Weller Sees Allegory In Xenophobic Paxton

One of the main guest stars of "Demons" and "Terra Prime" said at the Enterprise wrap party that he sees parallels between Enterprise's final regular episodes and the real world.

"He's a xenophobe," Weller told the Sci-Fi Wire, referring to his character John Frederick Paxton, the leader of an anti-alien movement on Earth. "Isolationism is one thing, but he's actively pursuing the cleansing of planet Earth by ridding 'Terra Prime,' or Earth, of any alien impurity whatsoever. It kind of rings of some people walking around on this planet today."

According to Weller, this kind of storytelling is exactly what Trek has always excelled at. "[They] metaphorize, they allegorize and they narrate what's going on the planet today," he said. "There's a lot of xenophobes walking around today who say, 'Only us, not them.' The bad news about that ... is that the great thing about the world is that people move. Rome tried to build walls to keep the people from moving, but the people will move. If they think they've got a good gig someplace, they will go there, and you can regulate it, but you can't stop it."

Weller will be making his first appearance on Enterprise on the 6th of May, in "Demons," with "Terra Prime" airing a day later. Paramount yesterday issued full press releases for both episodes, including new story information. "Demons" will see Archer and his crew return to Earth for a historic Starfleet conference to ratify the coalition of planets, only to uncover a plot by a radical xenophobic group of humans called Terra Prime, who want to put an end to the increasing number and influence of aliens on Earth. Meanwhile, although T’Pol contends she has never been pregnant, she and Trip learn that Terra Prime has information about their child. Later, a female reporter from Travis' past pursues him for a story.

The press release included the names of several new guest actors, besides the previously reported Weller, Harry Groener (Nathan Samuels), Eric Pierpoint (Harris), Tom Bergeron (Coridan Ambassador) and Johanna Watts (reporter Gannett Brooks). These new actors are listed below:

• Peter Mensah as Greaves
• Patrick Fischler as Mercer
• Christine Romeo as Khouri
• Adam Clark as Josiah

In "Terra Prime," Archer, Reed and Travis combine resources to stop Paxton from destroying Starfleet Command unless all aliens leave Earth immediately. Meanwhile, Paxton's hostages T'Pol and Trip are confronted with a baby girl created from their combined DNA, leaving them to contemplate the possibilities.

In addition to most of the guest actors from "Demons," Gary Graham (Soval) and Derek Magyar (Kelby) will be reprising their previously established roles, while the following actors will also be making an appearance:

• Josh Holt as Ensign Masaro
• Amy Rohren as Tactical Officer
• Joel Swetow as Thoris

The original Peter Weller interview can be found at the Sci-Fi Wire, while the Sci-Fi Universe has the original press releases on "Demons" and "Terra Prime."

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