I've had some time to think about this one so I'm going to comment.
Positives:
First and foremost, its great to see the
Hidden Frontier crew back in action, even if its just some of them, even if it’s a short. Still nice to see.
Further, John Whiting is back! The guy is just great, no matter what he does. I miss Henglaar, but the Archein General is fun to watch develop. Plus, I bet it’s a big reversal for him to go from gruff Tellarite to the more refined, intellectual General. Either way, I’m glad he was included.
Even though we’ve only seen the Intrepid crew once before, they managed to maintain their character continuity quite well. Poor Captain Hunter! Gets shit from everyone. I love it! I
like these guys.
The biggest plus this short has going for it is the continued, feigned rivalry between Shelby and Hunter. Risha and Nick play it deliciously, Nick’s facial expressions and frustrated tone, playing perfectly off Shelby’s poking, taunting comments. It’s a strong friendship that can handle that kind of teasing, and its fun to watch each time they run in to each other.
Negatives:
We're introduced to a new chief engineer. I guess Corey didn't make it out of that fight in "Iliad."
On top of this, the new engineer, who while good looking yet forgettable, seemed to have an odd penchant for holding on to Lefler while they were on the Archein probe. I'm not sure if he's hanging on because he's trying to help her stay up or if he's just scared shitless.
S'Ceris’ absence in the second half of the short was handled clumsily. He doesn't like going into Romulan Space? Boo hoo. He's a Starfleet Officer! He's supposed to do what his captain tells him to.
The film also carried in it shades of the DS9 episode "Civil Defense", most notably via the on-screen instructions from the Archein general. I can't decide if its derivative or just another homage.
Really though, the thing that bothers me about this outing is that while it was very nice to see the two crews working together, there just doesn't seem to be any point to the story. The two ships show up, they get beamed aboard the invading ship, and discover.... that the Archeins are planning to colonize in the Alpha Quadrant. Something we learned in the pilot for Odyssey. Like I said though, the repartee between Risha and Nick is priceless, so it carries the film somewhat, but doing something like this just for the sake of the crossover just strikes me as somewhat gimmick-y, and that’s disappointing because I know based on the last couple years of what these guys have produced, that they can do better.
