"Star Trek Row" on the Paramount lot has come back to life as the full Enterprise cast and crew take their places once again to dive into what promises to be an elaborate and groundbreaking third season.

The season opener will pick up on the NX-01's incursion into the Delphic Expanse to track down Earth's mysterious new enemy, the Xindi. This episode — tentatively titled "The Xindi" — is an especially ambitious undertaking, requiring an array of new creatures, sets, effects, etc. There are also some new recurring characters onboard Enterprise, the military contingent referred to in "The Expanse," who won't be waiting long to see some action. This installment will require a nine-day production schedule, compared to seven days for most Enterprise episodes.

Shooting began today, but preparations have been taking place the last two to three weeks for the various departments. Set construction commenced very early, and the makeup and costume teams have also been at work for awhile. Jolene Blalock reported to the lot last week to do tests for a new, slightly more casual look for "T'Pol" this season. The other actors came in yesterday to get "cleaned up" after hiatus; for instance, John Billingsley got his hair cut right before stopping by for a chat with STARTREK.COM. The writing staff, the art department and other creative personnel had a shorter break than the others, having been at it since May.

Stay tuned for more Production News in about two weeks. Season 3 of Enterprise will premiere in late September on UPN.

Please note: All production information is subject to change.

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