Trek Star Fires off Parting Shots
Star Trek: Enterprise is now history, but it wasn't the only thing that died the night of May 13. Cmdr. Trip Tucker, one of the UPN show's most popular characters, set off an explosion in the series finale that was meant to kill evil aliens, but he wound up killing himself as well.
"At first I was shocked and a little miffed at the choice that was made," says Connor Trinneer, who played Trip. "But, selfishly, things worked out for me. I'm the only one who went out with a bang... no pun intended. I got the goodbye no one else did."
Most of the
Enterprise regulars were cheated out of airtime to make room for juicy, highly hyped guest stints by
Jonathan Frakes and
Marina Sirtis of
Star Trek: The Next Generation. "I wanted us all to have the big
M*A*S*H moment — the really memorable farewell," Trinneer says. "Sadly, it just didn't happen. That's not where the writers and producers wanted to focus."
The deadly plot twist has no doubt added insult to the injury Trekkers already feel due to the show's demise. But if it's any consolation, Trip would have been killed even if
Enterprise hadn't ended.
"That episode was already written when we got the call that we were canceled," says the show's creator and executive producer,
Rick Berman. "If we hadn't gotten the ax, it still would have been our season finale." Berman reminds us that the episode took a six-year leap in time, so Trip wouldn't have really died for several more seasons.
"And, even then, death isn't always permanent," Trinneer says with a laugh. "Spock died in one
Star Trek movie and was resurrected in the next. We're talking sci-fi here — anything can happen!"
