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Jolene Blalock Criticizes ENTERPRISE Writing, Says Vulcan Characterization Inconsistent

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By GustavoLeao / 01:34, 11 September 2004 / Enterprise

The latest issue of Cinefantastique magazine, just out in the US, features an exclusive interview with STAR TREK ENTERPRISE star Jolene Blalock, in which the actress talks to journalist Jeff Bond about her disappointment in the overall level of writing on the show. Here are a few excerpts.

"The concepts with the shows aren't the problem; I think the concepts are amazing," Blalock told the magazine "The issue is the dialogue. I personally believe that T'Pol should have more of her Vulcan culture. I don't believe she should be so desperate to be like everyone else, because the original STAR TREK which I grew up with, had a very simple message that I took from it, and that is that not everyone is like me, and I'm not perfect, and nobody's perfect, and that's okay. That really helped me. I think that T'Pol could be okay with being Vulcan, she shouldn't have to want to be Vulcan. In the dialogue... why is it that when we're trying to teach each other something, all of our analogies involve Earth lore? Don't our cultures have their own lore that might make for good messages."

Ironically, Blalock'a attitude is in line with that of many old-guard TREK fans who see ENTERPRISE as diluting the core elements of the franchise mythology; for Blalock the damage is done in small increments. "In [the first season's] 'Shadows of P'Jem', they made this huge story about how Vulcans were undermining Starfleet and had some kind of agenda, but they never went to readdress it." says Blalock "Then there's this episode in which T'Pol gets sick, terminally ill, and they never readdress it. There's the characteristic where Vulcans don't eat food with their hands, and yet they'll write scenes where T'Pol is eating popcorn at a movie or Trip will bring T'Pol a peach. It's just so strange to me, and I think that as a character you should be okay with who you are and or who you're meant to be."

To read the full interview, get the latest issue of Cinefantastique, at your local newstand.



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RE: Regarding her past comments | Report this post to moderator
By: SirTrekker (Odo's file, contact) @ 12:24:28 on Sep 13, 2004

Don't worry, I'm not offended, even though I still, for the most part, disagree with you. I have a little trouble believing that she had NO idea whatsoever of her character's path this past season. Surely she had to have SOME idea of what was to take place. I'll buy the possibility that the severity of T'Pol's situation may not have been revealed to her right away at the beginning of season 3, but as the scripts came in and she was made more aware of what was going on, one would think that if she disagreed so much with it, she'd speak up about it. True, she might not have been able to change the outcome, but at least it'd be well-known that she was doing it under protest.

See, I'm not having a problem with the fact that she's offended by what happened to T'Pol. Good for her; she should be offended. But, the timing of her comments are just too uncanny, regardless of what she's said in the past.

When have the writers ever acknowledged the criticism about Enterprise? Well, I'd say that they're making a genuine effort now, after they've seen how close they came to losing their jobs at the end of last season. I'd like to believe they received some sort of wake-up call. What they produce as a result may not please everybody, but they're definately making some moves to rectify things. If Jolene's comments don't inspire them to redeem T'Pol in some way, then it's as if her protestations have fallen on deaf ears.

Well, that's all I'm gonna say on this subject. Back to the exile!

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