Date: Sun, 04 May 2003 21:47:37
From: Randy Conk <randyconk@comcast.net>
> Consequences or not,
> Tripp was going to play Mr. Righteousness and right what he
> thought was wrong. In a way, he did represent the flower of how
> humans tend to want to impose their values on other cultures.
> However, none of that ever transpired very well. The last scene
> with Archer and Tripp kind of hit the meaning of the story right
> on. I rather enjoyed watching Archer chewing out Tripp for what he
> did. Perhaps the captain should have given Tripp a good'ol fashion
> southern spanking. At that point, it really hit Tripp hard at how
> his actions caused such harm, even though he thought that his
> intent may have been innocent. I was rather surprised that Archer
> didn't demote, punish, or have the Vulcans haul Tripp back to
> earth. He was certainly deserving of it. I think that there was
> definitely more room at the end for Tripp to suffer a much harsher
> consequence other than just a guilty feeling. It would have made
> for a classic Shakespearian character fall!
>
I think that Archer's response to Trip's attempt to take sole
responsibility for the fiasco should have been something like: "I'm
the Captain of the Enterprise, and I'm the one responsible for the
actions of its crew"...and THEN he turns his back on Trip as he
dismisses him. The implication/message to Trip being: Not only did
YOU screw up buddy, but you made me lose face big time. Especially
with a race that was eager and willing help us advance our technology
significantly!
Date: Sun, 04 May 2003 19:00:02
From: Boris Badenov <bbad@frostbite.falls.state.mn.us>
|What it all means -
|
|Tripp interferes in the affairs of another culture.
|
|
|2 cool peace signs
|MJC 200305.04
I don't often disagree with you, MJC, but I liked this episode a lot better than you did.
It was really very interesting to see first contact with an alien race clearly superior
technologically, yet not so superior as to be disdainful of further human contact, such as
the Metrons, or the Organians. Vulcans aside, this is not usually the pattern in Trek
where most of the first contacts are with equals - Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, etc.,
or with inferiors.
The moral dilemma has generated much discussion here. I thought it played out very well.
The Cogenitor's suicide caught me completely by surprise, and effectively trapped Tucker
in his actions. My own feeling is he was right in his intentions and wrong in his
methods. However, he failed to recognize that he was in no position to intervene .. in
any capacity.
I saw clear parallels here to Dear Doctor, with the Cogenitor species not as the Menk,
though they obviously resembled them, but as the Valakians. Archer's decision not to
intervene was consistent, and is to be admired for its consistency.
Trip's dislike of the Cogenitor status on Vissian society was also commendable. The
Vissian culture vis-a-vis the Cogenitor was exploitive, oppressive, racist, reprehensible
. and not very believable. I could suspend disbelief long enough to accept the existence
of a Cogenitor, but not his existence as something akin to breeding stock. I should think
that the Vissians could see their potential for freedom, sentience and autonomy as well as
Tripp could, and rather than use them so demeaningly would have educated and cherished
them, especially given their small number in that society. So, unlike you, I thought the
finish was strong but the premise setup weak.
A good episode. Not a great one, but very good, and the B plot with Archer and the
Vissian captain in the photosphere of the star was terrificl. Andreas Katsulas was not
wasted here. On the contrary, his warmth is what made the Vissians so appealing.
Date: Mon, 05 May 2003 16:06:32
From: Edward Hochman <whovian7_2000@Y...>
At that point, it really hit Tripp hard at how his actions caused
such harm, even though he thought that his intent may have been
innocent. I was rather surprised that Archer didn't demote, punish,
or have the Vulcans haul Tripp back to earth.He was certainly
deserving of it. I think that there was definitely more room at the
end for Tripp to suffer a much harsher consequence other than just a
guilty feeling. It would have made for a classic Shakespearian
character fall! Tripp looked up to Archer and the reprimand deeply
hurt him. And the suicide even hurt him further. What more
punishment should Archer have done- whip him with a wet noodle and
then hang him by his toes?
Date: Sun, 04 May 2003 17:55:51 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mike Orsoe <morsoe@yahoo.com>
There should have been more reprecussions to what
Tripp did. He was told not to interfere by the First
Officer, he's been told not to stick his nose in where
it doesn't belong by Captain Archer before it seems
like, and yet he does it again. I think it would've
been much more interesting if say he had been busted
down to Lt. Commander (isn't he a full commander?) or
if he is a Lt. Commander busted down to Lt. He
could've still been Chief Engineer, but he doesn't
seem able to handle the responsibility that comes with
being a senior officer.
Just my two cents.
Date: Sun, 04 May 2003 23:18:49
From: Karen Chuplis <kchuplis@earthlink.net>
> The TNG episode 'The Outcast' played a similar story line much, much
> better. This Enterprise episode didn't quite capture the spirit of
> that theme. Perhaps the writers would have been better off reversing
> the story and having the human's sex culture being interfered with.
I thought this was highly different than the Outcast in that only sexual
preference was an issue there, whereas this addressed complete non-entity
status. It just felt like a much different theme to me.
Date: Tue, 06 May 2003 14:00:14
From: captjim <captjim@p...>
I think Archer might have been lenient on Trip because he was thinking
that he shared in some of the responsibility for what happened. After
all, he could have granted the cogenitor asylum.