posted
How come I can download *and* review this episode before any of of you Americans do ?
- It's a timetravel episode. The return of Daniels and the entire Temporal War arch.
- Daniels is about as clueless as Archer. This Xindi War isn't 'supposed to happen'. Whatever caused it, 'hasn't affected us yet', Daniels says.
- Daniels sends Archer and T'Pol back in time to Detroit, Michigan, 2004, where three Reptillians from Archer's era have turned up. Apparently, getting clearance to send anyone else to that time would've have taken too much.... time.
- A lot of the 2004 scenes feel like The Voyage Home. Especially the clumsy wording of T'Pol brings back memories. Good stuff. T'Pol uses a Detroit city map of 2002, the closest she could find in the database.
- Fossil fuels apparently ran out in 2061.
- T'Pol delivers some pretty harsh criticism on our era. I think she grows some respect for what 22nd humans have achieved.
- Archer has bloodtype B-.
- Our crew tries to order something from a drive-through. Saving Earth from total destruction is a piece of cake compared to this
- The Reptillians pay some guy Loomis to abduct people for them. They make sure no-one sees them.
If the episode is as silly as I think it is, then I wish I was with my family. They can pat me on the back while I throw up.
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted
Well.. it wasn't as silly as it sounds from the above points. Basically, the Xindi have somehow managed to travel to 2004, want to collect samples of all 8 bloodtypes to make and release a biotoxin. Archer manages to stop them, Xindi try to spread unfinished toxin anyway, Archer prevents that too and beams everything back to NX-01. So they now have three dead Xindi, a whole bunch of Xindi equipment *and* the toxin on board.
But, as has become usual in the Temporal War episodes, very little is explained (the characters are about as clueless as the viewer). Although I'm left wondering if TPTB actually *had* an explanation for themselves, or if they're just making stuff up along the way.
posted
I'd say everything is being made up as the show goes along.
-------------------- "It speaks to some basic human needs: that there is a tomorrow, it's not all going to be over with a big splash and a bomb, that the human race is improving, that we have things to be proud of as humans." -Gene Roddenberry about Star Trek
Registered: May 1999
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posted
I liked it. It was'nt as good as last week's but it furthered the Xindi storyline nicely and had some really funny moments. That damn dog in the car was great! Archer jumped out of his skin!
Lots of new Xindi tech to study for Trip, Phlox and T'Pol too!
Man! Could that kidnapper have been any scummier? Looks like Enterprise has really pegged how to make their villians unlikable. A couple of things: I think it was four Xindi, not three. You guys see the genesis-style virus container? Kewel.
I dig the retro look to the Xindi tech: it's 1960's looking, so it must be more advanced than starfleets sleek steel paneling and ergonomic designs.
Porthos once again displays his spacial/temporal anomaly sense.
Archer is still in character and still willing to do whatever it takes to save Earth. Good right hook too. T'Pol shows her superior Vulcan srength and willingness to shoot a smoker in the head: it's the logical thing to do. I concur.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
-- T'Pol specifically says that the NX-01 is currently 90 light-years away from Earth.
-- The Xindi were using a "neutron power source" of some kind.
-- Could the timeline get any more frelled up? Now they're talking about "terrorists" in 2004, which is obviously a reference to "our" timeline. Though I suppose it could coexist with the "Future's End" timeline. I'm going to have to think up a way to blame the entire "Enterprise" timeline hoohah on Braxton, now...
-- Love the part at the end, with the kidnapper rambling on about "lizard people" and "ray guns"... he gets what he deserves, at least!
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
Bin Laden is not a Eugenics type guy... he's got 50 some kids IIRC, no reproductive control there.
-------------------- Later, J _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ The Last Person to post in the late Voyager Forum. Bashing both Voyager, Enterprise, and "The Bun" in one glorious post.
posted
Hmmmm. So we have the original TOS/TNG/DS9/VOY timeline which seems to be the same as ours till 1990ish, when we get the Eugenics wars, but then the normal TNG/DS9/VOY cumulating the the 30th(?) century Braxton and timeships. Then we have the Borg and First Contact messing up the timeline past Cochrane leading to Enterprise and ending with Daniel's Federation (which seems to lack timeships). Then we also have a second change with the Xindii war, precipitated supposedly by FutureGuy, and different from Daniel's timeline. (which is being protected by some Millenium-style slow propogation of timeline changes)
Well, at the very least, even for those that weren't convinced that all of Enterprise is an alternate timeline, at least we seem to have on-air evidence than 3rd season onwards is going to be completely alternate.
Also, while using a tricorder to unlock car doors, track enemy movements (finally), and break into ATMS is rather nifty and sure beats pawning off glasses for money...while the first two are obvious, I wonder how the third would work. While some modern cars have remote locks, I don't believe ATMs have receivers of any sort, thus the tricorder would have to directly tap into the electronics in some way.
*rant* What, the lizard Xindi couldn't have gone further back and stomped on a few amino acids struggling to form rRNA? What kinda crummy virus relies on blood types? Why are the resources of Daniel's "Federation" so limited they can only send one guy back to monitor arguably, one of the most critical periods of Federation history...and be forced to send back Archer and T'Pol instead of an experienced team? *end-rant*
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Also, why didn't Daniels send Archer and T'Pol back two months further, so that they could have more time to stop the Xindi. As it is, they barely managed it in time.
This is why Trek shouldn't do time travel. Especially recently. The writers obviously don't understand it.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
At the risk of talking about the least important thing ever, I never got the impression that Archer's bloodtype was actually the one they were looking for. I mean, what, he's not going to be able to sneak in because he's A+ or something? "Well, I would have tried to save the Earth, but they were clearly only looking for two specific kinds of people, and I was neither, and I wouldn't want to break the rules."
I liked that, uh, Loomis' Cunning Knife Plan failed miserably. Because, like, I was thinking, hey, isn't T'Pol both way stronger than him plus in possession of (largely unexplored) covert ops training?
Also, it's a little late in the game to complain about the logic of time travel. Being able to move in more than one direction temporally would be nonsensical to an observer, almost by definition. I don't think you can tell a "realistic" story about time travel. Not to us, anyway. (Though, recommendation: Michael Swanwick's novel Bones of the Earth comes pretty close, in my opinion, especially in regards to showing how weird things might get when you start treating next Tuesday or 1927 the same way you treat Second Avenue.)
Registered: Mar 1999
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The Ep: Not very convincing time-travel logic. I would have been impressed if when Archer and T'Pol returned, Trip didn't recognize the Xindi bodies or something. The nature of the weapon is never really explored except that it's "biological." If the Xindi have time-travelling tech, we start getting into Terminator-esque paradoxes.
In RE: ATMs: so this is rationalizing, but the tricorder would likely be able to connect to a cellular phone network would would be connected to the internet which would probably be connected to the ATM network at some stage which would presumably allow them to make it fork over the money.
So there's a lot of unthought out science in it, but I still enjoyed the episode. I liked T'Pol shooting the guy. I liked some of the acting. And then I really liked the payoff with Loomis blathering about ray-guns and the aliens, etc.
Registered: Sep 2000
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I did notice one thing so far - Archer notes that the last time they fought the Reptilians, the stun setting had no effect. I guess that explains the armor...
posted
With regards to Timeships and Timetravel in general: Time travel is likely closely monotored by all sides in the future Cold war so it's concievable that the Xindi were dropped into an era where no one was "looking" at that moment of their departure. Timeships may be readily available in Daniels' time but may not be used in Enterprise's era without esclating the conflict. It is a "COLD" war after all. Besides, Daniels' could have been operating from a Timeship for all we know: Just something more advanced than the Relativity in that they dont have to take the subject onto the ship to transport them elsewhwen/where.
Might be nice to learn (in season 7) that daniels' was a commander or something on a future Enterprise....
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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