'Broken Bow' Is A 'Grand Adventure,' Says Braga

In Star Trek, there's never such a thing as a simple mission, and the Enterprise pilot will be no different, according to series co-creator Brannon Braga, who promises a galactic conspiracy, deadly aliens and a healthy dose of "grand adventure."

"Our pilot tells the story of a crew that comes together for the very first time," Braga told Ian Spelling at Inside Trek. "The crew's mission is simple: a Klingon has crash-landed on Earth - we've never seen a Klingon before - and the Klingons want him back."

The crew's first mission may be simple, but complications develop quickly. "We've got to take him home or there's going to be trouble with the Klingon Empire," Braga said. "So it's a little bit like 'Saving Private Ryan' - get the Klingon home. Along the way, we uncover a huge galactic conspiracy involving a new and deadly species called the Suliban."

These new antagonists aren't your everyday bad guys, however. "The Suliban have strange genetic abilities," the producer explained. "They can breathe in the vacuum of space and run on ceilings and camouflage themselves like an octopus. We realize that the Suliban are somehow in contact with the distant future, that there's a situation called the Temporal Cold War and that there's a big conspiracy that also involves the Klingons. We begin to uncover this and it's a grand adventure. I think it's safe to say the crew stays together at the end."

The process of developing the script was a particularly fulfilling experience for Braga. "It's much more gratifying and exciting to be in on something from the get-go," he said. "And I'm just glad this show wasn't rushed."

Enterprise has been in development for some time, despite the fact that the series debuts only a few months after the Voyager finale. "Some people may think it's rushed because Voyager just ended and now you've got a new show, but the fact is that from the first concept to now, it's been two and a half years, maybe even longer," Braga said. "It was nice to be able to take the time to develop the concept, to develop each character and to spend a lot of time with Rick [Berman] writing the pilot and developing the first few episodes."

Although the series doesn't launch for another month, Braga thinks the audience will be pleased with what they see. "We've done everything we can to make this new series fresh and exciting in our minds," he said. "That will hopefully translate to fresh and exciting viewing. We've done our best and we're hoping that Enterprise will appeal to both the core Star Trek fan and to those who know of Star Trek but don't watch it regularly."

The full interview, in which Braga also talked about the reasons for choosing a 22nd century premise, can be found here at Inside Trek.

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