Star Trek: Pro drug abuse.

[Trinneergirl 0]

I loved Enterprise from the beginning. I loved the friendship between Archer and Trip mostly, then I loved the cameraderie, the humour, the exploration of new space... Many, many things. I accepted that T'Pol was the seven-of-nine of the show, the busty bint in the catsuit, even accepted that she could become First Officer. She basically first said that her 'Vulcan rank superseeded' Trip's, (i.e. she had been a Sub-Commander for longer that Trip had been a Commander), then used blackmail to say that she could call the Vulcan High Command and they would put pressure on Starfleet to make her First Officer. Archer later kept her as First Officer, so alright, that's the show.

 

But from the moment she resigned from the Vulcan High Command in The Expanse, her reason for out-ranking Trip had gone. She was First Officer because her Vulcan rank superseeded his. But now, she had no Vulcan rank. If TPTB had the smallest interest in making this show appeal to people with a brain they would have then moved T'Pol over to be a civilian Head of Science and Trip would have moved up to be First Officer. Since Connor Trinneer is always value as acting captain, (unlike Blalock who perches like a maiden aunt on the Captain's seat and has no command presence whatsoever, IMO), this would have drastically improved the show. But we were instead expected to continue to have this civilian in her 'horse of a different colour' catsuit collection as First Officer. No authority to give orders to Starfleet or MACO personnel, even she said in The Expanse: 'You need a Science Officer. You need me'. Yet she remains XO. She's not a Vulcan officer, not a Starfleet officer, but can still be the First Officer. Stupid, trite and dumb. :)

 

But, with the mission Enterprise had, and the job Trip had to perform, constantly keeping Enterprise under repair meant that it was on the edge of acceptable for T'Pol to still have First Officer duties. But by the end of series three T'Pol was so compromised that she cannot have the job. There have been many tragedies in my lifetime, Hysel, Hillsborough, Challenger, Columbia, The Twin Towers and many, many more. The one constant is that the surviving family members want to know why their loved ones dies and who, if anyone, is to blame. There can be no doubt that T'Pol chose, of her own free will, to get high for kicks on Trellium D when she was First Officer of a Starship, whose 80+ crewmen and their mission, to save Earth and all humanity were her responsibility. She chose to drug herself and in doing so grossly affected her judgement. This culminated at Azati Prime, where she was so incompetent and so negligent that she was responsible for the manslaughter of eighteen Enterprise Crewmembers. Subsequently, she lied to Archer and Trip, saying her lack of control was due to not being able to meditate. She thieved Trellium from the ship's store to fund her habit. She put the ship in danger by removing emergency repair teams from parts of the ship in order for her to get to her stash.

 

It should have been obvious to TPTB that you cannot morally bankrupt a character in the way T'Pol has been bankrupted without there being serious consequences. Unfortunately, her (I'm trying to say a bad word but can't)-in-a-catsuit status, that led them to have her as First Officer after she resigned from the VHC, has now led them to keep her in that position for season four. As a Trip fan I am incensed that now a brain-damaged, lying, thieving, dishonest, dishonourable, multi-manslaughterer is still preferred to Trip as First Officer. As a person I find it difficult to believe that TPTB wouldn't see that Starfleet might want to know why it lost eighteen members at Azati Prime and looking, wouldn't see that T'Pol was criminally incompetent. That subpoening her medical records wouldn't show why. Or are the loved ones of those lost supposed to just shrug the deaths off? Damn ridiculous and an insult.

 

But mostly as a Trek fan of many years standing, I am insulted by her continued presence on as First Officer because it actively condones the abuse of recreational drugs. For me I don't care about the Space Nazi, the Augements, or the Vulcan Civil war. For me the show is now only about the condonement of the abuse of recreational drugs. Whilst T'Pol remains First Officer that is all Enterprise is about.

I cannot and will not be a fan of such a filthy message. That this once so special show is now Star Trek: Pro Drug Abuse to cater to T'Pol is disgusting. No-one with a conscience could accept such a foul message. :)

 

I am no longer a fan of the show. I will no longer be watching. Add me to the eight million who have jumped ship so far.

 

I loved this show. Really, really loved it. Now I have nothing but contempt. :P :(

[fenriz275 0]

I guess you missed all of the other stuff they had going on during the episodes. As for T'Pol's drug use. No one other than Phlox knows about it. While it's been months for us the viewers it's only been a few weeks in the show. I don't think we've seen all of the consequences she'll have to face yet. The question I want answered is why didn't Phlox remove her from duty? That's a question that's been bugging me for a while now. Overall that particular subplot isn't doing much for me but I'm not going to throw the baby out with the bath water. There have been story elements in all Trek shows I haven't been crazy about.

[mj 7]

I am inclined to wait and see what they do with the drug problem this season. I think Fenriz makes a good point about Phlox: why didn't he remove her from command, since he actually knew she was impaired? Or did Phlox even have any authority over her...trineergirl makes a good point about how strange it is that she even continues to hold the first officer position. Could Phlox have removed her, and under what regulation?

[ARMS 0]

I believe the ultimate message will be 'drugs are bad', she will face the consequences..

[Ozymandous 0]

Well...

 

I don't like what they have done either with the character and agree that 'Trip' should be acting First Officer and she should only be the civilian head of Science, at least till they demote her because of said drug use and lack of ethics.

 

As far as why the writers thus far have treated the issue as they have...

 

It's Hollywood, what do you expect? Drug use doesn't really 'hurt' anyone now does it? I mean surely she has her upbringing, the pressures she is under, blah, blah, blah, as valid excuses. After all, why should she be held accountable for her actions in a make believe show when in reality a sitting president could lie under oath to a federal grand jury, and not suffer any real penalties?

 

*shrugs*

 

Just another sign of the times.

[Crrusher 0]

she should be second in charge, she is the 2nd smartest. some people will accpet it, others will hate it :angry:

Edited October 12, 2004 by mj

[Trinneergirl 0]

Well...

 

I don't like what they have done either with the character and agree that 'Trip' should be acting First Officer and she should only be the civilian head of Science, at least till they demote her because of said drug use and lack of ethics.

 

As far as why the writers thus far have treated the issue as they have...

 

It's Hollywood, what do you expect?  Drug use doesn't really 'hurt' anyone now does it?  I mean surely she has her upbringing, the pressures she is under, blah, blah, blah, as valid excuses.  After all, why should she be held accountable for her actions in a make believe show when in reality a sitting president could lie under oath to a federal grand jury, and not suffer any real penalties?

 

*shrugs*

 

Just another sign of the times.

268079[/snapback]

 

Unfortunatley, you are right. T&A + more than a competent officer.

 

she should be second in charge, she is the 2nd smartest. some people will accpet it, others will hate it 

 

If by that, Crrusher, you mean: 'She should be First Officer, she is the second most intelligent. Some will accept that, others not', you are erronious in every way. She lied to the crew, stole the Trellium and wilfully became imcompetent to get her 'fix'. On top of her Panarr syndrome, (which we were told was a degenerative brain disorder), she chose to take a brain destroying drug. Phlox told her she had caused extensive damage. By now she's Forrest Gump!! She's certainly not more intelligent than Trip. He was the guy who re-wrote Cochrane's warp theory to allow Ent to function in the Expanse. What did she do? Oh yes, caused eighteen unnecessary deaths.

 

T'Pologists forgive her. I cannot. While she is First Officer the slant of the show is pro drugs.

[Wishfire 2]

I don't know the whole story, except from what little I've seen directly concerning the drugs and what's been written in this thread, BUT...

 

You have to expect certain issues (like drug abuse) to be drawn out. Enterprise isn't some teen-age sitcom/drama like Saved By the Bell where in the period of a half-hour a problem could be discovered, exploited, and remedied effectively. In real-life, these thing take time, so you've got to expect it to take a bit of time on Enterprise as well. That is, if they want it to be realistic.

 

As for the drug-use issue, there is nothing wrong with recreational drug-use, AS LONG as the user doesn't let the drug ruin his/her life and cause the (un)intententional harm of others. From what I've seen in the series concerning T'Pol, she's crossed the line, but as fenriz275 said, only the doctor knows. Which is a great set-up for some in-depth and pretty good future episodes of Enterprise.

 

IMO, of course.

[Theunicornhunter 2]

I've tried to avoid this thread but the honest truth - the drug issue has pretty much soured me on Enterprise.

 

No, I do not expect UPN to address the issue, nor do I expect T'Pol will ever show any remorse for her actions. As far as UPN is concerned we're supposed to see her as a victim.

 

As far as T'Pol being smart; they've never demonstrated that IMO. They stuck a wig and pointed ears on her and called her a Vulcan and everyone seems to assume she's smart. (Much like people do with one another here on Earth - infer character traits from appearance). I remember episodes that actually showed Mr. Spock acting like a scientist - wanting a chance to gain scientific knowledge. The arrogant T'Pol instead informs us that Vulcans aren't curious. That's one of my pet peeves - how can you be a scientist if you don't have that natural curiosity about the world. She does make science seem boring.

 

They also tended to show T'Pol in positions of weakness, many a result of her own choosing - Fusion and the season three drug arc. IMO, they didn't do enough to show her as competent and independent. (However, there are a lot of people that prefer seeing gorgeous babes in need of rescue and this may have been the angle TPTB were taking for ratings purposes)

 

Whatever else you can say I don't know how you can not call her a hypocrit - she's preaches down to the captain and crew and goes on endlessly about the superior Vulcan mind and then makes decisions contrary to what she preaches (beginning in Fusion)

 

In fact, I am really sick of hearing about the superior Vulcan mind but that's a writer/producer issue not really T'Pol's fault.

 

I don't think Trip should be First Officer and Chief Engineer - either one is a full time job. Archer would definitely be better leaving Trip in command until he gets a real First Officer (but since that will be T'Pol I will be joining the declining ratings)

 

As for the Trip/T'Pol relationship - IMO it pretty basically comes down to what individual viewers seek in a relationship. There are a lot of people who believe sex is the only requirement for a relationship (and this is usually accmpanied by an assumption that the more beautiful the body the better the sex)

 

There are also those that believe there should be an emotional relationship involved as well. I am not going to argue one view is better than the other - only that you can't have it both ways (well I guess you could - you could have two gorgeous people actually develop a relationship). TPTB took the course they thought would bring the most viewers - that doesn't seem to be working.

 

Enterprise (or Star Trek in general) has no obligation to present any one view on drugs, sex, responsibility etc. But they have to accept the fact that when they endorse drug use they will lose some viewers - hopefully they gained enough to offset that - but again I think alienating traditional trek fans was a mistake from a ratings perspective.

[Captain Bolivar 0]

Okay, there are many valid points here, but let's not overlook the effects of the drugs or other circumstances. For example:

 

1. The Trellium caused T'Pol to feel emotion. Vulcan's naturally have emotions within them, but they supress them. The Trellium interfered with the suppression, thus making T'Pol revert to a NATURAL emotional state. So, while the Trellium could be considered a "drug", it may not necessarily be a bad thing. T'Pol has the RIGHT to experience emotions if she wishes, because doing so is NOT illegal!

 

2. Her first contact with the substance was NOT by choice, which may have caused a mild addiction, thus, perhaps she could not help herself from experimenting futher with the substance.

 

So, as you can see from the above 2 points, there are MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES, which lower the degree of fault and wrongdoing for her actions.

 

As for the Doctor, he did not relieve her for 2 reasons:

1. He had an oath

2. He could not break that oath because, technically, the effects of the drug did not impair T'Pol, they merely gave her emotions. However, long term use would have led to impairment.

 

As you may have noticed, the Doctor's orders were to get T'Pol off the drugs. His goal was PREVENTATIVE treatment for the possibility of long term effects.

 

Now, I don't think T'Pol chose the right time to experiment (although I did mention that the circumstances prevented her from having complete control of her will) but I do think she deserves SOME punishment to set an example. The dire situation with the Xindi was so serious that this cannot be excused, but we MUST take into consideration the MITIGATING circumstances facing T'Pol, because feeling emotions is NOT wrong, and CANNOT be used to relieve someone of command unless they've gone BONKERS. T'Pol was very emotional, but not insane... she was still CAPABLE. Perhap's people died, but that isn't necessarily because she under an influence. To determine that, an inquiry would need to be held. It is a reality that people in command LOSE officers. Considering the cirumstances Enterprise was in, it's not hard to imagine that EVEN ARCHER COULD HAVE LOST THOSE CREW MEMEBERS TOO! Heck, even PICARD has lost COUNTLESS crew members lives!

[Wishfire 2]

I've  tried to avoid this thread but the honest truth - the drug issue has pretty much soured me on Enterprise.

 

No, I do not expect UPN to address the issue, nor do I expect T'Pol will ever show any remorse for her actions.  As far as UPN is concerned we're supposed to see her as a victim.

 

As far as T'Pol being smart; they've never demonstrated that IMO.  They stuck a wig and pointed ears on her and called her a Vulcan and everyone seems to assume she's smart.  (Much like people do with one another here on Earth - infer character traits from appearance).  I remember episodes that actually showed Mr. Spock acting like a scientist - wanting a chance to gain scientific knowledge.  The arrogant T'Pol instead informs us that Vulcans aren't curious.  That's one of my pet peeves - how can you be a scientist if you don't have that natural curiosity about the world.  She does make science seem boring.

 

They also tended to show T'Pol in positions of weakness, many a result of her own choosing - Fusion and the season three drug arc.  IMO, they didn't do enough to show her as competent and independent.  (However, there are a lot of people that prefer seeing gorgeous babes in need of rescue and this may have been the angle TPTB were taking for ratings purposes)

 

Whatever else you can say I don't know how you can not call her a hypocrit - she's preaches down to the captain and crew and goes on endlessly about the superior Vulcan mind and then makes decisions contrary to what she preaches (beginning in Fusion)

 

In fact, I am really sick of hearing about the superior Vulcan mind but that's a writer/producer issue not really T'Pol's fault.

 

I don't think Trip should be First Officer and Chief Engineer - either one is a full time job.  Archer would definitely be better leaving Trip in command until he gets a real First Officer (but since that will be T'Pol I will be joining the declining ratings)

 

As for the Trip/T'Pol relationship - IMO it pretty basically comes down to what individual viewers seek in a relationship.  There are a lot of people who believe sex is the only requirement for a relationship (and this is usually accmpanied by an assumption that the more beautiful the body the better the sex)

 

There are also those that believe there should be an emotional relationship involved as well.  I am not going to argue one view is better than the other  - only that you can't have it both ways (well I guess you could - you could have two gorgeous people actually develop a relationship).  TPTB took the course they thought would bring the most viewers - that doesn't seem to be working.

 

Enterprise (or Star Trek in general) has no obligation to present any one view on drugs, sex, responsibility etc.  But they have to accept the fact that when they endorse drug use they will lose some viewers - hopefully they gained enough to offset that - but again I think alienating traditional trek fans was a mistake from a ratings perspective.

273399[/snapback]

 

That's a very good argument, but there is one thing I must say (of course :( ). The Vulcans of Enterprise and the Vulcans of TOS are very different. For one, in Enterprise the practice of the mind-meld is something that can lose a Vulcan his/her career. In TOS, it is a publicly accepted and wide-spread practice. If their views on that one thing can change so drastically in a century, why not other things? This might (and I stress the word might) explain some of her attitudes, which are quite different than classic Vulcan attitudes.

 

Then again, perhaps the producers of Enterprise need to find writers who can not only write good stories, but also add on to the Star Trek universe in a way that is completely believable and loyal to what has already been laid down before them.