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
00:17more than any other Star Trek alien. The time and expense that went into creating this now-iconic
00:23look limited 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 to bring
00:35back the Andorians when thinking about who should appear as antagonists in the episode that became
00:39the Andorian Incident. According to Braga, this goal was to take a silly-looking alien and make
00:45them both look cool and have a believable culture. With each subsequent appearance on Enterprise,
00:50the writers further fleshed out the initially vague culture and history. On Enterprise,
00:55the Andorians became passionate warriors, rivals with the Vulcans, and founding members of the
01:00United Federation of Planets along with humans, Vulcans, and Tellarites. With that in mind,
01:05I'm Brie from Trek Culture, and here are 10 things that you hopefully didn't already know
01:10about Andorians. Number 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 for
01:22their first appearance. He ended up working overnight so they'd be ready in time for filming.
01:27Phillips based his design on writer D.C. 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 Stick
01:43makeup for the base and a darker blue cream liner for shadows and details. He sculpted the antennae
01:49from modeling clay and then, according to Star Trek archivist Richard Arnold, topped them off
01:53with the ends of thread spools. The antennae's supportive stems were made from a rigid material
01:58and attached towards the back of the actress' white wig to hide the connection. Creating the
02:03Andorians was time-consuming and expensive. According to actor William O'Connell, who played
02:08Thelav 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 nine, their appearance has changed over the years. Like other species in
02:24Star Trek, the Andorians' appearance has changed as makeup techniques and technology have improved.
02:29For Star Trek The Motion Picture, Fred Phillips gave them forehead ridges and spindly antennae
02:34extending from the tops of their foreheads rather than thick stalks emerging from the back.
02:39According to the making of Star Trek The Motion Picture, the female Andorians were given elaborate
02:44white wigs created from a combination of Star Trek materials and wire covered in cotton and real
02:49hair. Star Trek IV, The Voyage Home, depicted a balding Andorian with antennae emerging seamlessly
02:55from his skin. In the Star Trek The Next Generation episode, The Offspring, a female Andorian with a
03:00bulbous head, greenish skin, and spindly antennae was one of the appearances Data's daughter,
03:05Lal, considered for herself. For Star Trek Enterprise, their skin was given a translucent
03:10appearance by applying their makeup in layers. Their antennae were returned to their original
03:14thick segmented stalks and Michael Westmore was also able to make them movable with servo motors.
03:20Star Trek Discovery makeup artist Glenn Hetrick's design gave the Andorians a turquoise hue and more
03:26prominent brow ridges and cheekbones. He was also asked to imagine an Andorian who'd had both antennae
03:32cut off. Number eight, 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 new
03:42series 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
03:56appearances 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, Lal,
04:06considered for her appearance. The second was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it Andorian tourist briefly
04:12seen on Ryza in the episode, Captain's Holiday. However, that's still better than they fared in
04:16Deep Space Nine and Star Trek Voyager. Deep Space Nine featured a listing for Andorian fast food on
04:22the promenade directory, but the Andorians themselves never appeared. Andorians were
04:26mentioned in the Voyager episode, One Small Step, and Andorian amoebas were mentioned in Tuvix,
04:32but Andorians weren't even seen as background characters. The Andorians' triumphant return to
04:37television had to wait until Star Trek Enterprise. Number seven, their antennae are movable and
04:43expressive. D.C. Fontana's script for Journey to Babel described the Andorians holding their heads
04:48down and slightly tilted to facilitate listening with their delicate antennae. When the redesigned
04:53Andorians debuted in the Star Trek Enterprise episode, The Andorian Incident, they sported
04:58antennae. According to Shran actor Jeffrey Combs, he and the other actors playing Andorians and the
05:04Andorian Incident director, Roxanne Dawson, worked closely with the puppeteers controlling the
05:08antennae to create meaningful movements for them. Combs compared them to a cat's ears. When an
05:13Andorian was angry, their antennae would flare back. Other movements could express curiosity or
05:18gratitude. In the first draft of The Andorian Incident, the Andorians were described as having
05:23evolved from subterranean ancestors. According to this draft, their antennae helped the Andorians to
05:29navigate the low light and could detect smells and vibrations. However, none of this has ever
05:34been stated in dialogue. According to the Star Trek Enterprise episode, United, having an antennae cut
05:40off was humiliating, although under most circumstances it would grow back. The Star
05:45Trek Discovery episode, Scavengers, revealed that the antennae could also be permanently removed.
05:50Emerald chain leader, Osyraa, did this to Rin when he attempted to incite a rebellion.
05:54Number six, they're literal bluebloods and have a fast metabolism. Blueblood is a human metaphor
06:00for nobility. However, as depicted in the Star Trek Enterprise episode, The Enar, Andorian blood is
06:06non-viscous, translucent, and literally blue. The Andorians also have better perfusion or delivery
06:13of blood to the capillaries in cold environments. Andorians are known for their physical endurance
06:18in hand-to-hand combat, but they have a faster metabolism than humans. Theoretically, this means
06:23that if a human and an Andorian stepped outside for fist cuffs, the human could defeat their
06:27Andorian opponent simply by exhausting them. This also means that Andorians are more vulnerable to
06:33phase pulse infections, meaning that if an Andorian got shot by a phaser, they're more likely to die
06:38from wounds that a human would survive. Andorians can also survive a wide range of severe environmental
06:44conditions. As depicted in the Star Trek Enterprise episode, The Enar, Andorians are highly
06:49heat resistant. They can even thrive in conditions with temperatures near the boiling point of water
06:54in spite of losing up to 10% of their body weight in two days. According to physiologist Zach
07:00Schlater from Indiana University Bloomington, humans would tap out and find somewhere cool
07:05around 35 degrees Celsius or 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Number five, they consider themselves highly
07:11emotional and violent. DC Fontana's script for Journey to Babel described the Andorians as a
07:17fierce warrior breed. Her script also indicated that their costumes should include a vicious
07:22looking bladed weapon. Other than that, their backstory was deliberately kept vague. Fred
07:26Decker, the consulting producer on Star Trek Enterprise's first season, has said that he believed
07:32they were primarily an interesting makeup design with very little backstory. Their history and
07:37culture 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
07:59code of honor that demands a duel to the death, is a central part of Andorian culture. Thousands of
08:05rules govern the duels. The combatants fight each other with a broad-bladed ice miner tool,
08:10the Ushan Tor, while tethered to one another. In the Star Trek Enterprise episode, United,
08:15Jonathan 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 four,
08:26they 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
08:37both a starship fleet and the Imperial Infantry. By the time they were encountered by humans in the
08:4222nd century, the Andorian Imperial Guard had existed for at least four Andorian generations.
08:48It includes both male and female personnel who are recruited from a young age, sometimes as
08:54children. They maintain ranks equivalent to lieutenant, commander, captain, and general.
08:58Their standard issue sidearm is an assault rifle-sized direct energy weapon that fires
09:03blue beams and doesn't feature a stun setting. When a guardsman dies far from home, their comrades
09:08carry part of their body, such as a vial of blood, to a memorial called the Wall of Heroes back home
09:14on Andoria. In the Star Trek Enterprise episode, United, Shran offered to take Archer's blood to
09:19the Wall of Heroes if Archer lost their Ushan duel. Archer denied the honor, telling Shran that he
09:24wasn't going to die that day. As depicted in the Star Trek Enterprise episode, Shadows of Pajam,
09:30the Andorian Imperial Guard are also highly skilled at espionage techniques, such as
09:34monitoring secured transmissions and deploying secret operatives.
09:38Number 3. The Inar are their secretive cousins.
09:41First revealed on screen at the end of the Star Trek Enterprise episode, United,
09:45the Inar are a subspecies of the Andorians native to Andoria's northern wastes. The
09:50Andorians considered them a myth until they encountered them in the early 22nd century.
09:55The Inar 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 Inar are blind,
10:06however their other senses make up for their lack of sight and are considered superior to the senses
10:11of other humanoids. Along with their heightened senses, Inar 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 Inar and Andorians
10:27are genetically compatible. Shran's half Inar daughter had paler skin than her father and
10:32fully developed eyesight unlike her mother. Culturally, the Inar and Andorians are opposite.
10:37The Inar are pacifists rather than warriors. Inar communities are leaderless rather than an empire
10:42governed by a chancellor. They appoint a speaker as situation's warrant and one of their core
10:47beliefs 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
10:58warrior ethos are associated with patriarchal societies, in Andorian culture men and women
11:03have equal status. In Star Trek Enterprise, the Andorian Imperial Guard was depicted as having
11:08a large number of female soldiers just as capable of kicking your sorry pink butt as male soldiers.
11:14In the movie Conan the Destroyer, Grace Jones's character Zula answered Princess Jaina's question
11:20about getting the man she has her heart set on with the now iconic retort, grab him and take
11:24him. Apparently, that same logic also applies to intimate relationships in Andorian society.
11:30An Andorian woman can initiate an intimate relationship simply by assaulting her desired
11:35man. That gives a whole new meaning to the phrase swipe right. As mentioned in the Star
11:40Trek Next Generation episode Date is Day and the Star Trek Enterprise episodes Ceasefire,
11:45Proving Grounds, and Babel 1, 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,
11:55and a witness were all that the Andorian law and customs required. The idea of someone like
12:00Shran sharing a home with three other Andorian adults is unsettling.
12:05Number 1. The Andorians and Vulcans met in the 20th century and hated each other almost
12:10immediately. The Andorians and Vulcans made first contact in the early 20th century. While the first
12:15meeting went well, by the 1950s they were bickering over the property line like sitcom neighbors,
12:21with this feud lasting for 200 years. The Andorians believed the only thing stopping
12:26a Vulcan invasion was the fear of massive retaliation. This dispute developed into a
12:31Cold War. Like the Cold War between the United States and the Soviets, the Andorian-Vulcan Cold
12:36War included accusations of espionage, actual espionage, and at least one proxy war. The Cold
12:43War heated up during Earth's conflict with the Xindi. The Andorians assisted the Enterprise's
12:48attempt to capture a prototype of the Xindi planet killer, however they stole it for themselves for
12:53use as a deterrent in the Cold War. But the Enterprise was able to destroy the prototype
12:58before the Andorians had time to study it. Administrator Volkner, at the loss of the Vulcan
13:02High Command, claimed that the Andorians had recovered Xindi 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
13:27didn't know. If you enjoyed this video, then go ahead and give it a like. You can also leave a
13:32comment below if you can think of anything else that we might have missed. If you want to keep
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13:47With all that being said, I hope you all have a great rest of your day and don't forget to
13:51live long and prosper.