During the episode, I thought that it would have been very interesting to have made the species the Enterprise attacked the Cardassians. It would given an interesting new aspect to the Federation/Cardassian animosity. What may have helped me think this is that was Casey Biggs (Damar, from DS9) playing the alien ship's captain.

Well, the hiatus is officially behind us, and we can now get down towards "the end of Enterprise's mission." Well, thanks, ambiguous UPN promo deparment! Anyhow, this did a pretty good job of picking up from "Azati Prime," and I'm generally optimistic about the next five episodes.

Three things I liked:
3) The titular damage. They didn't clean the ship up any, they just left it a dark, dirty mess. Thank goodness.
2) Getting to meet "her," after the mention in "Azati Prime" was a plus, especially since her people seem to have slightly more sophisticated temporal-communication capabilities than the Sulliban. Cool.
1) Aw, they gave Hoshi and Travis a scene! How cute!

Three things I didn't like:
3) Archer tells Phlox that he's going to have to cross the line "for the first time." So, throwing that one marauder in the airlock didn't cross the line, then?
2) Degra tells the other Xindi that he thinks Archer is more trustworthy than Madame Sphere-Builder because he brought "proof." Proof? He brought back a poker chip from the future! I don't think that solves anything.
1) In the same scene, Madame Sphere-Builder complains because they didn't summon the full council before calling her. Shouldn't she be more interested in why Degra's there? He's not a member of the Council, is he?

That's pretty much all I have at the moment. Solid entry, though. Grade: A Next week: blah blah blah dissention cakes

Very Good Episode.

PIRATE AAARRR-CHER:
He's become a pirate. This episode has done more to make me feel for captain Archer than the entire first two seasons. ("Anomaly," "Twilight," and "Proving Ground" also helped) I was absolutely riveted to the screen during his conversation with Phlox. I haven't been this concerned about a character's moral health since Sisko in DS9's "In the Pale Moonlight." That's definitely a good comparison.

WHO SAYS DRUGS ARE BAD:
Jolene Blalock. Wow. Between T'Pol and Archer, I was beginning to think that maybe Tucker should take over as captain. Her assertiveness definitely made Archer stop. I hope that we'll continue to see her deal with a lack of control over her emotions.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY:
I really wish, however, that the excuse for T'Pol's behavior had been the Panar Syndrome from "Stigma." This isn't really a nit. It's perfectly reasonable that the Panar Syndrome could be dormant or something. There's also conceivably 4 seasons left of this show. Plenty of time to deal with it. Perhaps the Trellium will cause the Panar to accelerate. That would be interesting.

TIME KEEPS ON SLIPPIN' IN TO THE FUTURE:
When they find the hidden message from Degra, T'Pol tells Archer that there was also a STARDATE encoded. How do they know what a stardate is? Enterprise still uses months, days, and years.

MYSTERIOUS TECHNOLOGY OF THE WEEK:
Where did T'Pol get that mysterious trellium refining device? Did she make it? That's rather impressive I must say.

MORE SHADOWS OF DS9:
The sphere builder's voice and appearance kept reminding me of the Salome Jens changeling from Deep Space Nine. For half a second, I thought it actually WAS her. (for ONLY half a second)

EVEN MORE SHADOWS OF DS9:
Casey Biggs (Damar) played the captain of the alien vessel. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Enterprise was taking a few pointers from Deep Space Nine. I've been watching the reruns on Spike TV lately, and I've noticed a number of similarities as of late. Believe me, this is certainly a good thing. (They're not quite up to the level yet, but it's a step in the right direction)

ONE WAY TRIP (the journey not the person):
A short scene that really really helped this episode was the scene between Hoshi and Travis. It's fascinating to see that Hoshi questions whether they'll ever make it home again. There is so much against them. They're pretty much in the depths of he|| right now. That's good stuff there.

OVERALL OPINION OF THE WEEK:
I really want to see where this is going now. I especially want to see how Archer deals with it. His reactions to everything have become the most fascinating part of this whole arc. To watch a captain transform from a naive but optimistic guy to the cynical, experience, hardened commander that he has become is riveting. He's gained a lot in terms of his experience, but he's also lost a part of himself. I think this is fascinating stuff.

Grade: A

See ya next week
TUE

Great episode! Excellent guys, keep it up!

TUE's right, I did a double take when I heard stardate. Huh? I guess it gets around the problem of the Xindi using an Earth date, but the humans shouldn't know what a stardate is... the only anti-nit I can come up with is that stardates are the invention of the Xindi (kinda neat), and the crew learned about the stardate system from the Xindi database or the computer on the Insectoid shuttle... but why then would 1000 units equal an EARTH year... unless it's a different stardate system... of course, they used a different system in TOS, so it might be that one... oh, I give up.

Man, was I ever sympathetic toward Archer in this one, too. Ditto on the Salome Jens comment, too.

Good stuff, TPTB!!! Keep it up!

Augh, I totally missed the stardate thing! Just... augh!

They mention that sensors are offline, but they were previously talking about going to & hiding in a comet. Huh? How did they know where the comet was & what it was made of if they didn't have sensors?

Sooooooo, T'Pol has been shooting up with Trellium-D & Phlox never detected it???

Amazing that the warp coil of an alien species' ship would be compatable with the warpdrive of an Earth ship.

Questions for the Xindi:
If 'She' never gave any proof, then:
How did you know She was from the future?
Only the Reptoids who died in the past knew for certain.
Why did you believe Her when she told you that you would be destroyed by Earth?
Why do you think She is 'helping' you?

How do they know what a stardate is? - TUE

[T]he humans shouldn't know what a stardate is... Dan Gunther

Just because we haven't seen humans using stardates to measure time doesn't mean that they don't know what they are. That's like saying Europeans shouldn't know what miles and gallons are.


but why then would 1000 units equal an EARTH year... - Dan Gunther

First, as you suggest, that could be a different stardate system. Second (at the risk of beginning a whole new Luigi/Sarcasm thread), no where has it ever been stated that 1000 units is equivalent to an Earth year (much less an Earth year to the day). In fact, there is more evidence to support that it doesn't, and it's only approximately an Earth year.


"Does (sniff) anyone know where I can (sniff)score some D, man? (sniff sniff)"

Well, initially I was just as disappointed by this episode's title as with most of the others. However, afterwards I see it has a rare double meaning. Of course it refers to the damage (and repair) of the ship, but I think more so to Archer's personal integrity and standing with the crew. Looks like it may be something that will be difficult to repair.

(Brought up before but...) In a case like this, couldn't they turn the gravity off? It would be much easier to handle those heavy beams that are scattered all over the place.

"If T'Pol shows skin, it must be sweeps month." I believe the ratings week ends on Sunday night, which is why we're starting to see all new episodes and specials this week instead of next. (Sweeps starts the week before the first Sunday of sweeps month).

What shocked me is that they didn't use T'Pol's shower scene in the preview last week... shocking!!!

Thoughts on the ep later; what did folks think of the preview for next week/the rest of the season/series? What was that phrase said by Mr. Ominous Voice of PreviewsThatAlwaysLie? "The past, present and eternity collide" as we see a shot of two, two, two Enterprises in one. Why do I get the feeling that sometime in the next five episodes we're going to have a guest appearance by the Giant Reset Button™?

Oh, and Merat, yeah, you're right: the whole "end of their mission..." line in the teaser for this week's episode was about as subtle as a sledgehammer.

Great idea for a series-ending episode: kill off everyone, destroy Earth, and then have T'Pol or Hoshi wake up to find Trip or Archer in the shower...

Phlox should have relieved T'Pol of duty.

I'm surprised the profits haven't done anything to stop the sphere builders. After all, if Earth is lost, Sisko will never be born. I'd love to see them give the sphere builders a piece of their mind :D

I wonder how far that Alien ship was from their homeworld. If it's a three year trip at impulse, maybe they could have called one of their ships to pick them up?

I'm susprised Archer didn't explain his situation and how if Earth is destroyed, the galaxy will be destroyed. I know, I know Temporal prime directive. Well, as Janeway would put it 'To heck with it'.

Not bad. However, I found a couple of outs for Archer.

1. He already told the Illyrian Captain that the Xindi were going to destroy Earth. Instead of becoming Mad John Archer the Pirate, why not ask the Illyrians for transport to the rendezvous point? While this is going on, Trip could be working on the warp coil repairs (6 weeks -- yeah, I know he'd only get a few days worth of work done).

2. I hope that they have someone working on their own warp coil. Rather than stranding the Illyrians for 3 years, it might be a few months. Return the Illyrian warp coil after repair work is complete on the Enterprise's warp coil. While it won't excuse Archer's actions here, it might help salve his conscience.

I'm surprised the profits haven't done anything to stop the sphere builders. Chris Booton

They certainly would have an interest, but involving them would probably lead to a whole lotta deus ex machina, which would be annoying.

I wonder how far that Alien ship was from their homeworld. If it's a three year trip at impulse, maybe they could have called one of their ships to pick them up? Chris Booton

The captain said "We're new to this region of space," which exactly parrots what Archer has said on occasion. I think they were trying to establish that the aliens were like the Enterprise crew in a way; they were just starting to venture out into space, which makes for more angst on Archer's part, etc.

While this is going on, Trip could be working on the warp coil repairs (6 weeks -- yeah, I know he'd only get a few days worth of work done). ScottN

The problem is, Trip said it would take "six weeks, if [they] had the materials; [they] don't." Thus, even if they had six weeks to work with, they still wouldn't be able to build a new warp coil, as they don't have the resources for doing so.

$ucks to be Subcommander Kes-With-Hooters, doesn't it? First, that mindmeld disease business, then doing the Bad Thing with Commander Jack@$$, and now she's a _junkie_?

And as far as her sneaking off to get her fix, and building a device to do it, without anybody catching on - UH-UH! The crew would have surely checked the ship's inventory, and found out the parts used to build her 22nd Century crack pipe were missing.

If you fail, as I do, to see the logic in her engaging in self destructive behavior, gimme a hell yeah!

On the other hand, this _is_ the Killer B's' party, after all.

And that's all I got to say about that.

Some Nits
There she Blows!!
1. During T'pols little trip to get her dope, there are sparks flying and for a brief second, a little flame erupts. How, may I ask, does this occur if the whole deck has been depressurized? Those sparks would need some oxygen to burn.

This is turning into the 3 months of Hell!
2. Archer says go to maximum warp! I was expecting to see the skin of the ship ripping away like in Year of Hell, (VOY) with all the damage Enterprise has taken.

Some Anti-Nits

How, may I ask, does this occur if the whole deck has been depressurized? -Torque

Perhaps they aren't (buring) sparks, but tiny tiny pieces of super hot metal. If they were at a hot enough temperature, they could glow. Though why they would glow to begin with remains a mystery. Must be those 50,000 Volt power couplings.

And a Nit of my own.

Those MACOs need to go back to school. They are using flash lights on their guns when firing at the aliens. (I forgot their name) Even if they don't have night vision goggles or a infered scope on their gun (See: Noth Star* (ENT)), they should realize that they are giving their position away.

*Yes I know the guns in North Star didn't mention an infered sensor, I would assume that if the gun has a digital zoom, the gun would also have a night attack feature.

I was wondering why Archer never even said "We'll see if we can get another warp coil for you, and return with it when we can." If they know the course they're taking, they should be relatively easy to find, and hopefully the mission would not last longer than the three years it would take them to get home.

Which makes me think -- if Enterprise is ending, maybe next fall a new series will start, all about the Illyrian's quest to just get home, and all the interesting species and anomalies they encounter on the way. I just hope they have an endless supply of shuttles... ;)

I sympathize with Archer's dilemma, but wasn't he risking creating another alien species legend about what bad guys folks from Earth are? What happens when they meet up with Illyrians in the future?

Another T'Pol In SPAAAAACCCCEEEEE(suit) nit. I assume she's suited because Cargo Bay 2 (the canonical cargo bay for all Trek, apparently) is in vacuum. There should be NO SOUND from all the falling things!

NANJAO

Did I accurately see one of the displays behind Reed tilted?

Did anyone else sense that the steady cam wasn't as steady as it has been in the past? When they were moving from people to people in the episode, it seemed as if the camera (the viewer) was walking up and down a lot... Like something was on the floor of the corridor.

There were tilted display screens in a few scenes, adding to the damage effects.

Well, after wasted two seasons, this is finally starting to turn into good Trek...

So, overall, IMHO, this was a good episode

Nits:
But those words both begin with letter C!
So, their warp core is damaged beyond repair and in order to replace it they need a new warp coil? That's two entirely different things...

Thank god it was only her stunt double.
If I'm not mistaken, it is MACO chick from "North Star" that was wounded. The trouble is, her nametag says "S. Money", not "Parsons", as Archer calls her.

Cargo bay 2 - where we store all our air supplies.
Also, judging from the way they bounced, Cargo bay is filled almost entirely with empty containers...

If I'm not mistaken, it is MACO chick from "North Star" that was wounded. The trouble is, her nametag says "S. Money", not "Parsons", as Archer calls her.

And her first name is "Showmethe".

Anyway...

I may be deaf, but... did Trip said "primary warp core is fused", or "primary warp coil is fused"?

Either way, it doesn't make much sense

Would the secondary warp coil be a slinky? ;-)

ScottN - Rather than stranding the Illyrians for 3 years, it might be a few months. Return the Illyrian warp coil after repair work is complete on the Enterprise's warp coil. While it won't excuse Archer's actions here, it might help salve his conscience.
Yeah, I figured if Enterprise survived & got a replacement warp coil, they could return and give the Illyrians their warp coil, and possibly plans for a warp 5 engine since the Illyrians seemed to be a warp 3 type.

BTW are the Illyrians the descendent of Illyria from Angel? ;-)

Y'know, if the Xindi find out about Archer's piracy, that's not gonna help matters...

Too much gloom and doom and depression. What do Berman and Braga think Trek fans hope for when they watch this show? I want the joie de vivre, of exploring... I feel like stopping there...

KAM
Would the secondary warp coil be a slinky? ;-)

Trip can steal me, anytime!

I haven't seen this episode yet, but I should say that 'Illyrians' are or were a real people on Earth in the classical period. (These days they are known as Albanians). Still, it makes a change from nicking race names from Star Wars, as Voyager was wont to do...

Better late than electrocuted
Great Line: “Thanks for the warning.” –Archer in the opening scene of Act 2, after a small explosion occurs in the Situation Room right over the heads of the senior staff, mere seconds after a warning from Engineering comes over the comm about an energy surge on A Deck.

---Critique:
---Good follow-up to Azati Prime, if not as thrilling. Some nice consequences, interesting revelations, and good moral pondering. The long-awaited appearance of the Xindi’s Sphere-Builder benefactor was extremely gratifying. The scene near the end of Act 3 where Archer seeks Phlox’s council while contemplating stealing the aliens’ warp coil was well done. Great lighting. Janeway certainly committed her share of ethically questionable acts, but the fact that the writers actually devoted a scene to exploring a captain’s doubts and shame about such an act, as well as its arguable necessity, and the casualties resulting from it, was a nice touch. I also found it disturbingly ironic that even though T’Pol loses control of her emotions when telling Archer in Act 4 that he’s wrong to steal the Illyrians’ warp coil.
---The look and voice of the Sphere-Builder was nicely creepy, reminiscent of the Female Founder, another member of an invading force from another part of space. And I liked how eriely the Enterprise’s shadow fell upon the Illyrian vessel in the exterior shot of it leaving the area after stealing its warp coil? An eerie visually metaphor if ever I saw one.

---Notes:
We see a Xindi Aquatic shuttlepod for the first time when it delivers Archer to the Enterprise in Act 1. We also see the Xindi’s Sphere-Builder benefactor for the first time in the opening scene of Act 4.
---We learn in the second scene of Act 2 that Hoshi’s mother always wanted her to take piano lessons.
---Phlox tells Archer in his quarters in Act 3 that he’s been a doctor nearly forty years, and that twice during that time he has done things that he thought were unethical.

---Terms:
Illyrian captain Alien encountered by the Enterprise in Act 2, whose vessel suffered damage to its engines and life support and from which the Enterprise steals its warp coil. (Name of alien race from startrek.com only.)
Ensign Masara Crewman Phlox tells Archer he has discharged while speaking to him in his quarters near the end of Act 3. (Spelling approximate.)
Corporal O’Malley Crewman (Presumably a MACO) that Phlox tells Archer will be returning to duty that afternoon while speaking to the captain in his quarters near the end of Act 3. (Spelling approximate.)
Sphere-Builder The apparently Female transdimensional benefactor of the Xindi, who meets with the Xindi Council in the opening scene of Act 4, and admits that she assisted the Reptilians and Insectoids by sending them through time to 21st century Earth so that they could build a bio-weapon.
Parson Female MACO wounded during the Enterprise’s theft of the aliens’ warp coil in Act 5. (Name from closed captioning)

Guess their warp core wasn’t the only part of their ship that was “stolen”
The Illyrian ship from which the Enterprise steals its warp coil is a Mazarite vessel from Fallen Hero, and the uniform worn by the alien captain is a slightly modified Devore uniform from Counterpoint(VOY).
I guess the production designer who made those suits had his oxygen tube “dislodged” a bit
When climbing down to the floor of Cargo Bay 2 in the beginning of Act 3 to get the trellium, T’Pol falls, disaplacing her oxygen tube until she quickly replaces it. Shouldn’t those tubes be a bit harder to dislodge? For that matter, why is the oxygen even supplied by a tube that runs outside the exterior of the suit? Wouldn’t it be more sensible to have the oxygen delivery system integrated into the suit’s interior, much as is the case with astronaut suits today?
…she auditioned for this show despite where the franchise was headed…
And why doesn’t T’Pol simply turn off the artificial gravity to make climbing down easier and safer? Sure, she’s acting like she’s a couple of french fries shy of a Happy Meal in these past couple of episodes, but she otherwise appears to be capable of utilizing problem-solving logic; she is able to put on the EV suit, is able to quickly replace her oxygen tube when it is dislodged, etc.
I wonder if Degra will take a rain check
In Act 3, the document that Hoshi finds in the Aquatic pod’s computer turns out to be a coded message from Degra directing the Enterprise to meet him at a set of coordinates four light years away in three days. T’Pol tells Archer that they’ll need Warp 3 to make it in time. Broken Bow established that it takes 4.53 days to travel one light year, and that’s at Warp 4.5.
Just slip technobabble A into slot B…
Naturally, given the universality of technology among all the different races in Trek, Archer not only somehow correctly knows that the Illyrians’ warp coil will be compatible with the Enterprise, (which it turns out to be), but the tool Trip uses to disengage the warp coil from its housings perfectly fits and uncouples those housings.
What’s a day or two between addicts?
T’Pol tells Phlox in sickbay in Act 4 that she has been agitated for the past two days because the damage to the Enterprise initially precluded her from getting more trellium. Actually, she was acting agitated toward Trip after Archer departed the ship for his suicide mission in the previous episode, before the Enterprise was attacked and damaged.
T’Pol: “Doctor, I have Pa’nar Syndrome.”
Doctor: “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”
T’Pol: “Doctor, I’m addicted to trellium-D.”
Doctor: “Your secret is safe with me.”
T’Pol: “Doctor, I think I have the Ebola virus.”
Doctor: (shoving her into the Decon chamber) “My lips are sealed.”
T’Pol: “Doctor, I think my head is falling off…”
Doctor’s “Pay it no mind, Subcommander, I’ll get some duct tape, and the Captain will never notice…”
Phlox’s decision near the end of Act 4 to keep T’Pol’s addiction a secret from Archer was flat-out wrong, especially during the current time of crisis. Given Archer’s reaction in Stigma to finding out that T’Pol and Phlox kept T’Pol’s Pa’nar Syndrome a secret from him, just how many deadly illnesses does T’Pol have to get before Phlox deems it necessary to tell Archer?
Now we know what kind of anomaly damaged the Illyrians’ ship: A class-4 Plot Contriviance
Sure is convenient that the Illyrians had forcefield technology for their warp coil, but didn’t have any forcefields covering their ship, which would’ve made boarding their ship much more difficult. I figured they might have had forcefields that were down because of the damage they sustained, but the only damage the Illyrian captain mentioned to Archer in Act 2 was to their engines and life support, and Reed told Archer in the second scene of Act 4 that under normal circumstances, that the Illyrian ship would be no match for the Enterprise.
Perhaps he should’ve used a less vital body part, like his head
As Trip works to bring down the forcefield protecting the Illyrian warp core, he tells the MACO with him to see if it’s still up, and the MACO uses his hand to see if it’s down, and it turns out to be still up. Wouldn’t it be a better idea to use his gun or baton to do this?

Did anyone else here think the Sphere-Builder looked like Heidi from The Apprentice?

Degra bribed them with a big can of fish food and a copy of Finding Nemo
The dark-skinned Xindi humanoid tells the Reptilian Commander in the opening scene of Act 1 that they want to interrogate Archer themselves, and that the Aquatics will pick him up from the Reptilians. So why do the Aquatics deliver him back to the Enterprise? I know Degra planned to meet the Enterprise at that rendezvous point, and this might have been part of his plan, but the opening scene of Act 4 with the Xindi Council, in which the Reptilians, Insectoids and Aquatics were not present, gave the impression that the Humanoids and Sloths were united in secret, and that the Aquatics were not in on their plans.
Finally, someone actually made themselves look dumber in a climbing scene than Kirk in the beginning of Star Trek V.
When T’Pol gets to Cargo Bay 2 in Act 3, she looks at the staircase, which is detached from the upper platform on one side. She decides it’s unusable, and so decides to climb down a stack of cargo containers. But even if the staircase is detached on even one side, it’s still attached on the other, which still makes it a viable object to use to descend to the floor. Sure, it’s a precarious object to use, since it’s hanging off and not anchored, but nothing in that room is going to be an ideal substitute, and climbing down the cargo containers is much worse, because they’re not attached to anything, and are therefore much looser. At least with the staircase, she can hold onto the side rails while planting her feet down each step. Instead, she uses the containers, and falls.

Sparrow47: Archer tells Phlox that he's going to have to cross the line "for the first time." So, throwing that one marauder in the airlock didn't cross the line, then?
Luigi Novi: He did not say “for the first time.”

Sparrow47: In the same scene, Madame Sphere-Builder complains because they didn't summon the full council before calling her. Shouldn't she be more interested in why Degra's there? He's not a member of the Council, is he?
Luigi Novi: She did not indicate that others were not allowed.

TUE: Where did T'Pol get that mysterious trellium refining device? Did she make it? That's rather impressive I must say.
Luigi Novi: They made it back when they were looking to insulate the hull, before they found out in Impulse that it was harmful to Vulcans.

KAM: They mention that sensors are offline, but they were previously talking about going to & hiding in a comet. Huh? How did they know where the comet was & what it was made of if they didn't have sensors?
Luigi Novi: I reviewed the teaser and first two Acts, and no one said sensors were offline. Reed did tell T’Pol in the second scene of Act 1 that the comm system was down, and that because of this, the didn’t yet have a casualty list, but didn’t say anything about sensors, nor did Trip in the next scene. Indeed, at the end of the teaser, Travis said that the Xindi ships had broken off their attack and were returning to the system, and in Act 1, detects the Aquatic pod approaching. He couldn’t have seen that without sensors.

KAM: Sooooooo, T'Pol has been shooting up with Trellium-D & Phlox never detected it???
Luigi Novi: How could he have?

TUE: How do they know what a stardate is?

Dan Gunther: [T]he humans shouldn't know what a stardate is...

Darth Sarcasm: Just because we haven't seen humans using stardates to measure time doesn't mean that they don't know what they are. That's like saying Europeans shouldn't know what miles and gallons are.
Luigi Novi: Yeah, but no indication has ever been given that such things exist in the 2150’s, as this is the first mention of the word on Enterprise. We are familiar with the Europeans. But no indication has ever been given that the Xindi use something called “stardates,” or that Hoshi deciphered its system. Establishing it now by dropping the casual reference to it that T’Pol does is a poor way to do so, IMHO.

Sparrow47: The problem is, Trip said it would take "six weeks, if [they] had the materials;…
Luigi Novi: Actually, he said two weeks.

Torque, Son of Keplar: There she Blows!!

Kazeite: But those words both begin with letter C!
Luigi Novi: Nice to know two people have been keeping the funny heading torch lit in my absence.

ScottN: [Archer] already told the Illyrian Captain that the Xindi were going to destroy Earth. Instead of becoming Mad John Archer the Pirate, why not ask the Illyrians for transport to the rendezvous point?
Luigi Novi: Funny, I thought of why Archer didn’t have Trip’s guys repair the Illyrians’ engines, and have their ship tow Enterprise to the rendezvous point, and then give them the trellium as a fare (), but I didn’t make it a nit. I also wondered why he didn’t tell them he’d try and send back help for them, or come back themselves if and when their mission was completed.

Stone Cold Steven Of None: 22nd Century crack pipe…
Luigi Novi: LOL!

Polls Voice: Perhaps they aren't (buring) sparks, but tiny tiny pieces of super hot metal. If they were at a hot enough temperature, they could glow.
Luigi Novi: Their appearance and the sizzling sound effect make it clear that they’re supposed to be sparks. And why would hundreds of tiny pieces of super hot metal be showering down from the ceiling, especially if the deck is without oxygen? Where would such pieces of metal coming from?

Kazeite: So, their warp core is damaged beyond repair and in order to replace it they need a new warp coil? That's two entirely different things...
Luigi Novi: First of all, Trip told T’Pol in the third scene of Act 1 that the “primary warp coil’s fried”, and needed to be rebuilt from scratch. Second, even if he had said “core,” where was this established that the warp core and warp coil were “entirely different things”? Isn’t the warp coil part of the warp core?

Kazeite: If I'm not mistaken, it is MACO chick from "North Star" that was wounded. The trouble is, her nametag says "S. Money", not "Parsons", as Archer calls her.
Luigi Novi: If you’re referring to the armband over her left upper arm seen when Archer holds her after she’s hit, that’s her M.A.C.O. logo.

brent: Too much gloom and doom and depression. What do Berman and Braga think Trek fans hope for when they watch this show?
Luigi Novi: Good writing, directing, acting, character development, themes, good plots, interesting conflict, etc. Gloom and doom lend themselves well to that.

brent: I want the joie de vivre, of exploring... I feel like stopping there...
Luigi Novi: The joie de vivre of exploring in and of itself, does not necessarily lend itself to good conflict or stories, and Trek has been down that road before.

Thande: I haven't seen this episode yet, but I should say that 'Illyrians' are or were a real people on Earth in the classical period. (These days they are known as Albanians).
Luigi Novi: AHA!!! I always knew that Cher was really an alien!

Thande: Still, it makes a change from nicking race names from Star Wars, as Voyager was wont to do...
Luigi Novi: C’mon, they only did that once. (Twice if you count Kashyk from Counterpoint, except the spelling was different, and he was a person, not a race on that episode…)

But no indication has ever been given that the Xindi use something called “stardates,” - Luigi

You're assuming that T'Pol was referring to a Xindi method of time measurement rather than a scientific measurement that the Xindi happen to use. Humans and Vulcans may be familiar with the concept of a "stardate," even if its not a device they use for measuring time in this era.

My point is, the way it was dropped into the dialogue was sloppy and confusing, since they don't bother to mention what it is, or who developed it, etc.

I agree with the stardate stuff.

As for Voyager nicking race names from Star Wars, let's see...

"Persistence of Vision": Bothans. Many Bothans died to plagiarise this race name.

"Living Witness": the Kyrian caretaker is called Quarren, who are the 'squid head race' guys visible in the background of various SW films.

"Counterpoint": As Luigi said, 'Kashyk' / 'Kashyyyk'.

"Course: Oblivion": When the silver blood Voyager tries to land on a Class-Y planet, they are driven off by a vessel belonging to a race or planet called 'Ord'Mirit'. Ord Mirit is a SW planet - in fact I think it's even a mining planet.

"Workforce": 'Quarren' is used again, but this time actually as the name of a race.


So...by my count that's 5 copied race names, although 2 of them are, as Luigi said, race names applied to characters instead.

Also in Anomaly (ENT) they used 'Osaarians' (cf. 'Osarians' from SW). I'll really start getting suspicious if Archer destroys the Xindi weapon by flying a shuttlepod through the canyons on the surface and firing a torpedo down the exhaust port...

My point is, the way it was dropped into the dialogue was sloppy and confusing, since they don't bother to mention what it is, or who developed it, etc. - Luigi Novi

Nor do the writers bother to explain dozens of other bits of tech terminology that has been thrown at us in the past 30+ years.

I didn't think it was either sloppy or confusing. I simply thought Archer knew what T'Pol was talking about, even if stardates isn't the way Earth measures time in this era.

Thanks, Thande, I didn't know about those.

In my opinion Darth, this particular term was a bit confusing to me, and what exacdtly a stardate is in the 2150's should've be established first. To each his own.

*Gasp*...Luigi didn't know something about a Trek show? (Faints).

I remember reading that stardates were originally based by Rodenberry on an existing proposed universal dating system introduced in an obscure science fiction novel (sorry, can't remember the details). Of course, this is no explanation for why either the humans don't use them or the Xindi do.

Thande: *Gasp*...Luigi didn't know something about a Trek show?
Luigi Novi: No, I just didn't know of the Star Wars connection. Different franchise.

Don't forget the appearance of the Breen.

Phew...my faith is restored.

Your Faith of the Heart?

No, my faith in Luigi's Data-like recollection of the minutest factlets of Trek trivia.

"We wish we were like you, Funny Red Headings Man!"

(a la Superman / Monty Python)

Don’t underestimate that goldfish you have. He may be plotting a coup attempt against you any day now.
Regarding that Aquatic shuttle used to deliver Archer back to the Enterprise in Act 1, does anyone else find it implausible that the Xindi Aquatics, who are non-bipedal, and don’t even wear clothing, have not only risen to a level of societal sophistication that they have an equal seat on the Council, but that their society has achieved the industrial level necessary to have spacecraft?
An addiction that saps her common sense so badly that Courtney Love comes off as stable by comparison
Why doesn’t T’Pol try beaming the trellium from the Cargo Bay? No mention was made that the transporter was down, and Chosen Realm established, contrary to Day of the Dove(TOS), that intraship beaming is safe, and even if we look past Chosen Realm as a nit, here she would only have to transport inaminate material, not people.

Luigi Novi: Chosen Realm established....that intership beaming is safe.
Me: Well, not necessarily, Luigi. We never see what happens after Archer dematerialises. Granted, I think the only other possibility is that he went into transporter suspension and rematerialised after T'Pol and the Triannons had left the room (which would also be a nit as suspension was, if I recall correctly, the innovation of Scotty on the Jenolen) but that doesn't mean we can assume it was intership beaming.

Re the Xindi-Aquatics: funny you should say that, because the recent DS9 sequel series "Mission: Gamma" featured a cameo by an aquatic species called the Alonis, who do not have hands or other manipulators but have become technologically advanced because they can use telekinesis for the same purpose. Mind you, I thought that explanation was something of a cop-out...it seems with aquatic species you either make them humanoid (like the Aquans from TAS - OK, so we see how they can be industrialised, but why are they humanoid if they lived underwater) or like the Xindi-Aquatics (OK, so they have the right body form for underwater life, but how did they come industrialised)? Until someone finds a way around this, it's a lose-lose situation.

Should be "how did they become industrialised." Kraj.

(which would also be a nit as suspension was, if I recall correctly, the innovation of Scotty on the Jenolen)

It was done before then. Day of the Dove(TOS).

Why doesn’t T’Pol try beaming the trellium from the Cargo Bay? - Luigi Novi

Because the Bridge would probably notice an unauthorized transport, which would probably make her obtaining the trellium unlikely.

And for all we knew, the transporter was down, even though it wasn't specifically mentioned in dialogue.

Darth, T'Pol is the second in command. She can conduct a transport under her own authority. Moreover, she told Reed that there were materials in that section she needed. She could've beamed the trellim out using that pretext.

As for the transporter being down, I would've liked if it were mentioned, to make her attempt to retrieve it more plausible.

ScottN: I was talking about transporter suspension being Scotty's innovation on the Jenolen, not intraship beaming.

Darth, T'Pol is the second in command. She can conduct a transport under her own authority. Moreover, she told Reed that there were materials in that section she needed. She could've beamed the trellim out using that pretext. - Luigi Novi

Perhaps my use of the word unauthorized confused things. T'Pol clearly didn't want anyone to know that she was accessing the trellium. Even if she were to have used her own authority, someone would have probably noticed as those containers are hardly small enough to conceal... which would mean she'd have to beam the container of trellium, open it, seal it again, then beam it back into the cargo bay. This might look just a tad suspicious on the transporter log. This is, of course, assuming that she couldn't beam the trellium directly out of the container. But even then, there would be a log of the activity, which T'Pol likely didn't want seen.

I don't know if they keep logs of the activity, or if with all the other emergencies relating to the current crisis, whether anyone would be wasting time looking at it. Even if they did, the only one who could impeach T'Pol with it would be Archer, and she can make up an excuse about beaming stuff that she thought Engineering might have needed.

Thande, so was I. IIRC, in DotD, they beamed in together, but only the Enterprise crew materialized first, as Scotty held the Klingons in suspension for safety purposes.

Or was that just the Blish version?

Thande: Well, not necessarily, Luigi. We never see what happens after Archer dematerialises.
Luigi Novi: I reviewed the sequence, and you're right. I don't know how this happened, because as I recall when writing the nit, I thought she would just hold him in the buffer, but it somehow "ended up being" intraship beaming instead, but I now see that's not the case. Perhaps it's the way it was filmed, with an exterior shot of the ship at warp separarting the transporter room scene and the Archer-in-the-Command Center scene that made it seem to me as if T'Pol beamed him there.

Thande: I think the only other possibility is that he went into transporter suspension and rematerialised after T'Pol and the Triannons had left the room (which would also be a nit as suspension was, if I recall correctly, the innovation of Scotty on the Jenolen)
Luigi Novi: Actually, we don't know that (if you don't mind me borrowing an argument of yours ). All we know is that Scotty's method of tying the phase inducers into the transporter and locking the transporter into a continuous diagnostic mode to keep sending the matter array through the pattern buffer is what allowed him to create a long-term suspension. While they certainly can't keep Archer in there for 80 years like Scotty did, keeping him in there for the minute or so needed to allow D'Jamat to leave the room should be possible. Vanishing Point, after all, established someone could be kept in there for between 2 and 9 seconds.

ScottN is correct.

Hang on, I'd forgotten about that TOS episode where they kept those Klingons in the transporter buffer until, to quote the Chief, 'lots of guys with phasers arrived in the transporter room'. In that case, short-term suspension is plausible, perhaps even in Enterprise's era. So Archer could have been suspended for a minute or two in Chosen Realm.

Still, it would have been nice if the creators had actually indicated to us exactly what Archer was doing (say T'Pol and the Triannons leave the transporter room, then the camera pans to the control panel and it shows a counter counting down to zero, followed by the sound of the transporter and the reflection of the light sparkling off the reflective panel).

Nowhere near a first, but Janeway did it in Counterpoint(VOY) as well.

And Thande, that's what I was talking about with Day of the Dove.

Yes ScottN. Thank you ScottN.

Hey, Thande, don't sweat it. You're still a nitpicker, and that's what matters. G-d knows, I've made plenty of mistakes.

I don't know if they keep logs of the activity, or if with all the other emergencies relating to the current crisis, whether anyone would be wasting time looking at it. Even if they did, the only one who could impeach T'Pol with it would be Archer, and she can make up an excuse about beaming stuff that she thought Engineering might have needed. - Luigi Novi

Whatever. It makes sense to me. People with addictions sometimes go through strange lengths to obtain substances they can obtain more easily through other methods. Sometimes it's the paranoia of being discovered. Sometimes they subconsciously want to be discovered -- a cry for help.

The cry for help idea makes a bit more sense. I don't but the idea about the paranoia of being discovered, becaus there's no reason why going through the trouble of putting on an EV suit and descending into the Cargo Bay would make her more likely to be discovered than beaming the trellium. If anything, beaming it would be quicker and would be less likely to occupy her at at time when Archer and other crew members might be looking for her with regard to the repair and Xindi situation.

Nonetheless, I included your idea in my Nitpick Document. Thanks, Darth.

May I ask what, precisely, are Luigi's famous Nitpick Documents? Are you planning to supersede the Chief as Nitpickers' Guides writer if Paramount comes off its high horse one day, Luigi?

It is my hope to one day publish my own Nitpick Document as a book, complete with my own nits, nits collected from and credited to Phil and others across the net, funny headings, sidebars on various issues raised by Trek, and hopefully my own little cartoons illustrating certain nits (no, I don't have any drawn yet, just ideas in my head).

And btw, Phil's inability to publish more Guides is due more to the publisher of his Guides not wanting to publish them. Paramount never threatened them, IIRC, but other publishers of unauthorized material, and Phil's publisher simply got cold feet.

Luigi's Guide of RED Lettered Nits

By

Luigi Novi

I don't but the idea about the paranoia of being discovered, becaus there's no reason why going through the trouble of putting on an EV suit and descending into the Cargo Bay would make her more likely to be discovered than beaming the trellium. - Luigi Novi

Which is exactly the point! It doesn't make any more sense, except perhaps to the person making the decision to do one over the other.

Having lived with a struggling alcoholic and been faced with hiding the empties in the bottom of the trash bag instead of the top of the recycle bag or "concealing" a half-empty wine bottle in the front of the cupboard, rather than on the counter where it can be seen or in the fridge where it won't go bad, I can tell you that many of the decisions an addict makes to hide their problem often don't make any sense.

Pretty good episode. Not quite at the level of Azati Prime, but still above average. Things just keep getting darker and darker for Archer. He's made some really questionable choices, and this episode could really come back to haunt him. We'll see though. It was nice seeing Casey Biggs again, too, if only in a small role.

TUE: The sphere builder's voice and appearance kept reminding me of the Salome Jens changeling from Deep Space Nine. For half a second, I thought it actually WAS her. (for ONLY half a second)
Yeah, she reminded me of the changeling too.

Kazeite: So, their warp core is damaged beyond repair and in order to replace it they need a new warp coil? That's two entirely different things...
Aren't the coilds somehow part of the core?

Luigi Novi: Phlox’s decision near the end of Act 4 to keep T’Pol’s addiction a secret from Archer was flat-out wrong, especially during the current time of crisis. Given Archer’s reaction in Stigma to finding out that T’Pol and Phlox kept T’Pol’s Pa’nar Syndrome a secret from him, just how many deadly illnesses does T’Pol have to get before Phlox deems it necessary to tell Archer?
Wouldn't doctor-patient confidentiality prevent him from telling Archer? He could probably tell Archer that she's unfit for duty though.

Luigi Novi: The dark-skinned Xindi humanoid tells the Reptilian Commander in the opening scene of Act 1 that they want to interrogate Archer themselves, and that the Aquatics will pick him up from the Reptilians. So why do the Aquatics deliver him back to the Enterprise?
I assumed that Degra arranged Archer's return and I believe one of the later episodes confirms that.

JoshM: Wouldn't doctor-patient confidentiality prevent him from telling Archer?
Luigi Novi: Not if it calls her judgment as second in command of the vessel into question, and poses a risk to the ship.

Again, he could tell Archer that she's unfit for duty, without going into specifics.

Most nits have already been taken (why didn't Archer ask for a lift? The Illyrians will have a very bad opinion of the Earth people) but I wondered why Archer, when he returned, didn't follow Daniels idea about using diplomacy. It was a good counterpoint when he was interrogated that he only used his story because his attack didn't work. If he contacted the Xindi council from a safe position, he could've swayed some council members.

When they received the SOS signal from the Illyrians, I wondered whether this was some kind of test - maybe an unknown Xindi race - to see whether the Earthlings were bloodthirsty or not, which would've been a point pro or con Archers story. (A bit like Blalock testing Kirk in Corbomite Manevour.) But Archer had to blow it.

I also wondered why only T'Pol protested when Archer proposed his raiding plan. Shouldn't every officer be obliged to stop his captain from committing criminal acts? Or does backtalking and questioning always fall under mutiny?

I have to say that I don't like this ep. or the direction portrayed. Not only because of the gloom, but because I dislike Archer making bad decisions the whole time. What happened to Roddenberrys vision of a better future, enlightened humans, etc.? There are no heroes like Picard anymore, with a sense of what's ethical right and honorable. Just because a war is being fought, all ethics fly out the window. It doesn't feel or look much like Star Trek to me anymore. (Not to mention the trashing of the Vulcans - Spock was one of the cool guys on TOS!)

While I found it very hard to believe that T'Pol would get addicted, reading over the board I wondered whether her disease made her more suspectible to the effects of the drug and lead thusly to the addiction? Because I can't think of a logical reason why a normal vulcan would try to experience emotions, if they already have them and just suppress them.

And when will all these naked-T'Pol-scenes finally stop? Wasn't Star Trek a family show instead of a naked-chick show once?

She also tried to experience emotion in Fusion.

costanze: And when will all these naked-T'Pol-scenes finally stop? Wasn't Star Trek a family show instead of a naked-chick show once?
You mean, the original Trek? The one with scantily-clad babes all over Kirk ever week?

It's not a question of how much flesh (in sq. cm.) is shown, but the way the flesh is shown. When Phil points out in his TOS guide that in the Apollo ep., Lt. Paloma falls down and shows a lot of leg, there's nothing sexy in that scene to compare it with Trip's and T'Pols shower scene in this ep. (And none of the other series started the very first ep. with sth. related to the "decontamination scene" of Broken Bow.)

Luigi (and ScottN), why would T'Pol be unfit for duty just because she experiences emotions? She has successfully hid her addiction till now. That she'll get the shakes going through withdrawal - will that affect her functioning as officer of the ship?

Are you implying that her behaviour in this episode (going into the damaged area alone in search of drugs, etc...) was behavior of an officer fit for duty?

Note that I didn't say she should be thrown in the brig... only that she should be temporarily relieved of duty while under treatment for the addiction.

OK, I didn't quite say that either, but that's really what I was getting at.

But that was in her spare time. So far, her decisions and facts and behaviour on the bridge were normal. She didn't make irrational judgements, and if she shouts at Archer because she's loosing control over her emotions - that's not unfit for duty? (Or should Trip be also relieved when he doesn't stop his ranting in the next ep., although Archer orders him to stop? Trip's overwhelmed with grief, T'Pol with anger and aggression.)

She hasn't struck somebody; she hasn't endagered the ship or crew, she isn't curled up in a corner with her shakes. If she starts to have the shakes, she can plead sick for a few days and return, and I don't see why Phlox would need to break Doctor-patient-confidence to inform Archer of the cause of her condition.

If a crewman/officer can't work for a few days, does it matter if its a cold or a sexual disease or sth. similar embarrassing? Phlox simply needs to inform the captain of how long the treatment will take/the illness will last, and if its infective.

she hasn't endagered the ship or crew,

She endangered crew members, specifically herself -- she darn near died. Because of that, she endangered the ship.

But when Reed and the MACO officer fought in an earlier ep., they did serious damage to each other (out of childish emotions) and Archer only yelled at them.

T'Pol acted stopidly once in her off time. I don't think that's comparable to endangering the ship by making a wrong decision on the bridge (and even then - humans are allowed to make mistakes, so why do Vulcans have to be perfect?)

Reed vs. MACO, partly due to a botched chain-of-command. Yes, they hurt themselves, but only to the point of a few bruises. Again, it's a matter of scale. T'Pol D*MN NEAR DIED because she couldn't control herself.

Umm, Reed and the MACO were hurt seriously, IIRC what Archer said to them. He mentioned a ruptured liver and a loose eye lens (or similar).
And I don't see what a botched chain-of-command could lead two officers to having a fistfight like schoolchildren (instead of talking to Archer to clear it.)

I guess we just see it differently.