The Andorian Incident
"The Andorian Incident" is the seventh episode (production #107) of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and was written by Brannon Braga, Fred Dekker and Rick Berman.
Captain Archer tells Sub-Commander T'Pol that he had found a remote outpost on a planet a few light years off their current heading, and that he would like to visit this 3000-year-old Vulcan monastery, called P'Jem.
Arriving at P'Jem, a Vulcan elder tries to send the away team away, but Archer notices the reflected form of an armed intruder.
Although they manage to subdue him, they are quickly captured by a larger group of armed Andorian Imperial Guards, led by Commander Shran.
Soon, Lieutenant Reed and a security team transport into the tunnels, taking out most of the Andorians with explosive charges and phaser fire.
This episode was directed by Roxann Dawson, known for portraying engineer B'Elanna Torres on Star Trek: Voyager.
[2][3] Consulting producer and writer Fred Dekker explained that the idea for the episode came from Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, and together three of them broke down the premise into story.
He emphasized the importance of casting, and having Jeffrey Combs in the role of the Andorian Commander Shran, someone "you know is going to nail it and bring it dimension [...] Plus, the fans love him.
"[5] Production designer Herman Zimmerman described "The Andorian Incident" as the most challenging episode of season one with the exception of the pilot, "Broken Bow", because of the volume of work that was required to build the Vulcan monastery of P'Jem.
Combs had previously appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as several characters such as Weyoun and the Ferengi Brunt.
[15][16][17] Entertainment Weekly gave the episode a positive review, and enjoyed the revelation at the end: "every series makes a valiant attempt at a surprise.
[19] Keith DeCandido of Tor.com gave it eight out of ten in his 2022 rewatch, and wrote: "this is a fantastic episode of Enterprise, doing exactly the sort of thing a prequel can do well."
