050 - First Flight

2153: Durante l'esplorazione di quella che sembra essere una nebulosa di materia oscura, Archer riceve la notizia della morte di A.G. Robinson, il suo rivale ai tempi dei test del programma NX. Durante una missione a bordo di uno shuttlepod per studiare meglio il fenomeno, Archer ricorda a T'Pol i tempi in cui lui e Robinson erano due piloti in competizione per essere i primi ad avere l'onore di superare la barriera di warp 2.

In questo episodio...

• L'Enterprise trova una nebulosa di materia oscura e mette in pratica un esperimento vulcaniano per poterne eccitare le particelle e renderle visibili.
• Viene nominato il capitano Jefferies, probabilmente un omaggio a Matt Jefferies.
• Non si vedono Mayweather, Phlox e Reed.
• Si vede Ruby e il Club 602, il locale in cui lavora come cameriera. Ruby e il locale situato nel Mill Valley frequentato dal personale della Flotta Stellare vengono citati da Reed e Tucker in Shuttlepod One.
• Si vede il logo del Progetto NX.
• Archer cita il «Guinness dei primati».

Note

• In una scena in cui si vede un pezzo di Terra vista dallo spazio, si riconosce, sulla destra, l'Italia coperta quasi interamente dalle nubi [T:11:02].
• Come lo scorso anno durante le riprese di Desert Crossing, i «Sailors of the Year» del 2003 della portaerei USS Enterprise hanno visitato il set durante la produzione di questo episodio per apparire come comparse. I marinai che si sono distinti nel loro lavoro per un eccezionale servizio e che sono saliti a bordo della controparte del futuro della portaerei della marina americana sono stati: Petty Officer Kathy J. Grant, Petty Officer James D. Frey e Corpsman Thomas P. Hunt.
• Per lanciare nello spazio la NX-Beta viene utilizzata una rotaia incurvata verso l'alto, metodo visto in alcuni film di fantascienza degli anni '50 e '60 e nell'anime Tekkaman.
• Su alcune pareti del Club 602 si vedono delle foto della Phoenix, di un vascello sperimentale NX e di una nave che è la copia esatta della famosa Enterprise della sala ricreativa vista in Star Trek I.
  

Versione italiana

• In occasione della prima trasmissione in Italia, questo episodio è stato trasmesso senza la sigla iniziale ed è stato unito a Cogenitor, privato dei titoli di coda. Tra i due episodi, oltre la pausa pubblicitaria è stato trasmesso un breve stacco che mostra l'Enterprise mentre entra in curvatura e il logo «Star Trek Enterprise» accompagnati da un jingle tratto dalla sigla di apertura.

Citazioni

Archer: What's your name, Lieutenant?
Tucker: Charles Tucker, Sir. But everybody calls me Trip.
Archer: Trip.
Tucker: My dad's Charles Tucker, so is his dad, that makes me third, so... triple: Trip.

Archer: I'd prefer to handle this myself.
T'Pol: Commander Tucker obviously didn't remind you that Starfleet regulations prohibit the Captain from leaving the ship unaccompanied.

T'Pol: I can pass the time by meditating, but if you'd prefer to talk...
Archer: Go ahead and meditate.

Archer: Do you remember what Buzz Aldrin said when he stepped on the Moon?
Ruby: No.
Archer: Nobody does, because Armstrong went first. [T:08:24]

Archer: Congratulations.
Robinson: You mean that?
Archer: 'Course not.

T'Pol: You said Captain Robinson was a close friend.
Archer: That's right.
T'Pol: You've told me your relationship seamed adversarial.
Archer: Only one of us was going to get to flight that ship. Nothing wrong with a little healthy competition.
T'Pol: He did have a point. It does take more than piloting ability to command a starship.
Archer: I agree.
T'Pol: Fortunately you seem to have developed the necessary skill.
Archer: Was that a compliment?
T'Pol: An observation. [T:10:12]

Archer: NX control to NX-Alpha. You have permission to go to warp.
Robinson: See you in a few light years! [T:12:20]

T'Pol: I assume Captain Robinson's flight was succesful.
Archer: Not exactly. He was lucky to come out of it in one piece.

T'Pol: The particle density is increasing.
Archer: We should be entering the nebula.
T'Pol: The readings could be misleading.
Archer: As doctor Phlox would say, 'optimism'.
T'Pol: Optimism doesn't alter the laws of physics. [T:14:45]

Consigliere vulcaniano: Your program is moving too quickly.
Tucker: Just because it took you a hundred years to crack warp two doesn't mean it'll take us that long. [T:17:06]

Archer: This is a new engine: it's bound to have a few bugs to work out.
Consigliere vulcaniano: Those... 'bugs' just scattered your ship across five thousand kilometers of space, and nearly killed your pilot.

Tucker: I don't get it. It's... It's like they want us to fail!
Forrest: I gave up trying to figure out the Vulcans a long time ago.

T'Pol: You obviously admired this man.
Archer: Quite a bit.
T'Pol: And yet he cracked your molar?
Archer: Heh! Humans can have funny ways of forming friendships.
T'Pol: To say the least. [T:25:04]

Ufficiale: We just caught a call. New Berlin's detected the NX-Beta.
Forrest: What?
Ufficiale: Internal sensors show it's still in the hangar.
Forrest: Has anyone bothered to look? [T:32:10]

Robinson: By the time they figure out what's goin'on... we'll be halfway to Jupiter.

Archer: NX-Beta to Commodore Forrest. You might wanna check your sensors. You'll see we're holding steady at Warp two point five.
Forrest: Congratulations. Now get the hell back here! [T:34:52]

Archer: You're always talking about taking risks! What have we got to lose?!

Archer: Don't you believe me?
T'Pol: I have no doubt it happened, though I find it difficult to believe... you had to be convinced to participate.

Archer: Well... you didn't know me then. I was a little more by-the-book.

Archer: No response from the auxiliary A.P.U.s.
Robinson: That's because they haven't been installed, yet.
Archer: Sigh!

Robinson: Get Lieutenant Tucker in here. Ask any engineer of this project. They'll tell you this ship can fly! Archer and I just proved it! We're ready to go. Now!
Consigliere vulcaniano: That's not your decision to make.
Archer: With all due respect, it's not yours either. You're right, Sir. We were reckless, we know there'll be consequences. We know we'll probably be thrown out of Starfleet.
Forrest: You may have been right.
Archer: AG and I may never fly again. But it's a small sacrifice to make if it keeps this project going. We didn't build this engine to make test rounds around Jupiter. We've built it to explore! If my father were alive today, he'd be standing here asking: 'What the hell are we waiting for!'. [T:36:18]

Archer: By the end, AG and I were the only two candidates left. They made the final selection six months before we launched. Maybe I just got lucky. [T:39:14]

Robinson: To Jonathan Archer. First captain of the starship Enterprise. And one lucky SOB. [T:39.38]

T'Pol: I believe there's a human custom that says when you discover something of merit, you earn the right to name it.
Archer: What would you suggest, the «T'Pol-Archer Nebula»?
T'Pol: I was thinking the «Robinson Nebula» would be more appropriate. [T:41:31]