Production
The episode followed up on the plot introduced in the final instalment of the second season [3] in which a probe from an unknown alien species attacks Earth. [4] A number of new sets and costumes were required, with preparations beginning for some departments up to three weeks before filming began. One change which was made was a new outfit for T'Pol, with costume tests taking place a week in advance of filming. [3] The redesign was due to studio executives wanting the show to appeal more to the 18–49 male demographic. [5] The production team looked to emulate the mid-series boost that the introduction of Seven of Nine provided on Star Trek: Voyager . Kate O'Hara of New York Magazine later chided in reference to the change, "Women of the future will certainly choose to wear tight, uncomfortable, skin-tight catsuits!" [5]
"The Xindi" was seen as a new pilot by executive producers Brannon Braga and Rick Berman, who also wrote the episode. Braga said: "We were re-establishing an Enterprise that was going to be a little bit different this year, so we had to think of it in those terms." They felt the best way to do this was to immediately reveal the Xindi to the audience, and to give the MACOs something to do in order to introduce them. He called it a "big episode" as they sought to set up the rest of season. [6] The shoot began on June 26, 2003, taking nine days instead of the usual seven to complete. [3] One of the special effects used ground Styrofoam, which had been dyed blue and processed through a wood chipper, to represent the mineral Trellium-D. [7] The Styrofoam particles stuck to the actors' shoes and costumes and ended up being spread throughout the Paramount lot where the series was filmed. It would turn up in unexpected places on set for the rest of the series, and was found in among the sets as they were being dismantled after the end of season four. [8]
Guest cast
"The Xindi" featured several actors who would reappear throughout the season. These included the MACO marines under the command of Major Hayes, played by Steven Culp, in his first of five episodes. At the time of his appearance in "The Xindi", he felt that he did not have any characterisation to work with. During the production of his second episode, "The Shipment", Culp read an article in the Los Angeles Times about a troubled youth who joined the military and in serving in the Iraq War had found himself. After discussing it with the director, this became the basis for the character. [9] Daniel Dae Kim made his first of three appearances as Corporal Chang; he had previously appeared as Gotana-Retz in the Voyager episode "Blink of an Eye". [10] Nathan Anderson had previously appeared as Namon in the Voyager episode "Nemesis"; [11] he made one further appearance as Sergeant Kemper in the following episode, "Anomaly". [12]
Other actors included the members of the Xindi council. As with Kim and Anderson, Tucker Smallwood had already appeared on Voyager, as Admiral Bullock in the episode "In the Flesh". He appeared as his Xindi character nine times during the third season of Enterprise. [13] Randy Oglesby, who played Degra, was another Voyager alumnus. He had appeared as Kir in the episode "Counterpoint". [14] Rick Worthy had appeared as several different characters in the Star Trek franchise, including an appearance in the 1998 film Star Trek: Insurrection . As well as Kornan in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Soldiers of the Empire", he too had appeared in Voyager, but in two roles; first as the androids 3947 and 122 in "Prototype" and then as Noah Lessing in "Equinox". [15] In addition, making a return to the Star Trek franchise was Stephen McHattie, who had previously appeared as the Romulan senator Vreenak in the Deep Space Nine episode "In the Pale Moonlight". [16]
