'Proving Ground' Proves Itself With Critics

See Also: 'Proving Ground' Episode Guide

Reviews for last Wednesday night's Enterprise episode, "Proving Ground", offered high praise indeed for the writing, guest cast and performances of the regulars.

• Starfleetcom.net's Gisele La Roche gave the episode an A+, "the + for the delightful Jeffrey Combs." Shran, she stated, "is so well-written that even though he is a sort of villain here, he still comes off as a good man." She liked the characterization of Talas, the development of the arc and the humour as well. The full review is here.

• O. Deus at TrekWeb was equally impressed, giving the episode an 8.5 overall. "'Proving Ground' may very well stand as the best Xindi arc episode to date," he wrote, not because the episode is extraordinary like "Twilight" but because it exemplifies the qualities Enterprise should be displaying each week. He found it suspenseful, described the characters as well-rounded and had high praise for Combs' performance. Deus' review is at TrekWeb.

• Michael Marek of The Great Link declares himself a fan of writer Chris Black and calls "Proving Ground" a "solid next step in the Xindi arc", rating the episode four out of five. Like many reviewers, he enjoyed the relationship between Reed and Talas and the humourous use of Shran's antennae. To read more, see the full review at The Great Link.

• Section 31's Mike Dunham pleads for Combs to be given a bigger job in the Trek franchise:

  He is one of, if not the, best actor to ever play a recurring character on Star Trek, and I believe he stands right up there with the best of the main casts. He brought the characters of Brunt (DS9) and Weyoun (DS9) to life in a way few others could have possibly matched, adding a three-dimensional quality to each character when they both could have ended up being very one-dimensional. Even though we have only seen Shran a few times, the same is true here. There is a complexity to this character, especially in matters of where his loyalties lie and just how far his respect for Archer goes, that Combs portrays with poise and grace.

  To learn the other reasons "Proving Ground" earned a B+ grade, see the full review at Section 31.

• Admiral Regnum of Holodeck 3 gave "Proving Ground" a B+. "This both had the Andorian angle and the Xindi angle," he noted, praising the Reed-Talas storyline and the amusing shot of Shran's antennae over Archer's head. Like other reviewers, he also praised the special effects. To read more, see the full review.

• At Xenoclone's 'Enterprise' Power Rankings, Chris had high praise for Black's handling of the Andorians, stating, "In one episode, the blue-skins have become more multidimensional, believable, and interesting than the majority of Star Trek creatures." He found the scripting tight and the special effects stellar, despite some frustration with the characterization of the Xindi. The entire review is here.

• TrekPulse's Litsa Guevara was pleased to see Reed given a substantive storyline and approving of Archer's balance: "angry when he should be, accommodating and willing to compromise when required, yet doing something about the mission and truly accomplishing his goal, instead of reminding everyone else about the mission and how important it is." She also praised the continuity and rated the episode 4 out of 5 in her review at TrekPulse.

• Lower Decks' Karma rated "Proving Ground" 9.5/10, praising the character development of Archer, Reed, Shran, T’Pol and Talas. Karma enjoyed the dialogue, the realism about the difficulties of repairs in space and particularly Combs' performance as the well-characterized Shran; in fact his largest complaint was with the near-complete lack of promotion given the episode by UPN. Visit Lower Decks to read the full review.

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