Apologies for the long delay between reviews.  These are the excuses:
#1 Exams
#2 Exam recovery
#3 Since starting on my summer job, my only spare time has been that period of the afternoon when the sun shines straight onto my monitor
I've now seen as far as "Cold Front", bringing me up to date with the US.  Reviews should be forthcoming.
 

episode #6: "The Andorian Incident"
 

first impressions
Mmm … entertaining

second impressions
stupid, but fun to watch, and sets up a potentially interesting non-temporal cold war arc.

quick summary
Archer's hopes of playing tourist at a Vulcan monastery are dashed when Team Enterprise discover that it's been taken over by Andorians.

teaser-ish goodness
Compared with last ep's shocker, TAI's teaser was fantastic.  Admittedly, it spoiled the tension of the later scenes, but that doesn't change the fact that it was damn entertaining.

plot related thoughts
Unfortunately, my memory's a little fuzzy about the ep, so I'm going to work from the notes I took while watching it:
· more criticism of Vulcans and general amusement at their fallibility.
We've often seen hostility or amusement at Vulcan foibles in Trek, but it's far more overt in ENT than any other series.  The Vulcan wariness of humans, and their stated dislike of exploration, lack of curiosity (which I don't believe in for a minute, but it's canon, so Berman&Braga would never contradict it in any way…) and the events of this ep suggest that their disdain for outsiders verges on paranoia.

I'm reminded of the origins of the Founders, who became rulers of the Gamma Quadrant because they feared the races they shared it with.  (Races which, in turn, feared them.)  This leads to speculation about Future Guy, who I'm cautiously identifying as a Vulcan.  Vulcan isolationist movements were seen in TNG, too -- anyone remember "Gambit"?  (Don't worry if you don't, it wasn't particularly memorable.)

· humans = ugly American tourist stereotype
Don't give me that look, it's true.  In the early scenes in the monastery, Archer and Tucker were behaving just like the American tourists so beloved of British and Australian comedy writers.  Sadly, I only realised it was an act when I noticed that T'Pol wasn't looking resigned and superior.

It was a pretty entertaining scene, and I like that T'Pol caught on and quietly seemed to approve.

The final twist was predictable, yet almost satisfying.

I say "almost" because I strongly dislike Archer's actions -- giving the Andorians proof of Vulcan duplicity.

Let me put it this way.  Say you're an American, working with the British.  You think the Brits are stuck up and snooty, and they think you're a loudmouth.  A group of Afghans claim that the British are spying on them.  You discover proof of this, and give it to Afghanistan because you don't like the British.

Hello?  Violation of treaty, anyone?  Treason, anyone?  BIG STUPID MISTAKE, anyone?

The Vulcans, as hard as they are to live with (not that Team Enterprise, human division, seems particularly interested in making it easy for themselves or T'Pol), are the allies of the Humans.  Just about our only allies, in fact.  To undermine their operations -- which, for all we know, are entirelyy justified -- to an enemy is bad enough.  To force a Vulcan national -- T'Pol -- to participate is worse.

As much as I like this ep, Archer lost a lot of brownie points here.

characteristics
· Archer as a smart ass to distract the Andorians -- fun to watch.
Sadly, it didn't seem especially different to his usual behaviour.  And I'm not really sure if there was any need for him to get beaten up, except to emphasise for the viewers that we have a male captain now, and don't have to worry about hitting girls.

· More Phlox and T'Pol!!!
Any scene with Phlox is a good thing, and seeing him interact with T'Pol is particularly fun.  John Billingsley is one of the few cast members who has any sort of chemistry with Jolene Blalock.

Speaking of the <sarcasm>ever delightful</sarcasm> Ms Blalock, her performance here was subtle and pleasing.  There's hope for the girl yet.

· I think I want to marry Malcolm Reed
Hey.  He's cute.  Plus, he comes off as a hell of a lot more competent in the command chair than Archer, T'Pol or Tucker.

Jeffrey Combs' meal ticket
I don't know how they found him, and I don't know why he keeps coming back, but Jeffrey Combs is one of the best recurring actors in modern Trek, and I'm pleased to see him back for another round.  Even playing Shran, who didn't exactly stand out among the other Andorians, Combs was fun to watch.

smells like teen fanfic
"You must enjoy pain."  Shran to Archer.  Also something I thought to myself as I sat down to review "Terra Nova".

T'Pol and Archer share a blanket.  Not at all romantic, and frankly, I'd like to hear less about various odors, but someone must have found some fic in it.

matters logic related
"For a people without emotion, you sure have a flair for the dramatic."

Caveat: I know very little about logic as a discipline.  But I have the following thoughts:
1. Logic is a means of organising thoughts -- a discipline, rather than a religion.
2. There is no logic in the concept of sanctity.
3. What sort of logical, atheistic/agnostic race has sacred artifacts?

paging Seven of Nine
"I'll enjoy having you … as a prisoner."

It was not uncommon in Voyager for various aliens -- usually the evil ones -- to make sugggestive remarks about Seven.  This always bugged me, since it (a) assumed that she would be attractive to all aliens and (b) served to remind the audience that Jeri Ryan's a hottie, which was self-evident and didn't need emphasis.  I'm rather annoyed to find the same thing happening in Enterprise.  (Especially when it's directed at T'Pol, who doesn't deserve it anyway, IMHO…)

Memo to TPTB
It's 'antennae,' not 'antennas.'  Morons.

at random
· I still hate the theme.  And I don't intend to shut up about it just yet.
· The Andorian antennae move!  Damn, that was cool.
· IDIC!
· Continuity!
· More caves.  Ho hum.

overall score
I have Issues with some aspects of this ep, but they don't change the fact that this was the first episode that I really enjoyed watching.  A-.
 
 

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