EPISODE: "Harbinger" PROD#: ENT067 TRAN#: 3.15 RATING: PG-V AIRDATE: wed-11-feb-2004-20:00 EPDATE: 27 December 2153 and after OFFICIAL: startrek.com/startrek/view/series/ENT/episode/3852.html FROM: Phillip Thorne, thorne@underbase.org POST-TO: rec.arts.startrek.current, .reviews, .tech, rec.arts.sf.tv REVIEW#: 58.0 FORMAT#: 5.0 URL: underbase.org/dept/trek/ent315_harbinger.txt I. INTRODUCTION This report has been split into two parts because otherwise (for whatever reason) it won't appear on Usenet after being posted. This document focuses on the technical aspects of a current episode; it is intended to support discussion, and to later serve as a reference; it accordingly contains PLOT SPOILERS, so CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Whenever possible, it indicates who did/claimed/knew what, because characters can lie or be mistaken. Spellings of technobabble and alien nouns are obtained from TV closed-captioning ("CC") -- which is imperfect: it may not match spoken dialogue, or the website, or be consistent within or between eps. In the Synopsis, I may condense or reorder scenes. If you have corrections or clarifications, please contact me, and I'll (eventually) make corrections. Abbreviations commonly used: -(m/f/?) name belongs to mel/fem/unclear, (os) on [viewer] screen, (vo) voiceover, -(?) quote is uncertain, -(sp?) spelling is unclear; VDB Vulcan database, VHC Vulcan High Command, XDB Xindi database; series: TOS TAS TNG DS9 VGR ENT. Although CC uses "Launch Bay," "Sick Bay," and "shuttle pod," I often condense those terms to single words. "Star Trek" and all related indicia are copyrights of Paramount Pictures, while this overview is (c)2004 Phillip Thorne. Feel free to use this document as a reference, but please give credit where due. II. TERMINOLOGY TECHNICAL: gravimetric distortions, anomaly, humanoid biosign, ammonium sulfide, electrode, biometric data, Tactical Alert TECHNICAL/ENTERPRISE: secondary relay coupling, B-deck, bulkheads A-1 and A-3; [warp core] plasma coils, reversing polarity of; feedback pulse, triggering; T-valve LOCATIONS, POLITIES and ORGANIZATIONS: MACOs, Jupiter Station, Klingon, Triannon, Xindi BIOLOGIC: headache, neuro-pressure OTHER: MACO lunar survival training III. ANALYSIS 1. What we get... A date (27-dec-2153). MACOs (Hayes, Cole, and at least four unnamed), and a close look at Hayes' insignia. Our first hint of who's aiding the Xindi, and why. A couple of scenes with unconventional camera angles. Phlox's menagerie. T'Pol and Tucker have sex (presumably). 2. What we don't get... A name or race for The Crusty Guy. The term "Azati Prime." Any mention of Chef or Porthos. 3. The shirtless files... During neuro-pressure, Tucker; then T'Pol drops her robe (her back). 4. Arcs... Spheres, the Xindi Incitement, Vulcan neuro-pressure, Trip and T'Pol's relationship, Archer Strains Ethics. 5. Links... 314-"Strategem," 312-"Chosen Realm," 310-"Similitude" The non-Starfleet MACOs (Military Assault Command) and Maj.Hayes were added to the ship's complement and first appeared in 301-"The Xindi." 6. Crusty's not-an-escape pod is a cylinder 5 meters in length, built of the same alloy-mix as the Spheres (but brownish in color instead of grey). Access is by (heavy, per the use of a crane) removable nose cone (possibly a redress of a Hirogen control- sphere). The occupant reclines on a slab surrounded by a series of curved transparent panels, with a large number of fiber-optic fibers ("electrodes") attached to him. 7. Major Hayes' insignia (on the right shoulder, at least, of his camo-uniform; and on both of his jacket) consists of a horizontal stripe atop a horizontal metal bar atop an up-pointing metal triangle. The stripe is red, with narrow white-black-white bars at each end, and a Starfleet stretched-star (metal) in the center. All metal parts are dull gold in color. 8. The MACOs of Military Assault Command are not Starfleet, although their shoulder-insignia seems to incorporate the star- with-stretched-upper-point later found in the Starfleet logo. Their tactics and training are several years ahead of Starfleet's, but their combat experience has been limited to training sims on Earth (except for this contingent's engagements). Training includes a lunar survival course. Their hand-to-hand combat style incoporates several traditions. 9. The compartment used for training sessions appears to be a redress of the launchbay or cargo bay set(s): it's two decks deep, with a personnel hatch, a garage-door, and a ladder to a monitor- lined upper gallery. There's also a mirror, floor matting, and hanging light fixtures. We've previously seen a gym onboard (205- "A Night in Sickbay," 210-"Vanishing Point," and 214-"Stigma"), but this chamber contains none of the exercise equipment. IV. NITS 1. It might be cinematic time-compression, but ENT traverses the 3 Ly from Mayweather's report to the Bubbly within a single scene. Archer certainly orders the detour(?) casually. 2. When the ship is partially immersed in the Bubbly, how can the helm-linkage from the bridge be unresponsive if internal communications still work fine? It's not the damage to Mayweather's console, because he regains control as soon as they pull out. 3. Hayes speaks of the target-practice system as being developed "a few months" ago, but they've been in the Expanse for about six months. Is he being imprecise, or were the specs transmitted to ENT? 4. If the drills are for senior officers, why isn't Archer involved? 5. When would Reed have had the opportunity to "pick up" "a little Klingon [fighting] move?" 6. If Tucker is so concerned about keeping his interlude with T'Pol under wraps, why is he talking about it in a crowded mess hall? Does the crew have a Japanese-like ability to project zones of privacy? V. THIRD-PARTY COMMENTS [...] VI. EPISODE SYNOPSIS TEASER: "Previously on..." (T'Pol): Did the Spheres create the Expanse? Anomaly wave (308). D'Jamat (312). Hayes vs. Reed. Archer and Degra in sim-shuttle, and trip towards red giant (314). Sim- Trip's feelings for T'Pol (310). Tucker is performing Vulcan neuro-pressure on the foot... of CORPORAL AMANDA COLE (1), a brunette female MACO. They discuss the combative relationship between Maj.Hayes and Lt.Reed. She kisses him. "That was unexpected," he reacts. ACT 1: "Captain's starlog..." 27-dec-2153, en route to the red giant. Reed reports to Archer's ready-room, and is ordered to work with the MACOs on a new training program suggested by Hayes. Archer points out that their "tactics and technology" are "two, three years ahead of Starfleet." Reed asserts their combat experience is due entirely to simulations on Earth. It's feeding time in Sickbay, and Phlox tells T'Pol(violet) that "Corporal Amanda Cole" has been reporting headaches -- there's no obvious cause except for her neuro-pressure sessions. He asks her to fix the problem. Reed and Hayes argue about the schedule for the training sessions. On the bridge, Mayweather complains of stars shifting positions, and T'Pol diagnoses it at "unusually strong gravimetric distortions" 3 Ly away... ...They arrive to discover a 700-million-km-wide field of bubbling orange space, which T'Pol calls "a convergence of anomalies." Sato detects a signal, from a 5-meter pod emitting a weak "humanoid biosign," located several hundred meters inside. They manage to grapple it out, but the field surges and partially engulfs the ship. The bridge fills with orange light and sparklies and "ammonium sulfide," and consoles start to explode in slo-mo. The helm is unresponsive, so Archer calls Engineering (unaffected) for "full reverse." In Launchbay, they open the pod and extract its occupant, who's enmeshed in fiber-optic monitoring strands. ACT 2: In Sickbay, Phlox reports to Archer that the alien is suffering "a form of rapid cellular degeneration," has been revived but is in pain. Hairless and with skin like a dry lakebed, the alien demands to be put back. In the command center, T'Pol and Mayweather compensate for the distortions. T'Pol tells Archer the field is equidistant from five Spheres, ie expanding at several kilometers per second, and contains a formerly-inhabited world that is now lifeless. They guess Crusty might be its sole survivor. Training session: hand-to-hand techniques. Sato, Tucker, T'Pol, Mayweather and Reed; versus Hayes, Cole and another five MACOs. T'Pol gets a jealous look, and is distracted enough to get punched. Mayweather is aggressive. Reed cuts the session short and chews out Hayes for excessive roughness during Travis' bout. Tucker and T'Pol(red) examine the pod. She tells him neuro- pressure, if misapplied, can cause nerve damage. "Electrodes" to collect "biometric" data from the occupant. Both Tucker and Cole are from Florida. T'Pol reports to Archer: the pod contains the exact combination of alloys as found in the Spheres. Archer cites the "Triannon" belief in makers of the Expanse, and the use of canaries by miners. ACT 3: T'Pol (in puce top) welcomes Cole to her quarters for therapy. She and Tucker grew up less than 50 km apart, attended rival high schools. Both their hometowns were destroyed, but her family had moved north a few years earlier. T'Pol pinches Cole's neck in a moment of uncontrolled jealousy. Training session: target practice. Hayes demonstrates a "special training system developed at Jupiter Station a few months ago." A wall-mounted unit projects a spherical target, which breaks into smaller bouncing sub-targets when first shot. It has at least four levels of difficulty. In the mess, Tucker and Reed argue about whether Trip is in a relationship or not. They echo each others' phrases. In Sickbay, Archer interrogates Crusty, who claims he's from a "trans-dimensional realm," a prisoner sent against his will. His hand starts to phase out, and he acts surprised. ENT has resumed course. T'Pol and Tucker's neuro-pressure session. He accuses her of being jealous. She tells him of Sim-Trip's admission. They echo each others' phrases. She kisses him (to his surprise), then drops her robe, kisses him again, and... ACT 4: In Sickbay (night shift illumination), Crusty jumps up, half- nelsons Phlox, then swings his phased arm through the doctor's neck, stunning him. He experiments with the bulkhead, then phases out through the imaging chamber. Hayes enters the training chamber to find Reed throwing punches at the mirror. They spar, and argue, and their match becomes a brawl. Hayes took "lunar survival training." He leaves, but Reed attacks him in the corridor, and throws him with "a little Klingon move I picked up." Archer sounds "Tactical Alert," and they rush off. Crusty passes through crew quarters (two stacked bunks), surprising a fem-blonde.... ...On the bridge, T'Pol(blue) tracks him by the systems he disrupts: "the secondary relay coupling," indicating "B-deck," between "bulkheads A-1 and A-3"... ...Reed, Hayes and backup are approaching "access tube 17 Baker" when Crusty enters the corridor. Their shots have no effect, and their follow him to Engineering, where he's knocked out Tucker and is climbing atop the warp core. They fire (in its vicinity!), but he sticks his hand into the core. The ship shakes, fires break out; T'Pol reports "magnetic containment fluctuating." Reed "reverses polarity on the plasma coils" to "trigger a feedback pulse," directing Hayes to "turn the T-valve all the way to the left." (It's in the portside injector closet.) Crusty is blown off the core. Mess, the next morning. Tucker tells T'Pol it'll be at least a day before warp is restored. He tries to talk about the night before, but she willfully misunderstands. "I was referring to what happened between us... in your quarters?" he fishes. Holding a mug, she blinks at him. Then she thanks him "for facilitating my exploration of human sexuality," which she's been meaning to do since leaving the "High Command" (or so she claims). Archer chews out Reed and Hayes, whose injuries include a detached retina and bruised left kidney, for "regressing to the level of five-year-olds. He's called to Sickbay, and leaves. "So, are we dismissed?" asks Reed, still standing at attention. Archer confronts Crusty, who's phasing continuously; who sent him to destroy the ship? "When the Xindi destroy Earth, my people will prevail," he gloats, and vanishes (along with his blue medical pajamas). VII. SFX SHOTS ENT at warp. Warp to impulse. ENT over bubble-field. Open aft-starboard launchbay, fire grapple, which refracts upon entry. Retract while firing aft-port grapple. While reeling in pod, Bubbly surges and partially engulfs. Back out. ENT at warp. Ent at impulse. VIII. PRODUCTION REGULAR CAST: Scott Bakula as Cpt. Jonathan Archer Connor Trinneer as LtCdr. Charles Tucker III Jolene Blalock as Sub-commander T'Pol Dominic Keating as Lt. Malcolm Reed Anthony Montgomery as Ens. Travis Mayweather Linda Park as Ens. Hoshi Sato John Billingsley as Dr. Phlox [x Porthos] GUEST CAST: Noa Tishby as [Corporal] Amanda Cole Thomas Kopache as The Alien Steven Culp as Major Hayes [5-6 somebodies] as [extra MACOs] [somebody] as [black male crewmember in corridor] [somebody] as [blonde female crewmember in quarters] CREATIVE STAFF: Directed by David Livingston Teleplay by Manny Cotto Story by Rick Berman & Brannon Braga NEXT WEEK: In 316-"Doctor's Orders," Phlox plays Seven from "Thirty Days," and goes mad; and in 317-"Hatchery," they discover a crashed ship full of Insectoid eggs. Finally in 318-"Azati Prime" and 319- "Damage," they reach their goal, but get pasted doing so.