Product Description
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After a surprise attack on Earth leaves over seven million
people dead, Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and the crew
of the Enterprise swear to find those responsible - the Xindi.
Taking off into the uncharted region known as the Delphic
Expanse, the crew of the Enterprise must hunt down the Xindi and
stop them from enacting their ultimate plan: the total
destruction of humanity. Along the way they travel to the year
2004 to prevent a bioweapon attack, fend off the mysterious
Sphere-Builders, and even meet their own descendants due to a
wormhole mishap - all leading up to a desperate race back to
Earth to prevent its destruction.
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Described by series cocreator Brannon Braga as "a single episode
that lasts 24 hours," the third season of Star Trek: Enterprise
is arguably the best in the show's four-season run. With the epic
"Xindi saga" as the season's primary story arc, the series found
its tonal focus in the unpredictable space of the Delphic
Expanse, where alien encounters and matter-warping spatial
anomalies forced Capt. Archer (Scott Bakula) to make extreme
decisions that tested his ethical boundaries. Realizing the need
for a fresh viewpoint, Braga and cocreator Rick Berman hired
Manny Coto, a TV veteran who conceived or wrote several of the
season's finest episodes (not forgetting Mike Sussman and other
members of the series' first-rate writing staff). Coto's
involvement was instrumental in shaping the Xindi saga, which
began (with season 2's cliffhanger) when Earth was attacked by a
Xindi probe--a massive weapon which Archer must now destroy. This
vital mission dominates season 3, deriving its potent drama from
an impressive variety of characters and subplots focused on the
five-species Xindi council, which finds its voice of reason in
Primate member Degra (season regular Randy Oglesby) and rancor in
the Reptilian Commander (Scott MacDonald), pivotal characters
whose es will be tragically intertwined.
Despite lower ratings and budgetary cutbacks (as evident in
several ship-bound episodes with minimal casting), season 3 was
equally strong as a showcase for the Enterprise regulars, with
plenty of fan speculation rising from the sexy and soothing
Vulcan "neuro-pressure" sessions between the insomniac Tucker
(Connor Trinneer, better than ever) and T'Pol, whose hidden
addiction to a toxic compound allows Jolene Blalock to mine the
volatile depths of her character (who now sports a more appealing
hairstyle and wardrobe). Meanwhile, security chief Reed (Dominick
Keating) engages in heated competition with Major Hayes (reliable
guest Steven Culp, from the first season of Desperate
Housewives), the leader of NX-01's Assault Command
Operation (or MACO), which Reed views with territorial suspicion.
And while Enterprise still fumbled to develop the characters of
Hoshi (Linda Park) and Travis (Anthony Montgomery), John
Billingsley continued to bring clutch-player excellence to his
role as Dr. Phlox in several highlight episodes including
"Doctor's Orders" and "Similitude," the latter featuring equally
strong work by Trinneer in an ethically complex (and
fan-favorite) examination of the cloning--a typical example of
Star Trek at its best.
The alternate timeline of "Twilight" also honors the classic
Trek tradition, while "Harbinger" reveals the existence of the
trans-dimensional Sphere Builders, whose moon-sized creations
affect Enterprise throughout its season-long mission. Finally,
the crucial appearances of blue-skinned Andorian Shran (Jeffrey
Combs) bring both suspense and comic to the season's grim
proceedings, adding depth and tentative alliance to Enterprise's
pre-Federation politics--a crucial element that assumes greater
importance with the jaw-dropping cliffhanger of "Zero Hour" and
the surprises in store for season 4, which will bring Enterprise
ever closer to the original Star Trek timeline.
DVD features
Gathered on disc 7, the season 3 bonus features for Enterprise
are consistent with features on seasons 1 and 2: Identical in
presentation but different in content. The "Xindi Saga"
featurette summarizes the creative and practical decisions that
resulted in the season-long story arc; "Enterprise Profile"
acknowledges the popularity of "Trip" Tucker and Connor
Trinneer's successful effort to transcend the character's
"hayseed" image; and "A Day in the Life of a Director" finds
Roxann Dawson (aka B'Elanna Torres from Voyager) well in control
as she helms the episode "Exile." As with previous DVD sets,
three more "NX-01" files are hidden as "Easter eggs" on the
Special Features menus, and they include further appreciations of
the Enterprise writers, the work of costume designer Robert
Blackman, and John Billingsley's hilarious anecdote about Phlox's
prodigious sexual endowment(s). The outtakes are amusing but all
too brief, perhaps owing to the higher stakes (and lower ratings)
of a dramatically serious season. --Jeff Shannon