#Star trek enterprise proving ground series#

Similitude вЂ“ Aaaand weвЂ™re back to killing good stories. (Minor spoiler: It doesnвЂ™t even the ridiculous parallel evolution.) Like вЂњTwilight,вЂќ another cleverly-written episode that has little/nothing to do with the Xindi. North Star вЂ“ YвЂ™ever see that show Firefly? This is EnterpriseвЂ™s version of that, with the Enterprise crew discovering a planet inhabited by folks ineffably living a 19th-century American West lifestyle many light-years from home. A classic ST-style twisty-turny episode that really doesnвЂ™t belong in season 3вЂ¦****Д©. Phlox believes that both ArcherвЂ™s and humanityвЂ™s condition are reversible. As it turns out, certain brainstem parasites have given him anterograde amnesia, which prevents the formation of new memories (dude, like the guy in Memento!). Twilight вЂ“ Head trip for Archer, who first watches the Xindi destroy Earth before waking up to find himself living with TвЂ™Pol in the last remaining settlement of homo sapiens. Very little else is notable here, except for lots of swell special effects.

The Shipment вЂ“ This episode gets Degra and Trellik, a couple key recurring characters in the Xindi scientists with qualms about, you know, genocide. Archer, nor anyone else, really sees any serious problem with any of this. Exile вЂ“ A solitary psychic first plays the voyeur with Sato, then hints that he can assist with the Xindi search вЂ¦ but only if Sato stays with him for a few days. And then they turn into zombies bent on mindless destruction. Impulse вЂ“ Apparently, when Vulcans are exposed to Trellium-D, the neural pathways which aid in suppressing emotions no longer function properly.

A subplot involving the acquisition of Trellium-D with which to protect the ship from anomalous effects of the Expanse is dull and serves to start TвЂ™PolвЂ™s descent into madness. In less-sexy-than-pheromonally-rapey fashion, Rajiin seduces just about every member of the crew except TвЂ™Pol (she should have waited about 10 more episodes) and turns out to be, to no oneвЂ™s surprise, allied with the Xindi. Rajiin вЂ“ The Rajiin of the title is an alien slave girl of the sort much bandied about on The Original Series, except done up darkly. Think вЂњIdentity CrisisвЂќ or вЂњGenesisвЂќ or вЂњThresholdвЂќ orвЂ¦*Д¤. Extinction вЂ“ Take it as a rule: Any Star Trek episode in which crew member(s) contract a space virus and morphs into another species is bad. Upon first contact with the anomalies, the Enterprise shuts down and alien pirates board! ***ДЈ. Anomaly вЂ“ The Enterprise enters the Delphic Expanse, a region of space in which tremendous physics-bending and f/x budget-stretching anomalies that will haunt the crew for much of the season. Reed grimly investigating a gritty mining facility in hopes of finding a single Xindi who was rumored to have visited recently. The Xindi вЂ“ The grim вЂnвЂ™ grittiness commences with an episode set entirely behind a blue filter the storyline involves Captain Archer and Lt. As for much of the rest, however вЂ¦ yeeshДЎ. Watch Enterprise season 3 once through if youвЂ™re a completist otherwise, just skip to the good ones, which mostly work as standalone episodes вЂ“ stuff like вЂњTwilightвЂќ (episode #8), вЂњNorth StarвЂњ (#9) and вЂњProving GroundвЂќ (#13). Meanwhile, the bridge crew вЂ“ even beyond (sigh) Sick Boy TвЂ™Pol вЂ“ takes a like turn into darkness: Archer becomes Shouty Archer, nary a boyish grin crossing his face Trip morphs into Bad Trip, spending the entire year-long mission alternately moping about his dead sister or doing massage with druggie TвЂ™Pol and Tucker unfortunately doesnвЂ™t change at all. ItвЂ™s a bit like having three or four dozen Trois aboard.

#Star trek enterprise proving ground series#

Since every ST series prides itself on its topicality, the creative team apparently decided that the best way to address issues in the post-9/11 Star Trek was to turn Enterprise grim, gritty and humorless while placing a heavy accent on the militarism.ДЄnd they made TвЂ™Pol a futuristic drug addict.Д«eyond the actual inclusion of the space marine corps on the Enterprise, the scriptwriters and script editor clearly had no clue what to do with these troops when the вЂњMaCosвЂќ could be useful, theyвЂ™re not around when they are around, theyвЂ™re useless. See, two years prior to the airing of the premiere episode of STE season 3, the attacks on the Twin Towers happened. O, Star Trek: Enterprise season 3 вЂ¦ you leave us speechless with the breathtakingly un-Star Trek feel of nearly every episode in this season, and in the tone of the overriding story arc.