Broken Bow - Diane Carey [67]
With a concept, theme, and title, the show needed to find its crew. As always, the most integral role is that of the captain. In this case, they created Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula), a man in his mid-forties; as the script for “Broken Bow” says, “unlike the captains in centuries to come, he exhibits a sense of wonder and excitement” over his new ship and the chance to explore the stars.
With the captain in place, the senior staff fills in down the line. Chief Engineer Commander Charlie “Trip” Tucker (Connor Trinneer), a Southerner who “enjoys using his ‘country’ persona to disarm people.” Tactical Officer Lieutenant Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating), a “buttoned-up Englishman” with a flair for weaponry. Helmsman Ensign Travis Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery), an African-American “space-boomer” who grew up on a cargo vessel. And Com Officer Ensign Hoshi Sato (Linda Park), an exolinguist described as “a spirited young Japanese woman” with a fear of space travel.
Though the crew complement is set at around eighty humans, the pre-Federation ship does have characters from alien races thrown into the mix, as is the custom for all Star Trek series. T’Pol (Jolene Blalock), a “severe yet sensual” Vulcan observer, accompanies the crew on their first mission and later joins on as science officer. And Dr. Phlox (John Billingsly), an “exotic-looking alien with a benevolent smile,” just happens to be the most convenient doctor around when Archer is charged with the task of preparing his crew for departure in three days.
As the audience realized long ago, Star Trek, though set in a science-fiction universe, is first and foremost a show about characters. These seven characters will now be added to the Star Trek family, and the producers can begin to craft their adventures.
“It’s always an ensemble on these shows,” Braga explains. “But we’re not going to concern ourselves, necessarily, with divvying up episodes between characters. The star of this show is the captain and he really will drive the stories, but everyone will be involved. Trip is a major character, and T’Pol is certainly a major character. And the others—it’s hard to predict. For instance, the first episode after the pilot, to our surprise, is a big Hoshi episode. It just so happens that that’s the show we came up with.
“You can’t always predict how it’s going to develop over the course of the season. You’re also not sure which characters are going to pop out. For instance, I think now we’re finding, at least early on, that Trip is really a character that’s popping out and with whom we’re really having a lot of fun. But, by the end of the season, we could discover that Reed is really jumping off the page. It’s hard to say.”
Typically, the role of the captain has been the most difficult to fill. The right blend of leadership and compassion are essential if the audience is to connect with the person in the big chair. In this case, according to Berman, the choice was easy from the start. Though the actors cast to play the previous captains of the Star Trek series did have followings before being asked on board, Scott Bakula is the most widely known actor to be hired to helm a Star Trek series.
Rick Berman explains the benefits of having Bakula sign on. “As a recognized actor he brings a little validity to the show. It doesn’t hurt to have someone who is recognizable. I’ve yet to find people who don’t find Scott tremendously talented and likable. When his name was brought