said it took some adjustment to write for the optimistic future of Star Trek, but that similar to his past work, "space is a scary place, there are creepy aliens and we don't know if we're going to succeed." Shiban was in part inspired by the television series Danger UXB which set during World War II and was about team dealing with unexploded bombs. Developing the episode they decided Malcolm Reed would be the best character to try and pin down both literally and figuratively. Shiban had planned to use an unknown alien species but the Romulans were suggested and it seemed like a prefect fit for the story as they aliens needed to be unhelpful and unwilling to communicate. Captain Kirk in the original series was credited as the first human to look a Romulan eye-to-eye, so Rick Berman was careful not to contradict that and the Romulans remained unseen throughout the episode. Nonetheless, the introduction of Romulan cloaking technology 100 years before James T. Kirk and Federation outposts would encounter it -- something Mr. Spock only theorized was even possible -- is considered a clear canon violation. They also thought it was important to recognize that the ship had been badly damaged and not simply have the ship repaired and back to normal the next week. This led to the idea for the next episode "Dead Stop" where they must seek out help to repair the ship. The episode filmed for a week and a half, from July 19 until July 31, 2002. Visual effects producer Dan Curry came in for two days during the next episode, to direct additional exterior ship shots with Dominic Keating. Filming was complicated by the bulky environmental suits, and the simulation of zero-gravity. Dominic Keating said: "The space suits are the mother of all costumes. They weigh a ton. They are thick rubber. You sweat. I lost five pounds that week." He also said Bakula seriously put his back out. Despite the difficulties he was pleased with how the episode turned out: "it meshed together really well. It delivered some good character moments and good action too." Technology "Minefield" is noted for its presentation of Star Trek'''s (in)famous cloaking technology to a space mine. Reception "Minefield" was first broadcast October 2, 2002, on UPN. According to Nielsen a rating of 3.5 and a share of 6, meaning 3.5 percent of households in