Date: Sun, 06 Oct 2002 22:17:54
From: David Johnston <rgorman@telusplanet.net>
> Almost any bad guy would have sufficed as a backdrop for this episode -
> with or without cloaking devices. It didn't necessarily have to be
> Romulans. Showing the actual first earth/Romulan encounter could have
> been a bit more dramatic. I thought that this episode was a waste for
> a classic Star Trek nemesis. Bad kudos to the writers and producers
> for breaking (yet again) continuity. It was clearly implied in the
> original Star Trek Episode "Balance of Terror" that the Romulan
> cloaking device was new technology for Kirk's era. Stealth is OK, but
> an actual Romulan cloaking device is a major no-no.
Honestly, I think they made the right choice given that it has already
been established that no significant advances will be made over
the next century. How could the Romulans have fought Earth and presumptive
allies to a standstill if it didn't have comparable technology?
I think that we can justifiably fanwank "the big surprise was that the Romulans
had cloaking devices that the Federation sensors couldn't see through."
> Archer and Reed get to know one another.
The funny part is that Archer asked for input and then rejected every recommendation
that Reed had without hesitation.
Date: 7 Oct 2002 08:34:37
From: tsalonie@cc.hut.fi (Timo S Saloniemi)
>I'm beginning to think that these Starfleet spacesuits look like
>leftovers from Space: 1999.
And those in turn, just like the "2001" ones, are derivatives of
Bonestell's artwork that drew on 50s vintage engineering studies
and comic books alike. Come to think of it, the suits are pretty
logical and realistic, save perhaps for the dangling air hoses.
The faceplates are as flat as possible, minimizing reflections.
The chest controls are easily accessible. The suit works for space
as well as surface applications, with "magnetic" boots for zero-gee
anchoring instead of the clumsy hook-and-cable system used in today's
suits.
Date: 06 Oct 2002 22:33:42
From: anim8rfsk@aol.com
<< 1) Mayweather actually gets a serious part - with lines! >>
And gives a more stilted line reading than Archer, which I would have bet real
money wasn't possible.
<< 2) How convenient that Hoshi was injured in the initial explosion, thus
no one to translate the Romulans message. I guess her comm-station
isn't grounded. >>
Of course, they just feed the stuff down to her in sick bay, where she does her
usual poor job of translating it, including mispronouncing 'romulan'.
<< 3) Interesting use of shuttle hatches as shields against the exploding
mine. I suppose that isn't covered under warranty. >>
LOL - I wanna know if they had a pile of spare doors (and if so, WHY) or if
they had to take the doors off the shuttles, in which case you can't convince
me it wouldn't have been faster to send the whole pod out.
<< 4) I'm beginning to think that these Starfleet spacesuits look like
leftovers from Space: 1999. >>
But not nearly as advanced - I guarantee you the Space: 1999 suits had sanitary
facilites.
Date: Mon, 07 Oct 2002 20:25:48
From: bkmanns@n...
Good review, MJC; pretty much my sentiments about the episode. I
pretty much enjoyed the show.
I know I'm in the minority, but I don't mind the misses re continuity
as many of the folks here. Perhaps that's because I'm such an avid
reader of the various ST novels and, while you can enjoy them, you
have to ignore any thoughts of continuity with regard to novels, tv
shows, movies. Sometimes the glaring continuity misses will annoy
me, but overall I'm not terribly bothered by them.
Date: Tue, 08 Oct 2002 15:37:32
From: Manyak Saakyan <minuet82@y...>
> "Help! We're stuck in a minefield!" I guess one
> could sum up the drama
> that way, but this was more about Archer and Reed
> than anything else.
> Why Archer chose Reed as his armory officer, only
> Archer knows. Why
> Reed chose to serve on a starship under Archer,
> well, because he's
> afraid of water (one of those phobias). One would
> think that these two
> contrasting characters would not get along. The
> chain of command in
> Starfleet might provide (or force) an environment
> where they must
> cooperate, but when both and others are on a
> starship doing deep space
> exploration, the personal relations between captain
> and crew become a
> bit more important. Archer certainly seems a bit
> more open than most
> COs. This does present a problem for the "spit and
> polish" Reed, but
> over time both will adapt. The drastic situation
> certainly provided
> each other more insight into each characters
> personalities, more so
> than just breakfast. Perhaps there will be other
> non-life threatening
> events that will unfold for both men to better
> understand one another.
> I felt that there was some deja-vu with Shuttlepod
> One, except that
> there was Archer instead of Trip with Reed in a life
> or
> death "getting-to-know-you" situation. In spite of
> that, the
> Archer/Reed scenes showed some solid writing.
>
I thought of shuttle pod one also but the interaction
between Archer and Reed was remarkably idfferent form
the interaction between Trip and Reed. I had never
thought that Reed would ahve those kinds of
objections, so I was ssatified with the dialogue.
> Almost any bad guy would have sufficed as a backdrop
> for this
> episode - with or without cloaking devices. It
> didn't necessarily
> have to be Romulans. Showing the actual first
> earth/Romulan encounter
> could have been a bit more dramatic.
You are absolutely right, why the romulans? For
ratings i say. They basically introduced the romualns
to guarantee an audience. Maybe they also lack
imagination. Maybe they don't want to introduce
another species into the mix and feel that the
Romualns should be a part of ENT. They should nto
have had cloaking technology. Cloaked mines maybe,
but cloaked ships, no.
I thought
> that this episode
> was a waste for a classic Star Trek nemesis. Bad
> kudos to the
> writers and producers for breaking (yet again)
> continuity. It was
> clearly implied in the original Star Trek Episode
> "Balance of Terror"
> that the Romulan cloaking device was new technology
> for Kirk's era.
> Stealth is OK, but an actual Romulan cloaking device
> is a major no-
> no. Missing certain micro nick-picky continuity
> stuff is
> understandable, but this kind of oversight should
> have been a no-
> brainer. Maybe Future Guy (who MJC thinks is a
> Romulan anyways - see
> Broken Bow review) has given the Romulans cloaking
> technology anyway.
> Oh well, this could be bad for 24th century Ferengi
> commerce.
That is possible!!!!!
> Tid Bits -
>
> 1) Mayweather actually gets a serious part - with
> lines!
>
> 2) How convenient that Hoshi was injured in the
> initial explosion,
> thus no one to translate the Romulans message. I
> guess her comm-
> station isn't grounded.
>
> 3) Interesting use of shuttle hatches as shields
> against the exploding
> mine. I suppose that isn't covered under warranty.
>
this part to me was not believable.
> 4) I'm beginning to think that these Starfleet
> spacesuits look like
> leftovers from Space: 1999.
>
>
I hate the spacesuits. Just yuck, the color and the
look is just nasty.