There were no previews at the end of last week's episode but you can download it (if you don't watch UPN on a usual basis) off of Star Trek.com.

Excedrin P.M. and Quantum drink something blue.

Gotta say....I *loved* the camera angles in this episode. Who was the director (I didn't catch it)?

*koff* The prodigal poster returns...

I loved this ep. Shran is developing into a damned fascinating character.

I gotta say, I was BLOWN AWAY by David Livingston's direction in this episode, especially when (a) we get the close-up of T'Pol at the science-viewer, and (b) we get the amazing tracking shot of the green scanning beam blow past Mayweather, Archer, and then through the back of the bridge, which was great when coupled with both AM and SB convincingly throwing themselves into their seats.

Love it.

Oooh, I'm excited! I wanna see!

Random thoughts:

Pretty good previouslies. Might actually draw in someone who hadn’t been watching up to now.

They’ve retrieved only 30% of last week’s lost data? Guess now we know that they don’t back up their files. But at least a yay for continuity.

Wasn’t too hard to read between some of T’Pol’s remarks. When Archer bitches about the accuracy of her anomaly-mapping and she snarks back that she only has 30% of the data to work with, she’s really saying - “Look, you colossal ass, if you hadn’t allowed aliens to freely roam the ship and delete the data, perhaps I would be able to make a more detailed map.’ And later when she suggests having security watch the Andorians, she’s really saying - ‘OMG! Are you so stupid that you are actually going to allow aliens free roam of the ship AGAIN?’

Aww, Malcolm’s found a soulmate. “It’s not the weapon, it’s the soldier who wields it”? Yep, she’s his dreamgirl.

Yes, he was probably being duplicitous, but Shran showed more actual concern for Trip’s sister’s death than Archer ever has.

Archerite! Hah!

Okay, color me dense but was it supposed to be Shran or Malcolm’s blue babe who secretly sent the encrypted message to Enterprise? And why did Archer give T’Pol a smug ‘I knew the Andorians were trustworthy’ look?

Overall, I really liked this one. Nice special effects, pretty good plot, although it was predictable that the Andorians were hiding something. If they keep going with episodes like this, I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.

I think it was Shran. Remember how he told his general he didn't want any commendation? Hence my thoughts...

Oh, and I was totally PML at seeing Shran's antenna peering over Archer's head. That was a damn funny shot.


Edited because spelling should be a good thing

I must say that was one good episode! The story was pretty good, but what hit it out of the park for me was the detail! The camera angles, Shran's antennae (especially when they ducked out of the way of the beam on the ceiling!), the fact that Quantum actually got to beat someone up! And not get beat up himself!

Please let there be more episodes like this! The great bird of the galaxy compels you!

The tracking shot of the anomaly was cool, as were the special effects. But the rest of the episode, i.e. the "plot": meh. Meh, meh, meh.

Quantum, once again, has become an ass. I can understand being obnoxious with the Andorians, but why did he have to be so with Reed and T'Pol when they pointed out the OBVIOUS dangers in trusting the Andorians. It seems as if he's learned nothing from having his ship taken over god knows how many times.

I've pretty much given up on ENT having original plotlines, but even this one was too obvious. Meh, meh, meh.

I'm somewhere between "meh" and "It didn't suck." I liked Quantum's "twist" at the end. Hee. He got one on Shran--unless it was Shran who sent the information over (I'd lay odds on this). I give it a B-.

Regarding the transmission, it would seem probable that neither Excedrin PM (which, I must admit, seeing him again made my day) nor Lady Law of the Bayonet sent the transmission to Enterprise. See, it was disguised as static, thus leading me to the conclusion that it was broadcast omnidirectionally. After all, if anyone intercepted unidirectional static, it would raise a red (blue?) flag. And the Andorians, being a paranoid people would think of that.

[equivocation]Of course, it is entierly possible that the Andorians are too paranoid to think that unidirectional static would be suspicious.[/equivocation]

I think that Excedrin's decline of the commendation stems more from the fact of the guilt he felt about betraying Archer, who has, in the past, proved a useful ally. In any case, I think that the Andorians underestimated Hoshi's skills.

To be honest, on a tangent, I thought Archer was bluffing with blowing up the I Can't Believe There Isn't An Exhaust Port. I thought T'Pol had just transmitted the code to make the shell spin and make it glow pretty colors.

Well, I have to admit I really liked this ep. I am an Andoriaphile, particularly Shran, who I think is one of the most interesting characters in ENT, so any episode that features him has got an advantage with me. I thought it was funny (love those antennae!), had a moderately interesting plot (which was part of the all powerful *arc* - ignore the Berman behind the curtain), and the way to my heart - great interactions between characters. A little cheese now and then (like Hoshi pointing to the monitor to identify the blinky dot - thanks, Hoshi), but a great ending.
I hadn't thought consciously about it, but now that you mention it, yes, the directing was good.
Woo hoo! A good episode!

ETA: Correcting spelling and to say that GoldfishGirl and I seem to notice the same things... Rock on! :)

I enjoyed the episode, thought Combs was great as Shran.


Really liked the scene between Trip and Shran when they discussed the loss of their siblings, very nice acting by both actors.

Great banter between Reed and sexy Andorian female. Poor Reed, I think its been a while since he's gotten any.

Also liked the small scene between Trip and T'Pol in engineering.

Archer is still a gigantic ass. How many times is this guy going to allow aliens to roam about Enterprise. I also hate it when he belittle's T'Pol's prudent advice. She should use the Vulcan nerve pinch and shut him the hell up.

Two weeks in a row where I actually liked Quantum. Note to self: lower dosage. And I know I'm twelve, but I kept looking at the Andorians' antennae moving around and wondering which position indicates arousal.

I would definitely come down in the "It didn't suck "category; actually, I'll have to second Anabanana, cause I really liked this ep, and not just for Jeffrey Combs.

- The plot was really good, and though I was a little bit disappointed that the Andorians (predictably) betrayed them, the twist at the end was pretty cool.

- I hope we see Talas again; this is the first Malcolm flirting storyline which I've liked, and it would be really cool if they ...I dunno, had a fling or something.( Or not. :)

-Shran! Bow to Jeffrey Combs. ( And in their scenes together, Bakula was ...not mediocre. In fact he was almost good.)

-Not a lot of Trip( you knew I'd address it), but what there was , was very good. The scene with him and Shran was very sweet; he's calmed down from the rage we saw in the Xindi, and now there's just the sadness.



Especially when he went all droopy-antennae when he was mopily talking to the Andorian honcho ( who was that , by the way- he's familiar). Might make relationships easier- even when their face is passive-agressive "fine" , you can take one look at their antennae and tell whether it's a fight you want to pick.


All in all, solid outing.

When Shran was talking to T'Pol, his antenna were kinda laying down and pointing towards her, but when Quantum began talking, they stood straight up. Read into that what you will.

I didn't realize that Jeffrey Combs had played Shran before. I think it was the Blue Babe transmitting the message. She and Reed did seem to have a moment.

Combs has played Shran since Shran first appeared in the 7th episode of season one. Shran has appeared a total of four times over the series.

Ah, I really enjoyed this one. Fairly good acting all around, a plot that didn't come assembled from a model kit! Yay!

From the level of security employed here, it seems that the Xindi were exponentially silly to try out the first prototype on Earth itself. I guess they don't have an analogy for throwing a rock at a beehive, do they?

It didn't occur to me until I saw the previouslies, but the effect of anything passing through the Sphere Cloaking Barrier looks kinda similar to the effect made by the Xindi ships when they dissapeared at the end of "Rajin." Coincidence? Probably.

I think Shran sent the info. Reed was totally getting played by the Andorian Lieutenant. Shran thought that it was a good way to help Archer, since he really doesn't have anything against Humanity.

For the second week in a row, they didn't show previews, choosing to pimp America's Next Top HoochieModel instead. I have a bad feeling about this.

Not bad, not bad at all.

To all criticizing Archer for letting yet more people roam the ship- I thought the same thing. But as revealed at the end, he was being extra careful, and told everyone else too- that's how they caught the Andorians at the end.

Well, we know the name of the fifth Xindi species- Arboreal.

He shouldn't have used Archer's name- after all, the Xindi know it. Well, maybe he didn't know that, and took a chance.

The weapon most certainly went off at the end, as the Andorians took damage. But Archer got it, right?

I'd say Shran sent the message. Why disguise it? He doesn't want his general finding out.

And now we have an answer (perhaps one of many) to why things changed in "Twilight." With T'Pol in command, Shran may not have offered help. Or it may have been refused. Or T'Pol may not have pulled the dare at the end.

All in all, a very good episode. I'm beginning to really like the Andorians. I like the insect-like larger (ETA: Andorian) female idea (if that's where they're going) And Combs...he's all sorts of good. Three totally different characters (more, perhaps- on VOY?), all great.

Nelamm was reading my mind regarding 'Twilight' and this episode Jeffrey Combs is great...but... I was hoping for a new accent for his Shran (this is the first time I see him) 'cause on DS9 he did completely different voices for Weyoun and Brunt... would've loved to hear a 3rd voice, I kept having Weyoun backflashes when Shran talk.



Looking at Shran talking to T'Pol... I think straight ahead means arousal.

Plus I know where the Xindi got their weapon!! It looks like the core from the 'Event Horizon' ship... me thinks the sp. effects guy just bought it off the Paramount lot.

Like several of you, I spent the first 40 minutes thinking, "Gah! Quantum's leaning curve has hit a plateau!" I'm quite happy to see he's finally learning his lesson.

One paraphrased moment in snark:


Now, Reed flirting with Talas. Pre-40-minute-mark-revelation, I found it heavy-handed and, frankly, squicky. Post-rev., I wondered, was he playing it heavy so she'd not think he was checking up on her? It's so nice to actually wonder about these things.

The Xindi weapon really looks like a rubber-band ball to me.

Where was that, exactly?

I don't think he was being extra careful at all. We see him tell both T'Pol and Malcolm that he sees no reason not to trust the Andorians and I believe he is genuinely shocked when Shran does deceive him.

When Archer returns to Enterprise with the information that Shran's tactical officer had disrupted the sensors, Reed remembers seeing her working on the sensors so he knew exactly where she sabotaged them. When he tells Archer 'you were right', I believe he's referring to Archer telling him the sensors may have been sabotaged not that Archer was in any way suspicious before the fact. When Reed says that it was a good thing he was watching her closely, well, what's he supposed to say to his captain, that he was attracted to her and pretty much left her unsupervised?

Later, when Archer tells Shran that his crew had been watching them all along, he's flat out lying, probably to keep Shran off balance in their future encounters.

Well, I liked the visuals, and Shran, but my English-majorness still wasn't excited by the plot. The Andorians taking the weapon for blowing up the Vulcans was so predictable. I thought the plot would have been much more interesting if the Andorians really had been there to lend allied assistance. It would have lent more involved political background for the birth of the Federation.

The Andorians stealing the weapon was predictable, but I didn't find much else was. I really didn't know if they'd steal the weapon from the Xindi or fail trying. And I'm sure Shran sent the data to Quantum. He wouldn't have been able to sleep otherwise.

So I loved this episode. Good forward progression of the arc, and Shran is rapidly becoming my favorite character. Did Combs change his inflection for Shran, make his voice flatter? Or is it possible that I've watched every episode of DS9 since the last time Shran was on and therefore have too much Weyoun on the brain? Probably the latter.

Although I liked it, one nitpick to the Andorians: you come from Andor. Andor, not "Andoria". And I know it's canon because Kai Winn said "Andor" in "In the Cards". Eh, whatever. I guess it's "Andoria" now. Pardon me, I'm going to drive to Canadia to whine about it.

Was it me, or was Linda Park prettier than usual in this ep? Definitely more than last week, anyway. She's so much prettier in focus.

Kudos to the puppeteers on this episode. Shran's antennae even did a little twirl when he downed the shot of Andorian ale with Archer.

Shran could have told the Xindi that they were looking for T'Polonium! He's a great character and brought up some great points about the lack of assistance from the Vulcans. I like the possibility that the Vulcans aren't all that great shakes as allies, being rather self-centered. It gives an example of a way in which interacting with humans could improve them as a species.

Degra is a lousy project coordinator - he invites the Xindi reps to an 'urgent' meeting and grouses that some of them are late, only to announce that there will be a weapon test in three days. Then he makes the brass sit on the comlink for an hour while he runs some final tests. By the way, why are they still building prototypes if the final weapon will be completed in less than a month? They should have the design finalized before they start construction. No wonder that the others are losing patience with him.

The amount of damage done by the prototype to the target moon would have been more than enough to destroy all macroscopic life on Earth - if the Xindi would have been satisfied with a bioweapon that would have killed all the humans they should be satisfied with the Death Star as it stands. After all, if you can kill all the life on a planet by blowing, say, 1/100 (in "reality", much less) of its volume off, why go through the headache of making your weapon thousands of times more powerful than it needs to be? It's no less effective as a doomsday weapon if it kills you 100% dead vs. 10,000% dead.

Heh. I was just thinking that the color scheme on the Andorian ship (blues/greys) was a little over the top, with the blue skin and blue blood and all. Like painting your house in flesh tones. But then I remembered all the apartments I've lived in that were 'builder's tan', so maybe we do do that!

Maybe the planet is Andor and their region of space is Andoria? I dunno - I'm so TOS ignorant that it didn't even register until someone else pointed it out to me.

Overall, I thought the episode was very enjoyable. Although it's more than a little discouraging to see Quantum fooled week after week, I gotta love Shran.

It was a small moon, though. Earth is much bigger. Their death ray would still be impressive, but it still wouldn't (Hey Baby, Wanna) Kill All Humans. And as we learned in "Twilight", nothing less than our complete extermination will make the Xindi happy.

A small moon, yes, but also a small weapon. Since it would have fit in the Enterprise's cargo bay, it's much smaller than the final planetbuster size that we saw in 'Twilight'. I'm assuming that the damage scales up along with the size of the ship: if the large model can do to Earth what this one did to the target moon, we're hosed, 'failure' or not. Killing the life on the surface of the planet is orders of magnitude easier than actually making the entire planet explode. I know that the Xindi hate us and all, but that's just overkill (although it does make for dramatic CGI sequences). At the other extreme, one could argue that even destroying a home planet utterly doesn't guarantee the extermination of a spacefaring species - the Xindi themselves seem to have hung on pretty well, minus a species or so.

keckler- I meant that Andorian females (admittedly, we've seen only a couple) are taller and larger built than the males, who tend to be small and slight. There's been a lot of fanwankery- admittedly, mostly based on the antennae- that Andorians are somehow insectoid (no relation to Xindi, of course), and the idea of larger females may certainly be linked to that.

By the way, Archer and Shran stealing the weapon gets Archer's Xindi scientist pal out of hot water- otherwise, they may have checked it and figured out that he was the cause of the problem. Of course, he could have blamed it on being rushed- and maybe that was the real cause (I don't recall exactly)- and I doubt this was Archer's main concern, but it's a nice touch.

Gilmel- I think that the bending of alliances, conflicts of interests, and so on, do make for an interesting "how the Federation was formed" story. And, as it happens, we know that more than a century later, all of the kinks in relations between Humans, Vulcans, Andorians, Tellarites, and others was still not worked out.

By the way- is "Andor" an Earth word, like "Vulcan" and "Alpha Centauri," whether as a star and/or a mythological character?

Well, the Xindi homeworld was already geologically unstable - they probably saw some disaster coming long before the war that caused the planet's destruction, making it easier to draw up planetary evacuation plans. Earth? Not so much.

I spent a lot of the commercial time of this episode thinking about that, especially before I figured out what the Andorians were up to (so about 5 minutes). I'd never really thought about why Humans teamed up with the Vulcans to form the Federation despite all the problems they've had and the lack of assistance they've gotten on this mission.

Other than the obviousness of Shran's plan for the weapon, I enjoyed this episode. I do wish they didn't have such a history of sexism, however, since I kept interpreting Malcolm's poor treatment of his Andorian assistant as sexism rather than generaldistrust of her crew (especially when he asked her for coffee).

The special effects were impressive and I love Shran's storyline. I actually cheered when I saw there were previouslies.

Great episode!!!

Maybe Archer's thought process goes something like this. . .

"I know that every time I've let a potentially hostile alien race have free access to roam about the ship at will that they've taken the whole ship over. Maybe I should be more careful this time with Shran and his gang? Nah, every time we lose the ship we manage to retake it within 45 minutes TV-time. It's a little irritating, but not really a big deal."

I must have liked this episode even more than I thought. I've been sitting here trying to come up with anything I didn't particularly care for, and I can't think of anything off the top of my head.

Things I did like, though -- that great shot of Archer with Shran's antenna in front of him on the viewscreen, Trip's amused/snarky "I'll let you two get acquainted," his conversation with T'Pol, Archer's trick at the end, the Andorians working together with the humans genuinely helping even while deceiving, and lots more.

I actively love and look forward to this show now. It's come a long way from when my best friend had to practically demand that I sit down and watch it with him.

BWAHHH!!

Good episode. Actually had my attention for the full 47 minutes. I actually liked the Trip/T'Pol interaction - nicely understated. They come across as friends ... and maybe more! (emphasis added in case you have a Kevlar hat)

I'm going to say it....if this show is cancelled now, I will be Seriously. Pissed.

"Enterprise" has come a long way this season, especially with the last six episodes. Quite frankly, I'd rather watch ENT than "West Wing" (damn NBC for taking a great show and screwing it up beyond belief).



Heh heh...I just had a mental image of Degra on "The Apprentice". Heh heh. Yes, I'm a geek. :-)

I honestly loved this episode. Thought it was wonderful. And it wasn't just the enthusiasm of my drunk friend on the couch next to me spilling over!! Sure the Andorians being duplicitous was predictable, but I didn't care. I heart Shran! I thought it was wonderful that every single line between Reed and that smokin' hot Andorian broad was a total double entendre. Torpedoes. Heh. Mr. belsum and drunk friend kept speculating on the color of her nipples.... Anyway, I hope we see some fall-out within the Xindi from Degra's spectacular failure. Is next week new?

Next week is a repeat (of Twilight I think) so that may be why no preview this time. But, of course, they could have done a preview of the repeat or a 'coming in two weeks' preview of the next new episode.

However, after the opening credits for America's Next Top HoochieModel (heh, heh, heh!), they ran a UPN sweeps preview and a quick clip of Enterprise was included in that. (Just want to add that, no, I did not watch America's Next Top HoochieModel! It's just that the remote had fallen on the floor slightly out of the reach of my fingertips and I had not yet rolled off the couch to retrieve it.)


No, the Vulcans haven't gone out of their way to offer assistance in hunting down the Xindi, but, to be fair, they do have a good excuse for not sending ships into the Expanse since the Vulcan ships that have gone there have come to rather bad ends. During the scene where Shran was taunting T'Pol about the lack of help from her people, I thought that he was also trying to goad her or Archer into telling him why the Vulcans have stayed away. I was actually surprised that Archer managed to keep his mouth shut about Vulcans being allergic to Trellium-D. Wouldn't the Andorians love to have that information?

I'll meet you at the border, Cleo. (I think in the early TOS eps, they refer to Mr. Spock as "Vulcanian," which now seems so, so wrong.)

Random Thought: In close-ups, Shran looks a lot like Clint Eastwood, only, you know, blue.

The PromoMonkeys (tm somebody at TWW board) finally got one right: I did like the "Who's scamming who(m)?" aspect.

I like not knowing anything about an ep, even the info given in a trailer. I'll be skipping them from now on.

I didn't like Jeffrey Combs as Shran. I will always see him as Weyoun (and to a lesser extent Brunt) which isn't really fair, but tough.

You mean they kept us guessing? OK by me.

Now that you mention it, Eastwood it is. I'm wondering- is his voice much different than Weyoun's?

belsum, a drunk friend? You should've tried pissing off random people on the internet :-)

That was Granville Van Dusen playing the Andorian General; he's also played a Klingon in the episode where Archer was on trial, as well as had roles on both The Young and the Restless and the former Port Charles. He's very good at playing bad, in other words!

It was an exciting and action-packed episode. I really enjoy seeing those hot-blooded Andorians, though, and especially the chance to see Jeffrey Combs. I wouldn't mind seeing some Tellarites though.

My money is on Shran for the encrypted transmission, although it could have been Talas.

I thought it was fairly good episode. Jeffrey Combs as Shran is superb. His scenes with Archer and the other crew members really helped carry the episode. Thank god Berman & Braga noticed how good he is and has been having Shran make frequent guest appearances.

I'm also glad they made the Andorans multi-dimensional. Some have bad intentions, like the General, but some are decent folk too like Shran and Talas. You could tell they had some reluctance in following their orders. It would have been all too easy to make them all paranoid, untrustworthy, one-dimensional characters.

You could tell that Archer really liked and respected Shran as a person, and wanted to trust him. (Even though deep down he knew there was a potential for betrayal) And I believe Shran feels the same way about Archer.

As for who sent the transmission, it would be most likely Shran. Even though I sensed that Talas had some empathy for the Humans, I am not sure if she'd be willing to risk losing a career, a court-martial, and be tossed in prison by the Imperial Guard for one gesture of goodwill.

Shran is older, and a seasoned veteran in the Guard. He has shown a propensity to maybe disobey an order once and awhile. And he also has a degree of respect for humans after working with them more than once. He is more likely in my opinion to do something like secretly send Archer the scans.

Oooooh! Now I understand.

I really liked this ep, and (I hate to admit it) it looks like what we've been snarking about in regards to security may have been a mini season arc all the time:

1) Enterprise was originally on an exploratory/diplomatic/first contact mission, so aliens were allowed on board without feeling antagonized by tight security.

2) Reed makes a passing comment about this in "Minefield last season.

3) Hellena Handjob shows that CQ is too trusting in letting aliens have the run of the ship.

4) Asks Reed to check the Triannons in "Chosen Realm" for weapons, yet still lets them roam the ship. Reed looks perturbed. Digimon takes over the ship.

5) In this ep, Reed tries to stand up to CQ about the security issue and gets shot down. T'Pol also comments about CQ being too trusting.

6) CQ was less trusting than he let on.

I'm beginning to wonder what else is part of subtle arc? Trip's disassociation with his grief? T'Pol having the strength of wet kleenex? Quantum being an ass? Or am I giving Bermaga too much credit here?

Btw, was it just me or was the explosion in engineering that tossed Trip off over a railing the same scene from "Similitude"?

ETA:

Considering how snarky Talas was, I wonder if Andorian females are like black widow spiders and praying mantises during mating? Hee.

That's the only way I knew who it was - when I first heard him on last night's episode. He was also on an epi of CSI - I kept thinking I recognized the voice, but couldn't put a face to it.

It didn’t suck – so I guess it was good. Good direction, special effects weren’t shabby, and the character interactions were done well. Quantum is still a tool concerning security measures, though. Considering how near-paranoid we’re getting in the 21st century about security, you’d think there would be some reflection of that.

And at this point, who isn’t in the Expanse? “Oh, hi Shran, glad you could drop by the Expanse. You should definitely check out those cool Dyson Spheres - - and get some souvenirs before you leave. The Klingons should be visiting in a couple of weeks.”

I have watched this show since it first came on and have enjoyed practically every episode. But, for the first time (and I read through this whole thread to see if anybody else was bothered by this), I was really distracted by the garish, loud-colored velour catsuits that T'Pol had on, and she had a different one on for every scene she was in! She started out with hot pink, then in the next scene she had on a bright electric blue one, then she had a loud magenta one on, then back to the hot pink at the end. The only color missing was lime green! Meanwhile, everyone else had their same costumes on during the entire episode, in muted blues and grays. So my eyes got riveted to the glaring brightness every time T'Pol came in and made me lose the thread of what was going on in the episode! Does T'Pol always change her catsuit that many times in the course of an episode, or is this a first? And you would think, that being a Vulcan, she would be more into earth tones than brightly wild.

Great point! I didn't even think about that. I kept wondering why Shran was giving Enterprise access to all their scans and whatnot. It seemed like an awful of information. Yet not one of his crew questioned him when he ordered the access. Archer would've totally had to deal with insubordination and doubt.



Oh dammit nelamm I forgot! Next time. I hear there's this site, something to do with cooking and food, I bet she would love to be F'd with.

Krysalis, I noticed that. But I worked out the timeline to explain that it was a new suit per day.

belsum, perhaps a crew from a more dictatorial society doesn't question as much.