| "Broken Bow" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Star Trek: Enterprise episodes | |||
| Episodenos. | Season 1 Episodes 1 and 2 | ||
| Directed by | James Conway[1] | ||
| Written by | |||
| Featured music | Dennis McCarthy | ||
| Production code | 40358-721 (101-102) | ||
| Original air date | September 26, 2001 (2001-09-26)[2] | ||
| Guest appearances | |||
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| Star Trek: Enterpriseseason 1 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"Broken Bow" is the two-partseries premiere of the science fiction television seriesEnterprise (later renamedStar Trek: Enterprise). It originally aired as a double-length episode, but was split into two parts for syndication, though releases on home media and streaming maintain its original one-episode format. The episode aired onUPN on September 26, 2001. A novelization of the episode, written byDiane Carey, was published in 2001. The episode won the 2002Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series, and was also nominated for sound editing and make-up.
It is nine decades sinceZefram Cochrane produced humans' firstwarp flight (as seen in the filmStar Trek: First Contact), and Earth finally launches its first starship of exploration,Enterprise NX-01. Commanded by CaptainJonathan Archer, and against the objections of theVulcans, it departs on an urgent mission to return an injured Klingon toQo'noS, theKlingon homeworld, but come into conflict with theSuliban.
On Earth in 2121, a youngJonathan Archer is painting a model spaceship with his father, Henry, principal designer of Earth's first Warp 5 engine. Without fully understanding the reasons behind the Vulcans' constraint, he believes that there must be an explanation for holding the human space program back.
Thirty years later, in 2151, aKlingon named Klaang crashes inBroken Bow, Oklahoma.[a] He kills his twoSuliban pursuers, but is then critically wounded by a farmer. Archer, now Captain of the soon-to-be-launched prototype starshipEnterprise NX-01, is called toStarfleet Headquarters, where he discusses the incident withAdmiral Forrest and Vulcan ambassadorSoval. The Vulcans wish to delay the launch ofEnterprise. Archer, after consulting with the Denobulan DoctorPhlox, convinces Forrest to allow the new ship to take Klaang toQo'noS.
Prior to departure, Archer seeks additional crewmembers, including Phlox and linguistHoshi Sato, while Sub-CommanderT'Pol is assigned as their "Vulcan liaison". Meanwhile, on a Suliban vessel somewhere,Silik, leader of the Suliban Cabal, speaks with a mysterious, nameless humanoid figure from their future.[7][2] The figure orders Silik to recover Klaang. OnEnterprise Klaang regains consciousness, but theuniversal translator does not allow Archer and Sato to communicate with him effectively. Suddenly, Suliban attack the ship and main power is disrupted. During the chaos, one intruder is killed and Klaang is kidnapped.
Later, in Sickbay, Phlox shows Archer the autopsied Suliban corpse, and points out several genetic enhancements. Sato completes a translation of Klaang's speech, and keywords reveal that T'Pol has been withholding information about the Vulcan investigation, including the fact that Klaang had been onRigel X. Meanwhile, an alien officer aboard the Suliban complex interrogates Klaang in theKlingon language. Arriving at the Rigel X Trade Complex, Archer, Sato, Tucker, and T'Pol are seized by Suliban agents.
Sarin, once a member of the Suliban Cabal, tells Archer that she gave Klaang a message to theHigh Council with proof of Suliban involvement in attacks on Klingon factions, and that the enhanced Suliban are following orders in aTemporal Cold War. Suliban from the Cabal show up, and attack, Silik kills Sarin and Archer is shot, but the away team escape back toEnterprise. T'Pol modifiesEnterprise's sensors to track the Suliban vessel that attacked them, and they follow it to agas giant. Meanwhile, aboard the alien complex, Silik talks with the mysterious figure again.
Within the gas giant is the Helix, a Suliban structure composed of hundreds of Suliban cell ships, which theEnterprise crew scan to find Klaang. Using the grappler,Enterprise grabs an attacking Suliban ship, the pilot ejecting. After studying the captured ship and its controls, Archer and Tucker pilot it to the Helix. Becoming separated, Tucker returns with Klaang toEnterprise. After a brief physical confrontation between Archer and Silik in a temporally altered audience room, Tucker usesEnterprise's newtransporter to beam Archer out of the Helix.
They deliver Klaang and his message (encoded as DNA in his blood) to Qo'noS and theKlingon Chancellor and Council. Archer tells Tucker and T'Pol thatStarfleet has ordered them to continue their mission. After reconsidering his preconceptions of Vulcans, he also invites T'Pol to stay on board and she agrees to ask permission.
Production began on Monday, May 14, 2001,[8] and saw the return of many crew with past experience on theStar Trek franchise.[9]DirectorJames L. Conway had previously directed various episodes ofStar Trek across the different series, and was offered the chance to direct the first episode ofEnterprise by Rick Berman. Conway thought the script was fantastic and wanted to do the episode, but at that time he was executive vice-president atSpelling Entertainment, and had to askAaron Spelling and Duke Vincent for permission for a leave of absence to do it. Conway said it was the best experience he ever had directing a TV show. They had a long 32-day filming schedule, and a huge budget. All the sets had to be built, costumes and props had to be made, and all the setup costs of the show were included in the budget of the premiere. He also knew many of the crew from his previous work. Conway described himself as "a fan first and a director second" and he hoped that he did justice to the scripts and brought enthusiasm to every episode he did.[1] Conway returned to direct several moreEnterprise episodes, including "In a Mirror, Darkly" Part 1.Returning crew included First Assistant Director (1st AD)Jerry Fleck, Director of Photography (DP)Marvin V. Rush, and Visual Effects SupervisorRonald B. Moore, all whom had been with the franchise sinceThe Next Generation.[9]Michael Okuda continued as Scenic Arts Supervisor, and as technical consultant to the writing staff. Production designersHerman Zimmerman andJohn Eaves also worked to create the look of the new series.[10]
The episode introduces much of thecast ofEnterprise, which remains for the rest of the show; it also has many guest stars.James Cromwell reprises the character Zefram Cochrane (uncredited),[6] having previously played this character in the 1996 filmStar Trek: First Contact.[11]Klaang, the crash-landed Klingon was played byTommy "Tiny" Lister Jr.[6]John Fleck played the Suliban leader Sillik. Starfleet personnel, Admiral Forrest, Admiral Daniel Leonard and Commander Williams, were played byVaughn Armstrong,Jim Beaver andJim Fitzpatrick, respectively. Their characters were named after actorsLeonard Nimoy,DeForest Kelley andWilliam Shatner. This was Armstrong's ninth of twelve different characters onStar Trek.[6] Vulcans are played byGary Graham as Soval, andThomas Kopache as Tos. The character name "Tos" is another nod toThe Original Series, commonly abbreviated as "TOS".[6] The butterfly dancers at Rigel X were played by theKlimaszewski Twins, Diane and Elaine.[5] In Part 2, the Suliban female Sarin was played byMelinda Clarke, and the mysterious "Humanoid Figure" was played byJames Horan.[6]
The premiere of "Broken Bow" was at the Paramount Theatre on September 20, 2001. It was attended by the cast and crew ofEnterprise, as well as several fromStar Trek: Voyager andStar Trek: The Next Generation.[12]It was first aired onUPN on September 26, 2001.[13] The broadcast saw the episode come in first place during the timeslot, with 16 million viewers watching, with an average of 12 million. This was slightly lower than the premiere ofVoyager but represented an increase of 42% over the final episode "Endgame", and was the best ratings for any series on that the channel sinceVoyager.[14][15]
In the UK, "Broken Bow" first broadcast onsatellite TV channelSky One,[16] before airing onChannel 4 during July 2002.[17]
This episode was released as part ofEnterprise season one, which was released in high definition onBlu-ray disc on March 26, 2013;[18] it has 1080p video and aDTS-HD Master Audio sound track.[19]
On the launch of theParamount+ streaming service, on March 4, 2021, a one day only freeStar Trek marathon was presented, featuring the first episodes of the variousStar Trek television series, including "Broken Bow". The marathon started at 7 am PT/10 am ET and waslive streamed on theYouTube internet video platform, going through each episode chronologically in order of release, with "Broken Bow" airing after "Caretaker".[20]
The episode received positive reviews from critics.[21]Ron Wertheimer ofThe New York Times gave the episode a positive review, saying: "Enterprise gets back to basics, then improves on them."[22]David Segal ofThe Washington Post was critical of the first episode, saying that "the script is riddled with clunkers and jargon" and that the show "has a bargain-basement feel that lands just this side of camp; the space fights aren't much more convincing than PlayStation offerings. And everything is wrapped in a trite message about unity and the importance of getting along."[23]Laura Fries ofVariety says the prequel setting "rejuvenates a somewhat tired notion" but also says "viewers are reminded that this is more akin to their father'sStar Trek." She praised Bakula for bringing "an earthy quality back" to the captain, making him "personable and accessible".[24]Howard Rosenberg of theLos Angeles Times predicted thatStar Trek fans would either "raise the bar impossibly high for this series or watch it because they watch everything with this brand" but as a casual viewer he found the premiere "mildly entertaining, but mostly plays rather tepidly, its occasional glints of intellect pushed far into the background by action."[25] Allan Johnson of theChicago Tribune was positive about the series as an accessible entry point for potential new fans.[26]Entertainment Weekly gave it a grade B+, and said it was "appealing to both Trekkies and non-fans of this pop-cultural institution".[27] Hal Boedeker of theOrlando Sentinel called the story "a standard adventure" and was critical of action sequences as "familiar" and that "it goes boldly and unapologetically where dozens of series have gone before." He praised Blalock for her performance: "Star Trek purists might not be amused, but the captivating Blalock energizes the franchise.Enterprise needs every bit of pizazz she can supply."[28]Aint It Cool News gave the episode four out of five, praised Blalock for her performance, and said: "Clearly, an extraordinary amount of love and attention went into this endeavor, from the propulsive teleplay to the careful casting to the world-beating production design."[29]IGN rated it three out of five, and wrote: "There's enough new, interesting stuff there to make me want to see more."[30]Tor.com rated it five out of ten.[6]
A review of the Blu-ray release by Blu-ray.com, commented on the visuals, remarking: "The scene in Brazil in "Broken Bow" does offer some nicely brilliant greens, and certainly some scattered traces of good, honest colors are seen throughout, but mostly this is a very uninspired palette", and also pointing out the special effects are in lower resolution than HD that causes some "jagged edges, and lack crisp details." They were more positive about the audio, remarking of the surround sound track: "The controversial theme song has never sounded better. It's rich, full of life, and with well-defined vocals and precise instrument clarity and reproduction. Much of the action on board theNX-01 is brought to life by the subtle, deep hum of the engines and the little odds and ends sound elements that define the atmosphere."[19]
"Broken Bow" was nominated for three Emmy Awards.[31] It was nominated in the categories Outstanding Makeup For A Series (Prosthetic) and Outstanding Sound Editing For A Series, and it won the award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series.[32]
In 2014,The A.V. Club include this episode on their list of the ten episodes that best represented the series. The double-episode was praised for establishing most of the key ideas that would drive the show. "It's a faltering beginning, but it hints at the potentialEnterprise would spend seasons trying to realize."[33] In 2015Wired said that when theNX-01 leaves space dry dock for the first time is the best moment in the whole series.[34] In 2016,SyFy ranked "Broken Bow" as the third best out of sixStar Trek pilot episodes.[35] In 2017,GameSpot ranked this as the fourth best pilot episode of anyStar Trek series.[36]
In 2016,The Hollywood Reporter rated "Broken Bow" the 80th best episode of allStar Trek episodes,[37]IGN ranked it the 21st best episode of allStar Trek,[38] whileEmpire ranked it the 37th best out of allStar Trek television episodes.[39] In 2020,Screen Rant ranked "Broken Bow" the fourth best episode of allStar Trek franchise television episodes.[40][b]
| Author | Diane Carey |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Star Trek: Enterprise |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Pocket Books |
Publication date | 1 October 2001 (hardback) 1 June 2003 (paperback) |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Paperback,Hardback) |
| Pages | 282 pages |
| ISBN | 0-7434-4862-6 (first edition, hardback) ISBN 0-7434-7062-1 (paperback) |
| OCLC | 48183555 |
| 813/.54 21 | |
| LC Class | PS3553.A6684 B76 2001 |
| Text | Broken Bow atInternet Archive |
A 240 page novelization written byDiane Carey was published in 2001 byPocket Books.[42] Carey was given only the script and wrote the novel without any further information from the production team. She said would normally take about two weeks to write a novelization, but that Broken Bow was written in just four days.[43] In the Season 1 DVD special features, producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga discussed how Diane Carey used the character's internal monologues to frequently criticize the script.[44] It was Carey's last Star Trek novel.[6]
Mark Moses, who played Jonathan Archer's father "Henry Archer" in the Enterprise pilot "Broken Bow," as well as "Naroq" in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Riddles."
Star Trek fans have seen Joseph Ruskin play five different characters in four Star Trek series
He is referred to as "Humanoid Figure" in credits, as seen at StarTrek.com
the new show — which started production on Monday
"Broken Bow" is also up for Outstanding Makeup For A Series (Prosthetic) and Outstanding Sound Editing For A Series.
