Harbinger (Star Trek: Enterprise)

Last updated
"Harbinger"
Star Trek: Enterprise episode
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 15
Directed by David Livingston
Story by Rick Berman
Brannon Braga
Teleplay by Manny Coto
Featured music Velton Ray Bunch
Production code315
Original air dateFebruary 11, 2004 (2004-02-11)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Stratagem"		Next →
"Doctor's Orders"
Star Trek: Enterprise season 3
List of episodes

"Harbinger" is the sixty-seventh episode of Star Trek: Enterprise , the fifteenth episode from the third season. "Harbinger" works together three plot lines in a single episode: the T'Pol-Tucker relationship, the Hayes (the MACO commander) and Reed tension and uncovering the nature of a mysterious alien discovered in an anomaly and its possible links to the expanse sphere builders. [1] [2] Guest star Thomas Kopache plays the alien guest and Noa Tishby plays Amanda Cole, the third in the T'Pol-Tucker love triangle.

Contents

Plot

It is December 2153, and Enterprise continues along its course towards Azati Prime to find the Xindi weapon. [lower-alpha 1] Commander Tucker begins spending time with a female MACO; Corporal Amanda Cole, and Sub-Commander T'Pol begins to exhibit signs of suppressed jealousy. Meanwhile, the long-simmering tension between Lieutenant Malcolm Reed and Major Hayes finally comes to a head when Hayes approaches Archer over their security roles aboard Enterprise. Hayes suggests training together to share ideas, but Reed sees this as a move to undermine his authority.

Enterprise diverts to investigate a convergent region of spatial anomalies (created in the center of five spheres), where the crew discover a pod containing an alien. The pod is retrieved, and the alien is taken to Sickbay, but Doctor Phlox can do little to keep him alive. Archer wishes to interrogate him, and does so against Phlox's wishes. Meanwhile, Hayes sets up a weapons training session, and comments continually at Reed's performance. They later get into a fistfight, much to Archer's chagrin.

T'Pol and Tucker finally continue their Vulcan 'neuropressure' sessions, and T'Pol reveals her conversation with Sim-Trip to him, and the two become intimate. She later is very clinical in thanking Tucker for his assistance in her one-time "exploration of human sexuality". Back in Sickbay, the alien revives and physically begins to phase. He attacks Phlox, and then heads through walls towards the warp core, attempting to destabilize the magnetic seals. Reed and Hayes, now working together, stop the alien and he is returned to Sickbay. Archer wants answers, the alien says that when the Xindi destroy Earth his people [lower-alpha 2] will prevail, and phases again, disappearing completely.

Production

The story was by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, and the script written by Manny Coto. David Livingston directed, and started pre-production immediately after shooting "Proving Ground." Production ran from November 19 to December 1, with a break for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. [3]

Guest star Thomas Kopache who plays the unknown alien, made several previous appearances in Star Trek, including the Enterprise premiere of "Broken Bow" as the Vulcan Tos. He also portrayed the father of Kira Nerys in two episodes of Deep Space Nine . [3]

One prop featured in this show is a latex alien body with mottled skin inside of a clear acrylic tube. [4] The latex alien has a multitude of attached probes and clear wires, possibly fiber optics. [4] This was meant to show the alien inside what was thought to be a stasis chamber. [5] The item was auctioned by Christie's in October 2006 for a hammer price of 3,840 USD, against an estimate of 2,000-3,000 USD. [5] The prop is known as "Pin Cushion Man" and overall has a size of 90 inches by 36 inches by 54 inches (2.3 m × 0.91 m × 1.4 m). [5]

Reception

Harbinger was first aired in the United States on UPN on February 11, 2004. [6] According to Nielsen Media Research, it received a 2.6/4 rating share among adults. It had an average of 3.9 million viewers. [7]

A review compared "Harbinger" to the Deep Space Nine episode "Call To Arms" and noted its connection to the season long Xindi story arc in season 3. [1] Herc of Ain't It Cool News gave the episode three out of five, but concluded: "For all its entertainment value, this episode doesn't have an idea in its head; it's one of the emptiest installments of Star Trek ever produced." [8] Screen Rant ranked "Harbinger" as the sixth best romance in Star Trek, noting this episode as the beginning of T'Pol and Trip's relationship. [9]

Home media release

"Harbinger" was released as part of the season three DVD box set, released in the United States on September 27, 2005. [10] The Blu-ray release of Enterprise was announced in early 2013, [11] and the season three box set was released on January 7, 2014. [12] The Blu-Ray has a surround sound 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track for English, as well as German, French, and Japanese audio tracks in Dolby audio. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T'Pol</span> Character in Star Trek

T'Pol is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise. Portrayed by Jolene Blalock in the series Star Trek: Enterprise, she is a Vulcan who serves as the science officer aboard the starship Enterprise (NX-01).

"Impulse" is the fifty-seventh episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the fifth episode of season three. The episode was written by story editor Jonathan Fernandez from a story by Fernandez and Terry Matalas. It first aired October 8, 2003 on the UPN network in the United States. The episode was described by Paramount Pictures as "as close to a horror show as Star Trek gets".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trip Tucker</span> Star Trek: Enterprise fictional character

Charles "Trip" Tucker III, portrayed by Connor Trinneer, is a fictional character in the television series Star Trek: Enterprise.

"Doctor's Orders" is the sixteenth episode from the third season of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise. It's the sixty-eighth episode of the series, first airing on February 18, 2004.

"Hatchery" is the seventeenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the 69th overall. It was written by André Bormanis and Michael Sussman, and was directed by Michael Grossman; his first episode of Star Trek.

"The Forgotten" is the seventy-second episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the twentieth episode of season three. It first aired on April 28, 2004, on the UPN network in the United States.

"The Council" is the seventy-fourth episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the twenty-second episode of season three. It first aired on May 12, 2004, on the UPN network in the United States. The episode was the fifth of the series written by Manny Coto, and it was directed by David Livingston, his fourth of the third season.

"Zero Hour" is the twenty-forth and season finale episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the seventy-seventh episode overall. It first aired on May 26, 2004, on the UPN network within the United States. Set in the 22nd century, the series follows the adventures of the first Starfleet starship, Enterprise, registration NX-01. Season three features an ongoing story following an attack on Earth by previously unknown aliens called the Xindi.

"Extinction" is the 55th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the third episode of season three. It first aired on September 24, 2003 on the UPN network in the United States. This was the first episode to include the prefix "Star Trek" in the title of the series. Set in the 22nd century just prior to the formation of the United Federation of Planets, the series follows the adventures of Starfleet's first Warp 5 starship, Enterprise, registration NX-01.

"The Xindi" is the 53rd episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the first episode of the third season. It first aired on September 10, 2003, on the UPN. The episode was written by executive producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, and directed by Allan Kroeker.

"Home" is the third episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise. It first aired on October 22, 2004, on the UPN network in the United States. It was the second episode of the season directed by Allan Kroeker and the first in season four to be written by Michael Sussman.

"A Night In Sickbay" is the thirty-first episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the fifth episode of season two. It first aired on October 16, 2002 on the UPN within the United States. The episode was written by executive producers Brannon Braga and Rick Berman, and directed by David Straiton.

"Shadows of P'Jem" is the fifteenth episode of television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and was written by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. Mike Vejar served as director for the episode.

"Countdown" is the 23rd episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise and is the 76th overall episode. It first aired on May 19, 2004, on the UPN network within the United States. Set in the 22nd century, the series follows the adventures of the first Starfleet starship, Enterprise, registration NX-01. Season three of Enterprise features an ongoing story-line that follows an attack on Earth by aliens called the Xindi, a group of aliens that did not appear in preceding series.

"Rajiin" is the 56th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the fourth episode of season three. It first aired on October 1, 2003, on the UPN network in the United States. It was written by Brent V. Friedman and Chris Black from a story idea from Friedman and Paul Brown, and directed by Mike Vejar.

The Expanse (<i>Star Trek: Enterprise</i> episode) 26th episode of the 2nd season of Star Trek: Enterprise

"The Expanse" is the fifty-second episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, the twenty-sixth episode and finale of Season Two. The episode launched a change of direction for the series, starting with a cataclysmic attack on the Star Trek version of Earth and introducing a new alien foe, the Xindi.

"Future Tense" is the 42nd episode of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the 16th of the second season. Set in the 22nd century of the Star Trek universe, a spaceship and its crew deal with aliens as they explore space.

"Two Days and Two Nights" is the twenty-fifth episode of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise. The episode won the 2002 Emmy Award for Outstanding Hairstyling For A Series. The television show episode first aired on UPN on Wednesday May 15, 2002. This episode was directed by Michael Dorn, with the story by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, and the teleplay by Chris Black.

References

  1. ↑ "Stratagem"
  2. ↑ His people are later revealed to be the Sphere Builders
  1. 1 2 Space Ramblings - Star Trek Enterprise episode review – Harbinger February 11, 2004
  2. ↑ "Star Trek: Enterprise: Harbinger". TV.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-17. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
  3. 1 2 "Production Report: MACOs & Mayhem in "Harbinger"". StarTrek.com. 2003-04-12. Archived from the original on 2003-12-20.
  4. 1 2 40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection, Part 1 Christie's, 2006
  5. 1 2 3 "PIN CUSHION MAN". www.christies.com. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  6. ↑ "Other Networks Narrow Gap on FOX Wednesday". Zap2it.com. February 12, 2004. Archived from the original on 2005-11-13. NBC was fourth with a repeat of last week's "Apprentice." "Smallville" came in fifth for The WB, with "Star Trek: Enterprise," 2.5/4, bringing up the rear on UPN.
  7. ↑ "Episode List: Star Trek: Enterprise". TVTango. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  8. ↑ Hercules Strong (February 11, 2004). "Star Trek: Enterprise 3.15 FAQ". Aint It Cool News . Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  9. ↑ "Star Trek's 15 Greatest Romances". ScreenRant. 2017-02-06. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
  10. ↑ Douglass Jr., Todd (September 27, 2005). "Star Trek Enterprise – The Complete 3rd Season". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Enterprise Trekking To Blu-ray; Fans Helped Pick Covers". StarTrek.com. January 7, 2013. Archived from the original on March 30, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  12. ↑ Logan, Michael (January 3, 2014). "Exclusive Video: Star Trek: Enterprise Season 3 Beams on to Blu-ray". TV Guide . Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Star Trek: Enterprise - The Complete Third Season Blu-ray Review". High Def Digest. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.