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Star Trek: Who Are The Xindi?

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• The Xindi, a complex and diverse alien species in the Star Trek universe, have a history marked by civil war and manipulation by the mysterious Sphere Builders.
• The Xindi initially believed Earth was developing a superweapon to destroy their world, leading to tensions with the Enterprise crew who sought to prevent an attack.
• The Xindi Council consists of five species: Primates, Arboreals, Aquatics, Reptilians, and Insectoids. Each species has unique characteristics and played a role in the alliance to prevent the attack on Earth.

The vast universe of Star Trek features a myriad of alien species , each with its unique characteristics and quirks. Among these, the Xindi are one of the show's many villains, and are among the most intriguing and enigmatic races of the franchise. To delve into the depths of their existence, it is vital to know their history and the challenges they have posed to Starfleet. "The Xindi," the premiere episode of Season 3 of Star Trek: Enterprise, kicked off this species' arc. A veteran Trek helmer, Allan Kroeker, directed the installment, written by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga.

It all started in the 2150s, when six unique subspecies lived in the strange world of Xindus. A subspecies of the Xindi, the Xindi Avians, went extinct due to an internal war. The five other subspecies that survived found a common ground and created the Xindi Council. They invaded Earth in the 2150s, changing the course of interplanetary affairs. The history of the Xindi is complex, marked by civil war and the influence of mysterious Sphere Builders. It’s a tale of diversity, strife, and the potential for unity within the vastness of the Star Trek universe.

The great starships of Star Trek get most of the attention, but Starfleet relies on its smaller vessels just as much.

Relationship Between the Xindi and the Federation

Upon making first contact, there was tension between the Xindi and the Enterprise crew due to Reptilians relaying misinformation to other Xindi subspecies. They falsely told the other Xindi that the Earth developing a superweapon to destroy their world for their secret agenda. The other Xindi believed that humanity would eventually become a threat, and thus planned an attack on the Earth. As the crew of the USS Enterprise, under the leadership of Captain Jonathan Archer, learned more about the situation and interacted with various Xindi species, they uncovered the deception and sought to prevent the attack.

When the crew realized that the other four species believed this false information, Captain Archer tried to build trust between them. The Primates were the most cooperative among the Xindi, realizing that humans were not their enemy. The Primates, Arboreals, Aquatics, and Insectoids of the Xindi, along with the Enterprise team uncovered the manipulation and deception by the Reptilians. Together, they allied to prevent the attack. This alliance developed friendly relations between the Xindi species and the United Federation of Planets.

The Xindi's Complex History

The history of the Xindi has been marked by a complex combination of internal divisions and external forces. It has become integral to Star Trek's exploration of diversity, conflict, and potential unity in a rapidly expanding universe.

It all began with the Xindi Civil War, a mysterious event that marked a historical turning point. This conflict resulted from a web of tension among the Xindi subspecies. Disagreements over the fate of the Xindi homeworld and the perceived threat of an unknown enemy caused these tensions to erupt into violence. The conflict demonstrated the complexity of Xindi culture and the difficulties of reconciling so many different species. It also showed the effects of external influences on Xindi's internal dynamics.

The mysterious Sphere Builders emerged as a powerful force behind the scenes, further complicating Xindi affairs. Their use of temporal technology and control over Xindi leaders led to an existential crisis for the Xindi.

Xindi Diversity, Explained

Five Delphic Expanse species made the Xindi Council: Primates (humanoid-like beings), Arboreals (sloth-like humans), Aquatics (underwater mammals that resemble mosasaurs), Reptilians (lizard-like humans), and Insectoids (an amalgam of ant- and fly-like beings). There are two representatives from each species on the panel of the council. They used to hold secret meetings in a hidden chamber to plan the destruction of the Earth.

As mentioned above, the Xindi Council has five species, beginning with the Arboreals. These sloth-like humans seek refuge in the canopies of their lush, wooded worlds. Their distinct ability to navigate trees with elegance and agility differentiates them. On the other hand, the Aquatics survive at the depths of the oceans, their bodies adapting to an underwater existence. In contrast to surface-dwelling animals, their communication mechanism elaborate bioluminescent patterns.

Insectoids, as their name suggests, are insect-like creatures with a hive mentality, offering unique challenges in diplomatic relations. Their complex social structures and ability to act as a unified entity distinguish them from other Xindi. The Primates, the most humanoid of the Xindi subspecies, find themselves at the crossroads of the Xindi's diverse ecosystem. Lastly, as the name suggests, the Reptilians have similar features to the reptilians on Earth. In addition to being aggressive and ruthless, these species are also heavily involved in developing and deploying the superweapon, which would have been used to attack the Earth.

The Xindi are a fascinating exploration of the variety, strife, and potential for harmony in the universe of Star Trek and its advanced species . Their convoluted history with the Sphere Builders and Starfleet paints a picture of a race struggling with its identity while navigating the obstacles of an ever-expanding cosmos.

MORE: Star Trek: Unexplained Anomalies In The Delta Quadrant

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History and specifics [ ]

When Xindus was destroyed in the 2030s decade , the surviving races spread out across the Expanse. On 22 March , 2153 , the Xindi launched an attack on Earth and killed millions of Humans . Investigation eventually revealed that the Xindi had been manipulated for decades by an advanced extra-dimensional civilization hoping to alter the course of history by encouraging them to destroy Earth. ( ENT episode & novelization : The Expanse )

The Xindi had joined the United Federation of Planets by 2311 . ( ST reference : Federation: The First 150 Years ; TNG short story : " Meet with Triumph and Disaster ")

Xindi species [ ]

Six species of Xindi evolved on Xindus, and all but one species survived the cataclysm which destroyed their original homeworld. The remaining species are bound together by the Xindi Council . Despite mutual distrust and hostility, the five have made every effort to remain united, fearing a second devastating war like the conflict responsible for the loss of their homeworld.

• Xindi-Aquatics
• Xindi-Arboreals
• Xindi-Avians
• Xindi-Insectoids
• Xindi-Primates
• Xindi-Reptilians

The Arboreals are perhaps the most peaceful of the Xindi races, only striking out violently when attacked by others. They are known to be somewhat lethargic, although they grow agitated when around water, which seems to invoke a phobic reaction in most Arboreals. As their name indicates, they prefer to shelter in trees. Of the other four races, they are most closely allied with the Primates, who are also of mammalian stock.

The Aquatics are complicated and enigmatic and have been known to over-analyze, taking an excruciatingly long period of time to come to decisions. Xindi-Aquatic communication is highly complex and, since the Aquatics are underwater beings, they do not use their mouths, instead generating sounds through organs near their gills. When using the past tense, they switch to SONAR. They respond better to visual stimuli, however, and are extremely suspicious of the spoken word. They admire boldness and confidence and treat hushed tones with suspicion. ( ENT episode : " The Council ")

The Insectoids are the most numerous species, a consequence of their rapid rate of reproduction. They are asexual, and lay eggs. Their average life expectancy is twelve years. The Insectoid language is a clicking dialog that is the most unusual and complex of all Xindi languages. In fact, there are 67 dialects. Insectoids have names that grow longer and more difficult to pronounce as they grow older. They interpret raised voices as a sign of hostility. They are quick to make decisions and are often in alliance with the Reptilians. ( ENT episode : " The Council ")

The Primates are the Xindi race most closely resembling Humans. They are typically stereotyped as honest and trustworthy by other Xindi, but on balance are often convinced of their intellectual superiority over the other races. Nowhere near as aggressive as Reptilians or Insectoids, they are in fact possibly the most arrogant of the five species. Given their comparatively soft skin, they are not seen as being very resilient. Their engineering know-how is greatly respected, however. ( ENT episode : " The Shipment ")

The Reptilians are the most aggressive and militaristic of the Xindi. They are perceived as being untrustworthy and impatient by the other races, but are often called upon to defend all Xindi in times of war. Military rank often determines social status. Despite a history of conflict with the Insectoids, this is the race they most frequently associate with, to the point of sharing spacecraft. Reptilians are cold blooded, and bask under thermal lamps when aboard ships or otherwise cut off from direct solar energy. ( ENT episode : " The Shipment ")

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ], external link [ ].

• Xindi article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• 1 Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
• 2 Odyssey class

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Rick Worthy

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Star Trek: Enterprise

“The Xindi”

Air date: 9/10/2003 Written by Rick Berman & Brannon Braga Directed by Allan Kroeker

Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan

"We don't have the luxury of being safe or cautious anymore." — Archer, perhaps talking about the battle for TV ratings

Review Text

In brief: Some new places, and new faces, but some hoary old techniques. Call it a mixed bag.

It's been six weeks since the Enterprise entered the Delphic Expanse. And the Xindi are well aware of its presence. In the opening minute we see a sort of Xindi roundtable council meeting, where arguments over What Enterprise Knows are being presented by several different alien species, including one that looks like a giant fly — or maybe an ant — as well as a reptilian creature and a weird kinda-walrus-thing in a tank. The fly wants to send out forces to destroy the human ship. Maybe that's justifiable since I make it a rule to kill any fly that invades my living space.

The Enterprise crew, however, is still very much in the dark. They have not come across any hard evidence pointing to the Xindi. And, so far, the weirdest thing to have happened is that some containers are bouncing around from one wall to the other in a cargo hold, because gravity seems not to be working quite right in the Delphic Expanse. For the crew, indeed, there's been a bit of wandering and waiting thus far in the Delphic Expanse. The puzzle of the Xindi, which Archer's new mission has implored he assemble, has yet to supply any pieces.

But Archer has a recently acquired lead from a cargo captain whom Reed says is of "questionable character." Archer doesn't much care about his questionable character, because We Need Answers Dammit and we're not going to find them without taking a risk or two. The Enterprise follows the lead to a world with a harsh mining facility, where apparently a Xindi laborer is known to reside.

And so begins season three with "The Xindi," a so-so premiere that invites our curiosity while also delivering several notable disappointments that invite us to think, "You're kidding, right?" Here's an episode that tells us there is not one but five distinct species of Xindi, while also giving us a story where, almost hilariously inevitably, Archer and Trip are, yes, tricked into being imprisoned and must subsequently escape and/or be rescued. Meanwhile, 7 million human deaths from " The Expanse " have for the moment been reduced via microcosm to a personal vendetta for Trip, who has nightmares about the death of his sister.

There's a nightmare sequence where Trip sees his sister about to be killed by what we might as well call the Xindi Swath. It's an effective sequence in its visual sense of stark, melodramatic contrasts — a white, pristine paradise about to go up in the flames of a hellfire. I was less than thrilled, however, by the first moment in this episode where Trip comes in contact with his first Xindi (Richard Lineback), grabs him by the collar and says, "I'm not sure why, but I'm just itching to kick the hell outta you," which is dramatic overstatement.

(1) But of course Trip knows why he feels the way he feels, and (2) that doesn't make his actions justified under the circumstances. Given the level of information Trip has, his unchecked aggression here strikes me as not unlike an American in 2003 grabbing by the collar the first random Arab he bumps into on the street and accusing him of being a terrorist. I'm not saying such an exchange couldn't (or doesn't) happen, but in the 22nd century, Trip strikes me as cavalierly un- Trek -like here, revealing pumped-up visceral aggression without the benefit of reasoned thought. It might've been nice if the story challenged Trip on this point at least a little.

Then, of course, we get to the passage where Archer Goes to Jail™, which as of right now I'm declaring is this series' most obvious cliché — the equivalent of the Shuttle Crash™ on Voyager .

It's at this point my imagination takes hold, since the story's certainly doesn't. I'm imagining the initial writing of the first draft of the "Xindi" script, where Berman and Braga have gotten to the point where Trip and Archer meet the Xindi — who might be able to direct them to his homeworld — and the door in the mining shaft is closed by the mining foreman, who has told them, tellingly and telegraphically, "Take your time." The Xindi prisoner then informs them that they, like he, have been lured into a trap of forced slave labor.

I'm imagining Braga sitting at the computer keyboard (in this particular fantasy sequence, boss Berman dictates while right-hand man Braga does the typing). Berman stops dictating, having hit a wall, and Braga then suddenly remembers an important office tool at his disposal: He looks down at his keyboard, which has one of those plastic overlays that explains what the F-keys are programmed to do. Above F12, it says "SEND ARCHER & CREWMATE TO JAIL." Braga decides now would be a good time to press this button, since F12 is an oft-used function key that writes two acts' worth of script pages in which Archer and a random crew member (with Trip's initially equal chance multiplied by three before the random selection is made) are locked into a holding cell and must then find a way to escape, preferably by crawling through caves, tunnels, and/or ventilation shafts.

Braga presses F12. Accompanied by the default Windows XP chord sound, a dialog box appears that says, "Automatically generate random imprisonment-and-jailbreak narrative?" Braga then clicks "OK," at which point 16 pages of standard jailbreak material is generated from a database of events from previous Enterprise scripts and other action movies — in this case including Archer (and the random crewmate and the tagalong guest-star prisoner) traipsing through raw sewage and then crawling up through a shaft that is about to be filled with flames that would kill them.

These events do not allow Archer and Trip and the Xindi prisoner to escape, however, as they are forced out of the shaft (flames, etc.) and caught by the guards.

About here, I'm imagining, is where Braga hits another wall and presses F11. Accompanied by the default Windows XP chord, a dialog box now appears that says, "Automatically generate shootout-and-escape sequence?" Braga clicks "OK," and this generates several minutes of sustainable action and shooting and the narrow escape of our crew and rescue team with, of course, zero casualties (unless you count the Xindi prisoner).

(Triumph voice on.) I kid, I kid. (Voice off.) I suppose it's to the credit of the production team and director Allan Kroeker that this lackluster material is somehow made watchable, almost to the point of being mildly entertaining. Completely unsurprisingly, "The Xindi" is terrific from a production standpoint, and if the writing had been up to par they might've had something here. The technical aspects of this show — the production design, the lighting, the direction, the editing, the visual effects, the action choreography, the Michael Westmore makeup — are right where they should be. The alien mining facility is a triumph of dusty, murky, grubby art design, intensely cold colors, incessantly coughing actors, and exterior CGI shots that convincingly and simply say "unfriendly."

Stephen McHattie, playing the mining facility's foreman, turns in an effective — if stylized — performance that suggests a man who has been breathing toxic air for his entire life, and probably longer. Meanwhile, Scott Bakula plays Archer in an almost unremittingly grim, no-nonsense tone. Archer is strikingly serious, of no smiles, and exudes an attitude of getting the job done so the ship can get on with its important mission.

We're also introduced to some of the ship's new Military Assault Command Operations team (MACOs), led by Major Hayes (Steven Culp). They provide much of the action in the inevitable rescue scene, but are otherwise of only limited story value. Now that they've been established, I hope future episodes will develop them or give them a purpose beyond action scenes.

Of course, no review of "The Xindi" would be complete without a healthy deriding of the "Vulcan neuro-pressure" scene. Vulcan neuro-pressure, described by T'Pol as "a very intimate act," might help the grieving insomniac that is Trip sleep through the night, so Phlox talks T'Pol into giving Trip lessons in said technique. (For the writers, such a technique is probably in lieu of a mind-meld, which, as we know, the Vulcans deem illegal in this century.)

This eventually leads to a laughable scene in which both T'Pol and Trip appear shirtless for, well, no good reason. The problem with this scene is its utter and shameless transparency. It has nothing to do with sex or intimacy or characters but simply panders — like all of Enterprise 's previous attempts at pseudo-sexual material (with the exception of Hoshi's night in " Two Days and Two Nights ") — to the audience with sex-LIKE material that really has nothing at all to do with sex and everything to do with puerile snickering.

When are the producers going to grow up and get over it? Do they honestly think people tune in to their show for scenes like this? I'll tell you what — under the right circumstances and writing, I'd be much more in favor of seeing two of the characters actually having sex rather than be fed this juvenile Sexuality Lite that thinks it's funny because, tee-hee, we can put almost-naked people on the screen and show non-sex sex!

Bah. (Yep, it's F10: "Automatically create non-sexual circumstance for character 'T'Pol' to remove her shirt? [OK/Cancel]")

Anyway, enough. The bottom line is that "The Xindi," while giving us some elements that work reasonably well and laying some groundwork in terms of new faces and situations, is too much business as usual: prison breaks, shootouts, a few hints that we might be going somewhere but precious little in terms of believable Xindi motivation (aside from cartoon exclamations that they "must finish the weapon!"). We do learn, at least, that there's a mystery of contradictions here somewhere; the Xindi homeworld has (apparently) already been destroyed for over a century, which doesn't track with what Future Guy told Archer regarding the Xindi and their motives. Will this end up a mystery, or a muddle?

As I said before, this season has potential. "The Xindi" is proof that such realized potential still lies ahead of us, since it doesn't lie here.

Next week: Archer does his best impression of Janeway's interrogation in " Equinox, Part II ."

Previous episode: The Expanse Next episode: Anomaly

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Comment Section

58 comments on this post.

I sorta found the Xindo to be fairly alright people. Sure, they want to destroy Earth, but looking at it from a broader perspective they have every right to want to do so. I mean if us lowly earthlings learned aliens were going to kill us in the future, I'd want something to be done (although genocide IS a bit harsh...still, self preservation is a paramount instinct). Although, I do find it odd that a species that has five different varieties, which would have undoubtedly have had a bajillion wars with each other, wouldn't be able to think in terms of negotiating a peace to ensure the future predicted wouldn't happen. Because I can't see any justification for wanting to get revenge for people that will continue to exist should they try things a bit differently... But then, this is Trek....time travel is the puppet of the writters....*shrug*

Jeffrey Bedard

So the Xindi arc begins. Having gone back to watch this episode one thing I noticed in the council scenes is how prominent the Insectoids are. In fact the Insectoid council member gets the closing lines of the episode and the final scene. Because we saw so little of the Insectoids in this season (and they were the species which interested me the most) I enjoy whatever bits and pieces I see. I understand that from a cost perspective it's still cheaper to go with actors in makeup than CGI characters, but here was a chance for ENTERPRISE to focus on some truly non-humanoid aliens and I don't feel that took full advantage. The Archer/Trip plot of being captured is repetitive of other episodes in ST, but one thing I had forgotten was how quickly it wraps up. Most episodes with this type of plot wouldn't have rescued the crewman(men) until the last act. But act 4 of this episode as everyone back on Enterprise and Trip and T'Pol doing that stupid neuropressure stuff. I can only guess that the writers were wanting to get a Trip/T'Pol romance going. In a way I felt that since "Breaking the Ice" from S1. I can only assume that this "intimate" relaxation technique was the writer's way of getting Trip and T'Pol to relax with each other and become more comfortable. But there are more dramatically satisfying ways to do that, I would imagine. Bakula's performance is quite stunning. In the first two seasons I kept feeling Archer was too much like a John Denver/type. Overly friendly, aw shucks, thank god I'm a Starfleet boy type of thing. Starting here and through the rest of the series for the most part Archer grows up. I felt I could take the character more seriously because Bakula was. I've been enjoying this site for a couple of years now. Can't wait to read your review of ST XI. Thanks for giving us fans the chance to voice our opinions too.

So I'm watching the Xindi arc in its completion for the third time now (why? I don't know) and I noticed something I hadn't before: A whole half of a year goes by (probably longer) from the first attack on Earth to the crew of Enterprise even meeting a Xindi. The Xindi attacks Earth, it takes however many months at Warp 5 for Enterprise to get back to Earth. It takes however long for Enterprise to refitted with new weapons, the Command Center, etc. Then they have to launch and travel 5 months (!) just to reach the cloud that surrounds the Expanse. Then a further month and a half which takes us to the events of "The Xindi." Archer was definitely right when he told Forrest that Future Guy wouldn't have warned him about the Xindi if there wasn't a good chance of stopping them. You would almost think that by the time Archer and Reed were first visiting the mining facility, the full size weapon would have been near completion. The ST franchise rarely did story arcs, outside of the Klingon episodes in TNG and the Dominion War on DS9 so I think that's one reason why I keep watching the Xindi arc from time to time. But for some reason I've only just noticed just how much time has passed from "The Expanse" to "The Xindi." I don't know what that says about my attentiveness as a viewer, but at least it shows that even some of the weaker episodes of the franchise can give a viewer something new to think about after repeat viewings.

"Harder...harder...[sigh]...just like that." Bah, indeed.

Jacob T Taylor 7

So Archer couldnt see he was walking into a trap. Man this guys dim as a flashlight thats been left on for 2 days with cheap RITEAID batteries. Come on hes been in these situations before! The MACOS add a nice element. The Trip/T'pol scence I thought was really gonna be a sex scene w Pholx giving Trip some kinda stimulant (or so i thought) but it endend up being just a bunch of balognia sausage and some hand on boobs. Why cant ppl just have sex in star trek? I thought that was the doctor and sciece officer tPOL were planning for Mr. Charles Tucker anyway. Prolly would helped his drepression and let him sleep better than that stupid press my back crumb buminess. ARcher takes the starship Enterprise to the destroyed planet Xindi and pick to go thataway into the expanse and continue looking for??? who knos. Man it seems like these writers really do just wing it.

I may be in a minority here, but I think the Xindi arc was one of the best things Star Trek has ever done. If anything (and people won't like this) I find it a far more coherent and just generally better series of episodes than the finale of DS9. The key is to consider this season apart from the first two. The first two seasons were essentially Voyager-lite but with an arguably more likeable cast (no fucking Neelix on Enterprise); season three veers off into more 24-like territory, and makes this is the season when Enterprise establishes its own identity. Take it on those terms and this becomes one of the finest seasons Trek has produced, up there with season five of DS9 and the middle seasons of TNG.

Once again, despite the usual B&B-tagged shortcomings, I'm on board for this episode. I won't say yet the show is actually going somewhere, but my interest is sufficiently renewed. That said, I can only agree on Jammer's whole "F-keys" tirade. As satirical as it might be, it is probably very close to the truth, if only figuratively. Let's hope the inevitable let-down will occur as late as humanly possible.

Ok, T'Pol is hot as hell, but it's a shame the producers are treating her like this... :(

Definitely a missed opportunity with Vreenak holding the cylindrical platinum container :)

I have to agree with Jammer - the T'Pol shirtless scene was an insult to our intelligence. Ditto with the T'Pol bodysuit - as well as the 7 of 9 bodysuit and high heels. Honestly, how pathetic. As for the inter-species cooperation of the Xindi -- I wish humans could be so cooperative with the other intelligent species on Earth. Imagine developing a working relationship with whales and dolphins and chimpanzees for example -- they could teach us a lot about the necessity of protecting eco-systems - which we rely on as much as they do. The alternative is an Earth that looks like that Mordor-like mining slave camp. I have to agree with the above statement that the Xindi are just doing a pre-emptive strike to protect themselves - from the sound of it - but wouldn't it be easier to simply talk with Earth folks and work it out beforehand? Clearly they don't trust us, and perhaps not without good reason: after all, look at what we have done to our marine mammals, insects, and reptiles. Anyway, the whole scenario is totally implausible: temporal wars, stupid test weapons of mass destruction (why not just introduce a pathogen that would kill the humans and leave the flora and fauna intact?), a Delphic expanse where Vulcans go mad and Klingons get turned inside out ... Enterprise seems to oscillate between hard SF and fantasy; these segments are more on the fantasy side of it, but I have to admit, it is entertaining nonetheless.

Hehe, Jammer here sounding more bitter than Trip. I thought everyone said ENT actually got pretty decent with S3 and 4? So were they trying to go darker than DS9 or what? I'm getting the impression they were trying a bit too hard with it or something. Who knows. I erm, like the remixed opening song. Carry on.

I think I know what caused the cancellation of this Star Trek series....the opening song. I mean it was bad enough to start with, but then the tropical samba remix? that was the nail in the coffin :|

Solid 3.5 stars, excellent episode! I'm omitting from consideration anything to do with the T'Pol/Archer scene by Breman & Braga (aka Beavis & Butthead)! That was beyond stupid. In fact I'm quite sure this was the episode that stopped me from watching Enterprise way back when it was being broadcast (or pumped through cable). Just dumb, real dumb. Like Jammer rightly pointed out, it's not even sex, it's PG-13 titillation, sexual illusions. And Jammer got it perfectly about Hoshi (a natural beauty) on Risa having a normal, believable sexual encounter - with sex! And Jolene Blalock ... well, I just want to say I'm not very titillated. Her face is pretty but plain and featureless. She's model thin and seems fit. Of course, B&B must have cast her because of her decision to get cosmetic surgery on her lips and chest (at least those spots, maybe some more on her face). I just don't get the appeal, the proportions of both her lips and chest seem all wrong to me and not attractive. Before and after pics on the web show her smile just went to pot after the lip surgery. And her chest is so obviously augmented as to make her playing a Vulcan, a race that would never do something so vain, just unbelieavble. So Vulcan massage therapy allows us to see the bottom of T'pol's back and the top of her butt. Oh, and some side boob and the big payoff, T'pol holding her boobs. Teehe indeed. I mean even in September 2003 when this originally broadcast you could Google X Y Z and get what you searched for pretty easily. No need to even subscribe to Maxim. Ok, I'll cool off but this was the back breaker for me originally and I'm glad that I'm happily skipping stupid scenes like this now which lets me enjoy the good stuff Enterprise has to offer. So why 3.5 stars for The Xindi? Other than the never-to-be-mentioned-again-T'Pol-boob-scene, it was solid all the way with new aliens, a great mining world, and an excellent Xindi for them to rescue. The mining world looked great, the outside shots, the hallways, the boss's office, the mines, all excellent. It reminds me of how well they do with this sort of thing. I'm sure it cost more than Battlestar Galactica episodes but wow, the difference in quality! Sets, make up, etc all stellar. Poor ENT just needs better, more consistent writing and no T'Pol. I loved the mining boss, his scabby head, his breathing apparatus, the sci-fi/steam-punk office - did you catch the 40s style microphone he used later in the episode? And the Xindi wasn't just good or bad, he was ... both. The Reed vs the military pissyness was a little fake feeling but that's ok, they wanted a tension hook. And I liked how the military guys (and a gal!) actually were very bad arse. These are supposed to be "the best" so were talking DEVGRU/Pararescue/SFOD in space. Sure, they were toned down to tv/Trek standards but still it was a good dose of military toughness. I really, really enjoyed the Star Wars Episode II homage scenes with the Xindi multi-racial council, excellent! The insect dude, the seal-men/women, all kinds of humanoids including Rick Worthy aka Simon from BSG. He's got such a good voice. I think it's very sci-fi and very new for Trek to have a "race" actually be several races mashed together into a single alien unit. Very cool. I'm excited to forge ahead, ready to skip T'Pol teehe junk, so I can see the Xindi story unfold.

Hi Jammer, I just read all of your review and am struck by similarities and differences with my comments. We match up on the T’pol nonsense and the excellent production quality of The Xindi. But the criticism of Archer getting captured and the shootout seems a bit misplaced. This is a tv show and we’re going to have “insert action here” quite a bit. I’m not sure if it’s the same amount but I recall Kirk getting captured many times. With The Xindi, we have a whole new context in which Archer is captured ending with a shootout: a very dangerous, uncharted part of space; a dangerous planet; unknown races; and a mission to find answers and justice for an attack that cost 7 million lives by a race(s) that wants to completely destroy Earth. I mean, really, 2.5 stars? I’ve read most of your Enterprise reviews and you give 2.5 stars to a lot of turds and The Xindi seemed much fresher, more enjoyable, and better executed than your previous 2.5 star reviews. Just a side note: as soon Corporal Chang was introduced I thought to look him up since I always like to see if Trek matches the real ethnicity with that of the character in the show. Well, what do you know, they got DDK for Cp Chang! Too bad a Korean actor can’t play, I don’t know, a Korean! Corporal Chang, Chinese - Daniel Dae Kim, born in Korea Ensign Hoshi Sato, Japanese - Linda Park, born in Korea

Revisiting this to revise my comment on the opening music.... It's kind of.. flat and sedate? Whilst the old was was all action-y and rocky and had its guitar riff type bits and whatnot. It's as if the series LOST confidence. Kind of the opposite of things like DS9 o.o

John the younger

I like the idea of non-humanoids in Trek.. but the Separatists.. I mean Xindi council.. seem kinda lame.

Yes. Idea beyond earlier "Vox Sola", altough very poor executed, was far better.

This is minor but.... That hick accent of Trip's is supposed to be Floridian???

I must admit that I get a chuckle out of all your comments that trash the writers for their almost-sex scenes, as if it's some sort of transgression that can't be forgiven. After all, Captain Kirk was certainly took a vow of chastity ...

I just finished watching this. I was bored. I'm not even really sure why. I mean, the episode *looks* great. On reflection, I think there's two reasons. a} As Jammer says, practically everything that happens in the episode is a repetitive, boring stereotype that I've seen I wouldn't know how many times before. The gulag looked like something out of an Unreal Tournament map, and the overseer of it was derivative as well. b} There was very little dialogue, no character development, nothing for me to really care about. I watched Season 2's "Cease Fire," a couple of hours ago, and thought that was a lot better. I like Jeffrey Combs' character, Shran, and I especially like the fact that whenever he shows up, it means that they're working towards actually getting the Federation together, or at least it feels like that. The other thing that bothered me about this episode was the fact that they have non-Starfleet infantry on board the ship, and in these action scenes, those infantry were killing people. That's not Star Trek, or at least not in my mind.

Petrus wrote, "The other thing that bothered me about this episode was the fact that they have non-Starfleet infantry on board the ship, and in these action scenes, those infantry were killing people. That's not Star Trek, or at least not in my mind." I completely agree, those cocky Navy Seal types bothered me too. They represent the myopic- seek and destroy aspect of the military that I find repulsive and counter to the spirit that the military career represents in Star Trek. The whole depiction really felt a touch propogandic and inconsistent considering it was established that humanity's focus after the third world war and First Contact was one of peace, self improvement through knowledge and exploration. These guys would be relics of a shameful, and not-so-distant period in Earth's history and do not fit at all in this vision of the future. Given that, I doubt active training for such commandos would even exist. Lt. Reid and Star Trek's other portrayal of tactical officers fits better than these all-America jerks. Given the post 9/11 timeline, I feel like the whole Xindi arc should have been thrown in the trash in favor of the more optimistic and evolved version of humanity found in previous depictions of the the 22nd-24th centuries and I think a more peaceful, insightful and cerebral Star Trek Enterprise would have served as a better example for viewers trying to deal with the shock and aftermath of 9/11.

I didn't even recognize Stephen McHattie until I looked up the credits on Memory Alpha. They should have had him say some variation of "It's a FAAAAAKE!" in this episode. Wasted opportunity.

"I do find it odd that a species that has five different varieties, which would have undoubtedly have had a bajillion wars with each other" - Omega333 I think you're thinking too geocentrically, that's what us humans would do, perhaps the Xindi all grew up in peace. I believe the Xindi that was in the mine as a forced laborer said something along the lines of 'There are five different species of Xindi, and five different perspectives of which is the dominant species', this doesn't mean they are hostile to each other. I thought the Xindi civilization was well thought out, just poorly executed and a poor storyline, it had a lot of potential but was crushed. First off, why the hell would the Xindi tip there hand with the probe attack? If they needed to test it, why not just test it on a uninhabited world or something. Thanks to that Enterprise goes out looking for the attackers and ultimately convinces them to stop what they're doing, come on, I'm sure a civilization advanced enough to build a weapon to destroy an entire planet is smarter then that. I've watched every series of Star Trek excluding TAS, and frankly I'm a bit disappointed, it kind of feels a lot like a really long JJ Abrams film, a rubbish storyline that doesn't really make sense but a lot of action, and for me the story line is what really makes Star Trek special. There were some good episodes that I did enjoy, Enterprise did have some unique humor that I didn't see it any other series, and the whole threat of genocide was new and with better writing could have been good, personally I think Braga or whatever his name is ruined the series. Nice review Jammer, I'm not a big reader but that was a pleasure to read. Live long and prosper!

Concur with bhbor. This episode premiered during the Iraqi Freedom campaign. The utopian future of the Star Trek mythos was replaced with military protocol, which runs completely contrary to Gene Roddenberry's original vision. Here it feels forced, like so many things in this series. And more than a little modernized/urbanized. Keep in mind that mankind had already nearly destroyed itself a century earlier or so with that same militaristic mindset. This feels like the more things change the more they stay the same. It certainly lends credence to Q's depiction (not to mention judgement) of humanity in Encounter At Farpoint. "Rapid progress" indeed. Can only imagine if Archer or Janeway were on trial. They'd have signed our death certificates.

eastwest101

Bit of a shock to the system as I had been away from this for a while, as Jammer says, a very mixed bag of an episode that looks a lot better than its rather routine mechanics would suggest. In no particular order, a couple of other things spring to mind. "Hey Andromeda - I'll see your silly insect CGI alien and raise you some whale people in water tanks!" The jaunty elevator salsa mix of the opening song - oh dear. We have decided to update Ms Pouty Tight Pants wardrobe to a full colour palette Pouty Tight Pants ensemble. Nice to see some things haven't changed though - T'Pol urges caution with Archer responding by ignoring the usually clear logical advice...

To the poster complaining that the Korean-American actor Daniel Dae Kim plays a Chinese colonel on the show: actually Chang can be a Korean surname, though it is more commonly associated as a Chinese family name. The T'pol/Trip pseudo-sex scenes were just awful, please stop it now with this stupidity. The new opening music is even worse than before. The show reeked of the time period of Operation Iraqi Freedom with the military team on board and taking down the "baddies." Roddenberry's ashes must have ejected from his space capsule. The insect alien was most interesting but evidently it's the one we'll see the least amount of. Middling entertaining at best with the trademark Archer in prison plot/Archer escapes prison plot, no wonder the audience (especially Trekkies) abandoned the show.

Diamond Dave

So the soft rock horror of the theme tune got a remix? Zoiks... Tonally this has definitely made a shift to the darker end of the spectrum, what with severed fingers and commando teams breaking necks with gay abandon. While it's interesting to see where they go with it, for this episode it turned out to be basically inconsequential. There's some good action, and worthy of note is Trip's dream sequence, which unlike so many of its ilk is genuinely unsettling. And it still looks a million dollars. The T'Pol hand bra scene if of course lamentable, and you have to wonder why the series hasn't grown out of such things yet. And ultimately it all feels much like a transitional show, and somewhat unfinished because of that. 2.5 stars

MichaelMichaelMotorcycle

Two things. First, I can't believe they managed to make the theme that much worse. Please give me back the cheese ball, soft rock of the first two seasons. Second, they FINALLY fixed T'pol's eyebrows!

few thoughts.... The spatial anomaly in the cargo hold, why is it stuck there? presumably the ship is travelling through space, so they would've passsd the anomaly on their travel - yet some how its attached itself to a certain part of Enterprise. The Xindi prisoner in his dying breath gives the coordinates to the Xindi homeworld. How did the crew know how to interperate these coordinates? Also they reached that homeworld awfully quickly!

My feelings on watching this season three debut are that it's likely to be harder to review episodes in isolation given the serialised plot line (no 'z' in serialised. I'm Tasmanian. It's in the part of the world you can't see from space). The mining/prison business is disappointing - and why do I get the feeling that guy's going to shoot up that liquid platinum - but the rest of the episode is working on a slower, larger scale, setting up plot developments. I get a feeling much of this story arc might consist of balancing acts between the longer term goals of the season and the immediate concerns of the episode. The presence of the military on board may or may not work. So far, not enough for me to judge where all this is going, but I m cautiously optimistic. BTW, I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but isn't the premise of this season rather like the premise of 'Crusade', the aborted Bab5 spinoff?

Was genuinely looking for an improvement in ENT with the new Xindi arc to start S3 but this episode didn't deliver. Another episode that goes over all the usual ENT cliches (prison break, shootout, attempted escape, rescue, and stupid quasi-sex scene between T'Pol/Tripp). Have to give credit for the production of the dusty mining colony - ENT does create the desolate, prison atmosphere well. A new set of challenges for ENT kicks off - with an OK episode. Have to say it doesn't feel like Star Trek though (maybe its the MACOs), but I could say that about a number of S2 and S1 episodes. Archer has a more serious, determined character - hopefully he makes more intelligent decisions going forward. But this is an improvement for him. Perhaps also signals a darker direction for ENT. When an individual episode is part of a larger arc, it can be weak on its own. This episode gets 2.5 stars out of 4 - ok but not good nor totally bad.

Got my popcorn, having a ball.

I've got faith to believe, No one's gonna bend nor break me... love it

Aw man, seriously to the reviewer "John" about 11 comments above; some of us are watching this show for the first time. Thanks for giving away the end of the season. :(

I don't know why some people have a problem with having military people on board. I mean they were at war after all. And complaining that they killed people? wut? Starfleet ships and personnel kill people all the time. What do you think happens when they blow up another ship? All the people onboard miraculously transport to safety? Janeway killed who knows how many countless numbers of species 8472 with biological warfare. All the captains kill people constantly, actually. Decent episode. 2 1/2 stars

"Try not to breathe." "Yes, sir." Okay, let's jump into Season 3. The intro song has been remixed; it still doesn't work for a Star Trek series but it's an improvement. Less background vocals and such. On the Xindi story or what little I know of it so far, you could definitely see it as a cautionary tale about the ethics of pre-emptive strikes in war; the Xindi are so wound up they decide to attack Earth FOUR HUNDRED YEARS in advance. Four hundred years is a lot of time to, say, contact Earth and attempt to change that future constructively ... but no, let's just use this knowledge of the future to start the war on OUR terms. This must not be a very peaceful or rational species we're dealing with. The whole thing is more or less a shotgun blast to the face of Star Trek canon, setting a precedent that would affect the rest of this series and probably all future ST series as well, because you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube ... so it had better be a DAMN good story arc. I like the physical portrayal of the Xindi council; unlike many Trek aliens, they are composed of several different subspecies, all of which have evolved in different directions. You've got the main species that are kind of reptilian, but also the insect representative (who seems to be the most hostile), the manatee-like Xindi who live in the water, and a few others. Nice. About the mines Archer and Trip are confined in: I have to say they're one of the best sets I've seen on the series, and so unhealthy to work in that even the wretched owner guy (slavemaster, really) needs to take periodic huffs of oxygen or whatever is in that mask of his. The whole bit is representative of ENT's attempt to go dark DS9-style, with some success, although it doesn't have the same authenticity yet. You can take or leave the Trip/T'Pol scene; I would rather have left it, and all the other typically silly non-sex scenes as a thing of the past (a little early for sweeps week, wasn't it?). And speaking of bad precedents, this show really should have resisted the temptation to put a skintight bodysuit on a female character. If crew members are supposed to be equals regardless of species or gender, then just dress them all in a similar uniform and move on instead of jerking off the viewers. "This show is meant to portray a vision of a more enlightened future, when mature men and women boldly go where no one has ... HEY LOOK, BOOBZ!!" Come on writers, get serious or quit Star Trek. This show should be better than that. I'm a little curious about why a Xindi homeworld that will supposedly be toast in 400 years has been destroyed ALREADY - 120 years in the past, at that. I don't get it. I'm with Jammer; interesting new direction, but uninspired writing and some juvenile stunts drag it down as a season premiere.

This is a brilliant episode that stands up to repeat viewings. Generally superbly acted, well written and perfectly paced. The interactions on the alien surface were all excellent and Trip made a good double act with the Xindi. Of course, the renowned Trekkie hatred of their own franchise has earned the episode a lower rating and more criticism than it deserves. My only problems are that they could have connected it more to Trek lore with the alien superintendent wanting latinum rather than platinum (which would no doubt provoke fresh and thoughtless outrage about "only Ferengi use latinum", and that the aliens introduced here are never seen again. Far more thought was put into looks and atmosphere than we ever saw in the other Treks.

I'm shallow. I admit I have a Xindi reptillian brain when I say T'Pol gives me a raging case of Pon Farr.

Rattrap Maximize!

So. I actually *liked* the opening song for the first two seasons. I know, I know. But this weird island remix? That's not a good thing. That's bad. I love the MACOs. It's incredibly refreshing to *finally* have a platoon of appropriately trained and equipped infantry on a Starfleet ship. On a slight tangent from the above; It's always been a bone of contention of mine that Starfleet tries so hard to define itself as a non-military force, despite being THE arm of the Federation which conducts every military activity, up to and including total war. Every Starfleet vessel should be staffed with MACOs from ENT through VOY and beyond. It makes absolutely no sense to fly headlong into deep, unknown, often hostile space, relying on a frankly insufficient "security team" for the inevitable combat scenarios. My only fear with the MACOs is that they're being deliberately setup as a sort of 'thematic effigy' to be burned at the alter of 'Gene Roddenberry's Vision™', and will eventually be revealed to be stereotypically 'military jock bully' types. This will be used to show how 'enlightened' and 'superior' the non-military, pacifist, Starfleet Way is in comparison. Maybe they won't do this. I really hope they don't do this. On a related note, I *really* can't stand Reed. The guy has such an aggressive, overbearing inferiority complex, it's insane. It really feels like every time he opens his mouth, it's to whine, complain, or fish for sympathy. It's absolutely grating. His unilateral measuring contest with Maj. Hayes over who should do what on the rescue mission was immature to the point of being unprofessional. I'm glad T'Pol agreed with Hayes. Speaking of T'Pol, let's talk about THAT scene. No, not the not-sex-but-Trek-sex scene with Trip, but rather the earlier scene with Phlox. The scene that somehow *no one* is talking about. I have the utmost respect for Phlox. He might just be my favorite character so far. But, the hell?! His pressuring T'Pol into committing a very intimate act with a crewmate was plain unsettling. I get that Denobulan (and Vulcan, for that matter) ethics aren't necessarily in lockstep with human ethics, but T'Pol and Trip were *both* clearly uncomfortable with the idea, yet Phlox pressed on anyway. He both pressured T'Pol into the act, and lied to Trip about a treatment, so as to set up the encounter. I *get* that he wanted to help Trip relax, so he can focus and perform while on the job, but really. Would he pressure Sato into having sex with Reed, to help him get over himself? Because that's essentially what he did. This feels unprofessional, unethical, and wrong. Maybe it could almost work if the whole Xindi situation became incredibly desperate, urgent, and dire, but this is literally the beginning of the arc. We're not there yet. As an aside to T'Pol, sexuality, and feminism -- I find it interesting that during TOS, it was considered a show of sexual liberation and female agency, that women could wear somewhat... accentuating attire. From TNG through ENT, however, dressing this way developed a presumption of sexual objectification. Having said that, I also do believe that there was a concerted effort (from B&B? The network?) to overly sexualize T'Pol (and Seven before her), and it would have been gratifying to see T'Pol switch to a Starfleet uniform in this episode. The prison break was... eh. The MACO shootout was enjoyable, largely because of how cathartic it is to see a competent combat team at work in the Star Trek universe. But seriously -- enough with the kidnapped/imprisoned captain. The one time it worked, there were four lights.

Simon Blake

" largely because of how cathartic it is to see a competent combat team at work in the Star Trek universe" This! I'm bingeing ST:ENT with my wife and we watched this last night. One thing we both noticed was how refreshing it is to see characters *and actors* who seem to know how to go into a room full of hostile armed people and deal with them efficiently. I've lost count of the times I've seen obviously entirely untrained actors enter a killing room skull-first with their weapon pointed at the floor and shouted "That's not how you clear a room!". This time the MACOs dropped in, and pretty much took out the major threats where possible in a single well-aimed shot. No popping out from behind plastic barrels to wildly ping something in the vague direction of the target, like in every other Trek firefight.

That T'Pol/Tripp sex-but-no-sex scene was just awfull. For all and any future Star Trek screewriters and/or producers: Do NOT force sex into Star Trek because fanservice! We've got them Rule 34 ***** for that, thank You very much. And on another note: why did T'Pol cover her breasts ? No, really, a legit question. I, as a viewer watching a tv show, know why. But from the character's POV: why would a Vulcan do it. Humans cover themselves when nude because they are shy/feel ashamed. But these are emotions which the Vulcans should not have or have them surpressed. Maybe it is cannon somehow, I'm not that much into Star Trek, but it seems strange to me.

I'm not sure if modesty is innately about shame or shyness. Vulcan society is quite heavy on ritual, which presumably helps sustain the suppression of their emotions -- maybe a sense of modesty is part of that. I suppose you could extend this to asking why they would ever wear clothes, except in situations where the temperature demands it. I suppose the simplest answer is that has internalized human norms and is enacting modesty not for her own sake but for Trip's.

Archer was a crappy captain. Getting overly annoyed easily, blowing off crewmembers, snapping at them, getting aggravated easily and showing up senior officers. This guy is a horrible captain.

And what is it with the doctor using the female 1st officer as a tool to give a Male commanding officer a massage?

Sean J Hagins

Ah, a spritely tune is added to the opening music! This is more about my love of insects than anything else, but I still think the Xindi-Insectiods are cool looking! A shame they weren't used more often. One thing though is that I would like to see them exhibit superhuman strength. If a mantid species somehow really was man size, it could leap a multi-storied building, and lift an 18-wheeler!

A solid 4 stars. A little tired of Archer getting captured so often but enjoyed the story nonetheless. Thought the review got too criticising and spent too much time trying to be funny/witty with all due respect to Jammer. The massage scenes I had absolutely no problem with despite being a deliberate push by the writing team, because a) Kirk and Riker were both depicted as horny as hell at times and no eyebrows were raised, and b) Jolene Blaylock looked fantastic!! Sad the review doesn't point out her change from the drab Vulcan colors, the fuller hairstyle, and the subtle embraces of more humanized behaviour. I am enjoying Enterprise tremendously and though I loved the tone of the first 2 seasons, I'm interested to see where this new shift takes us, stern/sullen Archer notwithstanding. On a parting note, all the bitching about implied sex and the tone and pace of the story in the comments seemed to have worked, as Star Trek has now given us (as I write this at the end of 2020) gratuitous, gritty, obscenity-laced and gender-fluid themed Trek series (cause who sleeps with whom is so important to the story, right) like Discovery and to some extent, Picard...series that parents have to now think twice about watching with their kids.

Sorry - solid 3 stars

Frake's Nightmare

Yep, this is definitely the bunch that I'd want the fate of the world to hang on. Hard to imagine anyone better.....oh, I just did. Don't quite know why the army types are using pigeon shit stained camo though?

Regarding Nancy's comment from 2013 about Trip having a "hick accent" which somehow contradicts his being from Florida: I believe Trip said his family hails from the northern part of the state, more specifically the Panama City Beach area. As a Floridian, I can attest his accent is not out of place for the panhandle area. Anyway, watching this again after 18 or so years, I'm going to agree with Jammer's rating. I will say Stephen McHattie gives a great guest performance as the psychopathic foreman; I found myself enthralled by his speaking and inflections. He was the highlight of the episode, in my opinion. As for the T'Pol/Trip final scene...why exactly did she need Trip to practice on her first? I mean. I know they say why in the episode, but I'm talking about in terms of common sense, here. The last time I got a massage, I didn't need to practice on the masseuse first. And if I was reluctant to get one, giving one wouldn't have put me any more at ease.

If memory serves, it was "the network" that pushed for more sexy stuff, not the writers or B&B. I enjoyed this, was very impressed with The MACO and LOVED it when T'Pol shoved it in Malcolm's face and sided with Hayes. Malcolm is such a whiny bioch sometimes. Grow up man. Yes, Archer get's captured once again, but this time it's actually realistic. Better than most of the Klingon stuff IMO. Yes, Trip is "over the top" with anger and wouldn't you be? I didn't have such a hard time as some here with the neuro-pressure sessions. We all know why it's in there, but I trust Phlox's word here. He can't keep pumping Trip full of drugs every time he needs to sleep. "Sexy-but-no-sex" has been in Trek from 1967. It's ALWAYS pushed the envelope for what is allowed on TV... this doesn't bother me. The DECON chamber didn't either. This is better than Dax wanted to marry everyone and leave star fleet on a whim. 3 stars from me "On a parting note, all the bitching about implied sex and the tone and pace of the story in the comments seemed to have worked, as Star Trek has now given us (as I write this at the end of 2020) gratuitous, gritty, obscenity-laced and gender-fluid themed Trek series (cause who sleeps with whom is so important to the story, right) like Discovery and to some extent, Picard...series that parents have to now think twice about watching with their kids." Spot on Ray. Sadly.

"gratuitous, gritty, obscenity-laced and gender-fluid themed Trek series" "Spot on Ray. Sadly." No, not really. While Discovery is somewhat gratuitous and gritty, when is it obscenity- laced? And for anybody who wants to know why gender fluid was included in this sentence. Intolerance. Naming three bad things and then adding gender fluid. Well, hello bigotry.

For me, what it comes down to is whether something is gratuitous or not. So for ENT, these decon chamber scenes ("Broken Bow", "Sleeping Dogs" etc.) are largely gratuitous and therefore detract from the overall viewing experience. TOS/TNG would not have gone there and this is just a trend in television and in Trek over the past few decades. The way the implied sex, innuendos etc. was handled in TOS/TNG was much more dignified than what ENT was -- whether it be B&B's choice or the network's. I would remind that B&B are the writers responsible for most of the worst ENT episodes in S1 & S2. Now we got nu Trek and I agree with Ray that you do have to think twice about watching it with kids -- and I'd argue kids should not watch it. Plenty of gratuitous gender-bending, swearing, nihilism. It's what television is these days. But I'd also add that in rare cases, the gender-bending theme that DSC tries so hard to push can be used in a sensible way to tell a good story -- I keep coming back to "Forget Me Not". What a shame it is that you can't watch the Trek that's produced these days with kids, whereas you used to be able to -- TOS was awesome that way. Now, knowing what the show-runners for nu Trek are like, I'm really thinking "Prodigy" is going to be unsuitable for kids...

"It's what television is these days." I think we will soon see a general shift in themes. People want more positivity. Stuff like Ted Lasso is an early sign. I have pretty high bar for negative news but even I find myself looking more for soothing content were people have hope and avoiding just negativity. Still the NuTrek writing staff will probably not notice this developing trend.

God damn. PROOF READING!

Glad to see Enterprise adopting a story arc, which was badly needed to focus the series. I liked the prison break story as well, which seems to be a recurring theme now. It was this episode where I began to dislike Malcolm due to his unnecessary competition with the marines. Malcolm is a tactical/security officer of a starship, not a special forces operative trained for hostage rescues. Since Starfleet is not a military organization, his primary role is defense and protection. Neither he nor his "security team" (random redshirt of the week) should have left the ship to rescue the captain. They lacked the training and equipment for the job. Furthermore, their primary role is to protect the ship, which was in danger of attack. The marines, in contrast, are the right people for any type of advanced combat operations. They had the weapons and training to get the job done, and Malcolm just seemed to be ineffective and in the way on the rescue mission. The writers created unnecessary conflict here, and expected viewers to side with Malcolm. All it did was turn me against him.

Ray wrote: "On a parting note, all the bitching about implied sex and the tone and pace of the story in the comments seemed to have worked, as Star Trek has now given us (as I write this at the end of 2020) gratuitous, gritty, obscenity-laced and gender-fluid themed Trek series (cause who sleeps with whom is so important to the story, right) like Discovery and to some extent, Picard...series that parents have to now think twice about watching with their kids. " It seems someone fails to understand Star Trek has always been progressive, it's just that progressive has luckily evolved from the 60's to today, because we've gotten a bit closer to a Star Trek society, at least in some ways. Economic inequality both nationally and internationally is still a big issue though. And sexism is less prevalent but certainly still existing, particularly towards nonbinary people as you yourself contribute to the ridicule of. ----- Anyway I like the new variation of the intro theme! Much better! @Booming: It would be refreshing with more positive sci-fi, as Trek has often been, unlike most other sci-fi, and the news of today. Bad news attract more attention, and social media rewards that which gets attention with even more of it. And so there's an overabundance of negative news, which easily makes it seem like we're in a hopeless downward spiral. I think positive visions can literally help us get there.

I found this episode entertaining. It certainly wasn't great by any stretch of the imagination. However, I agree with Jammer's take on the visual effects being superb in this episode. The shoot-out sequence was well handled and I really enjoyed it.

Grim, gritty, violent episode, great stuff! I really enjoyed it. Some great sets, make-up, bad guys, awesome phaser fight! This gives me hope!

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Star Trek: Enterprise (TV Series)

The xindi (2003), full cast & crew.

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Star Trek's Time Travel Rules, Explained

• Star Trek time travel operates with genuine logic, impacting the past and future consistently within the narrative framework.
• Major series and films heavily rely on time travel, introducing rules like the "slingshot" effect and parallel realities.
• Changes in the past affect the future of the Prime Timeline, except for the creation of the Kelvin Timeline as a parallel reality.

As a mainstay of science fiction for six decades, Star Trek is no stranger to time travel stories. On the surface, it may seem as if the rules of time travel are loose in Gene Roddenberry's universe. The first chronological use of time travel comes at the end of Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1, Episode 6, "The Naked Time," when the USS Enterprise is sent three days back in time. Since then, every major Star Trek series has featured time travel, with some even relying heavily on the convention.

Time travel also shows up in the films, from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home to Star Trek: First Contact . The 2009 reboot Star Trek movie by J.J. Abrams also relies on time travel to create its brand-new universe. Star Trek also uses parallel realities, such as its famously evil Mirror Universe. While there are rules in its universe, the real-life way Star Trek time travel works is, essentially, narrative convenience. What the storytellers want to happen is what happens, but through these choices made by disparate storytellers, a framework emerges.

Time Travel in Star Trek: The Original Series Set the Tone

Star trek has been quietly influencing one of the most popular franchises of all time.

"The Naked Time" and the Enterprise being flung into the past was meant to be the first part of a two-part story. The second part was "Tomorrow Is Yesterday," eventually the 21st episode of the first season. In this story, the USS Enterprise is accidentally flung back to 1969. This episode developed the "slingshot" effect, in which the ship warps around the sun and uses that to break the "time barrier." In this story, the Enterprise is able to successfully erase its presence in the past by undoing the changes they made. In Season 2, Episode 26, "Assignment: Earth," The Enterprise is again in the past on what's supposed to be a "routine" observation mission. Instead, they help Gary Seven -- a mysterious human called a Watcher" -- prevent a nuclear detonation.

In that episode, Spock discovers the Enterprise was always supposed to be a part of the events that day. This is a closed time-loop in which the presence of time travelers was always part of what happened . However, in the famous episode "City on the Edge of Forever," a crazed Doctor McCoy accidentally goes back in time through the "Guardian of Forever" gate and changes history. The USS Enterprise disappeared, but the away team on the planet did not. This was the first time that changes in the past were immediately reflected in the timeline, which is the de facto way time travel manifests in Star Trek . Similarly, in Star Trek: The Animated Series , the Guardian of Forever is used to correct a mistake that erased Spock from history.

In "City on the Edge of Forever," proximity to the Guardian prevented the crew from being affected by the changes. Yet, in "Yesteryear," the crew by the Guardian were not immune, not recognizing Spock when he emerged. Lastly, in Star Trek IV the crew changes the past , but its effects are left vague. Scotty gives a random manufacturer the formula for transparent aluminum, while Chekov leaves behind his communicator and phaser when captured by the US military. How these changes affected the future are not known, but it's presumed that they would have been both instantaneous and unnoticeable upon the Enterprise's return to their present.

How The Next Generation Era Solidified Star Trek Time Travel Rules

One of star trek's best new characters reclaimed a problematic trope.

There were a number of episodes in the second wave of Star Trek that dealt with time travel, including its consequences on the future. In a Star Trek: Voyager two-parter, Ed Begley, Jr. played an important character who was, essentially, responsible for the 1980s and 1990s computer age the Star Trek: The Originl Series storytellers didn't see coming. In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's "Past Tense," Captain Sisko has to step in for historical figure Gabriel Bell in the "Bell Riots," an important historical event. Also, Deep Space Nine revealed that Quark, Nog and Rom were the "Rosewell aliens" thanks to a time travel snafu. However, one episode further solidified how changes to the timeline worked.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation 's third season episode, "Yesterday's Enterprise," the USS Enterprise-C was displaced from its time into the 24th Century. The moment it arrived there, the timeline changed and none of the Enterprise-D crew was the wiser. Only Guinan was subtly made aware of these changes due to her El Aurian ancestry. When the Enterprise C went back into the temporal rift, that reality snapped back not just to normal but the moment it first emerged. This was despite the fact that days passed in the alternate present the ship's arrival created. This matches how the temporal changes in the sequel series worked as well. Sometimes other characters were exempt from the changes, and while there were sci-fi reasons given, it was, again, narrative convenience.

In Star Trek: First Contact , the Borg successfully altered the past when it sent a sphere back to 2063. The USS Enterprise-E was immune from the timeline changes because of its proximity to the temporal singularity that eventually allowed them to follow . Since the version of Zefram Cochrane that appeared in The Original Series was ignorant of the Federation, it's safe to assume the presence of The Next Generation 's characters changed that past from what it once was. When they returned to their present, presumably, any permanent changes to the present were, again, unnoticeable.

Star Trek: Enterprise and the Kelvin Timeline Changed Time Travel Rules Further

Star trek: discovery fixed one big mistake the kelvin timelines movies made.

The idea of a temporal war was introduced in Star Trek: Enterprise , again suggesting the version of events viewers saw was not the history the characters in the past series knew. From the war with the Xindi in Season 3 to the various temporal incursions in the earlier seasons, the NX-01 Enterprise experienced a different history than it should've. This suggests that every time travel adventure in Star Trek changed the past, save perhaps for the events in "Assignment: Earth." However, that episode is an outlier because it was conceived as a backdoor pilot for a spinoff starring Gary Seven. At some point, according to both Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , the Temporal War went from "cold" to "hot," resulting in even more significant changes.

Still, in almost all cases, changing something in the past affected the future of the Prime Timeline. There is one notable exception, which also exists for narrative convenience. When Ambassador Spock and the Narada traveled into the past after the destruction of Romulus, it created an alternate timeline that became a parallel reality running concurrent with the Prime Timeline . Unlike other time travel events that changed Star Trek canon , the Kelvin Timeline continued forward without undoing the events in the Prime Timeline. Star Trek: Picard Season 1 proved this by confirming the destruction of Romulus. And, when those characters time traveled in Season 2, the changes in the past were again reflected in the Prime Timeline's future rather than creating a branch reality.

For those looking for a sci-fi reason for this, one could say that the mysterious "Red Matter" Spock used had something to do with it. However, the Kelvin Timeline isn't necessarily the only parallel reality created by time-travel. In Star Trek: Discovery , the Guardian of Forever implied to Philippa Georgiou that there was a period in the Mirror Universe's past where it was the same timeline as the one fans know. Though, Enterprise showed that divergence happened, at least, as far back as Vulcan First Contact. Still, save for it and the Kelvin Timeline, Star Trek 's rules of time travel suggest changes in the past affect the future of the Prime Timeline.

There Are Still Unanswered Mysteries About How Time Travel Works in Star Trek

The new star trek series could erase the kelvin timeline, but shouldn't.

When it comes to the real-world story reasons for creating an alternate timeline versus a parallel reality, it's all down to narrative needs. The Kelvin Timeline needed a future unencumbered by existing canon, thus it existed without changing the Prime Timeline. However, most of the time travel incursions in the Star Trek universe don't work that way. Yet, events change for other, inexplicable reasons such as the birth and rise of Khan Noonien Singh . In "Space Seed," the The Original Series Season 1 episode that introduced the character, his reign of terror happened in the 1990s . Yet, Strange New Worlds fixed that in Season 2.

Khan's descendent, La'an Noonien Singh, was recruited by a Temporal Agent to fix an attack in the past. When he passed his Time Gizmo to her, the timeline changed around her, including erasing the Temporal Agent's body. While in the past, she encountered a Romulan temporal soldier sent back to the 1990s to kill Khan. Without him, Starfleet and the Federation would never form. Yet, when she got there, she found no evidence of Khan's existence. Eventually, she discovered him as a child in the mid-21st Century. She implied to La'an that certain "canon events" will happen regardless. Perhaps because of the changes made to the time in Voyager , Khan's creation didn't happen until later.

While these aren't the clearest rules, time travel can explain many things, including Strange New Worlds ' advanced technology . These changes alter the look and capabilities of Star Trek 's future, but the "big" things still happen. Christopher Pike captains the Enterprise and is debilitated in an accident. James T. Kirk replaces him, preventing a Romulan war. This can also mean that time travel events that don't happen on screen can also change the timeline in ways the characters (and the audience) would never realize . In fact, all these various stories told by different generations of storytellers over decades fit together even this neatly is a kind of miracle in itself.

Star Trek's series and Kelvin Timeline films are available to stream on Paramount+, while the first 10 films stream on Max. All are available to own on DVD, Blu-ray and digital.

The Star Trek universe encompasses multiple series, each offering a unique lens through which to experience the wonders and perils of space travel. Join Captain Kirk and his crew on the Original Series' voyages of discovery, encounter the utopian vision of the Federation in The Next Generation, or delve into the darker corners of galactic politics in Deep Space Nine. No matter your preference, there's a Star Trek adventure waiting to ignite your imagination.

Created by Gene Roddenberry

First Film Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Latest Film Star Trek: Nemesis

First TV Show Star Trek: The Original Series

Latest TV Show Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Cast Nichelle Nichols, Scott Bakula, Kate Mulgrew, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Avery Brooks, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan

TV Show(s) Star Trek: Animated, Star trek, Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Lower Decks, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Lower Decks

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The Xindi are an alliance of species originating from the now-destroyed planet Xindus .

Although they all share a series of ridges along their foreheads, there are five physiologically distinct species of Xindi: Primates , Arboreals , Reptilians , Insectoids , and Aquatics ; the sixth species, Avians , is extinct.

• 2 Missions involved
• 4 Duty officers
• 7 References
• 9 External links

History [ | ]

• The Xindi fought a massive civil war that ravaged their homeworld for over a century until the 2030s , when the Reptilians and Insectoids detonated a series of explosives under the planet's largest fissures, unintentionally shattering it and wiping out the Avians. The survivors formed a loose alliance in the hopes of locating a new homeworld. They were aided by trans-dimensional beings they called the Guardians.
• In the mid- 22nd Century , the Guardians warned them that humanity was going to pose a threat to them in four hundred years, and urged them to build a superweapon in order to destroy Earth . In 2153 , the Xindi deployed a prototype version of the weapon, which devastated small parts of Florida and Venezuela , killing over seven million humans.
• The starship Enterprise was sent into the Delphic Expanse to seek out the Xindi and end the conflict, by peace or by force. The crew eventually discovered that the Guardians - also known as the Sphere Builders - were a faction in the Temporal Cold War , manipulating the Xindi into destroying humanity so that the United Federation of Planets would never come into being. With the help of the Andorian warship Kumari , the Enterprise crew managed to convince the Xindi Council of this and destroyed the completed weapon before it could complete its mission.
• As of 2410 , the Xindi appear to have found a new homeworld, which is now a member of the Federation. Furthermore, they maintain diplomatic relations with the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Republic .

Missions involved [ | ]

Duty officers [ | ]

List of Xindi-Primate duty officers List of Xindi-Arboreal duty officers List of Xindi-Reptilian duty officers List of Xindi-Insectoid duty officers List of Xindi-Aquatic duty officers

Gallery [ | ]

Hurra , a Xindi-Primate.

Ruul Tarr , a Xindi-Arboreal.

Drolid , a Xindi-Reptilian.

T'likchik'zi , a Xindi-Insectoid.

Muaza Amman'sor , a Xindi-Aquatic.

Notes [ | ]

• The Xindi are not a playable species. However, Alien playable characters and bridge officers can be customized to look like Xindi-Primates (Xindi-Primate forehead and hairstyle are available).
• Xindi were first introduced in 22 April 2014 as an interactable Xindi-Primate NPC present at the conference during “Surface Tension” .

References [ | ]

• Xindi Lockbox Overview

See also [ | ]

• Playable Xindi Starships
• Xindi-Primate Suit
• Xindi Reptilian Outfit (robes)
• Xindi-Reptilian Soldier Uniform

External links [ | ]

• Xindi at Memory Alpha , the Star Trek Wiki.
• Xindi incident at Memory Alpha , the Star Trek Wiki.
• 1 Gold-Pressed Latinum
• 3 Playable starship

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Published Jul 4, 2014

FIRST LOOKS: Xindi Insectoid Ship and U.S.S. Prometheus

Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection has provided StarTrek.com with an up-close look at the next two models in the series: the Xindi Insectoid ship and the U.S.S. Prometheus.

Issue 24 is the Xindi Insectoid ship, an unusual, three-pronged design that made its debut in Star Trek: Enterprise ’s third season. It was one of the most dangerous ships the crew encountered, used a vortex to travel at high warp speeds and didn’t have anything we’d recognize as a bridge. The ship was designed by John Eaves, who shares his original concept drawings and reveals that he was inspired by... crab claws. The magazine also reveals how Dan Curry designed the Xindi Insectoids themselves.

Issue 25 is the U.S.S. Prometheus, one of the most advanced Starfleet ships ever built. Unlike most Federation vessels, it was designed for combat rather than exploration and could split into three parts to inflict maximum damage upon its opponents. The magazine reveals some previously unknown technical details and shares Rick Sternbach’s original concept artwork, including early versions of the Prometheus that split into five independent ships. The model shows the ship in its combined form.

The Official Starships Collection is available in selected retailers and by subscription. For more information visit www.startrek-starships.com . And keep an eye on StarTrek.com for additional information about upcoming releases and for detailed looks at each ship as they are released.

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All Roads Lead to Discovery: The Full Star Trek Timeline, Explained

Star Trek: Discovery takes place at the furthest point in the franchise timeline. Here is the stardate for each major entry in the series.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, the final season, is currently underway. The series debuted in 2017 and was used as the launch title for the streaming service CBS All Access, now rebranded Paramount+. It was also the first Star Trek series on television in 12 years following the conclusion of Star Trek: Enterprise back in 2005. While Paramount has spent nearly a decade trying to get Star Trek 4 out of development hell , the franchise has been going strong on Paramount+ with various series on the streaming service at different times of the year. Now, there is almost always a Star Trek series on the air at any given point.

Star Trek: Discovery is a fascinating case for the franchise, as it was originally conceived as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series , but following the conclusion of Season 2 and starting in Season 3, the series jumped far into the future, the farthest point in the franchise history. Star Trek: Discovery now takes place in a universe built on years of stories. Here is a breakdown of the Star Trek timeline across television and film and how it all leads to Star Trek: Discovery .

Star Trek: Enterprise (2151-2155)

Star trek: enterprise.

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The last television series on air before Star Trek: Discovery is also the first in the timeline as Star Trek: Enterprise takes place over 100 years before the adventures of Kirk and Spock in Star Trek: The Original Series . The series follows Jonathan Archer, the captain of the Enterprise NX-01 which was Earth’s first starship able to reach warp five. Major events in the series are around first contact with alien species like the Klingon and the Xindi. The series also featured the true formation of the United Federation of Planets.

The series also established the Temporal Wars, a conflict that stretched across time and space and resulted in the creation of multiple timelines as agents from various factions in the 32nd century were sent back in time to move history in their favor. This eventually resulted in an all-out war, and while it was resolved, it later had some major ramifications for the franchise. The first was that all-time travel technology became outlawed or destroyed in the 32nd century, so when the crew of Discovery jumped forward in time, they had no way of returning home. The other was a way for the writers to fix continuity errors , like moving up the date of Khan's rise and the Eugenics wars from the 1990s, as established in The Original Series , to the 2010s.

Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 1 and 2 (2256-2258)

When Star Trek: Discovery first premiered, it was pitched as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series , taking place nine years before the events of the series. It introduced Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham, the never-before-mentioned adopted sister of Spock who ended up starting the war between the Federation and the Klingons, one that would have repercussions for the franchise for years. Star Trek: Discovery dealt with a threat from the Mirror Universe , a faction that would come into play in Star Trek: The Original Series , while season two brought on fan-favorite versions of characters from the original Star Trek pilot in the form of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Number One (Rebecca Romijln), and Spock (Ethan Peck).

Star Trek: Discovery season two ended with the crew of the Enterprise making the decision to jump forward 1000 years in the future to save the galaxy from an artificial intelligence threat. This resulted in Pike, Spock, and Number One telling Starfleet that Discovery was destroyed in the battle and vowing never to speak of it or the crew again to prevent another incident like the rouge AI Control from happening. This was done to explain why nobody in the later series of Star Trek mentioned any of the characters on Discovery or the advanced technology the ship had as the first and only one of its kind to use an experimental spore drive.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2259-TBD)

Star trek: strange new worlds.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is both a spin-off of Star Trek: Discovery , following Captain Pike and the crew of the USS Enterprise, introduced in that series, as well as a continuation of the original pilot for Star Trek: The Original Series "The Cage." Now that Captain Pike knows the fate that awaits him by the time Star Trek: The Original Series happens, he and the crew of the Enterprise begin exploring strange new worlds. The series is notable for featuring not only Spock but also his first-ever meeting with Captain Kirk (Paul Wesley) and the first missions of Uhurua (Celia Rose Gooding). Other members of the original crew, like Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) and Doctor M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), while Season 2's finale introduces a young Scotty (Martin Quinn).

Star Trek Movies in Order: How to Watch Chronologically and by Release Date

It also adds a new wrinkle to the lore: La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong), who is a descendant of villain Khan Noonien Singh. The series has so far fleshed out the alien race, The Gorn, and features the foundation of the Prime Directive rule, one that forbids a Starship from interfering with the development of an alien planet. It also features time travel in two key episodes. The first was when La'an and another version of Kirk traveled to 2020 Toronto, where La'an has a chance to kill a young Khan when he was just a boy but doesn't due to him not being guilty of any crime yet, and the other involved the crew of Star Trek: Lower Decks traveling back in time and arriving back 100 years before their time.

Star Trek: The Original Series (2265-2269)

The one that started it all, Star Trek: The Original Series , follows the crew of the USS Enterprise in their five-year mission to explore strange new worlds and go where no one has gone before. Under the guidance of Captain Kirk (William Shatner), his first officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and friend and ship doctor Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelly), the crew of the USS Enterprise are the most important characters in the Star Trek franchise. Decisions and events here have major ripple effects on the entire franchise.

There are far too many to name, but the biggest ones include in 2267 when the crew finds and uncovers the body of Khan Nooniegn-Signh, and after he attempts a mutiny, they leave him on a planet to begin a new life, an action that will have repercussions decades later.

Star Trek: The Animated Series (2269-2270)

Star trek: the animated series.

Star Trek: The Animated Series was made in 1973, four years after Star Trek: The Original Series was canceled. It featured the continuing adventures of the crew of the Enterprise's five-year mission. It lasted for two seasons and helped round out the stories of Captain Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the USS Enterprise.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2271)

Star trek: the motion picture.

While no official stardate is mentioned in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and is only identified as the 2270s, supplementary material for the film dates it one year after the crew of the Enterprise's five-year mission. The film sees the crew of the Enterprise reunite to investigate a mysterious and powerful alien cloud known as V'Ger, which is destroying everything in its path as it approaches Earth. While not stated in the film, subsequent Star Trek material has suggested that V'Ger is the progenitor of the Borg, one of the franchise's most popular recurring enemies.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (2285)

Star trek 2: the wrath of khan.

The most iconic Star Trek film, The Wrath of Khan , picks up 15 years after the events of the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Space Seed." The time since the planet Khan was marooned on , it became a wasteland after one of the planets near it was destroyed and altered the atmosphere. Khan now seeks revenge on Kirk and does so by going after the planet-terraforming machine called the Genesis device, a machine created by Kirk's ex, Carol Marcus, and his son, David Marcus. Kirk is able to defeat Khan but at a price, as Mr. Spock is forced to give his life to save the crew of the Enterprise. Spock's death will have major repercussions on the franchise that will be felt for years.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (2285)

Star trek iii: the search for spock.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock picks up just months after The Wrath of Khan , as the crew of the Enterprise discovers that there is a way to revive Spock. They go against Starfleet's orders and steal the Enterprise to return Spock's body and mind to Vulcan so that he can be reborn. The crew must also face off with hostile Klingons, led by Kruge (Christopher Lloyd), who is bent on stealing the secrets of the powerful terraforming Genesis.

Here’s How Much Each Star Trek Movie Made at the Box Office Upon Release

The film features some major hallmarks of the franchise. The first is the destruction of the Enterprise, a ship that had been with the franchise for years and would be absent in the following film. The second was establishing the core characters as fugitives from the United Federation of Planets, which would set up clearing their names in the follow-up. It also featured Spock being resurrected but at another cost for Kirk, the death of his son, which would begin to drive Kirk's prejudice against Klingons for many films.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (2286 and 1986)

Star trek iv: the voyage home.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home sees the former crew of the USS Enterprise discover that Earth is in grave danger from an alien probe attempting to contact now-extinct humpback whales. The crew travels to Earth's past to find whales who can answer the probe's call. The first and final part of the movie takes place one year after The Search for Spock , but the majority of the movie takes place in 1986, the present day for moviegoing audiences. While Star Trek had done time travel stories before, this one set a template for future entries in the franchise. By the end of the film, Kirk and his crew had been reinstated and cleared of all charges.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (2287)

Star trek v: the final frontier.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier deals with the crew of the new USS Enterprise-A as they confront renegade Vulcan Sybok, who is searching for God at the center of the galaxy. Sybok is Spock's half-brother , and he is from his father's previous relationship with a Vulcan woman. This makes the second chronological secret member of Spock's family and the first introduced in the series in order of release.

Sybok's presence was actually hinted at in the series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds when his lover, Angel, attacks his half-brother's ship. The entry is also the first to allude to a higher power in the Star Trek franchise, and while God would not be revealed in the series, the idea of someone being the creator of life in the galaxy would be picked up years later in Star Trek: The Next Generation and is now the main storyline for the final season of Star Trek: Discovery.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (2293)

Star trek vi: the undiscovered country.

The final time the entire crew of the USS Enterprise would be together was in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . The Klingons seek to form an alliance with the Federation after years of fighting due to their planet suffering a major catastrophe, but Kirk is still bitter after the death of his son at the Klingon's hands in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock . Kirk and Bones are framed for the murder of a high-up Klingon official, which threatens the peace accords, and they, alongside the rest of the crew of the Enterprise, must work to clear their names.

This final entry for most of the original cast marks a turning point in the franchise. It marked the end of the Federation and Klingon conflict, setting up Star Trek: The Next Generation , featuring the character Worf in a prominent role as part of the crew. The film takes place 28 years after Star Trek: The Original Series, and through one live-action show, an animated series, and six films, audiences saw a massive epic unfold for these characters, but the story was far from over as a new era began for the franchise and the next generation began.

Star Trek: The Next Generation (2364-2370)

Star trek: the next generation.

Star Trek: The Next Generation takes place a century after the events of Star Trek: The Original Series . The series follows Captain Jean Luc-Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D as they continue to explore strange new worlds and seek out new life and new civilizations. For many audiences, this was their Star Trek and introduced a whole new host of concepts to the franchise, with the most iconic being the villain, The Borg.

Star Trek: The Next Generation might be one of the most important in terms of how it connects to Star Trek Discovery. The first is the episode "Unification," in which Spock looks to bring peace between the Vulcans and Romulans. Not only is this paid off as Spock's vision of a united Romulus and Vulcan comes true in the form of the planet Ni'Var in Star Trek: Discovery , but his work with the Romulan people will lead to the events that create the alternate Kelvin timeline of Star Trek , Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond .

Yet the most important element is in the episode "The Chase," which reveals that the reason various alien life in the galaxy looks so similar is due to sharing a common ancestry from an ancient species that crafted life in their image. This revelation forms the backbone of Star Trek: Discovery 's final season as the crew looks to find the technology of the species that created life, now dubbed the Progenitors. The episode debuted in 1993, and now, 31 years later, the series is finally going to delve into some answers.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2369-2375)

Star trek: deep space nine.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine broke from franchise conventions as instead of being focused on a starship, it was set on a space station Deep Space Nine, located adjacent to a wormhole connecting Federation territory to the Gamma Quadrant on the far side of the Milky Way galaxy. The series begins one year before the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation come to a conclusion and is firmly connected to the events of that series as Benjamin Sisko, head of Deep Space Nine, is mourning the death of his wife, who was killed by the Borg at the Battle of Wolf 359 seen in the episode "The Best of Both Worlds Part II" from The Next Generation and has a difficult time seeing the face of Jean-Luc Picard as that was the face he saw leading the Borg that lead to the death of his wife.

The biggest event of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is The Dominion Wars, a massive story arc that ran over the course of the series. It involved all major powers of the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants, organized into two opposing military alliances, the Federation Alliance and the Breen-Dominion Alliance, which resulted in the deadliest conflicts in the galaxy. It would begin the drive for the Federation to become a more militarized organization.

Star Trek Generations (2371)

Star trek: generations.

Star Trek: Generations occupies an interesting place within the timeline. It is set one year after the events of The Next Generation and two years into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the year 2371. Yet the film's beginning takes place shortly after the events of Star Trek VI: The Final Frontier, which sees Captain Kirk stuck in a pocket dimension, allowing him to meet Captain Jean-Luc Picard of The Next Generation nearly a century later into his future. This film marked the death of Captain Kirk , who died the way he lived, a man of adventure.

Star Trek: First Contact (2373)

Star trek: first contact.

Star Trek: First Contact is another time travel movie, similar to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home . Set six years after being assimilated by the Borg in Star Trek: The Next Generation , Captain Picard and his crew travel through a time portal to pursue the Borg to April 4, 2063. This is the date before the historic warp drive flight that leads to humanity's first encounter with alien life, and the Borg are looking to alter the future so humans never make contact. The film's date of April 5th has now become an unofficial Star Trek holiday known as First Contact Day .

Star Trek: Insurrection (2375)

Star trek: insurrection.

Star Trek: Insurrection is notable as the film is set in 2375, the same year as the final season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Trying to take the renegade Starfleet team element from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , the crew of the USS Enterprise -E rebels against Starfleet after they discover a conspiracy with the Son'a species to steal the peaceful Ba'ku's planet for its rejuvenating properties.

Star Trek: Voyager (2371-2378)

Star trek: voyager.

Star Trek: Voyager begins in 2371, the same year as Star Trek: Generations . It follows the adventures of the USS Voyager as it attempts to return home to the Alpha Quadrant after being stranded in the Delta Quadrant on the far side of the galaxy. This entry is key for introducing two characters to the franchise that will play major roles in future installments. The series introduced Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the first female Captain in the franchise, who will later have a major role in Star Trek: Prodigy .

The second is Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), a former Borg drone that was born Annika Hansen before being assimilated by the Borg at age six in 2356, eight years before the start of Star Trek: The Next Generation . Seven of Nine plays a major role in Star Trek: Picard as the series delves more into the Borg's history and culture.

Star Trek: Nemesis (2379)

Star trek: nemesis.

Star Trek: Nemesis takes place fifteen years after the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation and deals with a threat from a clone of Captain Picard named Shinzon (Tom Hardy), who has taken control of the planet Romulus and was created by the Romulan Empire originally to create a spy within the Federation but the plans were abandoned likely due to the events of "Unification" and the clone child was left on die as a slave on the Romulan controlled planet Remus. The film marked the final film for the crew of The Next Generation as it marked many landmarks, including the wedding of Commander Will Ryker and Deanna Tori and the death of Data, all elements that lead into Star Trek: Picard .

Star Trek: Lower Decks (2380-TBD)

Star trek: lower decks.

Star Trek: Lower Decks is a comedic spin on the Star Trek franchise . This animated adventure follows the low-ranking support crew of the starship Cerritos and begins one year after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis . Star Trek: Lower Decks crossed over with Star Trek: Strange New World in that series' second season episode, "Those Old Scientists," which saw Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid get the chance to play their roles of Beckett Mariner and Brad Boimler, respectively, in live-action.

The series just announced its fifth and final season, meaning both it and Star Trek: Discovery will come to a close in 2024, and fans are certainly hoping to hear a mention of the characters of Lower Decks in Discovery just to know these lowly crew members did become big names with the Federation history.

Star Trek: Prodigy (2383-TBD)

Star trek: prodigy.

Star Trek: Prodigy was an attempt to create a new starting point for young kids to get into the Star Trek franchise. Set in 2383, it follows a group of young aliens from the Delta Quadrant who find the abandoned starship Protostar and learn about Starfleet with the help of the ship's computer, an AI of Captain Janeway from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . This young crew of kids makes their way to the Alpha Quadrant while discovering what it means to be a crew and what being part of Starfleet is all about.

The series features plenty of cameos and references to the past Star Trek series but does so in a way that invites the young viewer to learn more about them. The series was canceled at Paramount+ after one season but was then picked up by Netflix, where it will have a second season.

Kelvin Timeline (2387, 2255 - 2263)

This is where things get a bit tricky. In the year 2387, a supernova destroys the planet Romulus. For those in the original timeline, the destruction of Romulus kicks off the events of Star Trek: Picard, but a major event happens that none of the characters are aware of at the time: the creation of a new timeline.

In an attempt to stop the supernova, an elder Spock launches a piece of red matter into the supernova that creates a black hole that sucks both him and the Romulan villain Nero (Eric Bana) through it and back in time. Nero arrives first in the year 2233, which results in the destruction of the USS Kelvin and the death of Geroge Kirk on the birth of his son James T. Kirk's birth, creating a new branching timeline that is the Kelvin timeline, which is where the events of Star Trek , Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond take place. This means that while the events of the Kelvin timeline take place earlier, they are doing so in a separate timeline that is built off the events of the prior stories. So 2009's Star Trek is both a reboot, a prequel, and a sequel to the franchise.

Due to the timeline changing, the events of the Kelvin timeline actually take place earlier than in Star Trek: The Original Series . 2009's Star Trek takes place in 2255, while Into Darkness takes place four years later in 2259, and Beyond is set in 2263, roughly four years into the crew's five-year mission. This is notably two years before Star Trek: The Original Series begins. By the 31st century of Star Trek: Discovery season three, the Prime Timeline is aware of the Kelvin timeline. They established a Starfleet officer named Yor, a time soldier who originated from another timeline and referenced the events of 2009's Star Trek .

Star Trek: Picard (2399-2402)

Star trek: picard.

Star Trek: Picard takes place 20 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis in the year 2399. In the years since the series concluded, the Federation has become more isolationist. Following the destruction of Romulus, the Romulan people have become scattered; meanwhile, an attack on a Starfleet operation has led to a ban on synthetics. Season one focuses on Picard discovering more about the syncs with the discovery of Data's daughter Soji while also exploring more into the Borg culture as Romulans have begun mining Borg technology.

Season 2 takes place two years later, in 2401, and sees an old adversary named Q, an extra-dimensional being, traping Picard and his new crew in an alternate reality which forces them to travel back in time to Los Angeles 2024 to save the future while exploring more about Picard's own family origin. Finally, season three takes place one year later, in 2402, as Picard reunites with his old crew from The Next Generation , as well as his long-lost son, for a final showdown with the Borg.

Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 3-5 (3188-TBD)

Now, finally, it's time to loop back to Star Trek: Discovery . Season 3 sees the crew of Discovery travel to the year 3188 to discover the Federation fragmented and investigates the cause of a cataclysmic event known as the "Burn" as they attempt to rebuild Starfleet. Burnham is promoted to captain at the end of the season, and in season four, the crew helps rebuild the Federation while facing a space anomaly created by unknown aliens that causes destruction across the galaxy, similar to the plot of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

The fifth and final season sees Discovery faced with its biggest task yet. They embark on a journey to uncover the mystery of The Progenitors, the species that The Next Generation revealed created multiple sentient lifeforms in the universe. The final season of Star Trek: Discovery , the series set furthest in the Star Trek timeline, is now taking the franchise to answer the oldest question in the cosmos: where do we come from, and what is our purpose?

With humans making first contact with aliens on April 5, 2063, to the events of Star Trek: Discovery in 3188, the story of Star Trek is one that spans 1,125 years. It is an epic tale filled with heroes, villains, and worlds filled with imagination and hope. Star Trek continues forward as there are plenty more stories to tell.

Xindi-Primate

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The Primates were ape -like and they, more than any other Xindi species, resembled "traditional" humanoids . ( ENT : " The Shipment ") In common with Humans , they had skin that varied in complexion and most of the Primates had ten fingers. They had, like all Xindi, distinctive ridges on their cheek bones . They also had larger foreheads but no eyebrows. ( ENT : " The Xindi ")

The Primates were generally seen as fair, honest, and trustworthy by other Xindi. ( ENT : " The Shipment ") However, Xindi-Reptilians such as Dolim considered them not very resilient. ( ENT : " Azati Prime ")

They were also among the most intellectual species of Xindi and therefore one of their own, Degra , was assigned to develop the weapon to destroy Earth alongside the Xindi-Aquatics on Azati Prime . However, this intelligence also helped in convincing Degra that the Guardians' promises were empty.

Degra and his associate were the Primate representatives to the Xindi Council .

• 1 Individuals
• 2.1 Appearances
• 2.2 Background information
• 2.3 Apocrypha

Individuals [ ]

• Unnamed Xindi-Primates

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

• " The Xindi "
• " The Shipment "
• " Proving Ground "
• " Stratagem "
• " Azati Prime "
• " The Forgotten "
• " The Council "
• " Countdown "
• " Zero Hour "

Background information [ ]

In scripts for episodes ranging from season three premiere " The Xindi " to third season finale " Zero Hour ", Xindi-Primates were commonly referred to as "Xindi-Humanoids". In the final draft script of "The Xindi", the species was even described as having "Xindi-humanoid features." Though the species was most often referred to as "Xindi-Primate" in canon , the species was also referred to as "Xindi-Humanoid" in " Proving Ground " and " The Council ".

Following approval of the facial design for the Xindi-Reptilians , the makeup for the Xindi-Primates began to be designed. This turned out to be a fairly easy job, as it had already been decided that a common feature among the Xindi was to be spiky cheek-ridges. ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 149 , p. 56) The Xindi-Primate makeup ultimately consisted of a single prosthetic piece which spanned from the actor's mid-skull to their cheekbones. [1] The prosthetic was made from molded foam rubber which felt supple to touch and was subsequently painted for usage. [2]

The process of applying the Xindi-Primate makeup took about an hour and a half or two hours, whereas the removal of the makeup required forty-five to ninety minutes. ( [3] ; BLANKMANinc.com: The Star Trek Interviews ) Although the prosthetic appliance was extremely tight around the eyes, it was important that the relevant actors took the time to have the prosthetic applied. Remarked Tucker Smallwood , " That's not something you want to rush, no matter how late or tired you are. Not if you value your skin! " [4]

Sketches used in developing the Xindi-Primates' typical hairstyle

For the typical Primate head design, the hairline was raised, in an effort to make the aliens look significantly different from how extraterrestrials on the show commonly looked; Hair Designer Michael Moore also tried out various hairstyles for the Primates, in a series of concept sketches. " Somewhere in the work I just decided to try to bring the spots down lower and then blend it in with the rest. And so I sent that, along with the other drawings I had, to Rick [Berman] – and the envelope came back to me with a big check on that one, " recalled Moore. " Sometimes when you send 12 drawings up, you think, 'I bet he's going to go with that one' – and I had that feeling with this one. " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 149 , p. 56) The actors playing Xindi-Primates regularly had their hair appropriately styled at the same time as their makeup was being put on. [5]

The costumes for the Xindi-Primates were inspired by centuries-old European uniforms, as Costume Designer Bob Blackman was intent on making them look like "something that was a little more ancient" than the costumes for the other Xindi species. " Caucasus shapes, from Eastern Europe/ Russian shapes, is where I went to get this, 16th-17th-18th century – so it's kind of like Cossack coats, " Blackman explained. " But that was just in order to find something that would give them some bulk, and some strength in how they looked. " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 149 , p. 56) The tiger-striped brown and gold jackets worn by the Primates had vinyl trim and a vinyl harness which culminated in a metal buckle. [6] [7]

A pair of Xindi-Primate facial make-up applications was sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction , included in a lot along with a group of Xindi-Reptilian make-up pieces. One of the Primate masks was painted and suspected to have been screen-used, whereas the other prosthetic was in its raw, unpainted form. [8] Two of the tiger-striped brown and gold coats worn by some of the Primates were additionally auctioned off on It's A Wrap! One of these, worn by the character Thalen , sold for US$354.99. [9] [10] A costume worn by Degra was likewise sold at Christie's 40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection auction, in a lot including three other Xindi costumes. [11]

Apocrypha [ ]

In the novelization of The Expanse , the Primates are cited as having been the second Xindi species to have evolved a very high degree of intelligence, preceded by the Xindi-Aquatics . The book also establishes the Primates as having a pubis.

According to The Expanse , the Primates dominated most of the Xindi homeworld for eons, ruthlessly oppressing the other Xindi species (which they considered inferior) to the point where the others (particularly the Xindi-Reptilians and -Insectoids ) developed a hatred of them that remained into the 22nd century . At that time, the Primates still controlled the majority of the planet but had (seemingly at least) abandoned the belief of themselves as superior Xindi. Also, the Primates' language had, following centuries of Primate domination, become the official language of their homeworld. Most Primate politicians had originally considered the fact that the other species were gaining power and increasing in number as a tragedy, believing the developments certainly could only lead to more racial wars akin to the one which had virtually torn the planet apart. An oft-stated Primate opinion held that the Xindi-Reptilians, -Insectoids and -Arboreals had very limited thoughts. The reason why the Primates were the Xindi species that developed the weapon is given as being that they were the most talented engineers.