Slick Dungeon's Dusty Tomes and Terrible Films

The Andorian Incident raised the stakes for this series so you might think we’d have an exciting follow up. But this next episode, Star Trek Enterprise: Breaking the Ice gives us a much quieter story. We learn more about how life on Enterprise is lived, get a glimpse into T’Pol’s personal life, and Captain Archer has to prove himself to the Vulcans. I’ll be reviewing the eighth episode of the series here today.

If you want to know the chronology of the episodes I’ll be watching, I’ll be going down this list. If you notice I’ve missed an episode, let me know and I’ll correct it. And if you missed my first post about Star Trek, you can check that out right here.

Talented kids

In the mess hall, Commander Tucker is eating with Dr. Phlox. They are looking at some artwork kids from an elementary school have sent them. Phlox calls T’Pol over to show her the pictures. The drawings come from Trip’s nephew’s fourth grade class. And even T’Pol is impressed with the creativity. Although if a Vulcan can look insulted, she does look a bit insulted when Trip asks her if she wants the one that seems to be a drawing of her as a green Vulcan.

The ship drops out of warp and Captain Archer announces that everyone on board should look out the window. Off the starboard side is a massive ice comet. On the bridge it’s confirmed Vulcans have not charted this, which means Enterprise has discovered it. Mayweather immediately names it Archer’s comet. I’m not star ship captain but that must have felt amazing. Enterprise goes in to take a closer look.

Messages and late night snacks

Not only is this an undiscovered comet, it’s the biggest one humans have ever seen.T’Pol is not impressed.

Speaking of T’Pol she goes back to her quarters and receives a message. It’s hard to read the expression on a Vulcan’s face but it looks like something concerning is in the message.

Back at the mess hall, Trip grabs a slice of pecan pie. He then goes to a replicator and orders milk. At the beginning of the series, it didn’t seem like they had one of these but it seems they do. However, it’s more limited than in future series, and Enterprise, at this point, does have a chef on board.

T’Pol grabs a tea for herself and joins Trip. He goes on about how delicious the pie is. T’Pol doesn’t want to try it because it’s mostly sugar. Trip asks if Vulcans have a sweet tooth and T’Pol just looks on in silence. She also keeps reading something on a tablet and Trip asks if she’s okay. She says she’s fine and leaves.

Enter Captain Vanik

Captain Archer decides they should get a sample from the comet. There’s a mineral on it that not much is known about. They can’t just transport a sample so Lieutenant Malcolm Reed and Ensign Mayweather prepare a rig to go down there. They have mining equipment on board that can drill into the ice.

Hoshi detects a Vulcan ship nearby. Archer hails them and he speaks with a Captain Vanik. Vanik is perplexed by Archer’s interest in the comet. Vanik asks to stay and observe Enterprise’s activities. Archer calls T’Pol to his quarters so he can speak to her privately.

Archer asks T’Pol what the Vulcans are really doing there. She says they might just be curious. Archer says that doesn’t sound very Vulcan to him. But, I have to say, hang on a minute. Vulcans may suppress their emotions but they are a space faring race who encounter new species all the time. If that is not a signal of curiosity I don’t know what is. I think Archer is way off base to think they can’t be curious.

Archer does bring up a few times in the recent past where Vulcans have also showed up out of nowhere. So to be fair to Archer, he does have some right to be suspicious. He thinks they are basically checking up on the humans.

Exploring the comet and decoding messages

Reed and Mayweather land their shuttle on the comet. Mayweather is extra excited because he’s only seen snow a couple of times. And Reed thinks they should do something to commemorate the occasion. Mayweather tosses a couple ideas out like having a snowball fight but nothing seems quite right. Reed says they’ll figure it out once they get there.

Meanwhile on Enterprise, Trip runs diagnostics and finds an encrypted message was sent to T’Pol. Presumably this is the message she was reading earlier. This came from the Vulcan ship and Trip tells Archer about it. Archer says T’Pol promised to tell him if she spoke to the Vulcans. Trip asks if he should have Hoshi decrypt it and Archer says it’s top priority.

Archer looks really concerned here and I have to say this is like the third episode in a row where Archer is not sure if he should trust T’Pol. But she has proven her loyalty to her captain and her duty to Enterprise over and over in this series. I think in this episode, she is especially unfairly under suspicion. In fact, in the last episode alone, T’Pol proved her loyalty to Archer over the Vulcans in what could have started a war. She’s owed the benefit of the doubt here.

The class has questions

In what I can only call a cute and charming scene, Captain Archer makes the bridge crew on Enterprise answer questions from Miss Malvin’s fourth grade class at the Whorley Elementary school. We get to see a bit of everyone’s personality come out here. Archer tells the kids what they eat. He says it’s mostly what anyone on Earth eats at home. But he does mention a hydroponic greenhouse and says they can replicate certain foods with a protein resequencer. This is the early version of the famous replicator. Then he awkwardly answers a question about dating basically saying it’s allowed but complicated.

Another kid asks how they talk to aliens. Hoshi gets to answer this one and she talks about the universal translator but says she also has to step in sometimes. And in the funniest exchange, Archer makes Trip answer the question, “When you flush the toilet where does it go?”

It’s a hilariously awkward answer and Trip is mad he has to answer a “poop question.” But as Archer points out, it’s a perfectly valid question. If you want to know the answer, it’s basically that bio-matter is resequenced into materials they need.

Another kid asks about germs and Archer makes the mistake of letting Dr. Phlox answer this one. He answers right away but goes on and on and on as he’s wont to do.

Finally, Archer says they are sending pictures of the comet they discovered.

To some this might feel like a filler scene but for me, I love this scene. Astronauts currently answer questions from schools all the time. It’s an extremely human activity and would forward interest in space exploration. And we learn a lot in just a few minutes about the operations on Enterprise through the scene.

Do you want to build a snowman?

Did you guess Mayweather would build a snowman on the comet? Yeah, so did I. Reed and Mayweather are out there having fun when Archer asks them how they’re doing. And he reminds them they’re being observed. Mayweather and Reed both look a little guilty here. But I’ve got something to say about this.

We’ve had humans golf on the moon. If we really were out there in deep space exploring, we would obviously do stuff like build a snowman. It’s in human nature to do this. The Vulcans, having been around humans for quite some time now, would know, without a doubt, that humans give in to creative expression and fun all the time. Reed and Mayweather have nothing to be ashamed of. Build that snowman guys!

T’Pol’s message

Hoshi gives Trip the message. She left it in Vulcan but did not read it herself. She didn’t think it would be right. At least someone has T’Pol’s back here. But Trip, yeah he totally reads it. And finds out it’s of a very personal nature. To Trip’s credit he doesn’t tell Archer what it says, just that it’s personal. Archer wonders why it was encrypted though.

Trip also says if it was sent through regular channels and marked personal no one would have read it other than T’Pol. And now, Trip feels guilty even though it was an honest mistake. He tells Archer he’s going to tell T’Pol. Archer asks how that’s going to help.

And here’s why Trip is one of my favorites. Without hesitation he says, “It’s the right thing to do.” That’s enough for him. He wants to be able to look T’Pol in the eye without feeling guilty. One small thing to mention here though is Trip wouldn’t have read it at all if Archer had enough trust in T’Pol not to decrypt the message in the first place.

Trip’s apology and Vanik’s disapproval

Trip explains what happened to T’Pol but it does not go over well. T’Pol is clearly upset and for a Vulcan that’s saying something. T’Pol says the matter was urgent and they didn’t have time to go through regular channels. Trip says this looked really suspicious. But again, T’Pol is proving herself constantly. Trip also assures her he’s the only person on board who has read the letter.

T’Pol sees Dr. Phlox and he catches onto the fact something is bothering her. He advises her to talk to someone about it.

Archer tries to smooth things over with Vanik by inviting him to dinner.

On the comet they add Vulcan ears to the snowman and then they set off the charges so they can get their sample.

The dinner with Vanik goes as poorly as can be imagined. Let’s just say small talk doesn’t seem to be Vanik’s thing. Vanik is in fact, so rude, he had dinner before he even arrived on Enterprise. Archer tries everything but in the end he gets Vanik back to his ship as soon as possible. But he does let on he thinks the Vulcans are just watching over their shoulders all the time. Vanik is a hard dude to impress, that’s for sure.

Archer asks how long the Vulcans have been spying on them. Vanik says if they were spying, the humans wouldn’t know. Good point. Then Vanik says humans’ arrogance and inexperience are their true enemies. Then he says something in Vulcan to T’Pol. She doesn’t tell Trip what it meant.

Star Trek Enterprise: Breaking the actual Ice

The charges on the comet threw off the rotation of the comet. It’s going to be too hot for Reed and Mayweather in short order.

Meanwhile, T’Pol asks Trip to come to her quarters and talks to him about what was in her letter. Basically, she has an arranged marriage. Unless he leaves Enterprise immediately, her wedding plans will be canceled. She’s torn between her duty on Enterprise and her duty to her culture. Koss is the Vulcan she is supposed to marry but she’s only met him a handful of times.

Trip gets kind of high an mighty and says arranged marriages went out with slavery on Earth. To which I say, no that’s not correct, there are still arranged marriages in tons of places on Earth right now. Trip tells her she should consider what she wants. Finally, Trip asks if it occurred to her she might have already postponed this wedding a couple of times because that’s what she really wants. And he says it happens to humans all the time and maybe she is picking up some of our bad habits.

Climbing back up to the shuttle, Travis Mayweather hurts his knee but they make it to the pod. When they ignite the thrusters, the shuttle breaks through the ice and falls. The shuttle is stuck. Trip tries to pull them out but it doesn’t work and Reed and Mayweather are in a bit of danger.

Star Trek Enterprise: Breaking the Ice conclusion

In the end, there is an easy way to get Reed and Mayweather back. Captain Archer can ask for Vanik’s help. Archer does everything he can to avoid this until T’Pol points out Vanik is expecting Archer not to ask for help. Basically, if Archer doesn’t ask for help when he needs it, the Vulcans are going to know humans can’t hack it in space. Naturally, Archer does ask Vanik. Vanik uses a tractor beam and Reed and Mayweather are saved. Vanik leaves and human and Vulcan relations progress.

As for T’Pol’s little problem, she sends a message back to Vulcan, breaking off her engagement. And, she eats some pecan pie. Human and Vulcan relations progress.

While not a lot happens this episode, I enjoyed this one a lot. It’s got a certain charm to it and we get to see some character development. I just wish the crew would accept T’Pol already, like what does the woman have to do? But anyway, we’ve been introduced in this episode to a couple characters who will return in the series and become much more important in the long run.

The next episode is titled Civilization and that one gets pretty complicated. Watch for my review next week!

Star Trek Enterprise: The Andorian Incident is one of the best episodes of the entire series. There is a big twist in this episode and I can’t give a full review without spoiling it. So if you have not yet watched the episode, do so before reading this post.

If you want to know the chronology of the episodes I’ll be watching, I’ll be going down this list. If you notice I’ve missed an episode, let me know and I’ll correct it. And if you missed my first post about Star Trek, you can check that out right here.

A peaceful retreat threatened

The episode does not start on Enterprise. It doesn’t even start in space. Instead it starts at a Vulcan retreat where several people are meditating. Someone bangs loudly on the doors and several blue aliens with antennae on their heads enter the room. We don’t know it yet but these are Andorians. Not only do these people become important in the episode, they will play a significant role in several episodes in the series.

On Enterprise Commander “Trip” Tucker complains to Captain Archer that they are only looking at things Vulcans have already discovered on their star charts. Tucker feels like it’s not true exploration but Archer does point out humans have never been to these places. But Archer also adds that there is a proto-star that isn’t on the Vulcan charts. In other words, these star charts are not fully complete.

T’Pol enters the room and Archer points out a planet they are near. T’Pol is familiar with it. Archer knows there is a small outpost on the planet. T’Pol says it is called P’Jem. It’s an ancient spiritual retreat for meditation and kolinahr.  Kolinahr is the practice of purging one’s mind of all emotion. A sacred state in Vulcan culture. Archer wants to visit. T’Pol thinks it’s a bad idea and Trip assumes that’s because Vulcans think humans smell bad. But ultimately T’Pol agrees and looks up the proper customs humans should follow for the visit.

Infinite diversity in infinite combinations

At the mess hall T’Pol has lunch with Dr. Phlox. Phlox assumes T’Pol will be excited to go have a look at some of her own ancient history. And he figures she’ll be excited to introduce the Vulcans to the humans she is working with. But T’Pol is hesitant because it might feel a bit awkward if she is showing these human ruffians around a sacred monastery. We also see a bit of difference in outlook between Dr. Phlox and T’Pol here. T’Pol cuts and eats her celery with a knife and fork while Phlox just grabs food off her plate without asking until after he has done it.

Phlox admits he can feel out of place among the humans too but he keeps in mind the Vulcan motto, “Infinite diversity in infinite combinations.” And he points out diversity is a celebration of differences. Therefore the Vulcans should welcome the humans. And I have to say, I think that’s a good motto. And if you are a space explorer it’s an excellent motto to keep in mind.

Phlox then asks her what the mission of Enterprise is. She says, “Our mission is to make contact with those who humans consider new life and civilizations.” Phlox points out this is to seek infinite diversity. And Phlox says if that’s the case, a cultural exchange between humans and Vulcans is just a furtherance of their mission. Hand one to Dr. Phlox in the wisdom category here.

A surprise visit

While heading to the shuttle Trip is appalled the Vulcans don’t know they are coming. T’Pol says she couldn’t hail them because these Vulcans consider technology a distraction from their spiritual pursuits. Archer is worried about dropping in unannounced but T’Pol reassures him it will be fine as long as they observe the proper protocols. And she rattles off a long list of rules to which Archer says, “I thought Starfleet training was tough.”

When they first arrive things do look peaceful. But there is evidence the door was damaged which seems unusual. T’Pol writes that off to old age. But then no one answers the door. Archer walks in anyway. There, a Vulcan monk is in the room, standing silent. T’Pol speaks to him for a moment. She says the monk told her the entire order is in kolinahr and can’t be disturbed. T’Pol then observes the protocols by asking for the offering of the J’Kah stone as is normal.

The Vulcan leaves the room to get it but things seem off here. First, T’Pol notices a statue not sitting in its correct position. Then she says in the main atrium, where they are, there should be more than one member of the order present. Trip shrugs it off with a joke about calling Starfleet command. But T’Pol says the Vulcan elder also seems agitated. I don’t think any human could possibly have picked up on that.

To investigate further, Archer starts wandering the room and talking loudly. He never says this in the episode but I think her figures he can get away with being rude because Vulcans already think humans can be impulsive. But what he is really doing is trying to find out the problem.

Archer finds an intruder

Trip and T’Pol both pick up on what Archer is doing and walk around themselves taking everything in. Trip finds a broken pot which the elder says is there because of the process of kolinahr which can be violent. The elder then shows Archer the stone of J’Kah. Archer observes the protocol but then loudly asks what it all means. In case we had any doubt, we know this is a delay for time because T’Pol told him exactly what it was in the last scene. Archer continues to wander and badly misinterprets what it means just to delay further.

The gambit pays off because Archer notices on of the Andorians in a reflection. Archer gives a hand signal to Trip to let him know to be ready to fight. Trip gets closer to the captain and the Vulcan elder asks them to leave. Trip and Archer get the jump on the Andorian who is hiding behind a screen. They tackle him and his gun flies out of his hand. T’Pol grabs it but three more Andorians enter the room, all armed and pointing their weapons at our heroes. They’ve been captured!

Interrogation

The Vulcan elder, T’Pol and the two humans are put in a room with the other Vulcans from the monastery. The Andorians are angry at the Vulcans because there was a Vulcan in the landing party. The Vulcan elder points out he didn’t know because it was an Earth vessel. Andorians are not familiar with Earth and Archer tells them it’s where they are from. An Andorian we will soon come to know as Commander Shran asks Archer why they came there. And he refers to humans as “pink skins” which seems to be derogatory.

Archer maintains he only came to see the sanctuary. Shan demands to know what Archer’s mission is and he asks about surveillance equipment. Archer explains T’Pol is their science officer but Shan assumes that means Archer is working with the Vulcans. Archer asks what Shan is doing there and Shan gives him an elbow to the ribs. Trip is quite angry about this but there’s not much he can do.

Shan says they scanned Enterprise and thinks it’s a well armed ship for people who came for a visit. Then Shan claims T’Pol and the humans prove this place is far more than a sanctuary. Once they leave the room Trip says, “Now these guys are agitated.” He’s always there for the humor isn’t he?

The Andorians

T’Pol says the Andorians are known for their volatile and suspicious nature. One of the Vulcans explains Andorians and Vulcans are from neighboring systems and have been in conflict for years. T’Pol further explains these aliens are envious of Vulcan reasoning and technology and believe the Vulcans are planning to invade the Andorians. But there has been a treaty. However, some factions still are bent on conquest.

Trip asks what these guys want with a 3000 year old temple. The Vulcan elder explains the Andorians think they are hiding a long range sensor array. But he assures Archer there is no technology on the planet. It seems these Andorians have made a couple of visits to this temple already. They go through the place, cause some chaos looking for the technology and then leave empty handed. But with the arrival of the humans they are now even more suspicious than before.

Standard Procedures

Back on Enterprise Malcolm Reed is telling Hoshi about an alien ship they picked up on their scanners. He’s wondering why the shuttle didn’t pick this up. Hoshi asks why they would even bother to scan when they are going to an ancient monastery. Reed makes a good point, saying it should be standard procedure to do so. This show is still establishing some of the long running rules we know from later series.

Reed is also worried because he hasn’t heard from the landing party. Hoshi says you can’t expect them to check in every ten minutes and Reed says that also should be standard procedure. Hoshi assures Reed he is probably overreacting.

More interrogation

Shan beats Captain Archer pretty mercilessly trying to find out where the sensor array is. It doesn’t gain Archer any points having a Vulcan with him. But its complicated for Archer to explain her presence in a way that makes sense to the Andorians.

Enterprise tries to contact Archer. Shan answers it and tells Reed that Captain Archer is a prisoner of the Andorian Imperial Guard. And the Andorians smash all the communicators. Shan also tells Reed if they make any moves with Enterprise he’ll kill the hostages.

Reed does the right thing and preps a shuttle. Mayweather is worried but Reed says he doesn’t take orders from a comm voice unless it belongs to the captain. And Reed tells Hoshi to look up the Andorians.

In their search, the Andorians still don’t find any evidence of technology in the monastery and they become even more agitated.

The prisoners

The Vulcan elder asks T’Pol how long she’s been on the Earth ship. She says it’s been 9 weeks and 4 days so that’s how long Enterprise has been out there in case you wondered. The Vulcan elder says the smell must be intolerable but T’Pol says she got used to it and was given a nasal numbing agent. So I guess the Vulcans really do think humans smell bad.

Archer is brought back to the room with the prisoners where Trip tends to his wounds. And Archer says these Andorians are going to start killing people if they don’t find what they want. And he mentions the contact from Reed and tells them Shan said if a rescue comes, they will start killing people. T’Pol says Reed wouldn’t be that reckless but Archer says he didn’t recruit his tactical officer to sit on his butt when he’s threatened. Probably a smart move on Archer’s part. Archer knows its only a matter of time before Reed comes and things fall into chaos.

The Vulcan elder says there is another option. A transmitter that is very old in the catacombs. But Archer catches on to the fact the Vulcans said there was no technology here. Trip and one of the Vulcan monks go to find it. But the Vulcan elder also says if the Andorians find these tunnels, they will damage Vulcan culture in ways humans can’t understand.

Plans and transmitters

Trip and the Vulcan do find the transmitter but along the way, Trip notices a sealed off door.

Meanwhile, the Andorians continue to try to find the sensor array while the prisoners attempt to come up with an escape plan. T’Pol and Archer also have a moment together and share a blanket to keep from freezing. T’Pol at first says the cold is preferable to the odor but she ultimately gives in. But she does convince Archer this conflict is larger than this monastery. Archer still sees it as the Andorians bullying the Vulcans though. T’Pol says Vulcans don’t respond to violence with violence but Archer says under the circumstances a little violence might help. He does say he’d like to find a peaceful solution but he doesn’t think that will happen.

Archer then says he needs to know he can count on T’Pol when the time comes. Considering what has happened so far in the series already, I think this is pretty unfair to T’Pol. She’s had multiple instances where she could have betrayed or gone against Archer but every single time she has sided with him. She should really be given the benefit of the doubt at this point. And she makes a point to remind him she has never disobeyed orders.

Plans are made

Enterprise does pick up a faint signal from the planet. This is Commander Tucker on the old transmitter. He explains the situation. Reed asks if Tucker is certain they can’t negotiate. Trip tells him the last negotiation resulted in Archer coming back with a face full of bruises. It’s still early on in the series but if there is one thing that is certain about Malcolm Reed, it’s that he does not appreciate it when someone does violence to his captain.

The prisoners try to figure out a way out of the building. Archer hopes the catacombs can help and he asks about the reliquary. The Vulcans say it’s ancient and no one has been in it in years. Trip mentions a stairwell he saw near it. This stairwell is right under the atrium where the Andorians are.

The Andorians themselves are fast running out of patience. But Shan is absolutely sure he’s right. And out of nowhere, Archer calls for the Andorians and tells Shan he needs to speak with him alone.

Star Trek Enterprise: The Andorian Incident

Archer uses his time with the Andorians as a distraction. He basically jokes about how annoying it is to be stuck in a room full of Vulcans. This earns him more beatings but it does allow him to signal Trip who is waiting in the stairwell under the atrium. The prisoners now have their plan of attack with the element of surprise.

Reed takes a landing party to be transported down to the planet. Several of them are hesitant to get in the thing but they do it. The Andorians pick up on the energy fluctuation and rush to the room with the prisoners. Reed and company go up to the tunnel where the stairwell is. And they blow the door off and get the drop on the Andorians. But two of them run down into the catacombs.

Archer goes after them and they head to the reliquary. And here is where the true Andorian incident takes place. Archer stumbles on an actual sensor array. This whole time, the Vulcans were lying and they were the ones who had violated the treaty. This throws the whole episode on its head and we realize the Vulcan monks are not so innocent after all.

Star Trek Enterprise: The Andorian Incident conclusion

Star Trek Enterprise: The Andorian Incident ends with Archer having T’Pol get photographic proof. One of the Vulcan monks tries to stop her but Archer knocks him out. T’Pol gives Shan the scans of the place and she communicates up to Enterprise not to attack the Andorian ship when it leaves the planet. Shan tells Archer they are in his debt. He doesn’t seem happy about it at all.

Star Trek Enterprise: The Andorian Incident really does launch the series into new territory. The humans already didn’t entirely trust the Vulcans but now there’s evidence of them violating a treaty they negotiated. And while Andorians are not friends to the humans, there has been contact made. Archer comes to trust T’Pol a bit more because of incident and Reed knows he needs to restructure some things to make away missions safer.

It’s a great episode and quite entertaining. In the next episode, titled Breaking the Ice, we’re going to learn even more about T’Pol and her relationship with the Vulcans.

Until next time, live long and prosper.

Star Trek Enterprise: Terra Nova presents the crew with a new kind of challenge. This problem is not a confrontation with an alien species, it’s not exploration of a new planet, it’s not even a conflict among the crew. This is a colony of lost humans who no longer understand who they are and where they came from. It’s an episode that sets up an intriguing premise but doesn’t quite deliver the goods.

If you want to know the chronology of the episodes I’ll be watching, I’ll be going down this list. If you notice I’ve missed an episode, let me know and I’ll correct it. And if you missed my first post about Star Trek, you can check that out right here.

Mayweather is fascinated

Ensign Travis Mayweather is what is known as a “boomer.” This means he was born traveling out in space rather than on Earth. And as such, he’s had a fascination with one of the earliest human space colonies. At the beginning of the episode he is looking through old photos of these colonists along with Hoshi and Captain Archer. It seems this colony had been well established but there was a sudden loss in communication and no one has heard from these people in decades.

Mayweather is especially excited because he knows he’s about to get answers to one of the biggest space mysteries known to humans. The Enterprise will soon be landing there and seeing if they can make contact with the humans again.

The legend of Terra Nova

Captain Archer, Commander Tucker, and Science Officer T’Pol are eating together in the Captain’s mess. T’Pol, despite having spent significant time on Earth is not familiar with Terra Nova or its history. Tucker is shocked by this news and says humans had to learn all about the early Vulcan expeditions. When T’Pol asks him to name one he just says, “History was never my best subject.”

Archer tells T’Pol it was called the “great experiment.” It was to see if humans could colonize deep space. Apparently there was already a colony on the moon called New Berlin, something called Utopia Planitia on Mars and even some asteroid colonies. But this was all within our own solar system. Deep space had not yet been explored by humans. And he describes a nine year journey to get to the livable planet where Terra Nova was established.

While these colonists’ transmissions were followed at the beginning, no one has heard from them in more than seventy years. Things had become strained when Earth wanted to send a second crew out to the planet. Tensions built and suddenly communications stopped. And getting there to see what happened would have taken too much time. T’Pol does ask why humans didn’t ask Vulcans to help. Tucker says asking favors from Vulcans comes with too high a price. In a show of encouragement T’Pol does says she’s learned humans are resourceful and thinks the colony might still be there.

This is Terra Nova

The Enterprise gets to the planet which looks very much like Earth. Mayweather is ecstatic because he promised his dad he’d see the place. Archer tries to establish communications but there is no response. There are no bio signs but the colony itself is intact. And T’Pol detects some surface radiation. Where that came from is not clear. The colony itself appears empty but they do decide to go down there anyway.

The away team is Captain Archer, T’Pol, Lieutenant Malcolm Reed, and Ensign Mayweather. On the planet they do find an empty town with old Earth artifacts like bicycles, welcome mats and housing units. They explore around a bit. T’Pol gets enough readings to know the radiation levels seventy years ago would have been lethal. But there are no bodies to be found.

T’Pol thinks they left before it could affect them. But Archer points out the housing units were built out of ship parts. There was no return trip possible.

We’re not alone

While exploring, Reed sees someone in the trees running around. Reed pursues this person and Archer and T’Pol race to catch up to him. The person runs into a cave and Archer asks Mayweather to grab some flashlights and meet them there.

Reed and Archer go into the caves where they see an armadillo like creature burrowing in the caves. T’Pol and Mayweather stand guard outside. In the caves Archer and Reed find evidence of human tools and see a bunch of faces staring at them. These faces are covered with rock and dirt but it’s apparent they are human. Archer tells these people they aren’t going to hurt them. One of them pops out with a gun pointed at them and Reed stuns him with his phase pistol. So much for not hurting them I guess.

Another one of these people chases Reed and Archer through the caves, firing at them. Archer tells T’Pol they are under attack and asks for help navigating to an exit. Even with the help, they get turned around but Malcolm gets shot in the process. He’s injured but alive. On the surface one of these people attack Mayweather but T’Pol stuns the attacker. Archer escapes the caves but has to leave Malcolm. Archer, T’Pol and Mayweather make it to the shuttle where T’Pol confirms these were humans attacking.

Back on Enterprise

Mayweather is confused by why humans would attack other humans. But I have to say, the crew of the Enterprise did sort of show up out of nowhere then shot a guy and ran away. Seems pretty hostile to me. And I guess the caverns were too thick to find the bio signs but I thought the sensors would have been more sensitive. Still, it’s early days of the technology in this series so I suppose I can give them that. But after the run in with the humans in caves, the sensors can pick up at least 52 bio signs.

Archer realizes if these people are the descendants of the original colonists and they’ve been living in these caves for such a long time, they might actually think humans are aliens. In the situation room, Archer, Tucker, T’Pol, Mayweather, and Hoshi start to piece a puzzle together. They figure these people headed underground after whatever caused the radiation and have been living that way ever since, feeding on the underground flora and fauna.

Unfortunately. Lieutenant Reed is too deep in the caves to be transported out. But they do find a way to get back into the caves without going through the whole tunnel complex. However, this would involve using more weapons on the colonists. Archer has a moment of self doubt realizing if he can’t make first contact with humans, he has no business being out in space. He decides to bring Dr. Phlox with him to the surface and tasks T’Pol and Tucker with figuring out where the radiation came from. He also asks Hoshi and Mayweather to finish their data buffer to find out any final transmissions from the colony.

Back on Terra Nova

Archer and Phlox surrender to the humans on the planet and ask to see Malcolm. The humans are surprised to see Dr. Phlox. They speak in a bit of an odd dialect and don’t seem to think they are humans. They also speak in a lot of rock and tunnel metaphors, saying things like, “You track from Earth, we lived on the over-side, we hid from poison rain.” And they call anything they think is a lie “shale.”

Archer tries to convince them of the truth of what happened in the past. Dr. Phlox is able to diagnose one of the older people here that she has lung cancer based on his biomedical scan. And he tells her it’s easily cured. Man, wouldn’t that be a nice world to live in if we could easily cure lung cancer?

Archer tells her they can help but they have to take her to their “sky ship.” The woman and her son reluctantly agree to go. But they won’t release Malcolm until they come back. Seems fair to me since Malcolm is in pain but not imminent danger and they did shoot and stun a couple of these colonists.

Terra Novans learn the truth

On Enterprise they treat the woman, show her pictures of the original colonists, and try to convince them of where they came from. The people are still skeptical but T’Pol does find out the radiation came from a large asteroid hitting the planet causing radioactive clouds.

On the planet, Reed recognizes the make and model of the weapons the guards are using. And he eats some of the “digger” meat. And he starts to experience a little of the culture these people have developed, including music they play.

Hoshi finds the last transmission. It seems the leaders of the colony think they’ve been attacked by humans or Vulcans. This would have been the last human message the Novans have seen. Only the youngest kids survived the rain and they know their parents blame humans for the death they see. So they think they are not human and that humans are the enemy.

The real problem

Dr. Phlox cures the cancer of the woman named Nadet. But there is a larger issue. The underground water supply is contaminated by the radiation. Basically, these people are going to need to move from their homes or die. Only the smallest kids survived the original onslaught of radiation. So only the oldest of them, including Nadet, has any memory of when they lived on the surface. But Nadet is still skeptical. However, T’Pol points out that she and Dr. Phlox are not human and they have both helped the Novans.

Archer does manage to find a photo of one of Nadet’s ancestors. And she’s holding a daughter named Bernadette. This is the earliest picture of Nadet. Archer is angry but he only vents his anger privately to T’Pol. She suggests they use stun grenades to collapse the tunnels, forcing the people to move. Archer is dead set against this and says they have to convince them to come back to Earth. But T’Pol points out doing this would wipe out the culture they have developed. There doesn’t seem to be any easy solution here.

Meanwhile, Tucker has found a radiation free southern continent on the planet. Archer asks him to look for similar cave structures to what they live in currently. Archer explains this to Nadet and her son. He agrees to return Malcolm if the members of Enterprise promise to leave. Archer agrees but asks the man to talk to his people and tell them the problem on the planet and the possible solution of moving to the southern continent.

That’s a problem

When the shuttle lands back on the planet, it sinks through the ground into some of the tunnels. They are precariously placed. Jamin, Nadet’s son has to help Archer navigate to Malcolm. There’s a sequence where they have to help one of the Novans who is trapped under a tree but together they rescue the man. Jamin comes to trust Archer and does tell his people about the southern continent. Ultimately they agree to go.

Back at the Captain’s mess, Archer, T’Pol, Mayweather, and Tucker are having dinner. Mayweather asks T’Pol if she’s heard about famous Earth explorers who went missing, including Amelia Earhart. She’s unaware of any of them. Mayweather is thrilled they not only solved the mystery of Terra Nova but he also gets to put together the report about the incident which is sure to become famous on Earth.

Star Trek Enterprise: Terra Nova conclusion

Star Trek Enterprise: Terra Nova is one of the slower moving episodes of the series. While the problem it presents is interesting, especially the tension about needing to move the Novans, it all comes together just a bit too easily. The solution is found too quickly and I think it would have been far more interesting if the team had to decide between sending these people back to Earth or leaving them there to die. That’s a really tough and complicated problem. But the convenience of having a similar environment on a southern continent makes the solution just sort of appear without much effort on the part of the crew.

And while there was an interesting problem here, Star Trek Enterprise: Terra Nova does little to further the plot of the overall series. We get to see Archer overcome a challenge but he’s done that before. There’s not much other character development here, although we do get to learn a little bit about Mayweather.

In the next episode we’ll get a lot more background and the beginnings of an intriguing ongoing conflict in The Andorian Incident.

Until next time, live long and prosper.

With some long running threats established, the crew assembled, and some incredible moments of exploration and diplomacy, it’s time for some humor. Star Trek Enterprise: Unexpected is the fifth episode of the series. I’ll be reviewing that episode today. And I have to say, it delivers on the title. It still allows for some diplomacy and a mild bit of action but it’s a much different tone than the episodes so far.

If you want to know the chronology of the episodes I’ll be watching, I’ll be going down this list. If you notice I’ve missed an episode, let me know and I’ll correct it. And if you missed my first post about Star Trek, you can check that out right here.

An unexpected shower

The episode starts with Captain Archer showering in his quarters. I never really thought about where the Star Trek crew might shower but a sudden complication reminds us the show takes place in space. The gravity turns off and Archer is floating and the water around him has turned into floating bubbles. The special effects here hold up pretty well. An annoyed Archer contacts the bridge to ask what is going on. Lieutenant Reed says they are having trouble with the gravity plating on E deck. In case you want to know, it seems E deck is the deck the Captain’s quarters are on. Archer asks when it will be fixed and Reed tells him that Commander Tucker thinks it will be any minute.

That minute was right now and Archer slams down to the floor. This scene made me chuckle. It’s the first big joke of the series and I thought it was great. It sets the tone for a lot of this episode but not all of it. It’s a signal here that the episode might be on the lighter side. And with any long running series, I think it’s good to have an episode or two that do allow you to laugh. It’s part of the human experience, even when you are traveling light years away from Earth at warp speed.

The ship is a mess, including the mess hall

At the mess hall, Dr. Phlox, T’Pol and a bunch of other crew members are having breakfast. Phlox chides T’Pol for not being more adventurous in her eating habits. She prefers eating Vulcan food she’s accustomed to which seems kind of bland compared to human food. And she says it’s difficult enough having to smell the human food without having to eat it. As a picky eater myself, I can’t really blame her for not eating stuff she thinks smells bad.

But when she goes to get carbonated water from the food processor a black sludge comes out of it. And that’s not the only problem on the ship. C deck is down to 12 degrees. There are power fluctuations all over the place. And Commander “Trip” Tucker only knows it has something to do with the plasma exhaust. Needless to say, things are going haywire on the ship.

Captain Archer goes to engineering to get an update. He asks Tucker if they should drop out of warp. Trip says he needs a minute and he might figure it out. But before he gets anywhere something in the room catches on fire and Trip is forced to ask the bridge to drop out of warp. It’s another humorous circumstance but obviously there could be real problems here. And dangerous ones at that.

T’Pol catches the problem

T’Pol realizes something is disturbing the wake pattern of Enterprise. Trip says the plasma exhaust shouldn’t flare so close to the ship. Reed throws out a theory but Trip says they already checked for that and that’s not the issue. Captain Archer then asks Reed what would happen if they ignited the plasma exhaust. Reed says it would be safe if they polarized the hull plating and maintained half impulse.

The crew follows the instructions and they hit something out there. Archer asks for playback of impact until it becomes apparent there is a cloaked ship right in that spot. Hoshi wonders how long they’ve been there and Archer rightly points out it’s been long enough to mess up their systems.

Diplomacy

In some sci-fi universes an action like hiding alongside a ship would be enough to launch a huge battle sequence. That certainly happens on occasion in Star Trek too. But Archer’s first impulse? It’s not to attack. He hails the ship. He tries to understand the situation first. I feel like this is the smartest default action to take as humans. Be prepared to fight if needed but start with dialogue.

They can’t get a visual because this other ship has messed up the signal but they do establish audio communication. Archer explains what is happening and asks the ship to back off. It takes a moment for the translator to kick in but these aliens ask not to be harmed. Archer says he won’t harm them but wants an explanation. The alien tells him they apologize for any harm. They’ve been using Enterprise’s plasma exhaust to replenish their teraphasic coils. (No idea if I spelled teraphasic correctly so forgive me)

T’Pol confirms the warp reactor of the other ship is offline. Archer asks them to drop their stealth technology so Enterprise can help them. Captain Archer here has navigated the situation well. They are about to make contact with a new species and they may even become allies. Why? Because instead of acting first, he listened.

A long strange Trip

In order to help the new aliens, Trip is tasked with going aboard and fixing their propulsion systems. But just getting into this ship is difficult. Trip has to go through a three hour long decompression sequence. These aliens, called the Xyrillians can sequence proteins to allow humans to eat and drink. But T’Pol does warn Trip it might not taste good to him and that he should be diplomatic.

Trip is visibly excited to go. After all, since the start of the series he’s been one of the most eager to make new contact. But the decompression is more difficult than he expected. He has trouble breathing in the air which is a visible fog in the decompression chamber. It’s breathable but not exactly comfortable. Tucker also gets impatient with the long wait. Eventually they put him through some pattern recognition tests and then let him on board.

This really is an alien ship

Despite the Xyrillians being bipedal and humanoid, Trip’s experience on the ship is utterly alien to him. The Xyrillians do have scaly skin but they look a lot like humans. Some people criticize Star Trek for not having enough aliens who aren’t bipedal humanoids but you have to remember, you need actors for these parts, and humans are bipedal and humanoid.

The strange thing for Trip is how he experiences the place. Speech seems slowed down, things spin, and the look of the ship is far different from that of Enterprise. The Xyrillians keep telling Trip he should rest first but he wants to go straight to the engine. It’s not until Captain Archer orders Trip to take a nap that things look somewhat normal to him again.

In fact, Trip is so bad off before this rest he tells Captain Archer he wants to return. Archer contacts Captain Trena’l, the leader of the Xyrillian crew. Trena’l tells him Trip will be fine but Archer points out he’s known Trip for 8 years and the dude is tough. So if he’s complaining there is a real issue. At long last, Trip agrees to rest.

Trip gets up close to a Xyrillian

When he wakes up, Trip notices food growing all over the ship. A Xyrillian named Ah’Len gives Trip something that looks like ice cubes and she says it’s as close as they can get to water. When she touches him, what looks like little bolts of static transfer to Trip. He says it doesn’t hurt.

When Trip calls back to Enterprise the next time, he’s feeling much better and is excited about the new things he is seeing. He does manage to fix the alien coils so their ship can get moving again. But it’s going to take some time for these coils to regenerate. So Ah’Len decides to show Trip something unexpected.

Star Trek Enterprise: Unexpected holography

Ah’Len takes Trip to a colorful room that is oddly patterned. And this set reminds me of some of the things you might see in the original series. It feels extremely alien but it has a sort of 1960s retro vibe to it. Ah’Len then pushes a button and the whole room is transformed. They are out on a natural landscape. She says the planet they are on is Thera, the planet she comes from. She also explains this is a hologram achieved by re-sequenced photons. And it feels real. She even picks up sand.

This, as any Star Trek fan knows, is a holodeck. Up to this point, I had always assumed humans invented this. Nope, it’s from Xyrillian technology. Ah’Len shows Trip how the perspective can change and how she can change scenes. They end up in a boat on the water. It’s a kind of romantic scene actually.

Ah’Len plays a game

Ah’Len asks Trip how humans detect emotion. Trip does his best to explain we observe behavior. But then Ah’Len pulls out a box of what Trip later calls pebbles. They are all white and glowing and when they put their hands in they glow blue. She tells Trip it’s a game. And it also allows the two to have a telepathic link of some kind. It’s actually a sweet moment and while Trip could have gone too far here, he’s nothing but a gentleman.

They are interrupted when the coils come back online. And Trip then makes his way back to Enterprise, having made solid first contact with the Xyrillians.

Things are back to normal

When Trip comes back he can’t wait to tell Mayweather what he experienced over there, although he admits he’s glad to be back. Captain Trena’l expresses his gratitude to both Archer and Trip and hopes he didn’t delay Enterprise’s mission too much. Archer tells him meeting new species is Enterprise’s mission. And Trip says going to the new ship was worth every minute. Ah’Len even flirts with Trip a bit before they all say goodbye. Things seem relatively normal for the moment.

That’s not normal

Trip’s appetite is increased. He keeps bragging about the holographic chamber to Reed but Reed’s more interested in their weapons. But Trip’s not sure they even had any. Trip does notice something odd on his wrist. Malcolm thinks maybe it’s an allergic reaction but Trip had cleared the bio-scan. Regardless he goes to see Dr. Phlox about it.

And here’s where this episode divides fans. It turns out Trip is pregnant. I know this idea sounds crazy to some fans but if you think about the myriad forms of reproduction with different species on our own planet, it’s not that far fetched. For the most part this is played for laughs through the rest of the episode. And it plays into some stereotypes of what people who are pregnant experience. Trip’s hormones increase, his appetite continues to escalate, and he gets angry at the slightest thing.

But when Trip finds out, he wants it removed as long as it can be done safely and without harming the young life form. Dr. Phlox does reassure Trip that this is not technically his child. He’s essentially a host. The only people who know onboard, at least at the beginning, are Dr. Phlox, Captain Archer, T’Pol and Trip himself.

T’Pol lectures Trip for not being able to restrain himself from intimate encounters for only three days. Considering Captain Kirk and some of the other characters in later series this lecture comes off as hilarious to me. Especially since Trip really didn’t do anything he, or any human, would consider sexual here. They do finally figure out it had to be with the box of pebbles. And Trip states this was a game they play.

But T’Pol does have a great comeback to this. She says, “One of the first things a diplomat learns is not to stick his fingers where they don’t belong.” Touche.

Finding the Xyrillians gets complicated

Trip has to go around in civilian clothing to hide the bulge he’s showing on his rib cage. And the whole ship seems to know what’s going on. But I think that’s probably due to Trip’s behavior rather than a leak from anyone else. Although Trip does blame T’Pol and she was pretty critical of him. Still, that doesn’t feel in character with her to me. During dinner Trip blows it anyway by talking about it as an Ensign comes in with food while he’s talking to Dr. Phlox.

And in all this time, they have been unable to find the Xyrillians. Enterprise does finally track the ship down. But there is a huge complication. They are cloaked once again and hiding inside the wake trail of a Klingon battle cruiser! Yeah, gotta say, that was unexpected.

More diplomacy

Obviously negotiating with any Klingon is a delicate matter. But when you are talking about telling a Klingon battleship Captain that there is a cloaked ship hiding near them and that they mean no harm? Well, that’s a complication on a whole other level.

Captain Archer has to talk to the Klingons first. They’d obviously pick up the signal to the Xyrillians either way. Archer opens a channel and starts to diplomatically ask for assistance with a problem. The Klingons fire at Enterprise. They are the polar opposite of diplomatic. But for a Klingon attack the shots are decidedly light weight. These are warning shots. T’Pol even points out if the Klingons wanted to destroy Enterprise they would have already done it.

But Archer does not back down. Tucker notices the same odd wake pattern on the Klingon ship that Enterprise experienced. The Klingons hail Enterprise and demand to know what gives Archer the right to approach a Klingon warship. Archer apologizes, explains the situation, and tries to convince the Klingons not to kill the Xyrillians. Captain Vorok of the Klingon ship is decidedly angry. Archer doesn’t help things by telling the Klingons that Xyrillians are kind. But T’Pol intervenes. She tells Vorok that less than a month ago, Captain Archer was in the high council chamber in  Qo’noS where the the Chancellor himself called Archer a man of honor and a brother. And she tells Vorok Enterprise is the ship that returned Klaang to the Empire. Archer had prevented an internal Klingon war.

Tucker then tells Vorok he was the one who tried to repair the Xyrillian engines. And he says he’s sure the Xyrillians would be willing to share their holographic technology with the Klingons. And to put the cherry on top, Trip says they can go get the technology, “Unless the decompression cycle frightens you.” I think we know that no Klingon is going to admit fright.

Archer does insist if the Klingons go to the Xyrillian ship they have to take Tucker with them. Trip basically has to admit to the Klingon warship that he is pregnant. This cracks up the Klingons so much they let Trip come along.

Star Trek Enterprise: Unexpected conclusion

Back on the Xyrillian ship, Vorok gives Captain Trena’l a topographical map of their capital city. When Trena’l demonstrates Vorok says, “I can see my house from here!” To see a Klingon say that just made me laugh.

Trip shows Ah’Len that he is pregnant. She says she had no idea this could happen with another species. Trip tells her not to apologize. I do have to say though, if this is a possibility with your own species, I think it would have been a lot more fair for Ah’Len to at least say this is how they reproduce. In that case, he might not have stuck his hands in the pebbles. But I digress.

They are able to safely remove the embryo and Tucker is back to normal. The Klingons allow the Xyrillians to go once the holographic tech is installed. And Archer tells Vorok he hopes the next time they meet, Enterprise can be of help to them. Vorok in Klingon fashion says their debt is repaid and they have no interest in meeting again. And if they do, Archer will regret it.

Later at dinner T’Pol admits she exaggerated how the Klingons saw Archer. And she tells Tucker that his pregnancy is the first recorded incident of a human male becoming pregnant to which he says, “Just how I always wanted to get into the history books.”

Ultimately you could call this a filler episode. The only long term impacts here are the exposure to the holographic technology and the evolving attitudes of the Klingons to the humans. There is a good dose of humor here but there is also some difficult diplomacy happening. This may not be the best episode of Enterprise but I did find it entertaining. There are different directions they could have gone with it but I think it works well enough.

The next episode is Terra Nova and it was directed by the one and only LeVar Burton!

Until next time, live long and prosper.