It's a double-edged sword. Look at Memory Alpha ENT season 5 episode proposals to see what we missed (first starbase, Ardana, T'Pol's Romulan father, the Kzinti, MU sub-series).
But when, we've got Rise of the Federation for it. 
The Great Chronological Run-Through
- Thread starter Deranged Nasat
- Start date
It's a double-edged sword. Look at Memory Alpha ENT season 5 episode proposals to see what we missed (first starbase, Ardana, T'Pol's Romulan father, the Kzinti, MU sub-series).
But when, we've got Rise of the Federation for it. 
^ I would have enjoyed all of them.
Wait until we learn to access parallel universes and we can see and read each possible version of Star Trek, including the Lwaxana Troi comedy series. There might be one where season seven conludes with the founding of the Federation, with RoTF picking up right from there and giving us the same books we cherish already.
Sorry I badly worded my rhetorical question. I just don't like the idea that seven is the 'right' number for Trek shows (as it ties into a larger monolithic framework rather than the possibilities of avant-garde-esque creative iconoclasm). The seven years was the tradition, but it wasn't a good creative tradition. The recourse to seven is too much emblematic of the stasis which characterised onscreen television trek, the safety of it all
I liked that Enterprise had four, and I don't know how it could have done justice to certain things (and I really like how you do better justice to topics, and for all their flaws, Mangles and Martin too!). But thank you for going into detail!
I'm not saying I disagree with that. I'm just saying that we can't expect Hollywood decision-making to be about creative considerations. TV is a business whose goal is to make a profit. Creativity in commercial television is about trying to carve out an interesting space within a set of limits defined by economic and business considerations.
The recourse to seven is too much emblematic of the stasis which characterised onscreen television trek, the safety of it all
Thanks! But ENT didn't have four seasons by choice; it had four because its ratings were too low and it got cancelled. It was anything but a creative decision to end it at that point -- as we can tell from the disaster of a series finale, whose problems presumably result largely from being rushed once the cancellation was decided on. If they'd been able to end the series when they chose instead of being cut short prematurely, they'd probably have crafted a less awful finale.
^ Judging by "Endgame," not that much less awful.
Thanks! But ENT didn't have four seasons by choice; it had four because its ratings were too low and it got cancelled. It was anything but a creative decision to end it at that point -- as we can tell from the disaster of a series finale, whose problems presumably result largely from being rushed once the cancellation was decided on. If they'd been able to end the series when they chose instead of being cut short prematurely, they'd probably have crafted a less awful finale.The recourse to seven is too much emblematic of the stasis which characterised onscreen television trek, the safety of it all
Yah, you are completely right on this. I'm just being cliche-pessimistic about what could have been there.
"Awakening"
A strong second episode to the arc. It's pleasingly nuanced, too, avoiding any overly simplistic portrayal of wrongly-blamed righteous rebels VS evil government, which we might have feared given the revelations last episode. T'Pol makes some very piercing comments to T'Les regarding the Syrranites' own comfort with brutality, which are just as well-judged as T'Les' initial disappointment in T'Pol's regurgitation of the party line. T'Pau, while clearly the one to root for, is stubbornly dedicated to her agenda (justifying what B'Elanna Torres will one day note about her, that she could be utterly ruthless in her application of logic). Her dismissive attitude toward Humans is also worth noting; apparently the Andorians aren't the only ones who saw Humans as simple lackeys of the High Command. On the other side of the line we have Minister Kuvak dealing sympathetically with Soval, questioning the tactics of V'Las and generally voicing reason, lessening the sense that the people in government are all dangerous or power-mad. It's just that their system has become toxic, and the reasonable voice carries no weight. Even V'Las, however, has a moment of legitimacy, when he corrects Kuvak's use of "you're" to "we're". You're part of this, too, Kuvak. That's how it works when you're attached to a government. Much as you might disagree with the final decision, unless you resign from that government you still bear responsibility for what unfolds. That doesn't necessarily imply any moral consequence one way or the other; it's simply so. Cold logic, perhaps. One cannot detach oneself from that which one is wilfully a part of as a matter of convenience.
Speaking of detachment and the legitimacy or illegitimacy of declaring yourself separate (and tying in with the nuanced portrayal of the Syrranites), I appreciate the reasoning of Surak in remaining with Archer - noting that Archer is an outsider, and so placed to see Vulcan and its problems in a way that no native can. I had a reasonably lengthy conversation along similar lines the other day, so that discussion was resonating with me as I watched this. The Vulcans - even the Syrranites - are too immersed in the culture they're a part of, even if they question the direction it's taken. Too familiar; too few alien branches of thought or perspective that would allow them to see the shape of things from a vantage point that isn't tied to the mess they've created. Not because somehow they're all inherently ignorant, but because they don't have the means to see through alien eyes. Surak does, though: Archer. As T'Pol accuses T'Les, the Syrranites haven't entirely broken away at all. Surak must leave Vulcan to save it.
(Fascinating. Oh the long silence, my son?) I wonder what S'task would think?
There's some great dialogue in this one - notably T'Pau's rejoinder to Archer - "No, you traverse vast wastelands based on false information" (
) and Soval's response to Trip's "you did a great job of hiding (your affinity for Earth)" - "thank you". It also has one of the most emotional scenes so far, with the death of T'Les.
It does unfold a bit stiffly and mechanically, with new complications and developments lining up neatly ready to step forward when appropriate. Ah, now there's an artefact they're looking for (and Surak immediately knows where it is); now Archer has it; ah, now the High Command is invading Andoria, okay, thanks for letting us know, Soval - but this is a minor complaint.
Speaking of the Andorians, it's amusing how their efforts in "Proving Ground" backfired. The Imperial Guard justified its attempts to seize Xindi weapons technology on the grounds of an effective deterrent against invasion (though I imagine some factions would indeed have been pushing for its deployment against Vulcan - Tarah did say, back in "Cease Fire", that there were others that thought as she did). In practice, the attempted acquisition has been used to justify a pre-emptive strike against them by V'Las. The Andorians greatly erred on that one, though V'Las's plan also demonstrates the legitimacy of their fear - Vulcan invading Andoria is definitely within the realm of the plausible, if the Vulcans have an excuse. It's a chicken-or-the-egg kind of thing, isn't it? Whichever came first, the current egg is about to explode in Andoria's face.
Next Time: "Kir'Shara"
A strong second episode to the arc. It's pleasingly nuanced, too, avoiding any overly simplistic portrayal of wrongly-blamed righteous rebels VS evil government, which we might have feared given the revelations last episode. T'Pol makes some very piercing comments to T'Les regarding the Syrranites' own comfort with brutality, which are just as well-judged as T'Les' initial disappointment in T'Pol's regurgitation of the party line. T'Pau, while clearly the one to root for, is stubbornly dedicated to her agenda (justifying what B'Elanna Torres will one day note about her, that she could be utterly ruthless in her application of logic). Her dismissive attitude toward Humans is also worth noting; apparently the Andorians aren't the only ones who saw Humans as simple lackeys of the High Command. On the other side of the line we have Minister Kuvak dealing sympathetically with Soval, questioning the tactics of V'Las and generally voicing reason, lessening the sense that the people in government are all dangerous or power-mad. It's just that their system has become toxic, and the reasonable voice carries no weight. Even V'Las, however, has a moment of legitimacy, when he corrects Kuvak's use of "you're" to "we're". You're part of this, too, Kuvak. That's how it works when you're attached to a government. Much as you might disagree with the final decision, unless you resign from that government you still bear responsibility for what unfolds. That doesn't necessarily imply any moral consequence one way or the other; it's simply so. Cold logic, perhaps. One cannot detach oneself from that which one is wilfully a part of as a matter of convenience.
Speaking of detachment and the legitimacy or illegitimacy of declaring yourself separate (and tying in with the nuanced portrayal of the Syrranites), I appreciate the reasoning of Surak in remaining with Archer - noting that Archer is an outsider, and so placed to see Vulcan and its problems in a way that no native can. I had a reasonably lengthy conversation along similar lines the other day, so that discussion was resonating with me as I watched this. The Vulcans - even the Syrranites - are too immersed in the culture they're a part of, even if they question the direction it's taken. Too familiar; too few alien branches of thought or perspective that would allow them to see the shape of things from a vantage point that isn't tied to the mess they've created. Not because somehow they're all inherently ignorant, but because they don't have the means to see through alien eyes. Surak does, though: Archer. As T'Pol accuses T'Les, the Syrranites haven't entirely broken away at all. Surak must leave Vulcan to save it.
(Fascinating. Oh the long silence, my son?) I wonder what S'task would think?
There's some great dialogue in this one - notably T'Pau's rejoinder to Archer - "No, you traverse vast wastelands based on false information" (
) and Soval's response to Trip's "you did a great job of hiding (your affinity for Earth)" - "thank you". It also has one of the most emotional scenes so far, with the death of T'Les.It does unfold a bit stiffly and mechanically, with new complications and developments lining up neatly ready to step forward when appropriate. Ah, now there's an artefact they're looking for (and Surak immediately knows where it is); now Archer has it; ah, now the High Command is invading Andoria, okay, thanks for letting us know, Soval - but this is a minor complaint.
Speaking of the Andorians, it's amusing how their efforts in "Proving Ground" backfired. The Imperial Guard justified its attempts to seize Xindi weapons technology on the grounds of an effective deterrent against invasion (though I imagine some factions would indeed have been pushing for its deployment against Vulcan - Tarah did say, back in "Cease Fire", that there were others that thought as she did). In practice, the attempted acquisition has been used to justify a pre-emptive strike against them by V'Las. The Andorians greatly erred on that one, though V'Las's plan also demonstrates the legitimacy of their fear - Vulcan invading Andoria is definitely within the realm of the plausible, if the Vulcans have an excuse. It's a chicken-or-the-egg kind of thing, isn't it? Whichever came first, the current egg is about to explode in Andoria's face.
Next Time: "Kir'Shara"
Unfortunately, Kuvak was rather miscast. John Rubinstein is a perfectly good actor, but he's too expressive to be a convincing Vulcan. Really, both he and Robert Foxworth were allowed to get way too openly emotional in their scenes in this trilogy. Federation: The First 150 Years suggests that V'Las was really a Romulan agent, which would explain his emotionalism, but Kuvak should've offered more of a contrast.
Infinite diversity in infinite combinations. We can be better people when we have others to help us see ourselves more clearly.
It's interesting -- Manny Coto has a reputation for being politically conservative, but here he used the villainous V'Las as a blatant allegory for the Bush administration fabricating claims of Iraqi WMDs to justify an unnecessary war.
I agree that there's a surprising amount of emotion shown by some of the actors, and it would likely have been better were they reigned in a little. I'm not sure I like the idea of V'Las being a Romulan, though. In the scene where Soval announces that he melded with the comatose embassy guard, V'Las responds with such flinching disgust and almost uncontrolled distaste - to the point of physically turning away from Soval before he gets himself under control - that I can only assume that he's truly committed to the belief that such acts are perverse. If he were himself a Romulan, rather than simply working with them, I wouldn't expect him to have such genuine concern for the standards of the culture. Maybe he's acting, but putting on a false show of intense emotion doesn't seem like a good move if you're trying to be a Vulcan. I prefer that rather than being a non-Surakist, he's still a committed Surakist who happens to follow such a distorted idea of what the philosophy was sold as that it's almost unrecognizable - to the point that he doesn't even realize that he's being far too openly emotional, but he would still define himself as a follower of Surak, bizarre as it might seem.
At the very least, that makes him more interesting. Rather than "he's a Romulan", what mental gymnastics has he gone through, what paths and turns has the Surakist philosophy taken that could make selling out to the Rihannsu seem the logical path?
Unless the Romulans share that distaste for melding. They don't seem to have the ability anymore themselves. Maybe they deliberately bred it out of their subspecies?
Well if it's anything, mirror Rojan was alright that Soleta was telepathic. I'm not sure whether or not that was solely because her telepathy was useful in business. Though Rojan claimed to Soleta that her mother was not telepathic; it is uncertain whether he didn't know or lied because he didn't like that part of her.
^Of course, not all individual members of a given civilization will agree with its mainstream values or government policies.
"Kir'Shara" 
Naturally, this is one of the most important stories so far. The High Command has disbanded, and Vulcan is restructuring itself, abandoning outward projection of force or more benevolent guidance in favour of introspection. Earth is explicitly no longer under Vulcan oversight, and this presumably extends to other protectorate worlds as the Vulcans focus on reinventing themselves and reinterpreting their cultural mythology. This is a major upheaval, equivalent to the United States of America on modern Earth suddenly declaring that it's adopting a semi-isolationist policy and withdrawing politically and militarily from involvement with other nations. Things will change, to put it simply. The Vulcans have been the leading power in Earth’s region of space since the “story” began, and their political, social and military influence has been integral to this universe. We've seen the positive and negative effects of their pre-eminence in many forms, and worlds from Earth to Andor, Mazar to Coridan, Denobula to Trill, have been characterized in large part by how they relate to Vulcan, are affected or impacted by Vulcan assistance or interference, and how they fit into the community Vulcan has implicitly built and guided, to its own sometimes benevolent, sometimes self-serving, often inscrutable ends.
"Kir'Shara" also works as a finale, or perhaps a climax, to one of Archer’s character arcs. Over the course of the series, we’ve seen his initial resentment of the Vulcans give way to a begrudging, even at times humble acknowledgement that their "job" was harder than he gave them credit for, that he can’t simply label their policy toward Earth a “mistake” and dedicate himself to "proving them wrong". He’s also been forced to involve himself in the wider realm of their interstellar policy, viewing Vulcan not simply as the overbearing obstacle it represents to him but meeting them in arenas that don't reflect on Earth at all - e.g. his becoming the intermediary between Vulcan and Andor, a conflict that pre-dates, and until Archer came alone didn't involve, Earth contact. Challenging the role played by their respective races to let Earth become an equal partner with Vulcan has the side effect of allowing him to truly understand them at last (with, naturally, some help from Surak). Archer learns to see and challenge the Vulcans' flaws from a respectful perspective, not a resentful one. His previous inability to do so wasn't his fault alone, of course - how could he respect Vulcans when they kept him in the role of the child? A child can't truly empathise with its parents.
It’s satisfying that the episode arc that explicitly admits that Vulcan has lost its way and brings their antagonism to a head is also the story that completes the reconciliation of Humanity (or of Archer, who has always represented Humanity in this) with its distant mentors. The obstructionist High Command is gone, delegitimized, but this isn't presented as a triumph of Our Plucky Humans against the Stuffy Old Vulcans; it would seem that Humans have learned, just as Vulcans have, to truly question their assumptions as to where the races stand in relation to one another. I've mentioned before that Humans and Andorians alike had seemingly accepted or internalized the idea that they were foolish, volatile children even as they supposedly resisted the label. Archer and the Humans have demonstrated in this arc that there truly isn’t a need for the High Command's oversight anymore; Humans have “matured”, and stepped out of the role they were trapped in. Archer can embody the idea of Human equality with Vulcans rather than simply assert it. He won, and in fascinatingly Vulcan fashion it was just as much about mastering himself as it was about waging peace on the other. And if Archer needed Surak's assistance to complete that journey, well, that's fair, because Surak needed Archer to save Vulcan.
As for the more aggressive, bluer Humans... well, Shran's still getting there, but his people will have their three-part arc soon enough.
Reed raises the point that betraying Earth’s closest ally by warning Andoria of the Vulcan attack might be a questionable decision, pointing out that there is legitimate reason for Vulcan antagonism toward the Andorians, and that not getting involved might be wiser. Even if not much is done with this, it’s always welcome when the ambiguities and complexities are given their due; if you're going to make a stand on the basis of ethics, you need to at least be fully aware of what you're doing and why others might object. As I said last time, this three-part arc does quite a good job with that; it tends to avoid over-simplification even while it presents a clearly favoured "side" to things. Characters are allowed to challenge each other, and no-one is immune to criticism - no plan of action is immune to criticism. The episodes are not V'Las.
Apart from V'Las, there's no real antagonist faction. Notable this time is the Vulcan soldier who served under T'Pol in the past, and appears to feel betrayed that someone he looked up to has, so far as he's been told, helped bomb an embassy.
Although I've just claimed there's nothing too simplistic here... well, it’s probably not entirely realistic that a single artefact or text can have this much power. That said, as a catalyst to activate a willingness for change out of the various misgivings people already have...that I can accept, I suppose. The original writings of the singularly respected philosophical founder-figure are going to be of great significance to a culture, but the fact that alternatives have gained such traction over the centuries makes it a little hard to swallow that a single find can bring down a government. It's probably a bit too late to delegitimise all that tradition and investment because Surak actually said X and not Y. IDIC has no end, remember, it begins with Surak on Mount Selaya but it widens and goes ever on. You can't put the genie back in the vre-katra. Still, this is one of those areas where you accept a slightly fantastical interpretation because it makes for a good story. Plus we can suppose that the effect is less a sudden cultural one-eighty but instead confusion and uncertainty that softens the previously intransigent administration to the point that the various alternative views inserted into the cultural discourse can widen their influence as people look for new answers or embrace the "legitimization" of their private dissent. People tend not to leave a troubling situation unless you give them a fully crafted alternative, of course. They're like Benzites, really - they won't say anything until they think they can safely rest on a resolution; in terms of what you're prepared to announce, problems only exist in hindsight. People aren't willing to rush to the lifeboats until they're sure another ship is standing by to take them onboard.
We also have a coda that introduces a member of a Vulcan race we’ve not seen before, who are apparently responsible for much of the mischief; the “forces” operating on Vulcan, which Surak via Archer referenced at one point, aren’t all of local origin (well, not recently local origin). We’ve encountered the Romulans already, and gotten hints that they’ll become important, but for now we wouldn’t know that these Mysterious Bad Guy Vulcans are the Romulans. The two foes will be revealed as one soon enough.
T’Pau is wearing official Vulcan robes in the final scenes, indicating that she has joined the government. Very soon we’ll learn that she’s been selected/appointed as the new Administrator, and/or First Minister (apparently they take some time to work out what all the new positions and structures are called, which makes sense enough. They did say it might take years for things to truly settle).
As a random aside, I like the action sequences in this one. That’s not usually something I’m interested in or even pay much notice to, but something about Vulcans fighting on their own soil is intriguing. More of that acknowledgement that Vulcan is a harsh world, and its people tough.
Continuity
The Andorians have acquired transporter technology since “The Andorian Incident”, three years ago. Whether they invented it themselves or acquired it directly from someone else is uncertain. One wonders how many inventors there are and exactly how the various forms of the technology are interrelated. (This will be of further interest/concern next episode).
The elderly priest who accepts the katra of Surak from Archer appears to be the same man who performed the ceremony at Koss and T’Pol’s marriage. While in reality I’m sure it’s a matter of practicality – why not reuse the performer and makeup rather than making a new Vulcan priest – we can perhaps assume that this man had ties to the family of T’Les, and thus was trusted by T’Pau to take custody of the katra?
Next Time: “Daedalus”. The other one.
Naturally, this is one of the most important stories so far. The High Command has disbanded, and Vulcan is restructuring itself, abandoning outward projection of force or more benevolent guidance in favour of introspection. Earth is explicitly no longer under Vulcan oversight, and this presumably extends to other protectorate worlds as the Vulcans focus on reinventing themselves and reinterpreting their cultural mythology. This is a major upheaval, equivalent to the United States of America on modern Earth suddenly declaring that it's adopting a semi-isolationist policy and withdrawing politically and militarily from involvement with other nations. Things will change, to put it simply. The Vulcans have been the leading power in Earth’s region of space since the “story” began, and their political, social and military influence has been integral to this universe. We've seen the positive and negative effects of their pre-eminence in many forms, and worlds from Earth to Andor, Mazar to Coridan, Denobula to Trill, have been characterized in large part by how they relate to Vulcan, are affected or impacted by Vulcan assistance or interference, and how they fit into the community Vulcan has implicitly built and guided, to its own sometimes benevolent, sometimes self-serving, often inscrutable ends.
"Kir'Shara" also works as a finale, or perhaps a climax, to one of Archer’s character arcs. Over the course of the series, we’ve seen his initial resentment of the Vulcans give way to a begrudging, even at times humble acknowledgement that their "job" was harder than he gave them credit for, that he can’t simply label their policy toward Earth a “mistake” and dedicate himself to "proving them wrong". He’s also been forced to involve himself in the wider realm of their interstellar policy, viewing Vulcan not simply as the overbearing obstacle it represents to him but meeting them in arenas that don't reflect on Earth at all - e.g. his becoming the intermediary between Vulcan and Andor, a conflict that pre-dates, and until Archer came alone didn't involve, Earth contact. Challenging the role played by their respective races to let Earth become an equal partner with Vulcan has the side effect of allowing him to truly understand them at last (with, naturally, some help from Surak). Archer learns to see and challenge the Vulcans' flaws from a respectful perspective, not a resentful one. His previous inability to do so wasn't his fault alone, of course - how could he respect Vulcans when they kept him in the role of the child? A child can't truly empathise with its parents.
It’s satisfying that the episode arc that explicitly admits that Vulcan has lost its way and brings their antagonism to a head is also the story that completes the reconciliation of Humanity (or of Archer, who has always represented Humanity in this) with its distant mentors. The obstructionist High Command is gone, delegitimized, but this isn't presented as a triumph of Our Plucky Humans against the Stuffy Old Vulcans; it would seem that Humans have learned, just as Vulcans have, to truly question their assumptions as to where the races stand in relation to one another. I've mentioned before that Humans and Andorians alike had seemingly accepted or internalized the idea that they were foolish, volatile children even as they supposedly resisted the label. Archer and the Humans have demonstrated in this arc that there truly isn’t a need for the High Command's oversight anymore; Humans have “matured”, and stepped out of the role they were trapped in. Archer can embody the idea of Human equality with Vulcans rather than simply assert it. He won, and in fascinatingly Vulcan fashion it was just as much about mastering himself as it was about waging peace on the other. And if Archer needed Surak's assistance to complete that journey, well, that's fair, because Surak needed Archer to save Vulcan.
As for the more aggressive, bluer Humans... well, Shran's still getting there, but his people will have their three-part arc soon enough.
Reed raises the point that betraying Earth’s closest ally by warning Andoria of the Vulcan attack might be a questionable decision, pointing out that there is legitimate reason for Vulcan antagonism toward the Andorians, and that not getting involved might be wiser. Even if not much is done with this, it’s always welcome when the ambiguities and complexities are given their due; if you're going to make a stand on the basis of ethics, you need to at least be fully aware of what you're doing and why others might object. As I said last time, this three-part arc does quite a good job with that; it tends to avoid over-simplification even while it presents a clearly favoured "side" to things. Characters are allowed to challenge each other, and no-one is immune to criticism - no plan of action is immune to criticism. The episodes are not V'Las.
Apart from V'Las, there's no real antagonist faction. Notable this time is the Vulcan soldier who served under T'Pol in the past, and appears to feel betrayed that someone he looked up to has, so far as he's been told, helped bomb an embassy.
Although I've just claimed there's nothing too simplistic here... well, it’s probably not entirely realistic that a single artefact or text can have this much power. That said, as a catalyst to activate a willingness for change out of the various misgivings people already have...that I can accept, I suppose. The original writings of the singularly respected philosophical founder-figure are going to be of great significance to a culture, but the fact that alternatives have gained such traction over the centuries makes it a little hard to swallow that a single find can bring down a government. It's probably a bit too late to delegitimise all that tradition and investment because Surak actually said X and not Y. IDIC has no end, remember, it begins with Surak on Mount Selaya but it widens and goes ever on. You can't put the genie back in the vre-katra. Still, this is one of those areas where you accept a slightly fantastical interpretation because it makes for a good story. Plus we can suppose that the effect is less a sudden cultural one-eighty but instead confusion and uncertainty that softens the previously intransigent administration to the point that the various alternative views inserted into the cultural discourse can widen their influence as people look for new answers or embrace the "legitimization" of their private dissent. People tend not to leave a troubling situation unless you give them a fully crafted alternative, of course. They're like Benzites, really - they won't say anything until they think they can safely rest on a resolution; in terms of what you're prepared to announce, problems only exist in hindsight. People aren't willing to rush to the lifeboats until they're sure another ship is standing by to take them onboard.
We also have a coda that introduces a member of a Vulcan race we’ve not seen before, who are apparently responsible for much of the mischief; the “forces” operating on Vulcan, which Surak via Archer referenced at one point, aren’t all of local origin (well, not recently local origin). We’ve encountered the Romulans already, and gotten hints that they’ll become important, but for now we wouldn’t know that these Mysterious Bad Guy Vulcans are the Romulans. The two foes will be revealed as one soon enough.
T’Pau is wearing official Vulcan robes in the final scenes, indicating that she has joined the government. Very soon we’ll learn that she’s been selected/appointed as the new Administrator, and/or First Minister (apparently they take some time to work out what all the new positions and structures are called, which makes sense enough. They did say it might take years for things to truly settle).
As a random aside, I like the action sequences in this one. That’s not usually something I’m interested in or even pay much notice to, but something about Vulcans fighting on their own soil is intriguing. More of that acknowledgement that Vulcan is a harsh world, and its people tough.
Continuity
The Andorians have acquired transporter technology since “The Andorian Incident”, three years ago. Whether they invented it themselves or acquired it directly from someone else is uncertain. One wonders how many inventors there are and exactly how the various forms of the technology are interrelated. (This will be of further interest/concern next episode).
The elderly priest who accepts the katra of Surak from Archer appears to be the same man who performed the ceremony at Koss and T’Pol’s marriage. While in reality I’m sure it’s a matter of practicality – why not reuse the performer and makeup rather than making a new Vulcan priest – we can perhaps assume that this man had ties to the family of T’Les, and thus was trusted by T’Pau to take custody of the katra?
Next Time: “Daedalus”. The other one.
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It's easy to overlook, due to the makeup change, but the "Vulcan soldier" Major Talok and the Romulan agent in the tag scene are the same person. They were different people in the script, but the producers didn't have the money to hire another actor for that one brief scene, so they made Talok the spy.
I think you may like Uncertain Logic....
I've always found it a reasonable supposition that the Andorians acquired the tech from humanity once they became trading partners. Although evidently the Andorians were less willing to give up tech like tractor beams and deflectors. I wonder what they provided in exchange. Mining rights on planets in their territory, perhaps, or passage through their space.
And you'll see the actor again when you get to "The Enterprise Incident," although he'll be much younger then. Time paradox!
I did, in fact, overlook it. That is, while I remembered that the Romulan had been seen as a Vulcan earlier in the episode, I didn't realize it was him. Evidently I'm not very good with faces. Then again, I'd just been re-exposed to the Romulan fashion sense, so understandably my wits were not about me.
Well, I like all your books (
) but it's definitely great to hear that this sort of thing will be the focus of Rise of the Federation III. I've mentioned before that I think you write Vulcans particularly well. And this is such a rich topic that it deserves greater attention. That would make sense, come to think of it. We know from "Home" that Andorians are now visiting Earth (and later in the season their embassy will be mentioned). It makes sense that after Earth helped mediate at Weytahn they'd start to show an interest and establish an official relationship, so Humans might be a good choice of origin for Andorian transpoters.
Human official: "Let's see, we renewed our trade agreements with Denobula, we opened an embassy on Mazar, wegavetheAndorianstransporters, we signed the agreement offered by -"
Vulcan diplomat: "Please backtrack an item. You did what?"
Human official: "Well, maybe we'd have consulted you if you were sending any ships into the Delphic Expanse".
Vulcan: "I believe the customary expression is "touché"."
Well perhaps Subcommander Tal from "Balance of Terror" can take this cue from alternate Commander Keras in Infinity's Prism - A Less Perfect Union, "As unlikely as it may seem, it was nature that gave me this face. Perhaps he and I share a common forefather from back before the Time of the Sundering."
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"Daedalus"
Today we learn that the transporter is a hideous monstrosity and that the hungry maw of science must be satiated with blood.
There's some intriguing conversation in the opening scenes, regarding the caution that transporter technology was greeted with on Earth and initial attempts to promote its use and supposed safety. The episode does an okay job at presenting the backstory of an inventor pushing for acceptance of his creation and its potential, and the natural wariness it engendered in others. Unfortunately, that's not what the episode is about and so it remains at the level of moderately interesting first-act discussion rather than going anywhere. There was so much more that could have been done with this.
As it is, the plot is about Erickson and his son, and therein is the problem, really. After all, in the original myth referenced by the title it was Icarus who behaved foolishly and was therefore responsible for his own death; Daedalus' plan worked fine (and he warned Icarus about caution too, so even in terms of elder responsibility for the young Daedalus didn't do anything to warrant his being seen as guilty, so far as I can tell). So is this story about Erickson's eagerness to push for transporter use or not? Is he feeling guilty or not? Is he Daedalus, grieving a son lost to him through tragedy, or is he the Icarus, who forgot his caution and suffered for it? Is Quinn really Icarus if there's no sense that he volunteered or pushed for the test against his father's advice? Why initially suggest all this stuff about Erickson pushing through new, potentially dangerous technology and dismissing peoples' concerns about it if you're not going to go with the rather tired but at least sensible "and my son paid the price for my hubris" story? Even if that doesn't fit the title and muddles the legend. What's the point of this guy? Who exactly is he? What thematic role does he play?
The episode wins some points by having Quinn die, I suppose, so that the mission is only a partial success, a means of finding peace for Erickson rather than a victory. I appreciate that. Still, this episode is difficult to make sense of. Why (other than cheap drama) did Erickson lie to begin with? He isn't some nobody without influence or credibility, he's a successful scientist-celebrity with the respect of every engineer in Starfleet. Trip is beside himself with awe and glee at meeting the man - are there no former engineers placed highly at Starfleet Command? If he contacted Starfleet and told them "Emory Erickson. No, please: rise. I want to go the Barrens, it's an important rescue mission, here's the situation" then he'd get what he wanted, surely? Given how obsessive Archer is about helping Quinn even with his ship's safety at stake and after having been lied to, I can't believe that Archer wouldn't have helped had Erickson just approached him and told him what he needed to do. And if for some reason Starfleet wasn't initially willing to let Enterprise go off to the Barrens, Archer could easily have said, "Admiral Gardner, I'm the reason the Vulcans are now off of your back and letting you operate freely at last. I'm also the reason this planet is still intact and not a cloud of vapour, and/or swarming in bat-Nazis (long story). I, Jonathan Archer (in case you missed that) want to take one of our most esteemed scientists, Emory Erickson (in case you missed that) to the Barrens on a vital rescue mission that his research of 15 years supports the necessity of. Can I go, sir? Think carefully before you answer".
I think my biggest problem with this one, in spite of the reasonably engaging backstory touching on the impact of new technologies and alternative visions for technological progress, is that I find it hard to accept that there would be a Human inventor of the transporter at all. Once a race enters the galactic community, it's going to be exposed to the theoretical and practical science of its neighbours, unless it's an severely isolationist society, which Earth certainly isn't. At the very least, the theoretical foundations, probably the basic schematics or even working models should have been provided by or purchased from outsiders; likely from Vulcan. Human transporter research should involve, at most, building from alien data and then tweaking it, not having to muddle around building one from scratch and going through the same dangerous learning curve that T'Erek-saan of Vulcan or Arek Zhon of Draylax went through. Why did multiple people die? Unless the idea here is that Humans developed the transporter and Vulcans didn't, which I don't buy for a minute. Had Humans created a complex technology that Vulcan had never been able to, we'd have heard of it. Never has it been even hinted that the transporter is the pride of Earth science. Whether Vulcans use the thing or not, they know how it works. And they've been in contact with Klingons, Osaarians and other races that we've seen using it (with more sophistication than the Humans, at that).
Another thing that's difficult to accept: there's a region of empty space called the Barrens, a hundred light-years across, within easy range of Earth warp-five starships. The reason it's empty is because it's apparently a boil on the backside of space-time where subspace folds on itself and protrudes (or something) and it regurgitates things at random rather like the mystery portal hole of the "Fat Chance" character on The Venture Brothers. I wonder what else manifests there - other people and artefacts lost in subspace? This might be interesting were the implications ever explored.
In all, this one just doesn't make sense to me given what's been established about the setting. Nothing flat-out contradictory, but it doesn't fit comfortably.
I suppose one thing of note is that it demonstrates that Earth medical technology isn't perfect yet - Erickson is confined to a wheelchair.
First Appearances of Things That Are Important
Danica Erickson will return in Rise of the Federation: Tower of Babel, as a potential love interest for Archer as he starts to consider the possibility of pursuing a domestic life and starting a family. I don't know how far that will go, but I'll note her here just in case.
Continuity
There's some welcome discussion of the fallout from the events of the "Vulcan trilogy". T'Pol is reading the Kir'Shara - its text has been distributed rather quickly, then, but I suppose that makes sense. We also get some of the aftermath of the death of T'Les, and it's interesting that T'Pol is apparently being truthful when she tells Trip that she's coping. I suppose T'Les died for a cause that benefited all of Vulcan and which came to fruition successfully. That must help. T'Pol lost her mother but has rediscovered the father of their people. We also have some welcome discussion of the impact the revelations are having back on Vulcan - the stigma of melding having been lifted and the curing of others who had Pa'nar Syndrome. I find myself wondering what the crew of Vahklas are doing.
T'Pol and Trip's relationship proceeds nicely, in a low-key but convincing way, and there's a good old "T'Pol talks with Phlox" scene.
Mention is made several times of Zefram Cochrane, his celebrity, and his drinking habits.
Next Time: "Observer Effect".
Today we learn that the transporter is a hideous monstrosity and that the hungry maw of science must be satiated with blood.
There's some intriguing conversation in the opening scenes, regarding the caution that transporter technology was greeted with on Earth and initial attempts to promote its use and supposed safety. The episode does an okay job at presenting the backstory of an inventor pushing for acceptance of his creation and its potential, and the natural wariness it engendered in others. Unfortunately, that's not what the episode is about and so it remains at the level of moderately interesting first-act discussion rather than going anywhere. There was so much more that could have been done with this.
As it is, the plot is about Erickson and his son, and therein is the problem, really. After all, in the original myth referenced by the title it was Icarus who behaved foolishly and was therefore responsible for his own death; Daedalus' plan worked fine (and he warned Icarus about caution too, so even in terms of elder responsibility for the young Daedalus didn't do anything to warrant his being seen as guilty, so far as I can tell). So is this story about Erickson's eagerness to push for transporter use or not? Is he feeling guilty or not? Is he Daedalus, grieving a son lost to him through tragedy, or is he the Icarus, who forgot his caution and suffered for it? Is Quinn really Icarus if there's no sense that he volunteered or pushed for the test against his father's advice? Why initially suggest all this stuff about Erickson pushing through new, potentially dangerous technology and dismissing peoples' concerns about it if you're not going to go with the rather tired but at least sensible "and my son paid the price for my hubris" story? Even if that doesn't fit the title and muddles the legend. What's the point of this guy? Who exactly is he? What thematic role does he play?
The episode wins some points by having Quinn die, I suppose, so that the mission is only a partial success, a means of finding peace for Erickson rather than a victory. I appreciate that. Still, this episode is difficult to make sense of. Why (other than cheap drama) did Erickson lie to begin with? He isn't some nobody without influence or credibility, he's a successful scientist-celebrity with the respect of every engineer in Starfleet. Trip is beside himself with awe and glee at meeting the man - are there no former engineers placed highly at Starfleet Command? If he contacted Starfleet and told them "Emory Erickson. No, please: rise. I want to go the Barrens, it's an important rescue mission, here's the situation" then he'd get what he wanted, surely? Given how obsessive Archer is about helping Quinn even with his ship's safety at stake and after having been lied to, I can't believe that Archer wouldn't have helped had Erickson just approached him and told him what he needed to do. And if for some reason Starfleet wasn't initially willing to let Enterprise go off to the Barrens, Archer could easily have said, "Admiral Gardner, I'm the reason the Vulcans are now off of your back and letting you operate freely at last. I'm also the reason this planet is still intact and not a cloud of vapour, and/or swarming in bat-Nazis (long story). I, Jonathan Archer (in case you missed that) want to take one of our most esteemed scientists, Emory Erickson (in case you missed that) to the Barrens on a vital rescue mission that his research of 15 years supports the necessity of. Can I go, sir? Think carefully before you answer".
I think my biggest problem with this one, in spite of the reasonably engaging backstory touching on the impact of new technologies and alternative visions for technological progress, is that I find it hard to accept that there would be a Human inventor of the transporter at all. Once a race enters the galactic community, it's going to be exposed to the theoretical and practical science of its neighbours, unless it's an severely isolationist society, which Earth certainly isn't. At the very least, the theoretical foundations, probably the basic schematics or even working models should have been provided by or purchased from outsiders; likely from Vulcan. Human transporter research should involve, at most, building from alien data and then tweaking it, not having to muddle around building one from scratch and going through the same dangerous learning curve that T'Erek-saan of Vulcan or Arek Zhon of Draylax went through. Why did multiple people die? Unless the idea here is that Humans developed the transporter and Vulcans didn't, which I don't buy for a minute. Had Humans created a complex technology that Vulcan had never been able to, we'd have heard of it. Never has it been even hinted that the transporter is the pride of Earth science. Whether Vulcans use the thing or not, they know how it works. And they've been in contact with Klingons, Osaarians and other races that we've seen using it (with more sophistication than the Humans, at that).
Another thing that's difficult to accept: there's a region of empty space called the Barrens, a hundred light-years across, within easy range of Earth warp-five starships. The reason it's empty is because it's apparently a boil on the backside of space-time where subspace folds on itself and protrudes (or something) and it regurgitates things at random rather like the mystery portal hole of the "Fat Chance" character on The Venture Brothers. I wonder what else manifests there - other people and artefacts lost in subspace? This might be interesting were the implications ever explored.
In all, this one just doesn't make sense to me given what's been established about the setting. Nothing flat-out contradictory, but it doesn't fit comfortably.
I suppose one thing of note is that it demonstrates that Earth medical technology isn't perfect yet - Erickson is confined to a wheelchair.
First Appearances of Things That Are Important
Danica Erickson will return in Rise of the Federation: Tower of Babel, as a potential love interest for Archer as he starts to consider the possibility of pursuing a domestic life and starting a family. I don't know how far that will go, but I'll note her here just in case.
Continuity
There's some welcome discussion of the fallout from the events of the "Vulcan trilogy". T'Pol is reading the Kir'Shara - its text has been distributed rather quickly, then, but I suppose that makes sense. We also get some of the aftermath of the death of T'Les, and it's interesting that T'Pol is apparently being truthful when she tells Trip that she's coping. I suppose T'Les died for a cause that benefited all of Vulcan and which came to fruition successfully. That must help. T'Pol lost her mother but has rediscovered the father of their people. We also have some welcome discussion of the impact the revelations are having back on Vulcan - the stigma of melding having been lifted and the curing of others who had Pa'nar Syndrome. I find myself wondering what the crew of Vahklas are doing.
T'Pol and Trip's relationship proceeds nicely, in a low-key but convincing way, and there's a good old "T'Pol talks with Phlox" scene.
Mention is made several times of Zefram Cochrane, his celebrity, and his drinking habits.
Next Time: "Observer Effect".
Maybe it's just that the Vulcans find it so unreasonably dangerous a means of transportation that they've never bothered to develop it. It took the recklessness of humans to actually go for it and prove it could work. And I doubt the Vulcans would've been willing to encourage and cooperate with its development by humans any more than they were with warp drive. So it was up to us to test it at our own peril.
There's a worse problem. First, the Barrens aren't 100 light-years across, but 100 ly in radius. "There's not a star system within a hundred light years." Second, Erickson came to the middle of that region to do his experiments 15 years earlier. So he had to be well over 100 light-years from Earth in 2139. And yet in 2152, in "Two Days and Two Nights," it was stated that NX-01 was the first Earth ship to have made it as much as 90 light-years from Earth.
The saving grace is that there's only a single line of log-entry narration mentioning the size of the Barrens. It's easy enough to ignore that line, or assume that Archer misspoke.
Yeah, this would be the one real dud of the season if not for the series finale. On top of its other problems, it's yet another episode rehashing a plot we've seen in Trek before, this time Voyager's "Jetrel." That was a superb episode, so this one pales even more in comparison.
The one thing I like about it is Leslie Silva as Danica Erickson -- as you can tell from the fact that I brought her back in Tower of Babel.
Okay, that makes some degree of sense. I could easily see the pre-Kir'Shara Vulcans assigning the transporter to that rather large category of Things Vulcans Are Not Interested In (By Decree of the High Command). Curiosity for its own sake was regarded as inappropriate, so if they were leery of the practical benefits or the safety of developing the technology I could see them shelving it at the theoretical stage. And as you say, they're unlikely to assist Human efforts in perfecting it if they think the whole matter is folly or the outcome not worth the effort. It's certainly true that Vulcans don't seem to bother with transporters; we never see them use the technology. However, Koss used his transporter codes to get Archer and T'Pau into the capital, so the Vulcans have transporters as of the 2150s, and had Earth actually made the breakthrough, if they owed that technology to Earth... I would have thought that the matter would have come up at some point, over the course of the various Human VS Vulcan arguments. If Human innovation and "recklessness", Human willingness to experiment and push the boundaries of the "appropriate", not only created a working model but brought technology that was then adopted by Vulcans anyway, even if they aren't very interested in it... I'm just not sure here. I suppose this is, again, an area in which the episode, or our efforts to explain the episode, don't contradict anything as such but don't quite fit comfortably, at least for me.
Although I do admit that maybe Humans developing the transporter mostly on their own, through trial and error, might make more sense than I first assumed. At least, it might be more defensible than I thought.
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