Broken Bow (ENT episode)
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Template:ST episode "Broken Bow" is the pilot episode (episode number 001 (Paramount Pictures, n.d.)) of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise (then called Enterprise). It originally aired as a double-length episode, but has been split into two segments for repeats. The episode caused quite some controversy at the time, especially as it featured the Klingons, far before many fans expected them to appear.
Plot
The episode is set on 16 April, 2151 (Paramount Pictures, n.d.). A Klingon, the first that Earth has ever encountered, lands near Broken Bow, Oklahoma on Earth on the North American continent, pursued by something unknown (Berman et al., 2001). The Vulcan ambassador to Earth insists that the Klingon be allowed to die as Klingon culture dictates, and then his corpse returned to his government as soon as possible; otherwise, a war might develop. The Earth government disagrees, and decides to return the Klingon, still alive, to the Klingon homeworld Qo'noS. To do this, they launch the first Enterprise, captained by Jonathan Archer.
This Enterprise, dubbed NX-01, is the first of an experimental project to create a spaceship capable of traveling at warp factor 5. Tensions exist between the advanced Vulcans - who have ships that travel faster - and the people of Earth; the Vulcans refuse to give Earth better technology, a decision that foreshadows the Prime Directive, but are also seen as having undue cultural influence; there is a hint of racism on both sides. Zefram Cochrane makes a cameo appearance in an archive tape, revealing that his speech to mark the start of the warp 5 project was the source of the phrase "to boldly go where no man has gone before."
En route, the Klingon is kidnapped from Enterprise. Investigations reveal that this was the doing of the mysterious Suliban, who an informant claims are pawns in a "Temporal Cold War". Through a combination of ingenuity and violence, the crew of Enterprise manages to recapture the Klingon and return him to Qo'noS. It transpires that the Klingon contains tactical information in his blood, and the Klingons would indeed have preferred him to die rather than live wounded. Despite this, they are (relatively) pleased and decide not to declare war on Earth for the time being.
References
- Berman, R. (Writer), & Braga, B. (Writer), & Conway, J. L. (Director). (2001). Broken bow [Television series episode]. In Berman, R. (Producer), & Braga, B. (Producer), Star Trek: Enterprise. Hollywood: Paramount Pictures.
- Paramount Pictures. (n.d.). Broken bow. In Series & movies. Retrieved January 4, 2004 from http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/ENT/episode/121932.html