As we careen towards the final episodes (we finish off this two-parter next week and take a month break), the fans-get-what-they-ask-for streak continues, with a twist: this time we get to see the beginnings of one of DS9's more interesting facets, Section 31. Spoilers ho, as we look for:
-The launch of Columbia, FINALLY! Let's see if they mention her upgraded armaments again, in addition to whatever they haven't done to her that Tucker will be doing.
-The older (and better, IMO) captain's chair on Columbia's bridge. When last we saw it, it either hadn't been installed properly yet, or was actually going to be a step up on the upper deck. in any case, let's see what kinds of minor cosmetic alterations the sets will demonstrate to differentiate her from Enterprise. Red doors, at last?
-Erika Hernandez is back too, BTW. Nookie for the captain?
-I'm sorry I read the spoilers that reveal just how the Klingons lose their ridges. It's because they've been injecting themselves with [YOU'LL LOVE THIS WHEN YOU FIND OUT] in order to make themselves stronger.
-We're back at Earth for this one - one of the original series concepts was supposed to be that we were going to see how life on Earth changes as new technology and relationships are made, and we are only seeing it this season. The leftover racism implied in "Home" will be back here, and will tie in both to Section 31 and Phlox's kidnapping.
-More local tech should be revealed here, too. Look out for the everyday stuff that we take for granted, pictures of spaceships in the background, etc. Earth is a great dumping ground for little details like this for some reason, so it's always fun to be back home if for that reason alone.
Mark
Posted by Siegfried (Member # 29) on :
I missed "Home", so I had no idea that the Columbia bridge has so much... stuff on it. It's really distracting, too. In particular, I'm taking about those DS9-esque running lights in the back. Also, wouldn't that rack with the monitor next to the helm interfere with the tactical officer's view of the main screen? How many of these additions were originally used for the bridge modifications in "E2"? And the junk is hiding the dedication plaque.
In the science lab, Phlox says that the reuse of Augment DNA is causing the cranial ridges to disappear. I also think it's doing something with the Klingons muscle mass. The Klingons that raided Enterprise were skinny like the TOS Klingons. The Ruffles look much more bulkier and husky.
Looks like the writers might be trying to employ the Harriman syndrome here on Commander Kelby. You know, the new guy isn't as good as the original? It also seems like the captain doesn't really want to give the new chief engineer much of a chance.
It looks like racism is still a problem on Earth, but it's "rare" according to the Starfleet security commander.
Is this episode the first time in the series that the crew have spoken commands to the computers? I can't recall any other episodes that have done this, but I admit that I haven't seen several episodes. This just stuck out to me like a sore thumb.
Posted by Dukhat (Member # 341) on :
Ships:
1. Another Earth Starfleet vessel is mentioned. It's the Republic, under the command of Capt. Jennings.
2. The Rigelian freighter whose crew kidnaps Phlox is a reuse of the Axanar freighter, only with severe battle damage.
3. Yet another new Klingon ship design! Moved really fast, but it looked like a cross between the ENT Bird-of-Prey and the Raptor. Definitely a new ship, though.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
New ship maybe another Intrepid-type ship?
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
Oh, this was a fun one. Everyone (except that guy at the helm) had lots of stuff to do, and we had a lot of revelations along the way. Notes on!
-Cool, CGI targ! Probably the same model from way back in "Sleeping Dogs".
-Timestamp, November 27, 2154. Archer notes that they'd come home FOR the launch of Columbia. But it didn't seem like they were, given Columbia's continuing engine problems.
-Columbia is STILL in that modified version of the drydock. I guess I should stop whining about this, but it's just another sort of scaling issue we shoudl be used to by now.
-Hoshi still kicks ass - and likes doing it in leather! Although she did get her ass kicked, she looked goooood doing it.
-Speaking of leather... The S31 guys apparently love their outfits to use the SAME ONES for two hundred years. Them, the Romulans... I guess we should be surprised tha the old Klingon uniforms HAVEN'T shown up here.
-Columbia is six months behind, due mostly if not completely due to the engine problems. So, it's been twenty or so month since Enterprise began the Xindi mission?
-Archer still remembers a lot of stuff after sharing his noggin with Surak - enough to coach T'pol in melding with Hoshi. The process of the meld is a neat look into how a Vulcan can place themself into their target's memories. In this case, it's a sort of reverse "Flashback" sequence. Been a while since we've seen that.
-Phlox's colleague met him once at a medical conference, disguised as a Mazarite. Mazarites look like THIS, suggesting that the metagenics expert has done something similar with foreheads before.
-The plague the Klingons are suffering is compared in severit to the Hur'q invasion.
-It's implied that Captain Hernandez once served on the starship Republic. When she left (probably to assume command of Columbia), she took the ship's cook with her, much to the chagrin of Captain Jennings.
-In contacting the S31 guy, Reed uses voice activation to command the computer to contact Earth. Rare, that. Or progress?
-The new Klingon ship is smaller than Enterprise, but packs a significant punch. Interestingly, it features a fixed, upswung-wing design, suggesting atmospheric design. The raid was meticulous, and seemed to include presicion fire support - when cornered, the raiding party called for fire on the MACO position in the corridor, taking them out.
-The Klingons were motivated when they learned of the havoc such a small number of augments wreaked on them - hence tinkering with the DNA. It started off good enough, with a side effect of making Klingons look more human, become smarter, etc. However, one subject had an alien flu virus, which the Augment DNA mutated (strains of "Unnatural Selection" here), causing the crisis. BTW, the Klingons tried to kidnap Arik Soong, but failed. Also, targs may live a long time... The Klingon colleague saved this one as a child.
-When Reed is revealed to be the mole, Archer hands him over to the MACO standing outside. Is there always a MACO standing outside the Captain's ready room? I guess he coulda called him to escort Reed there. It just seemed wierd to leave a MACO standing in the tiny connecting corridor between the bridge and the ready room. Also, this is the first time in memory that I remember someone using the third door in there, no?
-The brig has been upgraded - there are two cells in there now in the space of the one original. This is convenient enough when the Klingon guy is brought in. Still no toilet apparent, though...
-Ahh, Columbia's bridge. It's not so modified from Enterprise as originally thought, being blue and sharing the new chair. The extra helm monitor stand (which shouldn't interfere with the Tactical guy's duties, since, and moving lights behind, are from "E2". That's about it, though. And yes, the light columns are pretty annoying. What the heck could they possibly be for?
-Hernandez calls the helmswoman "Lieutenant", but she's only got one pip. Maybe it fell off.
-The Klingon prisoner speaks much less gutturally - though this could simply be due to the lack of the teeth appliance in the actor's mouth.
Mark
[ February 18, 2005, 10:35 PM: Message edited by: Mark Nguyen ]
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
- Another mention of a specific warrior caste of Klingons, like in the the TUC rip-off episode.
- Klingon medical research is ... different. Firing your disruptor at your patient is called 'euthenasia'.
- We caught a very brief glimpse of the presumed Rigelian kidnapper. Looked very Nah'kul to me.
- Somehow, Augment DNA piggybacked on Lavodian flu (mentioned in VOY: "Tattoo").
- The Rigelian freighter was supposed to be going to Proxima colony.
- The Interspecies Medical Exchange got some screentime again. The Klingon medical guy posed as a Mazarite during a conference on Tiburon, where Phlox gave a speech.
Posted by Guardian 2000 (Member # 743) on :
The only trouble I have is that, as a rule, it's tough to mess with the DNA of a living thing in Trek even in the 24th Century, unless you're repairing some other thing's modification.
To be sure, that notion has been bent on ENT previously, what with the Suliban and Soong's work to make the Augment embryos more docile. Even then, though, we had the excuses of future-tech and a limited alteration.
It's a troublesome idea to think that even in the 2150's folks could go changing themselves slmost at will.
That, however, is basically the only problem I have with the episode. Man, I'm gonna miss me some Manny Coto.
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
That's not a problem with this episode. There are enough ways to make the Klingons (or anyone) have access to this sort of tech. The Antosians taught Garth of Izar how to shapeshift. The shapeshifting woman on Rura Penthe. It can easily be explained away.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Rigellian for "bring him with us" is, phonetically, "do sha tyung navril".
Looks like street addresses don't change much in format during the next couple centuries. Reed meets his leather-clad overlord at "1044 North Maple, San Francisco, California, USA, Earth, 94-1104-314159". If Mapquest can be believed, there is no such address in modern-day SF, but, interestingly, the first five digits of that long number, 94110, is a real SF ZIP code.
When Hernandez said "hail the dockmaster", I momentarily thought she said "hail the Dark Master". It was kind of funny, but I guess you had to be there. (Or, actually, be me.)
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
When Hernandez said "hail the dockmaster", I momentarily thought she said "hail the Dark Master".
Bator.
314159? Tell me you're joking.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
"one of DS9's more interesting facets, Section 31"
Says who?
Posted by Wes (Member # 212) on :
Im glad I wasnt the only one that noticed that Pi refrence. Better then 47474747 i guess
Posted by Wee Bairns (Member # 1324) on :
quote:Originally posted by Wes: Im glad I wasnt the only one that noticed that Pi refrence. Better then 47474747 i guess
Which definately would have surprised me less.....
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"314159? Tell me you're joking."
Er, no. What, did you think graphic designers have never heard of math?
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
You know, I *knew* I recognized the Klingon doctor and the general. The doctor is John Schuck, who played Draal in B5, and the Klingon ambassador in STIV and STVI. The general is... wait for it... Uncle Phil! - played by James Avery. (Hopefully I'm the not the only one who watched "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air".)
Also, we get a better look at the Columbia's patch - it's not a top down view like Enterprise's, but a perspective view. Somewhere else someone mentioned a Security patch? Can anyone find a cap of this?
As for the Columbia itself, maybe it's the spacedock lights, but it looks much whiter than Enterprise to me. I know it has a different dish, but possibly a different paintjob?
Finally, the scenes looking over the Enterprise's "shoulder" at the Rigellian wreck reminded me very much of some of TOS's FX shots.
B.J.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Wow! Woo! Great episode again! Can't wait for the wrap up!
FFS - why'd they have to go and cancel the show - it's finding it's feet. Season 1 and 2 of TNG and DS9 pretty much sucked too - they both picked up in season 3 and hit their stride in season 4, too.
The explaination behind the humanised Klingons was done very well - better than any created before and ties in nicely with TOS and ENT.
I wonder if the Klingon Doctor was any ancestor of the Klingon Ambassador from Trek IV and VI!?!
John Shuck has now been in TOS (movies), Voyager and Enterprise.
I too am a little weirded out by the 'plasma relay' thingies on the bridge - they're ripe for exploding and killing the captain.
The Indian girl at the helm of the Columbia looks vaguely familiar for some reason.
Has it always been a double brig?
Oh and when I first saw the humanised klingons - I couldn't believe it - they were VERY much (exactly?) similar to the TOS Klingons.
Also the subtle ridges seen - starting from TMP on all the Klingons may have been the result of therapy to exclude the augment DNA from the klingon genome? By TNG - they were successful?
Ohhh mention of the Hur'q too! Nice.
Oh and Hoshi looked especially hot outside Madame Chang's.
Was it deliberate or did T'Pol look not especially too... flash after the 'contact' with Trip?
LOVED the Targ, especially when he was nibbling at the Doctor's pants. Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
So where do the big conduits behind Hernandez go, exactly? They seem to run to the ceiling of the bridge, from what I remember, and that's the outer hull. Are there phasers on dome now?
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
Well, according to the "Home" tech review, Columbia features:
*Hull polarization improved by 12%
*Ventral AND dorsal torpedo launchers
*PULSED PHASE CANNONS (!!) - Archer's own recommendation
The plasma doodads can easily correspond to power a new polarization grid, or be power conduits to new weapons mounts atop the bridge superstructure. Either way, there's little reason for distracting pulsing light columns to be on the bridge, where at the very least someone could cover it up with duct tape.
From a production standpoint, the obvious reason to put those columns there is to have an immediate and obvious clue that the bridge ISN'T Enterprise. With pulsing columns of lights are ALWAYS IN YOUR FACE, you quickly tell it apart from the one we're familiar with. It worked in "E2", but those blokes had the additional lighting and paint job, which Columbia apparently lacks...
Mark
Posted by Guardian 2000 (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by B.J.: As for the Columbia itself, maybe it's the spacedock lights, but it looks much whiter than Enterprise to me. I know it has a different dish, but possibly a different paintjob?
I noticed that too. There are times when Enterprise looks more or less bronze than usual, true. However, Columbia's drydock exit featured a scene not unlike the Enterprise flyby in the credits . . . comparing the two does show a slightly-more-pearly color in Columbia.
Posted by Vice-Admiral Michael T. Colorge (Member # 144) on :
I think Columbia's helmswoman was seen on DS9 or Voyager at some point. I could be wrong though... and I am quite shocked that TOS Klingons (or close to them) are on the air right now. I want to see the TOS Defiant now!!!!
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
From the brief description of her (the Indian woman sitting at the helm), I'm for some reason reminded of Alicia Coppola, who played Lt. Stadi, Voyager's original helmsman, and a dem fine lookin' woman.
"I can be waaarm and sensual."
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
I just absolutely loved this episode. I don't know why, there's little on paper that I'd expect to make me enjoy it. I just did. The music was terrific. T'Pol and Tucker meeting in the Loading Programme ("Guns. . . Lots of guns") and Hoshi gets to peek in on them. Reed as Section 31 goon, who'd a thunk it? (Answer: everyone) I guess. . . I was watching Star Trek before most of you were born. To me, THAT is what a Klingon is supposed to look like. They even wore different clothes! Well, I guess the armour wouldn't fit anymore. Why did I immediately see Kate McNeil in the credits and put the name to the face? I don't especially remember her from anything else she's done. Oh, wait, she was in a Babylon 5 episode I re-watched recently. But still, that's from 12 years ago. And why is she being credited everywhere as Lt. Collins when I'm sure she said she was Commander Collins? That baby's being very quiet, she's up to something. Oh, I need sleep. I still think the Klingon disruptors look like power-drills though. I wonder if it's snowing outside? I don't wanna go to work today. The stunt MACO were back, and Money got shot again, but this time by a whole other ship! That girl's a walking target, I tell you. I wonder if the Columbia has MACOs?
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
Little girl got you on the sleep depravation routine, huh? Been there. Twice. Still there. After five years. I don't get to sleep in anymore.
B.J.
Posted by Futurama Guy (Member # 968) on :
A few loose (potentially) ends:
Seth MacFarlane and Marc Worden (aka Alexander Rozhenko from DS9) were also in it.
Worden was the Klingon prisoner on Enterprise, and using Andrews logic, a decendant of Worf.
MacFarlane was Rivers and, I do believe, was the guy who caught Tucker "daydreaming" there in engineering before Columbia's launch.
I still want to see what a goddamn Rigelian looks like, damn masks!
CC gives us "Dol'sha t'ung nev'Rleel." as Rigelian for "Bring him with us."
Rigelian freighters have "black boxes"
I'm definately liking the shameless TOS references this season, and why the hell not! I says, if you're gonna go out with a bang, do us right!
Not sure if it was mentioned directly, but Phlox mentioned that he was offered a position as the Director of Xenobiology at the IME.
The High Council dispatched "The Fleet" and annihilated the N'Vak colony, one of the first planets affected by "The Plague."
The story ends with the Enterprise hurdling through space at warp 5.2! Shazaam!
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
Some info pulled from TrekBBS about the patches:
quote:Posted by Mike Okuda:
quote:is there any chance you could tell me what the Colombia and Starfleet patches Seen here say at the bottom?
Thanks for the question.
As noted above, the motto on the Starfleet emblem is "Ad astra per aspera." I borrowed it from a plaque at the base of Launch Complex 34 at Cape Canaveral, the site of the Apollo 1 tragedy. I used the same motto on an emblem I designed with Bill Foster of Mission Control to memorialize the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger 51L, and Columbia 107.
The motto on the Columbia patch (first seen in "Home"), is "Audentes fortuna juvat," or "fortune favors the bold." The same motto appears on a version of a patch that I designed for NASA's Exploration Systems Directorate, also known as Project Constellation. (The motto appears only on an "internal use" version; the "official" version does not have it.)
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