[ST:Ent][Tech] Overview of 1.25:"Two Days and Two Nights" SERIES: "Enterprise" EPISODE: "Two Days and Two Nights" PROD#: ENT025 EP#: 1.25 RATING: PG AIRDATE: wed-15-may-2002-20:00 EPDATE: 18-feb-2152 OFFICIAL: startrek.com/library/episodes_ent_detail.asp?ID=124460 FROM: Phillip Thorne, thorne@underbase.org POST-TO: rec.arts.startrek.tech, rec.arts.sf.tv REVIEW#: 19.0 FORMAT#: 3.5 URL: underbase.org/dept/trek/ent125_two_days_two_nights.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: mel=male, fem=female, (m/f/?) name belongs to mel/fem/unclear, (os) on viewer screen, (?) quote is uncertain, (sp?) spelling is unclear, (vo) voiceover, VDB is "Vulcan database". Captions use the spellings "Launch Bay", "Sick Bay", and "shuttle pod", but I abbreviate to one word. "Star Trek" and all related indicia are copyrights of Paramount Pictures. 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 by email, and include a citation. (Please excuse the inelegant and messy prose of the NOTES section. I'm in a bit of a rush, and most of the important points are reiterated in ANALYSIS.) PLOT SPOILERS BELOW! I. TERMS TRICKY [...] TECHNOLOGY (t) personal log; (3) hypospray, Suliban helix, bio-scan; (4) anaphylactic reaction, antigenic compound, Regulan bloodworm, benzethonium chloride. CULTURE (t) Risa; (1) cliffs of Galartha, _The Teachings of Surak_, Denobulan hibernation; (2) Vega Reticuli; (3) Suliban; (4) the Cabal. CHARACTERS Cpt.Jonathan Archer (JA), Ens.Travis Mayweather (TM), Dr.Phlox (Ph), Lt.Malcolm Reed(MR), Ens.Hoshi Sato (HS), Sub-Commander T'pol (Tp), Cdr.Charles Tucker (CT). Cwn.Cutler Cwn.Michael Rostov (???) Porthos Keyla(f) the disguised Tandaran Rhylo(f) the alien dog Risan couple Dee'Ahn and Latia Sato's alien friend(m) MENTIONS Col.Grat Married couple from Vega Reticuli III. NOTES TEASER * FX #1: Ent. * JA(vo) "Captain's personal log, February 18th, 2152..." * Corridor. * T'pol, Archer, Porthos. * Archer feels guilty about leaving the ship with the half of the crew that's taking shore leave, but T'pol insists that, because they "drew lots", he had the same chance as everyone else. "Captain, you *need* this vacation." * Launchbay. Misc crew mill around in civvies. * FX #2: both shuttlepods launch. ACT I * FX #3: the two shuttles approach the planet. * Shuttlepod * JA TM MR CT HS, pilot. * Nobody's wearing seatbelts. TM plans to climb the cliffs at "Galartha", which change slope as you climb them [presumably in altitude, not time]. HS wants to practice her languages; before leaving Earth, she'd learned 38, and feels she's now relying excessively on the UT. * Sickbay * T'pol Phlox Cutler. * Phlox explains that his people usually hibernate for 6 days a year, but he thinks 2 days will suffice for now; Cutler is measuring a hypospray dosage to put him under. He warns that he shouldn't be awakened except for an emergency. * FX #4a: beach, day. * Villa (int and patio) * FX #5: beach * Archer and Porthos enter by a sliding door. The inside door button is in a horgon(sp)-shaped fixture. On a table, he spies a note atop a box: "To help you relax, T'pol". Inside the box is a hardbound red volume, with a gold-lettered title: "The Teachings of Surak". He exits to the patio, with furniture and telescope. He hears yipping; on a villa lower down the hill, a small dog (RHYLO) is barking. A woman (KEYLA) gets it. * Club * CT MR, various Risans and aliens. * Villa * Archer is relaxing with a book and cold drink when he hears canine growling: the neighbor-dog has found her way up to the patio, and is facing-off with Porthos. The door chime rings; he picks up Porthos and gets it. The woman introduces herself as KEYLA. ACT 2 * Cafe * HS, various Risans and aliens. * HS impresses some natives by speaking Risan. (I can't transcribe it: the translation was in in subtitles, sans captions.) They depart to attend the "Festival of the Moons". A man (of unknown species) moves over and introduces himself (sans name); he's also impressed. HS knows "about 40" languages. She claims never to have encountered one she couldn't learn, although it took "months" to master the conjugations of Klingon. She asks where he's from: "Ti'tu ah sanoo portan ee'purana sooo ta-so yo' aramat prefan rickarta ach'som"; and to say it more slowly would alter its meaning. * Club * According to the VDB, "no one leaves this club unsatisfied". CT notices some attractive Risan women at "bearing one-eight-zero" (too geeky for MR to immediately understand), and waves them over. They introduce themselves as DEE'AHN and LATIA. * FX #4b: beach, night, 2 moons. * Keyla returns, and Archer thanks her for recommending the boat-restaurant. He had an interesting conversation with a couple from "Vega Reticuli", celebrating their 300th wedding anniversary. He points out Sol in the telescope, says it's about 90-Ly away, and it's the farthest humans have ever gone. * Club * The women appear to be hanging on the mens' stories (re: 116-"Shuttlepod One" and 119-"Acquisition"). "I thought you were the captain?" one asks, momentarily confused. "Uh, we rotate. [Reed's] captain next week," stammers CT. The women suggest a visit to the subterranean gardens, where all the plants are luminescent. * Club cellar * CT and MR are dubious about the staircase. The women ask about valuables. Huh? Suddenly, they change (holo-wise, not shapeshifter) into a pair of bat-eared aliens, and pull guns. One of them frisks the two, and finds nothing of value. They get shot (cyan beams). ACT 3 * Bridge * T'pol, relief officers (fem at Tac, mel at Helm, +3). * TM calls, requests a shuttlepod; he had a rock-climbing accident. * Launchbay * T'pol and Cutler stand by as mel pilot helps TM climb out, his right leg in a splint. He explains that the doctors at the hospital had never seen a human; they weren't sure how to treat him, but they did give him a "hypospray" for the pain. Cutler tries to avoid mentioning Phlox is hibernating; T'pol says it flat out. * Club cellar * CT awakes (MR awoke first), both are bound and stripped to their underwear. CT has a headache; he doesn't know if it was the mugging or "those Risan mai-tais". MR's shouts have been fruitless; the club's closed. He hadn't seen anything about crime in the VDB. CT (who apparently read it more closely) guiltily mentions that "it's very rare". * Sickbay * Cutler scans TM, and discovers a reaction to the painkiller: his "airway" could soon be obstructed by the swelling. She's contacted the doctors, but they can't help. * Cafe * Sato and the alien are still speaking; she's amazed it only took him one day to learn English. She learns a few words, including "to kiss". He mentions the nearby "steam pool", and she agreeably follows. * FX #4a: beach, day. * Villa * Archer's eating breakfast when Keyla arrives. She notices the volume of Surak, and pages through. Her dog is named RHYLO. She's reluctant to speak of her past; finally she explains they were killed by Suliban -- this catches JA's attention. * Phlox's quarters * T'pol Cutler Phlox. * Cutler applies the revival hypo. Nothing happens for a moment; then he screams. "DO'SANI! Do'sani, yo-ta aruda!" They explain the situation, but he's mentally erratic. ACT 4 * Sickbay * Phlox Cutler T'pol TM. * The screen-scan definitely shows an "anaphylactic reaction" to an "antigenic compound". He recommends "Regulan bloodworms" -- excellent at filtering toxins. Cutler looks for the right canister, but he decides fresh ones would be better. He staggers over to the intercom. "Set course for Regula! Maximum warp!" * Villa * They've returned from a walk in the surf. JA brings a complimentary resort bottle of "Risan vintage" to the table (it turns out to be a bit sweet for Keyla). Keyla had twisted her ankle, apparently on a camoflaged "Risan sea turtle". She begins talking about the Suliban and their attacks: "it's no secret". The Cabal are genetically enhanced, take orders from the future, have attacked dozens of ships and settlements. She turns to JA urgently -- he must know something! "Where are their helixes, where do they live?" He gets suspicious. Under the pretext of getting a different bottle, he pulls his scanner from his bag, and conducts a surreptitious scan. He suggests a walk -- it's cool, she might want to get a sweater. When she's gone, he grabs his communicator, call's T'pol, and transmits the "bio-scan". * FX #4b: beach, night * Villa * Keyla returns. He confronts her, compliments her Tandaran surgeons: "they could change your face, but not your DNA". She doesn't react at the name of Col.Grat; he supposes she might not know him, and professes not to be a spy. She turns to go; he grabs her arm; she scratches his hand with a lacquered nail. He passes out. * Club * CT and MR return from the cellar and pass through the crowd, who spare only a few glances for their underwear and stink -- what *was* in that bottle CT broke to cut their bonds? * Bed * HS awakes next to the alien. They're happy. * Sickbay * Phlox Cutler T'pol TM. * Phlox prepares a hypo of antidote to the "benzethonium chloride" that TM was given, though the others are a bit unsure about his current competence. Nonetheless, it works, an the swelling quickly recedes. They turn to thank him, but he's already passed out asprawl a biobed, snoring. * Villa * Porthos licks JA's face. He staggers up; the door is still open. He stumbles out to the patio, and stares down at the lower villa. * FX #6: shuttlepod rises from the coastline * Shuttlepod * JA CT MR HS, pilot * CT and MR are huddled under blankets, still in their underwear. All four are evasive about their respective adventures, but profess having had good times. * FX #7: shuttlepod rises from planet to Ent. V. CONNECTIONS 1. Risa has been visited by... Picard in TNG-"Captain's Holiday" Riker in TNG-"The Game" Bashir et al in DS9-"[...]" Jadzia and Worf in DS9-"Let He Who Is Without Sin..." 2. T'pol first suggested visiting Risa two eps ago, in 123-"Fallen Hero". Trip and Reed refer to events in 116-"Shuttlepod One" (detonating the engine) and 119-"Acquisition" (saving the ship in his underwear). Archer was interrogated by Col.Grat in 121-"Detained". VI. ANALYSIS 1. Risa The planet has at least two moons, both white in color, one appearing larger than the other from the surface; there is a "Festival of the Moons". The weather (at this time and location) is idyllic (despite comments about chronic rain before the advent of weather control, in DS9-"LHWIWS"). The "Risan sea turtle" is a camoflaged creature found on beaches and under the surf. Unaddressed: the crew (presumably quoting from the VDB) describes Risa as "cosmopolitan", and there are reps of several alien species hanging about. What does this say about the planet's location relative to other warp-capable worlds, major spacelanes, and the warp-velocity capabilities of nearby species? Is Risa a "destination" for most, or a "stopover" between A and B? 2. Risan species Risans are 99%-human-looking, with no odd bumps. Both males and females wear a marking above the bridge of the nose: an inch-wide white circle with a black "W"-shaped glyph. 3. Risan language sara(sp) = "thank you" tak lunat(sp) = "good night" ikara(sp) = "hello" shikara N(sp) = "my name is N" 4. Alien language of Hoshi's new friend The language is extremely complex, and tempo-sensitive. Ti'tu ah sanoo portan ee'purana sooo ta-so yo' aramat prefan rickarta ach'som = name of his world (unknown: homeworld or colony) Preemari = "teacher" kee'hwi = "kiss" 5. Keyla's species Keyla looks almost Trill, with bands of spots down the temples and across the shoulders. However, the spots are light-colored splotches, instead of dark-colored squiggles. Also, she was presumably surgically altered from her original Tandaran appearance, so may not look like anything in particular. 6. Interspecies sex Trip's qualifies as the first known human-alien pregnancy (105-"Unexpected"), but Sato apparently enjoyed the first human-alien sexual relation among the crew. (Boomers might hold claim to the first human-alien sex, period.) VII. NITS 1. Where did T'pol get the volume of Surak for Archer? She wouldn't own a book in English, and Risa's bookstores wouldn't stock a volume in the language of an unknown species. Does Ent have a specialized fabricator (not a replicator) for bound printed matter? Or does she keep a stock of such trinkets, as part of her ambassadorial duties? 2. How did the Ent crew pay for their vacations? Does the ship carry (unmentioned) trade goods? Did they establish a line of credit, vouched for by the Vulcans? Does the planetary tourist bureau give away free vacations to new species, in order to promote itself? 3. How did Archer and Keyla converse? She wouldn't know English, and there was no communicator (with UT) in sight. 4. Whatever happened to Argelius, the primitive-seeming pleasure planet visited by the NCC-1701 in TOS-"Wolf in the Fold"? 5. Allergic reactions *do* exist in Trek (TM suffered from the "benzethonium chloride") but not, apparently, in regards to bodily fluids. VIII. NEXT WEEK 22-may-20:00 "Shockwave"... season finale. 22-may-21:00 Fan-voted "favorite alien" ep.