Star Trek: Enterprise (TV Series) Proving Ground (2004) User Reviews

Any episode with Shran is well worth seeing.

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 5 April 2015]

Of all the episodes of "Star Trek: Enterprise", my favorites are the ones that feature Shran and the other Andorians. They are a truly interesting set of characters--both honorable AND sneaky as heck!

When the show begins, Enterprise is getting closer towards the planet where the Xindi are about to try out their new super-weapon. Unexpectedly, Commander Shran (Jeffery Combs) shows up with his powerful Andorian ship. Shran explains that because he likes the humans and feels great regret for the tragedy that struck Earth, their ship has come to help. After all, they are friends with the humans. Archer is a bit skeptical but considering it's just his one ship against all the Xindi, he needs all the help he can get. Can an exchange and help from the Andorians really help them in their mission?

This is an excellent episode--not just because I love Shran as a character. There are lots of great twists and unexpected surprises. However, I won't elaborate, as it would spoil things. The bottom line is that this is one of the best season 3 episodes and is well worth your time due to some excellent writing--especially when Shran talks to the Xindi about 'Archerite and the Andorian Mining Consortium'!

Good Character Interaction

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 25 March 2017]

The Enterprise is in big trouble, navigating the anomaly when who should show up but the Andorians and Shran. Not only do they rescue the crew, the send people over to help with repairs. Shran is there and his whole thing is so entertaining. One of the best scenes in the whole series has to do with his talking with the Xindi about Archerite mining. The Xindi are testing their device and the Andorians want to get their hands on it. There's no such thing as a free lunch and Archer and Shran eventually come to blows. The byplay between the to is quite marvelous and the episode is also thought provoking and forward looking.

Railings

[jasonbuckley-02962 · 8/10 · 7 February 2022]

Only one thing to say.

You have a starship. A ship capable of warp speed. A ship with fantastic sheilding and weapons. A ship with the finest medical facilities. A ship with wonderful food.

But you can only build railings waste high so people constantly fall over them.

Jeffrey Combs...

[hurlock · 10/10 · 24 November 2019]

...enough said. Shran is the most interesting character in this series.

The best that "Enterprise" has to offer.

[cannotlogon103 · 10/10 · 20 September 2007]

Unlike many Trek-fans, I happen to think that it is a solid series. And "Proving Ground" may be the best single episode of the series -- compelling, funny and exciting, this episode is the finest episode in the finest season (Season 3) of an excellent series.

For those unfamiliar with the series, Season 3 is a season long arc in which Enterprise is dispatched into a little-known region of space (The Expanse), to track down a species known as the Xindi, who are preparing a weapon built with one purpose: to destroy Earth. Along the way, they encounter many obstacles, not least of which is the very nature of the region they must traverse -- fraught with "spatial anomalies" that twist space into an impassable region that everyday threatens to destroy Enterprise and thwart their mission. In "Proving Ground", they receive much needed help from the Andorrians and, in particular, series regular guest, Commander Shran of the Andorrian Imperial Guard.

Without revealing too much, Shran assists the crew of Enterprise navigating this tricky part of space and to capture a prototype of the weapon which is being built to destroy Earth. The episode is filled with misdirection and some of the most amusing writing of an otherwise grim 3rd Season ("Helm, move off...but slowly...the Andorrian Mining Consortium runs from no one!").

Highly recommended, this episode represents some of the best writing, acting and directing of the entire series run. It is not a "stand-alone" episode, and is best enjoyed in the context of the entire season. Another great performance by Star Trek's frequent guest star, Jeffrey Combs (who most Star Trek fans recognize from his several appearances as a variety of aliens on several of the Trek series), as he struggles to balance his loyalty to his home world and his obvious respect and admiration for Capt. Archer of Enterprise. A terrific "twist" at the end of the episode reveals just how honorable Shran is, and opens the door for future appearance by this most intriguing character. Enjoy.

TALAS !!!!!!

[jpjhnsn-82380 · 10/10 · 23 February 2020]

I agree, any episode with Jeffrey Combs is the best. But if your going to pay homage to The Man, do the same for his kick ass lady.

TALAS !!!!! Molly Brink, an Icelandic Goddess!

SHRAN!!!

[bitomurder · 8/10 · 11 April 2018]

This is the episode that starts to kick the Xindi arc into high gear by finally giving us some progress on their mission and have us confront those responsible for seven million deaths. We get to see an old friend return for the first time in the third season, and witness the completion of a prototype weapon which fails to live up to expectations following some nice continuity from the episode "The Shipment". "Proving Ground" is the episode that gives us what we have been waiting for since the season two finale and it begins the long run of great season three episodes.

One word defines this episode, SHRAN!!! This is the episode that goes a long way to showing us why Shran, played by Star Trek veteran Jeffrey Combs, is the best character in Enterprise. His ability to play a complicated character with heart, honor, and a dash of humor is no more evident than here in "Proving Ground". Throughout the episode he gives us brilliance through his seriousness and humor all rolled up into a complex character who at times is laugh out loud hilarious and an honorable man who tries his hardest to do the right thing. Watching him taking and carrying out orders he wholeheartedly disagrees with give Shran a multifaceted character many of the regulars on Enterprise never get to show. His acting is superb on this one and makes me greatly disappointed that he was never made a regular cast member. The storylines concerning the prototype weapon and Reed working with the Andorian Talas are just average and if it were not for Jeffrey Combs this episode would have been nothing more than just ok. Kudos to him and the writers for getting this one right.

Shran and the Andorians are always a good surprise!

[habat4Ever · 10/10 · 26 December 2020]

Shran and the Andorians are always a delight to see since their first appearance in season 1. Jeffrey Combs acting as Shran is a great actor. I know him for a long time since Fortress (1992) where Jeffrey plays D-Day, the Computer Geek... (a must see IMHO). There is also a solid acting from Molly Brink (Icelandic Actress) playing the Andorian Lieutenant Talas, counterpart of Lieutenant Reed. Molly is also bringing her own contribution to this episode in the very nicely rendered way. Unfortunately Molly has not done much movies or TV Shows as she is a remarkable actress and this episode shows her acting talents as she progressively and surely awakes reed's inner senses and personality.

I simply love the way Jeffrey plays Shran as he mainly adds a lot of intelligence and spice to the story. Proposing to help the Enterprise crew to avoid earth to be destroyed and after having proposed to the Vulcans before shows that Shran understands that Humans and Vulcans are true allies. But Shran also has an hidden agenda which he is not really proud of but the main idea is that Andorians follow orders whatever it costs, even if they are not convinced that's the best thing to do and once again, Starfleet concludes in a very smart way to avoid drastic repercussions for the future of earth.

The Andorians demonstrate easyness within the Expanse and all the good hints and tricks provided as part of this episode are very interesting to see, surely when the Enterprise Crew has so much difficulties facing the anomalies, as a direct consequence to the previous episode where the Xindi DB, which was already at 90% was destroyed and partially recovered at 30%. T'Pol and Hoshi are doing their best to detect the anomalies with this few amount of information resulting from unfortunate circumstances.

This episode really gives the feeling that the Andorians could be precious and permanent allies to Human and Vulcans, fighting altogether against the Xindi

Surely one of my favorites episodes of this Season 3, not to stay probably one of the best of the entire series, Shran, Andorians, Humans and Vulcans being the solid foundations for this overall success!

Shran is back

[brueggemanntami · 8/10 · 12 March 2020]

I do so love Shran. He should be a series regular. What a great character and a fine actor to portray him. One of my very favorite people in this entire series. I like him almost as much as Dr. Phlox. I like the humans on this show, but find those two standouts of other species more enjoyable. And I just have to say it, the Andorian antennae are so cool.

Loyalty and Friendship

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 10 February 2008]

While tracking the Xindi Reptilian ship, the Enterprise suffers serious damages crossing a huge anomaly and is rescued by the Andorian ship commanded by Commander Shran. He offers to help the crew of Enterprise to repair the affected systems, and Captain Archer accepts the support. When they reach the Xindi ships, they find that they are testing the prototype of a powerful weapon in an inhabited planet. Shran offers his vessel to steal the weapon with Archer in command, but hiding the real intention of his mission.

The best in "Providing Guard" is the ambiguous Commander Shran performed by Jeffrey Combs and divided between the loyalty with the Andorian Empire and his friendship with Archer. The twist in the end is well-resolved, but will certainly affect the relationship of Archer and Shran in a possible next encounter. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Campo de Provas" ("Proof Field")

Yet ANOTHER good Enterprise episode, enjoyed this one as well.

[davidhiggins-89756 · 8/10 · 12 August 2021]

It is always good to see old blue skin, we always get a decent performance from the actor who plays the Andorian Commander Shran.

The level of acting in Enterprise being of high quality, just that some actors do stand out.

In a very recent entire viewing of DS9 I would say Odo, Garak &Quark stood out to me in that merry little tale, this far in to Enterprises 4 seasons I have not finalised 3 top picks but Commander Shran will be in the top 3.

As for this episode, it had everything I would look for in an episode of a sci-fi series. Almost as good as the recent S03E08 'Twilight' episode, but it does show at times a consistency in producing good episodes. Like in a game of World class tennis, every serve, every return of the ball counts, and so does every episode in a season such as Enterprise.

Too many duff ones and the FANS drift off bit by bit. Had Enterprise been of this quality and even an average of no lower, the entire series would have lasted a full 7 seasons if that was the aim.

Another good episode though, worth a decent 8 Stars, I enjoyed this one, just shows what they could do. Well done to all concerned. Good Sci-fi.

Solid episode and great for fans of the Andorrians

[snoozejonc · 7/10 · 30 October 2020]

Enterprise encounters the Xindi testing a weapon and works with the Andorrians obtain it.

This is an enjoyable if somewhat predictable episode that brings Shran and the Andorrians back into the show. The plot is entertaining but it's obvious to see where it is going. There is some decent continuity with reference to events in previous episodes and the final act is excellent.

There is some enjoyable interaction between the Enterprise crew and the Andorrians. Jeffery Coombs is great as always and Molly Brink is good as Lt. Talas. Malcolm Reed gets some social awkward interaction with Talas and Archer's developing relationship with Shran gets quite interesting.

For fans of the Andorrians this should be the high point of Enterprise season 3.

More than a good Shran episode

[chris-j-chuba · 9/10 · 8 September 2020]

This story had better moral conflict than the well received, 'Similitude', but with more subtly. In this case it was Shran who felt conflicted between duty to the chain of command vs his sense of honor and friendship w/Capt Archer. The actor played his part well in showing this while disguising it behind the Andorian bravado. I can now enjoy the irony of the moment where he feels shamed by of all people, a Vulcan.

A Friend Far from Home

[Samuel-Shovel · 8/10 · 1 February 2018]

"Proving Ground" marks the return of the Andorians. Hearing of the humans' plight, Shran and company have followed the Enterprise's warp trail into the Expanse ostensibly to assist the Enterprise in their battle against the Xindi. Their true mission only becomes clear later on.

Any time the Andorians show up, I sit up a little in my chair. They're one of the best things to come out of ST:E and I love the character of Shran; Jeffrey Combs does a marvelous job with his character.

While I do enjoy the Andorians appearance, this season's entire plot premise is beginning to look problematic. 1) If the Xindi are looking to destroy the human race, why would they tip their hand by using that smaller weapon to piss off Earth? That still makes 0 sense to me. 2) Why would they need to test this smaller weapon if they've already used the other one to attack Earth? Shouldn't they be focusing on the larger death ray rather than continuing with this small fry nonsense? This weapon's clearly not large enough to destroy Earth if it can't handle this moon.

Maybe the Xindi underestimated how hard it would be to blow up Earth and thought the original weapon would get the job done and now they're backpedaling; that's the only explanation that makes sense to me.

Besides this (major) plot hole, another enjoyable episode of Season 3. Hopefully we get a better understanding of the Xindi's intentions in the future that can help explain this.

Why do they always ruin the surprises?

[wwcanoer-tech · 8/10 · 1 December 2021]

Most viewers are clearly happy to see the Andorians arrive and offer help to Enterprise. The possibility of an alliance is energizing because it would be really cool. But surely every viewer wonders if they can be trusted.

Since they know about the Xindi weapon and Archer's search for it, the obvious question in most viewers' minds will be "Are the Andorians there to learn about the weapon or to help Archer?" This provides a nice tension that underlies the fun interplay between Archer and Shran and the two crews.

Wouldn't it be nice to be surprised when Archer is surprised?

The writers steal that emotion from us by showing us a video call between Shran and his superiors where they talk about stealing the weapon. Poof, there goes any suspense!

I don't understand why they do that. The episodes are so formulaic that it's difficult for them to create real suspense and when they do, they destroy it.

A more subtle foreshadowing would be to show Shran asking more about the weapon. An opportunity would be when Archer says that their friend at the mining colony sabotaged their shipment. It would be natural for Shran to ask about that, so it would be a hint that it could show bad intent, but could simply be interest. That kind of ambiguity is good.

A stronger foreshadowing option would be to show Shran's superior being very interested in Shran learning as much as he can about the weapon, without flat out saying that Shran is to double-cross the humans by stealing the weapon. Then we would know of that the Andorians' self -interest is the primary reason that they are there, but we still wouldn't know if they will work with Archer to learn about the weapon or will double-cross him now, or maybe later in a future episode.

It seems like a tactically unwise move for the Andorians to steal the prototype. They just made an enemy of the Xindi and the humans. Humans already averted one battle between the Andorians and Vulcans. Truly helping the humans could go a long way to negotiate better terms with the Vulcans. Angering the brutal time-travelling Xindi seems unwise.

I don't know where they're planning to go with the series but working with the Andorians for a couple episodes would likely be good.

I thought that they were going to spy on the weapon with the Suliban ship but perhaps they left that on Earth, because who needs a cloaked ship when on a mission to investigate a hostile species.

As others have said, it makes absolutely no sense for the Xindi to send a prototype weapon to Earth and thereby notify the humans of their intent. There was no need for it. Earth could have simply discovered some other reconnaissance by the Xindi that somehow showed their intentions.

Jeffrey Combs is Shran

[xenolambrose · 10/10 · 2 November 2023]

Jonathan Archer and crew experience an anomaly causing the ship to lose hull integrity. After a tractor beam rescues them, Andorian Commander Shran boards the NX 01 Starship and confronts T' Pol and Archer, commenting on T' Pol's lack of proper uniform and offers to send his Science Officer, Lieutenant Talas to help the crew of the Enterprise. After the Andorian Shuttle docks, both crews are forced to get along with one another. While T' Pol doesn't trust the Andorian Imperial Guard, Archer does. The Science officer, Lieutenant Talas, is ready to assist, but Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III and Lieutenant Malcom Reed are reticent. Shran explains to Archer that an alliance is probably the best for both crews, and while it looks like it's the Blue Skins versus the Pink Skins, they both manage to cooperate with each other. Travis pulls in close to a G class star group and the ship is able to detect four vessels, all Xindi! Archer refers to Bikini Atoll, an Earth proving ground during World War II. Shran offers his condolences to Trip regarding his sister who was living in Florida when she perished in the Xindi attack. Degra attempts to abort the test but this only torques off the Xindi High Council. Shran tell the Xindi he's looking for Archerite and takes his ship out of their orbit. Later, Shran, Archer, and T' Pol discuss whether or not to interrupt the test being conducting by all of the Xindi factions. There's a nice bit of bantering between Lieutenant Talas and Malcom. This is really a great episode!

The Blue Man Group appears out of the blue and offers Archer and his crew their true blue help

[tomsly-40015 · 8/10 · 5 April 2024]

Jeffrey Combs may not be the actor with the most diverse roles in Star Trek series (in fact, he's only number 2 behind Vaughn Armstrong), but the characters he played tend to be particularly memorable. Just think of Weyoun. Shran is also such an iconic character - one of the best in ENT, which unfortunately produced very few interesting and memorable characters. And even if the depiction of Andorians in Star Trek has always been somewhat controversial ("Smurfs with antennas"), they look almost better in ENT than in SNW - the movement of the antennas supports the facial expressions enormously.

But even though Combs/Shran episodes are usually among the better of the series, which isn't exactly blessed with a large number of outstanding episodes, I still wonder how small Andoria actually has to be. Shran leads every mission imaginable, can be found anywhere and at any time, and regularly runs into Archer and his crew to say hello. The Andorian Imperial Guard must have an extremely strict and merciless selection process for its soldiers when it has so few officers that in the end the choice to lead a mission always falls on Shran.

Anyway, Shran is once again very enlightening in this episode. However, his eloquent and philanthropic façade cannot entirely disguise the fact that he is playing a double game and fooling Archer. Even though he claims that the Andorians are the only ones who come to the aid of the pink skins after the fate of the Xindi attack, there is only calculation and self-interest behind these seemingly altruistic motives. After all, Archer and his crew have tracked down the prototype of the Xindi weapon and the Andorians are leaving no stone unturned to gain an edge over the Vulcans.

Unfortunately, Captain Archer lacks the class of Picard or Janeway, who could see through such charades and read their opponents like a book. All too often they had played the unwitting victim of such a mummery, only to pull an ace out of their sleeves in the end and beat their opponents at their own game - with smiles of satisfaction and superiority on their faces. Archer, on the other hand, comes across as a rough-and-tumble bully who verbally puts Shran in his place and doesn't even try to subtly conceal his intentions. The training of Starfleet officers has apparently changed for the better since then. Over time, the old loud-mouthed sea dogs (Archer, Kirk...) of the early days have developed into some brilliant strategists and eloquent leaders (Pike, Picard, Janeway, Sisko...).

Do It Again, Jeffy!

[Vvardenfell_Man · 9/10 · 21 April 2024]

Jeffrey Combs is a class act. Few actors have given what he has to this kind of production over the years. Like Scott Bakula, he knows how to play his character for maximal effect. He is a master of facial expressions and scenery-chewing. He elevates B-movies and television shows to levels that should not be attainable.

Is this a great episode? No. But the Andorians are very entertaining and very well-portrayed, and the plot has enough justified twists and turns to keep it interesting. It's also thematically connected to the most important elements of the Enterprise framing story (no, not the dumb one): this incident locates in time the ideological development of the worlds that would become the Federation. They don't trust each other, but here they are, working together to achieve common goals. It's only a matter of time before they all come together and form a unitary government so that they can do away with the wasteful and illogical backstabbing.

And, thanks to this episode's writing, we can really believe that Archer is the kind of captain who has the kind of diplomatic and martial skills to persuade and impress these foreign powers. This is Enterprise's interstellar relations at their best. It's not quite DS9 but there's still meat on this bone.

Good, but not as Interesting as Many of its Immediate Descendants and Predecessors

[mstomaso · 6/10 · 27 November 2007]

As the third season of Enterprise grew toward a promising climax, the episodes seemed to get better and better. Proving Ground is a minor deviation from this trend. It's hard to say exactly what went wrong. Possibly there was an overwhelming urge to toss the popular Jeff Coombs into the story again as Captain Shran and the need to find a vehicle for him and the rest of the Andorrians. Perhaps there was not enough material available regarding the capture of the Xindi weapon to spin a whole episode, so the Andorrians were brought in as a combination of filler and distraction. Hard to say. But regardless, the episode, though entertaining comes across as a little formulaic and over-stuffed.

The Enterprise is forced to employ the assistance of Captain Shran the Andorrian and his crew in order to obtain the prototype Xindi planet destroyer they recently disabled, but Archer is concerned about how far he can trust them.

Shran's character developed nicely and Combs, as usual, turns in a great performance. The story, however, is best viewed in the context of the Xindi Arc, of which it is an important part. Veteran Trek-maker David Livingston does a nice job with the direction, but was limited by the strange construction of the story.