See Also: 'Shockwave, Part II' Episode Guide

Enterprise's second season premiere is still over two months away, but executive producer Brannon Braga recently dropped some tantalising hints about the show's sophomore year.

First up is 'Shockwave, Part II,' which will open with Captain Archer trapped in the 31st century after the events of last season's cliffhanger. "You're going to see a little bit of what's happening there," Braga told the Star Trek Communicator (via BrannonBraga.com).

The episode will also develop a sinister threat to the NX-01's mission. "We're going to hint that someone out there doesn't want to see humans succeed in space, because it's going to eventually result in the formation of an interplanetary alliance. Take that as you will."

As to when the mysterious 'Future Guy' will finally be unmasked, Braga refused to give the game away. "We thought about revealing him in the [first-season] finale, but it just seemed too soon and it didn't service the story," he said. "We just don't know when [we'll do it] yet. For all we know, he'll be revealed the next time we do a Temporal Cold War story."

Braga and fellow executive producer Rick Berman have planned the Temporal Cold War plotline so that viewers are drawn back to the series to find out more. "We've mapped out a great deal of the arc, and want to make sure that every time we do it, you learn something very tantalizing."

There'll be plenty of familiar alien races returning in season two, including the blue-skinned Andorians. "The Andorians worked out great," Braga said. "You'll probably even see Jeffrey Combs back again. And remember, the Andorians become our allies eventually. They're players, so we want to keep them alive. For all we know, we'll even go to Andoria."

But any appearance by the Romulans will have to wait until the writers figure out how to work them into the series without violating established continuity. "We have major continuity issues with them," Braga said. "We would very much like to do Romulans, but a) we don't know quite how yet, staying consistent with the original series, and b) since the new movie deals with Romulans, we want to give them some breathing room. We'll do them eventually, but not right away."

At the moment, there are no plans to deal with the creation of the Federation immediately - after all, Rome wasn't built in a day. "The Federation's formation is definitely going to be a part of this series," Braga said. "But it's going to take a lot of time, sweat, conflict and major intergalactic events to come to be. That's all going to be stuff that develops as the series goes on. It's nothing we want to rush into. We just got out there. We barely know how to say 'Hello.' That said, we may start delving into it more next year."

Reflecting on the past year, Braga couldn't be more pleased about how the series has panned out. "Everybody's happy. I keep expecting a phone call from the Devil or 'Future Guy,' saying, 'Okay, the show's a hit. Everyone loves it. Now it's time for you to pay up!' That’s how well it's gone so far."

To read the full interview, in which Braga also reviewed each episode of season one, pick up the July issue of the Star Trek Communicator, on newsstands now and available for online ordering. Alternatively, a transcript can be found here at BrannonBraga.com.

Discuss this news item at Trek BBS!
 Add TrekToday RSS feed to your news reader or My Yahoo!
Also a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation fan? Then visit CSIFiles.com!