5MDV: Proper subsite launch and new fiver

[Nate the Great]

That's the point. Enterprise Vulcans were never REAL Vulcans. They kept protesting that they were emotionless while showing emotions. And somehow that was supposed to endear them to us.



You really think the Vulcans weren't holding Archer back? We seem to be remembering different shows. They held back the entire concept of the Warp 5 ship and the notion of humanity escaping the kiddie pool of Earth's sector. They felt that humanity wasn't ready to initiate first contact with anyone, the Vulcans would introduce new species to them on their timetable.


The point is that if the Tellarites see Earth's potential as a threat (in particular humanity's ideas of how commerce and wealth distribution should work), they could be the ones holding Earth back while the Vulcans act like REAL Vulcans, offering advice and a helping hand while not interfering.


Let's come back to the IDIC. Having diversity is a GOOD thing. Never forget Surak in "The Savage Curtain". "I am pleased to see that we have differences. May we together become greater than the sum of both of us." Enterprise Vulcans acted like there was some Bible equivalent that guided their lives and no new ideas could enter it. A stagnant culture, in other words.


When did Archer want handouts? He just wanted humanity to have the freedom to make its own mistakes and have their own victories.

[Zeke]

I was going from memory there, but it turns out my memory was a bit flawed -- there's some dialogue evidence of the Vulcans throwing their weight around to slow down even Earth's independent progress. That said, there's also evidence that Archer and others blame them for not outright sharing their advancements. (First episode, Archer to T'Pol: "Your scientists held back just enough information to keep [my father] from succeeding.") So it's neither a clean "they held Earth back" or a clean "they just didn't share", and a quick google shows fans debating it many times.

To bring this full circle, while I've generally defended ENT's asshole Vulcans (I think 100 years is more than long enough for a society to change), I've never understood the critics so well as I do now, with Strange New Worlds currently wreaking utter devastation on TOS's Vulcan characters (among others).

Btw, did anyone catch the very old 5MV callback in the fiver?