Review

A real mixed bag. It was a good idea to show details regarding Earth's early extrasolar colonies, but they couldn't have done it in a worse way. This whole episode is more or less a rehash of Voy: Friendship One. And indeed smaller plot elements in this episode resemble numerous other episodes. Suffice it to say, this plot is hardly original. But at least it's appropriate. Unfortunately, the already weak plot strains the hell out of credibility. For one, there's the Alpha Centauri technical problem, which is documented in the problems section. Suffice it to say, Alpha Centauri would have made much more sense as a setting for Earth's first extrasolar colony. Then there's the timing. Also documented in the problems section, this episode contradicts Voy: The 37s regarding when Mars was colonized. All of the technical problems could have easily been avoided by simply not making Terra Nova Earth's first extrasolar colony and giving specific dates, but by making it one of many of Earth's first extrasolar colonies. In this respect, the plot could be viewed exactly the same way as intended, except in a more credible manner. There were a few details to redeem the episode, though. One thing I liked was that the Novans had a unique vocabulary, using strange terms much like the Vori from Voy: Nemesis. I was also quite fond of how patient Archer and his crew were with the rather uninformed Novans. I also liked T'Pol's objective opinion once again. Unfortunately, these details do little to enhance this rather ill conceived episode.