Malcolm

[Willow]

I find it hard to come up with any excuse for his stupidity (and Trip's of course!) in 'Two Days and Two Nights', but to my mind the worst demolition job on his professionalism is the scene in 'Broken Bow' where he gets fixated on those butterfly girls and Travis (the ship's helmsman!) has to call him to order.

This was the episode that had to set out the stall for the show, and the Brit got put straight out there as a lecher who can't even keep his mind on the job in hand as soon as a few scantily-dressed curves come into view. The whole scene is skin-crawling to my mind. Did the writers deliberately try to play into stereotyped prejudices with this - and later with other 'weaknesses' - anyone else on board Enterprise have a phobia (Trip didn't like bugs, but that wasn't quite in the same class), and not just one allergy, but a string of them? I can't help but wonder.

He did, of course, display many sterling qualities: courage, ingenuity, loyalty, self-sacrifice. All of which are the reasons why I love him so much! He was the voice of conscience in the Expanse when the captain made the decision to steal the Illyrians' warp coil. But I remain convinced that at least some of the writers had very anti-English attitudes, of which Malcolm Reed was made the hapless beneficiary.

Two Days and Two Nights was just AWFUL! I think that the writers were trying to go for humor, but it was all so cringeworthy...and so NOT funny !

As for Broken Bow, my interpretation of the scene with the butterflies was that Malcolm was so intrigued with such a "foreign" species (I'm sure he was familiar with Vulcans, Denobulans and others that are on earth) - and he seemed intrigued by what they were doing, not just what they looked like. Whereas Travis had experience with exotic species and it probably didn't phase him.

 

[LoyaulteMeLie]

Two Days and Two Nights was just AWFUL! I think that the writers were trying to go for humor, but it was all so cringeworthy...and so NOT funny !

As for Broken Bow, my interpretation of the scene with the butterflies was that Malcolm was so intrigued with such a "foreign" species (I'm sure he was familiar with Vulcans, Denobulans and others that are on earth) - and he seemed intrigued by what they were doing, not just what they looked like. Whereas Travis had experience with exotic species and it probably didn't phase him.

That's certainly a possible interpretation of it - I'll have to bear that in mind next time I watch it and see if I can make it work from that angle. But considering that he and Travis were on duty, I really do feel that whether it was ogling or being fascinated, a professional would have kept his mind on his job and not have had to be reminded about it by a junior officer. Love the man, but hate, hate, hate that scene. His paralysis during 'Bound' was nearly as bad, but we'll put that down to the pheromones!

 

[eyeresist]

Two Days and Two Nights was just AWFUL! I think that the writers were trying to go for humor, but it was all so cringeworthy...and so NOT funny!

It's not entirely a waste. I enjoy the stuff on the ship about Phlox going into hybernation and then having to be woken up. And let's not forget this exchange:

TUCKER: You think this is my fault.
REED: You were willing to follow two strange aliens into a basement.
TUCKER: Gorgeous aliens. Don't forget, they were gorgeous.
REED: They were male!
TUCKER: Not at first!​

 

[T'Nara]

It's not entirely a waste. I enjoy the stuff on the ship about Phlox going into hybernation and then having to be woken up. And let's not forget this exchange:

TUCKER: You think this is my fault.
REED: You were willing to follow two strange aliens into a basement.
TUCKER: Gorgeous aliens. Don't forget, they were gorgeous.
REED: They were male!
TUCKER: Not at first!​

Hahaha! I agree!

 

[Willow]

It's not entirely a waste. I enjoy the stuff on the ship about Phlox going into hybernation and then having to be woken up. And let's not forget this exchange:

TUCKER: You think this is my fault.
REED: You were willing to follow two strange aliens into a basement.
TUCKER: Gorgeous aliens. Don't forget, they were gorgeous.
REED: They were male!
TUCKER: Not at first!​

Yes! I agree with that!

 

[Willow]

That's certainly a possible interpretation of it - I'll have to bear that in mind next time I watch it and see if I can make it work from that angle. But considering that he and Travis were on duty, I really do feel that whether it was ogling or being fascinated, a professional would have kept his mind on his job and not have had to be reminded about it by a junior officer. Love the man, but hate, hate, hate that scene. His paralysis during 'Bound' was nearly as bad, but we'll put that down to the pheromones!

Bound! Oh, Bound! Oh how I forgot about that one! That was definitely down at the bottom of the list of enjoyable episodes. I've never been a fan of the Orions--my dislike dates back to TOS.

 

[T'Nara]

I think you are right though. He was made to look ineffective at times in order for Archer to look more impressive.
I'm going to have to rewatch Zero Hero. I had forgotten, until you mentioned it, that Malcolm told Archer he had taken care of the Xindi. My recollection was that he said "I think that's all of them". And he could have been wrong. But, i think Malcom WAS correct, they DID get all of the Reptilians that were stationed on the weapon. Dolim (the leader) beamed in AfTER that point, I believe, I do remember Shran being told that one of the Reptilians had beamed off- at which point he says "let's make sure he doesn't have a ship to come back to" (or something like that).

Speaking of that episode, Malcolm was ready to sacrifice himself and tstay on board and blow up the weapon , but Archer outranked him, and took it upon himself instead. I don't fault Malcolm for that, and I don't think it was a weakness on his part.

Willow I have just rewatched Zero Hour. You are right, Malcolm was right when he'd gotten rid of the last of them. Dolim seems to have beamed in after everyone except Archer has left.
I should be watching the episodes more carefully!! (And as English is not my first language from now on I'll turn on the subtitle definitely )

 

[Willow]

Willow I have just rewatched Zero Hour. You are right, Malcolm was right when he'd gotten rid of the last of them. Dolim seems to have beamed in after everyone except Archer has left.
I should be watching the episodes more carefully!! (And as English is not my first language from now on I'll turn on the subtitle definitely )

I'm glad I got something right! While you were rewatching Zero Hour, I was rewatching Future Tense. It was in regards to another thread where Reanok mentioned a scene with Archer and Malcolm working on a torpedo..and I comments that I thought it was Trip with Malcolm, working on the craft.

Apologies to Reanok. You were right! There was indeed a scene with Archer and Malcolm working on the torpedo. A nice little scene that I had forgotten about.

And thank you to Reanok, for the motivation to rewatch that episode, as I quite enjoyed it on the rewatch!

 

[T'Nara]

I have just rewatched two episodes back to back - Babel One and United. I really love the Reed-Tucker scenes here inside the drone ship.
These scenes were special to me of course because they show Malcolm in his strength. It has some gems of Trip/Malcolm conversations. Great ones (Reed saving Trip) and funny ones (about T'Pol).

Lieutenant Malcolm Reed: I apologize for saving your life, Commander. It won't happen again.

Commander Charles 'Trip' Tucker III: You did all this with one phase pistol?
Lieutenant Malcolm Reed: You're good at building things, I'm good at blowing them up.

Lieutenant Malcolm Reed: So, I understand our First Officer's no longer married.
Cmdr. Charles 'Trip' Tucker III: Yeah...?
Lieutenant Malcolm Reed: I was wondering what your intentions were.
Cmdr. Charles 'Trip' Tucker III: Well, who are you, her father?

Cmdr. Charles 'Trip' Tucker III: There's nothing going on between us anymore, if you're interested.
Lieutenant Malcolm Reed: That's not why I asked.
Cmdr. Charles 'Trip' Tucker III: Well, you said she had an awfully nice bum.

 

[Reanok]

Your welcome Willow I've enjoyed rewatching Enterprise shows I've haven't watched for a long time. For Dominic Keating fans and Connor fans Star Trek is doing a podcast featuring interviews with both actors next week at Startrek.com ,Their official podcasts are really interesting to listen to.

 

[Willow]

I have just rewatched two episodes back to back - Babel One and United. I really love the Reed-Tucker scenes here inside the drone ship.
These scenes were special to me of course because they show Malcolm in his strength. It has some gems of Trip/Malcolm conversations. Great ones (Reed saving Trip) and funny ones (about T'Pol).

Lieutenant Malcolm Reed: I apologize for saving your life, Commander. It won't happen again.

Commander Charles 'Trip' Tucker III: You did all this with one phase pistol?
Lieutenant Malcolm Reed: You're good at building things, I'm good at blowing them up.

Lieutenant Malcolm Reed: So, I understand our First Officer's no longer married.
Cmdr. Charles 'Trip' Tucker III: Yeah...?
Lieutenant Malcolm Reed: I was wondering what your intentions were.
Cmdr. Charles 'Trip' Tucker III: Well, who are you, her father?

Cmdr. Charles 'Trip' Tucker III: There's nothing going on between us anymore, if you're interested.
Lieutenant Malcolm Reed: That's not why I asked.
Cmdr. Charles 'Trip' Tucker III: Well, you said she had an awfully nice bum.

Those scenes are seriously among my favorites of the entire series!

 

[Willow]

.comYour welcome Willow I've enjoyed rewatching Enterprise shows I've haven't watched for a long time. For Dominic Keating fans and Connor fans Star Trek is going a podcast featuring interviews with both actors next week at Startrek.com ,Thir official podcast.

Thanks for the heads up! I'll have to catch that!

 

[LoyaulteMeLie]

Thanks for the heads up! I'll have to catch that!

Me too - any idea what day it's going to be?

 

[LoyaulteMeLie]

I have just rewatched two episodes back to back - Babel One and United. I really love the Reed-Tucker scenes here inside the drone ship.
These scenes were special to me of course because they show Malcolm in his strength. It has some gems of Trip/Malcolm conversations. Great ones (Reed saving Trip) and funny ones (about T'Pol).

Lieutenant Malcolm Reed: I apologize for saving your life, Commander. It won't happen again.

Commander Charles 'Trip' Tucker III: You did all this with one phase pistol?
Lieutenant Malcolm Reed: You're good at building things, I'm good at blowing them up.

Lieutenant Malcolm Reed: So, I understand our First Officer's no longer married.
Cmdr. Charles 'Trip' Tucker III: Yeah...?
Lieutenant Malcolm Reed: I was wondering what your intentions were.
Cmdr. Charles 'Trip' Tucker III: Well, who are you, her father?

Cmdr. Charles 'Trip' Tucker III: There's nothing going on between us anymore, if you're interested.
Lieutenant Malcolm Reed: That's not why I asked.
Cmdr. Charles 'Trip' Tucker III: Well, you said she had an awfully nice bum.

Do you know, I'd forgotten about those. I must go back and watch the episode again, just to enjoy them!

 

[Willow]

Me too - any idea what day it's going to be?

I checked out the website, but I couldn't find any schedule. (Though I didn't search for long). But I did find prior podcasts, which means even if we miss it live, we can still go back and hear it!

 

[Reanok]

Next week sometime they mentioned they were posting Connor and Dominic's interview. I'll post an update when they post it on Star trek.com. You can also find at Youtube The Enterprise panel from Vegas with the Enterprise cast with Connor, Dominic, Gary Graham and John Billingsley look for Heather Ferris Youtube channel you'll enjoy watching it.

 

[LoyaulteMeLie]

Next week sometime they mentioned they were posting Connor and Dominic's interview. I'll post an update when they post it on Star trek.com. You can also find at Youtube The Enterprise panel from Vegas with the Enterprise cast with Connor, Dominic, Gary Graham and John Billingsley look for Heather Ferris Youtube channel you'll enjoy watching it.

Thank you, that's very kind!

 

[T'Nara]

It has always seemed to me that Malcolm (like Travis and Hoshi) suffered from the lack of anyone ever having thought about who he was actually going to be BEFORE filming started. If some effort had been put into actually designing a character, instead of a stereotype, he would probably be more popular. As it was, the one plot-device that could really have picked him out definitively - his allegiance to Section 31 and his past in Black Ops - was left to be one of the great might-have-beens. If brought in earlier, he could have been a much more nuanced character, but as it was he was so often reduced to being a 'stock' ineffectual Englishman. The flaws in his professionalism as Head of Security are sometimes teeth-grindingly painful to watch, to the point where he almost seems to have been deliberately written up as an idiot - which was surely not appropriate for the rank or the responsibility he carried.
At risk of oversimplifying the situation, English actors often seem to get cast as either weaklings or villains on American TV. It's a pity that Malcolm was so often painted as the former, because IMHO having a bit of a villain among the crew could have added a bit of intrigue which was sometimes a little lacking.

LoyaulteMeLie, tonight I rewatched Affliction and Divergence episodes and had to agree with you, that it would have been very interesting to explore more of this side of Reed as secret agent with split loyalties. I happen to like Spooks tv series and oh it would have been so interesting to have more of Section 31 story arcs with Reed operating like Lucas North, Tom Quinn or Adam Carter (MI5 agents in Spooks).
In one of the ENT relaunch novel, The Good That Men Do, which is a re-write of the TATV episode, Reed's involvement with Section 31 is discussed a bit more - but only a bit more. Too bad. I would love to have much more.
On the other hand, since Section 31 is always portrayed in negative light (why, I wonder?) it might as well that Reed is not involved too much with them

 

[eyeresist]

Travis and Hoshi were both really interesting characters on paper.
Hoshi had a fascination with languages but had dropped out of Starfleet due to the dangers and fear of not living up to her responsibility. She was convinced by Archer that this mission was so important that she HAD to come, but those issues remained with her.
Travis was a weird combination of experience and naivity, having grown up in space and learned a lot about spaceships and aliens that regular Starfleet personnel had no experience of. On the other hand, he was also super-excited to be piloting the first warp 5 ship on a mission of exploration, and almost in awe of his colleagues.
There was no "lack of thought" in developing these characters before production. Despite this, they both turned out to be fairly forgettable.

Malcolm, at least at the start, didn't seem to have much in the way of back-story or personal issues. But somehow the character took off as a fan fave, and was practically up there with the "big three" of Archer, Trip and T'Pol.
The big difference was the performance. The actor managed to project a personality beyond what was simply written on the page. His combination of self-doubt and arrogance, his difficulty with social relations (he usually tries to avoid standing face-on to other characters, and when he does there is a sense that it's a challenge to him). These extra, non-verbal qualities made him interesting to watch on screen, and interesting to write for.
In light of this, the Section 31 revelation in season 4 seemed odd. Malcolm was already an interesting character, and IMO didn't need this sudden extra complication.

 

[Willow]

Travis and Hoshi were both really interesting characters on paper.
Hoshi had a fascination with languages but had dropped out of Starfleet due to the dangers and fear of not living up to her responsibility. She was convinced by Archer that this mission was so important that she HAD to come, but those issues remained with her.
Travis was a weird combination of experience and naivity, having grown up in space and learned a lot about spaceships and aliens that regular Starfleet personnel had no experience of. On the other hand, he was also super-excited to be piloting the first warp 5 ship on a mission of exploration, and almost in awe of his colleagues.
There was no "lack of thought" in developing these characters before production. Despite this, they both turned out to be fairly forgettable.

Malcolm, at least at the start, didn't seem to have much in the way of back-story or personal issues. But somehow the character took off as a fan fave, and was practically up there with the "big three" of Archer, Trip and T'Pol.
The big difference was the performance. The actor managed to project a personality beyond what was simply written on the page. His combination of self-doubt and arrogance, his difficulty with social relations (he usually tries to avoid standing face-on to other characters, and when he does there is a sense that it's a challenge to him). These extra, non-verbal qualities made him interesting to watch on screen, and interesting to write for.
In light of this, the Section 31 revelation in season 4 seemed odd. Malcolm was already an interesting character, and IMO didn't need this sudden extra complication.

Nice summation of the secondary characters! And for the reasons you listed, I found Malcolm interesting to watch. He was a more complex character than he was given credit for.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who found the Section 31 revelation "odd". Although I'm not complaining about the increase in airtime! I figured that he took part in that organization because, as he said, he was "young" and found it "exciting". I was just shocked that he took so long to confide in Archer, considering they had served and fought together for three years.

I also wonder how things would've been different had Trip not been away in Columbia- what Trip would have said to him if he was there from the beginning when Malcolm was thrown in the brig.