Because they're being played by a human. "Vulcans" also wear eye shadow, mascara and lipstick. http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c389/MikeN1138/StarTrek/TPring.jpg [In non-picture threads, please keep images to 640p maximum width, please. --HR]
You may have to ask the hair and make up gurus about that one! T'Pol used to really irritate me when I first got into Trek...but now that I have watched all of Enterprise and read the books...shes grown on me... I agree Jolene Blalock did a smashing job as T'Pol..
I always felt she was a horrible Vulcan. I know its not all her fault since the makers decided to make Vulcans look bad to justify Archer and Tukkers Racism but she just seemed way to hostile to be a Vulcan. Just look at broken bow for example she acts more like a Romulan.
Havent watched much TOS I take it? Vulcans can be very "hostile". If you actually watch Enterprise you'll see that Trip, Archer and T'Pol all grow and come to respect each other and their cultures. I think its one of the themes and arcs of the series mirroring how Earth and Vulcan grow closer as allies.
It was the catsuit for me. I couldn't take her seriously, and really didn't care about her character from that point. I might have taken her more seriously if she had been dressed in something else.
Yeah Vulcans are dicks. Supercilious dicks. Even Tuvok is deeply, dryly sarcastic about how overly emotional or stupid others are. It started in TOS, nothing original in ENT there. I'll also add that in ENT we see far more Vulcans than any other series. The whole race and culture is developed and expanded upon. Sometimes people complain that something didn't happen in one of the other series so why did ENT do it (the melding history etc..) but other series did not focus on Vulcans past "OOOOOooooooo Pon Farr" and logic. They are one of the main races in ENT and you would think fans would would be happy about this but nooo..
I have watched TOS and I do remember them being arrogant annoyed and somewhat reclusive but I dont remember them looking like they wanted to punch someone in the mouth like TPoll (except Spock when he was under the influence of something). I thought Soval made a much better Vulcan.
T'Pol had a lot of opportunity to be a very interesting character. The writers did bumble that, but the acting of Blalock made it worse. She had one tone in her voice (in SG1 she sounded like T'Pol the Jaffa) and when she tries to emote or show fear, she looked like she was trying to use the bathroom. The catsuit also did nothing for me. In a science fiction show, where you write a species to be emotionless and cold, it doesn't do anything to put her in skin tight costumes. Poor choices by all involved. Blalock deserves to be doing B-Movies with her acting abilities.
How about a porn movie? With her faling tits first into archers face oil rubbing in decon and all that. Pretty obvious she was not cast for her acting skills. I like T&A as much a any guy (though I never really thought she was attractive) but I don't need it in Star Trek.
Well she's is Trek's most WOODEN actor of all time over Gates McFadden's season 1 through 2. She gives Magel's computer voice a run for it's isolinear processors... She was kinda slutty for a vulcan....and they tried to explain that but it didn't come across very well....just a character patch job because they were trying to save their jobs in the end.
Yes Soval IS a better Vulcan and that's the whole point. T'Pol is a very flawed Vulcan. Her mother says she always had trouble with emotional control from when she was young. It's part of the character that she struggles, and later makes it worse for herself. She is deeply attracted to emotion. This is why she's so comfortable on an earth ship (when other Vulcans haven't lasted more than 2 weeks on one, or some small time frame like that). She can be all logical among the humans and they think she's a cold, emotionless Vulcan--success! It takes FAR more emotional suppression to be acceptable in Vulcan society. If Season 5 had happened it was proposed that T'Pol's father would turn out to have been a Romulan agent, which would have been a factor in her struggles with emotional repression.
I dont recall T'Pol ever looking like that. I thought Blalock did the annoyed contempt thing ( a hallmark of a good Vulcan) quite well. Soval on the other hand often looked like he was about to lose it. Now I know you haven't watched TOS! The T&A factor on that show was always shooting for 11. (Thank you Mr Theiss!!!!) One of the first female Vulcans we see is dressed to the nines in a tight silver dress (that seems to be party in the front and business in the back) with a empire waist to emphasis her bosom and sparkly stockings. They've also been shown wearing nearly sheer diaphonous gowns. If Vulcans are "cold and emotionless" why would they care what they wear or what less mature specied think of it?
I never found T'Pol 'slutty' or 'not Vulcan'. Just a bit different, which was explored throughout the series quite satisfactorily. Weren't Valeris and T'Pring unusual Vulcans? And when we meet young T'Pau in season 4 of ENT she certainly is. So sensing a pattern here. I've never understood the T'Pol/Blalock haters. Tuvok is my favorite Vulcan, but I think T'Pol easily up there with Spock and Soval.
Um, no. T'Pol looked like she was rolling her eyes in contempt and sighing half the time. That's no detachment from emotion, that's just being bitchy and bored.
And Saavik is epitome of Vulcan logic/detachment? Puh-leeze. As AdmShran hints, what the writers did brilliantly with T'Pol was have someone who found humans fascinating/quixotic but also tiresome. A 'detached-from-emotion' Vulcan wouldn't have worked through all four series. TV 101.