Broken Bow: ENT Newcomer Thoughts

[iliescu]

Broken Bow makes sense, an alien running from another is then confront with the owner farmer which grabs his already there rifle and just shoots. So what happens? It is the decision to find intriguing of to do so or not. Perhaps not at all, thought that though when it got on screen, obviously arguable.

 

[SolarisOne]

I didn't care for the Firefly opening credits either, and that's what it reminded me of.

But the Firefly credits fit that show perfectly. It was a literal space western, and Joss Whedon intentionally wanted to set it apart from shows like Trek.
* * *
What I don't get about Enterprise is why people dislike the Temporal Cold War so much.

 

[Long Syntax]

Broken Bow makes sense, an alien running from another is then confront with the owner farmer which grabs his already there rifle and just shoots. So what happens? It is the decision to find intriguing of to do so or not. Perhaps not at all, thought that though when it got on screen, obviously arguable.

What?

 

[iliescu]

Sorry, do not have to read if it does not have any sense. Just skip past it.....

 

[Abi Smith]

Perhaps someone can enlighten me, why is it that T'Pol the Vulcan (none Starfleet, Federation doesn't exist yet) observer, essentially a consultant, is next in the command chain when Archer is out of action?

 

[Yanks]

Perhaps someone can enlighten me, why is it that T'Pol the Vulcan (none Starfleet, Federation doesn't exist yet) observer, essentially a consultant, is next in the command chain when Archer is out of action?

Because of her experience and that was agreed upon by the Vulcan's and Earth as a matter of her being there and the Vulcan's providing Star Charts. Her rank in the Vulcan High Command was 'Sub-commander' - equal to Captain Archer's rank. She was placed to observe, but she wasn't just an observer. She was much more than that.

 

[F. King Daniel]

What I don't get about Enterprise is why people dislike the Temporal Cold War so much.

It's because they just made it up as they went along with no thought. The idea COULD have been amazing but you end up with...

"Cold Front": Enterprise should have been destroyed but later Enterprise was meant to be not destroyed. Earth doesn't really exist in the 31st century but later New York on Earth is headquarters to Daniels' organization.

"Shockwave": Plucking Archer out of time destroys the future. "Carpenter Street", "Azati Prime", "Zero Hour": Plucking Archer out of time has no effect.

"Cold Front", "The Expanse", "Storm Front": History has been changed and we have no idea the repurcussions! End of "Storm Front": Everything's reset to how it always should be and everything's fine!

The producers had no idea who Future Guy was supposed to be, with them claiming probably a Romulan to it being a twisted future Archer to admitting they didn't know.

 

[Abi Smith]

Because of her experience and that was agreed upon by the Vulcan's and Earth as a matter of her being there and the Vulcan's providing Star Charts. Her rank in the Vulcan High Command was 'Sub-commander' - equal to Captain Archer's rank. She was placed to observe, but she wasn't just an observer. She was much more than that.

Is this stated in the episode? Archer and Trip grumble about how she might be a spy and how the charts will be useful, I don't remember anyone saying that she would be XO, it's like a French officer taking command of an Indian just because he has a comparable rank. It is only at the end of the episode that T'Pol is given the roles of first officer and science officer.

 

[Burning Hearts of Qo'nos]

I like the 'they were making it up as they go along' explanation, both from a character standpoint and the writers, lol.

I just finished up Shuttlepod One last night, first time seeing it. It was another episode I know I would have hated if I saw the premiere. 'UGH, Tom and Torres stuck in space, but without the dramatic sexual tension of OR eva suits? DUMB.'

Instead, it was just really cute again; ANNOYINGLY cute. I felt a bit of a disconnect that it was so difficult for any of them to find out what Malcolm's favorite food was (also an adorable B-Story with a very satisfying conclusion!) and yet here he is pouring his heart out to every random girl he's ever dated, but I guess it was a reaction to near-death. The writing on this show is so cheesy and I can't help but love it! Wasn't a big fan of them bro-ing out and talking about T'Pol's bum but you can't win em all.

Really looking forward to being disappointed in the Temporal Cold War! At least I already know how it 'ends' in the books, lol.

 

[Yanks]

Is this stated in the episode? Archer and Trip grumble about how she might be a spy and how the charts will be useful, I don't remember anyone saying that she would be XO, it's like a French officer taking command of an Indian just because he has a comparable rank. It is only at the end of the episode that T'Pol is given the roles of first officer and science officer.

I don't understand what you are talking about.

It's CLEAR that T'Pol outranks Trip when Archer gets shot and Trip concedes that she's second in command.

 

[metalheaddoc]

I have always liked the theme song I felt it was humanity desire to descover themselves, through the means of progressively exploring, from sail boats and our own planet, to early space exploration and finally the NX-01 heading out even further

I enjoyed the theme song. Different than the usual orchestral stuff. It's prob my favorite intro of them all.

 

[Delta Vega]

As an old time Trek fan, I was pleasantly surprised at how I enjoyed Enterprise from the start.
"Broken Bow" was a great Pilot, and introduced us to the crew, the tension between humans and Vulcans, the Suliban, the precursor to the TCW, and the foibles of new technology all in two 42 minute sequences.
The first two seasons of Enterprise get mixed reviews, some of them downright antagonistic towards the stories, and the cast, and to an extent, some shows weren't top quality, but what Trek is 100% perfect?
I was so pissed off when I watched TATV last week that I've started revisiting Enterprise from Pilot through the first season, and looking at it all again I think it's a better, well better, than average Trek show.
I've only really thought two of the first dozen shows were sub standard, "Terra Nova" and "Fortunate Son", and tonight I watched "Silent Enemy" and "Dear Doctor", both very good in my opinion.
I think some things become a bit messy, like the Temporal stuff, good villians like the Silent dudes (who disappear into spaces vast reaches) and the Suliban, are neutered a bit in later episodes, but overall I relate fondly to the show and the crew.
I like Archer, he seems a stand up guy who sometimes realises he's pissing against the wind.
Trip's a great engineer, good foil for the Captain, a real down to earth type
T'pol, the way she developed over 4 seasons is one of the strengths of the show, not a weakness
Phlox is a semi comedic character but obviously brilliant at inter species medicine, much more than an "Ole country doctor"
Hoshi is excellent at her job, possibly a little too good to be true, she goes from jumpy to stalwart in 4 seasons
Reed is a stiff upper lip Brit, a slave to duty, sometimes infuriating, but I grew to like him (Malcolms Birthday is the same as mine, I learned tonight, after watching for years)
My only concerns would be with Travis Mayweather, his character just wasn't allowed to develop, and sometimes he came across as plain dumb.
A minor complaint would be the parade of crewmen and women who'd appear on screen regularly and not speak, who never seemed to be fussed when the ship was getting blasted to bits, who were just "there" in the background, but hey, that's true of all Trek.
In (a long) short, I liked "Broken Bow" and also loved the rest of Enterprise, good, bad and indifferent over the 4 years on screen.
It's sadly missed.
Hope you all can appreciate my input.

 

[Yanks]

"Delta Vega" from Startrek.com message boards?

The first two seasons of Enterprise get mixed reviews, some of them downright antagonistic towards the stories, and the cast, and to an extent, some shows weren't top quality, but what Trek is 100% perfect?

None, especially the first 2 seasons of TNG and DS9.... TOS first 2 seasons kind of set the standard there.

T'pol, the way she developed over 4 seasons is one of the strengths of the show, not a weakness

Exactly. My favorite Star Trek character. I have a few issues with how she was written i.e. neuro pressure stuff and her reasons for becoming addicted to Trellium D, but she is AWESOME!!

I liked "Broken Bow" and also loved the rest of Enterprise, good, bad and indifferent over the 4 years on screen.
It's sadly missed.
Hope you all can appreciate my input.

Definately. I might add that many of the TOS fans I know very much enjoyed ENT.

It is missed for sure. Now we have STD (not throwing the baby out with the bath water here) and 'The Orville'.

Can't wait for the Picard series to hit the streets.

 

[Delta Vega]

I'm not on startrek.com, no

Nice to see someone agrees

 

[Yanks]

Is this stated in the episode? Archer and Trip grumble about how she might be a spy and how the charts will be useful, I don't remember anyone saying that she would be XO, it's like a French officer taking command of an Indian just because he has a comparable rank. It is only at the end of the episode that T'Pol is given the roles of first officer and science officer.

From the transcript:

"TUCKER: Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you just kind of an observer on this mission? I don't remember anyone telling me you were a member of Starfleet.
T'POL: My Vulcan rank supersedes yours.
TUCKER: Apples and oranges. This is an Earth vessel. You're in no position to take command.
T'POL: As soon as we're through here, I'll contact Ambassador Soval. He'll speak to your superiors and I'm certain they'll support my authority in this situation. "

 

[Yanks]

I'm not on startrek.com, no

Nice to see someone agrees

I meant like back in the mid-2000s when ST.com had a real message board.

 

[Delta Vega]

Only ever been on here Yanks
Joined 2011, star burned for a few months then forgot my log in stuff and couldn't even find the right name of this website till a couple of months ago
Then I miraculously remembered my log in again.

 

[Timo]

Is this stated in the episode? Archer and Trip grumble about how she might be a spy and how the charts will be useful, I don't remember anyone saying that she would be XO, it's like a French officer taking command of an Indian just because he has a comparable rank. It is only at the end of the episode that T'Pol is given the roles of first officer and science officer.

I guess it's like a US officer taking command of a Puerto Rican vessel in the late 19th century - it's not as if the Puerto Ricans could have done anything to oppose the move, and the US would consider it only prudent to stop the Puerto Ricans from trying to have their own naval adventures that might upset the whole game in the Caribbean.

That T'Pol's "Vulcan rank supercedes" can be read in two ways. Either she holds a rank that, when translated to the UE Starfleet system, is higher than that of Commander - or then Vulcan rank automatically trumps Earth rank, and a Vulcan Lieutenant could feel confident giving orders to an Earth Rear Admiral.

We later learn that T'Pol's exact Vulcan rank (or at least its English translation) is that of Subcommander. Doesn't sound as if it ought to trump Commander a priori or prima facie or anything. So the latter interpretation sounds more likely, even though it probably only applies in moderation: a Vulcan Subcommander can insist on trumping an Earth Commander but couldn't plausibly give orders to an Earth Commodore.

In the end, it boils down to T'pol having the skills and connections needed in the situation, and Tucker realizing that the Vulcans could just as well confiscate the entire starship under whatever pretext unless the Earth crew bowed to them deep enough.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Roundabout]

"Broken Bow" is the best Trek series pilot that I have seen. I saw it for the first time a few nights ago on H&I. I was impressed. I didn't expect that. For me, all of the other Trek pilots, since TOS, had been more or less disappointing. I expected more of the same from "Broken Bow." But I was pleasantly surprised.

It was exciting. The characters, surprisingly, came across as down-to-earth and likable. I really liked how the pilot and the subsequent episodes (I am currently up to "Unexpected", watching it on H&I) showed the crew trying to get their sea legs, or I guess in this case, space legs.

I like the uniforms and the look of the interior of the Enterprise. The plots about their issues with translating alien languages, working out the kinks of their warp engines and sensors and the other issues of space travel have been fascinating to watch.

I have enjoyed seeing the extensive use of the shuttle craft instead of the transporter in these early episodes. Not only has it been visually interesting to see, the use of the shuttle craft creates a more interesting plot element as well.

I think these early episodes were effective in conveying a sense of wonderment by the crew and the unexpected challenges they face, at being the first humans to attempt deep space travel and exploration.

"Fight or Flight" had an interesting story about Hoshi being out of her element and comfort zone. The B story in the episode of that slug was cute. Btw, I have to say that Hoshi is cute. "Strange New World" was a good psychological-type thriller. "Unexpected" was amusing.

Also, I am enjoying watching T'Pol's portrayal as a cold fish.

I am actually watching this series in reverse. I have already seen some season 4 episodes and a few random episodes from the other seasons, but I have never seen the first season. Almost all of the reviews and comments that I have read of ENT have been less than favorable, to put it mildly. I had been reluctant to make time to watch it from the beginning.

So far, what I have seen of season 1 has been so much better than what I expected. The pilot was infinitely better than the finale.

 

[Hopeful Romantic]

Welcome, Roundabout! So glad you set aside the "bad press" and are having a go at ENT from the beginning. I hope you continue to enjoy the show, and feel free to share your impressions with us.