Title: Star Trek: Enterprise:
Third Season Premiere: "The Xindi"
Stars: Scott Bakula, John
Billingsley, Jolene Blalock, Dominic Keating, Anthony Montgomery, Linda Park,
Connor Trinneer, Richard Lineback, Stephen McHattie, Tucker Smallwood, Randy
Oglesby, Rick Worthy, Scott MacDonald, Marco Sanchez, Daniel Dae Kim, Nathan
Anderson, Steven Culp, Chris Freeman, and Adam Taylor Gordon
Writers: Rick Berman
and Brannon Braga
Based On “Star Trek”
Created By: Gene Roddenberry
Director: Allan Kroeker
Executive Producers: Rick
Berman and Brannon Braga
Running Time: 60 minutes with
commercials
Media: UPN Television Series
Premiere
Premiere: Wednesday, September
10, 2003, at 8pm (ET/PT)
Network: United Paramount
Network (Check your local cable/satellite listings for channel)
TV Rating: TVPG-LV
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
Six
weeks have passed since the devastating attack on Earth by the Xindi. The
Enterprise has entered the Delphic Expanse in search of the Xindi with an eye
toward stopping their next offensive at any cost. Captain Archer (Scott Bakula)
is following a lead to the Xindi on a desolate mining outpost where he hopes to
gain the coordinates to the Xindi home world. Trip (Anthony Montgomery) has been
suffering from nightmares about his sister’s death. This lack of sleep could
eventually hurt the mission since his role in engineering is pivotal to the
ongoing functionality of the ship. So Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) arranges for
Trip to undergo an intriguing and intimate Vulcan cure for Trip’s vivid
nightmares of his sister’s death with the help of Vulcan Sub Commander T’Pol
(Jolene Blalock.)
After
some bartering with the local administrator of the mining facility, The Captain
and Trip are finally introduced to their first live Xindi, who looks far more
human than the corpse recovered on Earth. When they attempt to leave with the
Xindi back to the shuttle pod, they discover it is a trap. Warships are heading
toward the Enterprise with the intention of disabling the ship and taking
the crew back down to the planet to work as slave labor. Meanwhile a council of
the various Xindi species is already aware that the Enterprise has
entered the Delphic Expanse and has sent out a scout to deter their mission.
“Star
Trek” in all it’s incarnations has been on TV so long that I cannot imagine
television without a new first-run “Star Trek” series running. The third
season premiere of “Enterprise” is a move toward a more action-oriented show
with higher stakes than just simply exploring the galaxy. Though the series had
started off strong, the second season saw a significant drop in ratings so the
show has been retooled and while it is still too early in the series to judge
whether or not the changes will help the series grow, one can still get a sense
of the direction where the show is going and hopefully offer a few tidbits that
might be helpful to the writers and producers. So here is my opinion of what
worked and did not work as well as a prescription for the third season to come
What
Worked
The
various makeup effects for the Xindi looked interesting and the hints toward
their societal hierarchy offers some intriguing speculation as to the nature of
their various species and why they are all genetically similar and yet quite
different in appearance. Jolene Blalock as a more feminine looking T’Pol is a
definite improvement over her appearance in the previous seasons, but honestly
one could put her in a paper bag and she’d probably look good. The
psychological effects on Trip were a nice way to deepen his character, but a few
intimate sessions with T’Pol should not cure him of his angst. The
introduction of the Military Assault Command Operation soldiers (MACOs) was fine
and it was nice to see them get into the action. Finally having “Star Trek”
placed before the “Enterprise” title is the way the series should have
started out from the beginning. Never forget the roots from which all good
“Star Trek” comes from. Bottom line, none of this would exist were it not
for Gene Roddenberry’s original “Star Trek” series so show some respect
please.
What
Did Not Work
The
CGI insect Xindi looked terrible. It was not up to the quality of Species 8472
seen in “Star Trek: Voyager” and not up to the quality of the CGI creations
on the pioneering “Babylon 5” television series. Maybe it was a matter of
time or budget, but get those things right or don’t show them at all. Why do
the Xindi have to reflect anything earthy at all? The Sloth Xindi, the insect
Xindi, the dolphin or whale like Xindi? After decades of a galaxy primarily
populated by humanoid creatures that were still distinctly alien, why go against
this to create aliens that might be more comfortable in a “Star Wars”
setting instead of “Star Trek?” I never had any problem with the opening and
the theme song for the show, but a faster version of the song does not match
well with the new direction the series is taking. They should just go for some
dramatic music instead and cut the whole montage and instead show something that
reflects the mission of the ship as it is being portrayed now. How about a few
shots of the devastation left by the Xindi on Earth with a pan up into the stars
with the Enterprise leaving the Earth’s orbit into the vast unknown of
the Delphic Expanse and add something patriotic sounding and that would not only
work for season three, but it would do what “Star Trek” has always done
best: reflect what is happening now in contemporary society.
Having
Dr. Phlox play a matchmaker of sorts seemed a bit perverse if not forced. The
argument between Lt. Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating) and the MACO’s seemed
forced. While people do all sorts of nasty things to boost their egos, they
usually do not put their lives in jeopardy in the face of a truly more rational
plan. This attempt to create tension between the Star Fleet officers and
military soldiers seemed forced too. Why would anyone fly down to a toxic mining
facility knowing prolonged exposure could be detrimental and not wear some kind
of breathing equipment? I can understand we need to see the faces of the actors,
but Archer’s and Trip’s masks could have been confiscated or lost once they
were trapped. For a forced labor camp our protagonists could not escape from,
the Star Fleet rescue squad sure broke in easily… The episode itself seemed
pretty weak when compared to the stellar second season finale and it also paled
when compared to some the exciting season openers to previous Trek series like
“The Next Generation,” “Deep Space Nine,” and “Voyager.” Lastly, as
nitpicking as this is, phaser and energy beams used in general within the
“Star Trek” universe have always been straight rays that lasted as long as
the trigger was pressed and not bullet like beams as seen in “Star Wars.”
The bullet like beams seen in the third season premiere seemed like a violation
of continuity. The same mistake was also made in “Star Trek: Nemesis.” The
whole strange phenomena in the Delphic Expanse might be interesting provided
there is some scientific explanation or theory given to it. “Star Trek”
always takes the most fantastic elements and reminds the viewer that while
something might seem extraordinary, it is not magic. Spooky things can happen
aboard a ship like the one in “Event Horizon,” which the second season
finale lifted some ideas from, but not in “Star Trek.”
Prescription
For Season Three
Take
some real chances! Characters change and these changes should be reflected more
in the series. The conflict within the crew could be explored deeper and have
more consequences. While Captain Archer is bound to set an example for the crew,
I kind of got the idea that he might have some unspoken affection for T’Pol
too. How would this affect his professional and personal relationship with Trip,
who has been having some “sessions” with the Vulcan Sub Commander? Keep the
Xindi threat real and have some more disasters happen too. Perhaps the Earth
could be attacked again and this time Enterprise cannot return home. Show
us some new warp five capable ships and feature them on episodes if only to
expand the world of 22nd century “Star Trek: Enterprise.” Show
how things like force fields or shields and tractor beams came into being and
lets see the roots that created the United Federation Of Planets begin to take
shape. Who is to say that the Federation was not started as a means of mutual
defense? How many alliances have been formed here on Earth in the real world
just for that purpose? Do not forget the Suliban and don’t sell them short
either. Who is to say that the Suliban are not actually the good guys in the
long run? I mean they did save Enterprise from a warp core breach in
season one. Could we have misunderstood their actions simply because of the
point of view we have seen so far. Basically, I think “Star Trek:
Enterprise” needs to take our preconceived notions of what “Star Trek” is
and invert them with high tension and drama so that we can get hooked,
surprised, and glued to our TV screens ever week wondering what will happen
next. There is a lot that can be done with “Star Trek: Enterprise” that will
not violate cannon and continuity between the previous shows. So go for it!
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.