Mixed Reception For 'The Andorian Incident'

See Also: 'The Andorian Incident' Episode Guide

The latest outing for the crew of the NX-01 seems to have the critics divided. Some love the episode, some seemed to hate it, as it picked up a mixture of really high and very low scores from online reviewers.

Here is a selection of the best comments about the episode:

• Trek 5's Captain Mac was impressed with the episode. "Doing what Star Trek does best, combining social comment with science fiction, makes this episode a winner," he wrote. The full review, in which it is awarded a warp 5 rating, can be found here.

• Scoop Me's Matthew R. Heitzer was rather annoyed at Captain Archer in the episode. "I don't know about you, kids, but I'm still trying to figure out what the hell Archer thinks he's doing," he wrote. "The Vulcans, as morally superior as the come off, are still our allies. Not to put too fine a point on it, but they are our only allies, and, just because we bristle at their condescension and (seemingly) incomprehensible moral posturing, does not mean we should sell them down the river first time they betray some 'humane' frailties." The full analysis can be found by following this link.

• FirstTVDrama's Richard Whettestone knew something was amiss right from the first scene. "Archer and gang inadvertently walk into an Andorian trap when they visit a Vulcan monastery," he wrote. "So how do you screw up the suspenseful mystery? You open the episode with the Andorians taking over the Vulcan monastery in the Teaser, ten minutes before Archer even arrives." His full analysis can be found here.

• According to monkee this was the best episode yet. "I have been an ardent Trek fan since the early 70's, and this show is appealing to my deep-rooted affection for the entire franchise," she wrote. "Look at tonight's episode – it had a Vulcan monastery! It had Andorians! They even mentioned IDIC, for crying out loud! I'm going to like an episode for that sort of thing, alone. And this episode went beyond that appeal, and did many other things right, too. In these early episodes, they seem to be setting the stage for much more. If they follow up, the series is going to be great. If they don't, it could be trouble. Time will tell." For her full analysis in which the episode is awarded a score of 9 out of ten, follow this link.

• Writing for IGN SciFi, Jason Bates only awarded the episode 3 out of 5. "So why much time writing about spies and politics and all the rest of it?" he asked. "Because that's about all that's worth talking about this week. The rest of the episode involved rescuing part of the crew from the terrifying threat of four, yes four Andorian guards armed with phasers and bad attitudes -- something Kirk, Picard, Sisko, or Janeway could've gotten past in five minutes." The full review can be found here.

• 'Shadowfyre' at Section 31 awarded the episode 8.5 out of ten. "My first impression of this episode was how extremely predictable it was. So far, Enterprise as a series seems to be churning out plots straight from a by-the-numbers book, and this episode is no exception. The major revelation at the end, that the Vulcans were indeed hiding a large scale sensor array, was easy to spot from the minute the Elders explained to Archer why the Andorians were there. When Trip spots the tunnel that is explained to be a passage to their reliquary, it’s only confirmed." For the full analysis, click here.

• O. Deus at TrekWeb was not impressed by the episode. "Andorian Incident is a long journey to nowhere, of which every minute feels as agonising as Scott Bakula's torture at the hands of Jeffrey Combs, who seems to have become Star Trek's filler alien actor. And Combs is allowed to do nothing to make his character stand out in any way, which essentially makes his role that of Andorian #2. This essentially disposes of the Andorian aspect of the Andorian Incident, which might as well not be there." For his full comments, follow this link.

• Also at TrekWeb, Steve Perry liked the episode. "'The Andorian Incident' had great tension, though it really wasn't the plot the made it interesting," he wrote. "I wasn't fond of using the transporter, I'm slightly bugged that Archer was so quick to turn to action (though I am amused that people call him a weenie, despite this decision), and I hate that the monastery was made into a mess. The screenwriter Dekker effectively built on each scene with what happened before, always a good thing." The full analysis can be found here.

• Jacqueline Bundy reviewed the episode for the Trekker Newsletter. She described the episode as "A memorable episode that will stand out in many ways if you can find a way to forget everything you think you know about the Vulcans," and awarded it a 7 out of 10. Her review can be found here.

• Gisele La Roche for the LCARS Computer network and Voyager's Delights called the episode 'well done' but had some nitpicks with the plot. "Why were they able to communicate so easily with the Andorians? Having established that they have no "universal" translator and how in previous episodes they had so much trouble communicating, how is it done so quickly here? Still, it would have slowed down the pace a great deal if they had had to have Hoshi translate everything but it did stand out nonetheless." The full analysis can be found here.

More information about the episode can be found in the TrekNation episode guide.

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