Episode 102 - The Wine Dark Sea is now available to registered forum members down in this sneek peek thread!

Post your comments and feedback here and enjoy!

Rob

Beo Fraser makes his writing & directing debut with a flare that makes you suspect he's done both before! :)

Many of the first episodes to follow a pilot are usually pinned under a microscope, looking for any hint of inferiority following the triumph of the previous release.  The Wine Dark Sea follows the release of Iliad with an excellent script, music, pacing, and a visual style that keeps the viewers on the edge of their seat. (Well, it kept me on the edge of mine, anyway. :) )

Beo also faced the challenge of losing actor Bobby Rice as Ro Nevin, and introducing his replacement, Brandon McConnell.  McConnell plays Ro with a somewhat more muted style than Rice, but not to his detriment.  McConnell delivers an introduction-level performance, but I can see the potential there.

While I miss Rice's distinctive persona, McConnell appears to be a good replacement for him. Nothing against Ro Mk I, but at least McConnell knows how to vary his voice and not speak in monotone 70% of the time.

Once again, Julia Morizawa and Michelle Laurent deliver excellent performances, as their characters spar with each other in great Trek tradition, ie: Spock & McCoy, Odo & Quark, Neelix & Tuvok, Henglaar & anyone else!

On a scale of 1-10, I'd give this episode a 9.8.  The only part I found somewhat confusing was when Gillen and his team were portrayed on their mission while Ro was still giving the briefing in dialogue.  The confusion did not last too long, but at first, I was thinking "What the..?!"

Excellent work, Beo! Looking forward to more of your work!

Let it be known that at this point, any doubts about Odyssey I had are now alleviated.

That being said, "Wow!" That was incredible. The plot was excellent and well worth the wait. Acting was excellent, love the Stadi/T'Lorra Dynamic. Kind of reminds me of the Torres/Seven relation, without the crazy shippers. Big props to the camera crew, who did an excellent job with the shots, none in particular looked green screened at all.

But, what separates Odyssey from Voyager, is that bad stuff can happen. The cake can not be both had and eaten in this series. There has to be consequences. Sure, they got the Antimatter, repaired the cloak, and are back on their way to find a way home, but a crewmember died, and no amount of Treknobabble could stop it. Their situation is still bleak, and the 44 minute universal answer doesn't exist any more. 

Regarding the new Ro, I was wary at first when I heard of an actor change, but to my relief, it seems like McConnell is a excellent choice for a replacement. I  don't have much to go on for comparisons, but he can play the part, and I'm happy about it. I especially like how he started out with "Ship's Log." Nice touch.

By all means, this is an excellent episode, high quality, and better than most stuff on TV, especially with the Writer's Strike. ****/****

Double Post, pressed Quote instead of Modify. Sorry!

I just finished 'Wine Dark Sea'. Initially I was a little harsh with Iliad, claiming Voyager done by fans. This episode makes up for it. I enjoy the Stadi/T'Lorra dynamic, although the cat-fighting was a good opportunity for Ro to be the captain and stifle them both. In regards to the new Ro, I liked him very much, different but in a good way. I think he will do well in the coming seasons/stories. John Whiting's understated Morrigu is still always a good watch. I liked the risk speech, it in a way reminds one of Kirk. I will have more to say later on as I digest this episode. Keep up the good work Rob and Company.

Wonderful, wonderful!  

Writer and Mooooo  hit most of the high points for me, so I won't be duplicative.

What I liked best about this episode is that it took characters we thought we knew, and gave them new definition and motivations beyond what we'd seen before, and that gave them more depth.  

I think that Brandon's performance and integration with the cast in this, his first episode in the role of Ro Nevin, ends any worries that anyone had about the cast change.  In fact, he displayed a great range --- and perhaps even his own experience being thrown into a new role parallels that of Ro Nevin being thrown into a new role as well.  Hmm?  I liked how he played Ro with more military precision, too.  Ro has a good look about him when he does so... a bit uncertain, untried... but he's got it in him to succeed.  That came out.  Next question will be... when does he realize he needs to dress and act the part of captain and leader for these people...  and actually sit in the former captain's ready room.  I think he is getting there (like it or not).

I think the scene that I enjoyed the most, was Ro going from being the Science Officer to more of a leadership role, where he was giving confidence to a distraught Ensign Gillen in Engineering.    

I also thought that Matt Montgomery did a great doctor.  And is there foreshadowing there about something a little more in his background that he's not telling us???

T'Lorra and Stadi are gonna be trouble...  but I wonder how Stadi has gotten this far in Starfleet without better personal discipline... perhaps she needs a little dressing down...  I know they're in unfamiliar situations, but they've been together for 6 months or so now...  But I like having the edge... T'Lorra's one you grudingly respect, but like to dislike...

Morrigu and his interaction with his subordinate, Jenaan, was quite good, too.  I love the way John plays Morrigu... obviously a deadly military leader... but with intelligence and compassion, and a true understanding of how politics really works.

Seram and Caecus... just creepy.  I am waiting for something creepily awful to happen there.  Not sure where all the talk about his lineage is going... and how his parents are no longer around.  Sounds a bit too.... contrived.  Hehehe, I guess we'll see.

Graphically, I liked the visuals a lot... I especially liked the warped star tracks flowing over the ship... kinda cool.  I also liked being able to sing along to the theme song.  hehehe.

Overall, this is a very good episode, especially following on the big launch of Odyssey, and the gearing up of Helena Chronicles (not to mention the unanticipated cast change).  Beo deserves accolades for such a good job his first time out.  

Thanks for a fun treat.

--Rick


P.S.  And no, I didn't miss the references to the Cicones or to the Midas Project... but I need to let that simmer for awhile.  Especially with a next episode entitled Lotus Eaters...   time to pull out the old dog-eared copy of the Odyssey for some more clues to where we are going with this story.  I love a good challenge!

P.P.S.  One minor dialog nitpick:  Did I mishear this reference (near the beginning)? Planets are uninhabited, not unmanned.  I'd have to re-listen to be sure.   In any case, very minor issue.

Just have to say that Beo and Rob have once again delivered a stellar episode.

Congrats Beo on your Directorial and Writing debut. Definately doesn't seem like your first time.

Brandon did a good job. I look forward to your future performances as Ro. As a critique, I know it was your initial time as Ro. I could see you be somewhat reserved, compared to Bobby. Let yourself come out a bit more, a bit more enthusiasm, and I think it'll help you become Ro even more.

The Music was top notch and John's portrail of Morrigu was again really good. He's becoming the enemy you learn to respect.

Julia and Michelle did a great job with their arguing. It brings back the idea of a good little duel like all of the shows seem to have, just as was noted previously. 

Congrats to everyone on another episode well done, and looking forward eagerly to OD103 and the debut of Helena Chronicles.

And, will there be a Soundtrack release for 102 and HC101? I play my "Iliad" soundtrack all the time.

I think I've got an idea of Caecus's secret!  Whether or not it's true, we'll have to wait and see, unless people want me to post my theory here.    :|

Beautiful! :) A great continuation of the story. Odyssey works very well and I love all the characters. The T'Lorra/Stadi conflict was so severe at times that I wondered why Ro didn't do much about it but that probably just goes to show that he doesn't quite have a captain's authority, yet. Oh yeah, I barely noticed that he was played by a new actor... ;) I can't wait to see the next one! :)


Or the enemy who learns to respect you which is kind of a scary thing... When this whole mess is over in seven seasons, Morrigu should get an admiral's post in Starfleet. ;)

I forgot to mention another favorite in my earlier post....  Wozniak!      It was good to see Sam having fun playing his character and getting to be bad-ass with the ship.

Rick

P.S.  Yes, Sam is the same person who manages the servers and forums and things.

I must start out by giving congratulations to our two newcomers;
Beo Frasier, fantastic job on your first writing/directing venture. I hope that you will grace us with more of both in the future.
And Brandon McConnal, you had some very big shoes to fill, taking over for Bobby Rice and you rose to the challenge wonderfully. I'm glad to have Ro Mk. III aboard!
On to the review!

I love how the episode opens with T'lorra and Stadi filling the role of the dueling shipmates. It has strong undercurrents of both of my favorite bickering couples; McCoy vs. Spock and Torres vs. Seven. They're fast becoming my favorite characters. T'lorra is refreshingly unlike any X.O. I've seen on Trek before. Her desire for power is evident in every scene. And it should be interesting when Ro finally decides to take Stadi down a few pegs. She seems to be more than bordering on insubordination, what with calling him "Nevin" and demanding that he do this and that. On second viewing, I caught a little moment when she's snapping orders across the bridge and Ro looks peeved, but says nothing. I can't wait 'til he finally snaps and pulls a Janeway; "Stadi, my ready-room. NOW." On that note, Ro is definitely not rising to fill the role of Captain, and I don't mean that in a bad way. The emphasis on the fact that it's something he's just not ready for is going to be an interesting plotline. Especially as the need for a strong leader grows. Switching over to the Archeins, I'm very intrigued by the growing Caecus subplot. I want to see where his story is going. Sharon Savene continues to give a chilling performance as Majan Seram. She always looks as if she's bare inches from insanity. And John Whiting is reminding me gleefully of Grand Admiral Thrawn with his performance as General Morrigu. I love that he's not a "villain" so much as an "antagonist." I'm still wondering just what his angle is. The story was wonderful. Instead of trying to beat 'Iliad' with an action-packed, Odyssey vs. the entire Archein fleet + a planet eater, it was a refreshingly subdued tale of the crew's quest for survival. But man, they just cannot catch a break. The anti-matter is booby trapped, the duterium explodes, and the crew is on the verge of a meltdown. Especially Gillen. I feel so bad for his character. Chief Engineer is NOT a job for newbies.
Moving on, the special effects were very good, as always. I was a tad disappointed with the warp effect, as there seemed to be tiny stars passing over Odyssey's hull. But that's a minor quibble. The increasing battle-damage Odyssey is gaining adds a wonderfully realistic touch.
The music was excellent. I'm not sure of the name of the newcomer, but he's done a great job.
All-in-all, an easy 9.5 out of 10.
Keep up the awesome work, guys and gals.

The episode sounds great, too bad I missed the chat, have to wait till tomorrow :(

The New Ro seems to had a more military style to him. His voice seems more commanding, like a captain should have.


Overall great episode.

same here.  RATS!

Beo did a good job; I'm sorry I didn't quite bring out the performance for Morrigu he'd hoped for.  I'll listen better next time, Beo.  Promise!

Fact is, pretty much everyone did well in this episode, including our guesting newsman as the Sickbay nurse.  I'm increasingly impressed with Matt; I want to be him when I grow up.

I thought the bickering was a little bit over the top, almost as if one lady or both were baiting him to step in as Captain.  Ro was quick to slap down T'Lorra in the first ep, at least in private (which is where that one needed to happen).  His two senior officers bickering in public is going to be bad for crew morale, and his failure to stop it is going to lead to the crew questioning his ability to lead.  When the time comes, if the situation permits, the dressing-down should NOT be in front of the crew, but they need to know that it happened.  Much like the much-mentioned "in my Ready Room.  Now." scene in Voyager.  One thing I learned is that a good manager gives the reprimands in private (when possible) and the praise in public.

I enjoyed watching the episode almost like it was someone else's:  I was on the edge of my seat in the right spots, et cetera.

On the technical side, I didn't like the tiny stars flying over the surface of the ship; they really messed with the size- and depth-perception of the scene.  But I loved the rain, which is hard to do realistically in CGI.  I was also impressed with the fact that even the small chain on Ro's earring stayed visible most the time; in the past, it was another victim of the greenscreen problems, but not any more, apparently.

As usual, I am impressed with how well everyone did, and humbled that I'm allowed to play on the same team.

<claps excitedly/> Another job well done! Another A!

Eh, before I get to what I liked, let me get my criticism out of the way:

Brandon McConnell: Sometimes his voice seemed to bottom out, like he was trying too hard to talk in a Grown-Up Man Voice (I noticed it most in his "Big Picture" talk with T'Lorra and his pep talk with Gillen.)

T'Lorra: Some of her lines in the Big Picture speech were too wordy. "It does not mean I am without feeling." "I am not without understanding."

Plot point: The Odyssey runs off while Morrigu's battle group has to fight their own automated defense system. How come Morrigu doesn't order pursuit? Sure, for all he knows they'll just cloak again, but he doesn't even try to go after them. It's not like the Archeins really want to stick around and destroy their own weapons. (I'm guessing the answer is: Because he'd be able to hunt them down and capture them.)

My nomination for *another* thing Morrigu learned from that battle: The Archeins need better child-proof locks on their automated defense systems. (I give Morrigu credit for having learned more than he's willing to tell Jenaan. Anyone else want to add to the list?)   

Minor, but it bugs me: Ro, ruminating with T'Lorra: "... to be able to look at the big picture; to write off one thing so others can survive ..." Given the conversational context of leaving/letting crewpeople die, Ro should've said "one person"---people aren't "things."

Enough of that. What I liked:

Brandon McConnell: Nice debut. Suddenly Ro's got a commanding presence! My favorite Ro line remains the one from the preview: "I've got a plan." There's something about McConnell's features that gives him this Buck Rogers/Captain Proton space hero vibe. It works for him. I liked watching him feel his way into the role of captain over the episode, from 6 weeks of recording "ship's log" entries in the conference room to finally entering the ready room.

T'Lorra and Stadi: I like the sparring. I also like how they're both kind of right: T'Lorra with free run of the Odyssey *is* a security nightmare but she *does* need that access ... and I liked where T'Lorra called Stadi on her "You could be spying for the Archeins!" slander.
Yes, Stadi could be more disciplined, and she's gonna have to work with T'Lorra ... but I can't help noticing that T'Lorra made Shanaar fiddle with the locks on the antimatter pods *after* commenting that she had a bad feeling ... and she was the one with the tricorder ...

Sharon Savene: Remains deliciously creepy. When she gets Morrigu's report and goes for Adam, I flinched. My favorite beat was actually earlier, when she talks to Morrigu for the first time and he tells her the automated defense systems were activated. She widens her eyes in a downright predatory manner. Then there's her on-a-dime demeanor changes with Caecus. "My *special* one" makes me shiver. Dangerous, scary ... uh, I mean, "clever and wise."

Caecus: Yeah, I'm curious about him too. I also have a couple guesses. It wasn't clear from Iliad that he was also a noble. (Though I should have guessed that Seram would settle for nothing less in a pet.) Adam plays a pet well um, acted well.

Morrigu: Remains smarter than he's letting on. Good to see that *someone* in the Archein power structure wants to know the nature of the enemy. Smart military leaders ask questions!

Wozniak! Firing the phasers and bobbing and weaving the ship! Awesome. Also, great special effects during the battle.

Favorite ship scene: The Odyssey's quick warp in-and-out. Sleek. (I'd love some ship-only desktop wallpaper!)

Hey, I'm still enjoying the story and I want to see more. :)

--Chris

I would love to say I loved this episode.  It started out great a good story was coming. But in the end the T'Lorra and Stadi constant bickering got to me.  It was to much.  If I was Ro I would have phasered them or beamed them out into space long ago.  And while I don't expect a captain to actually do that he should have nipped it in the bud sooner and coninued to do it.  It was fine at first but went on why to long.  Also it was completely unprofession for all involved, Stadi, T'Lorra and Ro. I watched it again this time fast forwarding through Stadi and T'Lorra bitchfesting and it was a much better show.

As for the new Ro,  Brandon did an excellent job.  Others have tried to say it, he is bringing a new element to the character.  He has more gravitas then Bobby's Ro.  It is good for the seriousness of the situation.

Sharon Savene was excellent as always,  I had a physicall reaction when she slapped Caecus. There is definetly a interesting back story there, I will be interesting to see how that develops.

Oh and I noticed in the opening shots of Odyessey you could still see damage on the ship from previous fights.  Excellent continuity!  I hated that Voyager nearly always look show room fresh.  I like knowing Odysseysing will be showing her war wounds.

Just a quick review from me now as Im pressed for time.

It seems to me that Beo definately knows the characters well, and his words helped the actors bring them to life. The plot was something that tackled their situation head on with immediacy instead of luxury, and i mirror Kuj's statement about Odyssey actually having war wounds, not a sudden fix-it moment!
The story enabled characters to grow, but not change too much too soon, such as Ro slowly accepting the captains chair amd the ready room by the end of the episode. I think that maybe Stadi is pissed that Ro didnt make her Exec over T'Lorra, hence the attitude, but she has got spunk, standing up to a woman almost twice her size!
The new dimension the story added to the Seram/Caecus relationship also spices up that dynamic, and the continuing look into Morrigu's mind, and his obvious doubts about Seram are just another tease about the mytserious Archeins

In short - i like!

I've already praised and raptured and so forth about how amazing and talented and clever Beo is but he wants it done here too so ... he's amazing and talented and clever :)

Very nice episode, brings us in to the tone of the series very nicely. Liked it very much. Everyone was on good form acty-wise. Except that GMTV person ... although the new edit made him look a little less of a twonk.

All very good :) Well done Beo and team and all.

i was unsure whether to give it an A or a B... but then figured my even looking at a B to be due to just how fabulous the pilot was... so i went with the A... i did think that the first episode was stronger, which was to be expected given that that was more a movie than an episode... but the difference didn't warrant dropping an entire grade in my view...

i really like the fact that the mission isn't turning into a pleasure cruise like 'that other series' and that the ship is already in a state of some disrepair...

overall a solid story well executed...

my one reservation regarding the story is the second get-away from the planet with the anti matter... perhaps it was just me, but that felt a little too easy, too slick... i think the archein ships should have taken a lot more of a pounding from the reprogrammed defense satellites before letting the odyssey slip away -- they didn't even seem to fire a single shot at odyssey after the satellites turned... the archeins looked rather ineffective, inflexible: when something went wrong with their plan they seemed unable to regroup and to just get on with the job... instead, three ships let one ship get away apparently without having suffered major damage... some of that was undoubtedly due to overconfidence... but even so, their training should have kicked in at some point... it didn't... i wonder if this is a taste of what odyssey can expect from the archeins... it's not enough to build large ships with powerful weapons... one also needs to know how to handle them in a fight... so far the archeins seem only to have been effective when they had overwhelming numerical superiority... perhaps 3:1 wasn't quite overwhelming enough for them... this might bode well for future hit and run attacks by odyssey, not just to gather supplies, but to disrupt attempts to rebuild the wormhole... or to capture an archein ship to study their technology... (okay, i got a little side tracked here... ;) )

and on a final note: when i read a few weeks ago that bobby rice was leaving i was aghast... i felt as if the new series, having just delivered a great premiere, all of a sudden found itself with it's head chopped off... i'm glad to say that brandon mcconnell took up the reigns without missing a step...

Just finished watching the episode, and i must say, i'm impressed. The story kept me on the edge of my seat and i really loved to learn more about the archein and our "good doctor", who, in my opinion, was a little short on screen-time in the pilot.  Many interesting developments were started or hinted at and i will follow with great interest and pleasure, how all those issues will develop in the future.
Acting was, as far as i can judge, great, especially kudos to Brandon for filling his new big shoes so well, Sharon for giving us more of Seram, the majan we love to hate ;) and John for his impressive portrayal of the sophisticated and wise Morrigu.

What disapointed me was a technical issue of quality, the episode is offered in two different sizes and i chose the high quality version, expecting the same clear and crisp image as in the pilot, what i got was washed out and strongly pixelated in high contrast areas (eg text in the opening titles) vand looks like a low res version configured to play at 200% size. In light of the recent discussion on bootleg DVDs i can understand, that you decided to reduce image quality to make it as dificult as possible for those individuals to create their pirated merchandise, but i cannot understand, why i was seemingly offered a choice and downloaded a file more than double the size, just to get the same quality. Just tell us, i will gladly accept the low-res files, after all, i immensly enjoyed seven years of Hidden Frontier in that resolution.

Sir, sensors are detecting epic amounts of WIN in this sector.

The whole catfight thing between Stadi and T'lorra was a nice touch, and the risk speech was good.

The new Ro was also good.

my main gripe is actually in regard to the scene where Ro is talking to gillen about the big picture. it looked like Gillen was about to soil himself a couple times during that scene itself.

Hmm... this isn't a gripe, but more of a question... since Ro is technically the Cap'n, and there isn't any starfleet to give him the field promotion, will we see him in Command Red with 4 pips? that would be more realistic... i dunno... just theoretically thinkin there.

9.999 outta 10

btw... whoever voted F must have slipped somehow... heck it happns

Great work,  kudos to all the cast and crew.... Keep up the great work.  :D

I have the same compliments as before: The whole episode, just like Iliad, seemed nearly professional and the subject matter was far more interesting than those in many professional shows. The inter-character conflicts are fun to watch, and it's nice to see Ro didn't turn into a good strong captain overnight (though he does have some effort). Everyone acts on a level that's entertaining and the little amateurishness that's left is never big enough to break immersion.

The feelings of loss and responsibility portraied by the different characters are great. Particularly nice are the different viewpoints taken by the different people: the calculating pragmatism of T'Lorra, the professionalism of Dr Vaughan, Stadi's straightforward idealism, and Ro's insecurity in the middle of it all.  (Did I spot some annoyance in Dr Vaughan's voice when he explained to the whining Ro that he did indeed do all that he could?)

It was also nice to see some failures by the crew. I liked how Stadi's recklessness had some consequences, allowing T'Lorra to be right.

There are a couple of down sides, though:

1) After watching the trailer I expected an even stronger drama, where the choice between risking the ship and letting one person die would have played a larger role. There were those choices, on two occasions even, but they were over so quickly that they never felt quite as big and difficult as they could have. The heated arguments about the topic happened after the fact, when it no longer mattered. I think I'd have enjoyed the great things about this episode more if I had not had such high expectations created by the trailer.

2) The victory in the end felt too easy, and sort of takes away any consequences of Ro's choice (of leaving the anti-matter behind in the beginning). Having Gillen, who's been portrayed as not being quite up to his job, pull off this feat felt cheap, and reminded me of Wesley Crusher's ability to consistently "surprise" the viewers by his stunts.

3) There was a little too much explaining of feelings to my tastes, particularly in the conversation between Ro and T'Lorra.

Would I get tomatoes thrown if I said I prefered this episode over the pilot?  Even though I like them equally.  Good show guys.  :lol:

Personally, I hope that whoever voted 'F' airs their views here:  it may have been a matter of personal taste, in which case, there's not much that can be done.  OTOH, if there's something we did wrong that we can fix, it would be useful to know what it is.

I'd also hope that when they do post, they don't catch a lot of flak for it.  Why would anyone share an honest opinion if they knew they were going to get attacked for it?  And let's face it:  we learn more from our mistakes than from our successes.

I liked this, and thought the new Ro worked very well.  I didn't mind the bikering, I think Ro's still finding his feet at being Captain and will either let it play out or step in stonger later on.  It is tough for co-workers when someone is elevated that high that quickly and throwing weight around now might do more harm than good.  I know they're starfleet and that shouldn't matter but it's the emotional side that's affected which would come through with some.

Woz doesn't care though, he just keeps plugging on, without him they wouldn't have got too far by now.

Vaughan is great, played very understated but in a different way to Morrigu.  The Doctor comes across much more "level headed" professional.  Morrigu comes across as calculating, thinking, studying, biding time.

I also don't mind that Gillen sorted out the satellites, he said he wanted to be an experimental engineer rather than out in the field so that worked well.  As long as it's not done every time of course.

B for me otherwise there's no room for even better ones :)

I voted D.

I was a bit disappointed about the ep. The preview made this episode look so much better and epic. I think you guys need to scale the previews down a bit.

In my point of view the preview was so awesome that the episode didn't have a chance to deliver what the preview promised. I hope it's not the same with Helena Chronicles.

My favorite scene from the preview was the Odyssey warping into orbit and beeing shot at by the orbital defense sattelites. It looked so epic with the camera movement and vfx. Just stunning. In the episode we get a voice over from Ro explaining his plan during that scene and it's over in what 1.4 seconds. Please if you do epic battle scenes don't ruine them with voice overs.

The way Ro talked to T'Lorra about his insecurities was a mistake imo. She may be his first officer but she isn't starfleet. She would happily take command of the ship and Ro let her see his weak side. I can understand that CO and Exec/2IC would talk about such things but I thought it was wrong here. Now she knows what a weakling of a captain he is. With the Dr. already attracted or maybe even in love with her she will certainly exploit the two to get what she wants, namely command of the ship.

Now to the good parts. I loved the banter between Stadi and T'Lorra. Just fabulous, awesome. I always wondered if Stadi may be related to Voyager's Stadi. I wasn't disappointed here. That was some nice trivia. :D

Ross King did an excellent job. Congrats.

The vfx were as always the best there is. Keep it up. :D

Clearly you haven't seen movie trailers at all.  A friend of mine used to work for a trailer company before he moved to Universal.  He specifically said that the point of trailers is to get you to go see the movie.  "We'll lie to you; we'll show you the ending," he said.

Now, Rob doesn't do either (lie, or show us the ending), but in all honesty, using the preview as a barometer to judge an episode is bad taste.

But that's just me, personally.  You can ignore me if you like... I haven't even seen the episode yet.

I don't agree with you on the horribleness parts of your review.

IMHO, The only reason Ro had told either of them that was so they knew what was going through his mind. T'lorra seems to be trying to help him... see the part where she tells him that (paraphrasingly,) that some have to live, some have to die... i also think that she want's to get home as much as ro and the others, and is willing to cooperate.

it's not unheardof for the romulans.

Edito: With a cat on my lap, i can rightly say that i agree on what Woz said. It is bad mojo to base an episode on it's preview. the preview isn't the finished eppy.

I too thought it was kinda bunky that the whole smack the spit outtz the archiens and get the antimatter mission lasted 45 seconds to a minute n a half, but, you gotta remember, Rob and the crew aren't CBS. Time Constraints probably got tossed in there somewhere.


oh well... this is only the second of many episodes to come.

I enjoyed that.  The voice over the warp-in and landing worked for me.  I thought it legitimate in what was mainly a character episode.

New Ro is working for me as well.  Much as I like Bobby Rice, I wonder if Brandon's gravitas works better for this development of the character.

The bickering didn't work so well for me.  It lacked the wit that made the classic McCoy/Spock arguments watchable.  It's believable, but quickly got to the point where Ro and those around them should be telling to them shut the **** up.

Did I catch a goof at 4:14?  "Seemingly dead planets make me feel weary".  Shouldn't that be "wary"?

Epi

Great story Beo! I hope that there's more to come. One thing, can the next one be longer :P

Brandon McConnell is definitely a good actor, but I am having some trouble adjusting to the fact that he is Ro, it feels more like a different character from Ro. In time, I'm sure he will fit right in as Ro.

The Stadi/T'Lorra affair seems a bit ridiculous though. How can Stadi be Chief of security with such an attitude? I know, the fact that she is stranded on another galaxy and deja-vu about her sister, etc., but still... if she has a problem, shouldn't she bring it up with the captain in private instead of arguing with T'Lorra in public like that. I thought security chiefs should show the crew that they are confident and not out of control with their emotions like that.

Odyssey seems much more realistic than Voyager, which I am happy about.

That's it for now, can't wait till the next episode!

I had the pleasure of seeing an early cut of this back in October at the Orphans shoot. I enjoyed it quite a lot, and have to say I was very, very impressed by Brandon McConnel. I think he's an excellent Ro, and brings a certain gravitas to the role that fits the character's current position wonderfully. So, sorry to see Bobby go, but I think Brandon is a wonderful replacement.

The story was pretty tight, and I liked the interaction between the characters. It's probably no surprise to anyone that I favour character-driven drama, and Beo's done a great job of giving us exactly that here. I did think Stadi and T'Lorra's arguing could have been toned down a touch, but that's a minor nitpick in what was a great story, and an excellent follow-up on the events of Odyssey.

Well done, Beo! And everyone else for that matter. :)

I havent been sent the news letter so i dont have a download code :no:

its given in the sneek peaks announcement

Another great episode, keep up the good work.

loved it there were some things i was confused about,i thought they ejected the warp core? in the first ep anyway love the bickering girls and the new roe is outstanding (hopefully we get to see how he acts with aster)and the doctor is great love his accsent over all show is great i giave it an a cant wait for helena and the third ep.

They ejected the transwarp(?) core that allowed them to travel between galaxies.  The main warp core is intact.

Epi

I've tried to download it twice so far and gotten corrupted files both times. What gives?

The episode is solid. It's not outstanding like the premier, but still very solid. It kinda reminds me of the Star Trek role-playing I did back in the early Nineties.

I like the new Ro. Brandon seems more mature than Bobby, like Bobby seemed more mature than Arthur. Actually, I think this helps the character development a lot. Also, I like the more solid physique of Brandon. I hope we get to see more of that (preferably without his uniform...  ;D). This lonely captain needs a love interest, someone to keep him company until he can re-unite with Corry.  :)

There was one scene in sickbay where I almost could see Bobby speaking the lines.

I wanted to add something about T'Lorra and Stadi. I agree with John and others that the bickering was unprofessional and a bit grating, but I saw it as an in-show problem as opposed to a show problem. One of the oddities of Voyager was how quickly the military crew and the terrorist crew integrated; one of the oddities of Iliad was the depth of Conner's passionate concern for *Romulan* lives being lost because Ro and Aster were late. It's more realistic that people would be openly clashing, especially when they're already under stress.

Stadi's in a tough position: she's the chief of security, Romulans are still considered a security risk by the Federation, yet she pretty much has to let T'Lorra run loose. I'm sure it's occurred to her that if they do get back and the contents of Odyssey's computer show up on Romulus a couple of days later, *she's* going to have to explain why. Nor is T'Lorra going out of her way to be nice and diplomatic; it obviously bugs her to no end that she's the most senior command person on board but isn't allowed to be in charge. (The migraines aren't helping either.)

I actually liked how Ro's been calmly handling them. I guess he should say something to both of them about not arguing/sniping in front of other crewmembers, but the truth is he needs them both on duty and is going to go as long as he can without pulling them. (And even then, what's he going to do? Toss them in the same brig cell for the night and let the survivor out in the morning?) Given that it's only the second episode, I'm willing to believe (hope?) that we'll get to see the characters work on and resolve their issues.

--Chris

I agree on the Brandon being more mature than bobby, and the same with bobby n Arthur.

I agree with that and I don't think it will ever be resolved.  They will never get on.  They may grow to respect each others abilities but be friends ?  I don't see that happening.  Which is as said a weakness in Voyager. 

I agree that the problem is an "in-show" problem and a problem of the show.  In fact the scenes where well acted.  I just hated that aspect.  Don't get me wrong I don't want to see what happened in Voyager and having Stadi and T'Lorra suddenly bonding and being best friends.

But I also think there was a show problem in the terms of the about scenses being showed to get the point across.

I guess I say this because what it did to me eventually was loose respect for Ro's command abilities.  I don't think that was the attention.  Ro is a starfleet officer he has been in charged before, he just seemed to let the bickering and yelling go on too much.

I am sure this is something that wil improve over time, and I hope to see Ro smack down either Stadi or T'Lorra if they continue to exhibt the unprofessional behavior.

I will agree that the relationship between Stadi and T'Lorra is hostile. But, I think there is a reason this is the way, as it is only episode two (even if it's 6 weeks after they got trapped here), and there's been really no time to work on making it more professional.

The way I see it, is that Ro is still trying to figure out how to be a captain. He has a Romulan Sub-Commander on board who is ambitious and is waiting for a weak moment. Then there's Stadi, who as Head of Security, is doing her job,  and who wants - as she told Ro - to be permited "to keep an open mind" about T'Lorra. Ro does ask them at the end of The Wine Dark Sea to work together, and while Stadi is not pleased with this, she will do what Ro requests of her.

Besides, this antagonistic relationship is designed to show the fans that Odyssey is not going to fall into the same mistakes that Voyager did, which by episode 3 or 4 had the crew working like they were one, big happy family.

I'm directing the next episode, and while I can't say much about the story, the realtionship between Stadi and T'Lorra does take another step forward. But, I hope, they never become real friends.

Anyway, I think Beo did a wonderful job with this episode, and I'm impressed how he handled everything -the script, the first time director stuff, a new actor playing the lead and Ross King with much grace and aplomb.

David

They ejected the Slipstream drive. i highly doubt that there is a working Transwarp Conduit, so Transwarps outta the question.

My only comment so far:

That actually was the intention. Ro isn't captain, he's hyperaware of the fact that he isn't and can't be captain. He's just in command by default. And whenever people see weakness, subconsciously they attempt to be the 'alpha dog' - which Ro wasn't showing himself to be. At the end of the episode he does tell them that the bickering has to stop, and I think that was progress. Along with his finally starting to use captain's ready room and chair.

I think you saw more of the commanding Ro in Iliad because he was still on adrenaline - the heat of the situation was still very present, and six weeks later people will begin to lose that, get tired, and a little crazy - unsure. Being temp captain for a week or two is one thing - being so indefinitely is going to take some effort. So yes, my intention through the episode was to show that Ro isn't captain, he's not acting like it, and that's Bad with a capital B. As the seasons progress, perhaps he'll grow. Or perhaps he'll sink further into a despair, withdraw, and T'Lorra takes over. Perhaps he's assassinated.

Anything could happen from this point on really!

Come on, Brandon isn't playing Ro that bad  :D

Assassinating the central character of a cast of five isn't very wise from a storytelling angle. Especially since there is no constant supply of fresh officers.
But maybe, just maybe, Odyssey isn't about being lost in the Andromeda Galaxy for seven seasons. Maybe something else happens. Like Crusade, where Stracynski intended to move past the opening storyline within two season and move on to the "real story".

Absolutly excellent work. I loved how you guys portrayed Stadi and T'lorra always bickering about everything, and I also loved the new Ro. They all played their parts so well, that I can't wait for the next episode. I also loved the scene with the orbital sattelites and the whole Caecus senario. Excellent writing, excellent Speical effects, excellent all around. A+

I'm quite surprised to see anyone giving this a D or an F. Fair enough, everyone has differing tastes which is fair enough, but I've never understood why people vote like that but then don't have the courtesy to actually speak up as to their reasons.