Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Star Trek: Enterprise - Season Three Blu-ray Movie Review

Arguably the best of a show that never really found the wide appeal it deserved.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 7, 2014

Despite a rock-solid concept -- a prequel to Gene Roddenberry's original Science Fiction classic Star Trek, the physical realization of the heralded first smalls steps on the way to man's giant leap into the farther reaches of space and galactic relations -- Enterprise never really soared to the same level of popularity as its predecessors. "Why" remains something of a mystery, really. Sure, the show never replicated the classic fare of the original, it didn't match the cheery outward disposition and perfect casting and characters of The Next Generation, it lacked the nitty-gritty future universe living and political intensity of Deep Space Nine, and it wasn't as entertainingly far-flung as Voyager, but it offered everything in the proper Star Trek proportions, including a strong ensemble cast; (mostly) well-developed characters; a new "triumvirate" in Archer, Trip, and T'Pol; and plenty of established lore to work with in its own time. The show needed not build its own world, only build towards the canonical world of its future predecessors. The show did succeed in spurts. The first season enjoys arguably the best pilot of all the series and works in some entertaining episodes while strongly developing a crucial sense of family and familiarity amongst the crew. Season two offers much of the same, and features plenty of episodes molded in the classic Trek fashion, but it doesn't much push the envelope or extend beyond the scope established in season one. With questionable ratings and chatter that the show might not make the seven seasons of TNG, DS9, and Voyager, the writers and producers molded season three in the image of the successful Deep Space Nine's later seasons and constructed a season-spanning arc that challenged the crew to save Earth from a dangerous enemy of whom little is known.

Into the Expanse.

That enemy is the Xindi, a collective of half-a-dozen intelligent species hailing from Xindus, a planet deep within the mysterious "Delphic Expanse." Sophisticated Xindi intelligence, aided by the mysterious inter-dimensional "Sphere Builders," has discovered that Xindus is doomed, destined to one day be destroyed by humans. Following debate within the Xindi Council, the decision is made to preemptively destroy mankind before mankind can destroy the Xindi. A spherical weapon is deployed on a test-run to Earth. It emits a powerful energy beam that slices the Earth from Florida to Venezuela. Millions are killed, and among the dead is Commander Tucker's (Connor Trinneer) sister. Earth's only warp-five vessel, the Enterprise, is dispatched to the Expanse to prevent further Xindi attacks and save humanity from a race of beings no man has seen before, hailing from a part of the universe where no man has gone before.

To say that the writers and all of those responsible for bringing Enterprise to the small screen rolled the dice and shook up the universe with season three would be an understatement. Whereas Star Trek had almost always been about "seeking out new life and new civilizations" with a peaceful overtone and a hand extended in friendship, season three introduced a role reversals in two ways, featuring aliens seeking out man for the sole purpose of his destruction and man seeking out alien life for the sole purpose of preventing his own genocide, and by any means necessary. Gone from season three, or at least hidden behind the heightened dangers of a new mission and a season-long arc, are the foundational principles of what Star Trek would be after Archer, the guiding principles of the yet-unwritten Prime Directive replaced by questionable actions, unscrupulous dealings, and actions fueled not only by mission parameters but the sort of raw emotions that the show's audience would understand all-too-well in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The season dually explores the darkest corners of its crew as it pushes itself, and its collective humanity, to the extreme for a cause certainly with merit but very possibly to the detriment of its, and man's, very essence. The season simultaneously -- intentionally or not considering cast and crew interviews -- reflects the feelings and actions of its time and place in the real world, as good Science Fiction always does, though certainly doing so with little subtlety along the way. Season three is amongst the darkest of Star Trek. It's not as refined as Deep Space Nine, sometimes coming across like a blunt instrument instead of a precisely tuned symphony of upheaval, but it's effective television and, if nothing else, a new and very relatable perspective on man today and man in the Star Trek universe.

Though it follows one continuous story, season three plays a little loosely with the whole Xindi idea, not cramming every minute and detail with a laser-like focus on the main storyline but rather enjoying some side bars that tie in to, but don't always define or reshape, the hunt for the Xindi. There are several high quality episodes in the season that are just as good out of the arc as they are in it, and in true Trek fashion there are some duds, too. One of the issues with season three, however, is that for as good as some of the episodes may be, they often hearken back to older, better Trek, redefining classic stories rather blazing a brand-new path through the Delphic Expanse. There's the mandatory time travel episode in "Carpenter Street" and the deep inner exploration that's a result of man fate meeting with advanced science in the wonderful "Similitude." "Twilight" will recall memories of the Next Generation series finale "All Good Things..." while the Old West-themed "North Star" hearkens back to classic TOS favorites "Bread and Circuses" and "A Piece of the Action." Nevertheless, season three offers a fun ride that's spectacular at its best and only serviceable at times but built with enough energy to carry it through the inevitable ups and downs of a typical Trek season.

Star Trek: Enterprise - Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Enterprise has never looked all that great on Blu-ray, and season three is certainly no exception. This 1080p, 1.78:1-framed presentation gets the job done on a basic level, but there are many instances when the material barely looks better than the series' DVD counterpart. It's soft almost to a fault in places, absent the sort of razor definition found on The Next Generation and The Original Series Blu-ray releases. The show is depressingly dull by nature, which contributes to the flat appearance, and it does see a nice uptick in clarity and detail in brighter scenes, most of which are found in sickbay. Indeed, the bulk of the show's color consists of dark blue uniforms against the dull gray backdrops. The program cannot muster much visual intensity, leaving details flat and the image appearing rather sickly and antiquated. Other colors are often just as drab. The red, mustard, and blue-green uniform accents look nice enough, and space exteriors show fair colors on planets and the ship's warp nacelles, but a vibrant, showy program this is not. Black levels never go too bright, but they often absorb surrounding information. Flesh tones occasionally look pasty. Noise is present to excess in places, and grain is really only evident in the better-lit scenes where it often looks sharpened and artificial. A few minor pops and speckles crop up along the way as well, but they're the least of the transfer's concerns. This is certainly not a very visually appealing presentation; here's hoping that, if it's released, Deep Space Nine -- a somewhat darker show in its own right -- fares better.

Star Trek: Enterprise - Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Star Trek: Enterprise - Season Three warps onto Blu-ray with an adequate but somewhat underwhelming DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. There's never that real sense of immersion and fullness here like TNG envelops its audience and places them on the bridge, in engineering, on the holodeck, or on an alien world. In Enterprise, basic hums and ship's sounds are nicely replicated, but audiences won't feel like they're walking through corridors, visiting sickbay, or hanging out in Archer's quarters. Doors open with a nice whoosh across the front and back channels, beeps and bloops are present, and other minor ambient effects set the stage, but not to faultless lifelike replication. Action scenes fare well enough; phaser blasts and explosions are punchy and clear but not presented with the same level of enthusiasm and clarity of other Trek releases on Blu-ray. Musical content, whether score or the jazzed up opening title tune, enjoys fine spacing and clarity. Dialogue does come through accurately from the center. This is a high expectations sort of track that doesn't quite deliver as it should, but gets its job done well enough.

Star Trek: Enterprise - Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Star Trek: Enterprise - Season Three contains supplements across the entire set, save for disc four. As usual, it's comprehensive and entertaining, perhaps not as massive a collection as past Star Trek seasons released on Blu-ray but certainly an enjoyable journey for fans.

Disc One:

• Text Commentary: Mike & Denise Okuda for "The Xindi."
• Archival Mission Logs: The Xindi Saga Begins (SD, 13:12): A quality, but rather short, look at the season's new direction, influences, finding the storyline for the season, themes and specific examples of the season's darker edge, character arcs, and more.
• Archival Mission Logs: Enterprise Moments: Season Three (SD, 12:58): A closer look at "Twilight," "Chosen Realm," "Similitude," "Harbinger," "Azati Prime," and "Zero Hour."

Disc Two:

• Audio Commentary: Director David Livingston and Consulting Producer David A. Goodman for "Impulse" and Writer/Producer Mike Sussman and Startrek.com's Editorial Director Tim Gaskill for "Twilight."
• Text Commentary: Mike & Denise Okuda for "Impulse."

Disc Three:

• Audio Commentary: Writer David A. Goodman and Uncredited Writer Chris Black for "North Star," Assistant Director Michael Demeritt also for "North Star," Writer Manny Coto and Actor Connor Trinneer for "Similitude," and Writer Manny Coto also for "Similitude."
• Deleted Scenes (HD): Several scenes from "Similitude" (2:30) and one scene from "Chosen Realm" (1:08).

Disc Five:

• Audio Commentary: Co-Writer David A. Goodman, Co-Executive Producer and Co-Writer Chris Black, and Actor Connor Trinneer for "The Forgotten."
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 4:42): Scenes from "E2."

Disc Six:

• Audio Commentary: Co-Excutive Producer and Co-Writer Chris Black and Co-Prducer and Co-Writer André Bormanis for "Countdown."
• Text Commentary: Mike & Denise Okuda for "Countdown."
• In a Time of War: Part One: Call to Arms (HD, 28:07): A new retrospective on the Xindi arc, its relevancy to the modern world and the series' parallel with the years following 9/11, building the story as it evolved, Manny Coto's arrival and contributions, the goings of other crew, the season's finale, and more. As with all of these new Enterprise supplements, this one, and the new features that follow, is quite candid and refreshing.
• In a Time of War: Part Two: Front Lines (HD, 29:51): Another new retrospective, this one featuring the cast covering the Xindi storyline, Jolene Blalock's disappointment with her character's arc and her lack of communication with the writers, ratings trouble and rumblings of cancellation, questions with boundaries and morals depicted in the show, and more. The supplement also features additional writer commentary.
• In a Time of War: Part Three: Final Conflict (HD, 28:36): A further examination of the season, including the Xindi character design, budget limitations, and special effects. The supplement also features interviews with Xindi actors and briefly looks at the season finale.
• In a Time of War: Temporal Cold War: Declassified (HD, 20:17): A deeper look into the Temporal Cold War arc, including plot specifics and side characters integral to the story line. The piece features interviews with several actors.
• Enterprise Profile: Connor Trinneer (SD, 17:15): A piece in praise of the actor portraying the fan-favorite engineer. The supplement also examines the character's origins and arc through the series.
• A Day in the Life of a Director: Roxann Dawson (SD, 17:27): This piece follows the Voyager actress' routine on the set as she directs an episode. It shows some of the nitty-gritty insights into the directing process that casual audiences might not associate with the director's position.
• Behind the Camera: Marvin Rush (SD, 15:44): This piece follows the veteran Star Trek cinematographer as he works on the show.
• Enterprise Secrets (SD, 4:12): 2nd Assistant Director David Trotti guides viewers through a few of the locations around the Paramount lot and shares how they've been utilized throughout Star Trek history.
• Outtakes (SD, 6:14).
• Photo Gallery (SD).
• NX-01 File 07 (SD, 1:37): Recollections of a nude Phlox scene.
• NX-01 File 08 (SD, 5:46): Costumer Designer Robert Blackman shares the history of the Enterprise crew uniforms.
• NX-01 File 09 (SD, 3:09): Producer/Writer Mike Sussman discusses the episode "E2."

Star Trek: Enterprise - Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Enterprise may have never quite found its space legs, but they do enjoy a good, healthy stretch in season three, arguably the best the show had to offer. Following the example of Deep Space Nine's continuous Dominion War story arc, Archer and crew give the extended plot a try and, mostly, succeed in breathing some life into a series that's better than it's reported to be but not quite up to par with its predecessors. Season three seemed only to extended the inevitable, lengthening the series' lifespan for one more season before it was, justifiably but regrettably, mothballed. Star Trek: Enterprise - Season Three offers bland video and good audio. A quality grouping of extras are included. Recommended.