TWITrek Character Insight No. 5: Commander Charles Tucker III

This is the latest installment in a series of "Character Insight" articles regarding the rich history of characters in the Star Trek universe.  An audio version will appear on the This Week in Trek podcast, available for direct download here.
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Welcome back to Character Insight!  This week, our subject is Commander Charles Tucker III from Enterprise.



Tucker, who was also known as "Trip" thanks to having the same name as his father and grandfather, served as the Chief Engineer on the Enterprise after Vulcan Subcommander T'Pol became the First Officer under Captain Archer.

Tucker was always striving to learn more about engine technologies, and his contributions helped ensure that the first Warp 2 prototype vessels were successful.  Archer also played a significant role in this success, leading to the lifelong friendship that makes the Captain and his Chief Engineer the closest friends on the Enterprise series.

Although Tucker was devastated by his sister's death in the war against the Xindi, he pushed past his sleepless nights to be a key element in disrupting and destroying the superweapon of the Sphere Builders to save Earth.


Tucker is a true southerner, loving his pan-fried catfish and hushpuppies with Pecan Pie for dessert. Tucker also loves cinema and he keeps a Frankenstein figurine in his quarters to represent his favorite movies.



Tucker also holds a unique role as being the only regular cast member of any Star Trek series to actually die in a series finale.  Also, Tucker joins other "closest comrades" in Spock and Data, who also sacrificed themselves for their captains.

One Notable Quote comes from Desert Crossing in season 1 (episode 24):  
Commander Charles 'Trip' Tucker III: The desert, sir? The heat, the dry air? You know how it sucks the life outta me.
Captain Jonathan Archer: What about the two weeks we spent in Australia? We had a great time.
Commander Charles 'Trip' Tucker III: Survival training in the outback? Drinkin' recycled sweat and eatin' snake meat? That's your idea of a great time?

Best Episodes Featuring Tucker:
Shuttlepod One, season 1 episode 15
Extinction, season 3 episode 3
These Are The Voyages..., season 4 episode 22

Actor: Connor Trinneer played Tucker and appears to have no current extended roles in progress.  Trinneer did play on Stargate Atlantis for 10 episodes over two years.

TWITrek Character Insight No. 4: Lt. Commander Data

This is the latest installment in a series of "Character Insight" articles regarding the rich history of characters in the Star Trek universe.  An audio version will appear on the This Week in Trek podcast, available for direct download here.
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Welcome back to Character Insight!  This week, our subject is Lieutenant Commander Data from TNG.



Data was one of a series of human-like androids developed by Dr. Noonien Soong, and he joined the crew of the Enterprise after becoming the first android to graduate from Starfleet Academy. Data serves a similar role to Picard as Spock does for Captain Kirk in TOS.

Data strives to become more human throughout the TNG series. Although his efforts were largely stifled during the television show, this story becomes the unifying arc linking the four movies with this case.

Data struggles with emotions, turns down human implants from the Borg Queen, and finds true humanity in sacrificing himself to save the crew in Nemesis.  The stories about Data's sentience and humanity are a great theme revisited again by the Doctor character in Voyager.

Data has multiple "siblings," including the evil Lore and the infantile B4. Data has a storage capacity of 800 quadrillion bits, which is about 50 times the storage of the human brain. Data loves playing poker, painting, His cat Spot, and playing Sherlock Holmes in the holodeck.



Data served as the second officer on the Enterprise and being unaffected by disease, radiation, and other ailments saved the rest of the crew on more than one occasion. Data was critical in rebuffing the greatest TNG enemy multiple times, as he led the battle to return Picard from being assimilated and then foiled the Borg queen plan in First Contact.

One Notable Quote comes from Hero Worship in season 5 (episode 11):  
I would gladly risk feeling bad at times, if it also meant that I could taste my dessert.

Best Episodes Featuring Data:
The Measure of a Man, season 2 episode 9
The Quality of Life, season 6 episode 9
Data's Day, season 4 episode 11

Actor: Brent Spiner played Data and continues his acting career currently in the series Fresh Hell. He also appeared as a regular on Night Court in the 1980's and played an eccentric doctor in the movie Independence Day.
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You can contact me on twitter @BuckeyeFitzy and at healertrek.blogspot.com.  Thanks for listening, and see you next week!

TWITrek Character Insight No. 3: Neelix

This is the latest installment in a series of "Character Insight" articles regarding the rich history of characters in the Star Trek universe.  An audio version will appear on the This Week in Trek podcast, available for direct download here.
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Welcome back to Character Insight!  This week, our subject is Neelix, the jack-of-all-trades on Star Trek Voyager.



Neelix is picked up by Voyager in the series premiere when the Starfleet crew saves his Ocampa love Kes from the Kazon.  Neelix serves many roles on Voyager, including travel guide for the Delta Quadrant, chef, and crew morale officer.


Neelix also is one of the more colorful characters having a regular role on a Star Trek television series.  Neelix wears multicolored suits having many pastel hues that contrast sharply from the Voyager-era Starfleet uniforms.  Neelix is a Talaxian, a race having a spotted animal-like appearance based on a combination of animals from the film The Lion King.




From his very first appearance in the transporter room of Voyager, Neelix served as a perfect foil to the reserved logical demeanor of Tuvok, the Vulcan chief of security.  These two characters found mutual respect despite butting heads on multiple occasions.  The highlight of this contrast was a Season 2 episode "Tuvix", in which both men become combined into one new person as a result of a transporter accident.


Neelix represents the organized chaos of the Delta Quadrant and saves the Voyager from many diplomatic mistakes in his years on board.  Neelix leaves the ship when Voyager finds a group of Talaxians living in an asteroid and he becomes Starfleet's permanent ambassador to the Delta Quadrant.

Notable Quote:  
Neelix: How about a riddle?
Tuvok: [irritated] Mr. Neelix...
Neelix: Come on! It'll be fun.
Tuvok: I have no desire for fun.
Neelix: Okay, forget fun. A good riddle can stimulate the mind. Now, no self-respecting Vulcan can say no to that.
Tuvok: [sighs] Very well - *one* riddle.
Riddles, season 6 episode 6

Best Episodes Featuring Neelix:
False Prophets, season 3 episode 5
Mortal Coil, season 4 episode 12
Riddles, season 6 episode 6

Actor: Ethan Phillips has worked in the television and film industry for over three decades, having broken through as Pete Downey in the 1980's series Benson.  His credits are as wide as one can imagine, including roles on L.A. Law, The Young and the Restless, and The Twilight Zone, among others.

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Thanks for listening and please contact me with feedback to discuss who you want to see featured on this segment.  You can find me on twitter @BuckeyeFitzy and at my blog: www.healertrek.blogspot.com.  See you next week!