Bumped for tonight's rerun. It's great that a feature of season 3 has been reruns that you actually want to watch over again when they come up.

*preemptively* Awww...Porthos.

Well, I just rewatched it, and it remains my favorite episode of the season. Coto's script is great and the acting is top notch. I'm always amazed at how Connor Trinneer was able to make Sim a distinct character, a person in his own right, yet still very much like Trip.

Must say this first:

Dude, Connor Trinneer is a golden god.

However, upon rewatching, Bakula is really pretty damn good in this. " It's as simple as that."- when his expression is showing he knows otherwise. The progressive stress that is eveident upon his face.

I also love that first scene after the "he won't survive" revelation. So much is present in CT's performance- fear, self-preservation, and especially the way he can hardly look at Phlox, like a child who has realized his father's feet are made of clay.

Damnit. The end started me sniffling. Again. "You owe me one."

It's episodes like this one that remind me how much potential this show has, how much I enjoy watching it, how kick-ass some of the actors are (especially CT), and how much I'll miss it if they cancel it.

And I didn't see it as much the first time I saw it, but in hindsight I guess, I saw T'Pol's emotional control begin to slip away. She seemed genuinely upset that Sim was going to die. Not the nearly complete loss of control we see in Azati Prime, but her emotions were very close to the surface.

I missed this episode the first time around but it sure was dandy.

Based on the strength of this episode, I think I'll follow Enterprise more closely.

Heck, I started tearing when Phlox told Archer that Sim wouldn't survive. John Billingsley was awesome through the entire episode--heck, he's been awesome through the entire series. But his delivery of, "You're a damn good son," really started the waterworks for me.

Watching it again, I really liked this episode. The science may not have been good, but I'm willing to overlook it since the acting and the writing were so good. Season 3 really has had some pretty decent episodes.

I really enjoyed this episode, but I couldn't help but think what it would be like if Bermaga had the guts to try something really radical, like have Trip die, and Sim survive. Think about it--it would have completely shocked the viewers, provided a brand-new character, and it wouldn't have cost them a dime or Trineer his job.

The other option would have been to save both Trip and Sim, and that could have led to some really interesting episodes, but probably would have amped up the special effects budget.

That's exactly what I said in my recap.

In a sense they tried that on TNG with the Will Riker/Tom (?) Riker transporter whatwazit but it never really worked - or I never really bought it but that could be because I always thought that Riker was a complete moron.

The concept worked really well on Farscape but it was handled slightly differently in that there wasn't a distinction between the original and the duplicate -- no one knew which was the original so both John Crichtons were treated as the "real" John.

Also, they were able to drop Tom Riker off on another ship, but Enterprise doesn't have that option.

Now I'm wondering why T'Pol couldn't be left with the Andorians, and let Enterprise install Trillium-D. Too much bad blood? The Andorians already installed it?

It was disappointing that the Will/Tom Riker storyline was completely dropped in TNG but it did eventually result in a kick-ass episode of DS9, one of my favorites. So it's all good.

I was conflicted throughout "Similitude" -- I would have been rooting for Sim to live and Trip to die, except for the fact that I didn't actually like Sim very much. Which I guess just means more kudos to CK for creating a distinct character.

Trip is a mozzarella ball tonight! Re-snark away.

OK, I loved it the first time around, and I still do, but I didn't remember it being this funny. Maybe it has to do with having all the stuff from the recap in my head. "Mozzarella Trip" came to mind several times.

As I reminded Dr. Mathra about five minutes ago, we have a tub of Trip in the fridge that I need to do something with.

Hadn't seen this ep in a while until last night. Sniffle.

The science is still ghastly, though. And while Phlox is cool and all, there's no way any physician worth his salt wouldn't have checked to see if the Mozarella Larvae's cycle would be the same with humans as with Lycerians. I'm a layperson and I'd know to check that out.

The whole memory thing with Mozzarella Trip still really bugs me. How the ball of cheese managed to get up every day with a new memory suddenly forming in their head when it wasn't there before without going completely Snake Pit is beyond me.

Maybe that was what made this episode really funny even while being incredibly sad and sweet. Every bit of science in it is outrageously ridiculous, and so out there, that it went past the point of actually bothering me. I feel like the writers knew that the science behind the episode was completely absent, but it didn't really take away from the plot.

I laughed when Mozzarella Trip said he suddenly realized his favorite dessert is Key Lime Pie. He remembered all that engineering stuff already, but it takes him until the physical age of thirty-something to realize what his favorite dessert is (which I thought was pecan pie).

Heh, that's what I said in my recap in reaction to the pie issue.

Ohhhh, now my body is puckering.

I was under the impression this was the first time it had been done with a human. One can hardly blame him for not looking up data that doesn't exist.

I plopped the DVD in the player last night in sympathy and the episode is still excellent. What impressed me the most is the acting. I think it was this episode that made me realised that the cast had in fact not sold their talent to the highest bidder at the end of season one. The 'don't make me kill you' scene between Archer and Trip is simply perfect.

Yeah. That was some good stuff indeed.

Quantum: "Enterprise needs TRIP! TRIP! (spittle) And I'll do what it takes to get him back!"
Mozzie: "Even if it means killin' me?"
Quantum: "Even if it means killing you!"

Man, that was good. I was scared of Quantum myself at that point.

The science in this episode and others of Enterprise is pretty bad, though that's true of most science fiction television, including most of Star Trek. I did think Next Generation tried relatively hard to be at least thought-provoking with the scientific aspects of its storytelling (the only thing I thought it did well outside of the more humorous episodes).

The silliest part of it here is that Phlox was just so fortunate to have the Lyssarian Desert Larvae (is it a Larvae Larva?) in his "little menagerie." We've never seen or heard of it before--presumably the doctor's back room could cough up serendipitously helpful creatures for years, every time something miraculous is called for.

Even sillier than that is Trip's chest hair. Does he shave it seasonally depending on fashion, or does he do it as a favor to T'Pol? Maybe she likes her humans smooth.

I can't believe that I just seriously considered going through my tapes of this season to check when Trip had chest hair and when he didn't. Still toying with the idea.

Sounds like a fun evening to me.

I admit it...I cried at the end of the episode...AGAIN.

I hold much, much love for this episode, bad science be damned!

Me too. I could care less about the dubious science. Similitude is such a wonderfully acted episode. I'm always impressed by how Connor made Sim a unique individual, similar to Trip, yet his own person.

Holy crap. Enterprise made me cry. Like a baby. Complete with pillow clutching.

I'd missed this episode in past airings and even though I read the recap, I still found it had a lot of impact. That's really impressive, considering... mozarella ball. Hats off to CT for making me care about a blob of cheese and ignore bad science.

Also, I hate Archer. I hate him retro-actively. In 8 days, Sim spent more time with Porthos than Archer had in years.

I cried watching it for a third time. Was so glad this episode made it to the top three. And John Billingsley was just awesome in this episode. It's when he says, "You were a damn fine son," that just gets the waterworks going. That, and just before when Sim is stroking Porthos, tears streaming down my face.

Someone once mentioned that the music in this ep was excellent and paying attention this time, I would have to agree. That drum beat in the background with the flute just amps up the emotions.

That's what I was going to say. I didn't notice it so much the last time I watched the episode, but that flute/pipe bit is really moving.

The flute music reminded me of the music played at the end of "Return of the King", when Frodo is practically passed out at the mouth of Mount Doom. So, yeah, that made that scene ten times more sad for me.

Both my favorite parts! Add me to the waterworks brigade. And now I am hoping that one of the top three choices is Shuttlepod One. Please, please, pleeeeze!

Yeah, I cried again. I am such a geek.

BTW, I hurled a series of four letter words when I discovered I had neither a videotape or a DVD available to record the show. Damn. I really wanted this one for my collection!

Yay, voting for it like 25 times actually helped! It's nice to know that a lot of people out there share my opinion of this episode.

I have to say though, I was dying of laughter during the neuropressure scene at the beginning. He's looking up her shirt, for crying out loud! I keep forgetting how embarassing those scenes could be.

Skategrrl, I'd be happy to send you a copy. Send me an e-mail.

I was (once again) creeped out by the opening scene of panty sniffing. Sigh. There's something wrong in the world, when two pretty people hooking up is icky.

Also, once more, WHY doesn't the stupid shuttle pod have a toilet? They have two weeks worth of air, and microwave dinners in there! That moment ruins the entire last scenes for me with this stupid trivia!

Sniff. PHlox makes everything better.

I can't remember. Was there any mention of lack of toilet facilities in Shuttlepod One? If there was, at least we've got continuity. Otherwise, while I realize these shuttles were designed for quick trips, usually from ship to planet and back, yeah, that's pretty poor planning.

I guess I'm old-fashioned on this, but I prefer not to think much - or at all, really - about the bodily functions of television characters. Besides, Kirk and Krew never went to the bathroom, so why make Quantum & Qrew do so?

But come to think of it, what with the fascination Malcolm had for peeing in his biosuit during the Romulan minefield ep, the Enterprise writers have already spent some thought on bodily functions, so maybe they should document bathroom facilities in all their infinite diversity.

Maybe that's the real origin of the IDIC.

Has anyone said there's no toilet facilities on the shuttlepods, or are we assuming that from the set design? I once theorized that they had a sort of Apollo-era "tube" situation, designed to be used in emergencies, and we've just never seen that discussed.

Sim said there were no facilities while he was talking to Quantum in the shuttle bay.

Despite the good story and acting, my favorite part of this ep comes from the special effects team. After the ship emerges from the anomaly-of-the-week, Sim and Quantum have a discussion in Trip's quarters. In the shots where the window in Trip's quarters are in the background, you can see the debris slowly flying off of the ship. By the end of the scene, the debris is completely gone. I don't know why, but I just think that's the coolest thing ever. I just love the attention to detail.

I liked that effect too. Apart from the really horrifically unbelievable science, which I can't imagine that the writers thought we'd buy, and probably just assumed we'd suspend our disbelief, just about everything in this episode was done really well. And because of that, and the fact that the really bad science was integral to the plot, I forgive the writers for it. On Star Trek, I prefer bad science in a good episode to good science in a bad episode any day of the week.

The whole anomaly-of-the-week part was excellent. It gave this episode depth. The escape-the-anomaly plot is an ancient Trek staple, and here it's turned into a subplot that gives a reason for all the human drama happening aboard.

The main plot is great and all, but I absolutely love that they stuck in this subplot to give the episode this depth.

ITA, cleo, about the B-plot. Also, as you mentioned, it added greater urgency to main plot. Despite the bad science, which I thankfully overlooked for the drama, so many elements worked in this episode. The special effects (other than the mozz ball), the B-plot, the acting and the music. It really was such a gem from the third season.

This is one of those super-vague questions that you hope a hardcore Trekfan will be able to answer...

While re-watching this episode, when they got to the part where Quantum is threatening Sim and basically saying he'll drag him into sickbay at gunpoint if he has to (which I just hate, but anyway)...I suddenly had a flicker of some dim racial memory. Isn't there an episode of another Trek series...I'm thinking Voyager...where something very much like this happens ... some character who is a clone or otherwise Not a Real Person Deserving of Human Rights has to be Sacrificed for the Good of All, and refuses to do it? And actually does have to be dragged kicking and screaming into sickbay to give up their DNA or lifeblood or whatever? Am I thinking of an actual episode here, or did I concoct this whole scenario because for once I'd like to see the Trexpendibles not being all noble and self-sacrificing?

Anyone who can help here, please jump in.

Bless you, pennyq. E-mail is on the way!

Trudyj, you may be thinking of Tuvix from Voyager.

Yes! Yes! Tuvix the Trexpendible is exactly who/what I was thinking of. In less than two hours, somebody had the answer for me. God bless the Internet, where you really don't have to store stuff in your own brain anymore.