The Xindi, Continuity Error?

[Mav]

For several series of Star Trek, ranging from TNG and beyond, one of the "scientific facts" of the future is basically any planet that has lifeforms, those lifeforms are almost always a single dominate species. Meaning that over time, only one major species achieved sentience and evolved into a higher life form. Example; Earth has Homosapiens, Andoria has Andorians, etc (note, this does not count when two species inter mate to create hybrids)

 

Now, I bring this up cause it's more relevant in Enterprise. Not just the Xindi themselves, but earlier in the show, I believe a Season 1 episode? *goes to Memory-Alpha* "Dear Doctor". Two separate species evolve on a single planet. Doctorbabble, they share certain genetic similarities but still two distinct species. Anyways, they make an interesting note how, this is considered "rare", which it is at least based on how many other planets the 6 series have visited over the last 40 years. Not unheard of but not common in the least.

 

Fast forward to Season 2's finale/Season 3, the Xindi have not 1, not 2 but 6 species from one single homeworld (one of which being extinct, the Avians).

 

How the hell is this possible? Not scientifically, since anything in Trek can be answered with easily technobabble but considering how in ENT, TNG and even DS9, multiple species evolving on one planet is almost considered "rare" yet 6 happen along the way, in ENT?

 

So I wonder if it was just a simple continuity error (which yes, we know Trek is full of those) that they later realized but couldn't go back and change. Or, was it a plot device? A good one since it introduced 5 species with a similar goal, from the same planet, wanting their race(s) to survive, but of course each one is vastly unique. Some quick to anger, some quick to listen to reason and logic. Others indifferent, others open minded, etc

 

So, continuity error? Plausible scenario within the Trek universe and it's ever expanding bending-of-the-rules or a simple plot device?

[maybrick]

I haven't seen these episodes since they aired, but wasn't the war against Earth a unifying factor among the Xindi? If they weren't falsely warned of Earth's eminent attack against them then they probably would have continued to fight among each other until there's only one dominant sentient lifeform, if that's indeed nature's way.

[TetsuoShima]

imo the whole xindi arc is one giant mistake, not a single thing about it makes any sense with regard to other star trek or even just other enterprise episodes/seasons. As such, it doesn't need an explanation, it just needs to be remembered for how awful it was so that such a thing never again is produced. It would have been far better had they concentrated on the temporal war, instead of creating a whole new enemy out of nothing and without decent preparation (production wise).

[Amnot Borg]

oh goodie, another rarity. a thread topic split. only noticed one other major split since I joined.

 

ok, let me reply to both. lol

 

So' date=' continuity error? Plausible scenario within the Trek universe and it's ever expanding bending-of-the-rules or a simple plot device?[/quote']

 

plausible.

 

IDIC. more than one dominant sentient life-form is less probable maybe but not impossible. Earth, itself, has several known species with arguably strong intelligence levels... humans, chimpanzees, whales, dolphins. 2 distinct living environments but all are mammals with nice brains. extreme environments may contain unknown others.

 

it's also possible, that the Xindi species were created by the time-tamperers that urged the war on them. a ready-made army for a time-war.

 

imo the whole xindi arc is one giant mistake' date=' not a single thing about it makes any sense with regard to other star trek or even just other enterprise episodes/seasons. As such, it doesn't need an explanation, it just needs to be remembered for how awful it was so that such a thing never again is produced. It would have been far better had they concentrated on the temporal war, instead of creating a whole new enemy out of nothing and without decent preparation (production wise).[/quote']

 

as part of the temporal war, the Xindi arc had it's place but it was similar to the alien Nazis in that after it's part in the story was over, it should have been repaired and deleted from the timestream. when that story was over, Earth still had millions dead and a ragged scar on the surface that was NEVER seen or mentioned any other time that Earth was shown from orbit in the other series. the battle damage is anachronisitic and annoying as get-out. that's my main gripe with the series. this anachronism was never explained or fixed.

[GorunNova]

My question is... when time travel and changing past and future comes into play, how can there BE continuity? ^^  ... I just figure that if things match continuity after all the time tinkering is done, then it's all good.

[Amnot Borg]

My question is... when time travel and changing past and future comes into play, how can there BE continuity? ^^  ... I just figure that if things match continuity after all the time tinkering is done, then it's all good.

 

lol, like when the Enterprise gets blown up several times and yet a time loop saves the ship and crew? ;) those are fun.

[Ulysses]

My question is... when time travel and changing past and future comes into play, how can there BE continuity? ^^  ... I just figure that if things match continuity after all the time tinkering is done, then it's all good.

 

lol, like when the Enterprise gets blown up several times and yet a time loop saves the ship and crew? ;) those are fun.

 

lol enterprise getting blown up all the time, damn I am sure they did this in TNG

 

TetsuoShima, its not the Xindi which was the main mistake, its paramount milking trek and trying to make one to many series!

[TetsuoShima]

hmm, I don't think all of Enterprise was bad, the were many episodes I liked (of all seasons, even the 3rd), so blaming the entire series would be taking it a bit too far. For me it was particularly the overall Xindi storyline I very much disliked, but that's just one man's opinion eh. :)

[Tenebrae]

I don't see it as a continuity error... scientifically it's horrible... as they were supposedly all variations on the same race.

 

I would say that it IS possible for two sentient species to evolve on a planet and co-exist.

 

Also Star Trek never had continuity, it was always far too busy raping it.

[TDE]

In the star Trek universe it is rare to see 2 species to exist on the same planet. They say that themselves but they acknowledge it can happen. So it is also possible that 6 intelligent species evolved on the same planet.

[Chiggy]

I always assumed each species evolved on different continents under different weather conditions.

 

I wonder if the size of the planet would make any difference to the evolution of the species?

 

[Amnot Borg]

I always assumed each species evolved on different continents under different weather conditions.

 

I wonder if the size of the planet would make any difference to the evolution of the species?

 

 

size/density could affect the species. my assumption was that they were separated until near-intellignece then they had to fight or make peace as they encountered each other. different continents would help explain it.

[TFMF]

All of you hate the Xindi arc - die. :P

 

I don't consider it a continuity error at all, and I can think of a very easy explanation for it.

 

Really, there are only 2 Xindi species that would really interact with each other. The two mammal-like species (I forget their names, one was Arborials, and the other was humanoids?) Anyway, the other 4 species, Insectoids, Aquatics, Avians and Reptilians probably all lived in their own habitats, and probably had no need to even interact until the "builders" united them.

 

I'm sure the 6 species all had their quarrels when they were on their home world, but my point is, they are all very different species, in a way. They are all classed as "Xindi", but really, there is little that they have in common.

 

[Amnot Borg]

I dunno about that. The arborials, humanoids, reptilians could all have been in similar environments and been in contact for some time. Probably wars. Maybe the insectoids too. They all needed land. The aquatics, I figure, evolved as land animals and went back to the water like whales and dolphins here, so, they might have been near land and been in contact. The avians probably made contact with the arborials since they were in the woods roosting in trees or something. Only different continents would have kept them separate long enough to evolve, IMO. Unstable plates from volcanic activity maybe? Early sign of the planet coming apart?

[Tenebrae]

The problem really was they were clearly named as sub-species of the same race. Which given their radical physical differences is pretty crazy, especially as they said they're genetically similar... (although, that's pretty much implicit if they're sub-species). Yeah, it's pretty hard to see six sub-species like that working. I suppose if you simply considered it like different races... but then, the genetic differences for human ethnicites (which are nowhere NEAR substantial enough to be defined as race in anything approaching a scientific way) are trivial.

[Amnot Borg]

Sub-species as different as the Xindi were either 1. created by tampering from the future puppet masters, 2. created as some kind of caste experiment of the original Xindi, or 3. part of a really old genetic line that split due to natural disasters. Still, I don't remember them being sub-species.

[Tenebrae]

It's explicitly stated at some point that they're all very closely genetically related...

 

I wouldn't try and explain it with logic - this is Star Trek, after all. Where polysyllabic words spoken at speed count for more than such outdated notions as plot, continuity, logic or science.