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First I have to say after completely loving the series, I mean really loving it, the final episode was a huge letdown. I was going to post a question here about why they would do it on a "Next Generation" holodeck and have such a huge distraction with Troi and Riker. It really cheapened the end and kind of made it seem like the show didn't stand on its own.

At first I thought it was just because they wanted to time warp five years into the future, so a holodeck was the logical choice. I did some research and found out that they actually were trying to tie all the different shows in together as a "valentine.". All of the writers were apologetic and said the show sucked. Braga even called the episode a "narcissistic move" and apologized to the actors for it. The actors said the same thing, Blalock called it "appalling." I felt completely cheated.

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/These_Are_the_Voyages..._(episode) Look under reception heading.

With that being said, one of the things I felt most cheated by was the very ending. Instead of a dramatic speech by Archer, whose speech was referenced multiple times through the show, at the formation of the foundation of the Federation, I got a "Computer close arch..." Really?

Do we have Captain Archer's speech from "These are the Voyages" in written form that I can read? Was there an audio recording or even better a video of it that might be a deleted scene?

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    A large part of this question appears to be a rant
    – Valorum
    Commented Jul 17, 2015 at 18:56
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    Rant aside, I do agree with @JMFB that the TNG tie-in was cringe-worthy.
    – Praxis
    Commented Jul 17, 2015 at 19:12
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    @Praxis - Oh yeah, that's totally agreed.
    – Valorum
    Commented Jul 17, 2015 at 21:34
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    the tags in this are a bit of a spoiler for those who haven't seen "These Are the Voyages" (granted, I don't think anyone should see it)
    – user30472
    Commented Jul 17, 2015 at 21:49
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    @eliyahu-g: Removing those two tags because the question isn't realy ABOUT the hxxxx or about rxxxx
    – ThePopMachine
    Commented Jul 17, 2015 at 21:58

1 Answer 1

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To the chagrin of many Star Trek fans, Archer's "Big Speech" was not included in "These Are the Voyages...", despite all of the build up to it. There is no evidence that the writers wrote up the speech, even in a draft form. (They were too busy thinking of ways to relive their TNG glory days, apparently.)

Here are your options:

  • There does exist a fan fiction version of the speech, which you can find here. It doesn't strike the right notes exactly, but unless someone writes something better, this is the closest you'll get to an actual speech.

  • There is a novel titled Star Trek Enterprise: The Good That Men Do, by Andy Mangels and Michael Martin. Basically, the novel is an attempt to correct the wrongdoings of "These Are the Voyages..." The authors retell the events of "These Are the Voyages..." as they "actually happened" instead of via the Holodeck reconstruction. Riker and Troi are not involved. Certain events happen differently, and the novel goes so far as to suggest that certain aspects of the Holodeck version are categorically incorrect (and provides interesting reasons for why there are discrepancies). The novel doesn't include a transcript of Archer's speech unfortunately, but it has many references to it dotted throughout the book. The novel may not satisfy your need to know exactly what Archer said on that important day, but it does strive to correct the flaws of "These Are the Voyages..." and reminds us all that there is some justice in the world.

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    +1 and correct answer in the next couple days if somebody doesn't come up with anything better. Thanks for the info. Damn, there's nothing else? And @Richard isn't there an episode of TOS where Kirk pulls out the US Constitution and reads from it, "Omega Glory". Kirk says "no words have said this thing of importance in quite this way...." then reads the preamble to the us const. which is pretty great and I have memorized. What is your source that the Federation Charter is based off the UN? And this wouldn't be the Federation charter, isn't this an alliance that pre-dates the Federation?
    – JMFB
    Commented Jul 17, 2015 at 22:58
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    I read the speech he wrote, eh... It's not what I would have written or expected Archer to write. Maybe I should write one for him. Many years ago I was a speech writer for a politician. I would have started him off with a personal story, about how he disliked T'Pol and all Vulcans, and he learned to trust her and rely on her more then anybody. Maybe mention the doctor. Archer put a personal touch on his speeches, don't you think? Then I'd finish it by tying it into some big thing about "these truths being self evident" or something like that.
    – JMFB
    Commented Jul 17, 2015 at 23:03
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    @JMFB : I definitely think the fanfic speech neither captures Archer as a person nor the spirit of the occasion. Archer would certainly draw on personal notes and anecdotes.
    – Praxis
    Commented Jul 18, 2015 at 2:53
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    I agree with many people who have criticised the final episode. It was worse than worst. It was disrespectful of the entire Enterprise series. The speech in the link above doesn't reflect Captain Archer's personality in any way. I would habe changed the entire episode and the speech. Interestingly I found another speech on another website. This not only wrote that speech but also the entire episode. In this version, Shran is still in Imperial Guards, Trip dissent die, T'Pol and Trip marry, etc. I think it's much better than the episode as broadcast and the speech has the potential to be a ...
    – Harsha
    Commented Dec 12, 2016 at 0:46
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    ... classic Captain Archer speech, better than the Gazelle speech. Please find the link below. fanfiction.net/s/6405806/1/Speech-of-a-Lifetime
    – Harsha
    Commented Dec 12, 2016 at 0:46

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