3x13 Proving Ground

[Dimitris]

Episode No: 065
Air Date: 01.21.2004

An Andorian ship led by Commander Shran arrives in the Delphic Expanse to help Enterprise hone in on the Xindi superweapon.


Synopsis

Andorian Imperial Guard Commander Shran and his warship track Enterprise down in the Delphic Expanse to offer Captain Archer help as an ally, and together, the two former adversaries plan to steal a prototype of the Xindi's planet-destroying superweapon. As a confrontation with the Xindi looms, Lt. Reed gets help fixing the NX-01's damaged weapons systems from a striking Andorian female, Lt. Talas, a contentious officer with her own agenda.


Old Rumors from www.treknation.com

Rumoured to feature the return of Shran, who will reportedly help Captain Archer in an attempt to capture a Xindi weapon. (October 23, 2003 - TrekToday)

[Dimitris]

Rumors of October 23, 2003...


Enterprise's long-running Andorian and Xindi story arcs will reportedly converge in the thirteenth episode of season three.

Sources today revealed the first plot details for the episode, entitled "Proving Ground". The outing will see the return of Shran, the Andorian Imperial Guard officer played by veteran Trek guest star Jeffrey Combs in "The Andorian Incident", "Shadows of P'Jem" and "Cease Fire".

Through circumstances as yet unknown, Shran's Andorian vessel and Enterprise encounter each other in the Delphic Expanse. Shran and his tactical officer, the bewitching female Lieutenant Talas, will reportedly assist the Enterprise crew in a daring heist: to capture the test version of the weapon with which the Xindi are planning to destroy Earth.

Lieutenant Talas works with Malcolm Reed in the armory to ready the NX-01's weapons for the attack. After a rocky start the two begin to work well together, but unknown to Reed, Talas is secretly sabotaging Enterprise's capabilities, for the Andorians are not the friendly assistants they appear to be.

Shran has orders from his superiors to acquire the Xindi weapon for the Andorians to use in their ongoing conflict with the Vulcans. But he is somewhat reluctant to betray the Enterprise, telling an Andorian general that an alliance with the humans could be beneficial. Will Shran follow orders and betray Captain Archer or turn his back on his people?

Please note that this information has not yet been confirmed by Paramount Pictures and until such time you should treat it as you would any other rumour from an unofficial source.

"Proving Ground" will likely air in early 2004.

[Dimitris]

11.12.2003
Production Report: "Proving Ground" Marks Halfway Point

Jeffrey Combs is back and he's bluer than ever in "Proving Ground," the 13th episode of Season 3 which completes the first half of the production year.
Combs dons the white hair, blue face and remote-controlled antennae for the fourth time as "Shran," a commander in the Andorian Imperial Guard who's had a roller-coaster relationship with the pinkskin Captain Archer. That relationship is furthered in "Proving Ground," written by co-executive producer Chris Black, which sees Shran bring his Andorian ship into the Delphic Expanse and catch up with Enterprise (thanks to their considerably faster warp engines). In a show of moral superiority to the Vulcans, Shran tells Archer he's there to help an ally, and together the two ships locate a system where the Xindi are testing their new planet-destroyer.

Completion of this episode last Friday marks the halfway point of the season, with 13 episodes shot in 19 weeks. This schedule began Thursday, October 30, and ran for seven days, taking place entirely inside the three Paramount soundstages the show normally occupies. The first day was devoted to Xindi Council Chamber scenes, putting several recurring Xindi characters — first established in "The Xindi" — back into their costumes and makeup. That included Randy Oglesby as "Degra" and Tucker Smallwood as another Xindi-Humanoid (or "Xindi-Primate" per "The Shipment"), Scott MacDonald as the Xindi-Reptilian council member and Rick Worthy as the Xindi-Sloth. Then on Halloween day, the Andorians started walking around (but without trick-or-treat bags, darn it). One was a tall, striking woman with flowing white hair named "Talas," played by newcomer Molly Brink, who forms an uneasy collaboration with Malcolm Reed. There was also an "Andorian General," played by Ted Sutton, doing shots against a simple background which will be used in later scenes on a monitor.

Combs reported to the set on Monday for the entire week. He participated in scenes on the NX-01 Bridge, Captain's Mess, Command Center and Ready Room. He also got to sit in his own Captain's Chair, in our first look at the inside of an Andorian ship. Those swing sets consisted of the Andorian Bridge and Shran's Ready Room. Besides Talas, there were three other (non-speaking) Andorian crewmen occupying the Bridge. Also present, off-camera, were two "puppeteers" controlling the movements of the Andorian antennae by remote. (Andorian actors have small electronic units planted on the back of their heads under their hairpieces.)

Oglesby returned at the end of the schedule to do more scenes in Degra's Ship, where the character runs the weapon tests. Other sets used included the Mess Hall, Engineering and the Armory, the latter having sparks work and other general mayhem at play.

Post-production visual effects work will include the Andorian ship, Xindi ships, the Xindi test weapon, more anomaly wave distortions and more spectacular explosions.

This segment is directed by David Livingston, one of Trek's most accomplished directors. It's his second episode of the season, after "Impulse," and tenth overall for Enterprise. Black last wrote the well-received "The Shipment," and has numerous prior writing credits on the show. And of course, you know Combs as one of the most versatile and interesting actors in Star Trek annals, having played "Weyoun," "Brunt" and other characters including "Krem" in "Acquisition."

"Proving Ground" is tentatively scheduled to air January 21 on UPN. More information about this show can be found at its Episode Detail page.

[Dimitris]

Reviews for last Wednesday night's Enterprise episode, "Proving Ground", offered high praise indeed for the writing, guest cast and performances of the regulars.


Starfleetcom.net's Gisele La Roche gave the episode an A+, "the + for the delightful Jeffrey Combs." Shran, she stated, "is so well-written that even though he is a sort of villain here, he still comes off as a good man." She liked the characterization of Talas, the development of the arc and the humour as well. The full review is here.

O. Deus at TrekWeb was equally impressed, giving the episode an 8.5 overall. "'Proving Ground' may very well stand as the best Xindi arc episode to date," he wrote, not because the episode is extraordinary like "Twilight" but because it exemplifies the qualities Enterprise should be displaying each week. He found it suspenseful, described the characters as well-rounded and had high praise for Combs' performance. Deus' review is at TrekWeb.

Michael Marek of The Great Link declares himself a fan of writer Chris Black and calls "Proving Ground" a "solid next step in the Xindi arc", rating the episode four out of five. Like many reviewers, he enjoyed the relationship between Reed and Talas and the humourous use of Shran's antennae. To read more, see the full review at The Great Link.

Section 31's Mike Dunham pleads for Combs to be given a bigger job in the Trek franchise:
He is one of, if not the, best actor to ever play a recurring character on Star Trek, and I believe he stands right up there with the best of the main casts. He brought the characters of Brunt (DS9) and Weyoun (DS9) to life in a way few others could have possibly matched, adding a three-dimensional quality to each character when they both could have ended up being very one-dimensional. Even though we have only seen Shran a few times, the same is true here. There is a complexity to this character, especially in matters of where his loyalties lie and just how far his respect for Archer goes, that Combs portrays with poise and grace.
To learn the other reasons "Proving Ground" earned a B+ grade, see the full review at Section 31.

Admiral Regnum of Holodeck 3 gave "Proving Ground" a B+. "This both had the Andorian angle and the Xindi angle," he noted, praising the Reed-Talas storyline and the amusing shot of Shran's antennae over Archer's head. Like other reviewers, he also praised the special effects. To read more, see the full review.

At Xenoclone's 'Enterprise' Power Rankings, Chris had high praise for Black's handling of the Andorians, stating, "In one episode, the blue-skins have become more multidimensional, believable, and interesting than the majority of Star Trek creatures." He found the scripting tight and the special effects stellar, despite some frustration with the characterization of the Xindi. The entire review is here.

TrekPulse's Litsa Guevara was pleased to see Reed given a substantive storyline and approving of Archer's balance: "angry when he should be, accommodating and willing to compromise when required, yet doing something about the mission and truly accomplishing his goal, instead of reminding everyone else about the mission and how important it is." She also praised the continuity and rated the episode 4 out of 5 in her review at TrekPulse.

Lower Decks' Karma rated "Proving Ground" 9.5/10, praising the character development of Archer, Reed, Shran, T’Pol and Talas. Karma enjoyed the dialogue, the realism about the difficulties of repairs in space and particularly Combs' performance as the well-characterized Shran; in fact his largest complaint was with the near-complete lack of promotion given the episode by UPN. Visit Lower Decks to read the full review.


www.trektoday.com

[Dimitris]

Plot Summary:

While the Xindi hurry to complete their weapon, Commander Shran brings an Andorian ship into the Expanse searching for Enterprise, which his crew rescues from an anomaly. Shran announces that the Andorians have heard of the Vulcan lack of support for the humans, and they have come to assist Archer in finding the Xindi weapon. Though Archer is hesitant about allowing Andorian crewmembers on his ship, he allows Shran's tactical officer, Talas, to assist Reed in repairing the weapons and tracing the kemocite shipment in which Archer hid an isotope to lead them to the Xindi. T'Pol insists that the Andorians are duplicitous and cannot be trusted, but Archer says that he can trust Shran.

Talas is unhappy about having to work with Reed and with Enterprise's unimpressive systems, but the two discover that they have much in common and work well together once they work past their initial differences. Meanwhile the Starfleet and Imperial ships follow the isotope's signal to a moon in a remote system where the Xindi have apparently been testing weapons. Tucker asks Shran whether the Andorians might be willing to spare a compression nozzle for an antimatter injector, but Shran insists that this is sensitive equipment. He does, however, express his sympathy to Tucker on the death of his sister, saying he knows how Tucker feels, for he lost his brother in a border skirmish with the Vulcans.

Shran feigns being a member of a mining consortium as an excuse to enter the system, scanning the Xindi weapon until he is forced to leave. He and Archer both agree that it would be better to capture the weapon for analysis than to destroy it, so they allow the Xindi to proceed with a test that is only partially successful, shattering but not obliterating a small moon. While the Xindi Council members condemn one another for the unsuccessful test, Archer guesses that Gralik had something to do with it and wonders how they could bring the weapon aboard. T'Pol states that the radiation levels are too high, so Shran offers to take it onto his ship; Archer agrees reluctantly, but only with himself aboard, in command of the mission.

In a subspace communication, Shran's superiors on Andoria insist that he proceed with his mission to take the weapon though Shran warns that it would be foolish to make enemies of the humans when they might be valuable allies. Thus, once his ship and Enterprise have taken the weapon from the Xindi guard, Shran orders Talas to set course for Andoria and leave Archer in an escape pod. Furious, Archer hits Shran, who insists that his people need the weapon to prevent the Vulcans from invading their space and says that in taking the weapon from the Xindi he has done the humans a favor. When Enterprise arrives, T'Pol reports that Reed discovered sabotage by Talas and they are tracking the Andorian ship.

Enterprise approaches and hails the Andorians, demanding the weapon. When Shran refuses to turn it over, Archer says that he picked up the Xindi sensor telemetry and has the activation codes for the weapon. He orders T'Pol to arm and detonate it, saying he would rather it be destroyed than end up with the untrustworthy Andorians. Shran has the weapon evacuated from his cargo bay seconds before it explodes, damaging his ship, though he refuses aid from Enterprise which has maintained a safe distance. Later, Sato tells Archer that she picked up a transmission from Shran's ship, disguised to look like subspace interference, containing detailed scans of the Xindi weapon that the sender evidently did not want discovered by anyone else. Happily, Archer, invites T'Pol and Tucker to dinner to share some Andorian ale.

[Dimitris]

Analysis:

Oh, those duplicitous Andorians, and those duplicitous Enterprise writers not letting us know which of them we can really trust. Archer seems pretty certain in the end that Shran repaid his debt for having lied, but if Shran - who seems to keep scrupulous track of who owes whom what - decided that the fist to his face was recompense enough, could it be that Talas (who was arguing in favor of going home in the first place) took pity on Reed and sent a message right under her superior's nose? Or, for that matter, might one of the Andorians have an agenda of which we know nothing, yet, and have different reasons altogether for divulging what is known about the Xindi's plans to destroy humankind? Sure the Andorians are untrustworthy, after all, but they are so right about the Vulcans...

"Proving Ground" doesn't really break new ground, but it pulls together a number of elements of the Xindi arc and ties it all in nicely with the Andorian storyline of past seasons, giving the show a solid, sophisticated feel like some of Deep Space Nine's early Dominion War episodes. Here we have the ongoing conflict among the different Xindi species as represented by their council members, the possibility that Gralik kept his promise to Archer and sabotaged the weapon, the ongoing difficulties with Expanse anomalies and the unexpected arrival of the delightfully complicated Shran, whose loyalty to Archer is apparently sincere yet secondary to his duty to his own people.

As soon as Shran gives Tucker condolences on his sister and starts talking about his own brother, it's obvious where the storyline is going, but by then it's more interesting to watch the characters than to wait for the inevitable conflict of interest. Shran seems sincerely surprised that Tucker isn't focused on revenge - not judging him, but having to refocus his understanding of humans once more, and perhaps even applying those perceptions to himself and his people. Even if he's self-interested and a liar, Shran listens to the humans in a way Soval never has and probably never will; he is very like T'Pol in this regard, which is ironic given their unwavering distrust of one another.

Jeffrey Combs does a fascinating job with the character, playing him a little too exuberantly at first, a little too sure of himself; it's Shran performing for his own crew and for Archer, and when he develops an internal conflict of interest, that oversized posture deflates like his antennae. This is not a character who wants to be seen as doing the right thing, but one who has a real moral center, who doesn't much care whether he's popular or celebrated so long as he believes his goals have been fulfilled and his debts paid. His refusal of a commendation is rather heartwarming. (And, to give credit where it's due, those antennae are brilliant creations and the prop department deserves big kudos for them; I love the way they wilt just so when Shran is losing an argument, even when he's refusing to acknowledge in any other way that he's been legitimately challenged.)

As for Talas, she's an obvious choice for saboteur from the moment she sets foot on the ship yet in the end one has to wonder how hard she was trying. Finally Reed has something akin to a flirtation with an alien female that doesn't feel contrived, and her competence is refreshing given how physically weak T'Pol has been of late and the Rajiins and Kaitaamas drifting across Enterprise's path on a regular basis. Molly Brink's performance is perhaps a bit too reminiscent of Suzie Plakson's Tarah, but perhaps it's just that Andorian behavior is as regrettably consistent as T'Pol warns Archer that it is.

I would very much like to see her back and to see the Andorian storyline continue. It enhances the Xindi arc to bring them in and it enhances the series overall to maintain this sort of consistency. I thought I was going to have doubts about how the Andorians could have found Enterprise so quickly, but the technological explanation didn't particularly jar and did make me really mad at the Vulcans - what the hell are they doing sitting out there avoiding the situation, anyway?

Some creative camera work makes "Proving Ground" a pleasure to watch: the shot of Archer facing Shran on the viewscreen with the antennae waving over his head, the overhead shot of the Xindi council, the distorted closeup of Degra during the weapon's misfire. There's also a fair amount of humor in listening to Shran and T'Pol snipe at one another, with Shran scoring most of the early points with the smackdown compliments of her new uniform, and I liked his attempts not to call Archer a pinkskin to his face. And the sequence with Reed and Talas, where she sarcastically offers to get him coffee and he gratefully accepts, only to have her announce that she quits her temp job, has snappy, fun dialogue and lively performances.

There were, however, a number of small details that made me roll my eyes, and not in a good way...particularly the discovery that the crew did not have a backup of the database which was wiped out by the Triannon zealots. Don't these idiots know how to burn CDs? Then there's the believability factor of the Xindi letting Shran fly in and out of the system hiding their weapon and not blowing him up immediately...and why can't they tell that there are humans on board, the way they can tell later which ship has which crew with a simple scan? I'm beginning to think that the Xindi are not only conflicted but also not very bright, so how hard can it be to stop their superweapon. Finally, when Archer threatens to arm the weapon on Shran's cargo bay, why doesn't Shran turn his superior weapons on Enterprise and blast the engines? Given the importance of Archer's mission - he let the Triannon take over his ship without a fight to protect it - he'd have stood down and let Shran take the weapon, and Shran knows him well enough that he should have been able to figure that out.

Overall, though, these issues did not diminish the entertainment value of "Proving Ground", which is well-paced, has entertaining dialogue, links together Enterprise's most popular storylines and pairs Archer with his most interesting off-ship sparring partner. Hey, UPN, this should have been a sweeps month episode: why was it not more highly promoted?


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