The Expanse (21 May 2003)
"Enterprise" The Expanse (original title)

An unknown probe fires on Earth from space, cutting a swath from Florida to Venezula. Everything in the path of the attack was destroyed, resulting in the deaths of seven million humans ... See full summary »

Director:

Allan Kroeker

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry, Rick Berman (creator),

Stars:

Scott Bakula, John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Scott Bakula	...	Captain Jonathan Archer
John Billingsley	...	Dr. Phlox
Jolene Blalock	...	Sub-Commander T'Pol
Dominic Keating	...	Lieutenant Malcolm Reed
Anthony Montgomery	...	Ensign Travis Mayweather
Linda Park	...	Ensign Hoshi Sato
Connor Trinneer	...	Commander Charles 'Trip' Tucker III
John Fleck	...	Silik
Vaughn Armstrong	...	Admiral Maxwell Forrest
Gary Graham	...	Vulcan Ambassador Soval
Daniel Riordan	...	Duras
James Horan	...	Humanoid Figure
Bruce Wright	...	Dr. Fer'at
Dan Desmond	...	Klingon Chancellor
Josh Cruze	...	Captain Ramirez

Storyline

An unknown probe fires on Earth from space, cutting a swath from Florida to Venezula. Everything in the path of the attack was destroyed, resulting in the deaths of seven million humans including Tucker's baby sister Elizabeth. Enterprise is recalled to Earth for upgrades to the ship and to take on military crewman. Silik give Archer a message from the future about Earth's latest enemy. The Klingon Empire gives Duras another chance to capture Archer. Enterprise heads for infamous and dangerous Delphic Expanse.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Details

Release Date:

21 May 2003 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Network Television, Paramount Television

Did You Know?

Trivia

T'Pol's eyebrows change appearance between the second and third seasons, becoming more arched and Vulcan-like. In a 2004 interview with Femme Fatales magazine, Jolene Blalock revealed that she and her makeup artist unilaterally decided to sneak a change in T'Pol's eyebrows amongst the character's pre-third season hairstyle and costume alterations, and no one from the production office complained.

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Quotes

Commander Charles 'Trip' Tucker III: I can't wait to get in there, Captain - find the people who did this. And tell me we won't be tiptoeing around. None of that non-interference crap T'Pol's always shoving down our throats. Maybe it's a good thing she's leaving.
Capt. Jonathan Archer: We'll do what we have to, Trip... Whatever it takes.

User Reviews

Season-ending cliffhanger succeeds, but scores low in originality

"The Expanse" assembles a mystery and a cliffhanger to predictably end the second season of Enterprise. An automated weapon which Archer believes to be a Xindi probe enters Earth-space and cuts a swath from Florida to Venezuela,killing millions. Archer is contacted by an emissary from the future and told that an invasion is being prepared in the Delphic Expanse - a region of space which the Vulcans, and seemingly everybody else, are terrified of. Meanwhile, the Klingon fugitive subplot is kept alive as Enterprise is pursued by Klingon Birds of Prey (this is really just added to provide some additional action in an otherwise sedate episode, since it has no bearing on the central plot), and Enterprise is refitted with better hull plating and antimatter torpedoes (completely scientifically absurd, but the franchise hasn't really been very concerned with science since DS9 so who cares).

The acting is a touch above the average for this series. The script allows Conner Trinnear to capitalize on American emotions surrounding the 9/11 attack on the U.S.A., as he turns in one of his finest performances during this series. Jolene Blalock also does a very nice job with one of T'Pol's more complicated early interpretations (this character has one of the best arcs in the series, and becomes much more interesting in the 3rd and 4th seasons). However, the script does not just follow franchise formulae, but almost plagiarizes the film Event Horizon in its exposition on the Delphic Expanse.

Entirely predictable, but worth watching because it sets up a good Season 3 opener "The Xindi", and an excellent story arc within the expanse itself.