Weird show. It feels like a combination of Farscape (Graphics, Aliens, Slipstream, etc.) and Trek (Terms, Technology, etc.), yet doesn't have the cohesion of either show. I don't know, maybe it will get better as the season goes on...

-OK, so now we have a Cat, a Rat, and a Fly in this universe? I guess it's possible...

-Andromeda is shot at by 500+ ships and still survives?

-The captain shoots the commander in the hip, yet the commander dies from a shot in his CHEST.

-Nobody gave the order to "slingshot" out of the black hole, yet for 300 years, Andromeda has been moving out of it.

-How could the black hole stay next to the planet for so long without causing any damage to it?

-Why didn't the captain use the extention to his weapon while fighting the commander?

-I found the use of old Earth terms to be really annoying. This is supposed to be ten-thousand years ahead of our time, yet they still talk about "harley-davidsons" and "buying the farm"?

-How come Andromeda is always shown from above the chest only? Why not a full-bodied hologram?

-Even on these advanced ships, sparks still fly when consoles are hit!

-Great to see Kevin Sorbo ("Hercules") again, though. Maybe Michael Hurst ("Iolaus") could cameo as another Commonwealth officer?

Why do they have all these stations without seats? Bad design.

Some of the aliens looked phony.

They want to use the gravity to slingshot away. However Hunt orders them straight into the black hole, then later says to vector away. What he should have ordered was to skim the event horizon instead.
Heading straight toward a gravity source, then trying to veer away would strain the engines as you try to turn away & create stress on the ship, but heading by a gravity source keeps you going in one direction and allows you to add the gravitational pull to your pulling away.

NANJAO: One half light second from the event horizon would be 93,141 miles & change.

That one gal has a nice tail. ;-)

How did those harpoons loop around? Little rockets & I missed seeing the burst?

Okay, Andromeda can detect that the Nietschian fleet & the escape pods are gone, but she doesn't notice the salvage ship?

Harper's references are so far out of date it's incredible. Andromeda says that the Commonwealth hasn't fought a real war in over a thousand years, indicating that it is over a Millennia since it was founded and currently they are 300 years past the fall of the Commonwealth. At the bare minimum they could be in the 34th century, but are most likely waaaaay beyond that.

Why didn't the Magog need a helmet?

Loved Harper's line, "He's like some kind of Greek God." LOL Or maybe half of one. ;-)

I thought it was a great start for a new series!

Really cool moment at the opening when Dylan
uses the anti-grav unit to get between decks,
and then Andromeda's line:"One of these days
I won't be able to catch you!"

I believe Trance is the one with the tail,she
kinda reminds me of Chiana on FARSCAPE.

Slipstream has also been mentioned on VOYAGER,
and it looks like unlike the Federation the
Commonwealth has found a way to harness it.

Great battle scenes at the beginning.:)

How come the Salvager's sensors don't read
Dylan's life signs?

Also how come no-one even KNOWS that Dylan's
still on the ship?They seem to have done their
homework and know everything about the Andromeda
Ascendant except that the Captain was left behind
when she went down.

I agree about that line:"He's as big as a Greek
God!" it had me chuckling a lot,especially as it
was an obvious injoke!:)

As far as Andromeda's human personification goes
well what else can I say but that she's one
babelicious ship!:)

BTW:Is High Guard the entire Commonwealth Fleet
or some honorary rank that Dylan holds?

All in all this being the pilot I give ANDROMEDA
about an A.

I can't believe it! I missed almost all of it. Tuned in at the last five minutes, and liked what I saw. Kevin Sorbo handles himself pretty well as far as I could see, and seemed to stay away from general hercules stuff, but I can't make a good descision as I didn't see the thing completely.

Btw, if someone could provide a plot summarry, would be much obliged

I meant to say "I would be much obliged." I couldn't cancel the post fast enough.

Sorry Baltimore 54 wigged out on me last night and I was unable to catch but ten seconds of the episode. But I did manage to see WGN's showing tonight.

Summarry: Captain Dylan Hunt and the crew of Andromeda recieve a distress call that rogue black hole has entered a nearby sector. The Andromeda heads out to help evacuate the system only to find themselves ambushed by a race calling itself the Nietschian. The ship under attack Hunt has the crew abandoned ship and he tries to use the black hole's gravity to escape into slip stream and warn the Commonwealth about the coming invasion. Instead the ship is sabatoged and is sent into the black hole.
Three hundred years later the Commonwealth has fallen and a group of salvagers pull the Andromeda out not realizing that the time dialiations in the black hole froze Dylan Hunt in time. Hunt determined to find some remanant of the black hole orders them off his ship. While the employer of the salvager brings mercenaries aboard the Andromeda in order to take the ship.

Overall a good episode.
Was it a good tactic to have the crew abandon the ship while they were being by 10,000 Nietshcian warships. Wouldn't it been better if they tried to leave with Andromeda than be at the mercy of the Nietshcians.
Also did the writers not understand the nature of black holes. Not even light is suspose to be able escape from a black hole. And the gravitational forces would have crushed the ship.

I also got the enjoyment of WGN cable's presentation. And I found it to be a compiliing hour of TV. I found a lot of the aliens to be very lame looking, and some of the characters annoying. But it was a fun show with a plot that kept me glued.

A few grips though:
- Intros to commericals and stuff were really lame. Made it look like a kiddie show. Whatever happened to the classic logo on black?

- the 20th century stuff. Just seemed out of place.

- the CGI seemed kinds cheap. and I also think killing/removing all the crew to be a not so good move. I think a half and half crew a'la Voyager would have been better. But I can understand the idea of the lone Rip Van Winkle.

The opening credits need some work though.

Overall the show was great fun though. I can't wait for next week.

Scott: I believe several of the escape pods were destroyed, therefore a full accounting of the crew, and who might have stayed behind, wouldn't have been possible.

Triggins: Andromeda did not go into the black hole, they were trying to go past it, passing within one half light second (93,141 miles). Also Ballantine says that the ship was slowly pulling away from the black hole by itself and would have been clear in a few years.
There are 2 ways this can be interpreted:
1. Andromeda was in an expanding orbit of the black hole just outside the event horizon.
2. Andromeda was traveling in its intended trajectory, but in a slower time frame. (This second one has a ton of flaws, but I've always felt that physicists theories about black holes were just a bunch of hot air, so I won't bother nitting it.)
Hunt determined to find some remanant of the black hole orders them off his ship I believe you mean Commonwealth, not black hole.

Rogue black hole: Ugh! How can a black hole sneak up on a solar system? They really should have known this thing was approaching years earlier. I believe the fastest traveling stars move at 25-30 miles per second. Plenty of time to get out of their way.

Andromeda is one light second away from the system, so why can't they see it? They are only 186,282.397 miles away. I beleive the moon is a quarter light second away.

That being said, they were in Slipstream for a lot longer than a second, so Slipstream travel must be slower than lightspeed. ;-)

In a way the Hunt/Rada relationship is similar to the Kirk/Spock relationship. Except that here the 'Vulcans' turned on the 'Federation'.

Ballantine says that Hunt owes them because they pulled his ship out. Except that earlier she said that Andromeda would be free in a few years anyway.

When Majel first started promoting these "lost treatments" it was mentioned that many of them had been sitting, in various states of completedness, for decades.

This definitely has a "Star Trek, Remnant" feel. With the proper make-up and a name change you can see the future of the Federation (remembering that we are talking only TOS)

KAM already mentioned the similarity between the Nietschians and the Vulcans (and Rada/Spock in particular).

The other correspondences I noticed:
(Races)
Commonwealth = Federation
High Guard = Starfleet
Magog = Klingon
(Individuals)
Harper = Kevin Riley (with Scotty's engineering expertise thrown in)
The black guy manning the weapons console = Redshirt # 47
Ballentine = Harry Mudd


I could point out three or four more, but they would be even more forced than the last three.

I did mean Commonwealth not black hole. That's what I get for paying more attention to Earth Final Conflict last night than what I was typing.

Triggins: I am much obliged

More comparisons to the Original Series:
1) When the ship is being attacked, the people shake and move back & forth in their seats!
2) The women wear tight and impractical uniforms (but of course that is true of 7 of 9 on Voyager too...)
3) Aliens with makeup that looks like it may fall off at any moment. (Think back to the pig makeup of the Tellarites on "Journey to Babel.") The alien that looked like a rat reminded me of the rat on "Beakman's World" but I guess I shouldn't mention it.....

If you made Harper's hair stand up, he could be Beakman, & Trance could be Jax. ;-)

Ok, upon further viewing the extending weapon that Captain Hunt uses on Harper is not the same one he used on the bridge. It seems like the one he used in the earlier fight was akin to a type II phaser and the one he uses on Harper is akin to a phaser rifle.

I did not see a Cat... However, the Magog look like Bats to me... But if there is a Cat, will he slink around the ship going "Whoooooo" spraying things and saying, "This is mine, and this is mine, and this is mine. Not that bit, but all the rest of this is mine."? I noticed that Beka (The captain of the salvage ship) had a small model ship hanging above her control panel.

I believe Cat is a reference to Trance Gemini, the ditzy girl with the pointy ears and a tail.

I was really put off by the first episode, but I'll definitely watch the next few to see if it picks up.

The first problem was my own--I was expecting a Star Trek: Andromeda, if you understand what I mean. I wasn't expecting another "Starfleet in Space" show, but I did expect some continuity with species we already know. It's clear this show will have almost nothing to do with that universe, and that could be cool in itself. It was just odd to get over that initial shock.

The cheesy looking aliens were also a turnoff, especially after the technical excellence of the appearance of the Cardassians, Klingons, and other races that really look alien and make sense from an evolutionary standpoint.

But the thing that bothered me most was the allegorical names of the alien races. The Nietzscheans? The Magog? That, more than anything, made it hard for me to suspend disbelief, and the show is stuck with those names.

I'm not going to give up on a show based on one hour, half of a pilot. But still, it seems this series is going to have a lot to overcome.

If the Federation..oops..Commonwealth ;^) fell 300 years ago, and Dylan's been in the Black Hole for 300 years, did the mighty, millions of planets, Commonwealth fall in less than a year??

and: my understanding is that there was talk of pitching the series as the NEXT Trek series - with the fall of the Federation. Does anyone have any info on this? In any event, IMHO, if you THINK of the Commonwealth AS the Federation, it sort of gives the whole show a much more powerful resonance (perhaps think of it as an alternative/possible future for the Federation?).

All in all - I LIKED the 1st ep. Potential abounds.

And it's even scarier if you think of the Nietzians as the Vulcans! Imagine the Vulcans coming to a logical conclusion that the Federation must end and then acting on that conclusion efficiently and without emotion! :^)

They apparently also came to the conclusion that pointed ears are illogical!

And yeah, Cat is a reference to Trance Gemini, the blue girl with the pointy ears and a tail.

Originally Andromeda was planned as the next Star Trek series. According to rumor at least. But the powers that be at Star Trek decided they did not want to go in that direction and the creators behind Andromeda set the show in a different universe.

But the thing that bothered me most was the allegorical names of the alien races. The Nietzscheans? The Magog? That, more than anything, made it hard for me to suspend disbelief, and the show is stuck with those names.

Well, the Nietzscheans aren't aliens per se, but genetically engineered humans, right? And I think Magog was a name given to the race by Commonwealth types (IIRC that's what it says at allsystems.org or one of those official sites).

In any case, Trek did the same thing! How alien a name is Romulans, especially considering they're clearly based on the Roman Empire? (All "they're really Rihannsu" arguments will be summarily dismissed. ;-) ) Or Vulcans, for that matter? The difference is that we're used to it.

If the Federation..oops..Commonwealth ;^) fell 300 years ago, and Dylan's been in the Black Hole for 300 years, did the mighty, millions of planets, Commonwealth fall in less than a year??

I'm sure that neither event was exactly 300 years ago. It's common enough to round off large numbers, and as well prepared and efficient as the Nietschians were in their surprise attacks, it probably did not take more than twenty years to bring down enough major centers of government and commerce to effectively end the existence of the Commonwealth as a unified entity.

If there are, as Dylan hopes, still a few pockets of "civilization" out there somewhere, that still does not negate the statement that the Commonwealth has been "gone" for three hundred years.

I was able to dig up a couple of Aint-it-cool-news.com articles on the origins of Andromeda. I've posted them in the Com's Sink category.

Anyone else annoyed by the little detail of how many cables were used to pull the Andromeda out of the "black hole?"


It looks like 6 at first. The bridge display shows 8. Then we're told (by the Magog) that "cable 10" has just failed.

It was a great idea to bring The Wolf in on this show. It was an even better idea to have him pen the first couple of episodes. Hopefully, they will set up some very large pits around the studio to keep Rick Berman out though. Dont get me wrong, I love Voyager... but Andromeda is MUCH better off without him. Now if they could just get The Bear in on it...

I agree that this show has potential, but they really need to get some better writers! Much of the dialogue was awful. Add to that the alien makeup, cheap-looking CGI, and cheap production design, and you have a show that seems more like Battlestar Galactica than Trek. Still, it's nice to see Sorbo doing something new; hopefully it gets better.

Oh, and did anyone else find the Commonwealth uniforms to be ridiculous with all the leather? Sigh.

And, as for a nice, large nit, black holes tend to be named such because they are... you guessed it... BLACK in the centre. Why did the light of this one seem only to increase at its centre??

Watched this for the first time last night. Not a huge Andromeda fan. I watched the Angel Demon whatever episode (the time travel one) when it first aired. I was impressed. So I watched intermittently. Saw the season finale. VERY IMPRESSIVE.

Anyway, watching this episode after seeing some of the others, kinda makes more sense. A few comments though.

>> Rev Bem has more fur in this episode than in others.
>> Trance has no purple makeup around her eyes here but she does in other episodes.
>> Beka gets curly hair between this episode and others.
>> In this episode, Dylan states his mission as being to find some remnant of the Commonwealth. Later episodes state his mission as being to restore the Commonwealth himself.
>> What is with that red uniform? What an ugly thing. Of course, he changes right in the middle of the episode to a much more appropriate black.

I haven't seen the next episode (part 2??) either. Maybe some of my comments will be addressed.

See ya later
TUE

At the end of An Affirming Flame, the second part of the pilot, I believe Hunt's stated mission is to restore the Commonwealth.

Other differences:

Rev Bem wears normal clothing, and doesn't walk around with the lower part of his body naked. I always thought it looked ridiculous in this episode.

Trance wears better-looking clothing.

Am I wrong or did Harper whistle the interkom tune just before he meets Hunt for the first time?

According to Seamus Harper's dataport logs, "Under the Night" and "An Affirming Flame" take place on 4.7.10087.

Harper is partly incorrect, part of Under The Night was set around 300 years earlier.

Well, that's just being nitpicky. You know he means the 10087 events.

The Moon is 1.3 light seconds from Earth.

During the Apollo moon missions, after Mission Control said something to the astronauts, it took 2.6 seconds before the reply came. Longer, because I think there was a beep that was used to indicate a signal starting or finishing.

Of course, for the astronauts on the Moon, it took close to 3 seconds for Mission Control to reply to them!

3 seconds is nothing... think of what it'll be like for missions to Mars! And recall in the movie "2010" - it took over an hour for exchanges with Earth from the Leonov and (once it was up and running) Discovery. It helped keep Heywood Floyd from having to tell his boss what they were up to in linking the Leonov and Discovery together to get away from Jupiter.

Uh, GCapp, I think you're on the wrong board.

When Rhade recommends using the nova bomb, Dylan says, "I will not use strategic weapons within an inhabited system."

I wonder where he would use strategic weapons. Seems to me that a nova bomb would be intended to kill a lot of people.