For awhile there I thought this was a "Temporal Cold War" episode, since the Millurians seemed to look like the Suliban. Too bad, since it would have really spiced up the episode.
It wasn't a bad episode, only that the cultural contamination thing has been done before. I would have really liked them to have taken a fresh at planetary exploration.
Still, since it wasn't a stinker, I'll give it marginal thumbs up.
Plot Points:
1. First Contact Protocols - Vulcans were the ones to instituted the concept of not contact civilizations until they have created Warp Drive. This links in with the Movie First Contact, where Vulcans ignored humanity until they developed the Pheonix.
Interesting that a lot of the protocols of Starfleet uses (inlcuding a proto-prime directive that abhors "cultural contamination") were based on Vulcan experience and dictums.
2. PADD - This isn't a new observation - they named in past episodes. I don't know if in TOS has ever named their hand-writing thingies anything, but the Enterprise-era devices are much smaller. This is another example of modern sensibilities being concidered over strict canon and I agree whole-heartedly. What I concider really nifty is that they screens are backlit colour displays like laptops and newer PDAs available today. So PADDS are definately being positioned as the future of our PDAs and laptops whereas in TNG there were sort of seen as a revolutionary technology (since we didn't have PDAs back then). A case of life imitating art.
3. Past cultures - for once I would like to see a past culture that didn't resemble historical Earth. No human-like clipper ships, no similar looking midieval or ancient clothing. No building archetucture or wagons that could have been pulled out of the history books. Lets see a middle ages culture which really has a unique look and string of technologies.
In the case of this episode it was to blend the TNG-style away missions with the TOS "multiple Earths", but I would like to see Enterprise go that "extra mile" that hasn't been done in Trek.
4. Crossbow - I like that weapon with the folding crosspiece. A nifty and unique weapon.
5. Universal Translator - Unlike TOS, where translators were hand-held affairs, the translators are built into the communicators (like TNG era). I like how they had them malfunction during Archer's "stakeout".
6. Fisticuffs - I want to see some Kirk-moves out of Archer. At least he is punching, and hasn't resorted to all that lame palm-strikes and ax-handles that were done in TNG and DS9.
7. Tellerites - First mention (but just that) of a race that first appeared in TOS.
8. Translation woes - its nice to know that Archer cannot operate alien computer systems as easily as those in the TNG era can.
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BTW, do you take martials arts...It hurts less when you hit someone with a palm strike then it does with your clenched fist. Less chance of breaking something in your hand.
Re: making out with aliens
