Simple solutions abound this week! First up, a very lazy "Seven Samurai" clone is wrapped up with no loss of life thanks, in part, to the worst Klingons we've ever met in "Marauders". After that, T'Pol has a complicated past...no, wait, she's definitively good and her quarry explicitly bad in the lazy "The Seventh".

Also this week: one last dose of the holidays, bug robberies, and Beverly Crusher!

[timestamps: gifts: 01:16; Marauders: 16:06; The Seventh: 39:01: Bev: 1:00:49]

[to the blog, stat!: https://www.tumblr.com/sshbpodcast/738532955103838208/character-spotlight-beverly-crusher?source=share]

The past is back to haunt us this week on "Enterprise" – both recent and not. First up: while searching for a fix for the mine damage from last week, the crew is directed to an automated repair station that seems a bit too good to be true in "Dead Stop". After that, Archer has offended the Kreetassans again (but maybe they have a point this time), but he doesn't care because Porthos isn't doing well in "A Night in Sickbay".

Also this week: TOS-style space weirdness, a complete lack of subtlety, and Dr. Pulaski!

[timestamps: Dead Stop: 00:43; Sickbay: 25:34; Dr. Blog: 58:29]

[tumbl to crumpets: https://www.tumblr.com/sshbpodcast/737907276008046592/character-spotlight-katherine-pulaski?source=share]

This week Archer's inability to leave well enough alone drives one plot and is actually pretty integral to solving another. First up: Archer's done some rooting so T'Pol tells an old family tale of cultural contamination in "Carbon Creek". After that: an accident in space has Reed doing his usual "sacrifice me for the good of the ship" schtick and Archer needles him to keep his mind off it in "Minefield".

Also this week: canon quibbles, a solid start, and Deanna Troi!

[stampin': Creek: 02:47; Minefield: 35:16; Troi: 1:09:34]

[therapist's notes: https://www.tumblr.com/sshbpodcast/737255287133732864/character-spotlight-deanna-troi?source=share]

How do you wrap up a season one like the one "Enterprise" just had? By suddenly remembering how to write a halfway-decent episode of "Star Trek"! Despite heavily featuring The Temporal Cold War and the entirely obnoxious Daniels we find ourselves pretty happy with the pacing and feeling of actual stakes! What could this mean going forward?!

Also this week: too excited about disaster, the temporal rules of "Trek", and wrapping season 1!

[timestamps: Shockwave: 00:51; Tops'n'Bottoms: 56:26]

[the list! : https://www.tumblr.com/sshbpodcast/736625472279019520/wake-me-when-season-1-of-enterprise-gets?source=share]

"Enterprise" has decided to have an arc, and it's about trying to get to Risa! No, really. But there's some hiccups on the way and even more once they get there! First up: Data's Mom is an inspiration to T'Pol but uh-oh she might be bad in "Fallen Hero". After that, Mr. Krabs wants Archer's help against tyranny in "Desert Crossing". Finally, almost everyone's vacation goes awry in "Two Days and Two Nights"!

Also this week: guest stars, bad governments, and Geordi La Forge!

[timestamps: Hero: 01:34; Crossing: 25:23; Days; 45:56; Geordi: 1:17:39]

[grab a Coco-no-no and settle in to read about Geordie: https://www.tumblr.com/sshbpodcast/735986737078288384/character-spotlight-geordi-la-forge?source=share]

Fresh off last week's desperate attempts, we've got another bit of stunt-casting and then a really...interesting alien design. First up, the writers were really afraid we missed their subtle metaphor when they invite Archer's old buddy Al to play an evil jailer in "Detained". After that, there was a much easier solution to "Vox Sola" but then the episode would've been 15 minutes long.

Also this week: sloppy endings, water polo, and Data!

[Timestamps: Detained: 00:48; Vox Sola: 34:27; Data: 1:03:10]

[I'll take this android over Apple ANY day: https://www.tumblr.com/sshbpodcast/735349348912742400/character-spotlight-data?source=share]

We have to imagine the conversation at "Enterprise" HQ was something akin to: "OH GOD MAYBE THEY'LL LIKE IT IF WE BRING BACK EVERYTHING THEY LOVE?!" So get ready for canon-bending Ferengi, Ethan Phillips, and Jeffrey Combs in "Acquisition". After that, it's Rene Auberjonois in a semi-remake of a DS9 episode in "Oasis".

Also this week: the idiot ball, painting by numbers, and Bill Riker!

[Acquisition: 01:35; Oasis: 37:48; Riker: 1:05:52]

[Tromblog: https://www.tumblr.com/sshbpodcast/734723146183229440/character-spotlight-william-riker?source=share]

CONTENT WARNING: The first episode has a not-at-all-subtle sexual assault metaphor in it, so we discuss that a lot. Timestamps below if you need to jump right to the second one.

This week, baddies are apparent from the word go in "Enterprise". First up, "Trek" tries to de-monoculture one of its most famous ones when we meet some unique Vulcans in "Fusion". After that, we find out Archer had a pretty weird upbringing in "Rogue Planet".

Also this week: oh a VERY a punchable face, ancestral memories, and Jean-Luc Picard!

[Timestamps: Fusion: 1:20; Rogue Planet: 39:25; Picard chat: 1:08:49]

[le blog: https://www.tumblr.com/sshbpodcast/734084164065837056/character-spotlight-jean-luc-picard?source=share]

If I had a nickel for every time an episode ended with the same kind of shot this week on SSHB, I'd only have two nickels, but it's weird that it happened twice. First up: continuity comes home to roost as the aftermath of past actions leads to Archer getting himself and T'Pol hostaged in "Shadows of P'Jem". After that: a character study and metanarrative collide into probably the first genuinely good episode of the series in "Shuttlepod One".

Also this week: Vulcan colonialism, the Joyce/Reed conspiracy, and Nurse Chapel!

[timestamps: Shadows: 01:26; One: 34:41; Chapel: 58:16]

[Blog: https://www.tumblr.com/sshbpodcast/733454694861701120/character-spotlight-christine-chapel?source=share]

Not much Trip this week, and maybe there's better links here but this one is more important. First up: no one on "Enterprise" seems to know how evolution actually works in "Dear Doctor". After that, tough luck if you were expecting Porthos, you're just getting Klingons in "Sleeping Dogs".

Also this week: no respect from the writers, the whitest man in space, and Pavel Chekov!

[timestamps: Doctor: 02:19; Dogs: 45:55; Mr. Wessels Himself: 01:14:49]

[blog by way of Alameida: https://www.tumblr.com/sshbpodcast/732809439728566272/character-spotlight-pavel-chekov?source=share]