Show: Star Trek; Enterprise
Episode
Particulars: S1EP1, “Broken Bow”
A reminder; pilots are counted by the studio as two
episodes instead of one. I, however, will consider it as one episode and just
accept that my count’s going to be slightly off this season.
Standalone
Thoughts: If you look at the episode as a pilot, I think it does a pretty
good job of establishing the world and the characters. I also think it does a
good job of making nods via sound effects and props to the previous Star Treks (especially the original
series) without generally going overboard (though the proto “Space; the final
frontier” speech definitely qualifies as overboard). But I should clarify that
I like the concept in fiction of filling in gaps of established universes, when
writers show us events that were only talked about previously, or set the story
in the past and lay the groundwork for characters and events we’ve already seen
happen. Obviously, these things can be done well or badly, but I overall think Enterprise does this well. We’ll discuss
that more when the subject comes up, though.
Looking at the episode’s actual content, I think it’s
mostly decent, but there are definitely some problems. This probably wasn’t as
big an issue when the show was first airing in 2001, but the graphics,
especially the CGI effects, haven’t always aged well. In fact, I wonder if the
reason the Suliban skin and clothing looks so bumpy is to try to hide
imperfections in the digital process when they have to morph. There’s also some
cinematography decisions, like filming a scene upside down or swapping to
infrared vision for specious reasons, that don’t entirely work for me, though
those may be more acceptable for different viewers. What’s more of a problem no
matter when you watch it is that some of the ideas, while excellent in theory,
don’t always work out in practice. For example, I actually like the idea of the
Vulcans and Humans not getting along, with the Vulcans acting a bit superior
and the Humans chafing under the bit. That doesn’t sit well with a lot of fans
(I know SFDebris is against it), but I think it’s a good source of conflict
while also trying to stand apart from previous Star Treks. However, the first real scene where we see this in
action is severely overplayed. All the Vulcans come across as way too arrogant
and Bakula is way too nasty. Had Archer been talking to a superior in
Starfleet, he probably would have been severely punished for the way he was
talking. Things even out more as we go along, but it’s definitely not the
greatest first impression. On a somewhat different note, I like the idea that
they wanted to make the Enterprise’s doctor,
a Denobulan named Phlox (John Billingsley), a little different from the “rubber
forehead” alien trope by using special effects to augment his facial features
at certain moments. However, the effect they use in this episode (making his
smile curve upwards wider than any human can manage) looks unsettling, and even
if that was the intent, maybe they shouldn’t have given that trait to the
ship’s doctor, because there will probably be some people out there questioning
his motives after a smile like that.
(Also, opening on a scene between young Archer [Marty
Davis] and his Dad [Mark Moses] before jumping thirty years into the future
seems like an odd decision if you want to draw the viewer in, especially since
Archer has no bearing on the rest of the teaser. Opening right in the present
day (for the show) and having that scene included in a later flashback would
probably have been the better way to go here.)
Most of the above problems can be chalked up to the
growing pains that come with establishing a series and characters. However, I
do think the big turnaround moment, when T’Pol has a change of heart, kind of
comes out of nowhere. We see the discussions that lead to the change, but it’s
more “tell, not show” in this case. Getting a real explanation, even an after
the fact one, would probably have done more for her character and her
interactions with Archer than what we actually got. Even a few extra seconds of
her looking thoughtful would have sufficed. As it is, it’s glossed over well
enough that some people might not notice it, but there was definite room for
improvement there.
As I said at the start, though, the episode is a fine
start to the show, with characters established quickly and efficiently, action
sequences added in when appropriate and not overdone, and some excellent (if
occasionally infodump heavy) worldbuilding. From my perspective, the show is
starting off just fine. Then again, I said something similar about DS9’s “Emissary”, and look how that first season turned out. I’m
choosing to be optimistic about this, though, especially since Enterprise deserves all the love it can
get.
How it Relates to
the Whole: Obviously, a lot is getting established here in the pilot. But
in addition to a lot of the concepts that are just going to be part and parcel
of the typical episode (decon, the relationship between Humans and Vulcans, the
early forms of more familiar Trek tech),
it also establishes a major plot point, the Temporal Cold War, and introduces a
recurring enemy in the Suliban. Even Deep
Space Nine wasn’t thinking that far ahead. Though whether or not the
writers of Enterprise had really
thought things through remains to be seen.
Other: *First
and foremost, we need to address the opening credits, and especially the
opening song. While I disagree with the majority when it comes to Enterprise’s quality, I am with the
majority on this one. The actual visuals of the opening credits aren’t
terrible, showing how human travel and exploration has progressed, and it’s a
nice, hopeful message. Unfortunately, the song they chose to accompany it,
“Faith of the Heart” by Russell Watson, is a mess. The lyrics are feel-good but
insipid, and Watson’s voice is all wrong for the song. I’m not sure if changing
the lyrics or the singer would have changed anything, but I think it would have
been an improvement. Like DS9, these are
opening credits I’m going to be skipping from here on out, with one exception
that I’ll discuss when we get there. However, if you want to sit through it and
make it a little more tolerable, I’ve noticed that the song actually sounds a
little better when played at double speed. Or you can go my alternate route and
mentally sub in this version instead. Though I may be biased in that
area since that’s my favorite song…
*Despite the fact that it’s now the 22nd
century, farmers in the Midwest still carry shotguns, although the show calls
it a “plasma rifle”. Even in the future, some things never change.
*Enterprise’s pilot
Travis Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery) describes a reversed gravity “sweet
spot” as “like being in the womb”. While he mostly makes a good first
impression, that line is a little…unfortunate.
*Not to say that T’Pol is much better than Mayweather.
She describes learning when or when not to get involved with another species’
customs as “learning to objectify a culture”. Even if the intent was to make
the Vulcans seem harsh and uncaring, that was some of the most inflammatory
language the script could have used. We were getting the idea just fine without
your heavy handed moralizing, writers.
*The flashback/dream sequence Archer has while injured is
kind of baffling to me. I get the symbolic intent—Archer sees T’Pol as standing
in the way of his (and his father’s) dream of leaving Earth and exploring other
worlds—but the way the scene is shot, it’s very easy to assume that T’Pol literally
was present in that moment in Archer’s childhood, especially considering how
anti-Vulcan Archer was even then. I think having her in color while everything
else was sepia toned would have made things a little less confusing.
Before I reveal my special for this series, a little bit
of explanation is required. SFDebris has a category on his Star Trek reviews where he decides which character (main or
supporting) in the episode is the most annoying. His exception is on Voyager, where he automatically assumes
the annoying character is the character of Neelix, and therefore rechristened
it the “Stupid Neelix Moment”. I decided to take those two concepts, combine
them, and get a little more positive while also indulging my more fannish side.
Therefore, I give you…
Badass Malcolm
Moment: Malcolm Reed became my favorite character immediately due to the
accent, but the more I saw him in action, the more I realized he ticks every
box on my checklist of “things I like in a male character”. However, I also
feel like the show doesn’t give him the love and respect he deserves.
Therefore, I intend to correct this, although admittedly sometimes I’m going to
have to stretch things a little. Well, at least it gives me a chance to be
creative.
So after all that preamble, the moment for this episode
is relatively small. Without any other information to go on, I have to assume
that Malcolm whipped up a device that could reverse the polarity of the Suliban
compound, one that disabled everything “within a hundred meters”, in an
incredibly short amount of time. Sure, Tucker probably helped, but I’m betting
the brainchild was all Malcolm’s.
(Oh, and as a bonus? As of this posting, Malcolm has only
been labeled as SFDebris’ annoying character once, and that was more because
SFDebris was getting tired of a trope rather than Malcolm specifically. I
like to think that means he sees Malcolm the way I do.)
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