Three billion inhabitants of Coridan are victims of blatant interference on the part of the Vulcans (now also the humans and Andorians). Vulcans have a mining agreement with Coridan and rumors float that they are producing Warp 7 ships in their state-of-the-art starship yards. Meanwhile Coridan "rebels" charge their government as corrupt, serving as little more than a Vulcan puppet. The Vulcans, irate at humans for getting their P'Jem spy station blown up by indignant Andorians it was spying upon, recall their Terran ambassador.

In this whole mess the Andorians are really bit players, sharing a common enemy with the rebels. But it was still a nice return of Tholos (not so slimy this time) and Shran despondently "trying to get a good night's sleep." Only two rings of the Andorian bell and I have already developed a slobbery response expecting fisticuffs whenever they appear. I had kinda counted on that.

But I had not counted on the negative pressure applied to the Vulcan reputation. If it does turn out that the storyline of Series V intersects the history of Series I, this episode casts an ominously complex view of the early Federation, especially highlighting the different "types" of Vulcans. There are those like Captain Sopek, senior officer in the sector. He and his officers wear a different uniform than T'Pol or Vanik. The concept of Vulcan commandos had never entered my mind yet here they come, brandishing their peaceful Vulcan grenade cannon.

Yet there are also those like T'Pol, not the first Vulcan to serve with humans but definitely the first to succeed. T'Pol worries about both the monastery's people and its artifacts. Vulcans don't finger their food yet she does for Archer. (At first I liked the metaphor of the bound Archer and T'Pol working together to stand up, but it veered into a Twister scene Kirk and Spock could perform only in slash. And speaking of green blood, she sure recovered faster after being shot than Spock in "A Private Little War.")

With so much to tell "Shadows of P'Jem" should have been extended into a two-parter. It just wasn't fair to visually ignore the Andorian obliteration of the P'Jem station, and using a commercial to cut from a shuttle in flight to two competent officers being captured was painful. But the harsh contrast of volatile interplanetary politics and the tranquil Golden Gate remains. To the Vulcans their "dangerous and aggressive neighbors" - the Andorians - are destabilizing the sector. Can their regard of humans be far behind?


Back to Dr.TOS
Back to top