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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,
00:04Journey to Babel, as one of the many species sending dignitaries to a diplomatic conference.
00:09With the possible exception of the Gorn, the Andorians, with their blue skin, white hair,
00:13and antennae, resembled the pop science fiction concept of the bug-eyed monster more than any
00:18other Star Trek alien. The time and expense that went into creating this now-iconic look
00:23limited them to a handful of appearances until 2001 and the arrival of Star Trek Enterprise.
00:29Star Trek Enterprise's executive producers Brandon Braga and Rick Berman initially decided
00:34to bring back the Andorians when thinking about who should appear as antagonists in the episode
00:39that became The Andorian Incident. According to Braga, this goal was to take a silly-looking alien
00:44and make them both look cool and have a believable culture. With each subsequent appearance on
00:49Enterprise, the writers further fleshed out the initially vague culture and history.
00:54On Enterprise, the Andorians became passionate warriors, rivals with the Vulcans, and founding
00:59members of the United Federation of Planets, along with humans, Vulcans, and Tellarites.
01:04With that in mind, I'm Bri from Trek Culture, and here are 10 things that you hopefully didn't
01:10already know about Andorians.
01:12Number 10. Their makeup design was created by Fred Phillips on very little notice.
01:18Makeup 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
01:26filming. Phillips based his design on writer DC Fontana's broad description of their appearance
01:31in the script. She described them as tall, slim humanoids with delicate antennae, curling from the
01:37head. Phillips 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 number of
02:14appearances for the Andorians to only three more episodes of the series after Journey to Babel.
02:19Number 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
02:35the tops of their foreheads rather than thick stalks emerging from the back. According to the making of
02:40Star Trek The Motion Picture, the female Andorians were given elaborate white wigs created from a
02:45combination of starchy 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. For Star Trek
03:07Enterprise, their skin was given a translucent appearance by applying their makeup in layers.
03:12Their antennae were returned to their original thick, segmented stalks, and Michael Westmore was
03:17also able to make them movable with servo motors. Star Trek Discovery makeup artist Glenn Hetrick's
03:23design gave the Andorians a turquoise hue and more prominent brow ridges and cheekbones. He was also
03:28asked to imagine an Andorian who'd had both antennae cut off. Number 8. Andorians only appeared twice in
03:35Star Trek The Next Generation era series. When Star Trek The Next Generation began, Gene Roddenberry
03:40insisted that the writers for the new series exclude any aliens that had appeared in Star Trek The
03:45Original Series because he didn't want the new show to lean on the past. He must have softened his
03:50stance because Vulcans, Romulans, and Klingons all appeared by the end of Next Generation's first season.
03:55However, the only appearances of Andorians in Star Trek The Next Generation were minor. The first one was the
04:01aforementioned female Andorian in the third season episode The Offspring that Data's daughter Lol
04:06considered for her appearance. The second was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it Andorian tourist briefly
04:11seen on Ryza in the episode Captain's Holiday. However, that's still better than they fared in
04:17Deep Space Nine and Star Trek Voyager. Deep Space Nine featured a listing for Andorian fast food on the
04:22Promenade Directory, but the Andorians themselves never appeared. Andorians were mentioned in the Voyager
04:27episode One Small Step and Andorian amoebas were mentioned in Tuvix, but Andorians weren't even
04:33seen as background characters. The Andorians' triumphant return to television had to wait until
04:39Star Trek Enterprise. Number seven, their antennae are movable and expressive. DC Fontana's script for
04:45Journey to Babel described the Andorians holding their heads down and slightly tilted to facilitate
04:50listening with their delicate antennae. When the redesigned Andorians debuted in the Star Trek
04:55Enterprise episode The Andorian Incident, they sported moving antennae. According to Schran actor
05:00Jeffrey Combs, he and the other actors playing Andorians and The Andorian Incident director
05:05Roxanne Dawson worked closely with the puppeteers controlling the antennae to create meaningful
05:10movements for them. Combs compared them to a cat's ears. When an Andorian was angry, their antennae
05:15would flare back. Other movements could express curiosity or gratitude. In the first draft of The
05:20Andorian Incident, the Andorians were described as having evolved from subterranean ancestors.
05:26According to this draft, their antennae helped the Andorians to navigate the low light and could
05:30detect smells and vibrations. However, none of this has ever been stated in dialogue. According to the
05:36Star Trek Enterprise episode United, having an antennae cut off was humiliating, although under most
05:42circumstances it would grow back. The Star Trek Discovery episode Scavengers revealed that the
05:47antennae could also be permanently removed. Emerald chain leader Osyraa did this to Rin when he
05:53attempted to incite a rebellion. Number 6. They're literal bluebloods and have a fast metabolism.
05:59Blueblood is a human metaphor for nobility. However, as depicted in the Star Trek Enterprise episode
06:04The Enar, Andorian 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 than 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 with temperatures
06:52near the boiling point of water in spite of losing up to 10% of their body weight in two
06:58days.
06:58According to physiologist Zach Schlater from Indiana University Bloomington, humans would tap out and find
07:04somewhere cool around 35 degrees Celsius or 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Number five, they consider
07:10themselves highly emotional and violent. DC Fontana's script for Journey to Babel described the Andorians
07:16as a fierce warrior breed. Her script also indicated that their costumes should include a vicious-looking
07:22bladed weapon. Other than that, their backstory was deliberately kept vague. Fred Decker, the consulting
07:28producer on Star Trek Enterprise's first season, has said that he believed they were primarily an
07:33interesting makeup design with very little backstory. Their history and culture developed
07:37significantly as the Andorians made more appearances, especially in Star Trek Enterprise where they
07:43became a major figure in the show. The Andorians think themselves as violent, emotional, and passionate
07:48warriors. They despise dishonesty, never fight without a cause, and value family. They are also suspicious,
07:55volatile, and capable of acting with duplicity. The Ushan, a code of honor that demands a duel to the death,
08:02is a central part of Andorian culture. Thousands of rules govern the duels. The combatants fight each
08:08other with a broad-bladed ice miner tool, the Ushan Tor, while tethered to one another. In the Star Trek
08:13Enterprise episode, United, Jonathan Archer and Shran fought an Ushan duel aboard the Enterprise. It ended
08:19when Archer sliced off one of Shran's antennae with his Ushan Tor humiliating the Andorian.
08:25Number 4. They are highly militaristic. The Andorians channel their violent tendencies into a highly
08:31militaristic society. Their primary military force, the Andorian Imperial Guard, consists of both a
08:37starship 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.
09:26As depicted in the Star Trek Enterprise episode, Shadows of Pajam, the Andorian Imperial Guard are
09:31also highly skilled at espionage techniques, such as monitoring secured transmissions and deploying
09:37secret operatives. Number 3. The Enar are their secretive cousins. First revealed on screen at the
09:43end of the Star Trek Enterprise episode, United, the Enar are a subspecies of the Andorians native to
09:48Andoria's northern 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 abilities.
10:17They use their ability to communicate with each other and can project themselves to other humanoids.
10:22They can also defend themselves from telepathic mind control. The Enar and Andorians are
10:27genetically compatible. Shran's half-Enar daughter had paler skin than her father and fully developed
10:33eyesight unlike her mother. Culturally, the Enar and Andorians are opposite. The Enar are pacifists
10:38rather than warriors. Enar communities are leaderless rather than an empire governed by a chancellor.
10:44They appoint a speaker as situations warrant and one of their core beliefs is that a person only
10:49dies once they've fulfilled their purpose in life. Number 2. Andorian women are equal to Andorian men.
10:56Although traits such as militarism and a warrior ethos are associated with patriarchal societies,
11:01in Andorian culture, men and women have equal status. In Star Trek Enterprise, the Andorian Imperial
11:07Guard was depicted as having a large number of female soldiers just as capable of kicking your
11:12sorry pink butt as male soldiers. In the movie Conan the Destroyer, Grace Jones' character Zula answered
11:18Princess Jaina's question about getting the man she has her heart set on with the now iconic retort,
11:24grab him and take him. Apparently, that same logic also applies to intimate relationships in Andorian
11:29society. An Andorian woman can initiate an intimate relationship simply by assaulting her desired man.
11:35That gives a whole new meaning to the phrase swipe right. As mentioned in the Star Trek Next
11:40Generation episode, Data's Day, and the Star Trek Enterprise episodes, Cease Fire, Proving Grounds,
11:46and Babel One, Andorian weddings require groups of four people. While this might indicate polygamy,
11:51it could just as easily mean that the engaged couple, an officiant, and a witness were all that the Andorian
11:57law and customs required. The idea of someone like Shran sharing a home with three other Andorian
12:03adults is unsettling. Number one, the Andorians and Vulcans met in the 20th century and hated each
12:09other almost immediately. The Andorians and Vulcans made first contact in the early 20th century.
12:15While the first meeting went well, by the 1950s they were bickering over the property line like sitcom
12:20neighbors, with this feud lasting for 200 years. The Andorians believed the only thing stopping a Vulcan
12:26invasion was the fear of massive retaliation. This dispute developed into a Cold War. Like the Cold
12:32War between the United States and the Soviets, the Andorian Vulcan Cold War included accusations of
12:38espionage, actual espionage, and at least one proxy war. The Cold War heated up during Earth's
12:44conflict with the Zindi. The Andorians assisted the Enterprise's attempt to capture a prototype of
12:49the Zindi planet killer. However, they stole it for themselves for use as a deterrent in the Cold War.
12:55But the Enterprise was able to destroy the prototype before the Andorians had time to study it.
13:00Administrator Vulcans of the Vulcan High Command claimed that the Andorians had recovered Zindi
13:05technology 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
13:25Andorians that you hopefully didn't know. If you enjoyed this video, then go ahead and give it a
13:30like. You can also leave a comment below if you can think of anything else that we might have missed.
13:35If you want to keep up with us outside of YouTube, you can follow us on Twitter at
13:39trekculture or on Instagram at trekcultureyt. You can also find me across various social
13:45medias by searching Trekkie Bree. With all that being said, I hope you all have a great rest of
13:50your day. And don't forget to Live Long and Prosper!
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