The Shipment

DVD, Enterprise S3 (The Shipment)

"All Xindi are not your enemy," is the theme of this episode, but apart from that it's a pretty pointless exercise - they don't find out where the weapon is, may have delayed it a little, but that's all. This was probably designed to give us much more of a traditional Trek feel to the season. So much of it has been about sci-fi action rather than allegory or character, so it must have seemed like a good idea to have Archer settle down on a Xindi world for a while, learn to trust one of the race, and discover that he had no knowledge of the probe that killed so many on Earth, or the full-scale version that will be used for complete destruction in future. Throw in Major Hayes, and have a subplot in which Trip and Phlox work together to analyse the Xindi firearm left behind in a previous attack, and what's not to like?

I'm all for having Hayes back, and I'm glad they tracked him down and pulled him out of whatever cupboard he'd been hiding in for the last few episodes, but really it could have been any of the MACOs, and there was no reason for it being the Major at all. It didn't add to the burgeoning feud between Reed and Hayes in any way, and actually the two were in accordance against Archer at one moment. Neither did it give the Captain a deeper connection to his MACO leader, as he was too busy kidnapping/making friends with Gralik Durr, the Xindi-Arboreal. As for the subplot of the weapons testing, it was perfectly fine, in a round about way - they learn the guns have organic components. But that's about all they learn before Trip activates the self-destruct and has to do a Chekov-like sprint to the Transporter, to beam it off ("I ken do it, I ken do it!").

The setting of a verdant forest world (of Endor, I want to say), is a nice change of visual pace, the costumes and makeup are as good as ever. I think the problem is that there just is so little depth. John Cothran Jr. (who had previously played Klingons on 'TNG' and 'DS9'), was a reasonably well-defined character, his performance making him deeper than the writing. And his abode, with its tree-like feel, wooden furniture and sparse, but homely design, was a good example of a different culture. But we never got to know that culture beyond the job that he did there, which keeps the Xindi as, if not faceless, to a degree personality-less enemies who remain undefined as people. That may work to sustain their credibility as uncompromising enemies of Earth, but it makes it harder to care about them as individuals or races, beyond the interest in their history - we learn about a sixth race, the Xindi-Avians which died out during a vast planetary war between the species, that ultimately destroyed their homeworld.

My feeling was that there were plenty of pieces to play with in this story, but it went lightly over meanings and quandaries. Archer shows some trepidation at destroying the compound once he knows the workers had nothing to do with the weapon, and once Gralik agrees to help there's no reason to blow it up anyway. But that's about as far as the moral minefield of a Captain's decisions goes. If Michael Piller had been part of the writing team I'm sure he'd have been telling them to go deeper, and not churn out a mass production Trek series that could be so much fuller and meatier, even as it kept its slick sheen intact. Because it looks as tasty as ever. The Xindi-Arboreals, despite bringing to mind 'Planet of The Apes,' was an achievement. Though the actors inside the makeup, whether Arboreal or Reptilian, looked uncomfortable walking around, as long as they were standing, they looked great. The CGI had its usual problems depicting figures, even at a distance, with Archer creeping up on the Xindi ship, or the Arboreals seen lumbering about inside their facility, but in establishing shots the sets looked good, as did the NX-01 hiding behind a moon.

It did seem bizarre that such a facility would be so lacking in security. They don't detect the Enterprise, they don't have guards, unless you count the robotic Seekers (I almost thought I was watching 'The Arsenal of Freedom' from 'TNG' in that scene!), and they never even pick up on items beaming to and fro, or communication between ship and planet. You'd think with such an important business in so dangerous an Expanse, that they would have very strong security! I loved having kemacite be a part of it - best known for being the material that sends Quark, Rom and Nog back in time in 'Little Green Men,' though it may have been something entirely different as its pronounced kemocite here.

I wasn't against learning more about the Xindi and their history, and I was definitely interested in seeing Degra outside of the council chambers, vehement in his belief that Earth is such a deadly enemy, and I really wanted to get to know some Xindi characters and find out that not all of them support the war effort against humanity. I just needed more than what was on offer here: reasons for meeting Gralik, for having Hayes part of the team, and as I always say, greater involvement from the characters - Travis is actually promoted to having one line, instead of looking meaningfully at his console or whoever is speaking on the bridge. He almost blurted it out in joy before it was taken away from him! I like that the previous episode influenced what happened in this one, (though it was very odd to hear Archer saying 'Star Trek: Enterprise' in the recap - both the title and him saying it), but I felt like, apart from meeting a sympathetic and unexpected ally, it was treading water, trying to appear exciting without being so. And Bakula doesn't always convince when he plays angry - in this one he was almost spitting at Gralik! Even the title lacked any imagination. Another instalment that doesn't live up to the season's promise.

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