TWITrek Character Insight No. 30: Ambassador Soval

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 Ambassador Soval from Enterprise.



Soval serves as ambassador for Vulcan to Earth during the era in which Earth refined warp drive and launched the Enterprise starship. Soval always expressed that Earth should use great caution in exploring the galaxy. His conservative nature led him to battle often with Jonathan Archer and his father Henry before his death.


Soval backed Captain Gardner to lead the Enterprise, but that advice was ignored and Archer led the ship into its first exploration journeys. Soval was a critical piece in the ongoing negotiations between Andorians and Vulcans, and he had to learn to work with Archer after the captain earned the trust of the Andorians. Soval was also a key reason why T'Pol was required to serve as first officer aboard the Enterprise, a role that served the crew of Enterprise well over time as opposed to being a hinderance.


Soval eventually admitted that he earned a respect of humans thanks to his many years serving as ambassador to the planet. His tough love approach seemed to work well, despite his cautionary advice often being ignored. Soval is one of only four characters to appear in all four seasons of Enterprise as a non-regular cast member. Soval appears on 11 total episodes, including several of the most important episodes of the Enterprise series.

The best episodes featuring Soval include Cease Fire, The Forge, and Awakening.

Our notable quotes this week comes from the episode The Forge (ENT 4):
"We don't know what to do about Humans. Of all the species we've made contact with, yours is the only one we can't define. You have the arrogance of Andorians, the stubborn pride of Tellarites. One moment, you're as driven by your emotions as Klingons, and the next, you confound us by suddenly embracing logic."
 
Actor: Gary Graham played Soval, and he is also known for appearances on the Alien Nation movies and more recently on The Jace Hall Show.

Until next time, live long and prosper...