Tim Lynch Returns To Review 'Enterprise'

See Also: 'Broken Bow' Episode Guide

Well-known Internet reviewer Tim Lynch posted a review of 'Broken Bow' yesterday, returning to the Star Trek fandom after two years of silence.

"Hi, folks. I'm back," Lynch wrote in his review, posted to Usenet and at Psi Phi. "I've been debating for a few months now whether to jump back into the online reviewing world with the new series, and decided just a few days ago that, at least for the moment, I'll give it a whirl. Given the fact that I've recently moved (from the Los Angeles area up north to the Bay Area), changed teaching positions, and that I'm now sole teacher of two different classes with all the prep that entails, I make no promises of being able to keep things up in a timely manner. I'll try, of course - mostly because I'm so type-A that I'll drive myself mad if I get too behind - but it remains to be seen how efficient I'll be or how long I'll be sticking around."

Tim Lynch achieved great Internet popularity with his reviews of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager, all of which were posted to the rec.arts.startrek.reviews newsgroup. Lynch stopped reviewing Voyager at the end of its second season, saying that he felt it was a show "no one's taking the time to really examine while creating it - and as a result, it's not enjoyable to review week after week." Lynch did continue to review DS9 episodes, but after analysing 'What You Leave Behind' and DS9's seventh season no new Lynch reviews appeared online for two years.

As for Enterprise, Lynch's initial impressions seemed positive, even if he awarded the pilot a slightly lower rating than either 'Emissary' or 'Caretaker.' "Enterprise could do what I hoped both DS9 and Voyager would do, mainly show us the building of a Utopia rather than one that's already fully formed. Done right, this show really could take fans a lot of places they've never been; I hope that the creators can come up with the right mix of Trek history, creative reinterpretation, and just plain good storytelling. 'Broken Bow' was a mixed beginning, but I'll stick around for now."

In the full review, Lynch awarded the episode a 7 out of 10. The review contained an in-depth analysis of 'Broken Bow' itself, as well as a look at more general aspects of Enterprise itself, such as the show's characters. Click here to read it.

In addition to Lynch's review, several other 'Broken Bow' reviews appeared online over the past several days:

• Phil Plait at Bad Astronomy, a site documenting examples of incorrect astronomy in the media, tackled Star Trek for the first time with his 'Broken Bow' review."Normally, I have left Star Trek alone on this site," Plait wrote. "It's a conceit of mine, actually. I like Trek. I don't want to say anything bad about it. I've been a fan for a long, long time, and it feels faintly heretical to want to nitpick it like it was some awful Hollywood flick like Armageddon."

  Luckily for Plait, 'Broken Bow' apparently made far less infractions than 'Armageddon,' scoring only 4 real 'Bads.' Click here to read about them all.

• At IGN Sci-Fi, regular Voyager reviewer Jason Bates has now moved over to Enterprise. He gave the opening episode a rating of 3 out of 5. "All in all," Bates wrote in his review, "Enterprise's debut can probably be considered a mild success. It wasn't by any stretch of the imagination something you would call inspired, groundbreaking television, but it wasn't a complete disaster either. There's enough new, interesting stuff there to make me want to see more, and at the end of the day, what else do you want a pilot to do?"

• Julia Houston at About.com's Star Trek Fans felt the episode wasn't just good, but also good Star Trek. "It all comes together beautifully. I hope I don't have to listen to anyone else talking about how the producers of the show don't appreciate it. The whole thing looks like a labor of love. The class in alien language, Sato's worrying about standing too close to the engine, Mayweather's games with the artificial gravity, the Klingon wondering who the hell these people rescuing him are: all are great at showing us this 'ancient' history that's actually our future. The more subtle such things are, the better, and 'Broken Bow' does a good job letting them happen without comment, off to the side, while the main action keeps up the adventure's pace." Click here for more.

• Finally, reviews of the episode appeared at Section 31 and the Trekker Newsletter, each giving the pilot a rating of 8 out of 10. "An excellent start. I'd rate it with Caretaker as best premiere," wrote Bonnie Malmat in her S31 review, while Jaqueline Bundy called it "a great beginning for Enterprise" in her Trekker Newsletter review.

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