[ST:Ent][Tech] Overview of 1.08:"Breaking the Ice" SERIES: "Enterprise" EPISODE: "Breaking the Ice" PROD#: ENT008 EP#: 1.08 RATING: PG AIRDATE: wed-7-nov-2001-20:00 EPDATE: [...] OFFICIAL: startrek.com/library/episodes_ent_detail.asp?ID=121968 FROM: Phillip Thorne, thorne@underbase.org POST-TO: rec.arts.startrek.tech, rec.arts.sf.tv REVIEW#: 12.0 FORMAT#: 3.21 URL: underbase.org/dept/trek/ent108_breaking_ice.txt This technical overview format is intended to be easy-to-scan, unambiguous, and precise, and a foundation for (in later revisions, a summary of) further freeform discussion. It distinguishes between what is said/claimed by characters, from what is actually shown. Whenever possible, it uses spellings from the closed captioning (which may not be entirely consistent, or match those on the official website). Corrections to typos, phrasing, etc. are welcome, but please, only if you include a specific citation -- the idea is to avoid *half-remembered* lines and *unrealized inferences*. The NOTES are listed in seen-on-screen order, and ANALYSIS summarizes topics. Abbreviations used: (m/f/?) name belongs to male/female/unclear, (os) on viewer screen, (?) quote is uncertain, (sp?) spelling is unclear, (vo) voiceover. This overview is (c)2002 Phillip Thorne, thorne@underbase.org. If you wish to reuse large hunks of text, or use this as a major source, please notify me and include a citation. **This episode caught me unawares, so I've only seen the second half, and that with a chunk missing.** PLOT SPOILERS BELOW! I. TERMS TRICKY [None] TECHNOLOGY [...] CULTURE Mind-meld. CHARACTERS Kov, Tolaris. MENTIONS Kov's father, Melissa Lyles. III. NOTES TEASER 001. FX Ent at warp. 002. Mess hall: Phlox, Tucker, T'pol, Archer(vo), extras. Phlox and Tucker are examining a sheaf of drawings "sent by" Tucker's nephew's fourth-grade class. With sound, they drop out of warp, and Archer makes an announcement. 003. Bridge: Archer, Mayweather, Sato, Reed, extra. Reed checks VDB: no previous sightings of this comet. 003b. Screen FX. 004a. FX comet. 004b. FX Ent approaches comet. ACT I 005a. Bridge: Archer, Mayweather, 2 extra, Tucker, T'pol. T'pol reports that the comet is 82.6-km in diameter. She rejects the notion that they investigate, as humans and Vulcans have explored hundreds; but Archer points out that it's the biggest comet evern seen by humans. 005b. Screen FX. 006. T'pol's quarters: T'pol. Enters, goes to desk, checks messages. (The Vulcan text appears in top-to-bottom columns, columns left-to-right.) 007. Mess hall: Tucker, T'pol, extra(f). He pulls a slice of pecan pie from the cabinet, picks up a fork, goes to the beverage dispenser: "milk, cold". T'pol, carrying a padd, enters for tea; he advises against the "Zariphean blend", but she says that caffeine has little effect on Vulcan physiology. She's very tired, and orders "green tea, hot". Tucker has loved pecan pie since he was a kid, but T'pol refuses a taste. 008. FX Ent approaches comet. 009a. Situation Room: T'pol, Tucker, Archer, Reed, Mayweather, Sato. The comet contains "eisilium", a rare mineral that Vulcan scientists have only been able to study in small amounts. They can't beam it up, because the deposits are more than 20-m deep. Reed volunteers to take a drilling rig. Sato calls: detected a vessel closing -- Vulcan. T'pol returns to her station, identifies it as "the Starship _Ti'Mur_". 009b. Screen FX: Ti'Mur. 009c. Screen FX: Cpt.Vanik. 010. Ready Room: Archer, T'pol. Archer is suspicious about their arrival; T'pol suggests they might just be curious. "Curious? That doesn't sound very Vulcan to me." He references an incident 3-wk earlier, in a "planetary nebula", when a "survey ship" (as T'pol identifies it) didn't answer hails, and went to warp. 011. FX shuttle launches (fwd stbd), deploys wings. 012. Shuttle: Reed, Mayweather. 013. FX land on comet. 014. Shuttle on surface. They climb out. 015. Engineering: Tucker, Sato, >=3 extras. Tucker shows her records of a "surge in the transceiver array". She thinks it looks like an encrypted transmission from the Vulcan ship. 016. Ready Room: Archer, Tucker. Tucker brings the results to Archer, who sighs. He'd had an agreement with T'pol that she wouldn't talk to the Vulcans without notifying him. He accepts Tucker's plan from Sato to "decrypt" it. ACT 2 017. Bridge: Sato, Archer, Tucker, Phlox, 2 extras. "Liam Brennan" asks: what do you eat? Archer explains that "our chef" can prepare anything from peanut butter and jelly to turkey. The ship has a "hydroponic greenhouse" and can "replicate" with a "protein re-sequencer". "Geoff Miles" asks: can the crew date? Archer explains that most of the crew share quarters with at least one other person, so it would be complicated. "Chloe O'Shannon" asks: how do you talk with aliens? "Communications officer" Sato explains that the "Universal Translator" is like an "alien dictionary" with "hundreds of languages" that can learn new ones very quickly. "Molly McCook" asks about toilets. "Chief engineer" Tucker asks, dismayed: "a poop question, sir?" He'd rather talk about the "warp reactor". Shipboard, they recycle "pretty much everything". Waste first goes to a "bio-matter re-sequencer", and is later broken down into "little molecules" which can be made into "any number of things: cargo containers, insulation. Boots." "Gabrielle Witty" asks: can germs live in space? "Ship's physician" Dr.Phlox answers eagerly. He's from a system (not planet) called "Denobula Triaxa". Over 200-million space-dwelling microbes have been cataloged. One of the most virulent, "Polycoccyx astrix"(sp), is found inside grains of interstellar dust. He once discovered a colony on the hull of a ship... (Archer cuts him off). 018a. Comet. Mayweather builds a snowman. Reed uses a "plasma torch" (silver cylinder, emits pale blue beam) to carve eyes and smiley-mouth, then shoves the torch in as a nose. 018b. Bridge: Archer. Reminds them they're being observed. 018c. Screen FX: overhead view of the site. 019. Engineering: Tucker, Sato, >=4 extras. Sato decrypted it; tells him he'll have to run it through the "translation matrix". 020. Ready Room: Archer, Tucker. Tucker enters, agitated, and explains it was a personal letter. Why was it encrypted? He feels guilty, is compelled to apologize. 021. FX: Ent towards comet. 022. Bridge: T'pol, crewman(m), Tucker, Archer(vo). T'pol and a "crewman" (male cauc blond redstripe) are working at her console. Tucker asks for a private moment. He asks why. Her answer: faster than using normal Starfleet channels. Archer calls her to his Ready Room. 023. Ready Room: Archer, T'pol. He proposes inviting Cpt.Vanik for dinner, and wants her to give Chef some meal suggestions. Vulcans don't drink wine, she reminds him. 024. FX: Ent towards comet. 025. Sick Bay: Phlox, T'pol. Uses his blue scanner on her. She describes symptoms, admits hasn't slept in 2-days. He diagnoses a "tension headache", gives her a hypo of "analgesic". 026a. Comet: Reed, Mayweather, Archer(vo). The snowman now has a Vulcan hairline and oversized ears. Setting explosive charges. 026b. Bridge: Archer, Sato, Reed(vo). Archer orders Sato to advise the Vulcans of the impending explosion. 026c. FX bluescreen: blast. ACT 3 027. Comet. The pair kneel at the newly-created creater's edge; Reed had hoped for more symmetry. He climbs in, while Mayweather gets the drill. 028. Officers' mess: Archer, Tucker, Vanik, T'pol, guard(m). The _Ti'Mur_ is a _Suurok_-class ship, and can make warp-6.5. A few years ago, Archer served on a _Maymora_-class ship, the _Yahrala_, which investigated a dark matter nebula. He helped setup the graviton telescope. "Those Vulcan EV suits are something special," like your own little starship. "Humans are easily impressed," says Vanik. He's not eating his "Pok Tar"; claims he's already eaten. Archer offers iced tea (with lemon slices); Vanik claims he only drinks water. When pressed to make small talk, he explains he's served in the "Vulcan Space Program" for 76-y, commanded the _Ti'Mur_ for 15-y, and has never had much interest in humans. Archer calls in a guard (male cauc brun redstripe) to escort Vanik back to his ship. "Shanshot tulara komosh," he says to T'pol. 029. Bridge: Archer, Sato. 030. Comet: Reed, Mayweather, Archer(vo). 031. T'pol's quarters: T'pol, Tucker. He enters at her invitation. Notices her candles, reminds her there are to be no open flames aboard. She claims the captain gave her permission; they're for meditation. Tucker's been in only 3 relationships, all of which went bust: he suggests that Sato or Ens.Kimball(m), who's married, might give better advice. T'pol's situation: The letter was sent by the parents of her betrothed. Unless she leaves Ent immediately, her wedding plans will be canceled. Her engagement to Koss was arranged by his parents when both were children. They've only met 4 times, and haven't spoken in years. The wedding was scheduled for next week. She'd requested a postponment, but Koss's parents were insulted that she'd prefer to serve aboard a human ship. She can't marry and return, because it's customary for the newly married to live together for at least 1-y. Koss can't come to Ent, because he's an architect. T'pol tells Tucker that, for Vulcans, committment to tradition outweighs personal choice. 032. FX: Ent towards comet. 033a. Comet. Climbing out of the crater, Mayweather falls, injuries his knee. Reed has to help him along, but Mayweather insists he grab the core sample. As they move towards the shuttle, the sun rises, and fissures begin to open in the ice surface. 033b. FX sun rising. 033c. FX sun. 033d. FX. ACT 4 034a. Comet. As fissures open, they move to the shuttle, and climb in. 034b. FX. Thrusters ignite. 034c. FX. Surface collapses around it. 034d. FX. Falls. 034e. FX. Lands at bottom of chasm. 034f. Bridge. They're 18-m down. Archer orders the "grappler", but Tucker advises the chasm is very narrow. Archer moves to the helm, displacing (male asian yellowstripe). 034g. FX. Ent moves overhead. 034h. Bridge. Sato reports that the _Ti'Mur_ is offering assistance. 034i. FX. Fire grapples. 034j. FX. One makes contact, the other flies past. 034k. Shuttle. 034l. Bridge. 034m. Shuttle. Shaking. 034n. Bridge. The shuttle is wedged against an outcropping. 034o. FX. Tugging the shuttle. 034p. Bridge. Eisilium is disrupting the "maglock". 034q. FX. Shuttle falls loose. 034r. Bridge. T'pol reports it's fallen another 9-m. The region is moving out of the sun, and the surface ice is starting to "recrystalize". She points out that the Vulcans have a tractor beam. Archer's determined to do this himself, but Tucker's wavering. "Vanik sees humans as arrogant and prideful," she says. 034s. Shuttle: Vanik(vo). Shake, hum. 034t. FX. Shuttle rises within blue tractor beam, towards _Ti'Mur_. 035. FX. Ent and _Ti'Mur_ move past the comet. 036a. Bridge: Archer, Tucker, Sato, T'pol, asian helmsman, Vanik(os). Tucker would love to see the specs on the tractor beam, but Vanik tells him it's classified. T'pol asks permission to send a message to the ship. 036b. Screen FX. Vanik. 036c. Screen FX. _Ti'Mur_. 037. T'pol's quarters. Candles lit. She contemplates a slice of pecan pie. V. CONNECTIONS 1: Vulcan ships (Suurok-class): ENT114-"Shadows of P'Jem". VI. ANALYSIS VII. NITS [...] VIII. NEXT WEEK