Robert Duncan McNeill took the helm of his second Enterprise episode, one that turns some of the NX-01 crewmen into space-age spelunkers and gives us a deeper look at Denobulan history.

In "The Breach," Archer's crew is asked to evacuate a group of Denobulan geologists from a planet where a militant faction has taken control and has ordered the expulsion of all offworlders. The scientists are located deep in a network of caverns, so Tucker, Reed and Mayweather grab their rock-climbing gear and go on a dangerous underground trek. Meanwhile Enterprise rescues another group of evacuees from a damaged vessel, and Phlox saves their lives — except for one, an Antaran, who refuses to be treated by a Denobulan because of extremely old bad blood between the two species.

The episode required some special training for Connor Trinneer, Dominic Keating and Anthony Montgomery. Stunt coordinator Vince Deadrick, Jr., brought the actors to Stoney Point, a natural landmark in northwest Los Angeles County where mountain climbers often come to learn and practice, to teach them rappelling techniques, and trained them further on a 30-foot climbing wall at a private location. The three guys spent two days doing this after first shooting their normal ship scenes. Then when they went off-lot, the remaining cast and crew concentrated on the Phlox storyline, with John Billingsley playing opposite Henry Stram as "Hudak," the alien Phlox comes into conflict with. By Day 4, those scenes — mostly in Sickbay — were done, and it was on to the cavern sets built on the soundstage next door. The climbing/rappelling scenes were very strenuous, and the most difficult maneuvers required the skills of more experienced stunt doubles — Shawn Crowder ("Stunt Trip"), Marty Murry ("Stunt Reed") and Korty Manns ("Stunt Mayweather"). There were even some "greenscreen" shots where the hazardous nature of the caves will be optically enhanced later. Plus, the makeup team had to make the characters progressively dirty and bruised, while being mindful of continuity given the out-of-order shooting sequence. Makeup also had to produce three sets of Denobulan appliances for the characters found at the end of the speleological journey. For the cavern they're working in, the art design team didn't just erect rocky facades, but filled it with a slew of stalactites and stalagmites and other exotic mineral deposits (all fabricated in the shop nearby, of course) along with scientific equipment. Production concluded last Friday after a normal seven-day schedule, in time for the long President's Day weekend.

The guest actors, including Stram, are all new to Star Trek. The Denobulans are played by Mark Chaet, D.C. Douglas and Laura Putney. Jamison Yang plays an Enterprise crewman, and there were several other crew extras and three other injured aliens in Sickbay.

McNeill last directed "Cold Front" in Season One, and prior to that helmed four episodes of Star Trek: Voyager while also helming the starship as "Tom Paris." He's also directed several episodes of the WB's Dawson's Creek and Everwood.

"The Breach" was scripted by co-executive producers Chris Black and John Shiban, from a story conceived by Daniel McCarthy. The segment is tentatively scheduled to air April 23.

For more information about the second-season episodes, visit the Synopses and Cast & Crew sections of Production News.

Please note: All production information is subject to change.

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