What the…I come back from a weekend of gawking at elephant seals, going out on a boat, visiting this wacky inn, other stuff and just generally being a dorky tourist on a bus full of old folks and kids, and what do I find when I return? A mere 20 posts!
Was everybody out celebrating Aes’s birthday or something?
Cervaise: Detailed nitpick, please.
NCB: You’re supposed to program that VCR for a full six weeks’ o’ taping for new eps, don’tcha know.
There was a Sci-Fi art book, coffee table sized, from the 70s (1970s) that chronicled the expansion of humans into interstellar space and our first extraterrestial war (with Cetaurians). Humans won and had at the end an attack ship that looked virtually buglike.
Almost exactly like the Romulan shroudship in this ep. I would wager someone at paramount had that same book. I wish I could remember its name.
Too bad the Rommies were using Marvin’s paranoid brain to run their ship.
Yeah, not only did I have a BD dinner, we had an anniversary dinner for my aunt n nuncle, and a going away party for some friends. Fri-Sat-Sun all busy.
Casey is way too sexy for her pants, is all I’ve got to say about that.
The shroudship is very oddly configured. Is it supposed to be unmanned? You know, WE’VE got unmanned planes, missiles, boats, cars, and shit. Why would it be so terribly difficult for a warp technology advanced military to build something unmanned? Yeah, yeah, different timelines, Deety, but still, bugs me.
“Deety” ?
You love commas, eh?
Henlein reference.
You should see her ass. I mean smile. (It’s the same girl as K from a while back. 
)
The situation Trip and Malcolm are in is very nicely weird.
I approve.
Good ep. Let’s hope the other two of this arc don’t blow the shit out through the plasma conduits.
Gotcha. You love the (_) . 
I grok. <-----My wife and I watched it tonight. Not sure why my sleep deprived brain caught the twist early on but I figured it out as soon as I saw the VR helmet. Good idea, though - no reason why all ships need to be manned. I do have a few nits to pick.
Have they decided if interstellar communication is instantaneous or not? IIRC, even “subspace” communication takes time. If that’s the case, a VR system wouldn’t work that well over great distances.
I guess in the future, “universal” couplers actually work throughout the entire universe. I know it’s been SOP for a long time for all pieces of treknology to interact perfectly. It’s bugged me for about that long.
It’s been said before, it’ll be said again. Starship security sucks, sucks, sucks.
I believe that the official line is that impulse power gets a starship up to about 1/4 c. With the inertial dampeners “off-line” Trip & Malcom wouldn’t have been tossed about a bit, they’d have been crushed into puddles of GOO.
My wife doesn’t like nitpicking. Good thing I can do it here.
That guy with the weirdo helmut was freaking me out the whole ep. Cool ending. Can’t imagine how they got themselves into that mess.
I wish the rest of the show was as good as the endings.
The air tank refilling device wouldn’t be very useful if it didn’t have a universal coupler on it… they are explorers and that’s going to mean not always being able to refill air from Starfleet standard O2 bottles. What bugged me more was the weak connection on the air hoses in the back. Malcolm’s comes off with a relatively minor impact and within seconds he’s down to less than ten minutes of air. The helmet air hoses shouldn’t be a snap in component! I did however like how easy it was for Trip to “donate” his air to Malcolm. It looked practical and sensible and easy to do, unlike last week where they couldn’t do basic medical functions with gloves on.
Yes. That “weak air tubes” thing bugged me too, especially since they did it before in last season’s “Damage”.
Did anyone notice that the bug-shaped ship resembled the fanatics’ one from last season?
-Athelas, in a hurry as usual, posting from school
The Romulan commander ordered evasive maneuvers - while some fraction of Impulse may have been in use for forward motion, it looked like most of the wild and wacky acceleration was coming from the maneuvering thrusters.
“Scotty! I need wild and whacky acceleration now!”
“She’ll no take it, Sir!”
I forgot my notes (so no lists, and no, don’t go slitting your wrists), so this is from memory.
I liked the episode as a good old adventure yarn. And the adjective “old” seems quite appropriate. How much TOS can they stick in these episodes? The Orions just weren’t bad enough so they changed them into Romulans, but otherwise it’s the same story.
Granted, it was nice seeing that the Romulans were trying to stir up trouble and get everyone else to polish each other off. It fits their character, but it ruined it for me to see their virtual command center be on a planet (presumably Romulus) somewhere. Holographic technology good enough to fool sensors. A ship that can be controlled remotely at Warp speeds. And a communication link that was fast enough and wasn’t detected. Oh, but it’s just a prototype - I’m sure it’ll never amount to anything.
I noticed Hoshi’s and Archer’s practice argument. It was nice seeing some different acting. But I realized something. Bakula enunciates too deliberately. And it got me thinking about Quantum Leap. Sam was always an awkward character in another’s body, fighting to understand the situation and stumbling through solving the problem. He played that well. But I get some of the same feelings when he plays Archer. The enunciation, the somber mood, the confused looks - all played as if he’s working his way through the character instead of just being the character. I think it’s what’s so jarring to me at times.
I liked Archer’s confusing Trip, but since Trip has been overridden and put upon in the past, it felt more like kicking a puppy. If Trip wants command he’d better stop finding heroes to emulate and start being one himself.
I giggled when Mayweather finally had a line and it ended with him being interrupted. So apropos.
What’s with T’Pol and jumpsuits that have ribbing? She’s bony enough - she doesn’t need it accentuated.
And finally the stupid virtual command center on a remote planet. I can’t bother to reiterate the technical problems, so let’s just comment on the tubing. Couldn’t ya have just put little radio remotes on the fingers or something and not had all that techno-wiring? It looks like a disco!
First, Sir, may I offer you membership in the “Kill Archer, Promote Trip” fan club?
I wish they’d made them Orions. We aren’t supposed to see Romulans.
A device to keep us from seeing them.
GTR (Gratuitous Trek Reference) to the TOS cloaking device.
Exactly. I’ve never heard it expressed so well.
No kidding! Could that woman get any thinner? Ick!
No. They’re not supposed to see Romulans. There’s a difference.
You know why you will never fly in space?
Because nobodt likes a smart astronaut.
Amen. I’ve been wondering how she manages to stay alive. What’s in a starvation diet, anyway? Water with lemon and nothing else?
My ENT calendar has her on it for February and I get to stare at her scrawny neck for the next four weeks. The crevice at the base of her neck and between her clavicle is big enough to smuggle oranges in.