Neo
Red Pixie Boot Wearer
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2001
- Messages
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I thought it might be interesting to take a look back at the Enterprise bible, which was posted by Trekweb last July. It's neat to see what's never made it to the screen and what's changed, particularly the scrapping of Trip and Mayweather as best friends, a relationship we really only saw in "Broken Bow" and "Strange New World."
I'd say it was changed because there's not enough tension between the two, it was shaping up to be not unlike a Riker/Geordi friendship, which had no tension to it and was unremarkable. Anyway, here's the bible, enjoy!
Via Trekweb:
TrekWeb has been able to read some of the ENTERPRISE show bible -- a written
guide that details the premise, backstory, characters, and other central
elements of a television series -- and in addition to the known information
about the show and its characters, the bible reveals several new and
interesting details.
Backstory
Starfleet is less than twenty years old in 2151 and with the founding of the
Federation "decades away," humanity has only now been able to construct
advanced warp technology capable of traveling warp 5. The Vulcans refused
over the century since Cochrane's warp flight in 'First Contact' to share
their advanced warp technology and the new mark of warp 5 breaks a barrier
to exploration that has hindered human expansion. At warp 5, 10,000
inhabited planets are within one year's journey, compared to only 18 at warp
2.
The Starship Enterprise is the first long-range Starfleet vessel and because
the events of the pilot, "Broken Bow", force her to launch three months
ahead of schedule, many of her new systems will remain untested until the
mission has begun. Enterprise's human crew must strive to prove humanity's
worth as contact with alien races is full of uncertainty and danger. Without
an established corps of diplomats or the overarching organization of the
Federation, the ship's crew will have to solve most of its own problems.
Captain Jonathan Archer has followed the construction of the Enterprise
since "the first girders... were put into place," and he is instrumental in
convincing Starfleet to continue with her launch when the Vulcans feel
humanity is not ready. Archer knows that his Captain's Logs will be
essential for future captains, so he makes the detailed, personal, and
humorous.
Although Archer feels that T'Pol represents the worst arrogance of the
Vulcans, he'll come to rely on her interstellar experience and even
appreciate her wry humor. The two characters will be obstacles to one
another but develop a unique human/alien relationship that is rather
unorthodox at this point in time.
Captain Archer is a mentor figure for the chief engineer, Charlie "Trip"
Tucker III, who can be overly exuberant at times.
Sub-Commander T'Pol is as thrilled with her post on the Enterprise as her
human crewmembers. Viewing it as a hardship post, she'll actually begin to
envy humans and become fascinated with them, sampling food, observing
behavior, and even studying mating rituals.
She respects Captain Archer in him she recognizes humanity's ability to
become more than the base instincts exhibited by Charlie Tucker. T'Pol will
become especially close with Doctor Phlox, whom she'll confide in as a
fellow outsider and student of humanity. The good Doctor will even provide
her with a "nasal numbing agent" to mask the odor of humans when they're
excited. T'Pol is the oldest on board.
Charlie "Trip" Tucker III spent his youth in the Florida Keys working on an
ocean reclamation project. A thrill-seeker, Charlie eventually ended up in
Orbital Engineering, building starships at Utopia Planetia and earning a
reputation as a miracle-worker of sorts.
Charlie's best friend is the helmsman, Ensign Mayweather, and the two are
always in search of the latest adventure in what reads like an early
Paris/Kim relationship.
More importantly, Archer, T'Pol, and Tucker form the triumvirate of the
series, the three most important decision-makers on board, similar to (you
guessed it) Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.
Doctor Phlox is fascinated by humans (who don't reproduce asexually like his
species) to no end and makes himself at home on the Enterprise quickly --
populating his sickbay with all sorts of alien paraphernalia. His
"intergalactic medicine" makes the most mundane trip to the medical bay and
adventure in and of itself.
Lieutenant Malcom Reed is the antithesis to Charlie Tucker. Rigorously
organized, Reed spends his off-time working on futuristic exercise machines
or perfecting a new type of torpedo. Reed and Tucker will constantly be at
odds; Reed wanting to expand his weapons inventory in Engineering sections
and cluttering Tucker's Jefferies Tubes with grenades. As previously
revealed, Reed is also rather contradictory, shy around women and soft
spoken despite his regulatory personality.
Ensign Travis Mayweather "was born and conceived during a two year run
somewhere between Alpha Centauri and Arcturis Prime," and has traveled to
dozens of planets, even spending time with a Terrelian girlfriend at some
point in the past. Travis prefers to sleep in zero-g and he turns off the
gravity in his quarters when he sleeps.
Ensign Hoshi Sato is uncomfortable being stuck in a tin-can traveling at
fantastic velocities, and jumping to warp can be stressful for her. Hoshi's
amazing linguistic skills come in handy in an era of inadequate universal
translators and though she will share a somewhat sparring relationship with
T'Pol, the two women will develop a sort of sisterly bond.
The Enterprise and Technology
The Starship Enterprise is state-of-the-art. At 190 meters, 80,000 metric
tons and a crew compliment of 87, she brandishes laser cannons and spatial
torpedoes. Shuttlepods can hold a pilot and six passengers (note to
producers: don't put all seven of your regular castmembers in one
shuttlepod!), travel at sub-warp speeds and are used for away missions to
planets, ships or space stations. Launched through bomb bay doors by a
magnetic arm, the pods are released after being positioned below the ship.
The ship's galley is stocked with traditional foodstuffs, but features an
early replicator called a protein re-sequencer that produces a limited range
of items such as pasta or drinks. Meals are prepared by Captain Archer's
hand-picked chef and served either in the Mess Hall or Archer's private
mess, where frequent guests are Tucker and T'Pol.
Transporters are only for cargo, though throughout the first season the crew
will refine the technology for bio-matter traffic. Without the bio-filters
of the 24th century, any time crewmembers return to the ship with foreign
agents along for the ride, they must apply decontaminating gel in the
cramped Decon Chamber.
Away teams will carry phase pistols and communicators with primitive
universal translators built-in. But Hoshi's linguistic skills will often be
needed. The crew must use touch-panel intercoms to converse throughout the
ship.
Without shields or forcefields, the Enterprise is equipped with polarized
hull plating that leaves the ship vulnerable when retracted. There are no
phaser banks, though Malcom Reed may "invent" this technology down the road.
Enterprise does have retractable turrets that emerge from the hull to fire
plasma-charged artillery.
Long-range communications are only possible at warp speed, so contacting
Starfleet will be sparse.
Be aware that much of this information may have changed or may change as the
series unfolds on screen. Many times, elements in a series bible never
materialize for various reasons.
I'd say it was changed because there's not enough tension between the two, it was shaping up to be not unlike a Riker/Geordi friendship, which had no tension to it and was unremarkable. Anyway, here's the bible, enjoy!
Via Trekweb:
TrekWeb has been able to read some of the ENTERPRISE show bible -- a written
guide that details the premise, backstory, characters, and other central
elements of a television series -- and in addition to the known information
about the show and its characters, the bible reveals several new and
interesting details.
Backstory
Starfleet is less than twenty years old in 2151 and with the founding of the
Federation "decades away," humanity has only now been able to construct
advanced warp technology capable of traveling warp 5. The Vulcans refused
over the century since Cochrane's warp flight in 'First Contact' to share
their advanced warp technology and the new mark of warp 5 breaks a barrier
to exploration that has hindered human expansion. At warp 5, 10,000
inhabited planets are within one year's journey, compared to only 18 at warp
2.
The Starship Enterprise is the first long-range Starfleet vessel and because
the events of the pilot, "Broken Bow", force her to launch three months
ahead of schedule, many of her new systems will remain untested until the
mission has begun. Enterprise's human crew must strive to prove humanity's
worth as contact with alien races is full of uncertainty and danger. Without
an established corps of diplomats or the overarching organization of the
Federation, the ship's crew will have to solve most of its own problems.
Captain Jonathan Archer has followed the construction of the Enterprise
since "the first girders... were put into place," and he is instrumental in
convincing Starfleet to continue with her launch when the Vulcans feel
humanity is not ready. Archer knows that his Captain's Logs will be
essential for future captains, so he makes the detailed, personal, and
humorous.
Although Archer feels that T'Pol represents the worst arrogance of the
Vulcans, he'll come to rely on her interstellar experience and even
appreciate her wry humor. The two characters will be obstacles to one
another but develop a unique human/alien relationship that is rather
unorthodox at this point in time.
Captain Archer is a mentor figure for the chief engineer, Charlie "Trip"
Tucker III, who can be overly exuberant at times.
Sub-Commander T'Pol is as thrilled with her post on the Enterprise as her
human crewmembers. Viewing it as a hardship post, she'll actually begin to
envy humans and become fascinated with them, sampling food, observing
behavior, and even studying mating rituals.
She respects Captain Archer in him she recognizes humanity's ability to
become more than the base instincts exhibited by Charlie Tucker. T'Pol will
become especially close with Doctor Phlox, whom she'll confide in as a
fellow outsider and student of humanity. The good Doctor will even provide
her with a "nasal numbing agent" to mask the odor of humans when they're
excited. T'Pol is the oldest on board.
Charlie "Trip" Tucker III spent his youth in the Florida Keys working on an
ocean reclamation project. A thrill-seeker, Charlie eventually ended up in
Orbital Engineering, building starships at Utopia Planetia and earning a
reputation as a miracle-worker of sorts.
Charlie's best friend is the helmsman, Ensign Mayweather, and the two are
always in search of the latest adventure in what reads like an early
Paris/Kim relationship.
More importantly, Archer, T'Pol, and Tucker form the triumvirate of the
series, the three most important decision-makers on board, similar to (you
guessed it) Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.
Doctor Phlox is fascinated by humans (who don't reproduce asexually like his
species) to no end and makes himself at home on the Enterprise quickly --
populating his sickbay with all sorts of alien paraphernalia. His
"intergalactic medicine" makes the most mundane trip to the medical bay and
adventure in and of itself.
Lieutenant Malcom Reed is the antithesis to Charlie Tucker. Rigorously
organized, Reed spends his off-time working on futuristic exercise machines
or perfecting a new type of torpedo. Reed and Tucker will constantly be at
odds; Reed wanting to expand his weapons inventory in Engineering sections
and cluttering Tucker's Jefferies Tubes with grenades. As previously
revealed, Reed is also rather contradictory, shy around women and soft
spoken despite his regulatory personality.
Ensign Travis Mayweather "was born and conceived during a two year run
somewhere between Alpha Centauri and Arcturis Prime," and has traveled to
dozens of planets, even spending time with a Terrelian girlfriend at some
point in the past. Travis prefers to sleep in zero-g and he turns off the
gravity in his quarters when he sleeps.
Ensign Hoshi Sato is uncomfortable being stuck in a tin-can traveling at
fantastic velocities, and jumping to warp can be stressful for her. Hoshi's
amazing linguistic skills come in handy in an era of inadequate universal
translators and though she will share a somewhat sparring relationship with
T'Pol, the two women will develop a sort of sisterly bond.
The Enterprise and Technology
The Starship Enterprise is state-of-the-art. At 190 meters, 80,000 metric
tons and a crew compliment of 87, she brandishes laser cannons and spatial
torpedoes. Shuttlepods can hold a pilot and six passengers (note to
producers: don't put all seven of your regular castmembers in one
shuttlepod!), travel at sub-warp speeds and are used for away missions to
planets, ships or space stations. Launched through bomb bay doors by a
magnetic arm, the pods are released after being positioned below the ship.
The ship's galley is stocked with traditional foodstuffs, but features an
early replicator called a protein re-sequencer that produces a limited range
of items such as pasta or drinks. Meals are prepared by Captain Archer's
hand-picked chef and served either in the Mess Hall or Archer's private
mess, where frequent guests are Tucker and T'Pol.
Transporters are only for cargo, though throughout the first season the crew
will refine the technology for bio-matter traffic. Without the bio-filters
of the 24th century, any time crewmembers return to the ship with foreign
agents along for the ride, they must apply decontaminating gel in the
cramped Decon Chamber.
Away teams will carry phase pistols and communicators with primitive
universal translators built-in. But Hoshi's linguistic skills will often be
needed. The crew must use touch-panel intercoms to converse throughout the
ship.
Without shields or forcefields, the Enterprise is equipped with polarized
hull plating that leaves the ship vulnerable when retracted. There are no
phaser banks, though Malcom Reed may "invent" this technology down the road.
Enterprise does have retractable turrets that emerge from the hull to fire
plasma-charged artillery.
Long-range communications are only possible at warp speed, so contacting
Starfleet will be sparse.
Be aware that much of this information may have changed or may change as the
series unfolds on screen. Many times, elements in a series bible never
materialize for various reasons.
