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Star Trek - Enterprise - Series 3 - Complete (Slimline Edition)


RRP: £34.99
Our Price: £16.75 (subject to change)

Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

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. Realising 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 honours 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.


Season 3 is a blinder
Review date: 2008-11-05 Rating: 10 out of 10

Season 3 really picks up on the action far more then any trek series. Earth has been attacked by a race known as the Xindi and the crew are pulled off thier assignment in order to find out what happened and to respond to the threat. yet again in epiode 1 the klingons want archer dead and the Klingon Durus pays the price for underestimating the enterprise refit. throughout season 3 Trip start sleeping more after the death of his sister to the intial xindi attack on earth when T'pol helps by Phlox's recommendation, and how enterprise yet again finds trouble and almost destruction by making a mistake that alerted the Xindi. this season is about revenege for the inital attack, when the Xindi find out about the people who are really behind the attack, some defect to try stop thier large weapon, in the end the xindi have a civil war with enterprise caught in the middle and this time get help from Shran in 2 instances.

Highly recommended to any trekkie looking for some real action. a warning: lots of violence and blood. please do not buy this if your squimish to blood scenes.

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Reviews


The tragic fate of Enterprise Exhibit A
Review date: 2008-07-29 Rating: 8 out of 10

The third season of Enterprise is roughly equal to the fourth in terms of quality. Granted it lacks the pure fun of episodes like "In a Mirror Darkly" but still gives us wonderful stories. The grim "Twilight", the legendary "Similitude" and "Azanti Prime",and others like the underrated "E2" and "Carpenter Street".

Season three is clearly a work in progress moving away from the ponderous plots of season one and two in favor of a season long epic that still works amazingly well even when you know Earth will survive (No Earth No Star Trek).

Well produced and well written it serves as a sad reminder of the fact that Star Trek series (excepting the first) always seem to work it out around s3. Early TNG, and DS9 bore almost no resemblance to the polished show to come and even the horrific Voyager got...tolerable around season three.

Sadly it wasn't enough coming after Voyager and at a point where the highs of DS9 and Next Gen were fading into the past Enterprise never had enough viewers and by season three was in serious trouble. Cut by two episodes to 24 it was already becoming clear that it was highly unlikely Enterprise would reach it's scheduled finish in May 2008.

Far better than Voyager and the first two seasons, just not quite good enough.Enterprise had just twelve months to live but buy this set and remember it for what it was...

Extras: As first release, Documentary featurettes, and cast/crew interviews much as all the other trek disks though helped in this case by the fact most of the material was recorded specially for the disks (unlike the previous series regular reuse of material from the time of airing (even as far back as 1987)) also commentaries.

This release (as with the others) does away with the hard cases used the first time round in favor of a card case and slimline cases. This is actually somewhat of an improvement since the Enterprise sets were the most over packed of the first run releases.

Well worth a look

Enjoy!!!

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Scott Bakula
John Billingsley
Jolene Blalock
Anthony Montgomery
Dominic Keating

Creators:
Scott Bakula (Primary Contributor)
John Billingsley (Primary Contributor)

Recording label: Paramount Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Entertainment
EAN: 5014437954633
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2008-07-28
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 1026 minutes

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