Broken Bow, Part 1

Just saw Enterprise: Broken Bow, and I would have to say that it is different. It's like one hundred years before Kirk and it's interesting to see how Starfleet gets to where we know it. The uniforms are different than the standard color coordination that Star Trek has used before. It's more of a more military look. The starship shots are all computer generated, on The Next Generation they used models, boy I miss that. Great way to start off a new show, especially when they used the transporter on a human for the first time. The show looks to be promising from this pilot.

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.

After reviewing the entire first season here in 2002 following its original airing, I gave the season 7/10 and the opening pilot 7/10 with other episodes ranging from 9/10 to awful... I vowed to give second season a chance, but the reality is that I gave up as it aired and felt uninspired and moreover couple with the dismal tenth Trek movie : Nemesis (3/10) which to me was the nail in the coffin of a fine franchise. so it was R.I.P. in 2002.

However, ten years later, and on the eve of Star Trek Into Darkness, although I was not extremely pleased with Star Trek (2009) (6/10), I decided to buy the entire Enterprise series to finally see what Enterprise season 2,3 and 4 were about, perhaps (but probably not!) tired of watching even excellent DS9 episodes for the umpteenth time and some mix/match of vibrant Voyager and dated TNG which I actually never finished in its entirety either.

Low and behold, I was absolutely hooked seeing Broken Bow in one sitting! I loved the intrigue, the tension, the action, the dialogue and the characters. T'Pol is brilliant and beautiful. Travis and Hoshi have possibly their best episode here as I remember them being underutilized after this. Phlox is enigmatic and endearing. Trip and Archer are slightly typical bravado, but solid and softened by Archer's apt back story with his father. The both makes amends with patronizing T'Pol, Trip taking his shirt off in the decon and challenging her on the bridge. The supporting character from the Ambassadors, Admirals, Klingons, Suliban (including seductive and believable Sarin) all add to the rich tapestry.

Also, the idea of the show to be early explorers is omnipresent and we are as excited as the characters to discover new civilizations and learn their peculiarities, to try new technology, etc.

Add time travel and foreign worlds who give way to amazing audio and visual effects (including sci-fi elements and sexy elements) and you have a two-hour plus episode that looks like a theatrical release. It helps that it was filmed in 16:9 way before it's time. So revising this pilot I am pumped to see Enterprise again. If nothing else and the series still feel flats, at least I can now be assured that the premise and the production was promising.

Rating changed from 7 to 9/10!

End personal log.

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!