posted
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.
posted
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.
-------------------- The philosopher's stone. Those who possess it are no longer bound by the laws of equivalent exchange in alchemy. They gain without sacrifice and create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.
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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.
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posted
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
- 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
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.
-------------------- . . . ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.
posted
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
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.)
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posted
When Hernandez said "hail the dockmaster", I momentarily thought she said "hail the Dark Master".
Bator.
314159? Tell me you're joking.
-------------------- "This is why you people think I'm so unknowable. You don't listen!" - God, "God, the Devil and Bob"
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posted
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.
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