"Enterprise"
North Star (2003)

Director:

David Straiton

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (creator "Star Trek")
Rick Berman (creator) ...

TV Series:

"Enterprise" (2001)

Original Air Date:

12 November 2003 (Season 3, Episode 9)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Enterprise investigates a unknown colony with humans who still live a Wild West life. They seem to be suppressing an alien race.

Plot Keywords:

Alien Invasion | Technology | Extraterrestrial | Rescue | Spaceship Name In Title

Cast

Scott Bakula	...	Captain Jonathan Archer
Jolene Blalock	...	Sub-Commander T'Pol
John Billingsley	...	Dr. Phlox
Dominic Keating	...	Lieutenant Malcolm Reed
Anthony Montgomery	...	Ensign Travis Mayweather
Linda Park	...	Ensign Hoshi Sato
Connor Trinneer	...	Commander Charles 'Trip' Tucker III
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Baron	...	Skagaran Boy
Emily Bergl	...	Bethany
Gary Bristow	...	Stablehand
Kevin Derr	...	MACO Soldier
Thomas DuPont	...	Cowboy
Jeffrey Eith	...	Cowboy
Steven Klein	...	Draysik
Cliff McLaughlin	...	Cowboy
Dorenda Moore	...	MACO Soldier
Glenn Morshower	...	MacReady
James Parks	...	Deputy Bennings
Paul Rae	...	Bartender
Alexandria M. Salling	...	Skagaran Girl
Mike Watson	...	Skagaran

Trivia:

Episode #3.9, "North Star", originally broadcast in the US on 12 November 2003, was the first episode of any Star Trek series to carry a TV-14 rating (for violence.)

Quotes:

[Archer is helping Bethany escape from prison]
Bethany: What are you doing?
Captain Archer: It's called a jailbreak where I come from.
Bethany: It's called that here, too.

Enterprise Does a Western a la X-Files

Residents of a 19th century town straight out of a spaghetti western were abducted by aliens hundreds of years ago and brought to a planet in the expanse to serve as slave labor. By the time Archer and crew get there, they have turned the tables. The Skags (their alien abductors) live in segregated towns and are not allowed to receive an education, and vigilante bullies are permitted to run amok among them. But there is a teacher who wants to change all of this.

Noteworthy for its originality, good cinematography and acting performances, North Star is a solid entry in the Enterprise Catalog. it is also a nice stand-alone break from the Xindi story arc which dominated the 3rd season. It is also another contribution to the series' thematic examination of pre-prime directive space exploration. Fans of TOS might enjoy Archer's Jim Kirk-like approach to the problems he encounters.