Broken Bow, Part 1

I am an oddity. I liked "Star Trek: Enterprise" when it came out a decade and a half ago. Sure, it featured the crew a couple hundred years earlier and with less impressive hardware, but I liked the stories. I also didn't mind the pacing of this double-length episode. However, it's slow and deliberate pace isn't for everyone and my wife was yelling at the screen after a while because she wanted things to speed up a bit! However, I rather expect most premier episodes to be a bit slow, as they're trying to give a lot of back story and establish characters.

This show begins in the earliest days of the Federation. The Earth only recently came into contact with aliens through the work of Zefram Cochran and now, a generation later, the humans are planning on launching a new ship, Enterprise. However, it's obvious that their Vulcan allies are NOT thrilled about the illogical humans going into space and offer to let one of their officers (the humorless hottie with big lips) tag along to 'help'. The first mission is a much more perilous one than anticipated, as they plan on sending the ship to Kronos to return an injured Klingon to his home. Humans just don't get how humorless and warlike this injured guy is!! However, something really weird happens on the mission-- some time-shifting aliens, the Suliban, kidnap the Klingon! Why and how will they get him back to return him home?!

To me, the best thing about this show are the Vulcans. Unlike other Trek series, these aliens are MUCH more haughty and not especially nice. I like the tension between them and the humans. The show is worth seeing and it will take a bit for the show to slip into a higher gear!

Captain Jonathan Archer, T'Pol and Trip meet Sarin and she explains that Klaang is a courier, bringing an important message from her to the leaders of the Klingons in Kronos about rebels Suliban that intend to promote the Temporal Cold War among the Klingons. Archer feels the need of rescuing Klaang and travels to the Suliban mother-ship with Trip to bring the Klingon back to Enterprise. T'Pol seems to understand that loyalty is an emotion that cannot be avoided by humans.

In spite of being a huge fan of Star Trek, I have not followed the episodes of "Enterprise" on cable television. I have decided to buy the DVD box of the First Season and this first episode surprised me. The adventure of the first Enterprise, Captain Jonathan Archer, the gorgeous T'Pol, Reed, Mayweather, Dr. Phlox, Hoshi and Trip is excellent, at least in this pilot. I have noted in IMDb that this episode is actually divides in two parts, but on DVD they are just one, therefore my review is valid for both. I did not like the music score theme, which I found very annoying, but this was an exception in this great show. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Broken Bow"

I've seen episodes of all the Star Trek series here and there on TV throughout my life but never followed any of them devoutly. Recently, I thought it might be fun to go through them and see what the Star Trek universe has to offer me. Not really knowing where to start, I did some research and decided to take the road less traveled and watch the Star Trek series chronologically. So "Broken Bow" is where I have begun.

This double episode is a good start to the series. We got to know the main characters and it seems like the show has a nice ensemble cast with enough personality & diversity to keep it fresh for the audience. I appreciate that we're starting with a small cast of important characters and not overextending it and confusing the audience.

I liked that we're jumping straight into space exploration with Klingons and other less familiar races such as the Suliban. This new race's look and shape-shifting, wall-climbing abilities are intriguing. I hope to see more of them.

The episode didn't blow me away by any means but it's a good foundation. One possible thumbs down from me is that it seems that we're already starting up a love angle between T'Pol & Trip. Romance aboard the Enterprise is fine but let's get a few notches under our belt before we start getting into this stuff. Plus, the whole intolerant, judgmental character broadens his horizons and falls in love with someone you didn't expect is a bit played out. But we'll see... 7/10, average.

These first two episodes were necessary to gain inroads into the obstacles that needed to be overcome so that the exploration of the galaxy could commence. These were basically search and rescue missions which allowed us to see where we were at with the Klingons, the face of arrogance when it relates to the stonewalling, obstructionist Vulcans. And to see other species and to put together a crew that will be facing off with every type of problem as they go on their mission. This predates the original Star Trek series and gives us a more primitive, even more dangerous set of circumstances. This should be fun.

Star Trek was exploration, new planets, cultures etc. All the ones that came after there was any "unknown" it was all politics and racism just the way we live now. Yes! And also, I loved Quantum Leap and Scott Bakula. He really makes "Enterprise" and I love the twist of being "before" the perfection of Star Trek, sometimes "beam me up", doesn't work! I always hate the way some people live to "bad mouth" anything and everyone. We see them for the small people they are.