the delphic expanse

AKA: "Put Down Those Rocks, You Don't Know Where They've Been" (too long, rats!)

This is the discussion thread for S1E5, Unexpected! All Delphic Expanse rules of engagement apply.

Written by: Rick Berman and Brannon Braga
Directed by: Michael Vejar (Civilization, Shadows of P'Jem, Marauders, The Catwalk, Rajiin, Carpenter Street, Stratagem, Cold Station 12, Observer Effect, The Aenar)

There is a Rewatch Chat scheduled for 12:30am GMT (February 22) in either the chat forum here if our local magicians manage to make it appear, or at Tinychat.com (instructions and live link will be posted in the Live Chat Information Thread). Or whenever anyone else wants to watch and chat! (Note: Rewatch Chat tentatively changed to Wednesday for next week's ep to see if it fits everyone's schedule better.)

Some of my favorite moments from Unexpected......

I like the way we get a bit of background on the Archer and Trip friendship.....

ARCHER: Remember to mind your manners (he knows Trip is a bit impulsive and needs a reminder)

ARCHER: With all due respect, I've known Commander Tucker for eight years. He's tough as nails. If he says he's having problems I've got to believe him. (he has respect for and trust in his engineer)

ARCHER: Take a nap, Trip. That's an order. (big 'brother' telling little 'brother' what to do)

ARCHER: Trip. (he knows to make sure of Trip's activities....not because Trip was hiding anything, just that Trip may not have considered all the possibilities...)

And then Archer was willing to track the Xyrillians for days, as well as take on the KLINGONS just so he can take care of his friend in need......really cool friendship there!

And the way Connor acted these lines were priceless!

TUCKER: What the hell are you talking about?

TUCKER: So?

TUCKER: I've been in Starfleet for twelve years. Do you think I'd jeopardize my career by messing around with some alien engineer on a three day mission? I considered myself a diplomat from the minute I set foot in that vessel. Well, there was that box of pebbles.

TUCKER: (putting the plaster back) Great.

TUCKER: I'm the Chief Engineer. I spent years earning that position. I never had any intention of becoming a working mother.

TUCKER: Postnatal responsibilities?

TUCKER: It's a girl, huh?

So those are some of my favorite moments to this episode.

My observations:

Okay, I'm willing to suspend my disbelief a lot, but this just bugs me: The translator is able to learn/perfectly translate the Xyrillian language after hearing only a few words. Maybe we can assume the language was already in the computer because the Vulcans or someone else had already encountered them. Nothing else makes sense to me.

I agree with your observations about the insight we are given into Jon and Trip's friendship, Tishkajaku. The, "Take a nap, Trip," line is one of my favorites. Bakula's delivery is just perfect. I like how he plays it all very calm and cool with Trip, yet he does take the time to check things out with the Xyrillian captain.

I admit to having pretty focused 'shipper glasses, but what was up with T'Pol in this episode? Was the pollen from "Strange New World" still affecting her? When Trip returns from the Xyrillian ship, she can be seen in the background turning her head to watch him walk from the door to the viewscreen. Then she looks down again, but keeps peeking up at him. But when he and Ah'Len started talking about how she took care of him, T'Pol's head snapped right up. I wonder if all of that was intentional on the part of the directors, or if Jolene was just trying to look busy in the background. I won't even get started on how jealous she seemed in sickbay...Well, okay, maybe she was just annoyed that he had possibly behaved foolishly, or perhaps she was trying to get back at him for teasing her at some point.

I think we get our very first Malcolm/Trip buddy moment in this episode in the mess hall, before Trip realizes he's pregnant. Malcolm asking about the scales and the little knowing looks he gives Trip really set things up well for their later escapades, like in 2D2N. Trip plays right along by commenting on Ah'Len's "sensual appeal." Of course Malcolm then goes on to ask about weapons. I guess at this point in their friendship - if you can even call it that yet - Malcolm still has to maintain at least some semblance of professionalism. Still, it was nice to see him testing the friendship waters. I never really noticed that scene until this time around.

Phlox had some great lines when he was examining Trip. It was clear that he'd been around the block before as a doctor and had probably dealt with lying patients in the past when he says things like, "We don't have any data on their mating procedures, but I wouldn't think it would be that difficult for you to recollect a sexual encounter."

My least favorite part came near the end. I felt so bad for Trip when he has to reveal his condition to the Klingons. Hoshi peered around and stared like he was a freak, and even Jon is obviously stifling laughter.

I have a very clear memory of really being impressed with the design of this episode when I first watched it, and the design is still very striking. I love the shower teaser (for more reasons than one).

At the time, the pregnancy plotline didn't bother me, and it still doesn't in the sense that I think the writers bent over backward to illustrate that this was a cultural misunderstanding and there was no ill intent on the part of Ahlen, and that Trip was completely innocent of wrongdoing. However, it always bugged at how insensitive the crew was to what was undoubtedly a very distressing situation for Trip. Not just embarrassing, but distressing. There is the scene in engineering where Trip is "nesting" for lack of a better work, worrying instinctively that it's not a safe environment for a child. I still don't know - but I think - that it's likely most of the crew didn't know what had happened - that Trip's reactions in the mess hall are paranoid. He's not in a great state, and everyone finding his situation funny just feels a little unprofessional.

I noticed some good stuff this viewing, including how Trip, Archer and T'Pol all work together to deal with the Klingons. Phlox comes off as an experienced physician. Malcolm is very competent with the weapons. There's nice detail there.

It's easy for a TnT-er to read T'Pol's reactions as jealous, and maybe she is subconsciously (early on they were thinking of TnT and maybe this is a vestige of that) but maybe she's just pissed that Trip created a huge problem for them. But she's awfully harsh with him, and again, it's pretty evident he did nothing wrong.

After I posted, I started to wonder if this is the right place for shipper stuff. Would ya'll prefer if we start new threads in the individual shipper sections dedicated to observations about romantic relationships made during this rewatch?

I think it's fine to bring shippiness into the discussion, as long as it's respectful and it doesn't hijack the thread. So, it's fine. But you're welcome to go into the TnT forum and continue the discussion.

A few of my thoughts about the episode that other people haven't covered...

First off, the title, "Unexpected," has got to be one of the biggest understatements ever.

The opening, with the loss of grav plating (with the added bonus of Jon floating around in his shower), was a good way to visually illustrate the beginning of their unexplained malfunctions. It was a lot better than just hearing someone list malfunctions, as is so often the case.

Maybe it's because I'm watching the rewatch episodes more closely, but I'm picking up on little things that I missed when I originally saw the series. For instance, in an earlier episode, T'Pol remarks that Vulcans don't use their fingers to eat food. In this epi we see Phlox eating pancakes with his fingers. Both are different from how humans would (normally) eat.

As someone else pointed out, the UT picks up the alien language almost too quickly. But I wondered how the aliens learned English so fast! Or was Trip speaking their language? There's the one scene at the beginning where Hoshi uses the UT through her communications console, and after that, everyone is speaking each other's language. I'll have to assume there was a portable UT somewhere on Trip, or the aliens had their own version of a UT.

Trip obviously is not feeling well on board the alien ship, which is a marked contrast from his earlier enthusiasm. But I wonder if he would have been so adamant about wanting to return to Enterprise if there had been someone else with him to share the experience.

The alien captain's line, "We have a good deal of experience with alien visitors," makes me wonder just how often their ship breaks down!

I can't make up my mind about Ah'len and the box of pebbles. She tells Trip it's just a "game we play," and yet it led to his pregnancy. Did she really think that because he was an alien that it wouldn't happen? Or was it just innocent? Then my mind went off on a tangent, wondering if safe sex for her species involves wearing gloves, and I had to back up the disc because I missed the next few lines!

Malcolm's got a dirty mind! And yet, after the comments about Ah'len's scales and the shared amusement with Trip, he wants to know about the aliens' weapons. That's dedication to his job.

I thought T'Pol went overboard in berating Trip for his condition. I'm a bit surprised Jon wasn't the one chewing him out, but you can tell that he's having a hard time keeping a straight face. I do think some of the crew reactions were a bit much, but the whole topic was played more for laughs than for anything else.

As far as Trip being pregnant... even at the original airing, I thought it was a unique idea (at least for what I've seen in science fiction) but I wasn't particularly thrilled about it. However, having had a couple of pregnancies myself, I was tickled by some of his reactions, especially the hormone-induced ones. The scene with the lift in engineering? Yep. Been in that overprotective/nesting mode myself. Scarfing down food like I was starving? Yep. Overreacting to things that shouldn't have caused me to blink an eye before I was pregnant? Yep. Even the deleted scene, with T'Pol carrying on about succulent sausages causing Trip to become even more sick to his stomach? I remember working a charity breakfast when I was pregnant, and the smell of sausage made me so queasy I had to work away from the serving line. A lot of what Trip was doing was cliched, but had a grain of truth in it. Trip's part was played over the top, but I could relate. I laughed out loud at the "working mother" line he had.

The crew of Enterprise is still learning lessons about being in space, and the lesson here is that even the most innocent action can have consequences.

A final note: Even though Travis and Hoshi's roles in the epi were much smaller than in previous ones, they still get something to do. Travis pilots the shuttlepod and gets to tease Trip with "I don't know. We are kinda busy." And Jon looks to Hoshi to explain the Klingon reference to Sto-Vo-Kor, which she promptly tells him is "the afterlife."

Thoughts as I'm watching again this week:

• Jon was nekkid in the shower. Jon was nekkid in the shower, talkin' to Malcolm. Heh. Up just a wee bit more, if you please, Mr. Cameraman... (story I've related before: apparently the codpiece broke during filming this. Just thought you'd like to know. )
• More background characters I recognize, especially Jack Guzman, who is apparently in 10 S1 episodes. Big guy in the mess hall foreground.
• Oh Phlox! "When in Fillebia, do as the Fillebians do."
• Crewman with speaking role in Engineering is uncredited, because he said probably three words? Isn't it four to get scale and credit?
• I'm always very appreciative of the detail they put into the Engineering set... lots of ways to use it and shoot scenes there. It's huge.
• I also love it when they use the situation room (circa S1, not S3). Nice camera angles to give an overall view of the rest of the bridge. Didn't use it for those purposes in later seasons.
• Introduction of stealth technology from a second species. In TOS it was treated as a Romulan invention, but we've had first the Suliban and now the Xyrillians. A break from canon, but meh, since the new movie only ENT is canon now!
• Trenal the Xyrillian is played by Randy Oglesby, who later played Degra the Xindi. Nice to see him. He and Vaughn Armstrong played aliens in every modern trek series.
• I take T'Pol's ragging on Trip both before and after the mission to be an indication that she knows how impulsive he can be, and he certainly goes on to prove her points in later episodes. Trip wears his emotions on his sleeve, and is also very gung-ho to make contacts with new species, so he could be more apt to make mistakes that affect said contacts -- again, proven in later episodes. So while T'Pol is a little harsh, I don't think it's out of character for her.
• Speaking of, lookie, Trip finally gets his chance to be the one to do an away mission!
• I really like the easy interaction between Travis and Trip on the shuttle. I do wish there had been more of that sort of thing as the series progressed -- not them specifically, but the familiarity between the crew is nice.
• Porthos!! (Played by Prada here.)
• The use of fisheye lenses in this wasn't intrusive, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because everything else really was quite alien-feeling.
• Jon reading again. Nice blue shirt!
• Very nice exchange between Archer and Trenal, captain to captain. Treating each other as equals although they'd never even had visual contact.
• Love the Xyrillian uniforms. Wonder if they sold any of those at auction?
• "Closest we could come to water," although those eel-like creatures were swimming in that hallway aquarium before...
• I didn't remember that there were sparks/sparkles when she's feeding Trip water, or touching his skin, not just in the pebbles. And it's quite obvious that she's attracted to him.
• "Is Vulcan grass green?" Well, is it?
• That holodeck reminds me of Disneyworld!
• I know that some folks mention it may not have been good to show even alien holographic tech early on, but I think B&B were trying to make some connection with familiar things from later shows early on. Holodecks were integral to modern Trek, and those fans were doing the most qvetching over ENT. So I can understand it. I loved the nod myself.
• Look, it's water!! Although that too looks like jello...
• She asked about Trip's lack of dermal plating, and how that affects reading someone's emotions... I wonder if it also protects them from unwanted... dna?
• I'm sorry, but if purple was flowing up my arm I'd want to get a little more info about a game, lol.
• Ah yes, Jon saved Trip's life 4 years ago. I've forgotten, was that ever explored? Other than in fanfic?
• "You like people finding you attractive." Why yes, yes he does.
• Again Trip makes reference to meeting new species being a reason he signed on.
• Malcolm re holodecks: "I can only imagine what they'd be used for." Oh I bet you can.
• What's Malcolm eating? Toast? Sorry, I'll put my JonMuse back...
• Phlox is so easygoing about this pregnancy, lol. I want him for my doctor.
• Trip eyeroll... love it!
• "We took a ride in a row. boat." XD
• In most of this scene, where Phlox and T'Pol are grilling Trip, Jon didn't say anything except "Trip?" "Pebbles?" and "Doctor?" Usually he's the one asking questions. I think he was quite speechless for once.
• "One of the first things a diplomat learns is not to stick his fingers where they don't belong." Love that line, so very true!
• Jon seems more uncomfortable, rather than amused, most of the time, and then amused. I noticed that Trip really isn't all that upset, outwardly at least. Comes across as more annoyed and surprised.
• Dillard has lines, in Engineering.
• They spent 8 days looking for the Xyrilians? And I was wondering what they told the rest of the crew about all that time... then it is addressed in the deleted scene when Malcolm asks. Kind of.
• There's Jack Guzman again, in the Mess Hall.
• Ooo, Jon is having dinner with Phlox! I think this is the only time that happens. Nice set up for other invites.
• Talking about post-natal responsibilities and the porter hears, lol. I've often thought porters had the best job in the ship, because everyone kind of takes them for granted. All the good gossip!
• They pick up the Xyrillian signature 3 million kilometers away?? That seems a bit excessive, until I looked up that the sun is 150 kilometers from Earth.
• Klingons seem a little touchy, don't they? Can't even approach a warship? Wow.
• T'Pol says it was less than one month ago that they were on Kronos. Doesn't really jibe... three weeks for Fight or Flight, not sure how long for Strange New World, 8 days looking for the Xyrillians... close, I suppose.
• Trip mentions a "hillside overlooking Kronos" which is a misnomer... it's the planet, not a city. Chalk it up to mistake in continuity.
• During the big reveal, Malcolm mouthed "Wow" to Trip, lol.
• Ah'len, don't touch him again!
• "I CAN SEE MY HOUSE FROM HERE!" Now these Klingons I like!
• Bonus deleted scene: DID TRIP JUST TOSS IN THE HALLWAY NEAR THE READY ROOM??

This was the first time Trek gave any homage to MPreg -- or Male Pregnancy. That was a bit of a turn-off to some fans, I'd suspect more of the men than women, but some women have an mpreg squick too. I thought it was not only a decent episode but a nice nod to fandom! The fact that T'Pol says Trip is the first recorded instance of a human male being pregnant is negated by the pregnancy of a female-to-male transgendered person in the last couple of years (twice, I believe). Who knew, back in 2001? And who knows what the next hundred years will bring in that regard?

It's so interesting the things you think about on the rewatch. Sometimes you see the same, sometimes you see different things. Sometimes your perspective changes.

One little thing about the Xyrillians. They have stealth technology, which could be a cloaking device or it could be something that messes with the sensors or the viewscreens rather than a cloak in the way the Romulans use it. But the fact that they have this technology as well as the holodeck technology, and yet their engines obviously suck, means that their focus was not on warp technology development but in other areas.

vIntroduction of stealth technology from a second species. In TOS it was treated as a Romulan invention, but we've had first the Suliban and now the Xyrillians. A break from canon, but meh, since the new movie only ENT is canon now!

I don't recall them saying in TOS that the Romulans had a monopoly on cloaking technology. They (Starfleet) were, however, rightfully concerned that an enemy had it. It's like...back in the Cold War. All we ever talked about was the Soviets having nukes. If Canada had them, would we be so concerned? No, they're our friends and neighbors.

I won't say too much about this episode because most everything I could say has already been said, and I missed the group experience of watching what, to this TnT 'shipper, is one of the best two episodes of the season. I love that T'Pol's reactions likely went beyond "professional concern" in terms of screwing up a first contact, and the outtake about the sausage thing was just the best.

I also like how the Xyrillian ship was true to a 1960s era vision of "the future" might look like, in terms of the stylized iridescent surfaces, aquariums in the wall, grass on the floor, funky lights, etc. At this point of the series I remember still being muchly-concerned about the fact that they were making a prequel 40-odd years after the original and thinking that was a bad idea because you can't use modern design and techniques to make something look older than something that IS older in this context (the Star Wars prequels had failed miserably at that), but when I saw the alien ship I thought, ok, back in the day, Gene might've tried to make something like this happen.

Great episode, but still disappointed I missed it in the group contest.