Enterprise Crew Roster

As threatened last time, I've got still more rambling to do on the subject of Enterprise. Let's take a look at the characters, and my shamefully biased opinions of them.

Archer
Alas, so far Archer has proved to be the least interesting captain in Star Trek history. (Even Janeway, much though I loathe her, could hardly be called dull.) He's far too much Mr. Generic Starship Captain for my tastes, and he really needs to be fleshed out a little more.

T'Pol
I've had a hard time getting a handle on T'Pol's character, but I think she's gradually coming into focus, her personality and her motivations becoming better defined. The irritating and abrasive aspects of her personality are also beginning to soften (or at least to become less obtrusive), and I'm starting to glimpse a potentially very interesting character underneath them. Looking forward to seeing where the next season takes her.

Trip
I didn't like Trip at all initially. There was just something about his aw-shucks good-ole-Texas-boy mannerisms that totally rubbed me the wrong way. He's really grown on me, though; actor Connor Trinneer endows him with a genuine charm that quickly won me over.

Malcolm
An interesting character with some fascinating personality quirks who doubtless has many hidden depths under his taciturn exterior. Plus, he's got a cool accent. I'm quite looking forward to getting to know him better.

Hoshi
Hoshi really annoyed me at first, with all her whining self-doubt. Now, don't get me wrong, I like the idea of having characters who experience self-doubts, and the effect the scriptwriters were doubtless going for, of reminding the viewers that space is not a safe, known place in Enterprise's era, is something I'm behind 100%. In theory, that is. In practice, they overdid it, and Hoshi became irritating where she should have been sympathetic. To their credit though, the Powers That Be appear to have quickly realized this mistake and corrected it: Hoshi got over her problems quickly, yet in a reasonably believable way, and has since turned into a fairly likeable character. I particularly like her interactions with Dr. Phlox, and would like to see more of them.

Dr. Phlox
I liked him immediately, and he's still easily my favorite character. Much kudos to actor John Billingsley for taking a character whose perpetual cheerfulness could easily have gotten annoying (a la Voyager's Neelix) and instead turned it into something happily infectious. He also feels rather more alien than many of Star Trek's aliens, which frankly makes for a nice change.

Travis
This guy started off interesting. We got some nice backstory for him, and we saw some glimpses of a likeable sense of humor... And then he just completely faded into the background. I gotta say, I'm somethimes finding it hard to even remember that he's on the show. Can we can some character development here, please?

Porthos
I don't really think a dog has any place on a starship, at least not one like this particular Enterprise. But Porthos is so darned cute, I find it impossible to hold it against him. What can I say? I've always had a fondness for Beagles.

Crewman Cutler
I like Crewman Cutler. I wanna see more of Crewman Cutler. She's only in a few epsiodes, and already she's had more development than Travis. And what about her and Phlox, anyway? We gonna get some followup on that? Please?