Matt and Sean talk about a prisoner transport, a wrongly accused innocent man, and how Nicholas Cage would have saved the day.
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I’m very good. How are you doing.
Sprung. Yeah.
Trying to help it sprung as much as I can but I can only do so much so I am mentally prepared for spring that is why I’m wearing a t-shirt despite the fact I am cold. So as usual, we like to weigh in with a little bit of the past before we get into the future. So Matt I understand you’ve got some comments from a previous episode that you want to share with us.
Yeah there’s a cup. There was a little trend on the last episode which was future tense which is their doctor who episode where the inside of the ship was bigger than the outside of the ship. A couple people commented that one Ahryan Allen I think it’s how you say his name. Is. This is my favorite episode or the whole Star trek call rome said I my my all-time favorite episode the vessel that was much larger on the inside I thought it was interesting that a bunch of people cited this as one of their favorite episodes and then ah related to that Ajchan comment commented.
Yeah.
It would have been cool to see the tholians involved in a in the geographic geopolitical landscape of the vulkans and dorians and telerates. Hopefully we’ll see more of them in strange new worlds which is the new star trek show. That’s gonna be spinning up soon I think be really cool if they did that but 1 of the.
Yes, yeah.
Problems they have is that they kind of established I think it was in the original series that the tellerites really? don’t show up until Kirk so they can’t do that much with it because they box themselves into a corner trying to do this stuff but it’s so cool I really wish they would do more with them. Um.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
The last the last ah comment about that episode was from Gideon Miles and I thought this one maybe go; Yeah that’s a good point. Okay, but the design of the ship made no sense to me. The whole thing was cramped melt devoid of any sources of light or portholes. It was more like an industrial ingot. Happened to somehow be a time ship and when he said that was like yeah why if you have unlimited space on the inside. Why would you make it so cramped and tiny. It’s like this tiny like little shaft they have to climb down and a tiny little cramp like little engineering section. It’s like you have the room.
Um, yeah.
You’ve created a little Quantum universe or whatever the hell you’re doing there. It’s like why wouldn’t you just make it bigger I bet I be I bet you have an explanation.
Do you want to hear my sci-fi writer explanation of that when trip goes down into the part of the ship that’s larger. We don’t know what he’s going down into he could very well be going down into the engineering of the ship.
So he effectively could be going into a part of the ship that similar to the design of the federation ships the starfleeet the naslles are where they are on the starships because of a type of radiation that they emit which makes it dangerous for.
Is.
The inhabitants of the ship so they are on those stalks to keep them away from the compartments where the personnel most actively operate So it’s conceivable that the time ships the interior removal of some dangerous component to the pilot would be why you would have that.
Right.
Long Chamber with the ladder going down into a larger belly because maybe that’s the dangerous engine. It’s the Nacell and then the pilot’s area is small and cramped but we’re also talking about a technology that is so far advanced. We have now we’re watching.
It’s the nacell right.
Picard and we see how the pilot of a ship is able to interface with the needs of piloting the ship through holographic projections that are moving with that pilot’s head. It is entirely conceivable to me that for the pilot.
There would be a Vr experience which would place that pilot in a kind of a field where it would be more spacious and possibly even even devoid of a ship itself imagine being a time traveling pilot.
More spacious. Yeah.
For whom the experience would be. You were freefloating in space and able to move through space and time. Yeah I could envision and that’s one of the things about that episode that stands out as really cool to me is the idea that the tech is designed in a way.
Talk about talk about vertigo. Yes.
To evoke this response from Gideon Miles None of this design makes sense to me how could this possibly work. Well if you took a car back in time and showed it to a captain of a sailing vessel from the seventeen hundreds and described how a car worked they would look at a car and say. This cannot possibly do any of the things you’re talking about where is the power source where is like the concept of a car would be completely science fiction to a seventeenth century sailing captain and I like the fact that this vessel devoid of windows.
Right.
Devoid of any noticeable propulsion on the interior small cramped. It looks like a terrifying escape pod as opposed to a timetraveling ship and yet that is what it is so for me Mr. Miles’s response is I think the. Point of the design. It is such forward tech that even people flying on a spaceship at warp speed can’t possibly conceive of how the things work inside of it. So I think it’s it’s the point and I think that that’s. Ah, terrific aspect of the design of the ship instead of making it look super sci-fi fighter pilot spaceship. They’ve gone the other direction I made it look clunky and weird and inexplicable.
Is.
So onto today’s episode we as I mentioned before are going to be talking about episode 16 of season 2 kanemar and that read alert sound you hear that can only mean 1 thing that’s right, it’s it’s time Matt it’s time for Matt to read the Wikipedia synopsis. Set phasers to stun because I think we’re all going to be stunned by what Matt’s about to read Matt good luck.
Okay, kanemar is the forty third episode production number 2 17 of the Science Fiction Television Series Star Trek Enterprise the seventeenth of the second season mistaken for smugglers captain archer and commander Tucker find themselves on a prisoner transport ship. But name of the episode is the Annoian Aliens penal colony of kanemar the episode also feature feature not even features the episode also feature to Paul and features guest characters such as the alien prisoner Karrota or karrata. Ah, played by guest star actor Mark Roll Ralston Mark Ralston the episode is directed by Alan Croker ok that was that was a great ending to that.
Koroda.
Um, that’s the end of yeah, it’s an interesting synopsis. Yeah that ending the single sentence and and almost every sentence is broken off as its own paragraph but the final sentence final paragraph of the synopsis being the episode is directed by Alan Croker makes me think that this synopsis was written by Alan Croker
Um, well can I also point out that it’s actually wrong because this is the name of the episode is the anno Aliens Penal Colony kamar of kannamar. That’s not the name of the episode is it I thought it was just knnamar.
That is that is the name of the episode. Yes.
I’m not sure what you’re saying they are going to a place called kanemar.
No, it says the name of the episode is the anolan aliens penal colony of kannamar the name of the episode is Annoian Aliens penal colony of kindamar the name of the episodes I could just countmar.
The name of the episode is kanemar what they’ve written is a grammatically incorrect sentence. What the point of that sentence is is Kanemar which is the name of this episode is the name of an Annoleian Alien Penal colony.
Um, but that’s what I’m saying it’s like I’m interpreting it the way it’s written you. You’re interpreting you’re interpreting it the way it’s meant to be written I’m interpreting it as it’s written the name of the episode is the annoying Aliens Penal colony of kanemar. It’s like no, it’s just called kanemar.
Okay I see what you’re saying they meant it yes, right? Yes, yeah, true so listeners there. We have. Part of the wrestling that we do with Wikipedia I’m able to read through the Wikipedia editors bad grammar and Matt is taking it at face value and Matt is right? That is exactly what it says all right deep breath.
I’m taking it literally.
sip of coffee. Let’s get into the discussion here we go cancel read alert. So this episode aired on upn.
Woo here we go.
On February Twenty Six two thousand and three and it was written by John Shaban who also wrote the episodes minefield and dawn 2 of our recent favorite episodes minefield of course being the episode where the enterprise was trapped in a minefield with a mine attached to its hull. Really good nail biting episode and then dawn being the episode in which trip is trapped on the planet with an ah with a alien whom at first they are antagonistic to one another and it was basically the enemy mine storyline another very good episode this episode i. Jumping forward a bit as far as my thoughts around it not John Shaban’s best, but it doesn’t he set a high bar for himself is I think what happened and this episode is directed as mentioned before in the wikipeded and entry which so.
Yeah.
What’s a ride.
ranks suspiciously it ranks suspiciously as if Alan Kroker had written it himself. This episode is directed by Alan K Croker Mr. K Croker has the distinction of having directed the series finales for star trek deep space nine star trek voyager and startrekenterprise mr.croker is a man who knows what he’s doing I think this episode. Demonstrates that this is a from start to finish from a directorial perspective I think hits a lot of good notes and before anybody thinks that I’m throwing Mr Shaban under a space bus. Would just like to point out there are some moments of dialogue and character development mainly of prisoners that I think is very well done and I think Mr Shaban did a good job with an episode that was just not a great overall concept and wasn’t developed in a way to make it really stand up as strong as his previous episodes or as much as. Previous episodes which we’ve talked about more recently in the airing in February so the air date of this episode originally was February Twenty six two thousand and three and map what were you dancing to well that’s right, you were dancing to I’m with you by Avril Levine it was still number one here in the states. And at the movies. What were we going in to see well Matt and I had already seen this movie in its first week so number 2 a week number 2 for this movie daredevil earned another $18000000.
Yes, we did.
At the box office. This of course is the dared devil with Ben Affleck and Jennifer garner the movie that both of them would like to forget and the fact that it was at number 1 for a second week at only 18000000 yes it was a surprise hit it would go on to make I believe it went on to make around 80000000 ah
Um, it was a surprise hit. It was a surprise hit.
It’s time in the box office and the fact that it was at number 1 with only 18000000 really made me kind of scratch my head and say well what was the competition. So I it.
Well that time of year is always bad for movies that time of year is always bad.
February is notoriously a bad time for movies I think the market is changing right now where with opportunities for streaming and for different ways of marketing and breaking up the year in different ways. This is no longer the graveyard it used to be I say that having just seen.
This.
Ah, the movie the batman in theaters which just opened earlier this month this is now not the graveyard it used to be it used to be the time of year when the studios would dump the movies. They didn’t have any faith in which makes this number 2 movie of the week interesting to me. Did a little digging and it turns out that the number 2 movie for this week was the movie old school old school is the 2003 american comedy directed by Todd Phillips the film stars Luke Wilson Vince Vaughn will ferrell.
Oh yeah, yeah.
All depressed men in their thirty s who seek to relive there college days by starting a fraternity and the adventures that they have after doing so and yes you did hear all those names properly. It’s Luke Wilson Vince Vaughn Wilferrell all people who are continuing to make movies and Tv shows today. Very successful people. And if the name Todd Phillips sounds familiar. Yeah, you are finding out possibly for the first time that the director of odes old school is the same director of 2019 Joker which will go on to earn him an Oscar nomination and earned the film 3 academy awards. So the guy who came up with will Ferrell’s streaking and 2003 is the same guy who gave us the media eviscerating joker of 2019 and on television. What did this episode compete against it aired on February Twenty Six two thousand and three and earned two point eight million viewers this is very low for the series. Overall, it’s very low for this season. The show has been riding a ah plateau of around 4000000 viewers per week but this week it really dipped and. What was it up against what it was up against my wife and kids and George Lopez on Abc They were both pretty strong contenders with are on 7000000 viewers each star search on Cbs a show which neither Matt Or I can
Remember.
Possibly remember which makes me think that both of us from an alternate timeline. It was getting about 8000000 viewers enterprise was also up against on Fox that 70 show and american idol and that 70 show was.
Very very funny show.
6000000 viewers american idol was closer to 10 ed was still on the air and was getting around 6000000 and w b hate to break a tma had finally figured out the formula for beating Upn’s Enterprise Upn’s enterprise yes
With a weird choice for a movie. cheese.
Upn’s enterprise was struggling with two point eight million viewers this week but w b finally stepped above it by broadcasting a movie. Yes, they broadcast the W B’s own the lone ranger 2003 film and earned three point four million viewers for doing so.
M. Not a good time for Star Trek. Yeah.
Not a good find time for star trek but a good time for Csi. That’s right Csi was the number 1 show on Cbs that week with 22000000 viewers and in the news from the New York Times on this day. February Twenty Six two thousand and three some of the headlines included that a panel of experts found fault with the Bush plan to study the climate which is ironic considering we’ve figured out climate change and fixed all those problems since then so good job us the us was also putting together a list of iraqis to punish or to work with.
I Have all solved. Yes, we’re on top of that.
And turkey appeared ready to let 60000 us troops into their borders in preparation for war with Iraq and finally this headline which I thought meshed well with the topic of the episode the supreme court justices stressed inmates have a right to press appeal. Supreme court ordered a new hearing for a Texas death row inmate today in a surprising broad surprisingly broad 8 to 1 decision that warned the federal courts of appeals against shutting the door prematurely on state prisoners who seek to present constitutional challenges to their convictions or sentences. Court said that to gain a hearing an inmate appealing a denial of habeas corpus does not need to present a winning case only a plausible one. The decision could have a substantial effect reopening federal courthouse doors that some appellate judges have closed through stringent interpretations of new limits on habeas corpus review. Congress adopted 1996 so this goes back to a tougher stance on crime that was introduced them to the Clinton administration and this was loosening the reins on that a little bit allowing inmates and the case that was brought that brought this result was a Texas inmate. Black man who seventeen years earlier had been convicted by an almost entirely white jury and the argument was that there was racial work going on in selection of the jury to ensure that the prosecution would win their case so in line with that here. We go. Back into the future back into enterprise and we find that archer and trip are a board a prison transport and they’re being told by all the other prisoners. Yeah, once you’re on this transport. You’re basically guilty you’re on your way to a prison planet best of luck.
This episode features guest actors like Mark Raulston we’ve talked about him briefly in the Wikipedia summary for some reason he was introduced there. He was called out specifically. Mark Ralston is known.
Cult He’s called out. Yeah.
By our viewers I’m sure for movies like aliens lethal weapon two shawshank redemption the departed he is a that guy through and through also in the episode were Holmes Osborne Michael mcrady Brian Morey John Hansen also Sean Whalan playing Zumas who is particularly good in this episode.
And Sean Wlan is another that guy you’ve seen him in tons of stuff he has on Imdb 137 credits to his name. He’s been in tons of television shows movies usually playing the nerdy picked upon but ultimately likely Other guy so a hat tip to Sean Wylan for his performance in this given that the last known star date was September this is not star date given that the last known date of an episode was September Twenty one 52 this is Sean’s speculative calendaring I’m guessing that this episode is supposed to take place sometime in late November Twenty One 52
So this episode Matt just a quick spoiler response. I found this episode to be a little bit lackluster from the does it do anything perspective. What did you think.
I’m torn because there’s a part of this episode that I just I enjoyed it at the end of the episode I thought it was enjoyable entertainment but it was a little bit of a nothing burger because there wasn’t a lot related to Star Trek and the characters and an vault it like character evolution. But there was a strong throughline for the episode trying to say something about um the Justice system and so like that came through loud and clear so it was making a very clear political statement about what the problems with our Justice system and like.
Yeah.
Ah, you you Imprison somebody and you can Imprison somebody if you do it poorly you actually turn them into really horrible criminals criminals where if you had tried to help them. You could have sent them on a better path. So it’s it’s It’s an interesting statement but at the end of the day as far as the Star Trek Storyline for enterprises considered I Just thought this was kind of a.
Yes.
Yeah I agree the the character of Mark Raulston carotta is given an opportunity and I think that this is I think first of all all Mark Rawulston does a terrific job with with the character and I think the writing for the character is interesting. There’s nuance to him.
Meh didn’t really do much.
Oh yeah.
He is clearly a a bad guy but he’s a bad guy who when he has moments of opening up. You can see that he’s viewing things from a survivability perspective that he has basically been honed into a survival machine.
Oh yeah.
Yes.
And that is driving a lot of his decision- making and there’ is another. There’s another criminal who is teamed up with him in the escape attempt who’s a nosican and even the Nasin is given an opportunity for a little bit of nuance in the character he is and this is the kind of nosickin depiction. You and I have been asking for for the entire run of this series. Yes.
From play dom jock hum on to this. It’s kind of like how the ferringi were like just crazy. The first time we saw them and they evolved into something very different. It’s the same thing with this. It’s it’s he was a very nuanced character based on what we saw before it was interesting.
Yeah. Yeah there’s there’s a moment where the nasakin brings karrata a bowl of food and says and he says you haven’t eaten in two days you have to eat something. There’s a relationship there. There is something between the 2 of them a dependence and a friendship that has.
He cares about him. Yes.
Seen things and that moment alone made me like kind of like lean forward in my chair. It was it. It was a simple moment for that character that went beyond what we’ve seen before from other noskins and.
Yes, yes.
And it gave Raulston’s character it gave karotta an opportunity to launch off into I’ll never eat prison food again. It is very much a He’s planted a flag he is he. There’s a line. He’s not going to cross and that line is I will never be captured again. So. He’s even gone so far as to in his arm. He has implanted a device which will allow him to escape the handcuffs. He is prepared to take the ship into dangerous scenarios even inviting fighting very much more heavily armed patrol craft over being boarded. So Ralston’s character his back is against the wall and the nasakin has a little more flexibility there. He clearly just wants to make sure that they get out alive but Ralston’s character is not going to Bend. He is going to break or he’s going to break free.
Yeah, yeah.
The other prisoners on this ship and the episode opens with a empty shuttlecraft drifting in space. This is a you need to get into the show Somehow you need to get into the story somehow I understand that. Feels like a device that’s been used a few too many times in Enterprise specifically of showing like oh the cruise worried about a missing person. It would have I didn’t feel like that was necessarily the best jumping in point. How about you.
It’s It’s okay.
It was it was they were trying to do a very provocative cold open to make people go what and clearly it didn’t work because they only got what was it Two point eight million people watching or something it was like clearly the cold open and that what they did did not catch people. But I thought it was cut and unnecessary. It was.
Um, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah I think that a better cold open would have been to open on the prison transport with guards lecturing about.
Had nothing to do with anything.
Yes.
The types of harsh punishment. They would get if if any of these prisoners tried to do anything out of line and at the closing of the cold open zero in on the 2 prisoners that we care about which would be suddenly revealed that on this prison ship captain archer and Trippe are both part of this prison cohort. That would have been a better way of jumping right into like something has happened as opposed to the cold open. Yeah, as opposed to the cold open. We’ve been given which is there’s a lot of exposition explaining how the captain and trip had been on the anoleian home world and then.
Yeah, what? what did they do? It’s it yet.
Disappeared and now the enterprise has found the shuttle craft they find Captain’s logs it’s it’s a lot of talky talky instead of showing anything in action to expose anything so it’s a little slow at the beginning to build then we get aboard the prison ship.
Yeah.
And I couldn’t help but keep thinking this is now their version of Con air. This is they are telling. Yeah, they are telling the story of a ship of Badass prisoners who when things go left They suddenly.
Yes I didn’t make that equation. But yes.
Have to depend on each other in different ways that they didn’t expect and at the same time trying to get away and not a bad concept. I didn’t think it was a bad concept for an episode but I just kept feeling like they aren’t doing anything to Show. Character development of the characters. We care about and their ultimate statement of the prison system made me this perfect bad guy is lost in the shuffle instead of it’s It’s definitely there. It could have been highlighted a little better but it’s kind of lost in the shuffle of a lot of I don’t know if this analogy is going to work for everybody but here I go. It’s a little bit like you go to ah a dance performance expecting tap. And what you get is soft shoe instead a lot of shuffling around on stage and a lot of movements that look a little bit like tap. But it’s not it doesn’t sound the same and it’s not quite hit in the same moments.
Okay I like I like what you’re framing there but I did not expect you to go to dance. It’s like because you know as people like to go to tap shows as the kids do today. Um, kind of one of the things I would want to point out about the opening sequences of them on the ship that I did appreciate.
Um, yeah, yeah.
Was the show Rat ratchets up the oh you got to be kidding like it ratcheted up really nicely because it’s like from the moment that you see them on the ship and then they start getting shocked and and then the enterprise is like you know you got to help us find our people we find the people they’re about to get them off the ship. And then you know the coup happens on board the ship and so suddenly that’s gone sideways I liked how they kept amping it up of like oh God How are they getting out of this. Oh they can get out of this. Oh no, they’re not going get out of this.. It’s actually worse than it was before I like that they kept amping it up So I Thought the tension build was good but again at the end of the day that episode is kind of like a.
Yeah, right.
It doesn’t really help the characters that I didn’t learn anything about trip I didn’t already know I didn’t learn anything about archer that I didn’t already know. Um it was fun to see archer at that moment where things went sideways and then they’re like why are you? Why were you getting angled to get off this ship and he immediately without missing a beat without like looking at trip. No like.
Um, yeah, yeah.
Right.
And like mouthing things to each other to come with a plan. He just immediately goes into it of like oh yeah I pay people off, It’s like I like the fact that he thinks quick on his feet and came up with something to keep things moving forward. But yeah, it’s a nothing burger.
Yeah, yeah, it’s ultimately that aspect of archer is not something that’s new to us So we’ve seen it before and the depiction of trip.
No, we’ve seen it before.
As being able to do things at the back of the ship where he is being forced to put in repairs we’ve seen that before and I felt like there was a ah moment missed here which I’m maybe jumping in early in our discussion with my. Putting on my writer hat and rewriting the episode here’s what I was hoping for the 2 of them are separated very quickly as the the coup on the ship is taking place and the the people who escape take an opportunity that is presented to them. When there’s confusion among the guards about needing to release 2 of the prisoners because as Matt mentioned the enterprise through diplomatic channels gets a nanoleian commander aboard ship that helps them locate the transport and they’re on route to. Link up with the transport and get their people off when the guards are doing something now they don’t normally do which is talking to some of their prisoners and trying to figure out which ones they’re supposed to release and in that discussion. The 2 people who are going to. Plot this escape zumas and his are not zumus I’m sorry but Karate and his nasakin partner. They take that moment to break free take command of the ship by basically bull rushing the cockpit.
Can can I ask you your question I could in that moment would you have written that sequence in that way like do you think that? that’s how guards would actually have handled that situation. You would have gone up to that prisoner said get up come with me and you would have take them up to.
In that moment. Yeah.
Ah, none of that made sense to me. Yeah, who are you? Yeah yes, yeah yeah.
Yeah, you would have taken them up to the front and you had a conversation with them somewhere else. It’s not, You’re not going to go into a crowded room of prisoners and go hey you we’re gonna take you out of here. It’s like.
Yeah, it was a lot of it was a lot of very poorly conceived stage whispers. Are you archer? We’re letting you go ah none of that made sense I agree and and I would have preferred there had been some other setup to them making their escape. In fact.
Yeah here.
If what you had described had happened. It would have worked even better with what I was hoping was going to happen in the episode which is if archer had been taken to a different location closer to the Cockpit and the guards were talking to him about. Are you archer? We’ve heard from your people we’re gonna go get your other guy.
A.
And we’re gonna have We’re gonna dock with this ship and release the 2 of you while the guards are distracted at the front of the ship having that discussion if you then have karrata and his partner take that is the opportunity to have their Jail Break Bull Rush The Cockpit do everything that they did before. But basically separate the ship into 2 parts. You could have had a guard still operating in the back of the ship with now loose prisoners trip trying to protect a guard from the prisoners who are chomping at the bit to take Revenge. They could all be loose and working at crosspurposes with Karrata and his nosic and partner at the front of the ship who are using archer to fly the ship then you have a scenario where trip is telling the people at the back The truth that guy’s my captain.
Right.
From a place we’re from a ship called Enterprise let me figure out what we’re doing here. He could be viewed by the other prisoners is also part of a threat. Oh you and your captain were gonna be released So you’re maybe not on our side so you could have had those prisoners at the back of the ship basically arguing with Karrata at the front of the ship.
Right.
And Carotta doesn’t care about them. He needs them to be collateral damage so he’s at the front of the ship working with archer to fly the ship while archer is masquerading as yeah I’m just a bad guy too because I’m a smuggler and I bribe my way out then you have trip and archer.
Thank you.
Both working at crossurposes with each other and having to figure out how to quietly reconnect formulate a plan and understand what the other person is doing trip could be at the back of the ship not knowing why archer is helping pilot this ship he could be confused as to. We’ve changed course we’re changing speed.
This.
Seem to be under attack but we’re doing evasive maneuvers. Why is archer helping archer could be at the front of the ship saying how do I get trip to understand what I’m doing and get him a message as to how to either cripple or destabilize the vessel so that we can actually come out of warp and not.
So.
Continue on the path that we’re on which is going to lead ultimately to us destroying the ship and all these people aboard so you could have had more tension between the captain and the engineer which would then have the show then would be about their connection as a team is something we’ve seen in other episodes.
Right.
But we’ve usually seen it where the 2 people are hand in hand running through a dangerous scenario and working together to solve a problem. It would have been very interesting I think to see the 2 of them having to work through the the confines of not being able to openly talk with one another.
I agree with that and I also want point out like the way they had it structured when trip at the end is working with the nosakin and he’s like releasing some kind of valve and he asks the nausson hey can you twist this for me. It was like.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Wait didn’t we see trip do this exact same thing basically in the episode that was dedicated to him with that other Alien on the planet. It’s like it’s such a rehash everything we’ve seen before which is part of the reason why this episode is a nothing burger. It’s like there really is not nothing new.
Yeah, yeah, and I think in a sign of this episode had a certain first drafty feel to me. Um the description I read about the production of this it was filmed basically across the holiday break at the end of december.
Yeah I can see that.
With some additional reshoots right? after the holidays and it was mostly filmed on the set of the prison ship. This is effectively a bottle episode the set to me.
Yep, it felt like it.
Looks like a repurposed set from the episode where they all had to relocate inside the Nacell chambers because the ship was going to be exposed to intense radiation. The prison ship looks like that same set. So I think this may be a repurposed set done as a bottle episode.
This is.
So that they didn’t need most of their regular actors on site during what was leading up to the holiday. This episode feels very much like that to me a quick and easy. They only needed the 2 principal actors they needed archer they needed trip. The rest of the people are all guest actors.
Right.
Most of the actors don’t have any lines and the actors who do it’s just a handful of them. So it’s just just a few people. So I think this is probably a cost-saving episode and it feels that way to me and one of the lines of dialogue that really gives me that first drafty flavor is. When trip is trying to work on the engineering section and he turns to thenosga and says poor little me I’m just a weak little human I can’t turn that thing you’re a big strong Nasa and can you get in there and turn it counterclockwise.
Um, yes I that jumped out at me too. It was like Okay, yeah, he’s going to get that.
And I was sitting there just like I wanted the nasakin to turn around and go what Counterclockwise Hum on I Just didn’t understand how that would get through any number of rewrites and editorial review for the episode. It was just a phrase that stuck out as oh come on like.
Yeah.
You could say turn to the left. You know something? Yeah yeah.
Turn it that way. Can you turn it that way. It’s It’s the use of the phrase Counterclockwise just stuck out as they really weren’t thinking these things through they weren’t putting a lot of oomph into the into these moments and with the exception of like I said the performance of Raulston and.
Agreed.
And Bacula in this the 2 of them spend a lot of time together and there is a nice back and forth between the two of them. One of the things that stood out to me about Bacula’s performance that really made me scratch my head. Why is it whenever Bacula plays archer pretending. He’s a bad guy.
Oh yeah, and he sits it a certain way like ah, it’s like I’ll come on.
Starts talking in a really tough guy voice and it he’s and it kind of it kind of stands out like he has been sitting as a prisoner trying to have normal conversation and trying to explain himself to people for hours. The moment that he gets out and gets into the Cockpit and starts acting like a swaggering tough guy like they don’t know who you are why not just continue to be yourself. Why does I Just didn’t understand that performance choice. But.
Yeah, yeah.
He and raulston spending this much time together and during the making of the episode Ralston said that they had worked on the fight sequences for something like 10 hours and he said amusingly he said they they were strenuous and that the 2 of them were both in their forty s so he.
Whoa. Okay.
Complained. It’s not as easy as it used to be that that kind of stage acting and the kind of stage fighting that they’re doing is impressive. They’re throwing each other into Bulkheads they’re throwing each other over things. There were some moments that as the fight was.
This is.
Yes, yes.
Going on and the camera is doing the old camera rocking technique to make it look like they’re doing all this on a ship that is just about to break up in the atmosphere. There were some moments in the fight sequence that I thought were that looked potentially dangerous to one or the other of them.
I Agree there were parts I actually went oh like like when they were hitting each other and like coming at each other it looked it looked like it was rehearsed. It looked like they actually were trying to make it look good. It wasn’t the typical Star Trek fight where here comes wharf with an open push and the guy goes flying backwards. It’s like okay that didn’t take any rehearsal.
It was yeah yeah. 1 punch? Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, So I think that that falls into the discussion at the very beginning of this episode for me which was.
That this this looked pretty good.
Feel like from a directing standpoint. It hits all the right notes. It does everything it can with the story that’s been provided and I think from a writing standpoint. It’s not a bad first draft. It’s not a a bad Skeleton to a storyline and if it had been pushed a little bit more I feel like you could have still had. Basically the same story which is again the con air moment of you got these bad guys. But what I wanted to see more of was everybody at the back of the ship who are the oh yeah, we’re all innocent wink Wink Prisoners I Wish there had been more from.
Is.
The larger group of them. They all stay prisoners. They all so remain locked up and that’s where for me, the idea of what if karrata and his partner had been able to storm the cockpit been able to take over the ship. They threw the. Security guards back with the other prisoners. But then what if the other prisoners on their own are able to break out and the other prisoners first response is to say to Karot. Let us join you and carate’s response is no and locks them out of the cockpit and then you have trip at the back of the ship with truly dangerous people. With different motives. We only see really any kind of discussion with another prisoner in the form of the Sean Whaling character which I pointed out before he’s playing Zumas and zumis is clearly comic relief. First of all I love the makeup on zumus.
The Comic relief. Yes I Want to argue with you on that it was just Gross. It was just great. It’s gross just Gross. It’s like I didn’t understand looking at like the biology of this of a creature. It’s like.
He is I loved it I loved it. Yeah.
Why would you have seaweed- looking stuff just drooping out of holes on your your. It’s like it was a come come on? No no, it looks like he has mucus dripping. It’s like I would rather have seen Mucus Mucus would have been better. Why is it like the seaweed stuff. It’s like it didn’t make any sense I did like the actor’s portrayal though of how he kept playing with it.
I Loved it I loved it. Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah I depict I I understood that as it was some kind of self-soothing thing like those maybe have nerve endings and he’s playing with them to soothe himself a little bit like ah like you said a tick.
It’s like as this like a little latzy his like little like tick that he would do as a character I like that. But the designer did not like. Oh yeah, yeah.
And Zumis is clearly played for comic relief I would have really loved it if there had been like I said a moment where the prisoners at the back are able to escape and it turns out that Zumis has a particularly ruthless approach that he is not the.
He could be extremely dangerous.
You know, sad trombone like I’m just caught up. He could be extremely dangerous in a way that trip is dismissive at the at the beginning the comic moments between Sean Wylan and the actor playing trip are really well done trip is playing. It’s it’s almost got an Abbott and Costello sort of like. Eye rolling how exhausting it is sitting next to this guy. But if it turned out that zumis was particularly dangerous in a way that trip didn’t understand but Zumis at that point while being dangerous. Still really likes trip that could have provided for some interesting moments especially around having possibly.
This is.
Guards that they are able to hold as hostage trying to extract information out of them if zumis is the one who’s able to say like I can do this and has a particularly dangerous and gross way of doing that and trip has to try and get him to back off of that I thought there could have been some some really great moments. There. So I feel like this falls into the category for me of some of the other episodes we’ve talked about which is I enjoyed watching it but I wish it could have punched more and ultimately I look at it as a B minus or a c plus episode I wouldn’t turn it off if I happened to.
Yes.
Stumble across it. 1 ne’s in the mood for star trek but I wouldn’t go seeking it out either.
Yeah I agree I’m in the same exact place. It’s like I like the last couple of episodes we watched a lot more than this one and I would go back and rewatch those this one. It’s fine. It’s fine.
And for me 1 final comment I think directorial decisions for me. 1 of the moments that a directorial choice really stood out as being pitch. Perfect was at the end when.
And.
We see the Annoleian commander who is trying to provide an apology from his leaders to the captain and his engineer saying we’re so sorry for any inconvenience yeah framing it as inconvenience when what they have? yeah.
This is.
We also need a report. We also need a report. Yeah.
We need a report and so here is a people whose Justice system is clearly broken. People are guilty by Suspicion. They are railroaded and treated without human rights in a way that glosses over any equal or fair treatment. Of the guilty or the innocent and his only concern is reports the proper paperwork being filed so that he’s covering his own butt at this point and archer spins around and gives his impassioned moral response to this which is.
So.
Here’s what here’s what my report is you are railroading people. You do not have a justice system that works and there’s nothing about any of this experience that demonstrates that you people care about moral stance and then turns on his heel and walks away and for me the.
This is.
Pitch perfect directorial decision was the way to Paul followed about 5 paces behind her captain with her hands tucked behind her back and she walked silently around the corner. There was something about the way that to Paul left without a word that demonstrated.
Um, yeah. Yeah.
Part of the emerging relationship between not only her and archer but the humans in the vulcans at large this was not in any way highlighted in the show. There’s nothing vulcan about this episode other than her moment of I’m with him.
Well, it’s it’s interesting because it shows because the captain obviously the the guy that was asking for the report he was clearly trying to cover his own but but the same time it came across. There’s a desperation that wasn’t just about him. There came across a palpable concern of like. Oh crap. We have really you know caused a rift between this human civilization and the vulcans because it’s like here are these 2 species that are working together that are both clearly you know, not pleased at how things have worked out and so it’s like this is not a good footing for them to be on.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Was a desperation not just for him as an individual I got in the sense of there’s a desperation of that planet of like oh crap it’s like we just angered a bunch of species that are probably we need for trading Partners we need for a relationship of some kind. So.
Yeah.
I Thought that was kind of a nice touch too. It was very subtle but I kind of picked up on that.
Yeah, and for to Paul through the episode her discussions around finding her captain and the engineer. It’s very subtle criticism that she.
Yeah.
She doesn’t say anything through the episode but in her discussions with this Annoleian commander. She keeps voicing a certain amount of shock at the fact that you don’t know where they are you pick up prisoners and don’t know where they go and the way she keeps making these loaded statements.
It’s clear.
It’s clear that she’s already been on a certain very subtle level criticizing this guy to his face. So when the captain turns and fully says you guys suck and then walks away.
Oh yeah, yeah.
She doesn’t have to say anything she doesn’t need to put a cherry on top. She’s already built the Sunday the captain has put the cherry on top and then they all walk away. So again, it’s an episode that if you’re following along and watching these episodes along with us I don’t recommend you skip it. But I am curious do all of you.
Yeah.
Agree that there’s not a whole lot here to make you want to go back to it or are you a big fan of Nicholas Cage and con air and you just love seeing Scott Bacula follow in his footsteps Matt before we sign off. Is there anything you’d like to remind our listeners about that you have coming up on your other channel.
I just did check out. Ah the episodes coming up on undecided. There’s some interesting ones coming up in a couple of weeks it’s not the next one. But there’s an interesting one about turning human waste into energy poop power that I’m I’m very excited to talk about.
Um, and keep in mind this is from the person who just said that seaweed coming out of somebody’s face was gross. So I don’t know if that’s the pot calling the kettle black or what but.
Yes, yep.
Please tune in for that good number 2 viewing. As for me, you can check out my website http://seanferrell.com you can find my books there you can find links to purchasing through Amazon Barnes and noble or.
M.
Any of your local bookstores. They’re available everywhere. You can also pick them up your local library Matt next time we’re going to be talking about the episode the crossing any speculation as to what that episode will be about.
1 of the crew is going to probably cross something. Yes.
Um, maybe his teas. Don’t forget if you’d like to support the show. Please consider reviewing us on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify Podcasts Podcast Podcast Podcasts if you’d like to more directly support us. You can go to trek in time show and you’ll find a target with our faces on it. You throw quarters at it and we say thank you? Well not literally, there’s a become a supporter button that you can click but in your imagination your imagination you can pretend. You’re third and quarters. You can.
You see our faces.
Pretend you’re throwing quarters at our faces and pretend we’re saying thank you because in our hearts we really are it isn’t that what it’s really about Matt. Thank you so much everybody for listening and watching please subscribe please like and please share us with your friends and we’ll talk to you next time.
Yes, it is.
“and Sean Wylan playing zumus sounds like somebody needs to check their laundry Okay,
laundry from the future. That’s right I wish that was mad Joe Roddenberry’s voice.”