Evolution Wish List

[Dinah]

No, not that kind of evolution. This has nothing to do with Darwin.

With the possible exception of Phlox and Travis, all of the characters evolved in one way or another over the four years of the show.

Archer - was able to put his prejudices against Vulcans aside
Trip - became less impulsive
T'Pol - developed an appreciation for the abilities of Humans
Malcolm - lightened up a bit
Hoshi - became more self-confident

If you were writing the show, is this the path you would have chosen for the characters or would you have had them evolve in a different way? If so, what?

[Asso]

Archer - I would have upgraded him very soon (Promoveatur ut amoveatur): becoming Admiral, he would have been no longer the Captain ). As for the remainder, I don't know how he could improve.
Trip - became less impulsive. That's a shame: maybe he could have told T'Pol that he was in love with her, if he would remained the same impulsive man.
T'Pol - developed an appreciation for the abilities of Humans. I think I would have made her a little more in appreciation for Trip .
Malcolm - lightened up a bit. Malcolm, hey... don't you see that there's Hoshi, there?
Hoshi - I don't know: she is not Travis (She has a personality), but, considering how she was described, you could make her in whatever way you desire.

[Dinah]

But what kind of person would you make Hoshi?

[Asso]

Empress' apprentice?

Joking apart, what I see for Hoshi is just Malcolm. That, because Malcolm needs a little of light, and Hoshi needs a little of shadow.

[Dinah]

That's interesting because I don't see Hoshi with Malcolm. I figure if she was so taken with Malcolm, they'd have gotten together in E2. I know a lot of people don't like the stories "Unfufilled" and "Fulfilled" by Samantha Quinn, but in those stories Malcolm is the only person with a stable marriage. He married someone outside of Starfleet, had a daughter, continued to build his career, and appeared to be living a very good life. This presented a very stark contrast to the disasters which Archer, Trip and T'Pol had made of their lives.

It may smack a little of feminism, but I think Hoshi deserves a life of her own, without being constantly thought of only in terms of Malcolm.

But then you, Asso, are a romantic. That is probably why we don't see eye to eye on this.

[Asso]

... That is probably why we don't see eye to eye on this.

Only just until a certain point.
In reality Hoshi is "uncertain", "indefinite". That's why I think she could have something from Malcolm. And Malcolm from her.

[crystalswolf]

Archer - I would have like to see him try balancing the weight of the worlds on his shoulders and keeping his friendships and optimism. They touched on his disillusionment with exploration and I thought that was a great start of something substantial.
Trip - Wouldn't change a thing

T'Pol - I can see her becoming more elder Spock-like(2009 movie)

Malcolm - they did hint that bachelorhood in E2 made him work harder at being more open with women (when he gave out his info to the women before the bar-fight). I would've liked to have seen more of that.

Hoshi - it's all based on how I feel about the mirror universe. Each character has a full range of what their personality can be and in the MU they tend to tilt toward the more aggressive end. Hoshi in the MU was all the way on the aggressive side of her spectrum while RU Hoshi's all the way on the timid side. I would've like to have seen her become closer to a balance of the two characters. Can you image a kick a** Hoshi that still has her assorted phobias?

The Reed/Hoshi relationship I can take or leave but in this case I can so see them together.

[Alelou]

I'd like to see Hoshi get pulled into intelligence work. With her skills, she'd be a natural, if she could develop the cajones, which I think she could -- though realistically, they'd probably keep someone like her working behind the scenes rather than risking her in action.

Travis is the one who really needs development the most, and you didn't mention him. I think Travis needs to suffer a little. Maybe he marries Gannet and tries to stay planetbound and it's just a disaster. He runs back out into space an embittered man, but he'll eventually meet someone and decide that space and love aren't mutually exclusive.

There's not much we can do with Archer ... canon-wise, he needs to stay a central figure in Starfleet's history. Maybe he could just end up happier than anybody would expect him to based on the show.

I think Trip and T'Pol need to have a long, complicated, occasionally very difficult but ultimately very rewarding marriage marked by all sorts of cultural issues as well as the odd crisis. I think Trip will have a serious depression of some kind to deal with at some point when he realizes he's really growing old so much faster than his wife is. T'Pol's crisis comes later, after Trip's gone.

Malcolm will end up marrying somebody impulsively, having a marriage that is perhaps not entirely happy because she wasn't that well-suited to him, but he'll stick it out as a matter of principle, and probably do to his own children almost exactly what was done to him.

[Dinah]

Potentially Archer's future, as predicted by Daniels, could be the cross he has to bear. We already see him changing from a seat-of-the-pants flyboy to a diplomat. But I have a feeling that, if given a choice, this would not be the path Archer would choose in life. Kirk fought against a future which moved him up ladder and behind a desk. Unlike Kirk, I think Archer accepted his fate. I think he would continue to move away from Starfleet and into the diplomatic service. Eventually he might become an elder stateman. Every school child would learn about him, but is that really what he would want -- the notoriety, the veneration?

Isn't it possible that Archer was never in control of his own life? He becomes the captain of Enterprise to live the life his father dreamed; he becomes a diplomat to fulfill the destiny Daniels told him was to be his. That's rather sad.

[bluetiger]

Dinah, I am so glad someone else can see Malcolm with a woman outside of Starfleet. As you know, in my little universe he marries Helen and has twin boys. This doesn't sit too well with the Malcolm/Hoshi shippers.

[panyasan]

- Archer - he becomes the president of the United Coalition of Planets, because he is such a wellknown figure in Starfleet and seen as one of the hero's from the Romulan war. It's all politics, isn't it? Archer sees becoming president as his life goal, but has learned the hard way that you work the best with a team and that he has to look beyond his own cultural views. Still, old habits are hard to break, but through his hard work and his place in history, Archer ends up to be one of the most important presidents in the Federation history. He never married, he will always will claim that he is married to his work. Truth is, his true love, Erika Hernandez, dies in the Romulan war and Archer never had a serious relationship after this.

Trip and T'Pol - both grew up more and learn in their relationship, once they accepted that they love each other. Not always easy, but rewarding and offering them both the callenge they both seek.

Malcolm - he learns how to relax more, especially through his friendship with Trip and develops himself as one of Starfleets top officers. After the war, in which he plays a vital part - marries Helen and has two childern (TM Bluetiger )

Hoshi - briljant linguist will lay down the foundation of the Starfleet Communication Department and make a major impact on the development of translation of alien languages. Strong independant woman. Has several relationships, but they end after a while and she never marries.

Travis - after the war, leaves Starfleet to become a Boomer again. Marries a Boomer wife and has six childern.

[Dinah]

Wow! Six kids. That Travis is quite a guy. It must be a very big cargo ship.

Panyasan, I the only had the episode "Broken Bow" to go by, would you see the characters' lives evolving in the same way? Or would you have guess they would have very different futures in store for them?

[panyasan]

Wow! Six kids. That Travis is quite a guy. It must be a very big cargo ship.

Panyasan, I the only had the episode "Broken Bow" to go by, would you see the characters' lives evolving in the same way? Or would you have guess they would have very different futures in store for them?

Yes, I would.
I think I would make Archers future less rigid - he would not become a diplomat (frankly he isn't diplomat material at all), but more a Kirk-like "we solve our problem with wit and courage"captain. I do love his optimism and I was a bit sorry that was lost in the show.
Trip - Based on the first episode: I like to see him develop to a great captain and make many great engineering discoveries, because I think he always had that potential. Marries T'Pol. Of course.
T'Pol - Will relax more and will develop into a strong woman that uses the best of boths worlds: Vulcan and Earth.
Hoshi: Same future. Once she has her space legs, she will show those studid writers that communication and being a linguist is more then pushing buttons.
For Malcolm and Travis: same future. As for Travis' six kids: I think he is great daddy material. I also hope that his marriage and his kids will get him as we Dutch say "some pepper in his butt". He is much too passive to my taste. I was hoping on a bit more action from our Travis when the show started.

[Silverbullet]

Archer, was too perfect in the series. Knew everythig and could do anything. Could defeat anyone even if he was on vulcan where he had not experienced the Gravity or rarified atmosphere. He defeated three Vulcan, well trained, Commandoes who were used to the environment. He defeated Shran using an Ice Axe he had never held before. Took beatings in Andorian Incident but was all right in a few minutes. Had the Archer character been a bit more fallible, not so perfect, such a "Gary Sue" I could see room for improvement. But how can you improve perfection? Archer never had to pay for his mistakes which were numerous.

Trip. He was always portrayed as a weakling. He was defeated by just about everyone. In the Andorian Incident he was hit by an andorian and was floored, couldn't get up so he had to stay out of the action for the rest of the Episode. In precious Cargo he hits the Kidnapper with three good set up lefts and a very hard right. Kidnapper blinks and hits Trip once knocking into the water, jumps on Trip and is going ot drown him when the Princess runs up and tags the Kidnapper with a limb. It goes on. Trip is a brilliant Engineer and brave as Hell. He climbs a cable between the Columbia and Enterprise while they are traveling at Warp 5.5. If he slips he would be lost forver. But he gets on to Enterprise fixes the problem in two minues. Does he get Kudos? Archer says good job and that is it. I wnated to see Trip get a medal for that. I desperately wanted Trip to be more mature, tell RT-Pol how he felt.

T-Pol. Character jerked around. She was Not allowed to be anything but a chipher for the first two seasons. The Seduction scene should have started an intimate affair with Trip but she Tells him that the night before meant nothing to her. Cannot belive that. Blew Hot and clold toward Trip the entire series until the final two episodes Demons and Terra Prime. I am still convinced that the writers and Manny coto tried to imply that TnT had a ongoing intimate affair for some time before Demons. Anyway, the T-Pol character was wasted and the Character would have to be redone completely for any imrovement.

Hoshi. She had a black Belt, she was a good gambler. Why didn't they show a background of her Gambling days. The black Belt would have come in handy for her. Why wsn't she given some more action scenes. I belive she was the perfect foil for Malcom. They fit. Put her and Malcom on Earth, Starfleet command. Hoshi heading the Linguistic section and Malcom Security. Married. Hoshi should have been a Lt at the start of the series.

Malcom. He should have had a background Episode of his days in Section 31. That would have explained some of his personality. He should have been a Lt commander. It would not look so strange that he was superior to Major Hayes. Had Malcom been fleshed out a bit doubt if any improvement would be needed.

Travis. Complete overhaoul. give him a tongue and some action also so a promotion to Lt.

[Pegmumm]

Hmmm...
It must be my profession coming out but I saw the characters as limited by their isolation from each other and those closest to them.

Archer: son of a gifted man, who existed in his father's shadow, constantly attempting to become something greater than he saw his father becoming. He became something just short of a Messiah figure. No one can go through so much without cracking... but that's another story line of mine. He grew... but towards something unbalanced and fragmented. I saw him as having a death wish... to avoid becoming something he didn't want to be...but was forced into.

T'Pol: we judged her by human standards which is a disservice to her. The series was deliberately limiting of any real meaningful interaction because it ruined their story arcs. I prefer to see her as someone that overcame her societally ingrained isolation and choose a life with Trip instead of the stagnation that was demonstrated by her society. She showed an incredible amount of growth during the series... as did Trip. Creating a bond deliberately wasn't really explored. She harbored a biological desire for another... and couldn't bring herself to admit it even though her body insisted she listen.

Trip: Like many great minds, he was isolated intellectually. How do you get a commission on the first warp 5 Starship, show brilliance in your professional life and yet be so hindered in your personal interactions. He showed great courage and bravery... but was beaten with tragedy after tragedy. If he were a patient of mine, I'd have him evaluated as danger to self. I was impressed that he reached out to the one female character as brilliant and isolated as he was. He became everyman... who loved a seemingly cold woman... and haven't we all been in a love that was unrequited?

Hoshi: it was ironic that a communications officer would have been isolated as a child by her giftedness. Private tutors, no interactions with other children. She watched as an observer, not really interacting. It makes her an easy character to write for since she is so undefined.

Malcolm: a victim of his father's expectations... just like Archer. He became isolated, even his parents knew nothing about him. His fear of opening up to even his best friend, Trip, was palpable. He balanced testosterone with his intimacy needs. (sorry, therapist coming out here.) He and Hoshi would gravitate towards each other, each learning about how to communicate... much like children do.

As far as evolution goes... it's all in your imagination. I am a sci fi collector, a "Trekkie" if you will...we, as fans, created the phenomenon that still demands that new movies be created... and its been over 40 years since I first saw TOS as a teenager. (Yeah I am that old) It is only through our continued demand for the evolution of Star Trek that keeps the legend alive.

Your characters are each uniquely your own, we each hold a piece of that world within us... and it's all marvelous.
peg