Greetings all.
To begin, with I'll just clarify my point about the Vulcans. I liked the way they acted superior to humanity (because in their eyes, they were superior and that was the only way to see it). The thing I didn't like was how emotional they became, frequently displaying very obvious irritation etc.
As to Trip, T'Pol, Archer etc, I quite agree that most of the writers were simply all at sea when it came to writing for women in general. And I think the idea of them being a triangle, contributing different skills and viewpoints is probably how it should have worked. It's the old Kirk, McCoy, Spock thing after all...
But in practice, that didn't happen too much. Few of the modern writers have ever truly got to grips with Vulcans as a race and T'Pol was no different - the old standbys of having her explore emotions and lose control etc were constantly on hand.
Add in the usual confusion over what to do with a female character and it isn't hard to see why most focused on Archer and Trip's friendship instead (or just on Archer, actually). The need to focus on as few characters in an episode as possible also comes in.
Basically, the less characters you use in any one episode, the more time you have to explore those characters properly. Most episode will be required to have Archer as a prominent character and will have some guest characters who need screen time. Add in the need to explain the plot details and you're starting to get on already.
It's of particular concern in S3, because there was an obvious demand for more action in the show. Each episode contains noticeably more fights, shootouts, ship battles etc. All this eats into time, so there will be a limit to how many characters you can really focus on in any one episode. A lot of the time in S3, it's pretty much just The Johnathan Archer Show'.
All of which leads me nicely into discussing Season Three.
Before I begin, it's probably best to acknowledge once again that many of the decisions taken in this season were being influenced by the studio and the need for more ratings. Annoying as such mandates always are, it's fair enough in a way, because they gave them 2 seasons and if a show doesn't perform, then it must evolve or perish.
It's just sad to reflect that the fixes suggested by studios are usually always to the detriment of the show's original concept. That anything new is squeezed out in favour of the usual sci-fi 'sex n' action' fare. But within that framework, the writers sought to produce something artistically credible and for that, they must be applauded.
However, even after the excellent S2 finale 'The Expanse', there were significant problems to overcome, quite apart from having to accomodate the 'more action, more sex!' calls. And one of the main problems I would say is Voyager's fifth season.
Because much of the build up in 'The Expanse' suggested that the Delphic Expanse would be hellish, haunted territory, full of pirates, strange beings, terrible horrors etc. And from Archer and Trip's conversation, it was obvious that this darkness would be present in the crew also.
But Braga had already done all of that in Voyager S5. He has already used these powerful ideas and images, the ship alone in supernatural waters, mythical beasts etc etc. There would also have been the considerations that a) the Xindi couldn't simply be some demonic style race, as it would be too Babylon 5 and b) how horrific could the Expanse possibly be, given how grim Braga showed most places to be?
But let's see how they got on...
SEASON THREE - EPISODE BY EPISODE:
Episode 01: 'THE XINDI'
So then... this season opening episode had an awful lot to live up to. 'The Expanse' has got people fired up and promised much - if S3 didn't start to deliver right off the bat, then the whole Arc could have fallen flat on its face. Even so however, B+B's decision on how to start the season is unexpected to say the least.
You would have thought there would be a degree of searching, build up etc to when we get to properly see the Xindi and find out what they look like, what they're about. Even DS9 had the false reveal in 'The Search, pt 1', before they showed their hand. But instead, the episode is called 'The Xindi' and we see them straight away!
But in many ways though, this episode feels somewhat similar to DS9's reveal of the Dominion, in that it often feels like it is the second part of a 3 part episode, rather than the start of a 24+ episode arc. Star Trek would often wrap up even the biggest stories in 2 or 3 episodes, so perhaps they were trying to get people to think this would be a similar deal.
And the Interviews have some evidence for this. Rick Berman confirms that whilst they hoped to make it a long running thing, they wondered if it would perhaps only have the legs for half a season.
Whatever the thought, the fact is that it was really too early to be showing us and the Enterprise crew, so much about the Xindi. By the end of this episode we and they both know that the Xindi have 5 different species, they meet a live member of the Xindi and even find the Xindi homeworld! All in the first episode?!
It's hard for me to judge accurately because I came to the set, knowing that the arc lasted all season. For me, this just seemed to be far too much, too soon. If I hadn't know it would be so long running, then I might not have had such objections. Because such information and progression is about what I'd expect from a part 2 of 3 episode.
But what of the episode itself? Is it any good? Well, I think that despite a few flaws, this is a very solid start to the season. It's impressive that B+B manage to juggle mostly sucessfully, the need to impart a lot of information with the needs of an episode that can be watched on its own terms.
Because there is a lot they have to get across in this episode. We need explanations of why the Xindi aren't going to simply send a huge warfleet after them, we need to meet the MACOs, see the new command center, see how Trip and Archer are coping with the mission, learn about Trellium-D properties, see who the Xindi are and learn some facts about them, see what the enviroments are like in the Expanse...
And they manage to cram it all in, whilst still leaving time for some decent character moments, some great visuals and big doses of action. Of course, they can only do so much however and though they pace themselves excellently, much of the events of this episode move along too quickly for it ever to be considered a true classic.
The real problems lie in the story of the Xindi captive and the lack of truly substantial, truly meaty scenes with the main characters.
Let's take the latter first. 'The Xindi' includes many excellent little moments with the main characters, most of which are very promising. Archer's irritable behaviour with Reed at the start, Reed's animosity toward the MACOs, Trip's Nightmare etc.
But whilst they are interesting and lodge themselves in the mind immediatly as things we'd like to know more about, the episode is already marching with a 'No time, no time!' attitude. It's click, click, click of the fingers, with a new idea and story thread every couple of seconds.
Now some of that is fine, because although most of these threads are ostensibly resolved at the end of the episode, it does set up later episodes with plenty of things to be explored further.
But as far as this episode is concerned, it gives a sense of scale and lots of things happening, at the expense of anything we can hold onto right now. The characters seem to buzz by each other, barely hanging around long enough to talk, before they are needed elsewhere.
Matters seem to reach premature conclusions. Reed's anger is almost instantly tempered when he sees the MACOs in action, Trip's spellbinding nightmare and new darker, grittier outlook is undercut with comedy and the release of intimate contact with another, before he (and we) have had the chance to explore this new darkness.
As for the Xindi they meet, his character is given so little screen time and dialogue not directly pertinent to the plot, that he may as well have a keypad on his chest and a placard saying 'Press 1 for info on Xindi culture, press 2 for co-ordinates to Xindi homeworld...'
It seems to be implied that he is pretty much the same level of scum as the rest of the compound (not as violent perhaps, but just as untrustworthy). But that when faced with death, he does the right thing for those who tried to save him. And his presence is intended to confound expectations of what a Xindi is (i.e not a bloodthirsty or colh hearted monster) etc.
But he is simply around too little for any of this to have much impact. These are important themes however, as the idea of things not being what they look like or you expected or things being exactly what they look like and you expected, will recur again and again throughout the season. (The episode ends with a shot of the Insectoid fulfilling the role of dastardly enemy which its appearence suggests, for example).
All of which suggest the episode isn't much cop, but that isn't the case. B+B do manage to impart the sense of unease and doom on the ship very well. The mining colony is great also, because whilst it seems like something that could be anywhere, it looks superbly decaying and hellishly toxic and disgusting.
The scene where they are scaling the vent is very good. The onrushing 'hellfire; of the plasma, imparts a real 'up towards heaven, down towards hell' feel. And their decision that 'it's easier to go down' foreshadows the often morally suspect territory they will enter later in the season.
Special mention must also go the foreman, played with such diabolic gusto. Hacking and spluttering, trading in people's lives like they're nothing, tossing about severed fingers, the actor is clearly having a great time. And with his appallingly dusty and rotten office and the comically huge speaker he uses for his singularly unconvincing creeping lies to T'Pol, he's a delightfully loathsome creation.
And there's good stuff throughout most of the episode. Some awkward exposition scenes at the start aside, most of the actors from the main cast, the guests and the Xindi council all get into the swing of things nicely.
The locations and performances match up beautifully. The foreman and his office, the scheming, bickering Xindi in their 'conference room of stately evil', the harrowing scenes of Trip trying to warn his sister as the beam burns a path towards her... It's great stuff and the Nightmare sequence is classic Braga.
The MACOs get a good intro too, with a suitably bone crunching fight scene. Battle sequences have the tendency to go very wrong and look extremely poor, but I thought this one was done very well. The foreman and his goons had 'we need to be killed' written all over them and it's actually rare for Star Trek to allow such people to get quite the beating they deserve. But no reasoning and bargaining here - just good old fashioned beatings.
Which just leaves the neuro pressure... Well what do you think I thought about that? I think that without the irritatingly heavy handed way it was executed, it might have been okay. Make it meditation and a series of relaxing postures that don't require so much obvious titilation. And Trip should definately have been brewing his anger for longer before this whole thing started anyway (which like many of these storylines, they unresolve and reset so they can use them again as needed).
Ultimately, this is a very enjoyable episode that is undone largely by its identity crisis over whether it is part 2 of 3 or part 1 of 24. Without the visit to the Xindi homeworld at the end, time would have been freed up to explore each facet of the episode in more detail. It also would have lessened the need to 'resolve' many of the issues too quickly.
But it has great visuals, entertaining performances, good action and basically gets you nicely warmed up for the season. There is definately more energy and purpose about it then in previous seasons and although it tries to include too much, the stuff it does include is mostly all very interesting (and so is revisited and not just abandoned as the season progresses which sometimes happens).
So in conclusion, this was pretty good. The Xindi could have been a huge disappointment, but they seem interesting and intriguingly dastardly albeit with their own take on things which promises they will be more than simply 'an evil race being evil'.
So how much out of 5 then?
Well, the neuro pressure should probably lose it a half mark, but the way Berman and Braga were able to handle all the various issues that needed to be addressed, any one of which if mishandled could have ended the season before it began, was impressive enough for me to let it go.
Above all else, I like to feel that people are trying and the spirit with which they attack the huge challenge of saving the show under trying circumstances was so heartening to see.
'The Xindi' gets 3.5 out of 5 from me.
So that's it for the first review. I've worn myself out for the time being, so I'll have to pick up on the other things you've been discussing that I have an opinion on, tomorrow.
Until then, I will leave you with my famed escapology trick. If I don't escape from The Chamber of Excruciatingly Sharp Knives by this time tomorrow... call an ambulence... quickly.
