Azati Prime

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"Azati Prime"
Star Trek: Enterprise episode
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 18
Directed byAllan Kroeker
Story by
Teleplay byManny Coto
Featured musicJay Chattaway
Production code318
Original air dateMarch 3, 2004 (2004-03-03)
Guest appearances
  • Daniels
  • Degra
  • Dolim
  • Xindi-Primate Councilor
  • Jannar
  • Christopher Goodman - Thalen[1]
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Hatchery" 		Next →
"Damage"
Star Trek: Enterprise season 3
List of episodes

"Azati Prime" is the eighteenth episode of the

Daniels
for the second time this season.

Set in the 22nd century, the series follows the adventures of the first

Xindi. In this episode, the crew track a Xindi superweapon down to a planet and Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula
) seeks to destroy the weapon in a suicide attack. He is captured, and the Enterprise is seriously damaged after an attack by four Xindi vessels.

The USS

Nielsen ratings
of 2.6/4 percent. Critical reaction was mostly positive, with praise directed at the pacing of the episode and the plotting of the overall arc.

Plot

Enterprise approaches Azati Prime where the Xindi are constructing their super weapon. Captain Archer sends Commander Tucker and Ensign Mayweather on board the Xindi shuttle they had captured, to investigate the planet. Working their way past security, they approach the weapon, which is being built underwater. Archer orders Enterprise to destroy a Xindi detection facility on the planet's moon to prevent it from signalling the ship's presence. The shuttle returns with scans of the weapon and Archer decides to pilot a suicide mission to destroy it. The crew try to talk him out of it but he is resolute.

Archer then finds himself 400 years in the future on board the USS

Dolim
.

The Reptilians begin to interrogate Archer, who then asks to speak to

Primates away. Sub-Commander T'Pol, in command of Enterprise, displays signs of an emotional breakdown. She also decides to go on a mission, to negotiate a peace and reacts angrily when Tucker tries to stop her. An attack from four Xindi ships follows, and the episode concludes with a cliffhanger
, as Enterprise is left severely damaged.

Production

"Azati Prime" was the first episode of Enterprise to be filmed in 2004, starting on January 5. Filming took eight days, concluding on January 14. The eighth day overlapped with the production of the following episode, "Damage". The story was developed by Manny Coto alongside Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. Coto developed it into a script, his third of the series. The director of the episode was Allan Kroeker, who also directed "The Xindi" earlier in the season as well as the final episodes of both Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager.[2] The episode featured a number of guest stars, including Smallwood, Oglesby, MacDonald and Worthy, who appeared in their recurring roles on the Xindi council. Winston appeared as Daniels for the second time during season three,[2] having made his debut in season one's "Cold Front".[3]

The Xindi shuttle set had been constructed for "

green screen.[2] The future Enterprise was designed by Doug Drexler, who drew the first design only two days prior to the production meeting for the episode. The computer generated model was created in a few hours, and Drexler later said that they would have finished it differently.[4] He imagined that the vessel was so large that there would be universities and entire parks on board, with the turbolifts replaced by short range transporters. More than one design was created, with the final version created with elements from different designs.[5] One of the elements incorporated into the version seen on screen was a reduction in the size of the warp nacelle supports as Drexler said that he did not like that they had increased in size.[6] John Eaves also created a number of designs for aquatic Xindi vessels for use in the episode, as well as a rejected design for the superweapon.[7]

Reception

"Azati Prime" was first aired in the United States on UPN on March 3, 2004. It received a 2.6/4 percent share among adults. This means that it was seen by 2.6 percent of all households, and four percent of all of those watching television at the time of the broadcast. Enterprise was the sixth most watched program in the time slot, behind Smallville on The WB.[8] It was estimated that "Azati Prime" was watched by 4.02 million viewers, which was less than recent episodes had received.[9]

Michelle Erica Green of

Aint It Cool News gave the episode a rating of 3.5 out of five, and generally praised the episode, but complained that Archer found himself in a prison cell yet again.[12]

In 2005, James Gray writing for The Digital Fix said "Azati Prime" was probably the best episode in the series yet, and had the best space battle scene of all Star Trek television and movies up to that time.[13]

In 2010, film and television critic Jordan Hoffman gave the episode four out of five, and said that the Xindi story-line was reaching a peak.[14]

In 2019,

Enterprise-J, as the eleventh best version of the starship Enterprise in the Star Trek franchise.[15]

Home media release

The only home media release of "Azati Prime" has been as part of the season three DVD box set, released in the United States on September 27, 2005.[16] The Blu-ray release of Enterprise was announced in early 2013 and season three is expected to be released in January 2014.[17][18]

Notes

  1. ^ the alien species first seen in episode "Harbinger"

References

  1. ^ "Star Trek: Enterprise Series 3 - 18. Azati Prime". Radio Times. Archived from the original on November 23, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Production Report: Kroeker Directs Pivotal "Azati Prime"". Star Trek.com. January 15, 2004. Archived from the original on April 7, 2004. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  3. ^ "Cold Front". Star Trek.com. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  4. ^ Drexler, Doug (June 27, 2010). "Enterprise J Sketchbook". The Drex Files. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  5. ^ Drexler, Doug (February 16, 2009). "Enterprise J Search". The Drex Files. Archived from the original on November 17, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  6. ^ Drexler, Doug (March 29, 2009). "Enterprise J Search Redux". The Drex Files. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  7. ^ Eaves, John (August 5, 2009). "Azati Prime Episode #70". Eavesdropping. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  8. ^ "Wednesday's Ratings 'Kingdom' Split Three Ways". Zap2it. March 4, 2004. Archived from the original on April 18, 2005. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  9. ^ Krutzler, Steve (March 4, 2004). ""Azati Prime" Regains Some Ground, Sweeps Round-up Shows ENT Held Steady in Ratings". TrekWeb. Archived from the original on December 5, 2005. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  10. ^ Green, Michelle Erica (March 4, 2004). "Azati Prime". TrekNation. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  11. Jammer's Reviews
    . Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  12. Aint It Cool News
    .
  13. ^ James Gray (October 22, 2005). "Star Trek: Enterprise Season Three Review | DVD Video Review". The Digital Fix. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  14. ^ Hoffman, Jordan (October 31, 2010). "Azati Prime, ENT 3". JordanHoffman.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  15. ^ Whitbrook, James (February 21, 2018). "All 11 Versions of the U.S.S. Enterprise, Ranked". io9. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  16. ^ Douglass Jr., Todd (September 27, 2005). "Star Trek Enterprise – The Complete 3rd Season". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  17. ^ "Enterprise Trekking To Blu-ray; Fans Helped Pick Covers". Star Trek.com. January 7, 2013. Archived from the original on March 30, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  18. ^ Lambert, David (October 14, 2013). "Star Trek: Enterprise - 'Season 3' Blu-ray Announced: Date, Cost, Package, Extras". TVShowsonDVD.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2013.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Azati_Prime&oldid=1225224875"