Shadows of P'Jem

Having finally figured out the simple screenshot program I am in heaven! Suddenly I get how people end up with 6000 archived screenshots on their webpages. OH this fabulous shadow, and more Andorian goodies to come!

NX-01

"Explorers have to be ready to die lost."
Russell Hoban


Here's something I like about ENT: the NX-01 is a toy compared to so many of the other ship they come across. It is clearly vulnerable. Pissy fire power, slow, lacking all kinds of bells and whistles other species bring to the arena of space. Obviously they have not blow up in 4 seasons so they do manage to get out of scrapes but their vulnerability is always evident. I love it that Archer gets so nervous about this in Silent Enemy he turns the ship around for upgrades. This is very refreshing after future set series where they had to bring in the Borg to find any kind of acceptable threat.

The NX-01 really feels like a starship. I love the utilitarian grey and the background noise and vibration that is so often evident. The curved ship's doorways, surely very annoying to step over, are a far cry from TNG's comfy Hilton. Fans who rail that it should look worse than the TOS era miss the point. It is less comfortable--see the metal bunks crewmates share. It is less colourful--even the mess hall, the social focus of a ship, is unadorned. The corridors are narrower to the point of being cramped. There are no lute recitals or chess playing in evidence; presumably personal life goes on in quarters. The ship is on a mission and once you don your practical unisex jumpsuit and leave your room you are too . It is early space exploration before anyone has had time to grow comfortable enough so far from home that they feel free to make a new one.

Humans 101

"Your compassion is admirable, but misguided."

So says T'Pol to Archer in Sleeping Dogs. I believe this all purpose, fortune cookie phrase is carefully spoon fed to Vulcans who are preparing to interact with humans as a kind of cultural trick of the trade.

Sukphoc, expert in inter-species diplomacy intones to his pupils: "Humans will always place the emotions of sympathy and empathy above logic even if it means endangering themselves. To appeal to their logic at the expense of these emotions will prove fruitless. Rather you must compliment them on these emotions even as you usher them towards the logical truth of the situation."

Of course not all Vulcans choke down these diplomacy gems. For some it appears that this kind of diplomacy is beneath them. T'Pol is something of a natural at it as evidenced by her stubborn refusal to participate in these niceties when she is stressed.

Archer's Salt and Pepper Shakers

Here they are, Archer's salt and pepper shakers as seen for the first time in Cold Front. Where? Where? you say.. those silver balls in front of Archer with the wand-like handles sticking straight up. Archer picks one up by the wand and deftly waves the ball, which is rigidly attached, back and forth over his eggs. Very cute though in my house this design would inspire folk to use them as mini pepper weapons. What I find odd about them is that there is no corresponding ball or knob on top of the wand which would make more sense. They succeed however in being cutely futuristic though I doubt fans will be rushing to buy them like Saurian brandy decanters.

"Polarize the hull plating!"

Okay I understand that they don't have shields at this point but that is no excuse for taking seven syllables to give an order that may save your ship from having very large holes blown into it. In all other Trek we hear "Raise shields" or in the real scary moments when you see the actual firepower heading into the viewscreen "Shields!!" And yet in four seasons of ENT Archer never shortened the command to, at least, "Polarize!"

Consequently the order "Polarize the hull plating" sounds wankier with each episode. I guess it's time for a little snack.

Civilization

When I first saw Civilization a sense of fatigue fell over me. Now this may have been a result of Ch. 9's predilection for broadcasting Enterprise somewhere around midnight after hours of interminable sport; that certainly added to my less than stellar experience of ENT in the beginning. Civilization has many elements from TOS with a glossier TNG coating. It has your classic Star Trek Villagers (all 5 series are cursed with these) looking earnest and rustic in their homespun robes. It has Kirkian kissing. It has a plot which was ripped straight out of TOS but lacking all the campy cool bits. Civilization is A Private Little War desexed. Yawning, I wondered why I was staying up so late.

"They don't look so different." Archer

"You'd be recognized immediately as outsiders." T'Pol

"Not if we look like them." Archer

Repeated viewings have been a lot more enjoyable. The charming enthusiasms of Archer and Trip have a poignancy now post the Xindi arc. T'Pol looks like a Barbie Princess with her long hair and flowing gown--please please Art Asylum I want a Civilization T'Pol with an oversized pink plastic hairbrush. The ripping of the Malurian flesh to reveal lizard underneath was an awesome V moment. And of course there's the haunting thought of what the future holds for the Malurians, their system wiped out in the TOS episode "The Changeling".

Trip and T'Pol both looking all fey and King Arthurish..

T'Pol off her tucker (no, not that Tucker)

Poor old Enterprise is ever and always canon fodder on the forums, giving some relief to Voyager fans no doubt. From the yawning canon chasms of Qo'noS-too-close to the very piddly matters of Vulcan etiquette Enterprise cops the lot. But to the Trek Apologist these matters are of very little import.

"Vulcans do not touch food with their hands," T'Pol tells us in Broken Bow. And so we see her sawing away at breadsticks and celery with what appears to be a butter knife, the picture of control and very slow eating. And yet in future episodes T'Pol eats popcorn with her fingers. Oh the horror, the liberties taken with canon even as it is barely formed!

It's clear that T'Pol is very stressed by being the only Vulcan on a human vessel and in the first half of Season One she clings to her familiar ways and little rules. She needs to distinguish herself from these humans and the way to do that is to elevate all aspects of her culture and throw it in their faces. She is a Vulcan and she will not let you (meaning herself) forget it. Never mind that back home the eating rule is observed only in formal settings and a lighter approach is taken at, say, picnics. Everything she does will declare her identity.

Really she is no different than an Australian spewing strine in London, talking about his "china" and "hitting the frog and toad" even though no peer of his has used these words back in Sydney in 100 years.