Borderland (Star Trek: Enterprise)
"Borderland" is the fourth episode of the of the science fiction television series "". It originally aired on October 29, 2004, on UPN. The script was written by Ken LaZebnik, and was directed by David Livingston. The episode featured the first appearance of "" actor Brent Spiner in "Enterprise", and the last appearance of J. G. Hertzler in the "Star Trek" franchise. It also featured guest appearances by Bobbi Sue Luther and WWE wrestler Big Show. The series follows the adventures of the first Starfleet starship "Enterprise", registration NX-01. In this episode, genetically engineered humans called "Augments" capture  a Klingon vessel, and the "Enterprise" is sent to find them. They retrieve the Augments' creator, Doctor Arik Soong (Brent Spiner), and head in pursuit. After being attacked by Orions and rescuing their crew members, the ship is attacked by Augments who retrieve their creator. The episode is the first of a three episode arc, followed by "Cold Station 12", and "The Augments". It also featured the first appearance of male members of the Orion species, with female Orions having first appeared in the of "". The reception from critics was mixed, with Spiner's performance generally praised. The episode was  nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Stunt Coordination. Plot. In May 2154, a pair of genetically enhanced humans, referred to as "Augments", leave their home planet and take control of a Klingon Bird-of-Prey warship after killing the crew. Amid threats and protests by the Klingons, Starfleet tasks the newly refurbished "Enterprise" to stop the culprits. Captain Archer visits disgraced scientist Doctor , imprisoned for stealing augmented embryos, and transfers him from a holding facility. On board, Soong soon recognises his augments are responsible for the actions on board the Klingon vessel, but does not know why. He  convinces Archer that he will be able to order his "children" to stand down without a fight. "Enterprise" enters an area of space known as the "Borderland" between the territories of the Klingons and Orions. They are attacked by two Orion vessels and several crew members are captured, including T'Pol (newly granted the Starfleet rank of Commander). They are taken to a slave market and Archer is forced to ask for Soong's assistance to rescue his crew. After entering the market, the ship is able to beam most of the crew back, but when they try to release T'Pol 's restraints, all of the prisoners in the slave market are released and chaos breaks out. Soong also attempts to escape, but Archer quickly returns him to "Enterprise", where he demands that Soong take him immediately to the Augments. Soong refuses. On board the Klingon vessel, it is clear that the Augments consider Soong to be their "father". In a power-play, the Augment leader, Raakin, is tricked by Persis (who had been pretending to be devoted to him) and killed by his "brother" Malik. The Bird-of-Prey approaches "Enterprise", saving them from a second Orion attack. The ships  dock, and Malik requests the release of Soong from the brig—Archer refuses, but Malik forces him to comply. With "Enterprise" disabled, Soong announces that they now need to go and retrieve the remaining thousands of Augment embryos. Production. The three episode arc was an attempt to connect the events of "Enterprise" with "The Original Series". It featured the augments, genetically engineered humans from 20th century Earth who had been featured previously in "Space Seed" and "", both featuring Ricardo Montalban as Khan Noonian Singh. The mini-arc which began with "Borderland" was one of several plots during season 4 that  sought to link the series closer to "The Original Series" and "The Next Generation" due to ongoing low ratings. It was not originally planned to include an ancestor of Noonien Soong in the episode, with executive producer Manny Coto instead planning for the character to be Colonel Phillip Green from "" episode "The Savage Curtain". The character was to be a straightforward villain, but after discussion with "" Spiner, the character was re-written to become Arik Soong, described as a "misunderstood genius". It was Spiner's first "Star Trek" role since the film "" in 2002, having previously played Arik Soong's  descendant Noonien Soong and his creations Data and Lore in "The Next Generation". "Borderland" was the 80th episode of "Enterprise", which was one more episode than the entire run of "The Original Series". The episode featured the return of the Orion race, which had been featured in "The Original Series" episodes "" and "". Actors portraying Orions included Bobbi Sue Luther and WWE wrestler Big Show. Luther auditioned for the role despite being only 5'5 when the casting call insisting that actress must be at least 5'10. Luther subsequently explained that she was "familiar with the show but never really watched it , and thanked her makeup artist fiancé Robert Hall for explaining her role as an Orion slave girl to her. She researched the role on the internet after she received the script, in particular the portrayal by Susan Oliver in Star Trek"s original pilot, "The Cage". It took four hours of make-up work for Luther to be ready, and she described the costume as slightly skimpier than she was used to as a lingerie and bikini model. Despite the application of isopropyl alcohol, Luther said that it took days for the remnants of the make-up to be removed. Brent  Spiner poked fun at her about having to be painted and not him, after his many years of makeup as Data. Before broadcast, it was rumoured that the character of Vice Admiral Maxwell Forrest (Vaughn Armstrong) would be killed off in the episode. His death came three episodes later in "". It was the last appearance in the "Star Trek" franchise by J. G. Hertzler, best known for playing Martok in "". Appearing once again as a Klingon, he was allowed to choose his own costume from the prop department and decided to re-use the outfit worn by Michael Ansara as  Kang in the "DS9" episode "". Several items from the episode were sold on eBay as part of the It's A Wrap! sale and auction. These included the Orion costumes worn by Big Show and others, a unique Orion console created for the slave market, and a variety of Orion PADDs. Reception. "Borderland" first premiered on UPN in the United States on October 29, 2004. It had ratings of 2.0/4, meaning it was seen by 2.0 percent of all households, and 4 percent of all those watching television at the time of broadcast. Robert Bianco highlighted the episode as one  to watch in his preview column for "USA Today". Maureen Ryan for the "Chicago Tribune" praised the return of Brent Spiner to "Star Trek", saying "Surprise, fear, elation, self-control; they're all given masterful life by Spiner in the space of a few seconds." IGN gave it a score of 3 out of 5, and said it was a return to the quality of "", and praised the abilities of Spiner. The teaser trailer was compared to that of a Quentin Tarantino film, and concluded saying "Executive Producer Manny Coto has a long way to go if he has any  hope of making up for "Enterprise"'s transgressions the past three years but if this three episode story arc lives up to the promise shown in "Borderland", he might just pull it off." IGN reviewed the episode again when it was repeated, saying it held up, but said the rest of the arc failed live up to the promise of this episode. Stephanie Vander Weide of Television Without Pity gave the episode a "C" grade rating. She said that she liked the premise of the episode, but felt that the execution was sub-par, describing the augments as "Khannabees" and  expressing her disappointment in the actions of Captain Archer. The mini-arc featuring the episodes "Borderland", "Cold Station 12" and "The Augments" were subsequently ranked the sixth best story of "Enterprise" by "Den of Geek" writer James Hunt. In 2017, Vulture noted "Borderland" as an episode where the show "hit its stride", and praised actor Brent Spiner for his role in the episode as Arik. They also listed this episode as one of the best of the series, in their episode guide for all "Star Trek" series. In 2018, "Screen Rant" praised casting Brent Spiner as the character Arik Soong . Awards. Alongside his work on the following episode "Cold Station 12", Vince Deadrick, Jr.'s work on "Borderland" was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Stunt Coordination. It was instead awarded to Matt Taylor for his work on "24". Home media release. A home media release of the episode was on DVD; having been released as part of the season four box set on November 1, 2005 in the United States. The Blu-ray edition was released on April 1, 2014.