THE SHORT VERSION: Paramount owns Star Trek and everything to do with it. I make no money off this site; it's just for fun. For more details, read the long version. Live long and prosper.

Archive of previous updates on the site, July 4–December 31, 2002.

July 4, 2002: Launch! Using whatever Season 1 photos I could pull together. As repeats air over the summer I'll try to get my own screencaps and expand. My profound thanks to Keckler and her assistants over at Television Without Pity; without her extremely funny and very detailed recaps I literally could not have gotten this site off the ground. Please report any broken links, typos, weird formatting, factual errors, or anything else to evay @ triphammered.com.

This site was originally going to be called "The Folded Spindled Mutilated Trip Page," after the late and much-missed "Folded Spindled Mutilated Paris Page," but the URL was just too long and awkward. Brainstorming and polling of friends and family came up with alternatives like fsmtrip.com, poortrip.com, trips-and-falls.com, tripabuse.com, warp-lash.com, and tripredshirt.com. After a shakedown cruise, the runners-up were tripwirecentral.com (which had great potential for graphics, and just sounded so cool), perilsoftrip.com (two votes), alltuckeredout.com (also two votes), and one adamant holdout for spindletrip.com (you know who you are). If the author of the FSMParis page is still online somewhere, please contact me and I'll happily credit you here.

July 12, 2002: Coupla spelling tweaks; added a reciprocal link to SciFi Source. TrekConnection very generously donated a photo for "Cold Front."

July 17, 2002: The ongoing hunt for typos. Added a photo of Trinneer, a link to Sev Trek, and a scan from the August 2002 issue of MAD magazine to the Minor Abrasions page (at the end of Season One).

July 24, 2002: Expanded the description for "Shadows of P'Jem," although it still doesn't rate its own page. You know, Archer, T'Pol, and Reed are taking a lot of beatings too; should I start up another damage tote board for them? Or maybe this is why Starfleet started issuing red-shirted uniforms -- to limit injuries to the lower decks and protect the senior staff.

July 31, 2002: I received official notification that I'm now a member of the Star Trek: Enterprise web ring! woohoo!

August 7, 2002: Did anyone notice that TV Guide selected "Acquisition" as an Editor's Choice for this coming week?

August 9, 2002: Updated Season 2's episode list (just getting the names off TrekToday; no real spoilers). Added a new photo to "Shuttlepod One." StarTrek.com is sneakily adding material to their media library and not telling anyone. That photo wasn't there before -- believe me, I checked!

August 13, 2002: I've been officially added to the Star Trek: Enterprise Exploration web ring!

August 15, 2002: Corrected a few errors in the "Acquisition" summary and added a whole buncha photos.

August 20, 2002: Added photos and touched up the summary for "Shuttlepod One."

August 22, 2002: Added photos and touched up the summary for "Vox Sola."

August 24, 2002: Added a reciprocal link to TrekkieLizard. Oh man, it is so cool to find yourself on someone else's dropdown menu! :)

August 29, 2002: Fixed a sack of typos (I forgot Dreamweaver has a spellchecker). Tweaked "Fallen Hero" and "Desert Crossing" and added some photos.

Maybe it's just the woodenness of most of the main cast, or that I'm studying Trip more closely, but it seems to me that Trinneer is really putting the most effort into bringing his character to life. Keating is very good but subtle with his portrayal; he's consistent in showing Malcolm as a repressed Brit who was probably cowed by his father. Billingsley has some nice quiet touches with Phlox. But Trip is the most animated of the crew -- he grimaces, grins widely, ducks his head, talks with his hands like an Italian, rolls his eyes, and shouts at aliens. Archer is definitely up for the Chakotay of the Year award. T'Pol is supposed to be restrained, but she's channeling Seven of Nine. Hoshi apparently has three modes: scream," "whine," and "off." Travis, well, he packed all his scenery-chewing into two episodes, so we don't know yet. Porthos is a natural.

August 30, 2002: I'm officially a member of the Sci Fi TV Web ring.

September 4, 2002: Added a photo for "Shockwave." Don't expect much new stuff until after the season opener in a few weeks. Oh, and September 8th is Star Trek's birthday -- the day Classic Trek debuted. Happy 36th!

September 12, 2002: Located two additional photos for "Unexpected" so the summary flows better.

September 14, 2002: Added a reciprocal link to House of Tucker. Go visit; it's fun. Four days to the premiere!

September 18, 2002: Premiere was decent. Nice action scenes, some interesting camera work, and NO Big Shiny Reset Button™ at the end, for a change. Archer got off a few good lines. Bakula is still wimping out on delivery of the softer material, but he's improving his force. I have hopes for the seasons to come. Poor Hoshi, though; she's carrying every Screaming Meemie Ensign stereotype ever invented. She's claustrophobic, she's slightly xenophobic (of new places, not new people -- is there a different word?), she's the baby of the crew. And she loses her shirt while saving the ship. (Why she didn't put on a bra before leaving her quarters is something I don't get, however. Maybe her ancestors were really liberated women.) Good ensemble work. Even Travis got in a few lines. The cast is getting comfortable in one another's space, so to speak.

September 19, 2002: The Mess Hall changed its name to Trekpulse, so I updated all my references. Nice design.

Congratulations to our cat, who had three kittens this evening -- two calicoes and a black and white.

September 20, 2002: I changed my mind about the "Shockwave, Part II" summary. And yes, we decided to name one of the kittens "Trip." I originally liked "Charlie," because he's black and white with patterns similar to my mother's cat Charlie, but Moogie said "Chuck" and then "What about Trip?" and that was that.

September 25, 2002: Poor Jolene Blalock. Does she have any dignity left? Her nipples have gotten more screen time than Travis. I mean, back on Voyager, we had two instances of Seven of Nine being intimated to be topless or naked, but all we actually saw were her bare shoulders and maybe a stretch of back (which could be tastefully displayed at any awards show). Berman and Braga really need to visit the Playboy mansion and get it out of their systems so they can stop embarrassing T'Pol and Hoshi (or Blalock and Linda Park, take your pick). Yes, we've seen Trip and Mal in their underwear, but after "Broken Bow," we didn't see anything you wouldn't see walking down the street on a Saturday afternoon in July. Jeez, Buffy and Spike have actually had sex on screen more than once and showed less genitalia.

September 29, 2002: As I'm sitting here, I get emails from two different people letting me know they've added my site to their page purely spontaneously! That creaking sound you hear is my jaw swinging in the wind. :) So I've cross-linked, and they're two very nice sites too.

September 30, 2002: I finally made the search engines! If you search for "triphammered" in Google, Lycos, Excite, and Yahoo, they come up with my site at last!

October 1, 2002: T1K! One thousand hits! Kisses and pecan tarts to everyone who's stopped by in the last three months.

Took the Enterprise personality quiz. Go see who I ended up as. :)

October 2, 2002: WHAT is with UPN? Somebody needs to narrow their annular confinement beam; the signal keeps drifting in the middle of key scenes. But the Romulans rocked. And the floating-hull-piece effect was extremely cool. Malcolm had some really funny self-depreciating lines. Hoshi and Enterprise both get Purple Hearts. Travis almost got a half-dozen lines! (Sorry, I still think the joystick-through-the-mines scene was totally GalaxyQuest. Painful. Funny. But painful.) Archer was way better this week -- a little more comfortable with command, with making plans and having alternative options. This is exactly the kind of script which suits Bakula's delivery -- low-key physical action but intense emotional interaction, and a few key gestures. Although I'm getting a little tired of him deciding that Archer only raises his voice when he's being protective: Mal here, Trip in "Desert Crossing," over the Klingon in "Broken Bow." Once it's cool. Twice it's "finding the character." The fourth or fifth time it's a schtick.

Did anyone else get the impression that the actors were looking particularly haggard? Blalock had bags under her eyes. Keating looked about fifty -- before the mine hit the ship. Trinneer was all craggy. Even Bakula was a little ragged around the edges. Long cast party the night before filming? Bad morning in Makeup?

October 5, 2002: Added two more episode names from TrekToday. Added a photo of the Romulan Warbird somewhere on the site -- first person who finds it gets a mention here. :)

My husband, who cheated and downloaded the entire web site to find the picture while on his business trip in Florida (and hacked my web page) doesn't count. (Love you, Evay!)

October 9, 2002: Very nice episode. Archer is seriously improving. He still had geek moments, but he showed some real strength and intelligence. Great continuity from last week, both plot and character ("You were saying discipline is getting lax around here..."). Some hilarious dialogue. Fresh plot. Good acting by Billingsley. Cool effects -- the all-white corridors were fabulous. Loved the ten-second denouement. Nice to see the Trip/Malcolm friendship continuing, and Mal letting Trip talk him into stuff. Roxann Dawson has a good feel for crew interaction all around; the Malcolm/Phlox and Hoshi/Phlox scenes flowed beautifully. You know, we so often bitch that TPTB screw things up; let's have a big round of applause for getting it right this week. Well-written, well-paced, well-directed. Way to go, guys! Keep it up!

Other thoughts: What's with T'Pol's hair? Was her wig getting cleaned so they had to use the Moe Vulcan wig from Carbon Creek? Travis is now the first official Recyclable Ensign. I guess Hoshi's last name really is "SAH-toe"; I always thought it was "SAY-toe." (You say say-toe, I say sah-toe, to-may-to, to-mah-to... sorry) I thought they were going to be paying for all the food they were replicating with the proverbial "pound of flesh;" I'm glad it wasn't that obvious. You'll notice Trip didn't say the catfish was "just as good as my momma's."

October 11, 2002: I'm officially a member of the Enterprise Exploration ring. Woohoo! More visitors!

October 16, 2002: Oy. Well, it wasn't as bad as we feared. I really did not think that there could be a wooden good-looking guy and a repressed lovely lady with less chemistry than Chakotay and Seven, but I've been officially proven wrong. Memo to Berman and Braga: Archer and T'Pol do not work as a couple. Period. More Trip and Malcolm, less mannequins making out!

Phlox was very funny. Also icky. A second VOY record got broken: Ugliest Alien Feet, previously held by Neelix. I was kind of torn about Archer's hysteria over Porthos: as an animal lover myself ::cough kittens cough:: I understand entirely how concerned he could be; on the other hand, he was about equally worked up over Travis last week! I suppose I'd rather he be more upset about anyone suffering than not caring at all. Archer's a good guy. He definitely means well. Hoshi was nice. Blalock is getting there, but she's still hitting some false notes. Keating and Montgomery must have been embarrassed to pick up their paychecks this week.

Practically no Trip! *whine*

Halloween 2002: Sorry for the delay; didn't see the ep until tonight. Short and sweet: recycled TOS plot, I liked it, Archer didn't suck, Trip got good screen time, Mal looked great. More this weekend and I should have screen shots. Yes, I wore my TNG uniform to work, complete with tricorder and phaser props.

November 1, 2002: Longer thoughts on "Marauders":

Unless that spray-on leotard of T'Pol's was some 22nd-century L.L.Bean Wick-Away-Sweat fabric, why wasn't she wearing loose robes? Doesn't something close to your skin trap heat? Granted, it was white, but... (I know, I know. Loose robes and the lack of a low tight belt wouldn't allow the other half of the key demographic to watch her ass wiggle from here to Catalina when she walked over loose ground.) The Vulcan Fu was mostly believable. I was pleased that she didn't claim she was going to teach them all Klurkor in three days. However, even a Klingon with limited tactical ability would be able to counter "duck right-duck left-roll left" after the fifth or sixth time, and that kind of movement won't work against a hand knife like the mek'telh anyway.

Moogie notes that someone should tell Archer "before you share an impressive proverb with an alien from a desert planet, make sure he understands what a fish is." Other than that, however, his acting was fine, his lines were decent, and his decisions were a good balance of leadership and teamwork. The pep talk with the colony leader was just a little clunky, but not too bad. Nice continuity touches from "Fight or Flight" (not leaving these poor guys to suffer) and with Hoshi's marksmanship. That whole scene was really enjoyable. I'm very glad to see Hoshi has progressed beyond Screaming Meemie stage -- twice now this season.

Mal has just enough muscle to cross the line from "skinny" to "wiry." Looked good. This is really a man who loves his job. Notice how his voice got deeper as he was scuttling through the trenches taking aim? How all his nervousness vanished when he was working in his area of expertise? Let the man show how competent he is and his self-esteem goes through the roof without having him come across as arrogant.

I thought Trip in the the scuffed-up desert gear looked better than Trip in the Recycled Rambo outfit. Good bonding with the kid (the kid actor did not impress me). Wasn't everyone expecting the kid to run out into the middle of the ambush and wreck it? Was it better that he didn't (avoiding cliché) or worse (wasted suspense)? I liked the exchange between Trip and Archer about the plan being iffy, and Archer basically saying yes, this is a crapshoot, but if we didn't try we'd hate ourselves in the morning. Our boy didn't really take any damage besides dirt. I'll get screenshots this weekend.

TPTB are working hard these days making the Klingons the bad guys all over again after spending (quick math 1987 to 2002) fifteen years transforming them into grouchy allies. The K'Jerks did pretty well -- the leader reminded me of Kruge, although that might be because we saw Search for Spock just recently. :) Moogie was wondering why, after T'Pol made a big deal about Klingons preferring bladed weapons, all seven of them dropped or resheathed their swords or knives and drew their disruptors. And when the one guy was knocked out and his bat'telh fell to the ground -- a meter away -- why didn't T'Pol or the colony leader grab it? Even if just to move it away from the Klingon? Why leave him the opportunity to rearm -- especially after it was emphasized that Klingons have difficulty adapting their tactics to a change in situation? Why not take his sword so he has to fumble for something else to fight with?

Poor Trav. One line, two cameos. Either involve him in the cast or give the guy a heroic death and put an NPC at the helm, wouldja, B&B? It's embarrassing for him to keep showing up and smiling bravely.

November 4, 2002: Updated the Enterprise Links Database link. The Enterprise Experience has changed its name to e:earth, the online Enterprise, so I've changed the webring graphic accordingly.

November 6, 2002: Added a reciprocal link to Enterprise's Best Pictures, which should be called Enterprise's Funniest Screencaps. I'll have shots from the episode Thursday night.

"The Seventh:" So much potential, so poorly realized. And that's just Travis.

Okay, for the record, I like the idea of T'Pol and Archer learning to trust one another more. I even like that T'Pol took Archer with her because she knew that should her emotions get out of control, she could rely on him to continue thinking rationally. I liked the "agent went native" plot. I was okay with the "had to repress the memory because it was killing me" thread (although Spock was able to take care of Kirk's memories of and feelings for the android Rayna in "Requiem for Methuselah" with much less fuss). But jamming everything together into one episode was very rushed, and forced. This actually could have been a comfy two-parter -- would have, on TNG.

First off, T'Pol was supposed to be gradually unravelling. We got one scene at Level 1 (the double-step in Archer's quarters), one scene at Level 2 (the dramatic music as she recounts how close she got to the guy the first time) -- and then went straight to Flipping Out Level 10, as she hisses, shouts, threatens, and runs out into the acid snow and digs through the fugitive's cargo trunks. I think Blalock did a nice job with some of those -- the hissed "Stop talking!" was particularly effective -- but it was all the emotion all at once.

These were memories which were supposed to be resurfacing slowly, breaking through a tough "Azrael block," not exploding into her consciousness all of a piece. If the memories did re-emerge that way, the elders at P'Jem were watching Andorian TV when they should have been chinking up Fortunato's holes. This is why this could have been over two episodes -- imagine T'Pol slowly getting more and more irritable, less in control, pulling herself back from the brink and then getting wide-eyed with anger again. Imagine more of a chase for the fugitive. Imagine if they didn't find the radioactive shampoo at the end (I'm sorry, I know futuristic props are difficult, but they just looked like backlit Suave bottles).

And what kind of "highly trained security agent" was she anyway? She just strolls into the bar and starts walking around staring at all the patrons? She knows this man is a surgically altered Vulcan who had been chased not just by any Vulcan security officer, but her specifically, and she doesn't cover her own ears or disguise herself in any fashion? A good writer/director would have made these mistakes subtle clues that she was coming apart, that her concentration was going because her returning violent memories were shattering her composure. Also, why join the security force if she isn't psychologically prepared to take a life in the line of duty? Did she think she was going to be a Vulcan Rent-a-Cop? Tuvok may not be a good counterexample, since in "Meld" he appeared a little too not-bothered with the idea of killing, but Spock wouldn't have snapped over having to shoot someone. Did T'Pol only have the option to kill her suspect? Could it be that Starfleet's "current" phase pistols, which have a Stun setting, are actually more advanced than those of the Vulcans from 20 years earlier?

The idea that she thinks she could have taken an innocent life and is unable to cope with that is very potent. I don't fault the writers for trying to explore it. It just wasn't explored enough. Imagine how they could have shaded her confession just a little bit more, to make the destruction of the P'Jem monastery just that much more personal. Imagine her admitting that she left the security force because she finally realized her naïveté, and that joining the science council was an escape. Or that she was rehabilitated (read: brainwashed) by the monks to aim her towards science, and T'Pol finally remembering that she loved being a security officer but now understanding that she couldn't handle it.

Other annoyances: How did this Vulcan operative survive on such a cold planet? Vulcan is extremely hot; he should have been really suffering or really wrapped up. After twenty years I know there's some acclimation, but they could have mentioned that he was extremely hardy or have someone express surprise that he didn't die from the temperature.

Why can't the Enterprise crew grasp the concept of "classified mission"? What's the big fat hairy deal? Maybe the idea is that all of them are hostile towards helping the Vulcans, and childishly demand to be let in on whatever secrets are going around. I just found it ridiculous that they would whine about hanging out a week. And right on the heels of Archer really really really really wanting to know what was going on, T'Pol asks him to come with her on the mission, and he TURNS HER DOWN? He says "I'm sure there's someone on the Vulcan ship who can help you." What a jerk. I'm sorry, this is clearly a B&B episode -- Archer is back in full spiteful moody teenager mode.

Enough with the water polo references. Archer likes the game. He watches the game. T'Pol comes to him with a personal request and he can't take his eyes off the game on the TV. Admiral Forrest uses the Vulcan captain to pass on a water polo score. What, Archer's answering machine was full? His email was bouncing? Does no one think that's an immature personal abuse of diplomatic channels?

The acid snow: Good to know duct tape is still around in the 22nd century, and that it has added acid-repellent properties to its formula. However, apparently Starfleet boots are made of the stuff, because T'Pol had to tape her boots to run out in the stuff and Archer and what's-his-name just waltzed right along. Wile E. Coyote physics, I guess. But why was Archer so deeply worried about everyone having to go through decon? Look, you get under the blue lights, you slap on a little gel, you're done. It's not like they serve on a Xyrillian ship.

Hey, this is a Trip site; how about the Trip scenes? I thought his concern about being able to find Archer and T'Pol in an emergency was well-founded. And that was about it. Commandeering the captain's mess started out cute (and very sweet that he would have special meals made for Phlox and Mal), but quickly showed that Trip is not ready to step up to that position of responsibility on a day-to-day level. He does fine with tactics, and leading the ship under fire. But he can't agree to Phlox's inoculation plan because it could potentially give people the runs (which he thinks would make them not like him). He can't surrender power from Engineering when they're in orbit around a planet for a week and not going anywhere. If he was supposed to be second in command before T'Pol joined the crew, he should have command training. These decisions should not be difficult for him. Granted, his excuses were more or less in character if you believe he's not fit to be a captain, but that should not be the case.

Poor Trav. A mission on which he actually belongs, and they treat him like a recurring extra. Joe Carey had more lines.

November 7, 2002: Screenshots for "The Seventh" and a blurb up.

Some positive thoughts after all that ranting: Trip looks so happy to be feeding his friends. He gets to treat them and treat them right -- they each get a favorite dish they wouldn't normally have. Trinneer looked very happy to be eating farfalle pesto and not some stereotypical fried crap. Blalock did have some good moments. The "Stop talking!" which I mentioned before, the way she begged for help without actually saying so when it came to shooting the fugitive, the quiet conversation with Archer at the end. Phlox was cheerful but professional; his tone was just the same as it is with Archer. I'm coming to like him much more this season than last.

November 13, 2002: "The Communicator:" Wow, I liked this one a lot! Everyone was good. Archer was smooth, even in doubting. We got to see trust expressed between Archer and T'Pol without having to be told they were expressing it. T'Pol was encouraging with Hoshi rather than harsh, or simply efficient. Mal was curiously optimistic about being rescued; apparently all the time with Trip has done him good. And Trip! Let's give the boy a hand... he obviously needs one. :) Too funny. Even the helmsman what's-his-name had a few lines. Of course, he didn't say them well, which may be why he hasn't gotten many lines. I will say that Blalock has to get herself under control emotionally. Her voice was raspy, her eyes bugged out, her thoughts were all over her face. She's a Vulcan, for pity's sake. She's emoting like an A&E movie.

The ep had a TOS feel to it. Good lighting in the pre-execution prison scene. The shootout must have been fun as hell to film, but why does Trinneer make such silly faces when he fires? I liked that Archer and Mal were willing to sacrifice themselves to preserve the pre-warp culture, even though they weren't particularly happy about doing so -- it shows Archer really has been listening, and does understand that his actions have consequences, and has learned from his mistakes. And even though he (and Mal) aren't perfect, they aren't embarrassing to watch either. And B&B wrote it! Could it be they are learning from mistakes? (Except for the dumb joke about having an invisible hand during Movie Night.) Moogie and I were predicting quite a few of the lines before or as they were spoken, however, and when Trip tells Archer on the bridge "Ah'm a reg'lar bloodhound, Cap'n," I was waitin for Archer to come back with "Sorry, Trip, you ain't nothin' but a hound dog."

I recognized Tim Kelleher (Lt. Pell, the first one who interrogates them) immediately as Four of Nine from VOY's "Survival Instinct." He's got a distinctive face, but changed his voice for this role.

Did anybody else wonder if the cloak would have worked fine if they had tried it with the door closed? And the readouts looked awfully like Borg to me. Lots of sets reused: the bar from last week, the Suliban prison cell and the interrogation office from "Detained," the Suliban cell ship, Malcolm having surgery to look like an alien, Trip losing his arm like the Holodoc when he tried to leave Sickbay in "Projections." May as well save money when you can.

November 20, 2002: Apparently Connor Trinneer has closed his official site. :(

"Singularity" = "Scientific Method" X ("The Naked Time" + "Day of the Dove"). But those are three good episodes, so I don't mind. The kittens managed to unplug the TiVo and we got in at 8:03, so I missed the teaser. I'll catch it this weekend, I guess, and screencaps Thursday.

Preliminary thoughts, with more to come: A lot of laughs. Everyone was very funny getting more and more obsessed and cranky (Hoshi screaming "GET OUT!" -- I asked Moogie if that's how he feels when I'm in his kitchen) and buried thoughts surfacing. And oddly, a lot of the obsessions still made sense. Nearly all of Mal's proposals were valid -- maybe not going over the captain's head to Starfleet, but the tactical protocols and his analysis of Enterprise's previous responses were on the mark. Trip has a point that the captain shouldn't be in a crisis and thinking "This chair is a pain in my ass!" (So Archer, sit properly already!) Good continuity touches, from "Dead Stop," "Minefield," "Fallen Hero," and "Shockwave" just off the top of my head. Trav got a whole buncha lines! But then the Redshirt Protocols kicked in and Phlox sedated him and strapped him down before he got away with a whole paragraph. I like that Mal comes to Trip first for feedback on his tactical protocols, emphasizing that friendship, but when Archer asks Trip to fix his chair, it's very much Captain and Chief Engineer. Isn't Trip supposed to be his best friend? Or at least a good buddy? What happened there? Archer goes to T'Pol once again with his real dilemma. She's a Vulcan, Vulcans held Henry Archer back (not T'Pol personally, I would hope), I thought Trip was part of the Warp Five project for a while -- it's a shame he couldn't have asked Trip about the preface. I know, it wouldn't have served the pairing off which the script required. Still.

Blalock was all over the map emotionally, again. Girl needs to sit down and watch all of Classic Trek, several times, and take notes. Bakula's best acting is when Archer's pissed off. Billingsley was awesome -- I especially loved the "well, it could be a headache, but it could be the plague!" speech.

I suppose it says something about me as a Trekkie that the "Tactical Alert" alarm was going off for, I dunno, was it a solid ten seconds before T'Pol got over to Tactical? and I literally didn't hear it. I'm so accustomed to hearing Red Alert sirens that it didn't register, like a car alarm.

November 21, 2002: Screencaps up. More thoughts:

We continue the great ENT food tradition. Trip finished his soup and rice, and most of his greens, and settled the chopsticks over the bowl. His remark to Hoshi is polite. Even under the influence of OCD Particles™, Trip can't quite be rude about a meal. Mal ignored all of it to work (and then said it was too salty for his British palate), which is typical of him when he's not stoned, so I wouldn't read overmuch into it. I liked the Mal and Trip lunch scene. They're working their way into their respective obsessions, but not so far yet that they can't spare half an ear for each other's projects. The critiques aren't outrageous, either, just... distracted.

Nice lighting on Trip in T'Pol's quarters when they squabble -- the shadows are just a little bit ominous, and coupled with his unexpected rudeness, it becomes a Plot Alert moment. And it's now official: Trip uses the phrase "I'll get back to ya" as a way of putting someone off without actually rejecting the person. Actually, Trip struggled to be polite several times, only getting crotchety when the other person was insisting on parading his or her particular problem.

Trip to Archer: "Ah'm gonna build you a throne." Please, no more bathroom jokes! :)

The whole Dr. Phloxenstein bit was great. "I'm going to remove the first 12 centimeters of his pareital lobe" -- yes, and then your helmsman can no longer use verbs and calls everyone brbrbrbrbrbrbr. And what's with the closed MRI? We have open MRI in my sleepy little corner of New Jersey.

Pissed-Off Archer seems to have more range, and gravitas, than Friendly Wimpy Archer. Maybe we need to increase his dopamine levels on a regular basis. (They filched half of "Scientific Method" for this ep anyway, why not go the whole hog?)

You know, I was taught back in middle school that coffee and a shower does nothing to sober up someone who's drunk; why would it help someone who's irradiated? It's not like he can get, um, brain-washed. Unless T'Pol fixed Archer a good strong espresso. Her whole escape plan was pure Janeway anyway -- speaking of "Scientific Method"...

Was anyone else scared by Chef Hoshi? I would not want to piss her off with a sushi knife in her hand.

By the way, I have had cats in bags, boxes, buckets, baskets, bathtubs, blankets, basements, bedrooms, carriers, cages, cars, coats, pillowcases, hampers, towels, quilts, sweaters, shirts, jeans, a refrigerator (that was an accident), a dryer (another accident), and the Lazy Susan (that was Moogie's fault), and none of them have ever sounded like those Alert sirens.

November 23, 2002: Added two new episode names from TrekToday. Saw the ep teaser: pretty much what I expected, but cool nonetheless. Total twist from where the plot actually went. Nice job, guys!

November 27, 2002: "Vanishing Point" first thoughts: You know, I like ENT, and second season's been pretty good so far (with the occasional severe clunker), but VOY never made me run for my reference books trying to find out how many episodes were redone in a single airing. "Vanishing Point" rehashes -- um, is similar to TNG's "Remember Me," "The Next Phase," "Realm of Fear," and "Eye of the Beholder," with a dash of Classic Trek's "The Tholian Web." Again, these are good episodes, and the ENT episode was enjoyable, but I'm getting worried that the well is running dry. Still, I liked it anyway. Good acting all around. The food worship continues! The first Mess Hall scene with the boys was very fluid -- probably ad-libbed to some extent. Trav got lines two weeks in a row! Not many, of course, and it would have been nice to see his grief over Hoshi echo hers over him from "Dead Stop," but oh well. Trip in the "Contact" hamster ball was kind of funny. Lots to analyze about Hoshi now -- how she feels incompetent, overlooked, unnecessary, easy to replace, patronized, coddled.

November 28, 2002: Screencaps up. One of these days that will mean more than one in History and one in "Minor Contusions."

"Vanishing Point" further thoughts:

Moogie wanted to know how it was that in the 22nd century, cameras aren't sophisticated enough to be able to take photos in low light without a flash.

We got to see Gentleman Trip ("Ladies first," but then not pushing Hoshi when he didn't want her to panic), Older Brother Trip (gently holding Hoshi by the arms in the closer, but not restraining her, as he tries to explain she just got back from a Magical Mystery Tour and everything's fine on the ship), Devil Eyebrows Trip (I kept rewinding the Mess Hall scene just to giggle over him cocking his eyebrows at Trav), and another appearance of Shutterbug Trip. I like the continuity. It's much more realistic than abruptly sticking someone with a new hobby, as Paris often received in VOY -- the ocean, classic cars, Captain Proton, etc. Trinneer was wonderful. I did catch a word or three in the gym where I thought his accent wandered away, but that'll happen. He was kind to Hoshi when she confessed her fears to him, not mocking her or making her feel foolish. His remorse and anguish over her death felt quite real -- in the Jeffries tube when they find the goo, he looks like he can't decide if he's going to cry or vomit. And as I mentioned before, the Mess Hall scene was very organic. Obviously the whole thing was Hoshi's vision, but it's clear that she sees Trip as someone in whom she can confide safely, someone who cares about her welfare without seeing her as in need of excess hand-holding. And speaking of holding hands, it was absolutely sweet of Archer to take her hand for a second or two in Sickbay as he helped her off the biobed -- not to flirt, but to offer her proof of her solidity and his recognition of her existence. The captain may not have a big pair of coglioni or much of a spine sometimes, but he's got a good heart.

Okay, we had Nekkid Hoshi but tastefully done (the bit with the patterned shower glass was beautifully filmed), and Tank Top Hoshi but also not overly gratuitous. See, I don't mind a bit of skin, just leave the actor/actress some dignity. Linda Park did a good job throughout, with one exception: there were several moments when she was listening to someone, and I guess thinking about what the person was saying or the person speaking was off-camera, and she just looks blank-faced. It was much more noticeable while I was getting screencaps because I leave the volume off, and I wound up staring at Hoshi's empty expression for five seconds at a clip. But at least she didn't get hysterical -- mercifully -- and portrayed growing worry and determination well. Hoshi was professionally concerned, but adult about it. No "screaming like a twelve-year-old." No new phobias. Although her intense scrutiny of her shifting birthmark made me wonder if she had gotten quite all the OCD Radiation™ out of her system from last week. (Nice patronizing remark from Phlox: "Well, it looks lovely where it is now.")

I'm still disappointed that we didn't see any of the alleged Hoshi-Trav relationship. And Hoshi apparently thinks Archer is clunky and vacillating, putting things off way too easily. She has no idea how a captain would break the news of a subordinate's death to a parent, since he hems and haws and meanders instead of coming straight to the point. On the other hand, she doesn't see him as cold and unfeeling, but rather deeply affected by her loss.

As in "The Next Phase," it's hard for actors to pretend the third person in the room isn't there. Inadvertent eye contact or walking around someone who shouldn't be there is almost impossible to avoid. The cast does a decent job; the slip-ups are limited. However, also as in "The Next Phase" with LaForge and Ro, if Hoshi is able to walk through walls and can't touch buttons, how can she walk or lie down on floors, sit on Phlox's counter, or not careen through the bulkhead into space? For that matter, why does the ship's gravity still affect her? Why is she still moving with the ship in orbit around the planet or whatever? If she's no longer in the same phase as everyone around her, she shouldn't be aligned with the atmosphere either. She should be stationary and the ship should move away from her, leaving her floating in vacuum.

Anyone else but me think that the aliens were actually setting up some kind of transporter pattern enhancer rather than explosives? I didn't see any previews or spoilers, so I thought Hoshi might have transported to a parallel universe, or maybe she was now in the realm of the spirits which the natives didn't want disturbed so they were helping create a path for her to come back.

Random thoughts: Malcolm got a haircut! Too short for my preference, but it'll grow back....Bizarro effect with the transporter -- all the sparkly bits kind of collapse down into themselves. It's a little creepy....We never do find out where Mal has done his survival training....Other things Hoshi sees herself as: ignorable, obsolete, out of the loop, not important enough to check on or drag to her shift....The UPN "Trek the Halls" ad was pretty funny. "You'll meet Klingons who need combs"? Well, at least they're promoting the franchise and not burying it....For a ship where interior space is supposed to be a premium, the showers on Enterprise are HUGE! I thought it was just the captain's shower last week, but Hoshi's is just as large. You could easily have three people in there. Maybe they're standard size for all cabins, and junior officers and enlisted who share cabins share the shower as well?....The hamster ball in the gym would make me instantly nauseous. Trinneer does a really nice job of whipping that thing around (and the camera work was great). I don't know how much actual exercise Trip's getting, but it's supposed to be good pilot training. Not that Hoshi got much of a workout either -- she did like four reps of each exercise. That's not going to build any muscle or burn any calories....Linda Park has fantastic hair. Just thought I'd mention it...."Sub-cellular residue" which needs a specially-calibrated scanner to locate shouldn't be visible at all, much less as a blob of lime Jell-O; and if Phlox is collecting it to send to the Satos, he shouldn't leave most of it behind in the Jeffries tube. And how did it get down there anyway?...Archer says of the transporter accident, "Starfleet promised me this sort of thing wouldn't happen." No, but lots of OTHER things would. Be grateful nobody got split in half, stuck in the pattern buffer as a worm, reduced to a teenager, or sent to a Mirror Universe where Malcolm wears lots of black leather and carries a whip....I wonder if the food everyone eats on the show is from the catering buffet, or if they set it up specially for each such scene. And does it have to be low-fat so everyone can continue fitting into those very precisely tailored uniforms? ;)

November 29, 2002: One of my loyal fans (The TripHammered Half-Dozen; you know who you are) sent a really interesting comment on my "Vanishing Point" review, good enough to share. I've mentioned how T'Pol and Hoshi show lots of skin, silhouettes, genitalia, etc. and this week was pleased to note that TPTB left Linda Park a little dignity. Inger writes:

"I believe it was you, but someone made a comment about T'Pol's (Blalock's) breast nipples [I guess you have to specify, but only Trip ever had nipples somewhere besides his breasts. -- evay] showing at some point. Then you noted in your "Vanishing Point" commentary about leaving the actress some dignity (in showing some skin for such a length of time). While I am a very conservative person myself, I only thought "hhhmm -- a different outfit." You see, in California we can see any female between the ages of 15-45 with clothes like that on (or less) in the middle of winter, any time of year or day; including any forum from work to amusement parks. As a matter of fact, Hoshi had 'a lot' of clothes on if she were in California. I don't believe either of the actresses think twice about what they are asked to wear. After all, the show is written and filmed in sunny southern California. "

So there you go, an entirely different way of contemplating Hoshi's navel. I guess in NYC a crop top is just too cold for the winter, but on the Left Coast it's still wearable in December, so maybe Park doesn't have a problem with it. (Not to mention if I looked like that, I'd show off too.)

December 4, 2002: I'm surprised at the vehemence of the online reviewers in disliking "Vanishing Point." Maybe I was able to enjoy it because I didn't read the spoilers so I didn't know it was a transporter dream, and I was able to enjoy the mystery.

December 11, 2002: Quick "Cargo" thoughts: Okay, let's get the source material out of the way first: TNG's "The Perfect Mate" and Classic Trek's "Elaan of Troyius," with a dash of VOY. Chickie-boo wasn't anywhere near as good-looking as Famke Janssen, or as haughtily convinced of her royal perfection as France Nguyen, or as exotic as either. But Archer and T'Pol were an absolute riot -- Janeway would have been proud.

How did we get a "Trip-centered episode" only being half about Trip? And why can't the damn chick-of-the-week act? And if she can't act, why did she have absolutely no bust or butt to speak of? Cheekbones do not a performance make. The character was irritating, with no redeeming qualities at all. I wonder if he shoved his tongue down her throat just to shut her up. Does anyone even remember her name? She looked vaguely like Shalom Harlow's Dominican cousin. She sure did know how to swing a blunt object, though.

Trinneer's accent is starting to waver. I thought it was an accident in "Vanishing Point," but it's really thinned out this week. He should take the holiday break and go to Oklahoma or wherever to do some research. Beyond that, however, we got some key character points. Maybe that's what a "Trip-centric" episode is: baubles of backstory strung along a plot thread. ('Cause there sure as sugar wasn't an actual plot to speak of.) Plays harmonica. Definitely grew up in Florida proper. Drove a car. (I fell off my chair laughing at that line.) Parked with his girlfriend. He's a gentleman until it hurts, as my people say. No idea why he boinked Chickie-boo, however; she was not very attractive, not very interesting, not very pleasant, and frankly they weren't anywhere close to being desperate enough to justify survival lust.

Loved Mal's little mannerisms. I practically expected him to click his bootheels when he dropped the "prisoner" off. Does he always smirk when he gets to bring the phase cannons on line? Low lipstick week, I think -- I'll have to check when I do screencaps.

Archer and T'Pol! Archer was great! How did he talk her into going along with it? Totally had nothing to do with the Trip storyline but just hilarious. Trav got a line. Hoshi got to be useful. Mal got to fire weapons. Trip got to punch an alien jerk. Archer got to be friendly, clever, and duplicitous all in one week. 3.5 stars out of 5 on first viewing -- Chickie-boo was very bad, and the two A-plots were fighting for screen time. I think this one will get its own page and writeup, so maybe Friday, maybe Sunday. Oh, and Archer got a haircut too. Did they hire Mott?

December 12, 2002: More "Cargo" thoughts. And the full summary is up! Head over to Season 2.

How come Archer is always at his best when he's being someone else? In "Acquisition," "Shadows of P'Jem," "The Communicator," and now "Precious Cargo," he play-acts -- he's the cook, he's a supersoldier, T'Pol runs the place. And in all of these eps he's great. Smooth, confident, no false steps. I don't get it. Bakula is obviously a good actor. (I love the moment where he ooh-grosses his hand after realizing he shook hands with a guy who has just announced that he hasn't bathed in ages.) I wish they'd give him better lines.

I can't say enough good things about the "tribunal" scene, though. Quite possibly the funniest thing I've seen all season. And T'Pol looked good in those orange robes. She's never looked more Vulcan. She was regal, commanding, imposing, absolutely in control, and (hint hint!) professional. Not unlike Counselor Troi after "Chain of Command," where the producers suddenly saw Marina Sirtis in uniform and said "Wow! She looks like an adult!" I realize Blalock was not hired to wear that outfit, but I'd love to see her in it again.

Just how baldly did B&B rip off TNG? Both women in stasis are "exotic beauties" with slight accents and Trill-like freckles down the edges of their faces, they have to submit to their destinies as part of a monarchy (either to rule or to be a royal wife), and for pity's sake they both have K names. The difference is, Janssen is a real knockout (I remember her LONG before "X-Men") and she can actually act. (And "there was no sleeping with the empath" is so much more subtle and elegant than making the Swamp Monster With Two Backs.)

Loved the bit where Archer sends the prisoner off to the airlock rather than the Brig. Of course, putting the guy in an airlock with the outer door unlocked is not actually a good idea tactically, in case (a) another ship does come by to rescue him (b) the prisoner actually does space himself because then they'll have no source of information. Although does Enterprise even have a brig?

Trinneer tried, he really did, but there was just zero chemistry between him and what'shersquirrel. Trip may have been staring at the pod while she was in stasis, but listen to the dialogue and the tone -- he hardly sounds interested. And the entire time they're stuck together, neither of them gets one of those "do I slap you or kiss you?" expressions. It's more like they're going through exercises in acting class. Here's The Squabble, here's The Haughty Royal And The Commoner, here's The Kiss. All that was missing was Rodolfo and the Contessa. (Five points to anyone who gets that reference.) She did such a terrible job I had to turn the volume off for most of the runthrough for screencaps. I simply couldn't bear to listen to her a second time. I was paying attention during the roll in the swamp, and there is nothing, absolutely nothing, not a hint or a clue or a spark, which logically leads from them arguing to them kissing. Really. This isn't "The Philadelphia Story." It's not even "The Bensonhurst Story." It's just a faded copy of bad clichés mashed together alongside two hard bodies in the hopes that ratings go up. They kissed because it was in the script. Literally. Sigh.

Random thoughts: What was the shiny bust statue in Trip's quarters? Looked vaguely like a cast-off mask from the Star Wars costume department....What was with the weird pan from Trip's hand across his chest, cutting off his head, to T'Pol's face when they first opened the airlock?...Okay, let's think about this. These two alien clowns have kidnapped a head of state, or impending head of state, and, we assume, are going to hold her for ransom. And they send out a general distress call? Are they in a really tough neighborhood that nobody asks questions? Have they only met Pakled engineers? Why don't they have an engineer of their own? How can you put a valuable hostage in stasis and have no means of keeping her alive if something goes wrong?...Did Trip consider, when he was so helpfully prying the lid off the stasis pod, that it might be possible she didn't breathe the atmosphere which was in the cargo hold? And that if he broke the thing getting it open, he'd be sentencing her to suffocation, rather than saving her from it? Or maybe that was his goal....Food worship continues! Dinner in the captain's mess, mystery meat jerky in the escape pod, Trip's declaration that they won't starve in the swamp....Trav got six whole lines. I think Hoshi got a dozen or so; I didn't count hers. Of course, Phlox didn't show up this week at all, and neither did Porthos....The shadow hands shot was cool.

December 16, 2002: Thanks to all who wrote with such kind comments on my "Cargo" recap. As great as it was, I hope we never get another episode which deserves that kind of raking over the coals.

December 18, 2002: Okay, we forgive you for Chickie-boo. "Catwalk" rocked. This is what ENT should be -- taking advantage of their particular context to tell stories which are unique to the time and place. Yes, there was a little "Starship Mine" and a little "One" but so what. This is exactly what we were screaming for last week: take a hoary old premise and turn it on its ear for a fresh look. More more more of this! Everyone was great. Archer did a fine job. Nice character development with T'Pol without hitting us over the head with it. Trip got to be an engineer. Mal had PMS or something. Everyone got some lines.

December 22, 2002: Guten tag to my German fan base... ;) Photos up, finally.

"Catwalk" thoughts: This ep was brought to us by the same team which brought us "Dead Stop," namely Mike Sussman and Phyllis Strong. Let's have a big BIG round of applause for these two. Nice character development for practically everyone -- even Trav and Hoshi!

Trip really got to show off the brains he's supposed to have. He came up with the solution to save everyone from the radiation, he knew the absorption depth of the osmium alloy off the top of his head, set up the whole shelter in the catwalk and built toilets in four hours, talked Mal and T'Pol through shutting off the warp engines, AND did not try to be a hero and take on all the soldiers himself but instead reported back to the captain so they could establish a sensible plan. Go Tucker!

Good little exchange with Archer and T'Pol as they settle down to sleep. T'Pol mentions that she doesn't fraternize well (I thought they had regulations against that...), Archer encourages her to try, and then she shows up at the movie in the denouement, making the effort. Showing us, not telling us about it. And then Trip tries again, inviting her to join the crew on Tuesday nights for the regular showing. ("Thank you, Commander, but "Buffy" is on at 2000 hours, and as this is likely the last season, I do not wish to miss any episodes. Besides, Spike is hot.") A little look into Phlox: how he cares about his animals, not just as medical apparati but as living beings; how he dislikes making personal appeals, but does so on behalf of those animals; the hint about conditions on Denobula and the light it sheds on his willingness to serve onboard Enterprise. Trav actually got to talk about his past, in a context which was appropriate, and brought up just a touch of his ghost-storytelling from "Strange New World." Hoshi commented that she would probably conquer her claustrophobia in such conditions. Trip wants to go river-rafting with Archer -- imagine, two best guy friends hanging out and doing athletic stuff! What a concept.

I loved the bickering between Mal and Trip. Trip has got to be the closest friend Mal has -- who else does he feel comfortable enough to snipe at like that? And Trip slings it right back, just like Mal is family. Believe me, my family is just as sarcastic and ornery when we get going, and we only get polite with guests and strangers. Family and real friends get savaged. It's a mark of how much Mal trusts him -- remember, even though they're off duty, Trip is still a superior officer by two ranks -- that he can whine and criticize about stuff like this, openly and without fear. He'd never dare bitch to Archer. He might, possibly, if the captain leaned on him for a while, admit his discomfort at the lack of facilities, but he'd be very stuffy about it. With Trip he can just snap "Why can't you build me a goddamn shower? I'm so grungy I feel like my uniform can walk off and get its own lunch." (Malcolm sans uniform... mmmmmmm) Poor Mal. He's so fastidious; the whole week must have been such an ordeal! And he didn't even get one chance to blow anything up, while the captain got to pretend he was going to take out the entire ship!

I liked that the three stowaways were never entirely good or bad. You really couldn't tell, as the episode progressed, whether to believe them. Were they working with the stormtroopers? Were they renegades? Were they telling any of the truth? Were their "rituals" and making their own food innocent misunderstandings, or preparations for taking over the catwalk and thereby the ship? And why didn't THEY have to take their clothes off and smear gel all over each other in decon? The alienophile audience segment is feeling terribly slighted.

Regarding the storm: One of these days the Trek FX folks are going to remember the Z axis, and not make storms something flat which can be flown over. I know the insistence on having everything line up on a neat plane made the vertical attack shot from "All Good Things" that much more impressive, but really, when a moon explodes, it does so in a sphere, not a circle. It was annoying watching Enterprise fly into something it appeared they could have gone around. Separately, a storm -- a collection of radiation and isotopes and Plot Complication Particles -- can travel at warp? Wasn't Kirk astonished to find the cloud creature from Tycho IV capable of travelling at warp without an engine? And wasn't it a huge deal to create a soliton wave which pushed the Enterprise-D at warp? Or am I missing some piece of Trek physics here?

Random thoughts: I can't tell you how disappointed I am that we saw Chef's hands clearly belonged to a white guy. I was so hoping they'd cast Isaac Hayes. But he did dump the hot MRE into Mal's lap, which was very funny....Apparently someone's listening to fan gripes, because Archer says "uninhabited planet teeming with plant and animal life," not "a planet with no biosigns but lots of living things" as he did earlier this season....No wonder Mal was all grouchy; it looks like Archer raided his makeup bag and was trying on lipsticks without permisson. Not only rude, but very unsanitary....Moogie thought that the Vulcan starship T'Pol was talking about was her ancestor T'Mir's, from "Carbon Creek," and she was playing dodgy because she wasn't supposed to tell Archer and Trip about that mission at all. Admitting that the three Vulcans survived (and that it wasn't just a story) would have been a security breach....Moogie also wondered why the crew wasn't using hammocks to store things or sleep? Might have made the turbulence easier to handle....If Sickbay is so heavily shielded, why was Phlox worried about leaving a few of his critters there? Are they more delicate, or is Sickbay not quite as well-shielded as he indicated?...Lots of camping references: river rafting, Kahs-wan, sleeping bags, campfires, singing songs. Silly but sweet, and a nice tiny thread of continuity throughout....The dogs they have to play Porthos are pretty good at hitting their marks! But he should have been in a cage or a sling or something so he didn't get hurt flying around the compartment....I keep forgetting the NX-01 doesn't have shields....Please note that Mal refers to "Starfleet trainees" and not "cadets" or "students at the Academy." This is 2152, and Starfleet Academy is founded in 2161....I saw Nemesis and then watched ENT and I got all confused -- why is the captain wearing gold?...When Trip says to T'Pol "Do you have any idea of the odds of that [a power surge causing matter and anti-matter injectors to come online] happening?" I expected her to whip around like Spock and rattle off the numbers....Okay, they borrowed a little from "Scientific Method" too. Apparently the ENT writers were really really impressed by that episode, since they've filched from it twice this season already....UPN promos suck. Really. I've started watching them after the ep airs -- I sure as hell won't watch them before! -- and they completely and totally mislead the viewer as to the content of the show. At least the Twilight Zone bugs have been exterminated for now.

December 29, 2002: On January 14, UPN says they're going to run a blooper special with Enterprise outtakes. If there are any really good shots of Trinneer dropping things or falling over set pieces, I'll screencap 'em.

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