- 24/05/2025
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
01:37the head. 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
01:53them off with the ends of thread spools. The antennae's supportive stems were made from a rigid
01:58material and attached towards the back of the actor's white wig to hide the connection. Creating
02:03the Andorians was time-consuming and expensive. According to actor William O'Connell, who played
02:08Thelove in Journey to Babel, it took nearly two hours to apply his makeup. The time and expense
02:13limited the number of appearances for the Andorians to only three more episodes of the series after
02:18Journey to Babel. Number 9. Their appearance has changed over the years. Like other species in Star
02:24Trek, the 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 also
03:18able to make them movable with servo motors. Star Trek Discovery makeup artist Glenn Hetrick's design
03:23gave the Andorians a turquoise hue and more prominent brow ridges and cheekbones. He was also asked to
03:29imagine an Andorian who'd had both antennae cut off. Number 8. Andorians only appeared twice in Star
03:35Trek The Next Generation era series. When Star Trek The Next Generation began, Gene Roddenberry insisted
03:41that the writers for the new series exclude any aliens that had appeared in Star Trek The Original
03:45Series because he didn't want the new show to lean on the past. He must have softened his stance
03:50because 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
04:01the aforementioned female Andorian in the third season episode The Offspring that Data's daughter
04:06Lal considered for her appearance. The second was a blinkin' 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
04:27Voyager episode One Small Step and Andorian amoebas were mentioned in Tuvix, but Andorians
04:33weren't even seen as background characters. The Andorians' triumphant return to television had to
04:38wait until Star Trek Enterprise. Number 7. Their antennae are movable and expressive.
04:44DC Fontana's script for Journey to Babel described the Andorians holding their heads down and slightly
04:49tilted to facilitate listening with their delicate antennae. When the redesigned Andorians debuted in the
04:54Star Trek Enterprise episode The Andorian Incident, they sported moving antennae. According to Shran
04:59actor Jeffrey 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 Andorian
05:21Incident, the Andorians were described as having evolved from subterranean ancestors. According to
05:26this draft, their antennae helped the Andorians to navigate the low light and could detect smells and
05:31vibrations. However, none of this has ever been stated in dialogue. According to the Star Trek
05:37Enterprise episode 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 be
05:48permanently removed. Emerald chain leader Osyraa did this to Rin when he attempted to incite a rebellion.
05:54Number 6. They're literal bluebloods and have a fast metabolism. Blueblood is a human metaphor for
06:01nobility. However, as depicted in the Star Trek Enterprise episode The Enar, Andorian blood is non-viscous,
06:07translucent, and literally blue. The Andorians also have better perfusion or delivery of blood to the
06:13capillaries in cold environments. Andorians are known for their physical endurance in hand-to-hand
06:18combat, but they have a faster metabolism than humans. Theoretically, this means that if a human
06:23and an Andorian stepped outside for fisticuffs, the human could defeat their Andorian opponent simply by
06:29exhausting them. This also means that Andorians are more vulnerable to face pulse infections, meaning
06:34that if an Andorian got shot by a phaser, they're more likely to die from wounds than a human would
06:40survive. Andorians can also survive a wide range of severe environmental conditions. As depicted in
06:46the Star Trek Enterprise episode The Enar, Andorians are highly heat-resistant. They can even thrive in
06:51conditions with temperatures near the boiling point of water in spite of losing up to 10% of their body
06:57weight in two 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.
07:08Number 5. They consider themselves highly emotional and violent. D.C. Fontana's script for Journey to
07:15Babel described the Andorians as a fierce warrior breed. Her script also indicated that their
07:20costumes should include a vicious-looking bladed weapon. Other than that, their backstory was
07:25deliberately kept to vague. Fred Decker, the consulting producer on Star Trek Enterprise's first
07:30season, has said that he believed they were primarily an interesting makeup design with very little
07:35backstory. Their history and culture developed significantly as the Andorians made more
07:40appearances, especially in Star Trek Enterprise where they became a major figure in the show.
07:45The Andorians think themselves as violent, emotional, and passionate warriors. They despise dishonesty,
07:51never fight without a cause, and value family. They are also suspicious, volatile, and capable of
07:57acting with duplicity. The Ushan, a code of honor that demands a duel to the death, is a central part of
08:03the Andorian culture. Thousands of rules govern the duels. The combatants fight each other with a
08:08broad-bladed ice miner tool, the Ushan Tor, while tethered to one another. In the Star Trek Enterprise
08:14episode, United, Jonathan Archer and Shran fought an Ushan duel aboard the Enterprise. It ended when Archer
08:20sliced off one of Shran's antennae with his Ushan Tor humiliating the Andorian. Number 4. They are highly
08:27militaristic. The Andorians channel their violent tendencies into a highly militaristic society.
08:33Their primary military force, the Andorian Imperial Guard, consists of both a starship fleet and the
08:39Imperial infantry. By the time they were encountered by humans in the 22nd century, the Andorian Imperial
08:44Guard had existed for at least four Andorian generations. It includes both male and female
08:50personnel who are recruited from a young age, sometimes as children. They maintain ranks equivalent to
08:56lieutenant, commander, captain, and general. Their standard issue sidearm is an assault rifle-sized
09:01direct energy weapon that fires blue beams and doesn't feature a stun setting. When a guardsman
09:06dies far from home, their comrades carry part of their body, such as a vial of blood, to a memorial
09:12called the Wall of Heroes back home on Andoria. In the Star Trek Enterprise episode, United,
09:17Shran 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 at
09:33espionage 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 northern
09:49wastes. The Andorians considered them a myth until they encountered them in the early 22nd century.
09:55The 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,
10:06however, their other senses make up for their lack of sight and are considered superior to the
10:11senses of other humanoids. Along with their heightened senses, Enar also have highly developed
10:16telepathic abilities. They use their ability to communicate with each other and can project
10:21themselves to other humanoids. They can also defend themselves from telepathic mind control.
10:25The Enar and Andorians are genetically compatible. Shran's half-Enar daughter had paler skin than her
10:31father and fully developed eyesight, unlike her mother. Culturally, the Enar and Andorians are
10:36opposite. The Enar are pacifists rather than warriors. Enar communities are leaderless rather than an
10:42empire governed by a chancellor. They appoint a speaker as situations warrant, and one of their
10:47core beliefs is that a person only dies once they've fulfilled their purpose in life.
10:52Number 2. Andorian women are equal to Andorian men. Although traits such as militarism and a warrior
10:58ethos are associated with patriarchal societies, in Andorian culture, men and women have equal status.
11:05In Star Trek Enterprise, the Andorian Imperial Guard was depicted as having a large number of female
11:10soldiers just as capable of kicking your sorry pink butt as male soldiers. In the movie Conan the
11:15Destroyer, Grace Jones' character Zula answered Princess Jaina's question about getting the man
11:21she has her heart set on with the now iconic retort, grab him and take him. Apparently, that same logic
11:27also applies to intimate relationships in Andorian society. An Andorian woman can initiate an intimate
11:32relationship simply by assaulting her desired man. That gives a whole new meaning to the phrase
11:38swipe right. As mentioned in the Star Trek Next Generation episode, Date is Day, and the Star Trek
11:43Enterprise episodes, Ceasefire, Proving Grounds, and Babel 1, Andorian weddings require groups of four
11:49people. While this might indicate polygamy, it could just as easily mean that the engaged couple,
11:54an officiant, and a witness were all that the Andorian law and customs required. The idea of someone
12:00like Shran sharing a home with three other Andorian adults is unsettling. Number 1. The Andorians and
12:06Vulcans met in the 20th century and hated each other almost immediately. The Andorians and Vulcans
12:12made first contact in the early 20th century. While the first meeting went well, by the 1950s,
12:18they were bickering over the property line like sitcom neighbors, with this feud lasting for 200
12:23years. The Andorians believed the only thing stopping a Vulcan invasion was the fear of massive
12:28retaliation. This dispute developed into a Cold War. Like the Cold War between the United States and the
12:34Soviets, the Andorian-Vulcan Cold War included accusations of espionage, actual espionage,
12:40and at least one proxy war. The Cold War heated up during Earth's conflict with the Zindi. The
12:46Andorians assisted the Enterprise's attempt to capture a prototype of the Zindi planet killer.
12:51However, they stole it for themselves for use as a deterrent in the Cold War. But the Enterprise was
12:56able to destroy the prototype before the Andorians had time to study it. Administrator Vulcans' loss of the
13:02Vulcan High Command claimed that the Andorians had recovered Zindi technology and launched an
13:06invasion of Andorian space. When his claims were proven false, he was overthrown and a more peaceful
13:12government installed. After this, Andorians and Vulcans began cooperating with each other,
13:17eventually joining with humans and Tellarites into the Coalition of Planets, and then into the
13:22United Federation of Planets. And those were 10 things about the Andorians that you hopefully didn't
13:27know. If you enjoyed this video, then go ahead and give it a like. You can also leave a comment
13:32below if you can think of anything else that we might have missed. If you want to keep up with us
13:36outside of YouTube, you can follow us on Twitter at TrekCulture or on Instagram at TrekCultureYT.
13:42You can also find me across various social medias by searching TrekkieBree. With all that being said,
13:48I hope you all have a great rest of your day, and don't forget to live long and prosper.
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