Title: Exploring the Legacy of Captain Jonathan Archer from Star Trek: Enterprise
The Legacy of Captain Jonathan Archer
Retirement and Federation Charter Signing
As recounted aboard the holodeck by Riker (Jonathan Frakes) in the “Enterprise” series finale, “These are the Voyages…,” Archer retires in 2161 before signing the Federation charter. Although “Enterprise” ends with Archer’s retirement, the two-parter “In a Mirror, Darkly” gives some pretty big spoilers, as revealed when mirror universe Hoshi (Linda Park) reads through Starfleet records while aboard the prime universe ship the Defiant. Since the Tholians brought the ship over from 100 years in the prime universe future, alt-Hoshi, and alt-Archer are able to read a complete history of their prime universe counterparts. According to those records, prime Archer “earned an impressive list of commendations during his career,” with historians declaring him “the greatest explorer of the 22nd century.” Starfleet records also reveal that Archer has two planets named after him.
Post-Enterprise Life and Achievements
Although alternate Archer cuts her off, eagle-eyed viewers who screencap the computer screen Hoshi is reading from can get a complete history of Archer’s post-Enterprise days. After his time aboard the Enterprise, he earns the rank of Admiral and becomes Chief of Staff at Starfleet Command before his retirement. He also serves as a prominent ambassador for several years and works as a Federation Councilman before getting elected to the United Federation of Planets presidency in 2184. In 2245, he attends the NCC-1701’s christening, before peacefully dying the following day. With so many productive post-spacefaring years during the foundational years of the Federation, a growing contingent of fans have said they would like to see Paramount create a “Star Trek” series that follows Archer through his political career. Such a series could focus on the growing pains of humanity’s evolution to the more enlightened post-scarcity world we see in “Star Trek: The Original Series.”