Placeholder. This is more to let you know that the Season Premiere tech review will not come tonight. Due to a stoopid decision on the part of my local TV station, Enterprise has moved to Wednesday nights - this year, I'm watching the show along with everyone else. However, I will continue with my tech reviews as soon as I watch 'em.
And the premiere should be a doozy, with the new sets, new weapons, and alleged new MACO tactics we're expecting. Who knows what else we'll see? We'll find out in the review tomorrow night.
Mark
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
I guess we can start with this report from Trektoday - the MACO uniforms or combat outfits seem to be re-uses of the costumes used in "The Core". I suppose it's okay, since next to no one saw that movie...
Mark
Posted by David Templar (Member # 580) on :
I'm knitting a nice, soft noose to hang myself with, in expectation of new lows for the show. Anyone else want one?
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
They can't even design original costumes for a major new aspect of the show? I mean... I'm not saying it'll ruin it, but come on! Why would you reuse costumes instead of designing something.
*sigh*
Posted by Kazeite (Member # 970) on :
Well, to be fair, Star Trek is known for reusing props from earlier series...
And I believe that one of ships in Battlestar Galactica was a reuse of ship from different movie, wasn't it?
And on the bright side, I'm fairly sure that "The Xindi" cannot be worse than "Dear Doctor", for example Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
I thought no episode could be worse than Acquisition.
Then came A Night In Sickbay, and I was wrong.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
HEY!!! Dear Doctor - was one of the BEST Enterprise episodes yet. I supposed you liked "Strange New World"? - ENT's "Code of Honour"?
Posted by CaptainMike20X6 (Member # 709) on :
i liked 'Strange New World' , and i remember liking 'Code of Honor' when i was a kid
but 'Dear Doctor' was retarded. they tried to set up a morally thought provoking story, and ended up leaving the audience completely confused as to what the hell happened..
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
Campers, please bash/praise the series on some other thread. Starting tonight, it's all about the tech.
Mark
Posted by TheWoozle (Member # 929) on :
OH Thank God.
Posted by Kazeite (Member # 970) on :
Oh damn... I made a mistake...
I meant to say A Night in Sickbay - the one where producers do everything to convice us that Archer is indeed inresponsible moron, not capable of commanding anything bigger than lawnmower
But Dear Doctor, on the other hand... it was interesting to see Archer and Phlox breaking nonexistant Prime Directive and then claiming "Boy, there sure should be some kind of Prime Directive!". Not to mention later episode, where Phlox claims that as Denobulan doctor he must fulfill his patients wishes.
... Hm, I started to bash Enterprise...
So, my apologies for my mistake, and let the tech analysis begin! Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
Also the non-existent articles, both definite and indefinite.
I am actually looking forward to getting a better look at the new rifles, and despite the reuse of the uniform, I'm looking forward to seeing them. I hope the Phase Pistols stick around though.
Did we ever get a name for the green pulse weapon Enterprise fired from the forward saucer in the premiere?
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
I hope someone is able to capture images of the rifles, I have a website update to produce!
Posted by David Templar (Member # 580) on :
I wonder how many photon torpedoes the NX-01 will expend in the season opener, and if we'll be seeing another Voyager Torpedoe Replicator.
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
photon ic torpedoes... They're not the same... not at all.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Yes, it's short for "photographic electronic" torpedoes.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
I'm just hoping they haven't ditched the old torpedoes in the upgrade. They still had the old launch tracks in the armory set, and the same old tubes on the exterior model... Also, Reed points out that the new torps had super range and variable yield - they said nothing about increased destructive potential, though it was pointed out that they have antimatter warheads.
Besides, it'd just look way cool if we could see Enterprise blazing away with all barrels... Torpdoes, phase cannons, and plasma guns. As if.
Mark
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
"Did we ever get a name for the green pulse weapon Enterprise fired from the forward saucer in the premiere?"
Disrupt cannons.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
quote:Originally posted by Mark Nguyen: [QB] I'm just hoping they haven't ditched the old torpedoes in the upgrade. They still had the old launch tracks in the armory set, and the same old tubes on the exterior model... Also, Reed points out that the new torps had super range and variable yield - they said nothing about increased destructive potential, though it was pointed out that they have antimatter warheads.
I believe I saw a few of the old spatial torpedoes sitting on racks behind some wall in the Armory set, in the scene when Reed, Major Lunkhead, and T'Pol were planning the assault.
There really wasn't all that much tech to this episode. The only things I wonder about would be why the Local Miners decided to pump their plasma UP instead of DOWN. Aside from giving Our Heroes some time to get out of the fire, of course...
Other tech? Oh yeah... was I mistaken, or did I hear one of the Xindi (one portrayed by an actor, not CGI) say that Earth was 50 light-years away? Not that ENT has ever paid too much attention to stellar cartography, but isn't that awfully damn close for a major group of species that we've never ever heard of before? I thought Soval said in the finale that it was 2,000 LY away...
And finally, did anyone else get bad flashbacks from "Star Wars" during those Xindi Council scenes? *sigh*
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
You couldn't just've read my review?
Yes, I was reminded of AoTC in the Council scenes.
I don't think there being 50 light years away is all that big of a deal. I mean, in three years of TOS, twenty-one combined years of TNG, DS9, and VOY, and ten feature films, how many Federation member races have we seen represented? And considering that worlds within Federation space aren't neccessarily Federation members, I don't really see a big deal with this.
PS - I like the hatch doors.
Posted by TheF0rce (Member # 533) on :
quote:Originally posted by MinutiaeMan: I thought Soval said in the finale that it was 2,000 LY away...
So Soval was lying? Luv these new cuddly vulcans.
quote: And finally, did anyone else get bad flashbacks from "Star Wars" during those Xindi Council scenes? *sigh*
That and the planet being destroyed..."I sense a great disturbance in the force"
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
Just a thought, but could the Xindi who said that have been referencing Enterprise? Of course, if they think they're planet is going to be destroyed 400 years in the future ... (unless it's some sort of weapon that works in reverse...)
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
Funky ep! Like the new stuff. Let's get to it.
-The Expanse is only 50ly away, but it's 2000 BIG - let's see how that screws up the damn map.
-I like the new command center, though it has no seats for its multitude of consoles. One wonders if all the stations would ever be used at once, cramped in like that. I believe that the big display is made from bits of obs lounge in "Nemesis".
-Speaking of which, the command center was a storage room before. What with this, the new machinery for the torpedoes, and all the space the MACOs need, it seems that Starfleet doesn't have a long-term mission in mind. I highly doubt they completely overhauled the ship and miniaturized everything to the point that all the new stuff wouldn't affect the endurance of the ship; I wonder if they'll ever run into a Voyager-esque scrounging or resource problem.
-Ahh, the MACOs. Nice uniforms, though as camo it's awfully minimal. Also nice to see that they're all from places in the US - Minnesota and Altanta nevertheless see lots of aliens apparently. Oddly, the MACOs seem quite landlocked under normal circumstances. I guess Starfleet hasn't yet needed troops of any kind in their exploration.
-Remember a TNG episode when the Enterprise ran through a bunch of portable holes? One went through the conference lounge, piling all the furniture up in the middle of the room offscreen. I'd have liked to see that with the VFX seen in the cargo bay.
-The mining colony uses wind power - a rarity in Trek, even in this era. backup power, perhaps?
-It's a FAAAAAAAAKE! Platinum naturally occurs as a solid, no?
-The Xindi reptiles and humanoids are related as neanderthals and us. One wonders how much the other species are... The only other occurrence of different sentient species on the same planet that comes to mind are the Mon Calamari and the Quarren from Star Wars. Any others?
-Why the hell do the sewers have to glow? Do one of the thirty-one species that create the stuff..?
-Hayes addresses Reed as "sir". Is anyone familiar with the pay grades of the US military able to justify something here - or is it just the chain of command in evidence on the ship?
-Reed asks Hayes to choose six men to accompany him on the rescue mission. Assuming they considered that Pod One might not be useable, that's more than a tight squeeze in those pods.
-Let's talk MACO tech! Weapons-wise, they have a spiffy rifle with a deployable sight, what looks to be the old plasma pistols (Yes! I loved those), and some sort of zapper stick. Neat - I wonder what other stuff they carry in those backpacks. Indcidentally, the rifles are NOT phase weapons as we know them. Plasma again? It's a white pulse. Anyone else notice any details?
-Upon escape, T'pol directs the two pods to dock simpultaneously. It makes sense for them to dock individually otherwise, I guess.
-Hey, didn't they say we were gonna see a brig?
-Y'know, for a guy who had no qualms about rubbing T'pol down with blue goo in the pilot...
Mark
[ September 10, 2003, 11:54 PM: Message edited by: Mark Nguyen ]
Posted by Spike (Member # 322) on :
quote:Ahh, the MACOs. Nice uniforms
What about their rank insignia?
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
They wear some sort of rectangular embroidered patch on the right shoulder. I didn't get a clear look, but Hayes has some sort of red symbol in the middle, with two gold bars on either side. The left shoulder sports the MACO Enterprise patch.
Mark
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
I assume the "sir" has to be due to chain-of-command, since a major is equivalent to a lieutenant commander.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
quote: Why the hell do the sewers have to glow? Do one of the thirty-one species that create the stuff..?
It wasn't the, uh, effluvia itself that was glowing. There were lights on the wall underneath the water. Or such was my impression. This is an admittedly odd thing to fixate on.
Posted by Spike (Member # 322) on :
quote:Originally posted by TSN: I assume the "sir" has to be due to chain-of-command, since a major is equivalent to a lieutenant commander.
But Hayes addressed Reed as "sir".
Posted by Timo (Member # 245) on :
Indeed, meaning something has to override rank concerns. And that would be the chain of command. Which, as we know from many years of agonizing over bridge officer pecking order, doesn't have to follow rank.
Re: The Expanse. Only a short hop away, way too wide to be circumvented, reputedly a nasty place but in reality traversable. Later known as the Great Barrier?
Re: Shuttlepod to the rescue. Perhaps Reed intended for the MACOs to give their seats to the rescuees on the way back?
Re: Related sentient species. Diane Duane did those in the novel "Doctor's Orders". Of course, here these cousin species could be the result of bioengineering in the past, rather than a natural development.
Timo Saloniemi
Posted by Starship Freak (Member # 293) on :
I know people have been lamenting this before, but why, why, dear god why no screencaps of the technology, starships, starbases, probes, weapons?
(breaking down crying, weeping, cursing the fate of living in a country that doesn�t let me do that myself..)
Posted by Futurama Guy (Member # 968) on :
Wasnt there two related sentient species in that "Dear Doctor" ep, where the one was evolved a bit more than the other but dying out (you know the rest)...?
Anyway, I there was no specific time reference given, despite the one given in the preview of: "Sept 10th"; which also was ironically the air-date.
Further time references indicate that they had been in the Expanse for six weeks since we last saw them; so roughly 3 months have passed since they left Earth...to that point.
Posted by TheWoozle (Member # 929) on :
I noticed that the five Xindi species are more like the five surviving races of the Xindi world and they don't agree on who the original Xindi is... so it's probobly not the name of the race, but the government. It looks like the Xindi have a beef against the federation, like maybe they had their world destroyed and where told it was Earth?
I'm thinking that Archer's growing instability is to accentuate the plot's mystery, as we try to figure out what is really going on.
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
Next, the Xindi! Wow! Could very well be the best looking regular aliens in Star Trek. Especially the insectoids, which are just so TAS-like! The insectoids speak in squaks, the aquatics talk like whales. The rest talks English.
MACO. The uniforms look they were designed by a certain Talaxian... There are a few patches on both shoulders, but I can't make much of it. But I did notice one thing.. in the center of those colored bars, there is something that might just be the TOS command division star. Oh, and they have rifles. Shooting short blueish bursts. My first guess would be high-energy plasma rifles.
quote:Originally posted by TheWoozle: I noticed that the five Xindi species are more like the five surviving races of the Xindi world and they don't agree on who the original Xindi is... so it's probobly not the name of the race, but the government. It looks like the Xindi have a beef against the federation, like maybe they had their world destroyed and where told it was Earth?
I'm thinking that Archer's growing instability is to accentuate the plot's mystery, as we try to figure out what is really going on.
Are we watching the same show?
#1) The Xindi is 5 species and the debate wasn't who was the original, but who was in charge of the Xindi as a whole. Obviously each race agreed that Earth was their enemy, or at least the origin of thier paranoia, however their disagreement was on how they were to handle the Enterprise excursion. But certainly, there was no race issue nor a "who came first". For that matter, it hasn't even been confirmed that the destroyed planet belonged to the Xindi in the first place, let alone if they are supposedly the lone survivors.
#2) Uh, yeah, the Xindi had a beef against Earth...they were told that is was Earth who destroyed their planet in the post-Dominion War era, no mention of the Federation has been mentioned, which one would think if the attack occurred in the 25th Century.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Except that Future Guy and Daniels both are very likely to want to avoid mentioning the word "Federation" with the implication of Earth membership, to avoid giving anyone the right ideas at the wrong time.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
All I know is that as one pised off grasshopper!
[ September 11, 2003, 12:23 PM: Message edited by: Jason Abbadon ]
Posted by David Templar (Member # 580) on :
Those MACO dress uniforms reminds me of speckled D&D dice. God they look stupid with a bunch of commando-types.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
I can get used to the uniforms, except for the notion that they don't have collars... But they're not dress uniforms - they're BDUs, and they wear them to the surface of the planet. The suits from "The Core" are probably what pass for their environment suits. Still, the relatively form-fitting ourfits minimize catching on things. Did anyone notice any pockets? That's one thing I've liked about the current uniforms...
Mark
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
Sweet mercy, Jolene Blalock is hot.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
She is a female version of you.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
I'm not so sure about the insect Xindi, myself. Looks a bit too much like a giant insect, rather than an alien supposed to look insectlike, if you know what I mean. A bit too...literal.
Posted by newark (Member # 888) on :
A question, please: What differentiates the MACOs from the regular security personal assigned to the starship?
Posted by TheWoozle (Member # 929) on :
well.. you didn't see them die a lot, didjya? These are exprienced special forces guys, instead of door-guards. If you where a bad guy and opened a door, you would not want to jump an ARMY Ranger, to wrestle his gun out of his hands...
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
I suppose it's actually quite unusual to take the step the producers have done - to bring on this small group of recurring characters; 'small' being the operative word: there can't be more than, what, about a dozen MACO on board? That means that they're rather restricted in the background extras they can use, it's not like Voyager where with about a hundred-plus unseen people to take into account, you had some leeway when it came to turnover of extras. Hence the four or five established actors they've picked from the start.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
quote:Originally posted by Sol System: I'm not so sure about the insect Xindi, myself. Looks a bit too much like a giant insect, rather than an alien supposed to look insectlike, if you know what I mean. A bit too...literal.
My thoughts also. It looks like it only has two arms as well, a wasted oppertunity really since they could have made it look entirely insectoid (and not just a humanoid with insect body parts) considering that it looks like they're using a puppet.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
I liked the look of the Council. The insectoid guy was great too - though admittedly, a Xindi that wasn't even remotely humanoid would be interesting, as the aquatics were also quad-limbed. Still, I'm glad at this approach.
I further think that revealing them all right off was a good decision, as can now interact without needing to be in shadow or anything. Plus, there's the added dramatic tool of US knowing who the bad guys are when Archer and company do not. Don't mind that at all.
Regarding the MACO insignia, The Sargeant guy and Major Hayes wore the same bar on the right shoulder. It may not be a rank insignia.
Also, I hope we get some background on these weapons. They have to be plasma-based, or some particle weapon that the MACOs simply prefer over what Starfleet believes are superior weapons in their phase technology. The MACOs carry the pain stick on their belt behind, where the pistol holster also is. Still no headgear, one might note.
And did anyone notice in some of the VFX flybys, Enterprise seems to roll as if to get out of the way of the camera, and then roll BACK to her original orientation? Hmm...
Mark
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Ohh! I just remembered one BIG tech thing:
In the shots when the NX-01 went to warp, they added a bit of color to create the rainbow effect we saw during the TOS movies! THAT was a bit of a change...
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
The only other occurrence of different sentient species on the same planet that comes to mind are the Mon Calamari and the Quarren from Star Wars. Any others?
The Centauri and the Xon on B5, as well as the Hyach and the Hyach-do. Both surviving species wiped out the dead one. Of course, the Hyach-do could apparently interbreed with Hyach, so they couldn't qualify as a true seperate species, more a racial group.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Based on the shared DNA, it would seem that three (or possdibly all four) Xindi species are the product of genetic tampering/ splicing somewhere in their distant history by an advanced species.
The analgy was made between Humans and Monkeys sharing DNA but being seperate, but that is false. No matter how you screw with a monkey's DNA (it's better you don't ask how I know this) all you get is variants on the original monkey design: no monkey insects, monkey dolphins or monkey reptiles. Just mutant monkeys. Mabye they were Preserver experiments?
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
quote:Originally posted by CaptainMike20X6: i liked 'Strange New World' , and i remember liking 'Code of Honor' when i was a kid
but 'Dear Doctor' was retarded. they tried to set up a morally thought provoking story, and ended up leaving the audience completely confused as to what the hell happened..
By 'audience' don't you mean... 'you'?
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
quote:Originally posted by Mark Nguyen:
-I like the new command center, though it has no seats for its multitude of consoles. One wonders if all the stations would ever be used at once, cramped in like that. I believe that the big display is made from bits of obs lounge in "Nemesis".
Did they change the Bridge?
quote:Originally posted by Mark Nguyen: -Speaking of which, the command center was a storage room before. What with this, the new machinery for the torpedoes, and all the space the MACOs need, it seems that Starfleet doesn't have a long-term mission in mind. I highly doubt they completely overhauled the ship and miniaturized everything to the point that all the new stuff wouldn't affect the endurance of the ship; I wonder if they'll ever run into a Voyager-esque scrounging or resource problem.
Not that Voyager ever looked like it was desperate for parts! It always looked brand-spanking new.
quote:Originally posted by Mark Nguyen: -Ahh, the MACOs. Nice uniforms, though as camo it's awfully minimal. Also nice to see that they're all from places in the US - Minnesota and Altanta nevertheless see lots of aliens apparently. Oddly, the MACOs seem quite landlocked under normal circumstances. I guess Starfleet hasn't yet needed troops of any kind in their exploration.
Didn't Tucker say that he'd only been to a few uninhabited planets before the Enterprise mission? So I'm guessing all the other ships don't get very far.
Besides why do these Commandoes have to be US soldiers? How about some Russians or even the Gurkas.
quote:Originally posted by Mark Nguyen:
-Remember a TNG episode when the Enterprise ran through a bunch of portable holes? One went through the conference lounge, piling all the furniture up in the middle of the room offscreen. I'd have liked to see that with the VFX seen in the cargo bay.
What episode was THAT!?! Portable holes - wasn't that a Warner Brothers cartoon!?!
quote:Originally posted by Mark Nguyen:
-The mining colony uses wind power - a rarity in Trek, even in this era. backup power, perhaps?
-It's a FAAAAAAAAKE! Platinum naturally occurs as a solid, no?
Oohhhhhhh! Shivers!!!! OMG! That line still resonates with me. By the Romulan Senator in "Beyond the Pale Moonlight"
how bloody brilliant was DS9!?! *sigh*
quote:Originally posted by Mark Nguyen:
-The Xindi reptiles and humanoids are related as neanderthals and us. One wonders how much the other species are... The only other occurrence of different sentient species on the same planet that comes to mind are the Mon Calamari and the Quarren from Star Wars. Any others?
The Menk and the others from "Dear Doctor".
The Kes and the Pritt?
That season 5 episode on Babylon 5.
Who were the Quarren on Star Wars?
quote:Originally posted by Mark Nguyen:
-Why the hell do the sewers have to glow? Do one of the thirty-one species that create the stuff..?
-Hayes addresses Reed as "sir". Is anyone familiar with the pay grades of the US military able to justify something here - or is it just the chain of command in evidence on the ship?
-Reed asks Hayes to choose six men to accompany him on the rescue mission. Assuming they considered that Pod One might not be useable, that's more than a tight squeeze in those pods.
New Auxillary Craft on the way??
quote:Originally posted by Mark Nguyen:
-Let's talk MACO tech! Weapons-wise, they have a spiffy rifle with a deployable sight, what looks to be the old plasma pistols (Yes! I loved those), and some sort of zapper stick. Neat - I wonder what other stuff they carry in those backpacks. Indcidentally, the rifles are NOT phase weapons as we know them. Plasma again? It's a white pulse. Anyone else notice any details?
-Upon escape, T'pol directs the two pods to dock simpultaneously. It makes sense for them to dock individually otherwise, I guess.
-Hey, didn't they say we were gonna see a brig?
-Y'know, for a guy who had no qualms about rubbing T'pol down with blue goo in the pilot...
Mark
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
quote: What episode was THAT!?! Portable holes - wasn't that a Warner Brothers cartoon!?!
"In Theory"
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"It looks like it only has two arms as well, a wasted oppertunity really since they could have made it look entirely insectoid (and not just a humanoid with insect body parts) considering that it looks like they're using a puppet."
Now, the local UPN station here is a pretty crappy one that carried the Home Shopping Network up until about a year ago, so ENT came through pretty staticky when I watched it last night. However, I thought the insect and marine Xindi were both CGI?
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
They were.
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
The Kes and the Pritt?
Same species, just different nations on the same planet.
Posted by J (Member # 608) on :
DS9 episode with the Blight? Were they different species?
According to the prophets they are of Bajor.
I guess it doesn't count, but the Dinos from that Voyager episode.
Humm... nothing else comes to mind at the moment.
Is the whole point of this to talk about how there have only been two at most in all other sci-fi instances, and the Xindi are 5?
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
It's quite possible the Xindi are Preserver experiments or the product of a original species that tweaked it's own DNA to thrive in the various environments of it's homeworld/ solar system.
Or the Delphic Expanse does Very Bad Things to evolution.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
You mean like amplifying the appearances of CGI?
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Or making T'Pol undress and Trip somehow turn all gay and try to leave the room. What a dumbass.
It appears that Porthos (A.K.A.- Futureguy) has disapeared yet again. $10 says the Sulibon (not to be confused with Cinnibon) are behind the Xindi hating Earth.
Just a likely plot "twist".
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
So. . . is the sniper rifle the same as the MACO rifle? I can't tell!
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
I don't think the other rifles had retractable scopes (if only because it would've been expensive.. unless these are some stock rifles from some Paramount production?). Plus, the sniper rifle fired red, all the other ones fired blue.
Oh, and it seemed like one particular MACO guy was ordered to take the shot, implying that the other MACOs weren't snipers.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
All I can see from the images available is that both rifles have a similar muzzle (also similar to that of the EM-33). . . but the sniper rifle has a longer barrel that protrudes beyond the rifle's cowling. And it may not have the forward pistol grip. There is precedent for different variants of the same rifle for specific purposes. . .
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
The sniper rifle didn't fire a red bolt. Everything through the scope was shaded red, perhaps a low-light amplification artifact. Anyway, I watched the episode again this evening, and the rifle looked pretty similar to me. I wouldn't be surprised if they all were supposed to have the scopes, even if only a few of the props have the retractable action.
Posted by David Templar (Member # 580) on :
I still think that an energy weapon firing a highly visible and tracer-like discharge makes for an utterly stupid snipering weapon.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
It occurs to me that while we can see (quite easily) weapons fire on the show(s), whether or not it's as visible to the characters is an open question. I don't recall anyone reacting to it based on (unaided) sight alone. Not that this is an overly serious suggestion on my part, but just something that caught my attention just now.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
Indeed - how often on Trek to people see phaser fire? It's always "Listen! Phaser fire!".
Furthermore, the snipering guy proably wasn't specifically a sniper. The gang was being pinned down on one side of the pod, where the bad guy was concentrating his fire. Hayes called for the guy inside the pod to move to the other side and fire from there. Not really snipering, per se. If anything, the bad guy was the sniper, and the gang had a problem getting his location DESPITE the bright yellow beams (not pulses) he was shooting. Yeah.
Mark
Posted by David Templar (Member # 580) on :
I've seen military types get into heated arguments about what is a sniper and what isn't... Some believe the title is appropriate for anyone engaged in such activity, some see it as belonging only to the elite position someone has been trained for.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Besides, are war movies ruined because we can't always see the bullets flying through the air? I don't think so.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
By TNG phaser fire is definitely visible. Heck, not only is it visible in Consparicy, it's slow enough for Picard and Riker to dodge it and watch it hit the wall behind them! [B]Years [B]ahead of the Matrix even!
If anything is odd about Enterprise, it's their more effective weapons. Sure, TOS and TNG phasers are more powerful but Enterprise's fast firing phase pistols are easily enough to stun or kill.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Phaser blasts occasionally light up their surroundings too. Usually when the producers had a bit of spare cash lying around, although it's become more common over time. That would also imply that they are visible.
Posted by TheWoozle (Member # 929) on :
Since these guys are PROBOBLY Some sort of special forces, they ALL probobly have expert rifleman and marksmanship ratings. Think about who would go on a cruiser today, going on a raid half way around the world. heck, they would have sent Steven Segal if he was available.
Posted by David Templar (Member # 580) on :
quote:Originally posted by TheWoozle: heck, they would have sent Steven Segal if he was available.
We still haven't seen Chef, so who knows, maybe Segal is onboard... Nobody beats him in the kitchen. Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Or he's Chef from Southpark. Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Oh, if only we could write off Enterprise as one long search for the clitoris. . .
Posted by David Templar (Member # 580) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lee: Oh, if only we could write off Enterprise as one long search for the clitoris. . .
It's already found the boobies, so I think it's doing pretty well for a season three. Just a matter of time. Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Hpefully by the time Enterprie works it's way that far down, the producers will realize that hoshi is far better looking than T'Pol. Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Actually, that's a good point, they already did the topless-with-hands-covering-breasts scene already, with Hoshi last year, and no-one complained. . .
Posted by MrNeutron (Member # 524) on :
quote:Originally posted by Jason Abbadon: The analgy was made between Humans and Monkeys sharing DNA but being seperate, but that is false.
I believe the analogy was to chimpanzees, not monkeys. Chimps aren't monkeys. Neither are apes. As a rule, monkeys have tails.
Mojo Jojo never points this out, either! Silly non-monkey!
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
I'd say he takes it for granted, but then he doesn't really take anything for granted when it comes to expository dialogue. (I hope that word means what I think it means.)
Also, now that it is isolated like that, I am wondering what Jason was getting at. Human and chimpanzee DNA is very close indeed, and if I recall correctly was recently found to be even closer than previously thought. Or was it farther? Which sort of ruins it for me. Anyway, yeah.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
You are, of course right: I said "monkey" when I meant "chimpanzee". Silly of me- I hate both.
We're about 97 percent chimpanzee (with elected officials being closer to 100%) but that's still a big diffrence genetically. We're also 80-90% bear, whale and almost every other mammal. A LOT of the DNA is (aparantly) used to determine cell structure and basic makeup of an organism and a lot of the strand is inactive or holdover genetic material from our evolutionary process.
That leaves the imporntant 5-10 percent that determines our phenotype, species, inherited traits and lastly gender and disposition.
Alter the last little bit of our code and you'll acess many of the "holdover" sequences to get new (and almost certainly sickly) variants on humanity. The Xindi thing in the fish tank is probably the closest we'd be able to alter ourselves: we already start life with gills and a vestigal tail in vitro, after all. But it's just coincidence that Enterprise got ahold of the reptile's DNA and not the inscectoid's: otherwise I doubt there'd be enough common genetic markers to identify as "Xindi" based on Starfleet's lack of information on them.
If we were mabye 150-200 years further in our genetic research (that's a HUGE way, BTW) we might be able to combine our own inherited traits with some novel animal DNA to get the species diversity of the Xindi, but aside from a biiig experiment it's kinda useless to do that: We'd already be able to create custom bodies that could handle any environment the Xindi might represent.
That's why i'd write the Xindi background as a Preserver experiment. Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"...we already start life with gills and a vestigal tail in vitro, after all."
I think you mean "in utero". And "vestigial", incidentally.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)