First Flight (Star Trek: Enterprise)

Last updated

"First Flight"
Star Trek: Enterprise episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 24
Directed by LeVar Burton
Written by John Shiban
Chris Black
Featured music Paul Baillargeon
Production code224
Original air dateMay 14, 2003 (2003-05-14)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Regeneration"		Next →
"Bounty"
Star Trek: Enterprise season 2
List of episodes

"First Flight" is the fiftieth episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise , the twenty-fourth episode of the second season. It first aired on May 14, 2003, on UPN. It was written by John Shiban and Chris Black, and was directed by Star Trek: The Next Generation actor LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge).

Contents

Set in the 22nd century, the series follows the adventures of the first Starfleet starship Enterprise , registration NX-01. In this episode, after Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) is informed of the death of his former colleague, A.G. Robinson (Keith Carradine), he relates the story of breaking the warp 2.5 barrier to T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) while investigating a dark matter nebula.

The episode was inspired by the story of the first American astronauts as seen in the film The Right Stuff . Several sets were specifically built for this episode, and a reference to the designer of the Enterprise from the original Star Trek series is included in the story. Three crew-members from the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65) appeared in this episode, and handed over a flag from the ship to the cast and crew. Critical reception to this episode was mostly positive, with praise directed at Scott Bakula. The episode received the second-lowest number of viewers received by Enterprise at that point, which was blamed on it being aired opposite the series finale of Dawson's Creek .

Plot

As Enterprise is about to investigate a dark matter cloud, Captain Archer is informed by Admiral Forrest that his former Starfleet colleague, Captain Robinson, has died in a rock climbing accident. Archer, seeking solitude, desires to travel into the nebula in a shuttlepod armed with spatial charges to excite the dark matter. Sub-Commander T'Pol, noting that captains are prohibited from traveling off-ship unaccompanied, joins him and convinces him to tell the story of his friend Robinson and the Warp 5 program.

In a series of flashbacks, Commander Archer meets with Commodore Forrest, and is informed that although he excelled in simulations, his colleague Commander Robinson has been awarded the warp 3 test ship, the NX Alpha. Disappointed, Archer goes to the 602 Club, a local bar, bumping into Robinson there. Later, Robinson takes the scheduled flight aboard the NX Alpha, breaking the warp 2.0 barrier. He refuses a command from Forrest to stop and instead increases speed; the craft soon destabilizes and is destroyed as it approaches warp 2.2, but Robinson escapes. The Vulcans argue that the warp program should be postponed, but Archer wants the program, and his father's engine research, to continue. Archer, and his new friend Lieutenant Tucker, then go to the 602 Club to discuss the problem. Robinson arrives and blames Archer's father, and he and Archer end up in a fist fight.

The next day Archer discovers Robinson packing up the contents of his locker. He concedes that it is primarily an intermix problem, but that the engine could still work. Archer and Robinson then steal the NX Beta, with Tucker in flight control, but it starts to suffer the same issues as the Alpha. As Starfleet security detains Tucker, Archer and Robinson coax the engines to warp 2.5. Archer and Robinson are reprimanded, and the program is grounded for a year, but they have proved that his father's design was sound.

Archer launches his final two charges into the cloud, and a breathtaking nebula slowly reveals itself. Archer calls T'Pol to watch the actual nebula with her eyes, rather than monitor it through the sensors. T'Pol mentions the human tradition of first discoverers of astronomical phenomena having naming rights. Archer makes a sarcastic crack about calling it the "T'Pol/Archer Nebula". T'Pol gently responds that she was thinking Archer could name it the "Robinson Nebula", after his friend.

Production

"First Flight" was inspired by the story of the first NASA astronauts (Mercury Seven pictured) The Mercury 7 (15258556433).jpg
"First Flight" was inspired by the story of the first NASA astronauts (Mercury Seven pictured)

"First Flight" was inspired by the 1983 film The Right Stuff , the story of the test pilots at Edwards Air Force Base and the first NASA astronauts. [1] Reference is also made to the Apollo 11 lunar landing, when Archer mentions that no-one remembers astronaut Buzz Aldrin's first words when he stepped onto the moon. [2] Aldrin's actual first words were "Beautiful view." [3]

Warp drive was first mentioned in Gene Roddenberry's first-draft pitch for Star Trek, dated March 11, 1964, although in that version it was referred to as a "space-warp drive". [4] The drive allows for a vessel to travel faster than the speed of light by warping space-time around the ship itself. In 1994, physicist Miguel Alcubierre proposed the Alcubierre drive, using a similar theory. [5] In the Star Trek universe, Zefram Cochrane invented the drive in 2063. [6] Cochrane was portrayed by James Cromwell in the film Star Trek: First Contact and re-appeared in this role in the pilot of Enterprise, "Broken Bow". That episode showed the culmination of the development of the warp 5 engine, which was designed by Jonathan Archer's father, Henry, in the launch of the Enterprise itself. [7] The Vulcans during this period gave oversight and advice to Starfleet in the development of the warp drive, [7] but sought to slow the progress of the humans. [8] "First Flight" showed a previously unseen period in the development of the fictional warp drive, with the pursuit of the warp 2 barrier. [9] The dark matter mentioned in this episode is a real phenomenon, although it is unclear exactly what it is. It cannot be seen by telescopes, and it is theorised that it makes up a great deal of the matter in the universe. [10]

John Shiban and Chris Black wrote "First Flight", the fiftieth episode of Enterprise. Former Star Trek: The Next Generation actor LeVar Burton directed the episode, his second of the season and fourth overall. He had previously directed episodes of other shows in the franchise, including the hundredth episode of Star Trek: Voyager , "Timeless". [1] In this episode, Tucker states that his commanding officer at the testing facility is Captain Jefferies, this is a direct reference to artist and set designer Matt Jefferies, designer of the original USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). [1] Jefferies died two months after the episode was aired. [11]

Production began on March 10, 2003, and concluded on March 18. The first days' shoot consisted of scenes in the shuttlepod with Blalock and Bakula as other members of the cast were still shooting scenes for the episodes "Horizon" and "Regeneration". [1] The present-day scenes were completed on the second day of filming, with the remaining five days of shooting being devoted to the flashback scenes. Sets were built specifically for this episode, including the NX Command Center, the 602 Club and the interior of the NX prototype vessels. [1]

Casting

Three crew members of the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Enterprise present a flag to Conner Trinneer, Scott Bakula and LeVar Burton Star Trek actors meet crewmembers of the real USS Enterprise (US Navy) (2003).jpg
Three crew members of the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Enterprise present a flag to Conner Trinneer, Scott Bakula and LeVar Burton

The guest cast in "First Flight" included the return of Vaughn Armstrong in the recurring role of Admiral Forrest, although this was his most demanding shoot so far, requiring him to be on set for five of the seven days of filming. Keith Carradine was cast as A. G. Robinson. [1] This episode also saw the return of some actors who had appeared in other series of the Star Trek franchise. These included Michael Canavan, who appeared in this episode as a Vulcan advisor, but previously appeared in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Defiant" as a member of the Maquis terrorist group. Also appearing in "First Flight" was Victor Bevine. He had previously appeared in DS9, Voyager and the movie Star Trek: First Contact. [1]

"First Flight" also provided the stage for an exchange with the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65). Three crew members of the real-life Enterprise had been voted as "Sailors of the Year" by the U.S. Navy, and so were given the roles of extras in this episode. [12] This was not the first time such an exchange had occurred; previous winners had appeared as crew members on board the fictional Enterprise in the episode "Desert Crossing". [1] [13] This time around they were given roles at the NX Command Center instead. Aviation Maintenance Administrationman 2nd Class James D. Frey portrayed a technician, Navy Counselor 1st Class Kathleen J. Grant played a Senator and Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Thomas P. Hunt was the Senator's assistant. [1] [14] All three were pleased to be appearing on the show, with Grant saying that "My nephew told all of the kids at his school his aunt was going to be on Star Trek. That makes the experience even more of a thrill for me", [15] and Hunt saying "This will be on reruns for years to come, when I'm 60, I'll be able to say, 'Hey, that's me on Enterprise.'". [15] In return, the three sailors presented the cast and crew of Star Trek: Enterprise with a flag that had been flying on the aircraft carrier earlier in the month. [1]

Reception

"First Flight" was first shown in the United States on May 14, 2003 on UPN. It was aired on the same night as the following episode, "Bounty". Both episodes saw a reduction in viewing figures compared to previous weeks, which was attributed to them being broadcast at the same time as the series finale of Dawson's Creek on The WB. [16] "First Flight" received a 2.4/4% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. This means that it was seen by 2.4 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 4 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. It was the second lowest rating received by the series at that point, and "Bounty" received a slightly decreased rating of 2.3/4%, [16] but the viewing figures were higher. "Bounty" was watched by 3.54 million viewers, whereas "First Flight" was watched by 3.3 million. [17] "First Flight" was the 93rd most watched programme of the evening. [17] The episode aired during the following week was the season two finale, whose figures rebounded slightly; "The Expanse" had a final rating of 2.8/4% with an audience of 3.88 million. [18]

Michelle Erica Green reviewed the episode for TrekNation, and thought that Scott Bakula in particular gave one of his best performances of the show so far. Both he and Carradine worked well together, but thought that the other characters in the flashback were clichéd. Overall, she thought it was a "superbly filmed episode" with several new sets which were well used, and the visual effects were good. [19] Jamahl Epsicokhan at his website "Jammer's Reviews" gave the episode a score of three out of four, saying that he welcomed the back story to the series being fleshed out in this episode. He thought that the episode itself wasn't very challenging to watch, but thought that the melancholy ending was fitting. He even thought that it might be worthwhile to go further back in time to see the actual founding of Starfleet. [2] In his 2022 rewatch, Keith DeCandido of Tor.com gave it 4 out of 10. [20]

Den of Geek ranked this the ninth best episode of this television series. [21] The Digital Fix called it a "surprising charming episode" that helped provide context for the Enterprise's mission, but that it should have come in season one. [22]

Home media release

"First Flight" was first released for home media use on DVD as part of the second series box set of Star Trek: Enterprise . The release featured text commentary on the episode from Star Trek and NASA designers Michael and Denise Okuda. [23] The episode also featured as one of the three Enterprise episodes on the Star Trek Fan Collective DVD Set "Captain's Log". The set featured episodes selected by each of the Captains from the Star Trek series, and several chosen by the fans, a total of seventeen episodes. [24] A release on Blu-ray Disc for season two occurred on August 20, 2013. [25]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Archer</span> Fictional character from Star Trek: Enterprise

Jonathan Archer is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise. He is one of the protagonists of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise, where he was portrayed by Scott Bakula.

"Azati Prime" is the eighteenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the 70th overall. The episode was written by Manny Coto from a story developed by Coto, Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. It was directed by Allan Kroeker, his second of the season. The episode featured several guest actors, including those playing members of the Xindi Council, as well as Matt Winston who reprised his role of Temporal Agent Daniels for the second time this season.

"E²" is the seventy-third episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the twenty-first episode of season three. It first aired on May 5, 2004, on UPN in the United States. The episode was the fifth of the season written by Mike Sussman, and it was directed by Star Trek: Voyager alumnus Roxann Dawson, her fourth of the third season.

"The Council" is the seventy-fourth episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the twenty-second episode of season three. It first aired on May 12, 2004, on the UPN network in the United States. The episode was the fifth of the series written by Manny Coto, and it was directed by David Livingston, his fourth of the third season.

"Twilight" is the eighth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, originally broadcast on November 5, 2003. It was the sixtieth episode of the series overall. It was written by co-producer Michael Sussman, and directed by former Star Trek: Voyager actor Robert Duncan McNeill.

"Extinction" is the 55th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the third episode of season three. It first aired on September 24, 2003 on the UPN network in the United States. This was the first episode to include the prefix "Star Trek" in the title of the series. Set in the 22nd century just prior to the formation of the United Federation of Planets, the series follows the adventures of Starfleet's first Warp 5 starship, Enterprise, registration NX-01.

"Kir'Shara" is the ninth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise. It was writer Michael Sussman's third episode of the season, while it was director David Livingston's second. The episode was the third in a three-part story arc, following on from the episodes "The Forge" and "Awakening". The title "Kir'Shara" refers to a Vulcan religious relic, and the three part Vulcan story arc explored themes relating to the Protestant Reformation resulting in comparisons to books such as The Da Vinci Code and The Celestine Prophecy, while the Kir'Shara itself was compared to the Nag Hammadi library.

"The Augments" is the sixth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the eighty-second episode overall. It is the last of a three-story episode arc, preceded by "Borderland", and "Cold Station 12". "The Augments" was directed by LeVar Burton, from a script by Michael Sussman. The series follows the adventures of the first Starfleet starship Enterprise, registration NX-01. In this episode, "Augments", genetically enhanced humans, and Doctor Arik Soong, their surrogate father, escape Cold Station 12 after stealing frozen Augment embryos from storage. Soong plans to hide out with the Augments and raise the embryos, but Malik, their leader, is tired of hiding and attempts to instigate a war between Starfleet and the Klingons.

"A Night In Sickbay" is the thirty-first episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the fifth episode of season two. It first aired on October 16, 2002 on the UPN within the United States. The episode was written by executive producers Brannon Braga and Rick Berman, and directed by David Straiton.

United (<i>Star Trek: Enterprise</i>) 13th episode of the 4th season of Star Trek: Enterprise

"United" is the 13th episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise and the 89th episode overall. It was first broadcast on the UPN network on February 4, 2005. It is the second of a three-part story which included the previous episode "Babel One", and the following episode, "The Aenar". "United" was written by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens from a story idea by show runner Manny Coto. It was directed by David Livingston, his third of the season.

"In a Mirror, Darkly" is the eighteenth and nineteenth episodes of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and originally aired on April 22 and 29, 2005. This installment was developed to be a sequel to The Original Series episode "The Tholian Web" and a prequel to "Mirror, Mirror". The decision to set an Enterprise episode in the mirror universe originated with a pitch to enable William Shatner to appear in the series. The teleplays for both parts of the episode were written by Mike Sussman, with Manny Coto contributing the story for the second part.

"Carpenter Street" is the 63rd episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the eleventh episode of season three. It first aired on November 26, 2003, on the UPN network in the United States. It was written by executive producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga and directed by Mike Vejar.

"Terra Prime" is the 21st episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and originally aired on May 13, 2005. The story was developed by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, along with André Bormanis, and developed into a script by the Reeves-Stevenses and show runner Manny Coto. The episode is the second of a two-part story, which started in "Demons". The episode was directed by Marvin Rush, his second for the series.

"Demons" is the twentieth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and originally aired on May 6, 2005, on UPN. The episode was written by showrunner Manny Coto and directed by LeVar Burton. "Demons" is the first part of a two part story, concluding with "Terra Prime".

"Bound" is the seventeenth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, originally broadcast on April 15, 2005. It was written by showrunner Manny Coto, and directed by Allan Kroeker. The episode featured the return of the Orion slave girls, which had been originally seen in the original pilot of Star Trek: The Original Series, "The Cage".

"The Aenar" is the fourteenth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and originally aired on February 11, 2005. It was written by André Bormanis from a story by Manny Coto, and was directed by Mike Vejar. "The Aenar" was the third installment of a three-part story which concluded the events of episodes "Babel One" and "United".

"The Forge" is the seventh episode of the fourth season of the American science-fiction television Star Trek: Enterprise, and originally aired on November 19, 2004, on UPN. Directed by Michael Grossman, the script was written by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, and formed the first part of a three-episode arc which continued in "Awakening" and concluded in "Kir'Shara".

"Rajiin" is the 56th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the fourth episode of season three. It first aired on October 1, 2003, on the UPN network in the United States. It was written by Brent V. Friedman and Chris Black from a story idea from Friedman and Paul Brown, and directed by Mike Vejar.

The Crossing (<i>Star Trek: Enterprise</i>) 18th episode of the 2nd season of Star Trek: Enterprise

"The Crossing" is the forty-fourth episode of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the eighteenth of the second season.

"Canamar" is the forty-third episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the seventeenth of the second season.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Flying High for Episode 50". Star Trek.com. March 19, 2003. Archived from the original on April 4, 2003. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Epsicokhan, Jamahl. "Star Trek: Enterprise "First Flight"". Jammer's Reviews . Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  3. ↑ "One Small Step". NASA. 1995. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  4. ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (March 11, 1964). Star Trek (PDF). p. 10.
  5. ↑ Steadman, Ian (September 20, 2012). "Warp Drives Might Be More Realistic Than Thought". Wired. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Cochrane, Dr. Zefram". Star Trek.com. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  7. 1 2 Epsicokhan, Jamahl. "Star Trek: Enterprise "Broken Bow"". Jammer's Reviews . Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Archer, Jonathan". Star Trek.com. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  9. ↑ "First Flight". Star Trek.com. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Dark Energy, Dark Matter". NASA. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Star Trek Enterprise designer dies". BBC News. July 22, 2003. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Sailors of the Year Join NX-01". StarTrek.com. 2003-03-18. Archived from the original on 2003-04-02.
  13. ↑ "Sailors of the Year Take Their 'First Flight'". TrekNation. March 19, 2003. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  14. ↑ "USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Sailors of the Year appeared on the set of the Paramount Television series Enterprise to present the cast and crew with an American flag". United States Navy. March 18, 2003. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  15. 1 2 Piggott, Mark O. (March 28, 2003). "Enterprise Sailors "Beam Up" to TV's "Enterprise"". DC Military. Archived from the original on April 27, 2004. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  16. 1 2 Krutzler, Steve (May 21, 2003). "Final Ratings: CREEK Finale Double Trouble for "Flight," "Bounty" Doubleheader". TrekWeb. Archived from the original on December 28, 2004. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  17. 1 2 Lowry, Brian (May 21, 2003). "Sweeps has ABC on ropes". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 1, 2003. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  18. ↑ Krutzler, Steve (May 29, 2003). "Final Ratings: "The Expanse" Ends Down Season on Down Note for UPN and ENT". TrekWeb. Archived from the original on April 22, 2005. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  19. ↑ Green, Michelle Erica (May 15, 2003). "First Flight". TrekNation . Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  20. ↑ DeCandido, Keith (5 December 2022). "Star Trek: Enterprise Rewatch: "First Flight"". Tor.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  21. ↑ James Hunt (4 November 2009). "Top 10 Star Trek: Enterprise episodes". Den of Geek . Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  22. ↑ Baz Greenland (2021-03-22). "Star Trek: Enterprise Revisited - A Look Back At Season Two". The Digital Fix. Archived from the original on 2021-03-22. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  23. ↑ Schultz, Paul (July 29, 2005). "DVD Review: Star Trek Enterprise - The Complete Second Season". The Trades. Archived from the original on November 10, 2006. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  24. ↑ Williams, Bill (August 15, 2007). "TrekWeb Reviews Captain's Log The Fan Collective DVD". TrekWeb. Archived from the original on February 4, 2010. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  25. ↑ "Enterprise Season: Two Blu-ray Available August 20". StarTrek.com. May 23, 2013. Archived from the original on February 18, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.