Creature Feature: The Andorians

By Contributing Blogger: DJTITOFLOW



First appearing in the classic episode “Journey to Babel” in 1967, the blue skinned Andorians with their big antennas have since become one of the most recognizable aliens in the Star Trek universe, even though surprisingly they have only appeared a handful of times compared with other famous trek species.



In "Journey to Babel" a conference is being held to decide whether the planet Coridan will be admitted into the federation. The Orions desire the Coridian dilithium for themselves so they surgically alter one of their own, Thelev, to look like an Andorian ambassador. Spock’s mother and his father, the great diplomat Sarek appear in this episode. This is definitely a very memorable TOS episode, and it made the Andorians and the Tellarites unforgettable aliens.





Sadly the Andorians would only be mentioned briefly or glimpsed at in other trek series. They appeared three more times in the original series, and twice in the animated series. Some Andorians can be seen in the background during scenes in Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and in “Star Trek 4: "The Voyage Home”.



The ones in the first movie give me the creeps! The antennae are coming out of their foreheads and they look more like ghosts to me. Unfortunately on Star Trek: The Next Generation we only got verbal references to the Andorians. The only Andorian we get to actually see isn’t even a real one. In the episode titled “The Offspring” Data is trying to decide which species his daughter Lal should look like, and were treated to the sight of a weird looking Andorian holographic projection in the holo-deck.




To make things worse she looks kind of green, Andorians are supposed to be blue!! Supposedly an Andorian can be seen on Risa in th episode “Captain's Holiday”, but I don’t remember ever seeing any Andorians in that episode.



The Andorians finally got the attention they deserved more than three decades after they arrived on the scene. And we have “Star Trek Enterprise” to thank for that. They got an extreme make-over, for the better. The skin make up looks great, and the antennas are smaller and more realistic. Plus they move thanks to remote controlled prosthethics.



We also got treated to one of the most kick ass characters of any trek series, Shran -- of the Andorian imperial guard. Shran is played masterfully by Jeffrey Combs, AKA Weyoun of "Star Trek Deep Space Nine".



After Shran's shaky introduction to Captain Archer and his race of “pink skins” at the P’jem monastery they both start forming a friendship that eventually leads to the union of both their races. We also got to see an Andorian sub-species called the Aenar. These paler-skinned beings are a pacifist race, unlike the warrior-like Andorians.



The Aenar also posses psychic abilities. One Aenar was used by the Romulans to remote pilot a ship that threatened to destabilize the quadrant by instigating war amongst earth and its allies. But the pink and blue skins prevailed in the epic episodes “Babel One”, “United”, and “The Aenar”.



Eventually the humans, Andorians, Tellarites, and Vulcans made an alliance, the coalition of planets in 2155. This union brought victory against the Romulans in the Earth-Romulan war. And it led to the formation of the United Federation of Planets in 2161, which is briefly seen in the last episode of Enterprise, “These are the Voyages”. Sadly the Romulan war is never seen in the series. There's a jump in time from the penultimate episode to the last one. Lets see an enterprise reunion mini-series that chronicles the earth-romulan war!! A man can dream cant he?



The Andorians have appeared in all sorts of trek merchandise over the years. They've also appeared in numerous trek videogames, including the upcoming “Star Trek Online” massive multiplayer online RPG, where you can create and play as an Andorian character.



Most recently the Andorians appeared in a one shot comic by IDW that explains why Andorians aren’t seen much in the 24th century. Its called alien spotlight: Andorians. While they still belong to the federation they helped create, their participation in it has gone down dramatically. Many Andorians believe the federation has weakened them and they have isolated themselves in their homeworld of Andoria.



If the Klingons can become allies of the federation I'm sure the Andorians will eventually return to their original state in the federation. Let's not forget this comic book isn't really canon, but the story it presents makes a lot of sense so I'll believe it for now.

With the JJ Abrams movie only a month away I'm already starting to worry that Andorians will once again be overlooked. But the recently released clip “disease and danger” , which features McCoy meeting Kirk, has a reference to the Andorians as McCoy lists all the things that can go wrong in space including contracting a case of the Andorian shingles. Hopefully we will get to see some of them in the film, even if they're just in the background. Even if we don’t see them on the big screen this May I know they'll be back soon enough, because no one can keep these blue skins away for long. The Andorians are here to stay!!

Book Review: Star Trek Countdown

With a great deal of trepidation I opened up my copy of the Star Trek: Countdown trade paperback a few nights after receiving it in the mail. I've been staying away from as much plot details regarding the new movie as possible. I've been so excited about the new Trek that I promised myself I wouldn't let spoilers ruin the experience of seeing the film and being surprised by the storyline. Temptation kept rearing it's ugly head until I finally succumbed to it and decided on reading Countdown. Most of the book is devoted to introducing the character of Nero and presenting us with the event that leads to his actions on the film.
The book raises even more questions than it answers. One of the few questions it does seem to answer has to do with the big debate as to whether Nero truly is a Romulan. The answer to that question comes accompanied by a major event in trek lore, something I never thought they'd do, which makes me wonder if it will be mentioned in the new film and considered canon.



For those who do not want to be spoiled please stop reading now. Countdown tells the tale of the destruction of Romulus after the explosion of one of it's neighboring stars spreads across Romulan space. Nero -- a miner with a great deal of loyalty to his homeworld, a loving wife, and a baby on the way -- discovers evidence to this potential catastrophe at the same time as the Federation ambassador to Romulus. The Federation ambassador -- who happens to be Spock -- brings word of his discoveries to the Romulan council where Nero also voices his concerns. When the council ignores their warnings they both decide to work together in order to save Romulus. Unfortunately their efforts are not enough and Romulus, along with everything Nero loved dearly, is lost forever.



The character of Nero, is introduced in a very compelling way and is one that by the end of the story has changed a great deal, but with some very clear motivations. My only concern is that he doesn't look like other Romulans. There's still something about his ears and forehead that seems odd to me. Many fans have also said the same based on what we've seen thus far.



The storyline in Countdown takes some big risks. Some work quite well, while others just don't. The good news is that the big majority of them are quite exciting and compelling and I truly hope they get picked up and further explored in the film, especially all the elements that have to do with Spock's and Nero's relationship. The one thing I found rather weak is the use of the characters from The Next Generation.



Worf shows up for no good reason and Data is introduced as the new Captain of the Enterprise-E, which to me just doesn't work, especially after the events in Star Trek Nemesis. I also didn't enjoy seeing Picard as an ambassador to Vulcan instead of the man in the center seat of the Enterprise, where as Captain Kirk once told him, he would always be able to make a difference. You would think that he'd follow Kirk's advice and not take any promotion that would take him off the bridge of his ship.



Geordi also shows up as the man behind the development of a new type of ship that will allow Spock to complete his mission. Based on all the trailers for the film it seems like Nero's beef is with Kirk, but by the end of Countdown all Nero truly wants is revenge on Spock for not being able to help him stop the destruction of his homeworld. At one point in Countdown we do get to see Nero do a bit of research on Kirk during his stay aboard the Enterprise-E, but it's pretty clear his anger is directed at the character of Spock. Is countdown worth reading? I think so, especially since it does a nice job at making us see that the new movie is not a reboot or a reimagining by placing the seeds from which the film will grow in the Star Trek universe we've come to know. It would be tough for this movie to ignore canon if the countdown storyline is the true prequel tale to the film. Everything that leads to the events in the new film happens in the 24th century some years after Star Trek Nemesis.



By the end of Countdown both Spock and Nero are in a very interesting dilemma, one that leaves them at the threshold to the latest cinematic Star Trek adventure. I for one can't wait to get the answers to all the questions Countdown raises.

Creature Feature: The Horta

The Horta was the star of the first season episode "The Devil in the Dark", originally airing on March 9, 1967 during the show's first season from a teleplay by Gene L. Coon and directed by Joseph Pevney.



According to William Shatner in his 1993 book Star Trek Memories, the episode is one of his favorites for being exciting, thought-provoking and intelligent, all of the ingredients that made up the very best Star Treks.



The story about how the episode came together is quite interesting since it was one of the few, if not the only Star Trek story written to accomodate the use of a specific creature. Writer Gene L. Coon saw the Horta creature, or actually the prop that ended up becoming the Horta way before a word of the story had been written. Stuntman / creature designer Janos Prohaska was walking past the Star Trek production offices one day while dragging what looked like a big blob with a raised center and a fringe around its outer edge. Prohaska spotted Coon and soon crawled under the creature to perform and bring it to life.


Horta eggs as seen in "The devil in the dark"

The creature had even been setup to drop an egg on cue with a special gimmick that could be controlled by the operator inside of it. Prohaska demonstrated this special feature for Coon and the writer was soon marveled by the creature's design and functions. Coon went back to his office afterward and during the following weeks wrote the script for "The Devil in the Dark" in order to take advantage of this creature that had impressed him, as well as left him squirming on the Desilu backlot.



The story Coon crafted featured a sympathetic Alien who is willing to do whatever it takes to protect the existence of its offspring from miners who threaten their underground world. The episode also features one of my favorite moments from The Original Series as Spock attempts to complete a mind meld with the creature, but is unable to due to the creature's agony from its wounds. Spock soon screams out in agony: "PAIN!", in this classic moment.



The episode includes some of the ingredients that have always made Star Trek compelling, and the Horta is one of the coolest creatures ever seen in The Original Series. It's also one of the few non-humanoid looking alien creatures ever featured in the franchise's 43 years of existence. Unfortunately the Horta have never been seen again on screen after this episode, but according to Michael Okuda's text commentary in Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home, a Horta Ambassador was supposed to be included in the Federation Council scenes, but there was not enough time to create the costume.



Luckily for fans of the Horta the species made a special appearance in the comic book story "A Rolling Stone Gather No Nanoprobes", appearing in Wildstorm Comic's Star Trek Special # 1 (published in 2001).



The storyline features a group of Horta partnering up with the Federation on a mining planet which provides the Federation plenty of Ores to mine and the Horta with a unique mineral composition that can nourish them.



In the middle of a celebration to commemorate the centennial of this partnership between Starfleet and the Horta a Borg cube arrives on the planet and the drones attempt to assimilate every living life form in the mines.



The Horta help the humans fend off the Borg thanks to a pretty clever plan. The story is short and well told. I highly recommend it for those fans who are still waiting for the Hortas' return to Trek. The Horta creature also lends itself perfectly for an action figure two-pack featuring a mind melding Spock with the Horta as seen in "The devil in the dark". I always hoped Playmates would get around to releasing a set like this back in the 90s. Hopefully Art Asylum will grant me my wish in the near future. A Horta figure with the attention to detail, and top notch sculpting the folks at Art Asylum are known for would make any fan of the Original Series go nuts. Lets hope DST and Art Asylum can make it happen.

Star Trek: The Worst of Both Worlds

Feeling deeply disappointed with all the latest Trek comics from IDW I decided to spend some time revisiting some of the older DC Comics adventures from the 80s and 90s.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover how well so many of these storylines hold up. One of my favorite tales from the Star Trek The Next Generation comic series was published as a 4 part extravaganza leading up to the book's 5oth issue.



The story aptly titled "The Worst of Both Worlds", shows us what might've happened if the Federation had not been able to defeat the Borg during the battle of Wolf 359 in the TNG 2 part episode "The Best of Both Worlds". During a mission that takes Picard and company back to the scene of their past confrontation with the Borg, a mysterious anomaly sends the Enterprise to an alternate universe where the events of Wolf 359 played out differently and the crew was never able to rescue Picard from his Borg captors. Locutus and the Borg proceeded to defeat Starfleet at Wolf 359 and then made their way to earth where they have assimilated a great deal of humanity and turned Starfleet headquarters into the central hub of operations for their hive.



Since Picard is still Locutus in this alternate universe, the Enterprise crew in this reality is led by Captain Riker and his first officer is none other than the two timing Commander Shelby, whom you might recall tried very hard to take over Riker's position in the "Best of Both Worlds". She's still up to her old ways, but she's even more aggressive since things have gotten pretty desperate for these people. Shelby is planning a mutiny behind Riker's back and could potentially jeopardize a last ditch effort by him and the crew of the prime universe Enterprise who have agreed to help him in a risky attempt to retrieve Locutus from the Borg.



This is a big plot driven epic that works so well simply because it never looses sight of its characters. Some very effective scenes feature alternate universe Geordi unable to work alongside prime universe Data since in this reality the android was destroyed in the fight against the Borg, and Geordi can't deal with the pain of seeing an alternate version of his long gone friend. Another highlight is a subplot with alternate universe Miles O' Brien who has lost both his wife Keiko, and their daughter Molly to the Borg. When he comes aboard the Enterprise from the prime universe he gets to see the family he lost alive and well. Their presence drives him to a desperate act in the final issue of the tale. Things get even more exciting when the crew infiltrates Starfleet command where we get to see a lot of Borg action. The sequence features various panels filled with Borg drones working on their human victims.






The artwork is top notch and writer Michael Jan Friedman has a pretty good understanding of these characters. This tale could've easily been filmed as another two part cliffhanger for the show. The only thing that would have made that impossible is the scale of the story, which would have been impossible to achieve on a TV budget. The great thing about the comic book format is that the writer has no budgetary limits imposed on his creativity. This tale utilizes the format perfectly and there is nothing here that makes you feel you are reading something that doesn't hold up to its source material.



If you are just as disappointed with IDW's Trek related books as I am then I highly suggest you stop spending your cash on those and instead pick up GIT's Star Trek Complete Comic Book Collection on DVD where you can find the entire DC Star Trek TNG run along with every Trek comic ever published (excluding the IDW stuff). You'll be glad you did.