Malcolm and Trip friendship

[Rigil Kent]

To be honest, I also think Archer's bazaar influence on T'Pol is indirectly part of the cause of him transferring to Columbia.

Well, that I can't really agree with as I didn't see Archer having much of an influence on T'Pol during season 4. If anyone had an influence, it was her mother.

From The Aenar when they are arguing over who was to test the telepathic interface thing, T'Pol seemed pretty insistent on getting it tested before Archer returned, ignoring her own safety. I don't think it was a romantic influence, but it seems so much like Archer to behave the way she did. I'm wondering if she was taking lessons on how to be a donkey from him.

But, if you recall, Trip wanted to to test it himself after having only recently survived the whole Romulan droneship thing (ignoring the fact that he should have been flat on his back with minor radiation poisoning). I perceived it as her wanting to protect Tucker, yet being completely unwilling to tell him that as she's trying to convince herself that she doesn't need/want/desire him due to the whole Kir'Shara nonsense. Thus, it translated into her being brusque and assmonkeyish.

Not to mention, she was the only telepath aboard (unless Hoshi was one, which the hinted at in season 3 and then promptly forgot about.)

[CoffeeCat]

Maybe. I'm actually rewatching the episode and perhaps I'll pick up on what you're saying.

But I'm actually pretty sure Tucker would perceive it all as an Archer influence. At this point he thinks nobody gives a crap (save Malcolm) so he certainly wouldn't pick up on the fact that maybe she cares enough to become a lab rat on his behalf.

[CX]

I think we'd probably end up arguing semantics here. A sidekick is a mentor/student relationship.

I can't agree with that. A sidekick is there to back up the hero, like Robin did for Batman and that guy does for Walker on that old Texas Ranger show my mom used to watch. They also usually have all the bad crap happen to them for the sake of drama, and tend to get beaten up in a fight whereas the hero can hold their own. Sound familiar?

[CoffeeCat]

then I stand corrected.

[WarpGirl]

If anything I think Archer was a bad influence on Trip for the 10 years they were best-est buddies in the Galaxy! Trip really had very few reasons to hate Vulcans as much as he did during the beginning of Season 1. Yeah I can see him not being all that keen that the VHC was stalling Starfleet's Warp program. Let's face it the guy's a brilliant engineer, and he wants to be out there. Of course he's going to have professional issues, but his character is always so open to new people and experiences that his terrible treatment of T'Pol and other Vulcans that come in and out of season 1 makes no sense. He's open to every species but Vulcans simply because of professional outrage? I don't think so. He met Archer at 22 years old, not old enough for an "average" person to complete four years of college. He's young, impressionable, and Archer's got at least ten possibly fifteen years on him. Of course, he's going to be influenced on a million things but most outstandingly Vulcans.

Now what does this have to do with Malcolm? Well honestly, I believe that when Trip befriended Malcolm he began to grow up. He's no longer Jon Archer's side-kick, but Trip Tucker, Chief Engineer. It's Malcolm that inadvertently gets the ball rolling on TnT when he comment's on T'Pol's lovely bum. Up until then I don't think Trip reacted to her as a woman, partly because to she's "the Vulcan." Also with Malcolm Trip doesn't have the urge to have Malcolm be proud of him. He can be himself more, screw-up, not pretend to like water polo, or constantly defer to seniority. With Malcolm they're equals maybe not in rank, but socially. Jon can and does pull "rank" if Trip doesn't tow the line in the way Archer wants, both personally and professionally. Malcolm can't but more importantly wouldn't do that. Even though he's a Junior Officer, he doesn't defer to Trip personally, he tells him what he thinks he needs to hear. Trip can count on that, he can't with Archer. As the Captain Archer always has a motive, and as a man, he likes things his own way. In the end Malcolm is a much better friend.

However I do think Trip's friendship with Archer is extremely important because it's the starting point for the amazing man Trip becomes.

[Alelou]

It's Malcolm that inadvertently gets the ball rolling on TnT when he comment's on T'Pol's lovely bum. Up until then I don't think Trip reacted to her as a woman, partly because to she's "the Vulcan."

Boy, you're pulling up old topics I never read here myself. I almost freaked out, thinking, Good God, Rigil is actually posting??

I agree with all your points about M and T, except this one. I think Trip reacted to T'Pol as a woman the minute she walked in the door. Check out that smirk. (Conveniently provided at the very beginning of this vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hyZKSO0 ... annel_page) And then in the decon chamber, I'm quite sure he noticed she was a woman all over again. He wasn't stupid enough to think anything would come of it, but he noticed. Oh yeah. You need to play THAT episode on your HDTV...

And I could swear her nostrils flared a time or two as well, and not just at the human smell.

[WarpGirl]

I didn't mean physically. A man would have to be dead not to react to decon. Heck as soon as they stuck them in together I was like... Well they'll try to stick her with Archer but it won't work, because JB doesn't mesh with SB. Eventually they'll realize that CT and JB set off fireworks!" Hey they did the same thing with Roxann Dawson and the whole Chakotay crush. But mentally Trip doesn't think of her as a feminine get to know you under the lust, until Malcolm says it first!

[Alelou]

Ugh, a Chakotay crush for Belanna???? I'm glad I bailed when I did.

Personally I think Voyager was the death knell for Star Trek. Enterprise was too late for a lot of us who just couldn't hack any more Trek at that point in our lives so we never even gave it a chance (until it was too late). I even had a fairly strong economic incentive to keep watching Voyager, and I just couldn't make myself do it.

[WarpGirl]

VOY was my favorite! I loved the characters (well except for 7of9 and Kes) but the writing went down hill after Jeri Taylor left. But still they had individual fantastic episodes. But Characters like Tom Paris, B'Elanna Torres, Captain Janeway, Neelix, and the Doc, were amazing. Actually B'Elanna had a crush on Chakotay in season 1, and part of 2. Then she wised up and found that Pilots are a heck of a lot more exciting! (not Travis though) I actually hate Enterprise. I just watch it for CT and the fact that I'm writing fanfic for it. I figure I should know the basic outline. But for the most part I find the series itself not all that palatable. I find individual characters compelling, Malcolm and Trip. Hoshi, Phlox and Soval, but not the story itself. And really it's more of the concepts of the characters not the execution. VOY did far better in that respect.

[Alelou]

Oh. Then I did watch it and forgot about it, since I definitely watched the first two seasons. Maybe it was general Trek fatigue. I was deeply into TNG. Now I can barely stand to watch it.

What you said earlier about disagreements...

For someone who hates Enterprise and hasn't even seen most of it, you sure have a lot to say about it.

[WarpGirl]

Well that's because I don't like it. I hope you won't hold it against me.

[Alelou]

No, but I find it a little odd how much you want to talk about something you don't like... maybe you're in a little denial...

[Aikiweezie]

Oh yeah. You need to play THAT episode on your HDTV...

Oh, I will - just as soon as I save it on the DVR. Decon scenes might burn out the screen, though!

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

It's Malcolm that inadvertently gets the ball rolling on TnT when he comment's on T'Pol's lovely bum. Up until then I don't think Trip reacted to her as a woman, partly because to she's "the Vulcan."

Well, it is an awfully nice bum...

However, I don't agree that Trip didn't react to her as a woman prior to that, like Alelou said. TnT had a lot of sizzling chemistry before Shuttlepod One. I'm a firm believer in that it all began with the first non-handshake. Broken Bow, Strange New World, Unexpected, Breaking the Ice... Just read my reviews!

But I do agree with your assessment of how Trip's friendship with Malcolm changed him into a better person when he got away from Archer's bad influence.

[WarpGirl]

No, but I find it a little odd how much you want to talk about something you don't like... maybe you're in a little denial...

No not really as a series I hate Enterprise. Individual components of the concept however, inspire my wacky and fertile imagination.

KTR, Yeah his eyes bugged out of his head, and he liked her sass but as for a relationship romantic or otherwise, I don't think he thought about it until Mal brought a hypothetical thing between him and T'Pol up. And yes she's got a nice bum WE KNOW! Men...