Season three marked several changes for Star Trek: Enterprise -- most notably the beginning of a season-long story arc with the episode "The Xindi."
Weeks into their exploration of the Delphic Expanse, Enterprise seems no closer to locating the mysterious Xindi who attacked Earth. Now they have a lead that a Xindi might be imprisoned on a nearby mining colony. But to get information from him, they might need to stage a prison break.
As we get into season three, we'll see whether the Xindi arc really changed this series that much. But two other notable changes with this episode suggest to me that this effort to reform this series and increase ratings was misguided and no more than skin deep.
First, the show officially changes its title at this point, from simply Enterprise to Star Trek: Enterprise. When the series was created, a bunch of suits made the call that somehow the name "Star Trek" was an albatross around the show, an off-putting moniker that might keep the masses from tuning in for their more action-oriented (and sexy!) science fiction show. Now, suits decided that not calling it Star Trek was dragging it down, as though there were hordes of Star Trek fans out there who either didn't know this was a Star Trek show, or who would somehow come back and try it again now that the words "Star Trek" were officially in the name. Regardless, this is all changing the wrapping paper on the same gift.
We also get the "Yacht Rock"-ification of the already-atrocious main title theme. Having dealt with complains about "Faith of the Heart" for two years, the Powers That Be decided the way to "fix it" was to give it a bouncier remix with a furiously strummed guitar and a splash of percussion. In a vacuum, personal taste could easily lead you to find this version better or worse -- but in the context of the show, it feels undeniably worse to me. A key problem of "Faith of the Heart" is how terribly it butts up against whatever tension-filled teaser the series is trying to set up each episode. This Xindi story arc, by its nature, sought to raise the stakes every episode, but now the contrast with the theme song was even worse, smash cutting from action and tension to something you'd find right around 100 on the FM dial in every major radio market of the time.
In this day and age, though, both those changes are easily swept away by the "Skip Intro" button. So enough of that, let's talk about "The Xindi" as a start to the new season. It's... not great either.
If the concern was that Enterprise (excuse me -- Star Trek: Enterprise) was only appealing to a dwindling audience, it's wild how much this episode doubles down on all the same stuff it's been doing, stuff that presumably drove away others who had sampled the show. T'Pol now has catsuits in multiple colors! We've escalated from lubing up in the decon chamber to back rubs and shirtless boob-cupping, masquerading as "sleep aid" meditation!
Also, they are definitely trying to chase the success of 24. Not only have they embarked on a season-long story arc, but they've added a heaping dose of Jack Bauer to their character recipes -- both Trip and Archer have different moments in this episode bordering on the "who do you work for?!" style torture that was one of 24's signatures. And things are grittier throughout, with plot points involving a severed finger, crawling through sewage, and air ducts with fireballs.
But it seems the series still fails to recognize what the best or most interesting thing is about any given episode. Here -- to me, anyway -- it feels like the fun revelation is that the Xindi aren't a single species, but five different species with factional conflict among themselves. Except that the way the script is structured, that isn't a revelation. The episode opens with a conference that just shows us all the Xindi right out of the gate. So when Phlox later discovers there might be two Xindi species, akin to Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal ancestors on Earth, it just falls flat. And all for what? To bookend the episode with the most cliche of villain monologuing?
Or how about giving the MACOs some compelling scenes, if you're trying to make such a big deal out of a new military force being here? Despite the presence of two significant TV stars -- one recognizable at the time (Steven Culp) and one on the cusp of fame (Daniel Dae Kim), the MACOs really don't do much. They're part of a big action sequence at the end, but Enterprise has staged many good ones over its two years, and this one doesn't feel like anything special. About all that's different for the presence of the MACOs is that Reed is even more annoying than usual in this episode, whining about how they're taking his job. (Maybe if he'd been doing his job with any skill whatsoever, they wouldn't be there in the first place)
Other observations:
- Two of the Xindi species are rendered in CG. The aquatic ones look pretty good -- helped by the fact that they don't have to be on camera at the same time as actors in sci-fi makeup. The insectoid Xindi, on the other hand, have problems with lighting, and don't quite seem to be believably in the space.
- Boy, the exposition explaining the new "command center" is super awkward. Archer has a pretty awful "as you all know" speech about it, as the camera tracks him all the way around the room to show off the set.
I feel like "The Xindi" kicks off this season in a rather lackluster way. Filled with mindless action and laughably gratuitous sex appeal, it promises nothing new the show hasn't already been doing. I give it a C+. But of course, it really is just setting the table. Perhaps the meal yet to come will be better...?