XINDI

[Captain Bolivar 0]

Before watching the first episode of season 3 I was grumbling about how B&B were replacing live actors with CG. But I was very happy to see that some of the Xindi are played by human actors to keep the species more interactive. But in ADDITION to that, they also have the CG characters which just make the show more interesting. The beggining scene reminded my a little of the bar on tatooine in Star Wars. Lots of different alien faces. I'm glad to see the aliens interacting without the Enterprise actors around. It shows that the alien characters might become just as important as the main characters, kinda like what DS9 did in it's final seasons.

[Klingonmike 0]

This was a great episode and a great kick off to the 3rd season. I think the Xindi make some cool looking aliens even the CG ones. I give it two thumbs up! I look forward to the rest of the season!

[removed 0]

i disliked the bug guy, and other than the military uniforms and the remixed theme song (grrrrr!!!!!!!), it was a pretty darn good episode. it was one of the best gunfight scenes ive ever seen on trek. but i was hoping for the first episode to deal a bit more with the anomolies in the expanse.

 

8/10

[Captain Bolivar 0]

Yeah the bug guy didn't seem to fit in either. But he was the only one. He was still intesting tho. I think the anomalies would be better dealt with in other episodes. The season opener was about establishing what their mission is all about, and what things they might expect. Thats why they gave us a glimpse of an anomaly. An the end, the Xindi said that Enterprise was going to heading towards the deeper regions of the expanse where more anomalies are found. Some of the Xindi don't expect Enterprise to survive it. So we know that there is some interesting stuff up ahead.

[Sam The Smuggler 1]

That Was A Pretty Cool Episode. I Liked It Very Much.

 

And I Even Liked The Bug Guy.

[A l t e r E g o 9]

Click for Spoiler:

The bug was imo the best cgi to date, it creeped us all out here and this morning I notice there is a species of bird I've never seen around here before. It makes the same clicking chirp vocalizations as the insect did. Hearing it gave me some goose bumps until I tracked down the cause.

 

I think having the insects be a part of life inside the Expanse makes perfect sense, (like 8427 live in fluidic space.) In the Trek universe those kinds of things are very rare, I am pleased to have a recurring at last.

[ChrisssHardy 0]

Overall:

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I, surprisingly enough, really enjoyed the episode. The whole idea of the Xindi is cool and they are doing a good job of making them seem very alien and threatening. However, I think they should have kept them hidden or shrouded in mystery for a lot longer, kinda like how they kept us waiting forever to see the Founders of the Dominion. It would have built up a lot more suspense and curiousity.

 

Its amazing that they had a lead on the Xindi after being in the Delphic Expanse for only 6 weeks. They should have made it seem as if they'd been looking for months. Would have given the crew license to take more drastic measures due to the severity and desperation of the mission.

 

That Xindi guy should have stayed on the show as an unwelcome and uncooperative advisor for Archer. It would have created some good conflict and drama to the storyline. It's too bad they had to kill him off. Also, like Archer said, why would the Xindi attack Earth to defend their planet against attack if the planet has already been obliterated? Does it reintergrate sometime in the future? I'm excited to find out.

 

The Crew:

Archer was blah as usual but I really started to like T'Pol in this ep. Her new clothes are much, MUCH better than that of the last 2 seasons. I actually liked her hair better the other way, shorter, more Vulcan. Trip was very believably traumatized by his sister's death, not overly so, so that was good. Reed was in there too, liked his conflict with the Marine-y guys and his whole issue with the "military mentality" Phlox was great as ever. We even got some Sato and Mayweather action (pretty good for them).

 

I do like the Marine guys as well. They kicked *buttocks* when they grappled down to save Archer and Trip. And it was very nice to see Daniel Dae Kim in there too (the astronaut from the Voyager ep Blink of an Eye as well as his character Gavin from seasons 3 and 4 of Angel).

 

Trip and T'Pol:

Please, please, please don't make them a couple! Why must they hook T'Pol up with someone! She's a Vulcan, keep her distant, cold and arrogant, that was the only thing that I originally liked about her. When they started hooking Seven and Chakotay up I wanted to shoot myself. Luckily, it was at the end of the series so I didn't have to endure so much of it. But T'Pol, along with Seven, should remain stay the way they are/were.

 

Overall good ep. I hope they keep this season arc going for a lot longer, makes you not want to miss an ep, which is good :)

Edited September 11, 2003 by Alterego

[Gotabite 0]

This was a great episode and a great kick off to the 3rd season. I think the Xindi make some cool looking aliens even the CG ones. I give it two thumbs up! I look forward to the rest of the season!

Unfortunately I had to work Wednesday night and missed the season kick off. I am glad to hear it was a good beginning. I look forward to seeing it perhaps on Saturday, when UPN usually repeats the episodes (at least in this area).

[Admiral Kirk 1]

I think it was a pretty good episode. My main gripe is with the new theme and the badly handled skin scenes.

[MoulinRouge 0]

I, too, was pleasantly surprised and liked the episode. I have to disagree with the above poster on one point, respectfully of course. That was the first "skin" scene in ENT that I liked because the director directed in with a tongue in cheek attitude and didn't take it seriously. In short, Kroeker treated the material as if it were funny and it worked for a change. I can't get all that worked up over seeing a boob. Big deal. That deer trapped in the headlights look Trip got when he realized he'd mistinterpreted what T'Pol offered made me laugh out loud. CT's comic timing is priceless. Mind you, I don't want a steady diet of that but I was not at all shocked or offended. Not in the least. Connor and Jolene are priceless together. Very funny--and I'm not going to risk the gods of hypocrisy smiting me dead by complaining about showing Jolene's boob when I was drooling INTO MY SOCKS when Trip took his shirt off. Has that boy been doing overtime with the bench presses? :)

 

Good set up with the reveal at the end about the Xindi homeworld already being dead. Did anyone else catch the subtle, yet very pleasant vibe going on between Trip and Malcolm again? Before, Malcolm never referred to Trip as anything but "Commander Tucker" in front of others in work situations but twice last night he made reference to having to go get "captain Archer and Trip." It's a subtle touch that was most welcome. Were B&B actually paying attention? Perhaps. I liked Trip being considerate enough in the corridor to remind Mal that his people probably would have done just as good a job as the new military personnel. A warm, affectionate scene between the two men, if too brief, that reminds the audience instead of telling them awkwardly that Trip and Malcolm are still close friends who confide in each other and that Malcolm isn't petty enough to hold a grudge against Trip for snapping at him so harshly in the corridor during "The Expanse."

[chimei01 0]

I too liked the variety in the species. It was a nice touch and a way to make the show visually interesting. My favorite was the one in the tank. Nice touch...and I can't wait to see the crew under water visiting this group!

 

My only complaint was that the really "gung-ho" Xindi was too much like a fly. I wish they had made it less "Earthly"...but a miner complaint. I digress.

 

And did the one Xindi with all the hair on his face remind you of the Beast in the original silent film version of "Beauty and the Beast"?

 

Edited September 11, 2003 by chimei01

[Theunicornhunter 2]

I actually thought of Star Wars, Dune and a variety of other SciFi series during parts of this episode. Even thought about the Shawshank Redemption.

 

All in all I enjoyed it. I guess I don't understand the deal about the theme song. Sounds like a different arrangement but same basic song.

 

Click for Spoiler:

MoulinRouge Posted on Sep 11 2003, 03:21 PM Has that boy been doing overtime with the bench presses?

So I wasn't the only one to notice.

I liked Trip being considerate enough in the corridor to remind Mal that his people probably would have done just as good a job as the new military personnel

I noticed this too and I felt in general the episode set up the potential conflict with Malcolm and the Maco's without overplaying it.

 

I was also glad they weren't totally devoid of humor; not just the acupressure scene but I liked when the Captain asked Trip if there was anything volatile in those containers.."I'd have known by now"

[Stelfan 0]

I really enjoyed the episode, I liked the different races of Xindi and the bug IMO the most interesting..

 

One terrible thing however was the remixed theme song, it was PATHETIC!

[thayln 0]

Really good 1st episode of the season. Here are some things I found really interesting:

 

Click for Spoiler:

Notice that Trip is covering with the Captain? He isn't ready to admit how much trouble he's having with nightmares. That's going to have to come to a head at some point. Could be a really powerful scene.

 

 

Click for Spoiler:

I also really liked how Archer could control Trip so easily and gently. Just a few soft words and Trip backed off the Xindi without question. There's such a huge level of trust there. I wanna see them test it more.

 

 

Click for Spoiler:

And Malcolm, wow. Judging by this episode and the spoilers for the next, I think he's really going to be thrown by how far Archer is willing to go to accomplish his goals. Malcolm is the most dangeroud man in Starfleet, and yet he is also the most controled and level headed. I wonder what it would take to really unleash his killer instincts. It would probably have to be watching his Captain being tortured almost to death in front of him. That would be really, really hard for me to watch, but I bet Malcolm's reaction would be breathtaking.

 

 

Click for Spoiler:

I also really liked the scene between T'Pol and Trip. It's so nice to see that the real Trip is still in there under all the frustration and hate. Great chemistry, and I just love how she can throw him off balance so easily. I also though it was really nice how unsexual him touching her was, very adult and matter of fact. He had no reation at all to her taking off her shirt. It was only after she told him to strip that he started to get flustered. (chortle)

 

 

I say lets strand Archer, Trip and T'Pol on a planet and have them depend on each other for survival. Lots of great bonding and emotional stuff could come out. The triangle must be complete.

--------------------------------------------

 

Archer/Trip/T'Pol friendship, the best triangle since Kirk/Spock/McCoy

[ensign_beedrill 0]

Oh yeah, this was great for an opener!

 

First of all, the song. I don't know why so many people are complaining. I sort of like it. It's a lot more upbeat and happy. And I don't know if it's faster or not, but it sounds faster.

 

I thought it was funny the way Archer so conveniently told us what that new room they were in came from. It's like the writers said, "Hey, the viewers are going to wonder about what this room is. They've never seen it before." And then, "Oh, that's not a problem. We'll just have Archer tell them." Heh.

 

I liked the conflict with Malcom and Hayes. This whole thing is going to turn out to be very interesting.

 

Trip and T'Pol... that was just funny. And little Trip is so cute. Awww...

 

About the Xindi home world being destroyed... that's kinda' strange. Do you think they went back in time and destroyed it so that when Enterprise got there they wouldn't find anything? That just kind of threw me. Or maybe the Xindi guy was just being tricky. But like Reed said... why would he lie?

 

I like how Archer told Reed that they didn't have the luxury of being safe anymore. That part really said that they were going to change things up.

 

And I just loved the bug Xindi. Awww... he (or she, I guess) was so cute! Awww, with huge bug eyes and antennae and little mouth things. And the cute chittery noise he made. Aw, so cute! I just want to hug him.

[cptwright 1]

i thought this was a great opener to whats surely to be a GREAT SEASON. i enjoyed the subtle humor in the show, especially the aww duh, thing between trip and tpol. phlox is a great character in the show with good humor, all in all it was an excellent show. oh and about the whole tpol trip thing, im not gonna say i didnt like the shirt coming off of tpol, cause i did, but it was so unsexual the whole reaction with tripp, and if anything comes about with them two so be it. i love this show, and this ep shows why, its just gonna keep getting better.

[Riaan 0]

Oh yeah, this was great for an opener!

 

About the Xindi home world being destroyed... that's kinda' strange.  Do you think they went back in time and destroyed it so that when Enterprise got there they wouldn't find anything?  That just kind of threw me.  Or maybe the Xindi guy was just being tricky.  But like Reed said... why would he lie?

I was trying to remember from The Expanse if Future Guy said Earth would destroy the Xindi home world or if he said that they would destroy the Xindi world. There is a difference in semantics. If he said Earth would destroy the Xindi world, then that would mean they would destroy whatever planet the Xindi were currently inhabiting. The home world could have already been destroyed by some past war or other major catastrophe and the Xindi had migrated elsewhere. Thinking that the humans had some hidden agenda, the Xindi man gave Archer what he asked for... the coordinates for the home world, which had already been destroyed 120 years ago, not the Xindi world (which they currently inhabit).

 

I will have to go back an rewatch The Expanse to know for certain.

[Riaan 0]

Well, I rewatched The Xindi yesterday, and this is what I found:

1. Future Guy said earth would destroy the Xindi world. (from the "previously on" segment)

2. Archer asked the male Xindi slave for the coordinates to the Xindi home world.

3.The Xindi slave gave Archer via Phlox the coordinates to the Xindi home world which had been destroyed.

 

So...the Xindi slave was playing with semantics. He gave Archer exactly what he asked for, but not what he wanted.

[Essoq 0]

I enjoyed the Xindi, especially the CG characters in the aquarium (I laughed). But what happened to all the disemboweling and insanity that was supposed to go on in the expanse? So all their luggage is stuck to the walls? who cares?

[Essoq 0]

Well, I rewatched The Xindi yesterday, and this is what I found:

1. Future Guy said earth would destroy the Xindi world. (from the "previously on" segment)

2. Archer asked the male Xindi slave for the coordinates to the Xindi home world.

3.The Xindi slave gave Archer via Phlox the coordinates to the Xindi home world which had been destroyed.

 

So...the Xindi slave was playing with semantics. He gave Archer exactly what he asked for, but not what he wanted.

I find it difficult to believe that someone would use their dying breath just to play a trick on Archer.

[MoulinRouge 0]

The insanity comes later, Essog. Obviously you haven't read spoilers for episode 5, "Impulse." He he hehe he.....

[A l t e r E g o 9]

Brief Impulse spoiler

 

Click for Spoiler:

When Enterprise responds to a distress call from a Vulcan ship stranded in the Delphic Expanse, Archer and his boarding team are attacked by insane zombie-like Vulcans.

 

 

:o Me like!

[thayln 0]

Click for Spoiler:

Yeah, The Expanse really doesn't seem to like Vulcans. I think it's pretty cool that here's a place where the impulsive, impatient, imature humans have an advantage.

 

 

Can't wait to see how they get out of this one.

[Theunicornhunter 2]

Well, I rewatched The Xindi yesterday, and this is what I found:

1. Future Guy said earth would destroy the Xindi world. (from the "previously on" segment)

2. Archer asked the male Xindi slave for the coordinates to the Xindi home world.

3.The Xindi slave gave Archer via Phlox the coordinates to the Xindi home world which had been destroyed.

 

So...the Xindi slave was playing with semantics. He gave Archer exactly what he asked for, but not what he wanted.

I find it difficult to believe that someone would use their dying breath just to play a trick on Archer.

Well, maybe someone's been playing with the timeline. Maybe when the dying Xindi left his homeworld it was intact but the timeline changed and he was out of the loop because he was on some alien world. I know there's lots of holes in that theory but I think it will be something unusual.

[Captain Jean-Luc Picard 1]

Well, I rewatched The Xindi yesterday, and this is what I found:

1. Future Guy said earth would destroy the Xindi world. (from the "previously on" segment)

2. Archer asked the male Xindi slave for the coordinates to the Xindi home world.

3.The Xindi slave gave Archer via Phlox the coordinates to the Xindi home world which had been destroyed.

 

So...the Xindi slave was playing with semantics. He gave Archer exactly what he asked for, but not what he wanted.

I find it difficult to believe that someone would use their dying breath just to play a trick on Archer.

He's a bad guy. Of coarse he's going to use his last breath to throw Archer off. I was surprised that he gave the coordinates, then returned to my original suspicouns when they saw the planetary debris.

[Riaan 0]

Well, I rewatched The Xindi yesterday, and this is what I found:

1. Future Guy said earth would destroy the Xindi world. (from the "previously on" segment)

2. Archer asked the male Xindi slave for the coordinates to the Xindi home world.

3.The Xindi slave gave Archer via Phlox the coordinates to the Xindi home world which had been destroyed.

 

So...the Xindi slave was playing with semantics. He gave Archer exactly what he asked for, but not what he wanted.

I find it difficult to believe that someone would use their dying breath just to play a trick on Archer.

He's a bad guy. Of coarse he's going to use his last breath to throw Archer off. I was surprised that he gave the coordinates, then returned to my original suspicouns when they saw the planetary debris.

 

Agreed Jean-Luc.

 

Lets put ourselves in the Xindi's place for a second.

 

Ok, you are a person of questionable character or at least a person placed among those of questionable character. For the past few years, you have been living in conditions that are deplorable and brutal. You have had to lie, cheat, etc. just to survive.

 

Along comes a person from a yet unseen species (human), who demands to see you and have proof that you are Xindi. Your "supervisor" cuts off your finger for that proof.

 

When you encounter this human, he demands to be given the coordinates to your home world. He only states that he has business with the Xindi, nothing more. You discover that the human knows next to nothing about your species (plural), yet he has this urgent need to locate your world.

 

You discover that this human not only has a shuttle on the planet's surface, but also there is a starship in orbit. This is your ticket off of the god-forsaken rock. You delay giving any info to buy your escape.

 

It is said that there is honor among thieves, and this human did live up to his end of the bargain. You know the human is wanting to learn the location of your species, but what he asked for was the the home world. You still have no idea what he and his people want with yours. You have no idea if he can be trusted in any way.

 

On your deathbed with your "thieves code of honor" would you not live up to your end of the bargain? Give the human exactly what he wanted?