]]; [[radiation]]; [[radiation poisoning]]; [[regolith]]; [[decomposition|rot]]; [[shale]]; [[Starfleet database]]; [[stun grenade]]; [[Tracey]]; [[Terra Nova]]; [[Terra Nova colony]]; [[Charles Tucker I|Tucker, Charles I]]; [[tumor]]; [[Utopia Planitia]]; [[Vulcan]]s
[[Utopia Planitia]]; [[Vulcan]]s
 
   
 
{{ENT nav|season=1|last={{e|Unexpected}}|next={{e|The Andorian Incident}}}}
 
{{ENT nav|season=1|last={{e|Unexpected}}|next={{e|The Andorian Incident}}}}
   
 
[[sv:Terra Nova]]
 
[[sv:Terra Nova]]
 
 
[[cs:Terra Nova (epizoda)]]
 
[[cs:Terra Nova (epizoda)]]
 
[[de:Terra Nova (Episode)]]
 
[[de:Terra Nova (Episode)]]

Revision as of 17:51, 6 January 2016

Template:Realworld

For the ENT episode with a similar title, please see "Terra Prime".

Enterprise investigates the mystery of a lost Earth colony whose inhabitants disappeared decades before. But that doesn't mean they left.

Summary

Terra Nova colony, surface profile

A profile of the colony on Terra Nova

The crew of Enterprise is heading towards Terra Nova to investigate what happened to the long lost colony. Helmsman Ensign Travis Mayweather is the most excited to visit, as he has been fascinated by the colony since his childhood. Terra Nova was the first extra-solar Earth colony, after New Berlin on Luna, Utopia Planitia on Mars and a few asteroids were colonized by Humans just in the Sol system. The colony was referred to as "The Great Experiment" and Earth had lost all contact after a couple of unfriendly transmissions. When Enterprise arrives at the colony, the crew finds no one, only a ghost town, built from disassembled components from the SS Conestoga, the vessel that transported the colonists for nine years to the colony. The site also has a low level of radiation that would be harmful to Humans in the long term.

An away team composed of Ensign Mayweather, Subcommander T'Pol, Captain Jonathan Archer, and Lieutenant Malcolm Reed is dispatched, going down to the planet in Shuttlepod 1. After Reed notices some rustling in the woods, the crew converge at a cave opening. Archer and Reed head into the cave to investigate. The two make an unfriendly first contact with strange humanoid figures, resulting in Reed being shot with an MK-34 machine gun and being taken hostage. Mayweather, T'Pol' and Archer scramble back to the shuttlepod, where T'Pol reveals that the inhabitants in the cave are actually Human beings.

After returning to Enterprise, Archer calls a meeting in the ship's situation room, asking the chief medical officer, Dr. Phlox, to accompany him back to the colony. Archer and Phlox then return alone, unarmed, to try to build trust with the residents. The doctor offers to take Nadet, an elderly Novan, to Enterprise to treat her lung cancer.

It turns out that the Novans were opposed to a second convoy of Humans going to live in the home they struggled to build. Following that, relations with Earth degraded and, when an asteroid hit the planet, the colonists erroneously concluded that Earth was taking the colony back by force. The ensuing radiation from the impact left only the children surviving, which led to three generations of hatred for off-worlders and a migration to the "underside," a network of caverns where there was no radiation. With this insight, it becomes clear why the Novans are still suspicious, even when Phlox offers his help.

Phlox later discovers that the water supplies of the underside have recently been poisoned by radiation and that could lead to the colonists' descendants' extinction. T'Pol suggests that the Novans be relocated in caverns in the southern hemisphere where there is no radiation. Archer tries to get through to Nadet by showing her a photo taken of a young girl named Bernadette Fuller and her mother Vera before the asteroid hit Terra Nova. Archer seems to be getting through to her with the photo. However, Jamin, Nadet's belligerent son, believes Archer has simply found a plan to take their home from them, accuses him of lying and demands the captain return him and his mother back to their home. Later, in Shuttlepod 1, Nadet and Jamin appear to finally agree to talk to their people about the idea.

When they return to the planet, Shuttlepod 1 is engulfed in a sinkhole and plunges eight meters below the surface. Jamin requests Archer's phase pistol and Archer reluctantly hands it over after he threatens Reed's life. Later, Archer, Jamin, and Nadet hear the screams of a Novan named Akary. Archer and Jamin scale a large sinkhole to get to Akary, during which Archer nearly falls, but is pulled back up by Jamin. The two finally make it to Akary, but he is trapped by a large tree trunk. After both being unable to lift it off Akary's broken leg, Archer demands his pistol back from Jamin and is able to slice the trunk in half with the beam. The rescue of Akary helps build trust between Nadet's son and the captain. When they finally reach the other Novans, Nadet insists on telling them what awaits them and they finally accept the relocation plan, avoiding extinction.

Afterwards, in the captain's mess, Archer, Tucker, T'Pol, and Mayweather eat dinner together and discuss the recent events with the colony. Archer suggests that Mayweather write the official report for Starfleet, as he was the most eager crewman on Enterprise to visit Terra Nova.

Log entries

  • "Captain's starlog, supplemental. Sub-Commander T'Pol has discovered the remnants of an impact crater that could explain the radiation."

Memorable quotes

"I'm not familiar with the early years of Human space exploration."
"Really? Every school kid on Earth had to learn about the famous Vulcan expeditions."
"Name one."
(after long pause) "History was never my best subject."

- Tucker and T'Pol


"Asking favors of the Vulcans usually ends up carrying too high a price."

- Tucker, to T'Pol


"My experience with Humans is limited, but I've come to learn that they are quite resourceful."

- T'Pol, to Captain Archer


"I promised my dad I'd see this place someday."

- Mayweather seeing Terra Nova on Enterprise's viewscreen


"If those aliens killed the colonists they could kill Malcolm, too."
"Those weren't aliens. They're Human."

- Mayweather and T'Pol


"I'm leg broke!"

- Akary


"If these are the descendants of the original colonists, they've never seen other Humans before. Maybe, we look as strange to them as they did to us."

- Archer, after realizing who the Novans really were


"How are you holding up?"
"Not badly, all things considered. But I really wouldn't mind getting this bullet out of my leg."

- Archer and Reed


"You Humans tried to gut our go-befores when they lived on the overside. Now you're trying to gut us!"

- Nadet


"Ever heard of Judge Crater?"
"Crater?"
"Disappeared in the early 20th century. How about Amelia Earhart?"
"No."
"1937. Never found a trace of her. A lot of people spent years – decades – trying to figure out what happened to them. But neither of those mysteries holds a candle to Terra Nova. And we solved it!"

- Mayweather and T'Pol


"Giant rocks falling from the sky, shale! It's all shale! Take us back!"

- Jamin


"He speaks in shale."

- Athan, saying "He lies"


"What the hell do you think this is, a slave ship?"

- Archer to T'Pol

Background information

Script, cast, and production

Vince Deadrick, Jr

Stunt Coordinator Vince Deadrick, Jr. with stuntman Steve Blalock, during production on this episode

Trivia and continuity

Reception

  • In a 2011 interview, Brannon Braga cited this as his least favorite episode from the entirety of Star Trek: Enterprise. "There happens to be an irony there. It was about finding a lost colony of humans, but it was boring and it was unfortunate that it was such an early episode," Braga critiqued. Terra Nova (episode) at StarTrek.com He also described the installment as "terrible" and one of several first-season "mediocre scripts" which were an attempt to "go after something" and which were visually improved to a "great" extent by the cast and production crew. Braga concluded by calling it, "Not a bad concept, but not [...] a good episode." ("To Boldly Go: Launching Enterprise, Part III: First Flight", ENT Season 1 Blu-ray special features)
  • This episode achieved a Nielsen rating of 5.1 and was watched by a total average of 8.35 million viewers. [1]
  • In Star Trek Magazine's "Ultimate Guide", this episode was rated 1 out of 5 arrowhead insignia. (Star Trek Magazine issue 164, p. 78)
  • The unofficial reference book Beyond the Final Frontier (p. 360) comments about this episode, "The first major misfire of the show, 'Terra Nova' isn't really about anything, and the big revelations are never anything but predictable. Perhaps it's because the 'first Human colony' is presented so pessimistically, but the whole episode just feels wrong."

Video and DVD releases

Links and references

Starring

Also starring

Guest stars

Co-stars

Uncredited co-stars

Stunt doubles

References

anorthosite; asteroid; beresium; bio-sign; cancer; Conestoga, SS; Conestoga-type; crater; Judge Crater; cytolytic injection; Denobulan; Digger; Earhart, Amelia; Earth; ejecta; erosion; feldspar; geology; Geologic depression; "Great Experiment, The"; Logan, Mark; Luna; lymphatic system; Mars; millirad; Mitchell; MK-33; MK-34; New Berlin; Novans; phase pistol; radiation; radiation poisoning; regolith; rot; shale; Starfleet database; stun grenade; Tracey; Terra Nova; Terra Nova colony; Tucker, Charles I; tumor; Utopia Planitia; Vulcans

Previous episode:
"Unexpected"
Star Trek: Enterprise
Season 1
Next episode:
"The Andorian Incident"