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$$$ De-tech of "Detained" [Spoilers]
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mark Nguyen: [QB] Oh boy, we had lots of fun with this one! A good episode overall, though somewhat overly transparent. But damn, it's good to see Sam and Al together again. Spoilers ahead! -Bad guys this time are the Tandarans ("Tan-DEHR-ans"), who are proabably the trek aliens with the least prosthetics ever, without actually not having prosthetics. The only thing setting them apart is a tiny flap of skin at the top of the nose. Tandaran space comprises several systems in a "Tandaran Sector". -The Tandarans are at war with the Suliban, and have been for eight years. The government seems pretty normal (i.e. not evil), as are the people. They have a lot of regulations though, but they're hardly worse than anything seen in a democracy of the 20th Century. -The prison facility holds 89 Suliban, including children; none of them are part of the Cabal. Thousands more are kept in other camps in a thin veiling of the Japanese internment camps of WWII. Oddly, the prison also holds seized Suliban ships, providing convenient transportation for the inevitable prison break. The facilities are spartan but relatively civil - there is a curfew. -"Be careful of their wicked smiles Their shining yellow eyes; At night they'll squeeze right through your door, And everybody dies." Odd, how an alien nursery rhyme still rhymes in English... Odder still how an obvious racial slurr is taught as a nursery rhyme. -The Suliban used to be well-assimilated into Tandaran society... The Suliban homeworld "became uninhabitable" 300 years ago, and those in Tandar space are a relative minority that decided to settle, rather than be nomadic. The internment changed all that. -As with the Japanese, families were split up. Requests to rejoin them seem to be routinely ignored. -All the adult Suliban in this episode seem to have raspy voices. It's probagbly unintentional, but wierd nonetheless. -Sam and Al are baaaaaack! At more than one point, Colonel Grat uses a PADD which is about the right size and shape, too... Too bad he doesn't whack it. It's worth pointing out that when the two actors are doing scenes alone, it's almost like Quantum Leap never left. Snif.. -The big issue is that the Tandarans discover Enterprise's previous dealings with the Suliban, and want anything Archer knows about 'em. The Tandaran intelligance service is apparently pretty effective; they know of the Broken Bow incident, Rigel Ten, Sarin, and more; Tandaran agents were on the latter planet. They know of Silik's later visit and the Temporal Cold War too. It's unclear where some of this info is coming from, but it's proabably not in the Shuttlepod database. -Mention is made of "helix deployments", concluding that there are more than one. No big srprise, but worth noting. -It's not really mentioned why Travis and Archer were in the shuttlepod in the first place... But they were unconscious long enough to be transported several light years. They apparently stumbled into Tandaran-sensitive space, and missed the no-entry sign. -Anyway, the Enterpise eventually tracks 'em down when Grat contacts the ship. They're able to beam stuff and people in without to much trouble, suggesting the Tandarans don't have transporter technology. They can track energy readings of a communicator just fine, though. -Outside Tandaran space lie the "Niburon Colonies", where escaping Suliban might find sanctuary. -Makeup fun continues, as Phlox reveals he can turn Malcom into a Suliban with relative ease. According to the hapless Armory Officer, it itches a lot. However, he seems to be getting used to the transporter when it's used to beam him and a batch of phase pistols into the prison. As a side note, the actor seems to be having fun imitating other accents in this series... -To confuse the Tandaran electronics and allow Reed to beam down, T'Pol talks to Grat and sends them the "human database" containing some funky virus or something. Anyway, watch closely for some subtly wierd acting on Blalock's part. -Tandaran patrol ships are asymetrical, but look a little like the Star Wars droid fighters in TPM. Two of 'em are no match for the Pre-E; a torpedo each from the aft launchers is plenty to disable them. -Effects heavy stuff towards the end, with Trip taking a shuttlepod to lay waste to the base, and the subsequent escape byt he Suliban ships. There's no question anymore as to the shuttles' armament, either; they're definitelly equipped with phase weapons. -The Pre-E also sems able to descend into a Class-M atmosphere, at least a little; they deploy the shuttle while inside a cloud mass. -The Suliban ships that escape are *not* the cell ships we've seen before - they're fairly plain aeroforms. In fact, they may be Tandaran ships (as they are Tandaran immigrants, after all) but the ship designs are nothing like the patrol ships. That's enough for me for now. This was a pretty good show, and heavy on the action, so it'll make a good watch for most fans despite not breaking new dramatic ground. It's on the same level as "Shuttlepod One" for me, so it's quite a watchable hour. Have fun with it! Mark [/QB][/QUOTE]
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