By Michelle
September 28, 2004 - 8:22 PMSee Also: 'The Forge' Episode Guide In a Star Trek: Enterprise episode described as "a Trek trivia-lover's dream", a bombing at an embassy on Vulcan brings Captain Archer to the perenially popular planet that bred Spock, Tuvok and T'Pol.
"The Forge" is the first episode of a three-part miniseries about a religious faction that radically reinterprets the teachings of Surak, the father of Vulcan logic first characterized in the original series episode "The Savage Curtain.""The Forge" refers to the Vulcan desert through which Surak travelled in his quest for enlightenment, and where Archer and T'Pol follow to track the mysterious Syrrannites.
"The Forge" was written by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, longtime Star Trek novelists and collaborators with William Shatner, who recently joined the Enterprise writing team. "We've come in just in time to start working with the other writers on what's called the 'Vulcan arc,' which is really going to be a big, major piece of Enterprise, and of Star Trek", Garfield Reeves-Stevens told StarTrek.com. Executive producer Manny Coto has mentioned in several interviews his plans to revisit the themes and species of the original series and his wish to explain the differences between the Vulcans on Enterprise and those on the original series, which this storyline will address.
"If you've watched Enterprise and you watched the old series and Next Gen, you know that there's a difference between the Vulcans of our era and the Vulcans of later eras," Coto said. "What we've done is develop an idea...an individual appears on Vulcan who is saying to the populace that we have strayed from the teachings of Surak...and he spawns a Vulcan civil war." Ultimately, within the arc, said Coto, "we will begin to see Vulcans approaching what they were in the later eras."
The official site posted the following official synopsis for "The Forge":
Earth's embassy on Vulcan is bombed, and the ensuing investigation puts Archer and T'Pol on the trail of a Vulcan religious faction hiding in a treacherous desert.
The guest cast list for the episode, directed by Michael Grossman - who helmed last season's "Hatchery" - is as follows:
- Vaughn Armstrong as Admiral Forrest
- Gary Graham as Soval
- Michael Nouri as Arev
- Robert Foxworth as V'Las
- Larc Spies as Stel
- Michael Reilly Burke as Koss
In addition to references to previous Trek episodes from TOS's "Amok Time" to the animated series' "Yesteryear", many familiar faces appear in "The Forge", including Armstrong and Graham, who have made numerous appearances on Enterprise as Forrest and Soval. Burke's character, Koss, appears earlier in the fourth season during the episode "Home" which is also set on Vulcan. V'Las, the Administrator of the Vulcan High Command, brings Foxworth back to the franchise after his appearance as Admiral Leyton in DS9's "Homefront" and "Paradise Lost." Nouri has not appeared on Star Trek but Voyager fans may remember his morning show flirtation with Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway) on Regis and Kathie Lee.
Production on "The Forge" began on September 14th on ship sets, especially Sickbay, before moving to a cave and catacombs for the Vulcan desert scenes. Embassy sets where the explosion takes place were built, as was the Forge itself, with some filming taking place at an industrial site northwest of Los Angeles. Perhaps most exciting for long-time Vulcan fans, "The Forge" will feature a glimpse of a live-action Sehlat, the creature that Spock had as a child in "Yesteryear."
"The Forge" is scheduled to air on Friday, November 19th. For the original production report, visit this page at StarTrek.com. Discuss this news item at Trek BBS!
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