"First Flight"

Written by John Shiban and Chris Black
Directed by LeVar Burton


In which Archer tells T’Pol about the early days of the Starfleet warp program, when he competed with another prominent officer to be the captain of the Enterprise...

Synopsis - Analysis - Memorable Quotes - Observations


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Synopsis

As the episode begins, Enterprise encounters what may be a “dark matter” nebula. Using some modified torpedoes, Archer proposes that he take a shuttle into the nebula in an attempt to prove that the nebula can be observed. But before he leaves, Archer gets a message that an old friend, A. G. Robinson, was killed in an accident.

Trip gives Archer a primer on the torpedoes, but waves off Trip’s offer to come along. Archer is obviously despondent over the death of his friend, who was involved in the early warp engine trials. T’Pol arrives with additional information regarding the nebula, and essentially invites herself to accompany Archer. When reminded of regulations, Archer reluctantly agrees.

Once underway, T’Pol asks if Archer would like to talk during the long journey to the nebula. T’Pol notes that Trip had only mentioned an old colleague had died. When Archer admits that he is upset about Robinson’s death, T’Pol claims ignorance to Robinson’s place in the history of Earth’s NX warp program. So Archer explains that they met when the program was working on breaking the “warp 2 barrier”.

Back then, Commander Archer thought he would be the first man to pilot a wrap 2 flight. But then-Commodore Forrest informed Archer that A. G. Robinson will be the pilot instead. Archer was unhappy, but going by the book, he kept his emotions in check.

Later, at a bar called the 602 Club, Archer drowned his sorrows, until he finally decided to “congratulate” Robinson directly. Robinson rubbed it in a bit, in standard competitive fashion. Archer chided Robinson on partying so hard, but Robinson countered that Archer lost the chance to be the pilot because he tried too hard. By focusing so hard on getting the prize, he forgot to connect with everyone around him. Starfleet wasn’t just looking for the best test pilot, Robinson said...they were looking for the best captain.

On the shuttle, T’Pol notes that Archer and Robinson didn’t sound like friends. More than that, T’Pol believes Robinson was correct in his observation regarding starship captains, and that Archer managed to learn that lesson well. Archer, however, notes that Robinson was lucky to get out of that first flight in one piece.

Apparently, Archer was the man in charge on the ground during the test flight, which was observed by Commodore Forrest and representatives from the Vulcan Embassy. When all of the parameters checked out, the test flight was authorized to begin. Robinson reached warp 2 without incident, becoming the first man to reach that speed. But then the test vessel began to experience stabilization problems at warp 2.1, prompting Forrest to order Robinson to abort. Robinson, however, refused to abort, until he was forced to eject when the vessel exploded due to the warp instability.

On the shuttle, T’Pol notes that the particle density is increasing, so Archer fires two of the six modified torpedoes. The attempt to make the nebula visible fails. Archer decides to keep moving into the supposed nebula. In the meantime, T’Pol asks Archer what happened to Robinson.

Robinson made the record books for being the first man to eject during warp. But because he also destroyed one of the two NX prototypes and disobeyed orders, the Vulcans used the incident to question the engine design. One of the project engineers, Charles “Trip” Tucker III, defended the engine design, but his comments did not sway the Vulcans.

Later, at the 602 Club, Archer and Trip talked over a few drinks. They were joined by Forrest, who made them a little nervous. They were much less pleased when Forrest explained that the Vulcans convinced Starfleet to put the NX program on hold indefinitely. The Vulcans believed that the engine designed by Archer’s father was not the right direction, and that Starfleet needed to start from scratch.

Not much later, Robinson came into the bar and explained that he was hauled in front of the Vulcans and Starfleet. Robinson ruled out pilot error in the failure of the engine, which Archer and Trip believed led to the decision to shut down the program. Robinson, however, was positive that he wasn’t the problem. He thought Archer was defending the engine design because he wanted to protect his father’s legacy. That, of course, led to a fight between the two test pilots.

On the shuttle, Archer and T’Pol note some small surges in the shuttle power systems, which Trip had predicted would happen. T’Pol notes that it could be risky to continue, which Archer acknowledges. But still, he recalls that Robinson was the one that taught him the value of taking risks.

After the fight, Archer ran into Robinson in the locker room. Archer wasn’t there to clean out his locker, though. He admits that he was forced to admit that there could be problems with the engine design, so he looked over the flight telemetry data. Based on the data, Archer and Trip determined that they could modify the engine and make a successful flight. Archer figured that they ought to confront the Vulcans and Starfleet with the data. Robinson, however, had a more convincing demonstration in mind.

On the shuttle, Archer loads up two more torpedoes, while T’Pol mentions that she never read any reports about two test pilots stealing a ship. Even more, T’Pol finds it hard to believe that Archer had to be convinced to participate. Archer fires the torpedoes, which once again fail to make the nebula visible. T’Pol suggests heading back, but Archer figures that they should continue, since they still have two more torpedoes left. T’Pol asks Archer to explain what happened during the NX program.

Archer convinced Trip to help them by monitoring the flight from the ground, and promised the engineer that if he ever managed to survive court martial, he’d make Trip his ship’s engineer. Archer joined Robinson on the NX-Beta, and they launched the ship into orbit. Thanks to Trip, the NX-Beta was ready to begin the test before Starfleet was even aware of the theft.

Before the test began, Robinson offered Archer the pilot’s seat, since it was technically the second flight, making it Archer’s turn. Forrest contacted them, ordering them back to Earth. But Archer broke contact, even as the Vulcans became aware of the situation. Archer took the NX-Beta into warp, breaking the warp 2 barrier...and then they began to experience the same warp instabilities. Archer brought the NX-Beta to warp 2.15, just as Starfleet security took custody of Trip on the surface. But then Archer informed everyone that the ship was steady at warp 2.5, setting a new record.

Back on Earth, Forrest suspended both Archer and Robinson from duty for the number of rules they managed to break, regardless of the success of the test flight. The Vulcans insisted that the suspension of the program was about the engine design, not a desire to keep humanity out of deep space. But Archer contended that the Vulcans didn’t have the right to make that decision for humanity. Whatever the consequences, Archer figured that if his father was still alive, he’d be asking what the hell Starfleet was waiting for.

On the shuttle, Archer goes on to explain that he and Robinson were grounded for three months, and it took over a year for the Vulcans to accept the success of the engine design. Eight months later, the warp 3 barrier was broken, and five years after that, the construction of Enterprise was begun.

Taking one last shot with the last two torpedoes, Archer is amazed when they finally work, bringing the “dark matter” nebula into the visible range. When T’Pol prefers to observe the raw data from the sensors, Archer drags her to the front of the shuttle to watch the light show. Archer notes that things like the nebula were the reasons that he and Robinson wanted to go into deep space.

In the end, at the 602 Club, Archer and Robinson were the final two candidates for the captaincy of Enterprise. The decision was made six months before launch. Robinson congratulated Archer for the assignment, echoing Archer’s words before Robinson’s test flight. Besides, Robinson figured he would be the captain of the NX-02, content on letting Archer make all of the rookie mistakes.

On the shuttle, Archer muses over the memory, until T’Pol reminds him that it’s time to return to Enterprise. Once back on the ship, T’Pol suggests that they name the nebula after Robinson.


Analysis

When it was first announced, “Enterprise” was billed as a prequel to the existing Star Trek franchise, exploring the difficult early years of Starfleet. These were to be the formative days of advanced space exploration, when none of the technology or protocols of human endeavor had yet been established. In short, it would be “The Right Stuff”, 150 years later.

Of course, the series has failed to meet that promise, slipping from a vague shadow of the concept that had been proposed into a slightly modified clone of the worst episodes of “Voyager”. The characters have been barely rendered, the adventures have strayed greatly from the concepts introduced in the first season, and there is no sense that these are the inherently dangerous years of deep space exploration.

So when this episode sheds light on a time even earlier than “Enterprise”, during the period when the NX Program was attempting to move beyond the designs of Cochrane using the Archer warp engine, it is amazing to see how well the drama unfolds. In a matter of moments, the audience is shown what the series might have been.

This is true in more than one sense. While this episode is based during a time period that better suits the premise of a prequel, allowing for a more fully realized tension between the Humans and Vulcans, the real revelation is the character of A. G. Robinson. Robinson is everything that Archer should have been, and in some ways, that actually makes Archer more intriguing.

While it is perhaps unfair to some of the supporting characters over the years, the success or failure of a series largely rests on the shoulders of the character in command: the captain. James Kirk set the standard, bringing the sensibilities of the seafaring captains of old to the final frontier. In the face of dangers that were simply unpredictable, yet often reflective of social events of the time the series was conceived, Kirk never seemed to waver from his sense of purpose. Rash, impulsive, and completely aware of just how far he could go to get the job done, Kirk embodied the soul of that age.

Jean-Luc Picard was just as iconic, even though his character was much more of a diplomat at heart. Picard’s era defined his sense of command, exactly as Kirk had been shaped by his own time. The Federation of Picard’s Enterprise was a republic among empires, an entity with well-defined borders. Kirk’s Federation, of course, was still vying with its neighbors for a sense of survival.

The adventures of Picard’s time were defined less by the dangers and wonders of the frontier, but rather by those things that remain unknown within the borders of what it considered “explored”. By the end of “Next Generation”, the real drama had been shifted to personal growth through the struggles of interstellar conflicts between established powers.

Fitting, then, that the next series should focus on a completely different kind of man: Benjamin Sisko. With the age of exploration more or less over, the shift to interstellar politics and personal evolution became fully realized in the man at the center of “Deep Space Nine”. Sisko was a man in search of his own place in the universe, both in terms of his command and his own spiritual reality. Ultimately, Sisko became the central strength around which the Federation reformed, the fulcrum of interstellar change.

With the evolution of the character of captain from nearly autonomous frontiersman to prime mover of galactic politics, the introduction of Kathryn Janeway seemed to be an attempt to go into completely different territory. “Voyager” attempted to bring the best elements of Kirk and Picard back to the center seat, only through a woman’s perspective.

Perhaps as a sign of the slow decline in focus and purpose that has crept into the franchise since “Voyager” took to the airwaves, Janeway never seemed to develop a voice of her own. If anything, her character was made unique by its own utter lack of distinctness. At times a pale reflection of Kirk, exploring more and more familiar “new worlds”, Janeway often resorted to a timid version of Picard’s diplomacy and adherence to traditional protocol. Her feminine perspective, though often cited, was more often drowned by her token voice of command.

Rightly understanding that any new series would need the benefit of a new perspective and purpose, Rick Berman decided to turn to the past. The question of purpose ought to have been easily resolved, since the time period requires a sense of command in the vein of Kirk, but without even the slightest bit of guidance in the form of established protocol. Setting the series in a time when Humans were still trying to emerge with a voice of their own should have settled the question of perspective.

The character of Jonathan Archer, however, has always suffered from a lack of clear purpose. Archer has none of the resolute desire to explore the unknown that Kirk practically oozed from every pore, nor does Archer have any of the grit that the best of the captains possessed. Though Scott Bakula’s performance as Archer doesn’t help the situation, it is the way that Archer is written that weakens the center.

Archer can be heroic at times, even strong in his leadership. But more often than not, he is petulant, petty, indecisive, and self-absorbed. What began as a simple expression of ignorance quickly degraded into the worst kind of leader: a man without a cause. Archer may want to explore, but it’s not at the heart of his being. Archer may want to live up to his father’s legacy, but he never seems to know what that requires.

Yet by showing his competition for the command of Enterprise, a picture begins to form. Robinson had the kind of personality that could have easily stood as a role model for James Kirk. Archer is obviously much weaker in contrast, which does nothing to give credibility to the past season. But at the same time, this exploration of Archer’s past might provide a means to redeem the character before the series comes to an end.

If the Vulcans recognized that they could not stop the progress of Human space exploration, why would they want to lend support to a captain like Robinson, who would be more likely to lead against Vulcan sensibility? Instead, wouldn’t a seemingly weaker and more malleable candidate, one with a built-in sense of entitlement, appear to be the more logical choice?

For Archer to become the kind of captain that ought to be remembered, given his apparent destiny as instrumental in the formation of Federation, he will need to grow from his complacent and unfocused current practices into someone that can take decisive action. With the seeds of Human influence in Vulcan and Klingon culture already planted, Archer need only find the strength to take that potential into his own hands to bring about Federation.

Without making it the explicit focus of the episode, the writers make a case in “First Flight” for a future direction of Archer’s personal evolution. By contrasting Archer with Robinson, it’s clear that the writers understand the weaknesses within Archer’s current mindset. At the same time, the writers offer the ideal that Archer holds in his mind, the shadow that he might find himself chasing in the near future.

Perhaps T’Pol sees that potential in him. Whatever the case, it’s clear that she already knows about the early days of the NX Program, and how Robinson might be the kind of role model that Archer needs in his current lack of direction. Of course, T’Pol also seems to say that Archer is already a maverick, which does not bode as well.

This episode offers both what the series ought to have been as well as what kind of character Archer ought to have been. While the series has essentially been set on its course, with little chance of real change possible, Archer still has the potential to become a man like Robinson. It’s unfortunate that the current writing staff is unlikely to take Archer in the kind of purposeful direction of character growth that this episode should be the springboard for.


Memorable Quotes

ARCHER: “Remember what Buzz Aldrin said when he stepped foot on the moon?”
RUBY: “No.”
ARCHER: “No one does...because Armstrong was the first.”

T’POL: “Optimism doesn’t alter the laws of physics...”

FORREST: “Has anyone bothered to look?”

VULCAN: “That’s not your decision to make.”
ARCHER: “Which all due respect, it’s not yours either!”


Observations

- Ruby, played by Brigid Brannagh, used to be ubiquitous in genre television, appearing all over the place, usually as the bad girl or some Irish or Scottish hottie. She is probably best remembered for her role as Wesley’s love interest in the second season of “Angel”...

- I cannot remember what the “602 Club” would be a reference to, but it gives the whole episode a nice feel of credibility!

- Great CGI shot of the NX-Alpha exploding over Jupiter...

- Interesting that it took the Vulcans much longer to reach warp 2!

- Nice touch with the origin of Trip’s nickname...

- This was definitely one of the better fights in the history of the series...and in a bar, no less!

- What was the deal with that bad voiceover in the third act?

- Interesting how often the crew of Enterprise manages to dispute the findings of the Vulcan Science Directorate!

- You know, with all that talk about Ruby’s criteria for marriage, I figured they would have paid it off...

Overall, this was a very good episode, easily one of the best of the season, if not the series. This could easily be used as a turning point for Archer, a way to reconnect with the aspirations of his youth. While that potential might never be realized, that does not take away from the excellence of this episode.

I give it an 8/10.


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