Product Description

Set in the 22nd century, a hundred years before James T. Kirk helmed the famous starship of the same name, ENTERPRISE takes place in an era when interstellar travel is still in its infancy. Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) has assembled a crew of brave explorers to chart the galaxy on a revolutionary spacecraft: Enterprise NX-01. As the first human beings to venture into deep space, these pioneers will experience the wonder and mystery of the final frontier as they seek out new life and new civilizations.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11668 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2005-09-27
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Box set, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 7
• Running time: 1026 minutes

Amazon.com
Described by series cocreator Brannon Braga as "a single episode that lasts 24 hours," the third season of Star Trek: Enterprise is arguably the best in the show's four-season run. With the epic "Xindi saga" as the season's primary story arc, the series found its tonal focus in the unpredictable space of the Delphic Expanse, where alien encounters and matter-warping spatial anomalies forced Capt. Archer (Scott Bakula) to make extreme decisions that tested his ethical boundaries. Realizing the need for a fresh viewpoint, Braga and cocreator Rick Berman hired Manny Coto, a TV veteran who conceived or wrote several of the season's finest episodes (not forgetting Mike Sussman and other members of the series' first-rate writing staff). Coto's involvement was instrumental in shaping the Xindi saga, which began (with season 2's cliffhanger) when Earth was attacked by a Xindi probe--a massive weapon which Archer must now destroy. This vital mission dominates season 3, deriving its potent drama from an impressive variety of characters and subplots focused on the five-species Xindi council, which finds its voice of reason in Primate member Degra (season regular Randy Oglesby) and rancor in the Reptilian Commander (Scott MacDonald), pivotal characters whose fates will be tragically intertwined.

Despite lower ratings and budgetary cutbacks (as evident in several ship-bound episodes with minimal casting), season 3 was equally strong as a showcase for the Enterprise regulars, with plenty of fan speculation rising from the sexy and soothing Vulcan "neuro-pressure" sessions between the insomniac Tucker (Connor Trinneer, better than ever) and T'Pol, whose hidden addiction to a toxic compound allows Jolene Blalock to mine the volatile depths of her character (who now sports a more appealing hairstyle and wardrobe). Meanwhile, security chief Reed (Dominick Keating) engages in heated competition with Major Hayes (reliable guest Steven Culp, from the first season of Desperate Housewives), the leader of NX-01's Military Assault Command Operation (or MACO), which Reed views with territorial suspicion. And while Enterprise still fumbled to develop the characters of Hoshi (Linda Park) and Travis (Anthony Montgomery), John Billingsley continued to bring clutch-player excellence to his role as Dr. Phlox in several highlight episodes including "Doctor's Orders" and "Similitude," the latter featuring equally strong work by Trinneer in an ethically complex (and fan-favorite) examination of the cloning--a typical example of Star Trek at its best.

The alternate timeline of "Twilight" also honors the classic Trek tradition, while "Harbinger" reveals the existence of the trans-dimensional Sphere Builders, whose moon-sized creations affect Enterprise throughout its season-long mission. Finally, the crucial appearances of blue-skinned Andorian Shran (Jeffrey Combs) bring both suspense and comic relief to the season's grim proceedings, adding depth and tentative alliance to Enterprise's pre-Federation politics--a crucial element that assumes greater importance with the jaw-dropping cliffhanger of "Zero Hour" and the surprises in store for season 4, which will bring Enterprise ever closer to the original Star Trek timeline.

DVD features
Gathered on disc 7, the season 3 bonus features for Enterprise are consistent with features on seasons 1 and 2: Identical in presentation but different in content. The "Xindi Saga" featurette summarizes the creative and practical decisions that resulted in the season-long story arc; "Enterprise Profile" acknowledges the popularity of "Trip" Tucker and Connor Trinneer's successful effort to transcend the character's "hayseed" image; and "A Day in the Life of a Director" finds Roxann Dawson (aka B'Elanna Torres from Voyager) well in control as she helms the episode "Exile." As with previous DVD sets, three more "NX-01" files are hidden as "Easter eggs" on the Special Features menus, and they include further appreciations of the Enterprise writers, the work of costume designer Robert Blackman, and John Billingsley's hilarious anecdote about Phlox's prodigious sexual endowment(s). The outtakes are amusing but all too brief, perhaps owing to the higher stakes (and lower ratings) of a dramatically serious season. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Excellent Season!
Season three was the most interesting of all the seasons on the show. The entire season was a single story arc surrounding the Xindi attack on Earth and had some memorable episodes.


The Xindi

Enterprise begins to search for the mysterious Xindi who have plans to destroy earth They encounter a mining colony with a worker who knows something about the Xindi. It is learned that the Xindi are a multi-race species.


Anomaly

The Enterprise begins to fall victim to the spatial distortions in the expanse, later an alien ship attacks them and the ship's crew beam aboard and rob them.


Extinction

While on a planet searching for a crashed Xindi ship, a protomutagenic virus reverts some of the crew into more primitive life forms


Rajin

An alien offers the crew a method for creating a chemical called Trellium-D that will protect the ship from the anomalies and slave girl named Rajin captivates the ship's crew


Impulse

The Enterprise receives a distress call from a Vulcan ship and when they arrive the crew is attacked by a group of vulcans who have been turned into zombie like creatures. It is determined that the trellium-D is toxic to Vulcans and that T'Pol would be affected if it were used on Enterprise .


Exile

A telepathic alien contacts Hoshi and offers to help her translate the Xindi database they found. Meanwhile, Archer and Trip investigate a mysterious sphere that is nearby


The Shipment

The crew locate a Xindi Sloth colony that is unknowingly helping manufacture the weapon that will be used to destroy Earth. Archer manages to convince the colony leader to sabotage a shipment of a chemical used in the weapon.


Twilight

12 years in the future, Archer wakes up and learns that Earth was destroyed and that he is affected by a extradimensional parasite that damages his memory. It is learned that if the parasite is destroyed, that the events of the previous 12 years could be reversed. They succeed and Enterprise is back on it's mission


North Star

The Enterprise crew encounter a planet inhabited by humans living in a colony similar to the Western US in the 19th century. It is learned that they were abducted and moved to that planet by aliens still living with them.


Similitude

Trip is badly injured in accident and can only be saved if he is cloned and the clone is killed for an organ that Trip needs replaced.


Carpenter Street

Temoral agent Daniels locates a group of Xindi Reptilians in early 21st century Detroit and enlists Archer and T'Pol to assist in finding out why they are there.


Chosen Realm

A group of religious militants hijack Enterprise accusing them of desecrating the one of the many spheres in the region and attempt to use the Enterprise to attack 'heretics' that they are fighting against.


Proving Ground

An Andorian ship led by Shran assist Enterprise in locating the facility where a prototype of Xindi superweapon is being tested.


Stratagem

Archer meets Degra, the designer of the Xindi weapon and tries to fool him into thinking that that they escaed from a prison and that his memory was erased.


Harbringer

The crew rescue a mysterious alien in one of the spatial distortions and his ship is made of the same material as the spheres


Doctor's Orders

After learning of the location of the superweapon the Enterprise crew discover that the only direct rout is through a massive disturbance. Phlox is the only one immune to the radiation and he puts the rest of the crew into stasis.


Hatchery

Archer discovers a nest of Xindi insectoid eggs and begins to become emotionally attached to them.


Azati Prime

The crew have reached Azati Prime and Archer decides to go on a one way mission to destroy the weapon. He is met by Daniels who takes him 400 years into the future where he learns about the sphere builders and their ability to see alternate timelines. He tells archer he must make peace with the Xindi. Archer decides to go anyway but discover the weapon is gone he is then kidnapped by the Xindi and learns the the Enterprise has been hit by a crippling attack


Damage.

The Xindi continue to attack but suddenly stop. Archer is returned and the crew try to recover from the attack.


The Forgotten

The xindi offer to stop the attack if Archer can prove that they were lied to by the sphere builders.


E2

The Enterprise crew try to use a subspace corridor but meet up with a ship of their descendants who tell them it will throw them 117 years back in time.


The Council

Archer meets with the Xindi council and tries to convince them to call off the attack, but Degra is killed and the reptilian and insectoids secede, kidnap Hoshi and launch the weapon.


Countdown

With the new primate, aboreal, and aquatic Xindi allies, Archer begins a mission to track down and sestry the Xindi superweapon. Meanwhile, it is learned that one of the spheres controls all the others, if that one is destroyed, all the others will be disabled.


Zero Hour

With some last minute help from the Andorians, Archer and the Enterprise crew manage to destroy the superweapon and disable the sphere network. But they find themselves in an alternate timeline on 1940's Earth where an alien race helped the Nazis invade the US

This season is one of my favorites and includes some excellent bonus features.

Season Three-...and the beginning of a new one(The series own Expanse)
After two season of eroding ratings,the wrath of fans, and the ST franchise at an all time low, The Third season of the newly re-christened Star Trek Enterprise had taken the series into a new direction and produced some of the best episodes since the end of Deep Space Nine.
Taking it's cue from the second season finale The Expanse,the entire season deals with Captain Jonathan Archer's mission to stop the Xindi from destroying Earth with a superweapon after a devastating attack.Albiet,there were some weak semi stand alone episodes (Extinction,North Star,Carpenter St.,and E2),among classic episodes which ranks with some of the franchises best(Impulse,Twilight,Azati Prime/Damage,The Counsel/Countdown/Zero Time).Staff member Manny Coto was responsible for new direction which made for the most exciting season of the entire four year run.
Unfortunatly the exciting new direction couldn't produce ratings and was barely renewed after a fan based letter writing campaign,echoing the classic series fan fueled renewal.As a result,Coto became the official show runner which he produced one last season to correct the many continuety errors that has littered the series from the beginning.

A big step up - but still not great
I applaud "Star Trek: Enterprise" for trying something bigger for its third season, but the results aren't terribly impressive. The year-long storyline of the Enterprise searching out the mysterious Xindi and exploring the deadly "Expanse" region of the galaxy was good stuff, but there are a number of times where it simply doesn't go far enough, or where an episode nearly derails the entire thing. It comes just to the edge of being quite good, but ultimately falls to the "OK" side of the fence.

The show is still plagued by many of the same problems it suffered from before, most noticeably that much of the cast is simply ignored. Instead of developing current cast members, new ones are introduced this season, only to be dropped or forgotten two episodes later. The show continually takes two steps forward, and then quickly takes one back.

That said, there is some wonderful visceral entertainment in this season. The writers and directors got a bit more bold, with larger, more impressive action sequences, and the special effects in this third season are second to none. The final stretch of episodes (save the ludicrous and awful season finale) are quite thrilling. If only the show had had the balls not to screw up the ending, this would easily be a Four-star season.

Even with the several large problems this season suffers from, the third season of "Star Trek: Enterprise" (along with the fourth season) is the best season of "Star Trek" since the late 1990s. That doesn't say much - it's still not nearly as good as it could or even should have been. But it's worth checking out.