(no subject)
Why does the current STAR TREK franchise seemed to have a bug up its ass about Vulcans? I don’t get it. In 1996′s “STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT”, the Vulcans were the ones who made first contact with Humans . . . and made the decision to retain a relationship with Earth. Yet, ever since “STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE”, the Trek franchise has seemed determined to portray Vulcans in a negative light, in compare to Humans.
Vulcans were rarely seen in “STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE”. And when they did appear, they were usually portrayed negatively, especially in the Season Seven episode, (7.04) “Take Me Out to the Holosuite”. In this episode, a Vulcan Starfleet captain named Solok challenges Captain Benjamin Sisko that his all-Vulcan crew can defeat members of Sisko’s staff to a game of baseball in the holo suite. It is bad enough that Solok is portrayed as an arrogant jerk who wallows in the superiority of Vulcans. But he has an all-Vulcan crew? On a Starfleet ship? Really? Starfleet allowed him to get away with that? And aside from a Vulcan who is portrayed as delusional for her decision to join the Maquis, I cannot think of any other portrayal of Vulcans in “DEEP SPACE NINE”.
Thankfully, “STAR TREK VOYAGER” was another matter. The series had one regular Vulcan character, Lieutenant-Commander Tuvok, a semi-regular character in Lieutenant Vorik and a nameless Vulcan woman who had been part of Commander Chakotay’s Maquis crew. Although Tuvok was a slightly paranoid man (which made him a competent security chief and a superb spymaster) with occasional bouts of aggression and a penchant for being a loner, he was also a decent sort who managed to form a close friendship with Captain Kathryn Janeway and give the occasional wise advice, every now and then. Lieutenant Vorik was an engaging officer with a talent for making friends and exploring the cultures of other species. His only back step were his actions in the Season Three episode, (3.16) “Blood Fever”. Mind you, he was under the control of pon farr at the time. As for the former Maquis Vulcan, the series never revealed much about her. But I had noticed her smile when she had received a letter from home in the Season Four episode, (4.15) “Hunters”. That smile made me wondered if she was similar to Vorik, basically a friendly type . . . for a Vulcan.
Unfortunately, the franchise’s negative portrayal of Vulcans returned in full force in the fifth series, “ENTERPRISE”. One of the series’ main characters proved to be Subcommander T’Pol of the Vulcan High Command, who becomes Captain Jonathan Archer’s first officer and science officer. However, T’Pol proved to be that rare positive Vulcan character in the series.