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One of Star Trek's most iconic aliens weren't fully developed until Star Trek: Enterprise.
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00:00The Andorians debuted in the now classic Star Trek the Original Series episode Journey to Babel
00:05as one of the many species sending dignitaries to a diplomatic conference. With the possible
00:09exception of the Gorn, the Andorians with their blue skin, white hair, and antennae resembled
00:14the pop science fiction concept of the bug-eyed monster more than any other Star Trek alien.
00:20The time and expense that went into creating this now iconic look limited them to a handful
00:24of appearances until 2001 and the arrival of Star Trek Enterprise. Star Trek Enterprise's
00:30executive producers Brandon Braga and Rick Berman initially decided to bring back the Andorians
00:36when thinking about who should appear as antagonists in the episode that became The Andorian Incident.
00:41According to Braga, this goal was to take a silly-looking alien and make them both look cool
00:46and have a believable culture. With each subsequent appearance on Enterprise, the writers further
00:51fleshed out the initially vague culture and history. On Enterprise, the Andorians became
00:56passionate warriors, rivals with the Vulcans, and founding members of the United Federation
01:01of Planets, along with humans, Vulcans, and Tellarites. With that in mind, I'm Bree from Trek
01:06Culture, and here are 10 things that you hopefully didn't already know about Andorians.
01:12Number 10. Their makeup design was created by Fred Phillips on very little notice.
01:17Makeup artist Fred Phillips was given very little notice that he'd have to design the Andorians
01:22for their first appearance. He ended up working overnight, so they'd be ready in time for filming.
01:27Phillips based his design on writer DC Fontana's broad description of their appearance in the
01:32script. She described them as tall, slim humanoids with delicate antennae, curling from the head.
01:37Phillips created the Andorians' blue skin with a combination of Max Factor aqua blue cream
01:42stick makeup for the base, and a darker blue cream liner for shadows and details. He sculpted the
01:48antennae from modeling clay, and then, according to Star Trek archivist Richard Arnold, topped them
01:53off with the ends of thread spools. The antennae's supportive stems were made from a rigid material
01:58and attached towards the back of the actor's white wig to hide the connection. Creating the Andorians
02:03was time-consuming and expensive. According to actor William O'Connell, who played Thelove in
02:08Journey to Babel, it took nearly two hours to apply his makeup. The time and expense limited the
02:14number of appearances for the Andorians to only three more episodes of the series after Journey
02:19to Babel. Number 9. Their appearance has changed over the years. Like other species in Star Trek,
02:25the Andorians' appearance has changed as makeup techniques and technology have improved. For Star
02:30Trek The Motion Picture, Fred Phillips gave them forehead ridges and spindly antennae extending from the
02:35tops of their foreheads rather than thick stalks emerging from the back. According to the making
02:40of Star Trek The Motion Picture, the female Andorians were given elaborate white wigs created from a
02:45combination of starched materials and wire covered in cotton and real hair. Star Trek IV, The Voyage
02:51Home, depicted a balding Andorian with antennae emerging seamlessly from his skin. In the Star Trek
02:56The Next Generation episode, The Offspring, a female Andorian with a bulbous head, greenish skin,
03:02and spindly antennae was one of the appearances Data's daughter, Lal, considered for herself.
03:07For Star Trek Enterprise, their skin was given a translucent appearance by applying their makeup
03:11in layers. Their antennae were returned to their original thick segmented stalks, and Michael Westmore
03:17was also able to make them movable with servo motors. Star Trek Discovery makeup artist Glenn
03:22Hetrick's design gave the Andorians a turquoise hue and more prominent brow ridges and cheekbones.
03:27He was also asked to imagine an Andorian who'd had both antennae cut off.
03:32Number 8. Andorians only appeared twice in Star Trek The Next Generation era series.
03:37When Star Trek The Next Generation began, Gene Roddenberry insisted that the writers for the
03:42new series exclude any aliens that had appeared in Star Trek The Original Series because he didn't
03:47want the new show to lean on the past. He must have softened his stance because Vulcans, Romulans,
03:52and Klingons all appeared by the end of Next Generation's first season. However, the only appearances
03:57Andorians in Star Trek The Next Generation were minor. The first one was the aforementioned female
04:03Andorian in the third season episode The Offspring that Data's daughter Lal considered for her
04:07appearance. The second was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it Andorian tourist briefly seen on Ryza in the
04:13episode Captain's Holiday. However, that's still better than they fared in Deep Space Nine and Star
04:18Trek Voyager. Deep Space Nine featured a listing for Andorian fast food on the promenade directory,
04:23but the Andorians themselves never appeared. Andorians were mentioned in the Voyager episode
04:28One Small Step and Andorian amoebas were mentioned in Tuvix, but Andorians weren't even seen as
04:34background characters. The Andorians' triumphant return to television had to wait until Star Trek
04:39Enterprise. Number seven, their antennae are movable and expressive. DC Fontana's script for Journey to
04:46Babel described the Andorians holding their heads down and slightly tilted to facilitate listening with
04:51their delicate antennae. When the redesigned Andorians debuted in the Star Trek Enterprise
04:55episode The Andorian Incident, they sported moving antennae. According to Shran actor Jeffrey Combs,
05:01he and the other actors playing Andorians and The Andorian Incident director Roxanne Dawson worked
05:06closely with the puppeteers controlling the antennae to create meaningful movements for them. Combs
05:11compared them to a cat's ears. When an Andorian was angry, their antennae would flare back. Other
05:16movements could express curiosity or gratitude. In the first draft of the Andorian Incident,
05:22the Andorians were described as having evolved from subterranean ancestors. According to this draft,
05:27their antennae helped the Andorians to navigate the low light and could detect smells and vibrations.
05:32However, none of this has ever been stated in dialogue. According to the Star Trek Enterprise
05:37episode United, having an antennae cut off was humiliating, although under most circumstances,
05:43it would grow back. The Star Trek Discovery episode Scavengers revealed that the antennae could also
05:48be permanently removed. Emerald chain leader Osyraa did this to Rin when he attempted to incite a
05:54rebellion. Number 6. They're literal blue bloods and have a fast metabolism. Blue blood is a human
06:00metaphor for nobility. However, as depicted in the Star Trek Enterprise episode The Enar,
06:05Andorian blood is non-viscous, translucent, and literally blue. The Andorians also have better
06:11perfusion or delivery of blood to the capillaries in cold environments. Andorians are known for their
06:17physical endurance in hand-to-hand combat, but they have a faster metabolism than humans.
06:21Theoretically, this means that if a human and an Andorian stepped outside for fisticuffs,
06:26the human could defeat their Andorian opponent simply by exhausting them. This also means that
06:31Andorians are more vulnerable to phase pulse infections, meaning that if an Andorian got shot
06:36by a phaser, they're more likely to die from wounds that a human would survive. Andorians can also
06:42survive a wide range of severe environmental conditions. As depicted in the Star Trek Enterprise
06:47episode The Enar, Andorians are highly heat resistant. They can even thrive in conditions
06:52with temperatures near the boiling point of water in spite of losing up to 10% of their body weight in
06:57two days. According to physiologist Zach Schlater from Indiana University Bloomington,
07:02humans would tap out and find somewhere cool around 35 degrees Celsius or 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
07:09Number 5. They consider themselves highly emotional and violent. DC Fontana's script for Journey to
07:15Babel described the Andorians as a fierce warrior breed. Her script also indicated that their costumes
07:20should include a vicious-looking bladed weapon. Other than that, their backstory was deliberately kept
07:26vague. Fred Decker, the consulting producer on Star Trek Enterprise's first season, has said that he
07:31believed they were primarily an interesting makeup design with very little backstory. Their history
07:37and culture developed significantly as the Andorians made more appearances, especially in Star Trek
07:42Enterprise where they became a major figure in the show. The Andorians think themselves as violent,
07:47emotional, and passionate warriors. They despise dishonesty, never fight without a cause, and value
07:53family. They are also suspicious, volatile, and capable of acting with duplicity. The Ushan, a code of
08:00honor that demands a duel to the death is a central part of Andorian culture. Thousands of rules govern the
08:06duels. The combatants fight each other with a broad-bladed ice miner tool, the Ushan Tor, while tethered to
08:12one another. In the Star Trek Enterprise episode, United, Jonathan Archer and Shran fought an Ushan duel
08:18aboard the Enterprise. It ended when Archer sliced off one of Shran's antennae with his Ushan Tor humiliating
08:24the Andorian. Number 4. They are highly militaristic. The Andorians channel their violent tendencies into a
08:31highly militaristic society. Their primary military force, the Andorian Imperial Guard, consists of both
08:37a starship fleet and the Imperial infantry. By the time they were encountered by humans in the 22nd
08:43century, the Andorian Imperial Guard had existed for at least four Andorian generations. It includes both
08:49male and female personnel who are recruited from a young age, sometimes as children. They maintain
08:55ranks equivalent to lieutenant, commander, captain, and general. Their standard issue sidearm is an
09:00assault rifle-sized direct energy weapon that fires blue beams and doesn't feature a stun setting.
09:05When a guardsman dies far from home, their comrades carry part of their body, such as a vial of blood,
09:11to a memorial called the Wall of Heroes back home on Andoria. In the Star Trek Enterprise episode,
09:16United, Shran offered to take Archer's blood to the Wall of Heroes if Archer lost their Ushan duel.
09:22Archer denied the honor, telling Shran that he wasn't going to die that day. As depicted in the
09:27Star Trek Enterprise episode, Shadows of Pajam, the Andorian Imperial Guard are also highly skilled
09:32at espionage techniques, such as monitoring secured transmissions and deploying secret operatives.
09:38Number 3. The Enar are their secretive cousins. First revealed on screen at the end of the Star Trek
09:43Enterprise episode, United, the Enar are a subspecies of the Andorians native to Andoria's
09:49northern wastes. The Andorians considered them a myth until they encountered them in the early
09:5322nd century. The Enar are physiologically similar to their cousins, however, they lack skin pigmentation
10:00and have a pale, ice-blue or white appearance instead of a vivid blue. Most Enar are blind, however,
10:07their other senses make up for their lack of sight and are considered superior to the senses of other
10:11humanoids. Along with their heightened senses, Enar also have highly developed telepathic
10:16abilities. They use their ability to communicate with each other and can project themselves to
10:21other humanoids. They can also defend themselves from telepathic mind control. The Enar and Andorians
10:27are genetically compatible. Shran's half-Enar daughter had paler skin than her father and fully
10:32developed eyesight, unlike her mother. Culturally, the Enar and Andorians are opposite. The Enar are
10:38pacifists rather than warriors. Enar communities are leaderless rather than an empire governed by
10:43a chancellor. They appoint a speaker as situations warrant, and one of their core beliefs is that a
10:48person only dies once they've fulfilled their purpose in life. Number 2. Andorian women are equal
10:54to Andorian men. Although traits such as militarism and a warrior ethos are associated with patriarchal
11:00societies, in Andorian culture, men and women have equal status. In Star Trek Enterprise, the Andorian
11:06Imperial Guard was depicted as having a large number of female soldiers just as capable of
11:11kicking your sorry pink butt as male soldiers. In the movie Conan the Destroyer, Grace Jones'
11:17character Zula answered Princess Jaina's question about getting the man she has her heart set on
11:22with the now iconic retort, grab him and take him. Apparently, that same logic also applies to intimate
11:28relationships in Andorian society. An Andorian woman can initiate an intimate relationship simply by
11:34assaulting her desired man. That gives a whole new meaning to the phrase swipe right. As mentioned
11:39in the Star Trek Next Generation episode, Data's Day, and the Star Trek Enterprise episodes, Cease Fire,
11:45Proving Grounds, and Babel One, Andorian weddings require groups of four people. While this might
11:50indicate polygamy, it could just as easily mean that the engaged couple, an officiant, and a witness were
11:56all that the Andorian law and customs required. The idea of someone like Shran sharing a home with three
12:02other Andorian adults is unsettling. Number one, the Andorians and Vulcans met in the 20th century
12:08and hated each other almost immediately. The Andorians and Vulcans made first contact in the early 20th
12:14century. While the first meeting went well, by the 1950s, they were bickering over the property line
12:19like sitcom neighbors, with this feud lasting for 200 years. The Andorians believed the only thing
12:25stopping a Vulcan invasion was the fear of massive retaliation. This dispute developed into a Cold War.
12:32Like the Cold War between the United States and the Soviets, the Andorian-Vulcan Cold War
12:36included accusations of espionage, actual espionage, and at least one proxy war. The Cold War heated up
12:43during Earth's conflict with the Zindi. The Andorians assisted the Enterprise's attempt
12:48to capture a prototype of the Zindi planet-killer. However, they stole it for themselves for use as
12:53a deterrent in the Cold War. But the Enterprise was able to destroy the prototype before the Andorians
12:59had time to study it. Administrator Vulcans of the Vulcan High Command claimed that the Andorians had
13:04recovered Zindi technology and launched an invasion of Andorian space. When his claims were proven false,
13:10he was overthrown and a more peaceful government installed. After this, Andorians and Vulcans began
13:15cooperating with each other, eventually joining with humans and Tellarites into the Coalition of
13:20Planets and then into the United Federation of Planets. And those were 10 things about the Andorians
13:26that you hopefully didn't know. If you enjoyed this video, then go ahead and give it a like. You
13:31can also leave a comment below if you can think of anything else that we might have missed. If you
13:35want to keep up with us outside of YouTube, you can follow us on Twitter at TrekCulture or on Instagram at
13:41TrekCultureYT. You can also find me across various social medias by searching TrekkieBree. With all
13:47that being said, I hope you all have a great rest of your day and don't forget to live long and prosper.
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