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[[Website/SFDebris Main Page]] | SFDebris/TropesAToF | SFDebris/TropesGToL | SFDebris/TropesMToR | SFDebris/TropesSToZ | [[YMMV/SFDebris YMMV]] | [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/SFDebris Alternative Character Interpretations]] | [[ActorAllusion/SFDebris Actor Allusions]] | [[RunningGag/SFDebris Running Gags]] |
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[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Captain Jonathan "Duchess" Archer]]
[[quoteright:239:[[Series/QuantumLeap http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dragarcher_4080.jpg]] ]]
[[caption-width-right:239:[-"No,-] ''[-Porthos! We [[HearingVoices cannot reduce troop presence in South Korea!]] BAD DOG! BAD DOG!"-]'']]
->An emotionally unstable human with a serious grudge against the Vulcans, although he apparently has no problem trying to sleep with one. His diplomatic and Temporal Cold War missions take backseats to spreading his haterade around the galaxy. Lacks any training in diplomacy, leadership, and all things military, but manages to bluff his way through obstacles with tantrums and a war crime or two. Becomes President in 2151 AD and is shortly expunged from history.

* AllJustADream: Chuck jokes that an unfilmed series finale would have shown Archer in a padded room, hugging his knees while babbling to his dog, revealing ''ENT'' is all taking place inside his delusional mind. ("Fortunate Son")
* AssInAmbassador: Archer is obsessed with demanding people's respect, to a degree where even Neelix would say, "Dude, it's not ''all'' about you." Every sentient being he encounters must worship the ground he walks on or eat crow. ("A Night in Sickbay")
-->'''Chuck''': I can just see a shuttle flying slowly overhead, Archer standing in the doorway, peeing all over the diplomatic corps as [[MusicToInvadePolandTo Wagner plays in the background]].
* TheCaligula: One shudders to imagine what ensued after Archer became the first Federation President.
* CaligulasHorse: Lt. Commander Porthos ("Fight or Flight"). When the pooch catches a sniffle on Kreetassa, Archer considers it to be [[ThisMeansWar an act of war]]. Not only this, but he's willing to completely give up negotiations for a spare vital component of the warp core, putting the welfare of his ''dog'' above potentially stranding his crew over a hundred light-years from Earth ("A Night In Sickbay").
* TheCallHasBadReception / TheChosenZero: Archer's entire involvement in the Temporal Cold War was really because Janeway -- experienced meddler in the fourth dimension - told Daniels [[RefusalOfTheCall to buzz off]] and find someone else.
* CommanderContrarian: Archer tends to do the opposite of ''everything'' T'Pol tells him to do, even in situations when his own crew are at risk of being killed ("Sleeping Dogs").
* ConspiracyTheorist: Part of Archer's schtick from the beginning was his habit of exaggerating the threat posed by Vulcan and seeing their nefarious hand in virtually everything.
* CrazyHomelessPerson: Archer (or "Duchess") is a wino living in a box whom Starfleet abducted and put in charge of a starship. ("Strange New World")
* TheCuckoolanderWasRight / YouHaveToBelieveMe: He insists to everyone that he's seen a [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith scantily-clad woman]] in the forest - in reality, a [[StarfishAliens telepathic giant slug]] - and becomes offended when they don't believe him... only to admit that he really ''did'' think he was seeing things when he finally confronts said alien.("Rogue Planet").
--> '''Chuck''': You're such a dick.
* DelusionsOfEloquence:
** Instead of using a standardized greeting when encountering an alien ship, Archer seems to always insist on winging it, despite repeatedly having demonstrated that he couldn't improvise his way out of a paper bag. The results ranges from being either boring meandering drivel where Archer rambles about whatever subject pops into his head or potentially ''very'' dangerous as Archer doesn't seem understand that casually giving away Earth's location to compete strangers with unknown intends might be ill-advised. ("Fight or Flight", "Silent Enemy")
** Archer's seeming obsession with delivering a pep talk which ''finally'' rallies the crew, despite being "about as inspirational as a baby bird's head sticking out from under a car tire." We never see his Inaugural speech (Riker doesn't quote it), and Archer is seen suffering flop-sweat backstage, so it probably went over like lead balloon just as the others did. ("These Are the Voyages...")
-->'''Archer:''' Time heals all wounds. ''(seems genuinely confused)'' [[{{Metaphorgotten}} But absence makes the heart grow fonder]]?\\
'''Picard:''' ''I've'' done a better job when [[http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Final_Mission_%28episode%29 half-sedated]] and [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E6LonelyAmongUs possessed by an alien lifeform]], twit.
* DesignatedHero: Even worse than before. Chuck can't even find any major features to redeem him like he sometimes could with {{genre savvy}} Janeway.
* TheDitherer: Archer is perfectly content to play cowboys and indians when the situation doesn't call for it. But when the crew looks to him to take an actual, moral stand on something -- do we condone using clones as transplant farms, or do we let them live? -- the Captain is climbing the walls in no time at all, leaving behind an Archer-shaped puff of Wile E. Coyote smoke. ("Dear Doctor", "Similitude")
* EnemyMine: Despite the Andorians repeatedly beating the living snot out of him during their first meeting, Archer will ''still'' always tend to side with them over the Vulcans, simply because he hates the Vulcans even more than they do ("The Andorian Incident", "Shadows of P'Jem").
* EngineeredHeroics: He ''will'' destroy the NX-01 before he lets anyone else save it.
** FakeUltimateHero: Archer can't tolerate crewman stealing his thunder, and constantly deserts his post on the Bridge to rush headlong into danger -- even shoving Reed aside while he's attempting to defuse a ship-destroying bomb. ("Minefield")
* GeneralRipper: Contrary to what the show claims, this goes well beyond antagonizing the Vulcans, Earth's ONLY real allies in a Manichean universe. Archer proudly commits genocide in "Dear Doctor," and, in "The Andorian Incident," he eagerly betrays the military secrets of humanity's closest ally (Vulcan) to the Andorians, who had previously beaten him up and threatened to rape his science officer. All because the Vulcans are after his bodily fluids!
* {{Hypocrite}}: His only really consistent trait is his tendency to criticize others for doing exactly what he would do (and does do) in identical circumstances.
* InTheBlood: Archer may be dead, but the malady lingers: His descendant, Cmr. ''Valerie'' Archer, continues to make Duchess proud by exposing the Grand Unified Vulcan Conspiracy Theory. ("In the Flesh")
* InformedAbility: Archer's track-record as a "skilled diplomat" includes spewing venom at any Vulcan in range ("Broken Bow" et al.), giving Vulcan military secrets to the Andorians that could lead to interstellar war ("The Andorian Incident"), being unable to give a simple apology to the Kreetassans ("Vox Sola") and causing a [[AssInAmbassador diplomatic nightmare]] on their next encounter ("A Night in Sickbay"). And yet this complete putz is the sole individual responsible for the creation of the Federation, according to Daniels ("Azati Prime").
* IronButtMonkey: "Azati Prime" suggests that Archer's ability to take extensive beatings without breaking is his ''one'' redeeming skill.
-->"That face has seen more punishment than a Los Angeles sex dungeon."
* {{Jerkass}}: Archer frequently indulges in this behaviour, as per [[ManChild his idiom]].
** SkewedPriorities: His hatred of the Vulcans causes him to side with the Andorians, even after the latter took him hostage and mercilessly beat the living shit out of him. Furthermore, his reaction to T'Pol getting recalled by the Vulcan High Command after the destruction of P'Jem. ("Shadows of P'Jem").
--> '''Archer''': Stupid old Vulcans, I go and give away one key hidden fortification and cause them to lose it, provoke and interstellar incident and cause the destruction of a shrine that's thousand of years old... [[ItsAllAboutMe they take away my science officer!]]
* KarmaHoudini: He's the only crewman aboard the NX-01 who receives any commendations or praise from Starfleet, simply by virtue of being the loudest and most visible.
* LeeroyJenkins: In his mad rush to get out into space and make Pa proud, Archer neglected to fully supply his ship or undergo training for anything they might face, setting the stage for practically ''every'' non-Temporal Cold War plot. ("Fight or Flight") [[IceCreamKoan You can't be afraid of the wind!]]
* ManChild: Has the emotional maturity of a whiny, spoiled 5-year-old with delusions of grandeur and [[DaddyIssues abandonment issues]].
* TheMillstone: When Archer was finally let go from Starfleet, Earth civilization underwent a century's worth of advancement overnight. ("A Matter of Time")
* NameMcAdjective: [[CowboyCop Fists]] [[LanternJawOfJustice Hugejaw]]. ("Carpenter Street")
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: His decision to leave the Valakians to die led to them undergoing gene therapy to survive and turning into the Breen, who would become a powerful ally of the Dominion.
* ObliviouslyEvil: Whereas Janeway is at least self-aware enough to recognize that she is doing something evil (even if realization doesn't stop her from actually doing it), Archer tends to favor avoidance and denial when confronted by immoral acts he is committing, instead trying to emotionally distance himself as a coping mechanism.
* PointyHairedBoss: Essentially what would happen if you gave Neelix a command. Archer is pig-headed, territorial, insists on [[TheMainCharactersDoEverything performing every task by himself with no assistance]] (like dismantling high-yield explosives!), and insinuates that he's 'earned' his position through connections, bureaucratic error, and petulant whining rather than merit. In fairness to Neelix, he does not share the Hedgehog's sense of self-preservation.
* RacistGrandpa: Archer quotes him in "Dead Stop", including such pearls as the belief that ''any'' problem is an invitation to [[CrazySurvivalist buy more guns]]! Archer also mistakes a dead clone of Mayweather on Phlox's slab for a different black man, since they all look alike anyway. Erm...
* RevengeBeforeReason: His unresolved DaddyIssues and desire to get even with the Vulcans for hampering his father's work, are more important than his actions potentially inciting Interstellar War. ("Shadows of P'Jem"). Likewise, he would rather let members of his crew die than accept Vulcan help. ("Breaking the Ice")
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: Everything about Archer suggests a guy promoted far beyond his field of competence, and is only in charge because dad called in a favor. Chuck is not the first to draw that conclusion; Website/TheAgonyBooth came away with the same impression during their "Worst of Trek" recaps.
* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: He actually has the chutzpa to take credit for shaping the Federation Charter, despite it mostly being tweaked to repair his crew's numerous own-goaling, genocidal, treasonous bunglings across time and space.
-->"I annihilated a whole species on purpose! Lucky thing they made up that rule later on to fully justify what I did!"
* StockholmSyndrome: In "The Andorian Incident", Shran's crew is beating Archer like a cheap hooker and not being all that gentle with Trip and T'Pol either. So what does Archer do? Help them expose a Vulcan listening post hidden in the monastery they are in, which they would later destroy. Chuck notes that this act on Archer's part was technically a complete betrayal of Earth's alliance with the Vulcans, especially since this had been their planet for about 3,000 years or so. He even cites real world history about how space-based espionage actually helped ''lower'' Cold War tensions by allowing the U.S. to more accurately assess the Soviet potential threat, rather than run on wild speculation. But Archer ''hates'' Vulcans, thinks that them spying on a rival power is wrong and apparently feels camaraderie with anyone that hits him with the butt of a rifle.
* TalkativeLoon: Played straight in "The Adversary".
-->"[[AC:i told them i told them I TOLD THEM the vulcans you can't trust the vulcans they run up the flat to the back of the dragon and hold their tails so you can't fly no more and then you can't know your thoughts no more because they've already STOLEN THE WRENCH TO YOUR MIND]]"
* TaughtByTelevision: Archer's behavior suggests that he learned everything he "knows" about statecraft from Creator/ChrisFarley movies and [[BastardBoyfriend Pick-Up Artist]] manual. ("These Are the Voyages...," "Worst of the Worst")
* TautologicalTemplar: Very rarely does he ever see himself as wrong. This isn't Chuck exaggerating, in "Shadows of P'Jem", he refuses to admit he did something that warrants any punishment when he allowed the Andorians to get away with information an area where the Vulcans were spying on them, which led to the Andorians destroying the Vulcan historical site it was hidden in. He even complains that the Vulcans even temporarily broke some relations with Earth, even though his actions in RealLife would be possible grounds for war and lead to his immediate court-martial for aiding the enemy. Likewise, in "Fortunate Son", he essentially chews the crew of a ship that was trying to commit violent actions against pirates that were trying to kill them, because Starfleet wasn't doing its job of providing them ''any'' protection. He also ignores the fact that on Earth, crews are legally allowed to defend themselves by any means, as Pirates are by their very definition "[[AlwaysChaoticEvil enemies of humanity]]".
* TooDumbToLive: Has never learned from a single mistake, and still struggles to grasp even the simplest Trek tropes. ("Dead Stop")
-->'''Phlox:''' (I'm going to need the puppets to explain this again, aren't I.)
* TookALevelInBadass: Once Manny Coto took over as the main writer in Season 4, Archer actually became somewhat competent.
** TookALevelInDumbass: Only to lose it all again when Berman and Braga returned to pen the finale ("These Are The Voyages").
--> '''Chuck''': [[DumbassNoMore Season 4 Archer]] I could believe helping move Earth towards forming the Federation, [[PointyHairedBoss Season 1 Archer]] could not get people to come together to give him an ''intervention''.
* UpToEleven: In keeping with ''ENT's'' unofficial theme of "making ''Voyager'' look good", you can safely assume that every mission that went wrong on VOY happens about twice as much, and everything that went right happens ''half'' as much. To illustrate this, Archer very nearly strands his crew 300 years--beating out Janeway's 'mere' 70 years--from home by refusing to apologize to an alien. For his dog peeing on their sacred trees. ("A Night In Sickbay")
* {{Unperson}}: Archer is such an embarrassment to Starfleet, Earth, and the rest of humankind, that centuries after his death, there's been a blanket order issued preventing anyone from talking about him. The mere mention of his name to Picard even earns a SpitefulSpit. (''Star Trek The Motion Picture'', TNG: "First Contact", [=DS9=]: "Trials and Tribble-ations", ENT "Shadows of P'Jem")
-->'''Ilia:''' And what of the ship captained by Archer?\\
'''Decker:''' He's dead to us.
** This also apparently extends to the Klingon Empire. The reason why Worf refuses to explain TOS-era Klingons' lack of forehead ridges is because ''the explanation involves Archer''. It's unclear whether both governments declared him an Unperson for the same incident, or if Archer affronted each nation separately.
* WimpFight: Archer gets his ass kicked so often, he makes [[CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkey Picard]] look like Creator/BruceLee.
** Predictably, "Glass Jaw Archer" does not do well on a WildWest themed planet that they discover in "North Star". Eventually he develops some sense and brings down Reed and some MACO's.
** In a BadFuture, Archer would apparently teach self-defense to Starfleet cadets including a [[Film/StarTrek considerably more annoying version of James T Kirk]]. Lessons included: "How to curl up in a ball while protecting your kidneys".
* YouAreWhatYouHate: The Vulcans' refusal to help his father build his engine was unforgivable, but has no problem refusing to help the Valakians save their race.
** Ironically, when the Organians were dispassionately observing his crewmembers infected with a similarly lethal plague, he lectured them on their callous disregard for life. He also lectures freighter captains for fighting back against hostile pirates, but does the ''exact'' same thing when hostile aliens attack his own crew.
** In keeping with his ManChild and {{Hypocrite}} attributes, his version of "diplomacy" makes the Vulcans seem positively charming in comparison.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Subcommander Hemp Von Weiner née T'Pol]]
[[quoteright:150:[[{{Film/PulpFiction}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tpolmia_7236.jpg]] ]]
[[caption-width-right:150:[-"Why do I have [[JiggleShow a sudden craving for milkshakes?]]"-] ]]
->The most quarrelsome, asinine "ambassador" they could find on Planet Vulcan, sent to make Archer's life miserable. Ha ha, joke's on them! The pair actually work well in tandem, with T'Pol's black heart rubbing up nicely against Archer's lunatic machismo. Shows an utter lack of concern for the well-being of non-Vulcans, making her, according to Starfleet standards, the ideal attaché.

* InTheBlood: The ''plomeek'' doesn't fall from the tree, if you catch our drift. During an extended stay on 1950's Earth, her ancestor T'Mir's highhandedness and brazen disregard for some trapped miners was beyond the pale even for her Vulcan cohorts ("Carbon Creek")
* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Claims that Humans are "Carnivores" due to them eating steak, [[SelectiveObliviousness ignoring]] the fact that Humans have ''always'' been Omnivores (Trip eats a breadstick right in front of her) and many Humans choose to adopt a Vegetarian lifestyle, just like the ''Vulcans''. Either she does this out of genuine ignorance or is intentionally trying to irritate them ("Broken Bow").
* MoralMyopia: Later, she showed a massive lack of concern for sentient life when she raided minerals intended to help shield the ship to get high. ("The Forgotten")
* SkewedPriorities: Rails at humans over the cruelty of [[StrawVegetarian eating McDonald's]], threatens to cap [[NoSmoking smokers]] in the head with phase pistol... but advocates letting a Klingon with treatable wounds die to avoid the diplomatic inconvenience of saving him. Hmmmm. ("Broken Bow", "Carpenter Street")
* StrawVulcan: Whenever she takes a stance on an issue--which [[SoapboxSadie she frequently does]]--she's usually advocating the least moral course of action, while touting her superior Vulcan ethics.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Insofar as she's a Vulcan (the ''horror!''), and the only times she agrees with Archer is when he suggests [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique Jack Bauer interrogations]].
* WretchedHive: Tuvok later fathers a daughter in a city called T'Pol. Just as Archer is detested on Earth, T'Pol was apparently none too popular among her race, as the other suggested name was "New Crapville." Even then, "T'Pol" only won out by one vote. ("Unimatrix Zero")
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lt. Commander Hoshi Sato]]
->Once a promising academic, things began to go wrong for Hoshi when she was hired to put a respectable face on Starfleet's latest boondoggle. Possesses the speed of an Olympian and the linguistic genius of Noam Chomsky, yet she remains shackled to a console and effectively does nothing. She shares a kinship with Reed, with whom she spent the remainder of her career in President Archer's shadow.

* AlmightyJanitor: Hoshi casually snatching the Doctor's pet bat out of the air (and [[SuperReflexes one-handed]], no less) after Phlox and Archer have been chasing it for an hour , thus proving she is about [=1000x=] overqualified for her tasks on the ship. ("A Night in Sickbay"}
* TheDragAlong: Hoshi is the resident CowardlySidekick for the NX-01, with most of her [[CharacterDevelopment character time]] being devoted to her conquering her fear of ''Enterprise'' and all it's contents.
--> '''Chuck''': She's no longer afraid of ''everything'', just ''most'' things...
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Hoshi and Reed's last moments of screentime are spent sitting in the back bleachers while Archer soaks up all the credit for the fledgling Federation.
* FallingIntoTheCockpit: Despite being utterly terrified of the ship and it's contents, Hoshi is frequently left in charge of ''Enterprise'', due to Archer's boneheaded decisions stranding every single trained officer elsewhere.
* [[TheMainCharactersDoEverything Hoshi Sato Does Everything]]: Jokes that since Archer never lets her do her ''actual job'', Hoshi usually ends up being the one sent to handle every single thankless task on the ship, like she's the ship's intern. ("Silent Enemy" et al).
* ICouldaBeenAContender: Frequent mention is made of Hoshi leaving a university professorship in "Broken Bow" to spend her life as T'Pol thankless underling and Phlox's waiter.
* MedalOfDishonor: Captain Kirk once bestowed the Hoshi Sato Cowering Chicken Medal, [[AndADietCoke with clusters]]. ("Space Seed")
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III, aka "Cooter"]]
[[quoteright:150:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/trip_sfdebris_8810.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:150:''[-"I'm [[ScottyTime gonna need thirty minutes]], a bran muffin, and a magazine."-]'']]
->The [[Series/TheRedGreenShow Red Green]] of space, an ex-airboat mechanic from the Bayou whose knowledge of science and basic arithmetic "can fit in a gnat's asshole." Trip's bright ideas are mysteriously heralded with banjo music. Keeps the NX-01 flying though the power of duct tape and Jesus. Arguably the luckiest man in Starfleet, though cruel fortune reversed itself in the series finale when Trip's PlotArmor finally failed him.

* AchievementsInIgnorance: If your major repairs all involve [[DuctTapeForEverything duct tape]] and your own bodily waste, you might be a redneck. ("Breaking the Ice", "Fortunate Son") The results are surprisingly successful.
* AntiAdvice: Archer's habitual disagreement with T'Pol is so well known that, whenever she's put in command, Tucker's immediate reaction is to suggest things that would either break the ship or possibly kill them all, knowing that his Captain would rather sacrifice himself and the entire crew if it meant spiting her ("Civilization").
* BetterThanSex: In "Damage", a sulking Trip listens to his "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3G5IXn0K7A favorite thing in the world]]" in an effort to cheer up.... to no avail. Later, when T'Pol accosts him in the shower, Trip imagines the ''one'' thing that could make this moment perfect: Chuck inserts the song again.
* DrinkingOnDuty: Jokes that Trip more than likely hides a secret stash of beer in the Warp Reactor.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: After Trip scrapes the hull of the ''Enterprise'' while piloting a pod around it, Chuck makes fun of the fact that he is often the one called upon to pilot things. In "North Star", he says that Trip could probably manage to self-destruct a horse.
* GeniusDitz: Notes that Tucker was often written this way and how it's at odds with the fact that a man who is supposedly a talented engineer in charge of maintaining a Warp Reactor, seemingly can't figure out simple high-school level algebraic equations, the sort of things that he'd had to have grasped in order to know how an engine actually ''works''. This is later 'addressed' in the series finale by Hoshi, who spills the secret of Trip being a college dropout whose only engineering experience was on ''boats.'' This triggered a BigWhat from Chuck himself.
-->'''Chuck:''' Well, unless that boat was the ''[[Anime/CowboyBebop Bebop]]'', this is just... ''whaaaaat???''
* LethallyStupid / LeeroyJenkins: How he's presented early on, to the point where he's fully prepared to break the warp coils and possibly destroy the entire ship, simply to spite T'Pol for being made second in command over him ("Civilization").
* MeaningfulName / TheStoner: As he's spacing out from an alien acclimatization procedure, Chuck notes that he was also high the episode before, so they must call him "Trip" for a reason.
* SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: Trip, along with engineering ignorance, does not seem able to grasp the idea that space is really big. He instructs Lieutenant Reed to set course at sub-FTL speed for an object about the size of a mini-van without the benefit of star charts or navigating equipment, and when Reed starts to protest this plan claims that he's got a good memory and comes from a long line of navy men. So just... look at the stars, remember what they looked like when we dropped that thing several days ago (when we ''did'' have navigation and were not reliant on looking out the window to find stuff), and guide us to that miniscule object in the vastness of space.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lieutenant Malcolm Reed]]
[[quoteright:267:[[Film/TheMatrix http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sfreed_8711.jpg]] ]]
[[caption-width-right:267:''[-"Tell Phlox he can go suck my English cock!"-]'']]
->The other half of the NX-01's D-list. Conceived by Rick Berman after he watched ''First Contact'' and decided that Ensign Nobody deserved to be an on-screen character. Spends the first two seasons valiantly keeping morale up and trying to save the day, but he sort of realizes he's wasting his time, so he stops. Detested by his family, which would seem to make him this century's Picard (his father makes Robert Picard look like Bob Ross), but the same could be said for virtually everyone in Starfleet.

* CampStraight: In an aversion of fanon, Reed isn't so much a closet gay--like Harry--as he is a gun fetishist, to the point where Chuck quips that he must dream of being sodomized by his own torpedoes. ("Fight Or Flight")
* [[GirlfriendInCanada Girlfriend On Earth]]: Invoked when Reed [[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday attempted to namedrop]] several former girlfriends in ''Shuttlepod One''.
** {{Asexuality}}: Although in seriousness, he does suggests Dominic Keating's [[WordOfDante own pet theory]] isn't too far off the mark, that Reed's lack of any romantic involvement was due to him being simply [[SociallyAwkwardHero a lonely man]] who finds it hard to make connections with others and disproportionally magnifies the very few attachments he actually manages to forge.
* GunNut: Reed is, perhaps, a bit too fond of [[ThrowDownTheBomblet explosives]], as illustrated in the "Regeneration" review as he attaches at least [[NoKillLikeOverkill six large explosive devices]] to a man-sized piece of equipment:
-->'''Archer''': You, uh, think you got enough there, Reed?\\
'''Reed''': Just a few crates more, Sah!
** His reaction to the discovery of something called "Photon Torpedos" on a Klingon ship is to run over sporting an erection you could hang a flag off of ("Sleeping Dogs").
** In "Fortunate Son," when asked what he thought about upgrading merchant freighters to have more substantial weapons and engines, Chuck's response was that Reed would cobble together something using ''tactical nuclear missiles'' and ''[[{{Babylon5}} Centauri Mass Drivers.]]''
* HyperCompetentSidekick: Not unlike Tom Paris. Amongst his many accomplishments, Reed apparently ''invented'' the DeflectorShield ("Vox Sola") and successfully employed it to save his DamselScrappy Captain and Chief Engineer from a [[ItMakesSenseInContext mass of sentient semen]]! Yet he doesn't even get to eat at the Captain's table!
* OnlySaneMan: Perhaps the most competent member of ''Enterprise's'' crew -- and hence, clinically depressed ("Shuttlepod One"). When the PowerTrio are taken hostage in "The Andorian Incident", the crew of the ''Enterprise'' is hopelessly confused because they suddenly find themselves under the command of a ''rational'' officer who does things like scan nearby space for possible hostile alien ships and then proceeds to assess what information they have on said hostiles so as to actually form a tactical response plan, all without repeated digressions about how much Vulcans suck.
* SuicideAsComedy: Reed continually tries offing himself as a HeroicSacrifice to save the ship, only to be confounded by his incompetent crewmates at every turn. ("Shuttlepod One", "Minefield")
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Jokingly suggests that the reason Dominic Keating is the ''only'' member of the cast with nothing bad to say about "These Are The Voyages" is because at that point, there was little they could do to screw Reed's character over further than they already had.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:"Doctor" Phlox]]
[[quoteright:150:[[Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/phlox3_2886.jpg]] ]]
[[caption-width-right:150:''[-"Let me prescribe you a dose of maximum strength-]'' [-fuck off.-]''[-"-]'']]
->Seems everyone got their casting sheets mixed up: Whereas Hoshi/Reed inherited Tom's role as polymath and Archer wound up with Neelix's personality, the warped brain of Captain Janeway passes to Phlox. Credited with discovering two of the Federation's most implacable enemies, birthing one and misplacing a vaccine for the other. Actually, it's not entirely clear what, if anything, Phlox contributes to the ship other than indulging his own morbid curiosity of the flesh.

* DrJerk: During a ship-wide emergency, you'll see him seen answering pages and strolling down the halls with all the urgency of a sloth. In fact, Phlox will bend over backwards to find reasons ''not'' to treat people. ("Dear Doctor", "Vox Sola")
* KnowNothingKnowItAll: has been dubbed "[[{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}} Dr. Zoidberg]]" as of the "Vox Sola" review, because of his long string of inaccurate judgment calls ("Curing these aliens would interfere with their evolutionary path.", "Oh yeah, yeah, alien probe, just send that on through.", "These assimilated people are harmless!").
* LaserGuidedKarma: He was later assassinated by the Breen, whom Chuck speculates are descendants of the Valakians - after they found out that he lied about not having a cure for their plague. Hence why he never wrote anything down about the Borg! ("Resurrection")
* MadDoctor: "Dead Stop" tacks "sadism" onto Phlox's field of expertise.
-->"Whoops, must be some turbulence shaking the hospital bed!"
* MetaphorIsMyMiddleName: Archer, on his way out the door, actually has to instruct Phlox ''not'' to dissect his beagle or use its organs for his creepy experiments. This led Chuck to remark that "Medical Ethics" is Phlox's middle name! ("Azati Prime")
-->"Unfortunately, his ''first'' name is, "What".
* TheMillstone: Phlox's sickbay is a revolving door of unsterilized patients, he leaves canisters of medical waste lying open, and will hand over a patient's entire medical history to anyone who asks for it. ("Regeneration", "A Night in Sickbay", "Fight Or Flight")
-->'''Chuck:''' Patient confidentiality, what's that?!
** Further compounded when one of the few times he ''does'' respect patient confidentiality, he decides to endanger the entire mission to save all of humanity from the Xindi, by not telling Archer that his First Officer is detoxing after a major battle with drug addiction. ("Damage")
* MoralSociopathy: If you step back and look at his actions across the series, he is actually even scarier than on a per-episode basis. Which is not to say he cannot be truly creepy in a single episode. In "Similitude", Trip has managed to get himself critically wounded through his usual boating-based engineering skills. Never one to pass on performing illegal and unethical medical procedures, Phlox grows a clone of trip that [[CloningBlues will only live long enough for Phlox to do a little tissue-harvesting]]. That the clone is fully-sentient and even possesses all of Trip's memories is a minor detail, as is the fact that it might be possible to halt the clone's accelerated aging. But Phlox cannot be bothered to even consider that because it is as much fringe science as, for example, growing a human clone from an alien grub. Plus he was busy, what with having one whole patient in sickbay, and it's not as if he might form any emotional attachments having raised the clone from infancy (and even bottle-feeding it)!
* TheSocialDarwinist: He also operates under the dogmatic belief that "evolution" has slated various races to die, which further alleviates his workload. This attitude eventually leads to the creation of the Breen- which sided with the Dominion later on, causing many casualties- and the ''Pakleds,'' who suffered major cranial shrinkage as the result of Phlox's and Archer's playing god.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ensign Travis Mayweather]]
->...Who?

* AdvertisedExtra: Despite being a main character (according to the opening credits), Travis has fewer subplots than some of the recurring guest stars... or even some of the one-off guest stars.
* FlatCharacter: It's just possible that he may have spent some time in space.
** Made even more obvious in "Dead Stop" when Hoshi lists several fond memories of him and her prank war with him, all of which happened offscreen, leading Chuck to wonder why the writers had to pretend to ''kill'' him in order to give him some actual development?
* PhraseCatcher: Did you know that Travis has been in space?
* ThePollyanna: Nothing, ''nothing'' shakes Mayweather of his good mood. Even the ship getting seven kinds of shit kicked out of it just nudges him down to unflinching optimism. ("Damage")

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Crewman Daniels]]
* TheChooserOfTheOne: Wanted Janeway to solve the Temporal Cold War for him, but was forced to settle for [[TheChosenZero Archer]] instead ("Fury").
* LivingMacGuffin: Sums up his entire character and function in the Temporal Cold War as being;
--> "[[ActorAllusion I'm a tool, I'm a tool]], [[Series/{{Scrubs}} I'm an incredible, unbelievably annoying tool]]".
* PointyHairedBoss: Continually nearly destroys the timeline through sheer incompetence. Daniels will send vitally important historical figures into dangerous situations he can't be bothered to do himself and believes in following vital intelligence provided by the ''enemy'' ("Carpenter Street").
* TimePolice: A really ''bad'' one.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Valakians]]
* FromNobodyToNightmare: After Archer left them to die, they were rescued by the Romulans, who provided them with extensive gene therapy and protective clothing in the hopes of eventually converting them into allies against the Federation. After many years, the Valakians were gradually transformed into the [[GasMaskMooks Breen]] - who would later become allies of the Dominion.
* {{Revenge}}: And they demanded control of Earth at the end of the war as retribution against Archer's Federation.
** Also, the reason why, in "Regeneration," Phlox is capable of coming up with a way to resist assimilation, but that's ''never'' in any other series (despite how ''massively useful'' that would have been in, say, "The Best Of Both Worlds," or the second half of ''Voyager'' where the danger of being assimilated was very, very probable)? Turns out that he was gunned down by Breen Assassins. On one hand, NiceJobBreakingItHero, as that information could have potentially saved the entire Alpha Quadrant a lot of time and trouble, but on the other, you can't really blame them for wanting to gun down Phlox.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Menk]]
* GoneHorriblyWrong: After Archer left them to replace the Valakians, the Menk were abducted and enslaved by the Ferengi; eventually, they overpowered their captors and flew off on their own. Surrounded by technology they didn't really understand and free food to gorge on, the end result is that the Menk became the [[PlanetOfDunceCaps Pakleds]].
[[/folder]]

to:

[[Website/SFDebris Main Page]] | SFDebris/TropesAToF | SFDebris/TropesGToL | SFDebris/TropesMToR | SFDebris/TropesSToZ | [[YMMV/SFDebris YMMV]] | [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/SFDebris Alternative Character Interpretations]] | [[ActorAllusion/SFDebris Actor Allusions]] | [[RunningGag/SFDebris Running Gags]] |
[[ShoutOut/SFDebris Shout Outs]]


[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Captain Jonathan "Duchess" Archer]]
[[quoteright:239:[[Series/QuantumLeap http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dragarcher_4080.jpg]] ]]
[[caption-width-right:239:[-"No,-] ''[-Porthos! We [[HearingVoices cannot reduce troop presence in South Korea!]] BAD DOG! BAD DOG!"-]'']]
->An emotionally unstable human with a serious grudge against the Vulcans, although he apparently has no problem trying to sleep with one. His diplomatic and Temporal Cold War missions take backseats to spreading his haterade around the galaxy. Lacks any training in diplomacy, leadership, and all things military, but manages to bluff his way through obstacles with tantrums and a war crime or two. Becomes President in 2151 AD and is shortly expunged from history.

* AllJustADream: Chuck jokes that an unfilmed series finale would have shown Archer in a padded room, hugging his knees while babbling to his dog, revealing ''ENT'' is all taking place inside his delusional mind. ("Fortunate Son")
* AssInAmbassador: Archer is obsessed with demanding people's respect, to a degree where even Neelix would say, "Dude, it's not ''all'' about you." Every sentient being he encounters must worship the ground he walks on or eat crow. ("A Night in Sickbay")
-->'''Chuck''': I can just see a shuttle flying slowly overhead, Archer standing in the doorway, peeing all over the diplomatic corps as [[MusicToInvadePolandTo Wagner plays in the background]].
* TheCaligula: One shudders to imagine what ensued after Archer became the first Federation President.
* CaligulasHorse: Lt. Commander Porthos ("Fight or Flight"). When the pooch catches a sniffle on Kreetassa, Archer considers it to be [[ThisMeansWar an act of war]]. Not only this, but he's willing to completely give up negotiations for a spare vital component of the warp core, putting the welfare of his ''dog'' above potentially stranding his crew over a hundred light-years from Earth ("A Night In Sickbay").
* TheCallHasBadReception / TheChosenZero: Archer's entire involvement in the Temporal Cold War was really because Janeway -- experienced meddler in the fourth dimension - told Daniels [[RefusalOfTheCall to buzz off]] and find someone else.
* CommanderContrarian: Archer tends to do the opposite of ''everything'' T'Pol tells him to do, even in situations when his own crew are at risk of being killed ("Sleeping Dogs").
* ConspiracyTheorist: Part of Archer's schtick from the beginning was his habit of exaggerating the threat posed by Vulcan and seeing their nefarious hand in virtually everything.
* CrazyHomelessPerson: Archer (or "Duchess") is a wino living in a box whom Starfleet abducted and put in charge of a starship. ("Strange New World")
* TheCuckoolanderWasRight / YouHaveToBelieveMe: He insists to everyone that he's seen a [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith scantily-clad woman]] in the forest - in reality, a [[StarfishAliens telepathic giant slug]] - and becomes offended when they don't believe him... only to admit that he really ''did'' think he was seeing things when he finally confronts said alien.("Rogue Planet").
--> '''Chuck''': You're such a dick.
* DelusionsOfEloquence:
** Instead of using a standardized greeting when encountering an alien ship, Archer seems to always insist on winging it, despite repeatedly having demonstrated that he couldn't improvise his way out of a paper bag. The results ranges from being either boring meandering drivel where Archer rambles about whatever subject pops into his head or potentially ''very'' dangerous as Archer doesn't seem understand that casually giving away Earth's location to compete strangers with unknown intends might be ill-advised. ("Fight or Flight", "Silent Enemy")
** Archer's seeming obsession with delivering a pep talk which ''finally'' rallies the crew, despite being "about as inspirational as a baby bird's head sticking out from under a car tire." We never see his Inaugural speech (Riker doesn't quote it), and Archer is seen suffering flop-sweat backstage, so it probably went over like lead balloon just as the others did. ("These Are the Voyages...")
-->'''Archer:''' Time heals all wounds. ''(seems genuinely confused)'' [[{{Metaphorgotten}} But absence makes the heart grow fonder]]?\\
'''Picard:''' ''I've'' done a better job when [[http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Final_Mission_%28episode%29 half-sedated]] and [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E6LonelyAmongUs possessed by an alien lifeform]], twit.
* DesignatedHero: Even worse than before. Chuck can't even find any major features to redeem him like he sometimes could with {{genre savvy}} Janeway.
* TheDitherer: Archer is perfectly content to play cowboys and indians when the situation doesn't call for it. But when the crew looks to him to take an actual, moral stand on something -- do we condone using clones as transplant farms, or do we let them live? -- the Captain is climbing the walls in no time at all, leaving behind an Archer-shaped puff of Wile E. Coyote smoke. ("Dear Doctor", "Similitude")
* EnemyMine: Despite the Andorians repeatedly beating the living snot out of him during their first meeting, Archer will ''still'' always tend to side with them over the Vulcans, simply because he hates the Vulcans even more than they do ("The Andorian Incident", "Shadows of P'Jem").
* EngineeredHeroics: He ''will'' destroy the NX-01 before he lets anyone else save it.
** FakeUltimateHero: Archer can't tolerate crewman stealing his thunder, and constantly deserts his post on the Bridge to rush headlong into danger -- even shoving Reed aside while he's attempting to defuse a ship-destroying bomb. ("Minefield")
* GeneralRipper: Contrary to what the show claims, this goes well beyond antagonizing the Vulcans, Earth's ONLY real allies in a Manichean universe. Archer proudly commits genocide in "Dear Doctor," and, in "The Andorian Incident," he eagerly betrays the military secrets of humanity's closest ally (Vulcan) to the Andorians, who had previously beaten him up and threatened to rape his science officer. All because the Vulcans are after his bodily fluids!
* {{Hypocrite}}: His only really consistent trait is his tendency to criticize others for doing exactly what he would do (and does do) in identical circumstances.
* InTheBlood: Archer may be dead, but the malady lingers: His descendant, Cmr. ''Valerie'' Archer, continues to make Duchess proud by exposing the Grand Unified Vulcan Conspiracy Theory. ("In the Flesh")
* InformedAbility: Archer's track-record as a "skilled diplomat" includes spewing venom at any Vulcan in range ("Broken Bow" et al.), giving Vulcan military secrets to the Andorians that could lead to interstellar war ("The Andorian Incident"), being unable to give a simple apology to the Kreetassans ("Vox Sola") and causing a [[AssInAmbassador diplomatic nightmare]] on their next encounter ("A Night in Sickbay"). And yet this complete putz is the sole individual responsible for the creation of the Federation, according to Daniels ("Azati Prime").
* IronButtMonkey: "Azati Prime" suggests that Archer's ability to take extensive beatings without breaking is his ''one'' redeeming skill.
-->"That face has seen more punishment than a Los Angeles sex dungeon."
* {{Jerkass}}: Archer frequently indulges in this behaviour, as per [[ManChild his idiom]].
** SkewedPriorities: His hatred of the Vulcans causes him to side with the Andorians, even after the latter took him hostage and mercilessly beat the living shit out of him. Furthermore, his reaction to T'Pol getting recalled by the Vulcan High Command after the destruction of P'Jem. ("Shadows of P'Jem").
--> '''Archer''': Stupid old Vulcans, I go and give away one key hidden fortification and cause them to lose it, provoke and interstellar incident and cause the destruction of a shrine that's thousand of years old... [[ItsAllAboutMe they take away my science officer!]]
* KarmaHoudini: He's the only crewman aboard the NX-01 who receives any commendations or praise from Starfleet, simply by virtue of being the loudest and most visible.
* LeeroyJenkins: In his mad rush to get out into space and make Pa proud, Archer neglected to fully supply his ship or undergo training for anything they might face, setting the stage for practically ''every'' non-Temporal Cold War plot. ("Fight or Flight") [[IceCreamKoan You can't be afraid of the wind!]]
* ManChild: Has the emotional maturity of a whiny, spoiled 5-year-old with delusions of grandeur and [[DaddyIssues abandonment issues]].
* TheMillstone: When Archer was finally let go from Starfleet, Earth civilization underwent a century's worth of advancement overnight. ("A Matter of Time")
* NameMcAdjective: [[CowboyCop Fists]] [[LanternJawOfJustice Hugejaw]]. ("Carpenter Street")
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: His decision to leave the Valakians to die led to them undergoing gene therapy to survive and turning into the Breen, who would become a powerful ally of the Dominion.
* ObliviouslyEvil: Whereas Janeway is at least self-aware enough to recognize that she is doing something evil (even if realization doesn't stop her from actually doing it), Archer tends to favor avoidance and denial when confronted by immoral acts he is committing, instead trying to emotionally distance himself as a coping mechanism.
* PointyHairedBoss: Essentially what would happen if you gave Neelix a command. Archer is pig-headed, territorial, insists on [[TheMainCharactersDoEverything performing every task by himself with no assistance]] (like dismantling high-yield explosives!), and insinuates that he's 'earned' his position through connections, bureaucratic error, and petulant whining rather than merit. In fairness to Neelix, he does not share the Hedgehog's sense of self-preservation.
* RacistGrandpa: Archer quotes him in "Dead Stop", including such pearls as the belief that ''any'' problem is an invitation to [[CrazySurvivalist buy more guns]]! Archer also mistakes a dead clone of Mayweather on Phlox's slab for a different black man, since they all look alike anyway. Erm...
* RevengeBeforeReason: His unresolved DaddyIssues and desire to get even with the Vulcans for hampering his father's work, are more important than his actions potentially inciting Interstellar War. ("Shadows of P'Jem"). Likewise, he would rather let members of his crew die than accept Vulcan help. ("Breaking the Ice")
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: Everything about Archer suggests a guy promoted far beyond his field of competence, and is only in charge because dad called in a favor. Chuck is not the first to draw that conclusion; Website/TheAgonyBooth came away with the same impression during their "Worst of Trek" recaps.
* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: He actually has the chutzpa to take credit for shaping the Federation Charter, despite it mostly being tweaked to repair his crew's numerous own-goaling, genocidal, treasonous bunglings across time and space.
-->"I annihilated a whole species on purpose! Lucky thing they made up that rule later on to fully justify what I did!"
* StockholmSyndrome: In "The Andorian Incident", Shran's crew is beating Archer like a cheap hooker and not being all that gentle with Trip and T'Pol either. So what does Archer do? Help them expose a Vulcan listening post hidden in the monastery they are in, which they would later destroy. Chuck notes that this act on Archer's part was technically a complete betrayal of Earth's alliance with the Vulcans, especially since this had been their planet for about 3,000 years or so. He even cites real world history about how space-based espionage actually helped ''lower'' Cold War tensions by allowing the U.S. to more accurately assess the Soviet potential threat, rather than run on wild speculation. But Archer ''hates'' Vulcans, thinks that them spying on a rival power is wrong and apparently feels camaraderie with anyone that hits him with the butt of a rifle.
* TalkativeLoon: Played straight in "The Adversary".
-->"[[AC:i told them i told them I TOLD THEM the vulcans you can't trust the vulcans they run up the flat to the back of the dragon and hold their tails so you can't fly no more and then you can't know your thoughts no more because they've already STOLEN THE WRENCH TO YOUR MIND]]"
* TaughtByTelevision: Archer's behavior suggests that he learned everything he "knows" about statecraft from Creator/ChrisFarley movies and [[BastardBoyfriend Pick-Up Artist]] manual. ("These Are the Voyages...," "Worst of the Worst")
* TautologicalTemplar: Very rarely does he ever see himself as wrong. This isn't Chuck exaggerating, in "Shadows of P'Jem", he refuses to admit he did something that warrants any punishment when he allowed the Andorians to get away with information an area where the Vulcans were spying on them, which led to the Andorians destroying the Vulcan historical site it was hidden in. He even complains that the Vulcans even temporarily broke some relations with Earth, even though his actions in RealLife would be possible grounds for war and lead to his immediate court-martial for aiding the enemy. Likewise, in "Fortunate Son", he essentially chews the crew of a ship that was trying to commit violent actions against pirates that were trying to kill them, because Starfleet wasn't doing its job of providing them ''any'' protection. He also ignores the fact that on Earth, crews are legally allowed to defend themselves by any means, as Pirates are by their very definition "[[AlwaysChaoticEvil enemies of humanity]]".
* TooDumbToLive: Has never learned from a single mistake, and still struggles to grasp even the simplest Trek tropes. ("Dead Stop")
-->'''Phlox:''' (I'm going to need the puppets to explain this again, aren't I.)
* TookALevelInBadass: Once Manny Coto took over as the main writer in Season 4, Archer actually became somewhat competent.
** TookALevelInDumbass: Only to lose it all again when Berman and Braga returned to pen the finale ("These Are The Voyages").
--> '''Chuck''': [[DumbassNoMore Season 4 Archer]] I could believe helping move Earth towards forming the Federation, [[PointyHairedBoss Season 1 Archer]] could not get people to come together to give him an ''intervention''.
* UpToEleven: In keeping with ''ENT's'' unofficial theme of "making ''Voyager'' look good", you can safely assume that every mission that went wrong on VOY happens about twice as much, and everything that went right happens ''half'' as much. To illustrate this, Archer very nearly strands his crew 300 years--beating out Janeway's 'mere' 70 years--from home by refusing to apologize to an alien. For his dog peeing on their sacred trees. ("A Night In Sickbay")
* {{Unperson}}: Archer is such an embarrassment to Starfleet, Earth, and the rest of humankind, that centuries after his death, there's been a blanket order issued preventing anyone from talking about him. The mere mention of his name to Picard even earns a SpitefulSpit. (''Star Trek The Motion Picture'', TNG: "First Contact", [=DS9=]: "Trials and Tribble-ations", ENT "Shadows of P'Jem")
-->'''Ilia:''' And what of the ship captained by Archer?\\
'''Decker:''' He's dead to us.
** This also apparently extends to the Klingon Empire. The reason why Worf refuses to explain TOS-era Klingons' lack of forehead ridges is because ''the explanation involves Archer''. It's unclear whether both governments declared him an Unperson for the same incident, or if Archer affronted each nation separately.
* WimpFight: Archer gets his ass kicked so often, he makes [[CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkey Picard]] look like Creator/BruceLee.
** Predictably, "Glass Jaw Archer" does not do well on a WildWest themed planet that they discover in "North Star". Eventually he develops some sense and brings down Reed and some MACO's.
** In a BadFuture, Archer would apparently teach self-defense to Starfleet cadets including a [[Film/StarTrek considerably more annoying version of James T Kirk]]. Lessons included: "How to curl up in a ball while protecting your kidneys".
* YouAreWhatYouHate: The Vulcans' refusal to help his father build his engine was unforgivable, but has no problem refusing to help the Valakians save their race.
** Ironically, when the Organians were dispassionately observing his crewmembers infected with a similarly lethal plague, he lectured them on their callous disregard for life. He also lectures freighter captains for fighting back against hostile pirates, but does the ''exact'' same thing when hostile aliens attack his own crew.
** In keeping with his ManChild and {{Hypocrite}} attributes, his version of "diplomacy" makes the Vulcans seem positively charming in comparison.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Subcommander Hemp Von Weiner née T'Pol]]
[[quoteright:150:[[{{Film/PulpFiction}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tpolmia_7236.jpg]] ]]
[[caption-width-right:150:[-"Why do I have [[JiggleShow a sudden craving for milkshakes?]]"-] ]]
->The most quarrelsome, asinine "ambassador" they could find on Planet Vulcan, sent to make Archer's life miserable. Ha ha, joke's on them! The pair actually work well in tandem, with T'Pol's black heart rubbing up nicely against Archer's lunatic machismo. Shows an utter lack of concern for the well-being of non-Vulcans, making her, according to Starfleet standards, the ideal attaché.

* InTheBlood: The ''plomeek'' doesn't fall from the tree, if you catch our drift. During an extended stay on 1950's Earth, her ancestor T'Mir's highhandedness and brazen disregard for some trapped miners was beyond the pale even for her Vulcan cohorts ("Carbon Creek")
* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Claims that Humans are "Carnivores" due to them eating steak, [[SelectiveObliviousness ignoring]] the fact that Humans have ''always'' been Omnivores (Trip eats a breadstick right in front of her) and many Humans choose to adopt a Vegetarian lifestyle, just like the ''Vulcans''. Either she does this out of genuine ignorance or is intentionally trying to irritate them ("Broken Bow").
* MoralMyopia: Later, she showed a massive lack of concern for sentient life when she raided minerals intended to help shield the ship to get high. ("The Forgotten")
* SkewedPriorities: Rails at humans over the cruelty of [[StrawVegetarian eating McDonald's]], threatens to cap [[NoSmoking smokers]] in the head with phase pistol... but advocates letting a Klingon with treatable wounds die to avoid the diplomatic inconvenience of saving him. Hmmmm. ("Broken Bow", "Carpenter Street")
* StrawVulcan: Whenever she takes a stance on an issue--which [[SoapboxSadie she frequently does]]--she's usually advocating the least moral course of action, while touting her superior Vulcan ethics.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Insofar as she's a Vulcan (the ''horror!''), and the only times she agrees with Archer is when he suggests [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique Jack Bauer interrogations]].
* WretchedHive: Tuvok later fathers a daughter in a city called T'Pol. Just as Archer is detested on Earth, T'Pol was apparently none too popular among her race, as the other suggested name was "New Crapville." Even then, "T'Pol" only won out by one vote. ("Unimatrix Zero")
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lt. Commander Hoshi Sato]]
->Once a promising academic, things began to go wrong for Hoshi when she was hired to put a respectable face on Starfleet's latest boondoggle. Possesses the speed of an Olympian and the linguistic genius of Noam Chomsky, yet she remains shackled to a console and effectively does nothing. She shares a kinship with Reed, with whom she spent the remainder of her career in President Archer's shadow.

* AlmightyJanitor: Hoshi casually snatching the Doctor's pet bat out of the air (and [[SuperReflexes one-handed]], no less) after Phlox and Archer have been chasing it for an hour , thus proving she is about [=1000x=] overqualified for her tasks on the ship. ("A Night in Sickbay"}
* TheDragAlong: Hoshi is the resident CowardlySidekick for the NX-01, with most of her [[CharacterDevelopment character time]] being devoted to her conquering her fear of ''Enterprise'' and all it's contents.
--> '''Chuck''': She's no longer afraid of ''everything'', just ''most'' things...
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Hoshi and Reed's last moments of screentime are spent sitting in the back bleachers while Archer soaks up all the credit for the fledgling Federation.
* FallingIntoTheCockpit: Despite being utterly terrified of the ship and it's contents, Hoshi is frequently left in charge of ''Enterprise'', due to Archer's boneheaded decisions stranding every single trained officer elsewhere.
* [[TheMainCharactersDoEverything Hoshi Sato Does Everything]]: Jokes that since Archer never lets her do her ''actual job'', Hoshi usually ends up being the one sent to handle every single thankless task on the ship, like she's the ship's intern. ("Silent Enemy" et al).
* ICouldaBeenAContender: Frequent mention is made of Hoshi leaving a university professorship in "Broken Bow" to spend her life as T'Pol thankless underling and Phlox's waiter.
* MedalOfDishonor: Captain Kirk once bestowed the Hoshi Sato Cowering Chicken Medal, [[AndADietCoke with clusters]]. ("Space Seed")
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III, aka "Cooter"]]
[[quoteright:150:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/trip_sfdebris_8810.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:150:''[-"I'm [[ScottyTime gonna need thirty minutes]], a bran muffin, and a magazine."-]'']]
->The [[Series/TheRedGreenShow Red Green]] of space, an ex-airboat mechanic from the Bayou whose knowledge of science and basic arithmetic "can fit in a gnat's asshole." Trip's bright ideas are mysteriously heralded with banjo music. Keeps the NX-01 flying though the power of duct tape and Jesus. Arguably the luckiest man in Starfleet, though cruel fortune reversed itself in the series finale when Trip's PlotArmor finally failed him.

* AchievementsInIgnorance: If your major repairs all involve [[DuctTapeForEverything duct tape]] and your own bodily waste, you might be a redneck. ("Breaking the Ice", "Fortunate Son") The results are surprisingly successful.
* AntiAdvice: Archer's habitual disagreement with T'Pol is so well known that, whenever she's put in command, Tucker's immediate reaction is to suggest things that would either break the ship or possibly kill them all, knowing that his Captain would rather sacrifice himself and the entire crew if it meant spiting her ("Civilization").
* BetterThanSex: In "Damage", a sulking Trip listens to his "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3G5IXn0K7A favorite thing in the world]]" in an effort to cheer up.... to no avail. Later, when T'Pol accosts him in the shower, Trip imagines the ''one'' thing that could make this moment perfect: Chuck inserts the song again.
* DrinkingOnDuty: Jokes that Trip more than likely hides a secret stash of beer in the Warp Reactor.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: After Trip scrapes the hull of the ''Enterprise'' while piloting a pod around it, Chuck makes fun of the fact that he is often the one called upon to pilot things. In "North Star", he says that Trip could probably manage to self-destruct a horse.
* GeniusDitz: Notes that Tucker was often written this way and how it's at odds with the fact that a man who is supposedly a talented engineer in charge of maintaining a Warp Reactor, seemingly can't figure out simple high-school level algebraic equations, the sort of things that he'd had to have grasped in order to know how an engine actually ''works''. This is later 'addressed' in the series finale by Hoshi, who spills the secret of Trip being a college dropout whose only engineering experience was on ''boats.'' This triggered a BigWhat from Chuck himself.
-->'''Chuck:''' Well, unless that boat was the ''[[Anime/CowboyBebop Bebop]]'', this is just... ''whaaaaat???''
* LethallyStupid / LeeroyJenkins: How he's presented early on, to the point where he's fully prepared to break the warp coils and possibly destroy the entire ship, simply to spite T'Pol for being made second in command over him ("Civilization").
* MeaningfulName / TheStoner: As he's spacing out from an alien acclimatization procedure, Chuck notes that he was also high the episode before, so they must call him "Trip" for a reason.
* SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: Trip, along with engineering ignorance, does not seem able to grasp the idea that space is really big. He instructs Lieutenant Reed to set course at sub-FTL speed for an object about the size of a mini-van without the benefit of star charts or navigating equipment, and when Reed starts to protest this plan claims that he's got a good memory and comes from a long line of navy men. So just... look at the stars, remember what they looked like when we dropped that thing several days ago (when we ''did'' have navigation and were not reliant on looking out the window to find stuff), and guide us to that miniscule object in the vastness of space.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lieutenant Malcolm Reed]]
[[quoteright:267:[[Film/TheMatrix http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sfreed_8711.jpg]] ]]
[[caption-width-right:267:''[-"Tell Phlox he can go suck my English cock!"-]'']]
->The other half of the NX-01's D-list. Conceived by Rick Berman after he watched ''First Contact'' and decided that Ensign Nobody deserved to be an on-screen character. Spends the first two seasons valiantly keeping morale up and trying to save the day, but he sort of realizes he's wasting his time, so he stops. Detested by his family, which would seem to make him this century's Picard (his father makes Robert Picard look like Bob Ross), but the same could be said for virtually everyone in Starfleet.

* CampStraight: In an aversion of fanon, Reed isn't so much a closet gay--like Harry--as he is a gun fetishist, to the point where Chuck quips that he must dream of being sodomized by his own torpedoes. ("Fight Or Flight")
* [[GirlfriendInCanada Girlfriend On Earth]]: Invoked when Reed [[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday attempted to namedrop]] several former girlfriends in ''Shuttlepod One''.
** {{Asexuality}}: Although in seriousness, he does suggests Dominic Keating's [[WordOfDante own pet theory]] isn't too far off the mark, that Reed's lack of any romantic involvement was due to him being simply [[SociallyAwkwardHero a lonely man]] who finds it hard to make connections with others and disproportionally magnifies the very few attachments he actually manages to forge.
* GunNut: Reed is, perhaps, a bit too fond of [[ThrowDownTheBomblet explosives]], as illustrated in the "Regeneration" review as he attaches at least [[NoKillLikeOverkill six large explosive devices]] to a man-sized piece of equipment:
-->'''Archer''': You, uh, think you got enough there, Reed?\\
'''Reed''': Just a few crates more, Sah!
** His reaction to the discovery of something called "Photon Torpedos" on a Klingon ship is to run over sporting an erection you could hang a flag off of ("Sleeping Dogs").
** In "Fortunate Son," when asked what he thought about upgrading merchant freighters to have more substantial weapons and engines, Chuck's response was that Reed would cobble together something using ''tactical nuclear missiles'' and ''[[{{Babylon5}} Centauri Mass Drivers.]]''
* HyperCompetentSidekick: Not unlike Tom Paris. Amongst his many accomplishments, Reed apparently ''invented'' the DeflectorShield ("Vox Sola") and successfully employed it to save his DamselScrappy Captain and Chief Engineer from a [[ItMakesSenseInContext mass of sentient semen]]! Yet he doesn't even get to eat at the Captain's table!
* OnlySaneMan: Perhaps the most competent member of ''Enterprise's'' crew -- and hence, clinically depressed ("Shuttlepod One"). When the PowerTrio are taken hostage in "The Andorian Incident", the crew of the ''Enterprise'' is hopelessly confused because they suddenly find themselves under the command of a ''rational'' officer who does things like scan nearby space for possible hostile alien ships and then proceeds to assess what information they have on said hostiles so as to actually form a tactical response plan, all without repeated digressions about how much Vulcans suck.
* SuicideAsComedy: Reed continually tries offing himself as a HeroicSacrifice to save the ship, only to be confounded by his incompetent crewmates at every turn. ("Shuttlepod One", "Minefield")
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Jokingly suggests that the reason Dominic Keating is the ''only'' member of the cast with nothing bad to say about "These Are The Voyages" is because at that point, there was little they could do to screw Reed's character over further than they already had.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:"Doctor" Phlox]]
[[quoteright:150:[[Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/phlox3_2886.jpg]] ]]
[[caption-width-right:150:''[-"Let me prescribe you a dose of maximum strength-]'' [-fuck off.-]''[-"-]'']]
->Seems everyone got their casting sheets mixed up: Whereas Hoshi/Reed inherited Tom's role as polymath and Archer wound up with Neelix's personality, the warped brain of Captain Janeway passes to Phlox. Credited with discovering two of the Federation's most implacable enemies, birthing one and misplacing a vaccine for the other. Actually, it's not entirely clear what, if anything, Phlox contributes to the ship other than indulging his own morbid curiosity of the flesh.

* DrJerk: During a ship-wide emergency, you'll see him seen answering pages and strolling down the halls with all the urgency of a sloth. In fact, Phlox will bend over backwards to find reasons ''not'' to treat people. ("Dear Doctor", "Vox Sola")
* KnowNothingKnowItAll: has been dubbed "[[{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}} Dr. Zoidberg]]" as of the "Vox Sola" review, because of his long string of inaccurate judgment calls ("Curing these aliens would interfere with their evolutionary path.", "Oh yeah, yeah, alien probe, just send that on through.", "These assimilated people are harmless!").
* LaserGuidedKarma: He was later assassinated by the Breen, whom Chuck speculates are descendants of the Valakians - after they found out that he lied about not having a cure for their plague. Hence why he never wrote anything down about the Borg! ("Resurrection")
* MadDoctor: "Dead Stop" tacks "sadism" onto Phlox's field of expertise.
-->"Whoops, must be some turbulence shaking the hospital bed!"
* MetaphorIsMyMiddleName: Archer, on his way out the door, actually has to instruct Phlox ''not'' to dissect his beagle or use its organs for his creepy experiments. This led Chuck to remark that "Medical Ethics" is Phlox's middle name! ("Azati Prime")
-->"Unfortunately, his ''first'' name is, "What".
* TheMillstone: Phlox's sickbay is a revolving door of unsterilized patients, he leaves canisters of medical waste lying open, and will hand over a patient's entire medical history to anyone who asks for it. ("Regeneration", "A Night in Sickbay", "Fight Or Flight")
-->'''Chuck:''' Patient confidentiality, what's that?!
** Further compounded when one of the few times he ''does'' respect patient confidentiality, he decides to endanger the entire mission to save all of humanity from the Xindi, by not telling Archer that his First Officer is detoxing after a major battle with drug addiction. ("Damage")
* MoralSociopathy: If you step back and look at his actions across the series, he is actually even scarier than on a per-episode basis. Which is not to say he cannot be truly creepy in a single episode. In "Similitude", Trip has managed to get himself critically wounded through his usual boating-based engineering skills. Never one to pass on performing illegal and unethical medical procedures, Phlox grows a clone of trip that [[CloningBlues will only live long enough for Phlox to do a little tissue-harvesting]]. That the clone is fully-sentient and even possesses all of Trip's memories is a minor detail, as is the fact that it might be possible to halt the clone's accelerated aging. But Phlox cannot be bothered to even consider that because it is as much fringe science as, for example, growing a human clone from an alien grub. Plus he was busy, what with having one whole patient in sickbay, and it's not as if he might form any emotional attachments having raised the clone from infancy (and even bottle-feeding it)!
* TheSocialDarwinist: He also operates under the dogmatic belief that "evolution" has slated various races to die, which further alleviates his workload. This attitude eventually leads to the creation of the Breen- which sided with the Dominion later on, causing many casualties- and the ''Pakleds,'' who suffered major cranial shrinkage as the result of Phlox's and Archer's playing god.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ensign Travis Mayweather]]
->...Who?

* AdvertisedExtra: Despite being a main character (according to the opening credits), Travis has fewer subplots than some of the recurring guest stars... or even some of the one-off guest stars.
* FlatCharacter: It's just possible that he may have spent some time in space.
** Made even more obvious in "Dead Stop" when Hoshi lists several fond memories of him and her prank war with him, all of which happened offscreen, leading Chuck to wonder why the writers had to pretend to ''kill'' him in order to give him some actual development?
* PhraseCatcher: Did you know that Travis has been in space?
* ThePollyanna: Nothing, ''nothing'' shakes Mayweather of his good mood. Even the ship getting seven kinds of shit kicked out of it just nudges him down to unflinching optimism. ("Damage")

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Crewman Daniels]]
* TheChooserOfTheOne: Wanted Janeway to solve the Temporal Cold War for him, but was forced to settle for [[TheChosenZero Archer]] instead ("Fury").
* LivingMacGuffin: Sums up his entire character and function in the Temporal Cold War as being;
--> "[[ActorAllusion I'm a tool, I'm a tool]], [[Series/{{Scrubs}} I'm an incredible, unbelievably annoying tool]]".
* PointyHairedBoss: Continually nearly destroys the timeline through sheer incompetence. Daniels will send vitally important historical figures into dangerous situations he can't be bothered to do himself and believes in following vital intelligence provided by the ''enemy'' ("Carpenter Street").
* TimePolice: A really ''bad'' one.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Valakians]]
* FromNobodyToNightmare: After Archer left them to die, they were rescued by the Romulans, who provided them with extensive gene therapy and protective clothing in the hopes of eventually converting them into allies against the Federation. After many years, the Valakians were gradually transformed into the [[GasMaskMooks Breen]] - who would later become allies of the Dominion.
* {{Revenge}}: And they demanded control of Earth at the end of the war as retribution against Archer's Federation.
** Also, the reason why, in "Regeneration," Phlox is capable of coming up with a way to resist assimilation, but that's ''never'' in any other series (despite how ''massively useful'' that would have been in, say, "The Best Of Both Worlds," or the second half of ''Voyager'' where the danger of being assimilated was very, very probable)? Turns out that he was gunned down by Breen Assassins. On one hand, NiceJobBreakingItHero, as that information could have potentially saved the entire Alpha Quadrant a lot of time and trouble, but on the other, you can't really blame them for wanting to gun down Phlox.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Menk]]
* GoneHorriblyWrong: After Archer left them to replace the Valakians, the Menk were abducted and enslaved by the Ferengi; eventually, they overpowered their captors and flew off on their own. Surrounded by technology they didn't really understand and free food to gorge on, the end result is that the Menk became the [[PlanetOfDunceCaps Pakleds]].
[[/folder]]
[[redirect:Characters/SFDebrisStarTrekEnterprise]]

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