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I have been thinking lately about how deep is Malcolms and Trips friendship.
The reason why I've been wondering is that I'm writing my first fic and I'm writing some Malcolm Trip friendship moments into it. (Just an offtopic comment since some of you know that I'm writing and have been very long. It's still going to take some time because I'm so slow writing in English, but don't worry I'm making steady process.)

So about Malcolm and Trip. I think that they have good friendship chemistry between them, but how much would they actually share with each other. I'm wondering if Trip would talk about T'Pol with Malcolm. I've been thinking that maybe Trip hasn't told Malcolm much but that Malcolm is observant and might still know things that Trip doesn't say aloud.

What do you think about their friendship.

I'd like to write more, but I have an early morning and it's already late in the evening here.

I think Malcolm (who is surprisingly insightful in his own way) would pry it right out of him. I don't think Trip would instigate such a conversation himself. But I think once it's out in the open, Trip would confide in him.

Sort of like in the Aenar arc in S4.

I just rewatched the Shuttlepod One episode from season one. It was an intense Trip/Malcolm episode which spotlighted their differences. A very interesting episode where they thought they were going to die together in the shuttlepod. I think their friendship may have been strengthened by working through their differences in this episode.

An episode which shows Malcolm's character is Minefield, also from the first year. But this was an Archer/Malcolm episode. Then there was the episode where Hoshi was trying to figure out what Malcolm's favorite food was. It showed Malcolm's parents - forgot the episode's name.

At the end of the second season, Malcolm was asking about a memorial for Lizzie and Trip just about bit his head off. I felt sorry for Malcolm. So I think Malcolm would speak his mind if he thought it was important for Trip, even if Trip might not receive it too well. Malcolm is somewhat reserved like T'Pol but not afraid of speaking plainly, as I see it.

By the fourth season they were companionable together. I loved the episode when they were on that Romulan? ship and Malcolm said "You build things, I blow things up." That sort of sums up their perspectives, LOL.

Linda wrote:Then there was the episode where Hoshi was trying to figure out what Malcolm's favorite food was. It showed Malcolm's parents - forgot the episode's name.

It's Silent Enemy from season one.

Thanks, KTR!

In my fics, Trip and Malcolm are good mates - I assumed that their friendship evolved over the course of the series after SP1 - I particularly liked their interactions in the gym in Stigma, where Feezal is trying to have her wicked way with Trip!

Perhaps its because I have an affinity for Malcolm (although, as T'Pol does mention, affinity has its limits, lol! ), and I think that they are a good double act - Two Days and Two Nights, anyone? I like fics where the two of them have some good banter!

I think they are friends but not at the same level as Archer and Trip.

I think I'll have to contest that. In the beginning, that's accurate, but by season 3 and season 4, I don't agree. After Archer's ... treatment of Tucker following the (IMO overrated) Cogenitor episode, the Archer/Tucker friendship took a major hit and never really recovered. Look at season 4 ... aside from Observer Effect, we never saw a single hint that they were still really good friends. Frankly, after the way Archer acted in Daedalus, I find it hard to believe that Trip still respects the man. You'll also note that we never saw Archer actually offer any condolences to Trip regarding his sister ... yet evidently, Malcolm was pestering Mr. Tucker about it.

So, in the beginning of the series up to the point in season 2 where Archer started lusting after his executive officer, I'll agree about the Archer/Tucker friendship. By midway through season 2, I'd say that the two men had drifted apart and could only be classified as casual friends. By season 4, that wasn't even really there either, and Archer was isolated from everyone under his command.

Rigil Kent wrote:I think I'll have to contest that. In the beginning, that's accurate, but by season 3 and season 4, I don't agree. After Archer's ... treatment of Tucker following the (IMO overrated) Cogenitor episode, the Archer/Tucker friendship took a major hit and never really recovered. Look at season 4 ... aside from Observer Effect, we never saw a single hint that they were still really good friends. Frankly, after the way Archer acted in Daedalus, I find it hard to believe that Trip still respects the man. You'll also note that we never saw Archer actually offer any condolences to Trip regarding his sister ... yet evidently, Malcolm was pestering Mr. Tucker about it.

So, in the beginning of the series up to the point in season 2 where Archer started lusting after his executive officer, I'll agree about the Archer/Tucker friendship. By midway through season 2, I'd say that the two men had drifted apart and could only be classified as casual friends. By season 4, that wasn't even really there either, and Archer was isolated from everyone under his command.

I agree with these considerations. I think that Harcher has the same problems that have all the "Captains" of the different series: they are "too much" captains.
The friendship between Trip and Malcom exists, but exist, in my opinion, because Trip "radiates" friendship.

I also agree with Rigel's assessment of the Trip & Archer situation.

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

I did think that the Archer & Trip friendship could have been interesting because Bakula and Trinneer seem to have had that friendship chemestry going for them and all, but the writers screwed it all up (the reasons Rigel stated). Instead they had Polly be miscast as the sidekick. Trip would have been so much better in that role.

I also agree with Rigil here. I never got much friendship vibes between Trip and Archer from season 3 onward. Sure Archer cared for Trip (as witnessed in Observer Effect), but they weren't at all as close as the were when the mission began. Had they been such great friends, Trip would've talked with him about T'Pol in season 4. He didn't. He talked to Malcolm and even Phlox about her, but brushed Archer off.

CoffeeCat wrote: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.

As a guy, I totally understand Tucker's reasons for requesting the transfer when he did: his friendship with Archer was in shambles, he'd put himself out there emotionally several times for T'Pol and got repeatedly shot down, his work was starting to slip 'cause of his issues with her. Frankly, the only person that I think he really saw as a friend at that point was Malcolm (as evidenced by his willingness to confess to Reed the state of his fraked up relationship with T'Pol, something he did not do with Archer.)

Instead they had Polly be miscast as the sidekick. Trip would have been so much better in that role.

Eh ... I'm not keen on that myself. It seems like that's how they initially viewed Trip (the "sidekick"), but he quickly evolved past that due in no small part to Trinneer's acting. Honestly, I would have preferred to have seen a mentor/student type of thing with Archer grooming Trip for his own command. I don't like "sidekicks" of any kind as it basically means that character is incapable of accomplishing a goal without the Hero there to guide them or show them how its done.

Rigil Kent wrote:

CoffeeCat wrote: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.

Instead they had Polly be miscast as the sidekick. Trip would have been so much better in that role.

Eh ... I'm not keen on that myself. It seems like that's how they initially viewed Trip (the "sidekick"), but he quickly evolved past that due in no small part to Trinneer's acting. Honestly, I would have preferred to have seen a mentor/student type of thing with Archer grooming Trip for his own command. I don't like "sidekicks" of any kind as it basically means that character is incapable of accomplishing a goal without the Hero there to guide them or show them how its done.[/quote]

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