21: Vox Sola – Star Trek Enterprise Season 1, Episode 22

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Hey, everybody welcome to trek in time. This
is the podcast that takes a look at star trek

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in order and in history what we’re doing is
taking a look at each episode of star trek

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in chronological order. So we’ve started way
back when in Enterprise we’re still in the

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first season we’re making our way to the end.
We can see the finish line from where we’re

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standing. We’re also taking a look at how
things were in the world at the time of the

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original broadcasts and then taking a deeper
dive sometimes into something about the episode

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or sometimes something about the air in which
it was broadcast but it’s always something

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that catches our eye. And the eyes that are
doing the catching. Well that’s me sean farrell

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I’m a writer I read some sci-fi I write some
picture books with me is Matthew my Brother.

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He’s the tech guru and inquisitor behind the
Youtube channel undecided with Matt farrell

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which takes a look at emerging tech and its
impact on our lives. We get in today’s episode

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just a quick reminder. You can directly support
this podcast by going to trek in time show

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there. It goes through a warm hole that ends
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That’s right.
Even if you’re not able to do that. Even if

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all you can do is listen and subscribe and
share us with your friends all of that really

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does help the channel. Thank you so much for
being here with us Matt how you doing I’m

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doing okay looking forward to talking about
this 1 We’ve had a.

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I’m doing pretty good how about yourself.
Run in the middle of the season that felt

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like oh boy and and we made our way through.
We’re into the final episodes of the season

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and these are ones that are feeling very star
trek to me so I’m enjoying the last week’s

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episode and this week’s episode very much.
Yeah, like.

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Before we get into the new episode which is
Vox Sola Matt you have some stuff to share

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with us on listener feedback.
Yeah, from the ah episode about the oasis.

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It’s where they found the holograms that were
kind of helping to raise the the young woman

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from pillgo sixty nine. You can have stakes
without danger or a threat of violence the

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whole invulnerable Hologram thing was danger.
But it didn’t raise the stakes. The stakes

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didn’t even have to be on the crew. The survivors
could have been in danger from a geologic

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ah event or an astral body that’s going to
crash into the planet or even just the survivors

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making a paranoid suicide pact as their mystery
gets unraveled. Thought there was a really

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good take. It’s like there were so many different
ways that episode could raise the stakes where

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they’re really were on entire episode.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it literally revolved around

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the young woman’s father saying I don’t want
to leave and if anybody’s dealt with yeah.

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Um, exactly high stakes I don’t want to go.
If anybody’s dealt with parents who are reluctant

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to move into retirement communities. You know
what? that’s like but so today’s episode we’re

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gonna be talking about vox sola matt what’s
the synopsis for this episode.

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When a strange symbiotic Alien Creature boards
the enterprise and captures several crew members

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is up to ensign Hoshi Sato to decipher the
creature. The creature’s complex language.

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That’s a odd synopsis.
Yes, it is a strangely Riton synopsis. We’ve

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been getting our synopses via wikipedia. Maybe
it’s time to start revising the synopses from

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wikipedia because the. Grammar is sometimes
confusying so voxola this episode was aired

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on may first 2002 it was enjoyed by 5 point
four million viewers. This is up a little

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bit from previous weeks. Still lower than
the high point of the season. It was directed

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by Roxanne dawson who of course was torres
from voyager this is her second directorial

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spin on enterprise and the story is by Brannon
braga and Decker fred decker being the writer

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who took over writing the teleplay. He also
wrote the and dorian incident. So I think

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what we’re seeing here is a pattern of good
writing from Mr. decker and what was going

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on in the world at the time this landed. Well
we were all dancing our fannies off mat. Think

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you’ll remember as I do that we were enjoying
the song ain’t it funny by j lo and ja rule

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and I’m sure we’re all happy as of this recording
that j lo and Ben a flecherbeck together.

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The.
I Have no response for that.

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You have no response I thought you were gonna
let out a big woohoo and the top movie of

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the week when this episode aired was once
again, the scorpion king it added another

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18 million to the 36 million it
Ah, yeah.

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Received in its first week in the theaters.
You’ll all remember that this is the dwayne

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quote the rock close quote Johnson’s first
lead in a movie and on television. Well we

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were all watching csi. 26000000 of us I was
not 1 of those 26 million I don’t know if

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you were so you’re to blame.
I was I just watched the I just watched the

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new premiere of Csi Vegas because they rebooted
the show and oh boy, not good.

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As ja rule would say it’s murder and in the
news continuation of the sadder storylines

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that we’ve been dealing with from previous
weeks. The midi’s crisis was continuing u

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s was trying to work. With saudi arabia to
bring peace to the middle east especially

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around israel and the pressure on the palestinian
communities there arafat was being pressed

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and prime minister sharon in Israel was the
power figure on that side and was the player

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that the us was trying to work with. Course
those talks would continue and still continue

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to this day but I wanted to focus on a lighter
news story from the new york times on this

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day which is I felt trek related in the sense
that it’s dealing with the hubble telescope.

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Headline being telescope opens window on dawn
of the universe using its new main camera

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the rejuvenated hubble space telescope has
produced a sunning set of images of dynamic

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processes in the far reaches of the universe
scientists said today in some of the first

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pictures from the device. The advanced camera.
Surveys the telescope has produced clear images

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of galaxies colliding and spewing trails of
stars in their wakes billowing pillars of

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dust acting as star nurseries and enormous
gas fields splash with the colors of an abstract

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painting and this was after the hubble telescope.
Needed effectively glasses it needed cataract

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surgery. It went doorbit with a lens that
was the wrong shape and so it didn’t work

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as well as it was hoped and after they put
a giant contact lens on it well things shaped

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up.
Classes. Hidden.

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I’m going to pause here to turn off my dehumidifier.
I don’t know if you could hear that Matt okay,

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do you want me to redo the thing or is that
something you could be taken out ignore it.

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I could. It can’t be taken out but we can
just I’ll I’ll bring it up to our. He’ll be..

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He’ll be watching this Hopefully he can E
Q it out a little bit if it’s if it’s a problem.

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So into this episode just quick hits before
we get into discussing the plot Matt were

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you? What were your big picture thoughts on
this 1

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I I know you like this 1 I thought it was
I thought it was good. Um, overall but it

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was a little um it was a little slow for me,
but there was some really good character development

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and there was some really good use of all
the characters in the bridge crew. Like some

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good use of Sado some good use of you know
trip and the captain everybody kind of got

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their moment except for the doctor but everybody
kind of got their moment and got to contribute

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to solving the problem and that was something
that felt very star trek to me which was a

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nice synergy between all the characters where.
Yeah, yeah.

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And episodes that we’ve been complaining about
it’s it’s all about the captain or it’s all

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about different character or it’s all about
saddo but it’s poorly written it’s this was

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1 of the few that has happened recently where
it felt like everybody kind of got their due

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in their fair shake which I really enjoyed.
Are right.

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Yeah I also disagree with you slightly I think
even the doctor has a moment. It’s I think

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this is I think this is 1 of those episodes
where as you mentioned everybody gets their

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moment and the moment stands up as being a
good 1 and it’s a strong piece of writing

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and I think it’s also a strong piece of directing
I think that.

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He does. It’s It’s small. Yeah.
Yes.

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This 1 Rex and Dawson demonstrates a lot of
of good skill behind the camera. It’s I think

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a very impressiveive directorial take on how
to put this all together. But let’s start

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here with the beginning of the episode sometime
in late January Twenty One fifty 2 Onboard

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The enterprise there is a diplomatic kfluffle.
It is. They’re referred to as the kretasans

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and they are pissed. They are effectively
ah bull rushing the airlock to get off the

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enterprise.
Has.

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While being pursued by most of the bridge
crew including Sado who is trying desperately

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to figure out what their how to get their
language to be processed by the universal

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translator lot of complications in doing this.
She’s saying things like something about.

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Eating something about mouths something about
reproduction. It’s very confusing as to what

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is happening but they are clearly upset and
they get to the exit they demand their way

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off the ship archer lets them go with confusion
and hurt feelings all around and archer is.

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Yeah.
Clearly not just upset but angry that this

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is how this first contact situation has gone
and he goes back to his ready room and and

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just basically sequesters himself back there
to deal with his his bad feelings then in.

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The.
1 of the cargo holds. There are a couple of

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crewmen who are working on something and there’s
a power loss in a and a storage facility and

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it’s crewman’s rostoff and kelly and quick
side note and we’ve had this happen a couple

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of times in previous episodes. It’s going
to continue. More as we move forward through

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all of the episodes star trek always has interesting
casting going on and in this episode we have

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crewman kelly who sadly doesn’t have that
many lines. She’s got a few lines ah it’s

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renee e goldsberry who. Broadway fans may
remember is the tony award-winning actress

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from hamilton who played angelica schyler
skyler so this is an impressive guest artist

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at a very early stage in her career up to
this point she had had.

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Yes.
Minor roles in tv shows including a recurring

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role on allie mcbeal as a backup singer in
fantasy sequences. So this is when she first

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appeared on camera in this episode I did a
big double take because I was just like.

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Yeah, so did I.
Is that angelica should I be singing should

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they all be singing. Are we gonna learn about
history turns out sadly that her lines are

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all basically relegated to this first opening
scene and.

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That’s it.
She and krumen rostoff are working trying

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to figure out what’s causing the power loss.
We’ve seen when the Kretasan ship pulls away.

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We see an alien entity sneak in the door of
the airlock just before it closes. So when

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rostoff goes to check on the power loss. In
the storage room he finds goo he finds effectively.

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It looks like ectoplasm and early on in this
episode I think this is another case where

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it felt to me like they were almost using
horror imagery. As the end for the story the

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in for the threat because the alien entity
right from the beginning looks very wispy

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and it’s all cgi. It’s dated cgi I’m sure
you felt that way as well. That as you’re

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watching it like okay this is cgi in it and
it would be so much better if it were done

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today. But.
Oh yeah, yep.

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For the time they were pushing the boundaries
that they could I think it’s very effective.

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It’s very alien. There are tendrils and what
look like layers of Wispy fiber. So it has

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a very ghost like image.
The.

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So when rostov gets to this dark room and
he’s walking around with a flashlight and

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he finds what looks like a broken air vent
and a bunch of what looks like ectoplasm dropping

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on the ground it starts to take on a sort
of horror movie feel. Yeah, the season has

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you has.
This has happened a lot in the season. Yeah.

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Has doubled down on the sort of Camp Fire
spooky story motif even when not directly

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referencing it. There have been episodes where
they very clearly doubled down on it by having

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somebody tell a gary story but in this 1 it
just seems to be an imagery that is evocative

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so they’ve. Created this dark and spooky corner
of the ship where the Crewman turns the corner.

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There’s a tendril going around to a cargo
container and then something gets him something

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grabs him.
This would actually be a perfect time to kind

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of take a little detour on a little bit of
a deeper dive with fred decker who wrote this

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episode because he wrote a handful of episodes
and then he basically disappeared from the

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show and he was like 1 of the I think he was
a given producer credit on the show. Um.

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Listen.
Then then.

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Season 1 and I found a fascinating article
that was a big deep dive interview with him

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after the show was ended about his impressions
of working on the show and it was not positive.

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Um, he basically unloaded in this article
basically saying.

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Um.
When they brought him on he had had some successes

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writing so horror movies and kind of like
campy bee movies that had had some success

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and so on this show he came in and he was
basically as he put it I was particularly

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excited about taking the edict of exploring
new life and new civilizations and really

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running with that. Early on Brandon bragg
who co-created the show talked about enterprise

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is something that would be weird and spooky
and I thought that sounded fantastic but apart

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from a really really fine first season episode
from a first season episode that we produce

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called fight or flight I don’t think we ever
accomplished that.

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M.
My first meetings about enterprise I thought

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we could create alien life forms that were
almost unimaginable sentient clouds every

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new worlds and stuff like that. But in the
end we ended up like all previous incarnations

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of star trek character actors with foam rubber
appliances speaking english and he went on

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to say how the show. Promise of what lured
him to the job from Brand and braga and Berman

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was we’re going to do something different
here and in in his and the interview he talked

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about how part way into the season they changed
the show which was originally called just

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enterprise and they changed it to star trek
enterprise. And they were going back to ferringgi

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and they were going back to enddorians they
were going back to all the tried and true

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stuff and he kept he talked about how many
ideas he was throwing out there for script

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ideas and they would just go nowhere and even
the ones he did write. He complained about

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how much they were completely rewritten. By
braga himself that he he would just gut his

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scripts. So even this this the episodes that
have his name on it. They aren’t exactly his

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script. They’ve been heavily rewritten to
make them more star treky and so he he basically

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was just totally disillusioned with the whole
thing. He loved the actors he thought they

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were. Amazing. But it’s clear. He has a big
axe to crynd against ah Bragham beprint. Yeah.

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And I don’t blame him for that. That’s it’s
it’s evident that the show through this first

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season up to this point has definitely felt
like it’s trying to find its way forward with

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its eyes closed in a dark room and that’s
unfortunate. It’s. And this episode in particular

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stands out as a strong episode that I wish
it had this season had had more like this

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that really pushed into the weirdness of of
space. The alien entit that that they meet

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00:16:44,299 –> 00:16:48,899
it’s refreshing that that’s the focus of this
show and this this episode in particular I

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wanted to point out. We’ve had other episodes
where you’ve got the a plot and the b plot

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and the 2 of them have a pretty large gap
between them and it takes a little effort

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00:16:57,850 –> 00:17:03,189
at the end to tie them together this episode
the a plot and the b plot the b plot is effectively

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focused in on sato where her concerns about
her capabilities. Her self-doubt is causing

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00:17:10,850 –> 00:17:18,380
tension between her and to paul that b storyline
is so critically interwoven into the a storyline

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that it doesn’t feel like it’s a separate
storyline. It is a very strong focusing arc

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00:17:23,709 –> 00:17:30,070
everybody’s getting a few moments in the episode.
She’s getting the most. But it’s so clearly

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00:17:30,070 –> 00:17:38,150
a strong b-line storyline that is interwoven
with the a it feels like 1 great plot and

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thankfully it’s about this alien entity that
is so foreign and wispy and ghost like as

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opposed to it being about the cretaceans who
are.

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00:17:47,680 –> 00:17:50,980
This is.
Exactly what decker complained about they

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are human actors with foam faces and ultimately
the story around them is far less important

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00:17:57,840 –> 00:18:02,300
but but I also appreciate that when they come
back into the story. They are merely there

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as a touch point but that they do play a role.
Every single part of this episode touches

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that a plot and I think it’s well well rendered
so they end up having K Crewman Rostoff who

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then is followed by K Crewman Kelly. Who is
then followed by a whole cohort of people

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going to figure out like why do people keep
disappearing disappearing in this room going

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to the cargo area. It’s captain archer Commander
Tucker Lieutenant Reid and another Crewman

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00:18:36,860 –> 00:18:43,350
and they all get taken by the entity. And
they quickly discovered that this entity not

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00:18:43,350 –> 00:18:50,060
only is it holding itself up in this cargo
room but it is growing so it is wrapping them

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00:18:50,060 –> 00:18:56,950
all in tendrils that seem very web-like and
parts of the creature. The tendrils have an

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00:18:56,950 –> 00:19:03,360
almost tentacle-like aspect to them. Other
parts of it just look like webbing and this

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00:19:03,360 –> 00:19:07,130
entity is getting bigger and bigger and it’s
absorbing these people connecting them into

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00:19:07,130 –> 00:19:14,330
this web of itself and it won’t be long before
Dr Flox realizes that there’s something special

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00:19:14,330 –> 00:19:20,350
about these these creatures they are when
Reid flees The. Cargo Room. He’s able to shut

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00:19:20,350 –> 00:19:27,110
the door behind himself and in doing so chops
off a tendril. So Now they’re examining the

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00:19:27,110 –> 00:19:32,230
tendril and this is the flox moment that I
thought was so well Rendered. He’s in a full

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00:19:32,230 –> 00:19:37,590
hazmat suit. He is conducting scientific experiments
inside this hazmat suit.

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00:19:37,590 –> 00:19:40,280
This is.
And dealing with a completely alien thing

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00:19:40,280 –> 00:19:44,710
they have never seen anything like this before
the tendril even though it’s disconnected

220
00:19:44,710 –> 00:19:48,980
from the main body is still moving around
on the table as he’s trying to analyze it

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00:19:48,980 –> 00:19:55,270
and when it starts to climb up his arm. He
very calmly says Oh no, no more of that and

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00:19:55,270 –> 00:19:56,950
it’s like he’s talking.
Um, yeah.

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00:19:56,950 –> 00:20:03,880
To a rabbit that is refusing to stay in its
cage. It is such a pleasant little moment

224
00:20:03,880 –> 00:20:10,220
that for me that stood up as like that was
enough like flocks got his moment so he’s

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00:20:10,220 –> 00:20:15,390
looking at this thing and he and to paul.
Okay.

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00:20:15,390 –> 00:20:20,780
Examining the data that they’re getting from
this determined that this entity is not only

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00:20:20,780 –> 00:20:26,380
does it have intelligence but what it is doing
is slowly consuming the individuals that it

228
00:20:26,380 –> 00:20:31,780
has captured so that they eventually will
become a part of it so it is critical that

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00:20:31,780 –> 00:20:37,010
they figure out how to free. Their fellow
crewmen before they get absorbed to the point

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00:20:37,010 –> 00:20:45,140
of no return at this point, there’s an interest
in trying to communicate it with with it that

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00:20:45,140 –> 00:20:50,190
sado proposes. Maybe there’s something about
the interference. She’s been detecting in

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00:20:50,190 –> 00:20:54,860
her communications arrays. Maybe that white
noise she was picking up is actually something

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00:20:54,860 –> 00:20:59,680
that’s created by the creature as a form of
communication. There’s a little bit of weak

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00:20:59,680 –> 00:21:05,910
writing at this moment where sado isn’t doing
anything else so to paul could very easily

235
00:21:05,910 –> 00:21:08,980
say yeah, that’s a great idea. Why don’t you
look into that Meanwhile we’re gonna go do

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00:21:08,980 –> 00:21:11,720
this other thing with light emitters.
Yeah, but he forces her to she forces him

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00:21:11,720 –> 00:21:13,240
to stop? yeah.
Because they know that the creature doesn’t

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00:21:13,240 –> 00:21:17,020
like light. Yeah instead she’s like no, don’t
do that. We’re going to go do this thing with

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00:21:17,020 –> 00:21:24,040
light they discover quickly that light would
in fact, harm the creature but the creature

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00:21:24,040 –> 00:21:29,540
in turn is then going to harm and potentially
kill the crew members who are captured so

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00:21:29,540 –> 00:21:33,380
they give up on that. Paul turns back to sado
and says hey you know that thing I told you

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00:21:33,380 –> 00:21:40,430
not to do go do it so now saddo and with the
assistance of de paul a very nice moment of

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00:21:40,430 –> 00:21:45,190
saddo turning to depa and asking for help
I thought that that was a great moment I think

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00:21:45,190 –> 00:21:50,540
that the 2 of them having conversations around.
Their interaction style sado is complaining

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00:21:50,540 –> 00:21:55,560
about the fact that she feels like she’s being
second guested to paul explains I hold you

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00:21:55,560 –> 00:21:59,590
to a high standard because I believe that
high standard is where you belong and I believe

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00:21:59,590 –> 00:22:03,620
you should be there and you can be there.
That’s what I mean that’s why I respond in

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00:22:03,620 –> 00:22:09,650
the way I do so it’s about Personalnel styles.
Personal conflict and getting through those

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00:22:09,650 –> 00:22:14,500
conflict through open communication really
having that moment of like can we check in

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00:22:14,500 –> 00:22:19,780
and figure out why we’re rubbing each other
wrong in the the way we are meanwhile everybody

251
00:22:19,780 –> 00:22:24,450
else is off doing things and there’s a great
sequence where mayweather who has.

252
00:22:24,450 –> 00:22:27,880
Yes.
Been tasked with let’s find those aliens because

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00:22:27,880 –> 00:22:31,980
the only place that this Alien life form could
have come from is when we were linked with

254
00:22:31,980 –> 00:22:38,110
the crate Critasan Vessel mayweather. Not
only does he discover. Not only is he able

255
00:22:38,110 –> 00:22:46,580
to figure out where the warp trail of this
other vessel. Is. He’s able to lay in a course

256
00:22:46,580 –> 00:22:52,000
and gets the enterprise on course to find
them and catch catch up to them and then on

257
00:22:52,000 –> 00:22:56,130
his own. He’s He’s the only person on the
bridge when they respond to the hail and at

258
00:22:56,130 –> 00:23:01,240
this point the cretaceans at this point have
figured out how to speak English so.

259
00:23:01,240 –> 00:23:04,150
It has an entire conversation.
When he communicates with them and they are

260
00:23:04,150 –> 00:23:08,820
suddenly turning and saying what do you want?
He literally looks around the bridge and a

261
00:23:08,820 –> 00:23:13,960
beautiful moment looks around the bridge and
realizes I’m the commanding officer on deck

262
00:23:13,960 –> 00:23:20,710
and he leads then the successful first contact
that archer was looking for the entire time.

263
00:23:20,710 –> 00:23:25,370
Communicating with these people and the communication
is the theme of this episode if we all just

264
00:23:25,370 –> 00:23:30,260
take a moment and talk about things and try
and figure out what are the differences that

265
00:23:30,260 –> 00:23:36,940
we’re having trouble with you can have a breakthrough
he discovers that the problem that they had

266
00:23:36,940 –> 00:23:46,191
had with the humans was that. See eating as
being as private an act as reproduction. So

267
00:23:46,191 –> 00:23:50,710
seeing people eat in public with something
so egregious that they couldn’t even stay

268
00:23:50,710 –> 00:23:55,730
in the room and I love this sequence maywether
having to apologize. Yes.

269
00:23:55,730 –> 00:23:59,540
The apology he gives which is very genuine
and I love as soon as he gives that apology

270
00:23:59,540 –> 00:24:03,500
the the cretace captains is like okay how
can I help you.

271
00:24:03,500 –> 00:24:10,360
Yeah, What do you need? the Cretacean reveals.
Oh yeah, that creature we’ve seen it before

272
00:24:10,360 –> 00:24:15,549
and he’s very stunned and says oh we’ve seen
that before and it’s on a planet. We Visited.

273
00:24:15,549 –> 00:24:21,230
We didn’t do this and mayweer very quickly
said we didn’t think you did. But we need

274
00:24:21,230 –> 00:24:30,660
to figure out where that planet is meanwhile.
There are multiple lines of research going

275
00:24:30,660 –> 00:24:38,470
on with to Paul Insado investigating Communications
Reid talks to satto or to Paul about Yeah,,

276
00:24:38,470 –> 00:24:40,360
there’s this theoretical.
Yeah.

277
00:24:40,360 –> 00:24:46,280
Force field that Starfleet has been looking
into so on his own. He’s figuring out how

278
00:24:46,280 –> 00:24:52,850
to rig up starfleet but using the specs from
Starfleet he’s able to rig up a small emitter

279
00:24:52,850 –> 00:24:58,970
so that now for the first time in our prize
we’re seeing force fields. The shielding that

280
00:24:58,970 –> 00:25:05,220
we’re so accustomed to from all the other
series they’re able to go into the cargo Bay.

281
00:25:05,220 –> 00:25:06,880
Yeah.
Before before you go before you go into the

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00:25:06,880 –> 00:25:11,390
cargo Bay talking about communication and
the conflict between characters is another

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00:25:11,390 –> 00:25:15,460
really nice scene I thought was really good
between the doctor and Reid because Reid is

284
00:25:15,460 –> 00:25:21,620
trying to fine tune the emitters to be able
to stop the creature without killing it. And

285
00:25:21,620 –> 00:25:28,190
he goes into the Sick Bay is basically gonna
start zapping the little tendril they’ve got

286
00:25:28,190 –> 00:25:32,290
and seeing how far he can push it without
killing it and the doctor basically stops

287
00:25:32,290 –> 00:25:36,230
in front of him and says no I’m not gonna
let you basically torture this thing to do

288
00:25:36,230 –> 00:25:40,390
this, you’re gonna do this my way and the
2 of them have a really nice like. Vibrant

289
00:25:40,390 –> 00:25:44,280
argument between the 2 of them but just like
you’re saying communication is key they reach

290
00:25:44,280 –> 00:25:49,100
that middle ground read like says. Okay I
will do it your way and they figure it out

291
00:25:49,100 –> 00:25:53,210
together.
So they do end up going into the cargo bay

292
00:25:53,210 –> 00:25:59,860
they set up these emitters and sado and to
paul come in and saddo the begins an attempt

293
00:25:59,860 –> 00:26:05,070
at first contact with this alien entity by
creating white noise that she then interrupts

294
00:26:05,070 –> 00:26:11,540
with signals to create patterns. See if she
and this creature can start to communicate

295
00:26:11,540 –> 00:26:15,830
and it in fact, does work. She’s able and
it’s a great sequence with white noise with

296
00:26:15,830 –> 00:26:21,670
pulses in it when the creature starts responding.
It’s very close encounters. The creature responds

297
00:26:21,670 –> 00:26:26,520
in a far more sophisticated set of patterns.
But you can tell that communication is actually

298
00:26:26,520 –> 00:26:27,520
happening.
It’s very close encounters.

299
00:26:27,520 –> 00:26:32,810
And the creature responds in a very positive
way releasing the crew the crew the crew that

300
00:26:32,810 –> 00:26:38,500
ah have been trapped inside this creature’s
body. Their life signs returned to normal

301
00:26:38,500 –> 00:26:46,660
flocks calls for a medical crew to come and
get them out of the cargo Bay and. The Enterprise

302
00:26:46,660 –> 00:26:52,650
arrives at the planet. Not only does it arrive
at the planet. The creature gives longitude

303
00:26:52,650 –> 00:26:57,370
and latitude coordinates so that when they
get to the planet. They’re able to take this

304
00:26:57,370 –> 00:27:02,830
creature back to the specific place where
it should be and when they return there they

305
00:27:02,830 –> 00:27:08,121
find that there is effectively. The rest of
this creature. It is depicted as being.. It

306
00:27:08,121 –> 00:27:15,580
is all 1 thing and it is massive. It looks
like it goes on to the horizon so it is effectively

307
00:27:15,580 –> 00:27:21,110
a kind of giant space brain on this planet
and when they return I Love the sequence showing

308
00:27:21,110 –> 00:27:25,230
them in space suits carrying a giant box.
This is.

309
00:27:25,230 –> 00:27:31,020
Open up the box and the creature from the
cargo bay crawls out and reunites. It’s very

310
00:27:31,020 –> 00:27:39,440
again, the cgi looks very 2002 but I think
it’s effective. It’s very strange it.

311
00:27:39,440 –> 00:27:41,610
The.
Very different from what we’ve seen in previous

312
00:27:41,610 –> 00:27:47,080
episodes I Really love this ending because
it has a kind of it’s very different from

313
00:27:47,080 –> 00:27:54,050
2001 but it has a 2001 weirdness to it. It’s
this What is this Alien planet like that has

314
00:27:54,050 –> 00:28:01,940
this arguably 1 giant creature that covers
most of the planet. That thinks and I just

315
00:28:01,940 –> 00:28:05,700
love the depiction of that.
I like that you like the ending so much and

316
00:28:05,700 –> 00:28:10,850
this is where a beautiful melody is being
played and they hit a wrong note it like oh

317
00:28:10,850 –> 00:28:16,991
oh geez that I did not like why were the coordinates
so specific if it’s 1 giant creature. They

318
00:28:16,991 –> 00:28:20,840
could have put it anywhere. It wouldn’t matter
for the specific coordinates if it’s all over

319
00:28:20,840 –> 00:28:21,860
the planet.
Right.

320
00:28:21,860 –> 00:28:25,400
So for me that was kind of like okay that’s
kind of stupid and then the second thing was

321
00:28:25,400 –> 00:28:29,250
they’re on the planet. They just release it
and I can’t remember who the character was

322
00:28:29,250 –> 00:28:36,050
turns to the doctor and says why did it even
take our crew and his response is who knows

323
00:28:36,050 –> 00:28:41,310
and it was like wait. You were just talking
to this thing you couldn’t have said a ah

324
00:28:41,310 –> 00:28:44,770
why’d you take our crew. It’s like you could
have you know how to talk to it. You could

325
00:28:44,770 –> 00:28:46,440
have asked. It. It’s like that was the dumbest
dumbest response.

326
00:28:46,440 –> 00:28:49,880
Yeah I think that they I think that they got
close to it though. His response was effectively

327
00:28:49,880 –> 00:28:57,400
like I don’t know but it’s possible that because
of its interconnected nature. It was lonely

328
00:28:57,400 –> 00:28:59,820
that it needed like he did say that.
Um, yes, it.

329
00:28:59,820 –> 00:29:04,300
He did say that but it wasn’t that wasn’t
in the forefront. It was largely a shrug with

330
00:29:04,300 –> 00:29:06,560
that. Yeah.
His you know, but he actually said who knows

331
00:29:06,560 –> 00:29:11,190
and it was like who knows the thing you just
released knows and you could have had a conversation

332
00:29:11,190 –> 00:29:15,600
with it. It’s not that we had to see the conversation
with it. You could have said like he could

333
00:29:15,600 –> 00:29:19,780
have said right? then it was like it was Lonely.
It was looking for a connection. It’s like

334
00:29:19,780 –> 00:29:22,930
it could have been something simple as that.
But the fact he said who knows it was like

335
00:29:22,930 –> 00:29:27,190
this wrong note of just like in this beautiful
melody of Wow This ending’s really kind of

336
00:29:27,190 –> 00:29:35,700
cool and oh what? what was that.
So at the end I would I would say that this

337
00:29:35,700 –> 00:29:41,420
episode for me was a good solid b plus maybe
even an I’m a minus I like I put it up there

338
00:29:41,420 –> 00:29:43,870
as like 1 of the better of the season that
we’ve watched so far.

339
00:29:43,870 –> 00:29:45,610
Yeah I’d put it.
Um, yeah I think it’s like a B or a B plus

340
00:29:45,610 –> 00:29:50,680
for me it was It was a it was definitely is
definitely better than the middle run of the

341
00:29:50,680 –> 00:29:54,700
stuff we were going through but it’s it. There
were some off notes for me.

342
00:29:54,700 –> 00:29:59,550
And I’m looking forward to hearing responses
from the listeners and my question to all

343
00:29:59,550 –> 00:30:07,170
of you am I making too much of this or did
you kind of pick up on something I did I mentioned

344
00:30:07,170 –> 00:30:13,790
this to Matthew previously before we recorded
I don’t think it was intentional. But at the

345
00:30:13,790 –> 00:30:20,460
end of the episode I thought wow they inadvertently
created an amazing metaphor for the internet

346
00:30:20,460 –> 00:30:25,370
effectively finding a thing on a planet that
is a completely interconnected thing that

347
00:30:25,370 –> 00:30:31,420
thinks in math and when people have differences.
Is this.

348
00:30:31,420 –> 00:30:41,220
And come together through it. The connections
are life changing so it almost seemed like

349
00:30:41,220 –> 00:30:47,500
did anybody consciously think about that or
was this just kind of an accidental metaphor

350
00:30:47,500 –> 00:30:54,980
of yeah, the internet changes. Everything
let us know if you think I’m onto something

351
00:30:54,980 –> 00:31:02,720
there or if I’m just chasing my own tail I’ve
been known to do that And next time we’re

352
00:31:02,720 –> 00:31:06,030
gonna be talking about Fallen Hero Matt What
do you think? Fallen Heroes about um I.

353
00:31:06,030 –> 00:31:09,580
Um I think it’s a hero who’s fallen. He can’t
get out.

354
00:31:09,580 –> 00:31:15,450
Can’t get up Matt is it anything you want
to share with the listeners before we sign

355
00:31:15,450 –> 00:31:18,310
off.
Just to check out my youtube channel undecided

356
00:31:18,310 –> 00:31:22,400
with Matt ferrell I’m covering a lot of really
interesting topics. Got stuff coming up about

357
00:31:22,400 –> 00:31:26,360
like nuclear fusion breakthroughs a lot of
fun stuff. So check it out.

358
00:31:26,360 –> 00:31:31,070
For me, you can check out my website seanferrell
dot com you can also just look for my books

359
00:31:31,070 –> 00:31:37,850
on Amazon or any bookstore barnes and noble
your local bookseller. They’re available everywhere

360
00:31:37,850 –> 00:31:42,120
and I’ve got stuff for adults like man in
the empty suit. And I’ve got stuff for kids

361
00:31:42,120 –> 00:31:47,880
like I don’t like Koala remember you can visit
trek intime show. You can directly support

362
00:31:47,880 –> 00:31:53,060
the podcast there or you can just keep doing
what you’re doing right now which is tuning

363
00:31:53,060 –> 00:31:58,620
in listening or watching us on youtube subscribing
sharing us with your friends and strangers.

364
00:31:58,620 –> 00:32:03,190
Both of those count and if anybody has any
comments or corrections please do reach out.

365
00:32:03,190 –> 00:32:08,390
You can find the contact information in the
podcast notes or on youtube you can of course

366
00:32:08,390 –> 00:32:13,520
just scroll below our beautiful faces and
leave a comment there. Please do remember

367
00:32:13,520 –> 00:32:18,140
to subscribe to like the episode and share
it widely. And we’ll talk to you next time.

368
00:32:18,140 –> 00:32:18,850
Thanks so much for listening.