1
00:00:23,982 --> 00:00:30,906
That's the death of corporal Hawkins,
whom we met in “impulse...

2
00:00:50,008 --> 00:00:55,973
And this is degra's demise
in “the council“.

3
00:00:57,015 --> 00:01:01,937
Degra had appeared throughout
much of the third season.

4
00:01:29,798 --> 00:01:34,928
Scott MacDonald plays the
xindi reptilian commander.

5
00:01:39,975 --> 00:01:47,941
MacDonald's first Star Trek credit was the alien,
tosk, who befriended o'brien in “captive pursuit“.

6
00:01:50,986 --> 00:01:58,986
MacDonald later played a romulan officer in “face of
the enemy " And a jem'hadar in " hippocratic oath“.

7
00:02:03,957 --> 00:02:11,882
He even played a starfleet officer, ensign
rollins, in “caretaker, parts I and iiii.

8
00:02:19,973 --> 00:02:25,896
Andrew borba is the
xindi reptilian lieutenant.

9
00:02:28,982 --> 00:02:36,907
Borba's credits include appearances on alias, the
west wing, and a recurring role on the shield.

10
00:05:53,436 --> 00:06:01,436
This is the second-to-last episode of both the third
season and the season-long xindi war story arc.

11
00:06:17,460 --> 00:06:25,302
The command center set was located next to
the bridge set and the video control room.

12
00:06:30,390 --> 00:06:38,390
This made it relatively easy to connect the computers in the
control room to the monitors on set, since they were so close.

13
00:06:48,408 --> 00:06:56,333
The command center featured a large screen onto
which computer graphics were rear-projected.

14
00:07:01,421 --> 00:07:09,421
The area behind the rear-projection screen had to be draped
off to prevent stray light from washing out the screen image.

15
00:07:32,410 --> 00:07:40,335
The reptilians' uniforms were originally made for the remans
in Star Trek: Nemesis. The wire armor was added for the xindi.

16
00:07:45,382 --> 00:07:53,348
Those “cages" were surprisingly delicate, and
great care had to be taken to avoid damaging them.

17
00:08:13,368 --> 00:08:18,289
Tucker smallwood plays the xindi humanoid.

18
00:08:19,374 --> 00:08:27,374
Smallwood played commodore Glen Van Ross in numerous
episodes of the 1995 series space: Above and beyond.

19
00:08:34,389 --> 00:08:42,355
His genre appearances also include the x-files,
seven days, Babylon 5, and Star Trek: Voyager.

20
00:08:44,399 --> 00:08:52,365
Smallwood's mainstream credits include the practice,
Malcolm in the middle, and curb your enthusiasm.

21
00:09:15,346 --> 00:09:23,313
The bridge of degra's ship was originally described
in scripts as an ilauxiliary control room."

22
00:09:28,359 --> 00:09:36,359
Writers, mindful of the many expensive episodes this season, hoped that
an “auxiliary control room“ would be cheaper than a "real“ bridge set.

23
00:09:42,373 --> 00:09:50,373
Of course once the set was built, everyone
started referring to it as "degra's bridge.“

24
00:10:02,393 --> 00:10:08,441
That window had previously been
seen in the alien bazaar in "rajiin".

25
00:10:13,404 --> 00:10:21,404
It would later be used in the romulan
control room in “united " and " babel onell.

26
00:10:41,432 --> 00:10:48,439
The interior of the xindi aquatic
ship was, of course, a digital rendering.

27
00:10:55,446 --> 00:11:03,446
A detailed control room was created for the aquatics, including control
consoles, although the murkiness of the digital water mostly obscures this.

28
00:11:27,437 --> 00:11:35,403
Dan curry was principally responsible for
the design of the xindi aquatic creatures.

29
00:11:45,455 --> 00:11:52,420
He also oversaw the design of the
computer-animated xindi insectoids.

30
00:12:30,667 --> 00:12:38,633
These wide shots of the sphere interior were entirely
computer generated, including the walking figures.

31
00:12:42,053 --> 00:12:49,644
The digital model was also used to extend
the real set, which was built on stage 9.

32
00:13:07,620 --> 00:13:15,211
The sphere-weapons control room was built on
platforms, about eight feet above the stage floor.

33
00:13:20,633 --> 00:13:28,633
This allowed some of the dramatic opening shots, in which the
camera looked up at the xindi reptilians walking across the catwalk.

34
00:13:36,649 --> 00:13:44,240
It also facilitated this shot, which used a green
screen on the stage floor for a set extension.

35
00:13:47,660 --> 00:13:55,660
Still, the platforming tended to slow down filming a little, since cameras,
lights, and other equipment had to be hauled up and down for use on the set.

36
00:14:01,674 --> 00:14:09,674
These minor delays do add up, and must be factored in when planning
an episode to be sure the work can be completed in the time available.

37
00:14:24,655 --> 00:14:32,655
The sphere-builders' written language was conceived as a
series of pictograms, read both horizontally and vertically.

38
00:14:37,668 --> 00:14:42,590
Interconnecting lines
indicated linked concepts.

39
00:14:47,678 --> 00:14:55,603
The command center also had about
16 small computer monitors on the walls.

40
00:14:57,980 --> 00:15:05,980
Marvin rush concealed tiny fluorescent lamps behind these
monitors, creating small splashes of light on the wall.

41
00:15:08,616 --> 00:15:15,331
Those splashes of light served to visually
separate the monitors from the wall.

42
00:15:25,633 --> 00:15:30,555
The lit gizmos on the wall behind
t'pol came from the nx-of sickbay.

43
00:15:35,643 --> 00:15:43,643
They were removed from the medical facility when
the set was revamped at the end of the first season.

44
00:15:49,657 --> 00:15:57,623
That was the only wall in the command
center that had no computer monitors.

45
00:15:59,667 --> 00:16:07,550
This was because that wall was designed for easy
removal when needed for camera and equipment access.

46
00:16:09,635 --> 00:16:17,635
Marvin rush frequently used this access when he mounted his camera
on a small crane, allowing complex camera moves in this small set.

47
00:16:25,651 --> 00:16:33,651
The xindi reptilian bridge was largely made with recycled wall
pieces, but with distinctive paint and graphic treatments.

48
00:16:40,541 --> 00:16:48,541
The main viewscreen was probably the most recognizable element;
It was the screen from Ben sisko's defiant bridge in dsq.

49
00:16:55,681 --> 00:17:03,606
The back wall of the reptilian bridge came
from the starship voyager's science lab.

50
00:17:18,704 --> 00:17:23,543
The sphere-builder woman
is played by Josette digarlo.

51
00:17:28,673 --> 00:17:36,673
In addition to her four appearances on Star Trek: Enterprise in this
role, dicarlo's credits include er, Chicago hope, and six feet under.

52
00:17:54,031 --> 00:17:58,578
Look at the two small monitors
to the right of the big screen.

53
00:17:59,662 --> 00:18:07,662
That thin coil between the two monitors is a security cable, used
to lock the screens onto the set when the film crew wasn't present.

54
00:18:13,593 --> 00:18:21,593
Star Trek employed two full-time security officers to protect the
sets and to prevent unauthorized visitors from disrupting filming.

55
00:18:32,612 --> 00:18:40,612
Most of the standing enterprise interiors were redressed
to reflect damage incurred during the xindi war episodes.

56
00:18:43,623 --> 00:18:51,589
In some cases, this damage was relatively
minor burn marks, applied with paint.

57
00:18:53,633 --> 00:19:01,633
In other areas, entire wall segments
were replaced with damaged versions.

58
00:19:11,609 --> 00:19:19,609
This was an added scene, written and filmed after the
completion of principal photography for this episode.

59
00:19:23,621 --> 00:19:31,545
Added scenes were occasionally necessary when an
episode turned out to be shorter than expected.

60
00:19:43,641 --> 00:19:48,562
The bridge was also redressed
to show battle damage.

61
00:19:53,651 --> 00:20:01,617
Scorch marks were painted onto the walls, and
conduits and other stuff hung from the ceiling.

62
00:20:04,787 --> 00:20:12,787
And several control panels and monitors were replaced
with copies that looked badly burned and damaged.

63
00:20:18,676 --> 00:20:26,642
The "transdimensional realm“ was a small white
wall with a coved white floor on stage 9.

64
00:20:35,693 --> 00:20:43,659
The spinning gizmo was once a “gyroscope"
exercise machine in the enterprise gym.

65
00:20:51,709 --> 00:20:58,674
The ball at the center had seen duty as
the romulan mine in iiminefield“.

66
00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:14,640
The welder on the upper level is played by one
of enterprise's special effects technicians.

67
00:21:26,619 --> 00:21:34,619
All of the enterprise background welders were played by
effects technicians Rick hester or Dennis drozdowski.

68
00:21:57,691 --> 00:22:05,616
The "avionics control“ console had previously seen
duty in the starship defiant engine room on dsq.

69
00:22:07,660 --> 00:22:15,626
Back then, it was much thicker, as it had been originally
designed to fit a tube-style television monitor.

70
00:22:23,676 --> 00:22:29,640
The maco shoulder
patch depicts a make shark.

71
00:22:36,689 --> 00:22:42,653
Maco, of course, stands for
military assault command operations.

72
00:22:51,745 --> 00:22:57,668
Steven culp's credits include two
performances as Robert f. Kennedy.

73
00:23:00,713 --> 00:23:08,713
He played the sixties political figure in thirteen days,
as well as in the 1996 TV movie, Norma Jean & Marilyn.

74
00:23:14,643 --> 00:23:19,607
Culp also made an unseen
appearance in Star Trek: Nemesis.

75
00:23:22,651 --> 00:23:30,651
He played commander Madden, new first officer on the enterprise-e in a
scene from the end of the film that ended up on the cutting room floor.

76
00:23:39,668 --> 00:23:47,668
To no one's surprise, Porthos proved to be a fan favorite
character, even though the space beagle didn't appear very often.

77
00:23:54,683 --> 00:23:59,647
Of course, Porthos was
hardly the first dog in space.

78
00:24:04,610 --> 00:24:12,576
That honor goes to laika, who flew into
orbit aboard sputnik ll, way back in 1957.

79
00:24:17,623 --> 00:24:25,589
Laika
Was the first living creature in space.

80
00:24:35,641 --> 00:24:43,641
Porthos was also preceded into space by another beagle,
snoopy, from Charles schulz's comic strip, peanuts.

81
00:24:49,780 --> 00:24:57,780
In 1969, the crew of Apollo 10 named their lunar module for schulz's
heroic pooch, making snoopy the first dog to fly to the moon.

82
00:25:29,737 --> 00:25:34,658
Oddly enough, the gyroscope
gizmo was not motorized to rotate.

83
00:25:35,743 --> 00:25:43,709
Prior to each shot, special effects technician wil
thorns gave the unit a firm spin with his hand.

84
00:25:47,755 --> 00:25:55,755
The xindi reptilian control panels made extensive use
of flashing blue leds, which were still relatively rare.

85
00:25:58,766 --> 00:26:06,766
The show's effects department ordered nearly every blue blinking
led available in North America at the time this episode was made.

86
00:26:19,703 --> 00:26:25,667
The shortage of bright blue
blinkies did not last long, however.

87
00:26:42,601 --> 00:26:50,601
The following season, numerous blue and green
blinking lights materialized on the enterprise bridge.

88
00:26:55,739 --> 00:27:03,664
Those new blinkies appeared when the ship
was repaired and upgraded in "home".

89
00:27:19,805 --> 00:27:27,646
This episode was honored with an Emmy award
for outstanding achievement in visual effects.

90
00:27:39,700 --> 00:27:47,700
Dan curry, Ronald b. Moore, Liz Castro, and six other key members
of the effects team all received statuettes on September 12, 2004.

91
00:27:55,716 --> 00:28:03,716
Also winning that evening was William shatner, who was
recognized for his role as Denny crane on Boston legal.

92
00:28:25,704 --> 00:28:29,833
Look at the round computer
graphic behind t'pol.

93
00:28:30,709 --> 00:28:38,675
That graphic was inspired by the I'op art" moiré pattern
on Spock's bridge station on the original enterprise.

94
00:28:40,719 --> 00:28:46,683
It was intended as a more
primitive version of Spock's console.

95
00:29:03,742 --> 00:29:11,625
The xindi reptilian corridor set was built on
stage 18, right next to the shuttlepod launch bay.

96
00:29:16,672 --> 00:29:24,638
The day before they used the corridors, the
crew filmed on the reptilian bridge on stage 9.

97
00:29:31,687 --> 00:29:39,687
The day after shooting the corridors on stage 18, the
crew returned to stage 9 to film the weapons platform.

98
00:29:44,700 --> 00:29:52,700
The reason for this complicated schedule was to allow the construction crew
to finish the weapons platform while the film crew was shooting the corridors.

99
00:30:20,736 --> 00:30:28,736
Ruth Williamson plays the sphere-builder primary
and Mary Mara plays the sphere-builder presage.

100
00:30:55,771 --> 00:31:03,737
Special effects supervisor rich ratliff was responsible
for on-set physical effects like these spark hits.

101
00:31:07,741 --> 00:31:15,741
Ratliff provided clear covers for the computer monitors and
some of the control panels to minimize damage in such scenes.

102
00:31:21,755 --> 00:31:29,721
The control graphics on degra's ship resembled those
on the reptilian bridge, but the colors were different.

103
00:31:31,807 --> 00:31:39,731
The blinkies on degra's ship were green, while the
reptilians' were blue and the insectoids' were red.

104
00:31:42,776 --> 00:31:50,776
Star Trek paint supervisor Chuck Clark gave all the xindi reptilian
ship interiors a multilayered metallic copper / gold / bronze finish.

105
00:32:18,728 --> 00:32:26,728
Even though the reptilian sets were made from pieces with a fairly wide range
of design styles, Clark's paint tied them together into a unified whole.

106
00:32:38,748 --> 00:32:46,715
The blinking lights on the xindi panels were
the handiwork of effects technician John peyser.

107
00:33:11,698 --> 00:33:18,663
The transporter console was
another redressed voyager veteran.

108
00:33:35,722 --> 00:33:43,722
The console and the transporter chamber back wall
were upgraded at the beginning of the fourth season.

109
00:33:50,737 --> 00:33:57,744
The xindi reptilian rifle was designed
by illustrator berndt heidemann.

110
00:34:07,754 --> 00:34:15,637
Chuck Clark used an unusual paint
on the gyroscope frame and the ball.

111
00:34:35,073 --> 00:34:42,706
The paint actually changed colors, depending
on your viewing angle as it rotated.

112
00:35:22,704 --> 00:35:30,670
This, of course, was Steven culp's final
appearance on Star Trek: Enterprise as major Hayes.

113
00:35:45,727 --> 00:35:53,727
Culp went on to win a 2005 screen actors' guild award as part of the outstanding
performance by an ensemble in a comedy series for desperate housewives.

114
00:36:46,705 --> 00:36:51,710
Rick worthy plays the xindi arboreal.

115
00:36:57,716 --> 00:37:05,716
Worthy played an elloran officer in Star Trek: Insurrection,
and he was a starfleet officer in voyager and a klingon on d59.

116
00:37:09,686 --> 00:37:17,652
He also played automated personnel unit
3947 in the infamous "prototype".

117
00:37:37,714 --> 00:37:43,678
This episode was directed
by Robert Duncan mcneill.

118
00:37:48,725 --> 00:37:55,732
Mcneill, of course, is the actor who
played Tom Paris on Star Trek: Voyager.

119
00:38:00,737 --> 00:38:08,737
Mcneill earned his director's stripes during the third
season of voyager, when he was in charge of “sacred ground“.

120
00:38:13,666 --> 00:38:21,666
He went on to direct three other voyager episodes, and
later helmed four segments of Star Trek: Enterprise.

121
00:38:25,678 --> 00:38:33,678
Mcneill has also directed episodes of one Tree Hill,
everwood, summerland, and several segments of Dawson's creek.

122
00:38:45,698 --> 00:38:53,698
Before his role as Tom Paris, mcneill guested on “the first duty“, as
a starfleet cadet who tried to cover up his role in a deadly accident.

123
00:39:18,648 --> 00:39:24,612
“Countdown" was the penultimate
episode of the third season.

124
00:39:29,659 --> 00:39:37,659
The third season's xindi war arc represented
a bold experiment in Star Trek storytelling.

125
00:39:42,672 --> 00:39:50,430
It was the longest continuous storyline since
Star Trek: Deep space nine's dominion war.

126
00:40:06,696 --> 00:40:13,703
The fact that much of the reptilian ship was recycled and comes from other
sets was virtually undetectable because of Zimmerman's ingenious reworking.

127
00:40:19,709 --> 00:40:25,715
One unfortunate exception is the reuse of dsg's defiant
viewscreen, whose distinctive shape gives it away.

128
00:40:54,744 --> 00:41:00,750
Star Trek's fans were intrigued
with the season-long xindi war saga.

129
00:41:05,713 --> 00:41:13,713
The fans' support was a significant factor when the studio decided to
return the show for the fourth season, despite lower-than-hoped-for ratings.

130
00:41:23,731 --> 00:41:30,697
Once again, Star Trek's fans proved
themselves a force to be reckoned with.

131
00:41:33,741 --> 00:41:41,666
Everyone who worked on Star Trek was
touched and grateful for this fan support.

132
00:41:43,751 --> 00:41:49,590
It made all this hard work worthwhile.