Just getting ready. I may not get to see this until thursday, as i have stuff to do before i go wait in line for Star Wars and will be taping it. But until it airs, what did y’all think of the preview? i give it :p:p:p:p out of :p:p:p:p:p!
Having just finished watching the episode, I’ve got to concur with your rating, Tars! 
Trip & Malcom were quite the pair in the Risan bar, though did I detect a bit of perhaps homophobia?! Phlox hibernates! LOL Do -not- try to wake that dude up, either! 
And Hoshi… well, I think Miss Hoshi had the best shore leave possible! LOL I’m still thinking about Archer’s segment of the show, trying to puzzle it out. My first thought is that he should have clued in on Porthos’ growling over Kayla’s dog. This part of the show, too, seems to be setting up for the season finale next week. Beware, Suliban abound next week, btw. I’m still very iffy on the Suliban and the villians from the future, but will wait and see what next week brings. The previews did look exciting though.
Just my few first thoughts. All in all an enjoyable episode.
tarragon
Good one. And at last…sunlight and colors! Nice change of pace. Dr. Phlox was excellent, as usual. It wasn’t predictable, and no clean, neat ending. And best – Hoshi was the only one who got laid, and the guys got what they deserved for being - well, typical guys with only one thing on their minds. 
“I, uh, learned some new conjugations.” Best line in the series so far.
Addendum: As I watched Trip and Malcom try to pick up the two aliens, I thought, “Warning: Crash and burn alert!” Though, they didn’t screw up how I thought they would.
Enjoyed it! Hoshi looked lovely with her hair down;
I briefly thought of Crockett and Tubbs when Malcolm and Trip entered the bar but quickly shoved that thought out of my head;
Phlox was hilarious when woken prematurely and even funnier in Sick Bay–though it made me a little nervous for Mayweather–speaking of whom, who knew he had such nice muscles?
I could see why the others didn't want to share their shore leave tales...but was there a reason why Archer didn't tell anyone, especially Malcolm the security guy, about his encounter with the spy girl? Or shall we assume that he told them after they got back on board?
Oh, and where can I get me some of that ubiquitous blue underwear? Looks good for sleeping in on warm summer nights. I'll need them girl-style, though.I don’t laugh out loud while watching TV very often, but I did when Dr. Phlox did a face plant. “To Sickbay!!”
I thought it was great that none of the guys got laid but Hoshi, who wasn’t even looking to, did.
An even better touch was there was no drama involved with her story. She met the dude, decided she liked him, one thing led to another, & she had a good time.
Hoshi getting nookie off an alien.
Malcolm and Trip trying to get nookie off aliens.
Alien have dogs and they look like Earth dogs. (It was a Chinese Crested, by the way.)
I know it’s just TV. I know it’s all made up and they do stuff just for the storyline. But sheesh, even with parallel evolution and all that, you still can’t get a leaded nozzle in an unleaded tank. (If you know what I mean.)
But, heh, it’s nice to see some traditions are Universal. Roll the drunk, horny sailors on shore leave for fun and profit!
Groggy Phlox was the best! (Set a course for XXX! Maximum warp! Calling everyone “Captain”.) I just like Phlox.
-Rue.
Yay for the “Fleet Is In” plot! Even though this show is clearly aimed at horny teenagers, it was so great to see the lecherous duo get what they deserved. vivalostwages, I couldn’t put the Miami Vice vibe out of my head watching those two in their pastel suits. Nice touch having the blue underwear look stupid at the end, rather than sexy.
Yay for Hoshi letting her hair down! My only question – if Hoshi had to work so hard to learn the aliens’ languages, how was everyone else (Archer, Crockett and Tubbs, etc.) managing to communicate with their alien pals?
I think this was the first shore leave in ST history that didn’t turn into some big battle. It was just shore leave (with a Suliban subplot, but no actual Suliban). I liked that. It also gave us a chance to see what these guys are like off duty, although I’m afraid it didn’t help my opinion of Trip much, and it definitely made me think less of Malcolm.
Good, fun episode. More, please.
Over all it was ok. I’m never very big on the “character development” episodes.
As usual the best parts are with Flox. Hell I feel like that every Saterday morning.
The whole thing with Archer was poorly done. As my wife says, “You know that when the introduce a new sexy woman in the first 10 minutes, she’s the bad guy.” She said this in the first 10 minutes and was right on all (three) counts. (Do the shape shifting aliens count?). You could just tell that Trip and Macomb were going to have a rough time of it. I didn’t think Crocket and Tubbs when the walked into the bar, I thought Lounge Lizzards.
Exactly why is Archer so hesitant to pool resources against the Suliban? Just because he wasn’t asked nicely? Because he holds a grudge over the concept of dentention camps? He (the same guy who is quick to judge sides in the dentention camp episode and in the desert planet episode and in the shape-shifting episode) is hesitant to believe that the Suliban are really the bad guys? Or just illogical writing? (Maybe a Vulcan on the staff would help.)
What did Hoshi say in French?
I taped it and went to go stand in line for Star Wars. (next to crazy ranting homeless guy #3476235675-B no less!) So i will be watching tonight, but then flying to St. Louis tomorrow, maybe i can get online next week, but i don’t know yet (and i may miss the finale! boo-hoo!)
Um…catch me up…who is Colonel Gratt? I must have missed an episode.
Hoshi said “Avec plaisir” - with pleasure.
Loved the “conjugations” line.
Liked that somebody finally got laid on Star Trek without it having major repercussions. Glad it was Hoshi.
And when Trip and Malcolm walked into the bar, I half expected them to start doing the “two wild and craaaazy guys!” routine.
Avec plaisir.
(With pleasure.)
Colonel Grat is the character played by Dean “holographic Al” Stockwell in the episode “Detained”. He was the commandant of an internment camp for Suliban civilians. Archer helped the Suliban escape, giving him a reputation as a great warrior and Suliban sympathizer, and creating all sorts of unintended consequences.
I’m wondering why it took Trip & Malcolm two days to escape… They got rolled on the first night, and showed up in the shuttle fresh from their escape on the last day. They spent all the second day in that basement before one of them figured out that broken glass is sharp?
…and I’m still gathering evidence that Porthos is some kind of machine. It’s a crazy theory of mine (one of many)
Trip finally discovered some malodorous substance down there that could dissolve their handcuffs.
Same here, almost: I saw them as the latter-day take on the same thing, the Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell duo – sort of like A Night at the Roxbury, Risa Branch. If they’d done even a brief cutaway of Trip and Malcolm bobbing their heads at the bar, I probably would have pissed myself laughing.
Overall, a pretty good “character” episode, especially for having resisted the urge to fabricate some crisis. (I hated the TNG episodes that had some character doing something small and personal while everybody on the bridge tries to prevent some unrelated event from destroying the ship. Yawn.)
I thought Phlox’s antics were hysterically funny, including the face-plant. And Hoshi’s subplot was written really, really well, which is a nice surprise given how most Trek romance is usually gawky tongue-tied teenager stuff, and has nothing to do with adult behavior. (And Hoshi is hot with her hair down.)
Like others above, I thought Archer’s subplot wasn’t as satisfying, but I didn’t mind so much. Clearly, this is an introduction; we’ll be seeing more of that woman. One really nice touch I appreciated: They broke with custom, and cast a slightly older woman than usual as the love interest, instead of the mid-20’s hardbody they usually went with. I liked a lot that Archer’s potential partner was age appropriate. Subtle, and effective.
And one last thing to mention: Who noticed in the credits that Michael Dorn directed the episode? I really like how Trek nurtures its talent and lets its actors stretch themselves into new areas. Really builds the sense of community and cameraderie that makes the shows work even when the scripts suck.
Uh, unless you were joking on this one, I think you missed it. The malodorous substance was the booze from the bottle they broke to cut the ropes (I admit that I might have been whooshed on this
one, but you didn’t “sound” like you were joking).
Oh, and I definately agree that it was nice to see Hoshi in civies, with her hair down. She’s quite the babe. I think that she’s going to be considered the Mary Ann of this series. I noticed the age of Archer’s love interest, too. Nice that the producers noticed that a woman doesn’t have to look 25 and can still be very attractive.
And Phlox has been my favorite character from the start.