Pages of Note

Sunday, 14 August 2022

Star Trek: Enterprise - Season 3 (2003)

Costume Design by:

- Robert Blackman ( notable efforts: The Running Man (1987), Star Trek: The Next Generation (Seasons 3 to 7), Deep Space Nine (1993 - 1999), Voyager (1995 - 2001), Pushing Daisies (2007 - 2009), Mockingbird Lane (2012) )

In later seasons however, T'Pol's wardrobe would get a lift in the form of a new jumpsuit, with ridging around the sides, and of a more vibrant colourscheme - this suit came in blue, red and purple, but I decided to highlight only the purple version, as not only are the other coloured suits the same design anyway, but this was the most outright colourful of the bunch. Definitely stands out in the sea of drab blue overalls!

'The Xindi'

This episode was the arc to find the 'Xindi' aliens who had attacked the Earth in the previous season, with the Enterprise crew coming across a mining operation that may have a Xindi among them. The mine foreman wearing a leather jacket of asymmetrical design, with tubing attached the shoulders.
The guards under his command wear similar leather uniforms with bulky, angular vests worn over them - the vests have straps and padding attached to them as well.

'Extinction'

In this episode, the Enterprise ends up getting some of its crew infected with a plague when they land on an alien planet, and works to find a cure which they give to the captain Tret (Roger Cross), a member of the planet's original denizens - Tret's costume is perhaps my favorite of this whole show, and definitely proof that Blackman was still able to come up with unique and strange designs even among the more dreary militaristic backdrop of 2000s scifi - Tret's uniform is a bright red leather deal with ridging all over it, as well as metallic pieces stitched on the chest and shoulders (a friend of mine likens this design to 'fatty tissue' which, fair cop).

'Rajiin'

In this episode, to find information on their enemies, the Enterprise crew rescue the titular Rajiin (Nikita Ager), who at first wears a fairly ratty dress that I won't cover here, though later she then sports this top and leggings made of a silvery patterned fabric.
At the end of the episode, when Rajiin has returned to her Xindi paymasters, she wears a catsuit with silver lining around the sleeves - the design with its lining all over calls to mind the catsuits worn by Seven of Nine in the previous series Voyager.
Rajiin is first seen working as a 'pleasure girl' alongside several other women wearing very shiny and colourful dresses, as elaborate as the various 'Dabo girl' costumes that were seen regularly in Deep Space Nine - my personal favorite is weirdly the pink and orange deal with the very wide flat skirt, it's so weird but memorable to me.
Rajiin's previous owner was the sleazy Zjod (Steve Larson), who wears a dark maroon patterned coat with ribbed padding over the sides and shoulders, making it seem like a futuristic riff on cliched 'Oriental' garb, honestly - this coat was then reused in the series finale 'These Are The Voyages', worn by an alien criminal.

'Exile'

In this episode, a rather creepy alien named Tarquin (Maury Sterling) lures a member of the Enterprise crew so she can be a companion to him - Tarquin is dressed in this shiny gown with rather pronounced shoulders and purple patterned lining down the front, which is worn with a large sash belt of a similar colour to the gown's lining fabric.

'The Shipment'

The main nemesis of the Federation in this series were the Xindi, and some of the first notable agents we see of them are the various technicians in this episode, who sport light green jumpsuits worn with thick banded belts, with the jumpsuits themselves being adorned with ornate beige lining.

'Proving Ground'

This episode marked the return of the Andorians, who get a new uniform that is usually worn by Talas (Molly Brink) - this new uniform is a vinyl green jumpsuit with lizard skin print and a black top section, and worn over the jumpsuit is long sleeved vinyl top, also with a lizard skin print, with ribbed padding rings going over it as well.
Also very briefly seen in a viewscreen in this episode, but seen in later episodes, is an Andorian general - the generals also wear vinyl jumpsuits but with blue sleeves, and over it a vinyl cape as well.

'Stratagem'

In this episode, Archer captures one of the Xindi's officials, Degra (Randy Oglesby), who wears a wool maroon top with leather-lined panel down the front.

'Harbinger'

The Xindi are a group of species whose various leaders are seen at many points in the series past this one, clad in the same outfits - out of the humanoid (ie, not CGI!) member species, it is the Primates that get the most scenes - whilst basically typical militaristic tunics, what makes their uniforms stand out compared to most typical scifi uniforms is the studded bands adorning the sleeves, as well as the mottled pattern of the fabric. Worn over the tunic are metallic belts worn from the shoulders. The junior officers, of which the auction photos are of, do not have the beads fitted on the sleeves, and are worn with coats too.
The second of the Xindi's humanoid members are the Arboreals, who resemble sloths or apes, and are dressed in patchwork beige robes with white furred lining around the shoulders, upon which are rows of cylindrical pieces - completing this outfit is a chestband of gold-lined belts.
The third of the Xindi's humanoid member species are the Reptilians, who wear gowns with metallic segments over the shoulders, over which are arrays of metallic tubing going over each shoulder (the way the tubing was designed was to help emulate the bars of a cage, according to Bob Blackman) - this is only the officials who dress like this, however. The Xindi footsoldiers, meanwhile, are just in reused Reman costumes from the movie Star Trek: Nemesis which were originally designed by Bob Ringwood - for this series, Blackman added the wire shoulders over the catsuits. Enterprise had a surprising amount of costume reuse, as many costumes originally made for the previous series Voyager, as well as Nemesis, made their way into this show - I assume it was just due to a lack of budget, really!
The Xindi are partly led on their war with humanity by the mysterious Sphere Builders, who wear shiny catsuits with deep collars, and metallic lining all across the suit - completing it are ornamental filigree pieces over the front of the catsuit, in particular the chest and abdomen.

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