that make me cringe. Hoshi certainly has come a long way since she first boarded Enterprise. She was once afraid of the sounds the ship would make while here she spits in the face of a ruthless and scary Reptilian, Dolim (Scott MacDonald). She attempts to kill herself to prevent Dolim from getting the third code. She certainly has changed." And: " It's great to see the consequences of war not only in the damages to the ship or the wounds on the faces of the crew, which has been great throughout the arc, but also the real cost that is death. In this case, that of Major Hayes'. We got to know him albeit not that well but well enough to care about his dying. At least it brought a tear to *my* eye. I like Steven Culp and he will be missed."

B-
"The Xindi"
"Hatchery"

The theme for the show changed in "The Xindi" and it wasn't an improvement. We get introduced to the Xindi and the Council. From the review: "This intro-scene was quite efficient in showing the differences between the species. The aquatic-Xindi and the humanoids seem to be more intellectual while the insectoids are downright paranoid and extreme. The reptilians have a decidedly evil persona while the furry ones seem to be more laid- back. But we do sense the urgency in their deliberations and how perplexed they are to have discovered an Earth ship being in their neck of the woods. The Insectoids see it as a prelude to an invasion while others see it as a coincidence. Having been told that humans are responsible for the destruction of the Xindi homeworld in the future, it's understandable that they would be alarmed by the humans' presence in the Expanse." We meet the MACOs and see what the Expanse anomalies are all about. T'Pol's looks better in the new uniforms as does her hair. We are introduced to the Vulcan neuro-pressure treatments, like it or not. Also from the review: " Unfortunately, this episode is nothing more than a standard, action- oriented sci-fi show however as nothing really original happens here. Still, it does set-up some interesting future storylines. The new alien threat is intriguing, the MACOs are a good addition, the main characters are changing and growing for the most part, the new command-center is interesting and all in all the show is looking good."

From my review of "Hatchery": "I loved Bakula's acting and how he was written. He sounded so *Starfleet* in his defense of the Hatchery and why they should save the baby Insectoids. The line where he says what if they were *primate* infants to Trip and would he be so ready to torch them was effective. At that point, he made sense. I liked how he gradually became more and more obsessed till he was obviously out of touch with reality." Also: "We learn some things here about the Insectoids. They are genderless, reproduce asexually and are short lived."

C+
"Extinction"
"North Star"