Jolene Blalock played Subcommander T’Pol in all four seasons ofStar Trek: Enterprise, but Jolene has also embodied a handful of other variants of her Vulcan Science Officer. Introduced inEnterprise’s series premiere, Blalock had the unenviable task of developing a new Vulcan character in the shadow of Leonard Nimoy’s Mr. Spock. Jolene rose to the challenge with a performance that honored Nimoy’s legendary Vulcan while alsoturning T’Pol into a singularStar Trekheroine who remains beloved20 years afterStar Trek: Enterprisewas canceled.
Star Trek: Enterprisewas a controversial (for the time) prequel that established thefirst Starship Enterprisewasn’t the Constitution Class vessel commanded by Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) and Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner). Instead, a century beforeStar Trek: The Original Series, the NX-01 led byCaptain Jonathan Archer(Scott Bakula) was retconned as the first Enterprise to explore the galaxy.Enterprise’s retcon included Subcommander T’Pol, who predated Spock as the first Vulcan to serve as Science Officer aboard the Enterprise.Yet other versions of T’Pol have also popped up onEnterpriseand in the greaterStar Trekfranchise.
T’Pol In Star Trek: Enterprise
Subcommander T’Pol Was Retconned As Enterprise’s First Vulcan Science Officer
Subcommander T’Pol served aboard the NX-01 Enterprise in the dual role of Science Officer and First Officer to Captain Archer.AlthoughStar Trek: Enterpriseonly aired for four seasons, Archer’s Enterprise was in service for 10 years, from 2151-2161, with T’Pol part of the crew for the duration. Originally a short-term liaison representing the Vulcan Science Council,T’Pol grew disillusioned with the corrupt Vulcan governmentand eventually aligned herself with her Starfleet crew mates aboard Enterprise.
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T’Pol’s experience, intelligence, and logic proved invaluable to the NX-01 Enterprise, especially in the tumultuous early portion of Captain Archer’s voyages.It’s logical to surmise that Enterprise would not have survived without T’Pol. However, T’Pol was often mired with storylines that victimized her or showcased Jolene Blalock’s sex appeal, which the actress was critical of. Nonetheless,Enterprise’s retcon means T’Pol canonically laid the groundwork for Vulcans in Starfleet, from Spock to Lt. Tuvok (Tim Russ) onStar Trek: Voyager.
Jolene Blalock was not in favor of T’Pol and Trip’s love affair.
T’Pol’s romantic relationship with Enterprise’s Chief Engineer,Commander Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer), is arguably the lasting impression and legacy of the Vulcan. The mismatched duo became a fan favorite odd couple, although Jolene Blalock was not in favor of T’Pol and Trip’s love affair. Still,T’Pol emerged as both a Starfleet legend and a legend of equal magnitude to real lifeStar Trekfans.
T’Mir In Star Trek: Enterprise Season 2
Jolene Blalock Played T’Pol’s Ancestor, T’Mir
Jolene Blalock’s first performance as a variant of T’Pol was playing T’Mir, T’Pol’s second foremother (great-grandmother), inStar Trek: Enterpriseseason 2, episode 2, “Carbon Creek.” Although T’Mir was T’Pol’s ancestor,Blalock portraying T’Mir hints that the two Vulcans are physically similar, if not identical. T’Pol left Captain Archer and Trip the impression that her story was apocryphal, butStar Trek: Enterpriseshowing T’Mir’s purse as T’Pol’s heirloom indicates “Carbon Creek” happened as T’Pol described.
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InStar Trek: Enterprise’s “Cabon Creek,” T’Mir was part of a Vulcan expeditionary ship that crash-landed near Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania, in 1957, 106 years beforeEarth’s official First Contact with the Vulcans. For months, the trio of Vulcan castaways lived among the humans and kept them aware they were aliens. When it came time to be rescued, T’Mir returned to Vulcan, butshe also altered Earth history by selling humans the Vulcan technology of Velcro.
T’Pol In Star Trek: Enterprise Mirror Universe
T’Pol Was A Victim Of The Mirror Universe’s Terran Empire
One of Jolene Blalock’s most memorable variant T’Pols is the Vulcan’s Mirror Universe counterpart.Star Trek: Enterpriseseason 4’s “In a Mirror, Darkly,” introduced the 22nd century Terran Empire’s ISS Enterprise, where Commander T’Pol served as Science Officer.Vulcans were a species conquered by the Terrans in the Mirror Universe,and T’Pol was hated and regarded by suspicions by her crew mates.
T’Pol warned Archer that the Terran Empire would ultimately pay for its arrogance, words that became prophetic when the Terrans were conquered by the Klingon and Cardassian Alliance by the 24th century.
Regardless, Commander Jonathan Archer made T’Pol his First Officer during his scheme to steal the 23rd century Constitution Class USS Defiant, which traveled to the Mirror Universe fromStar Trek’s Prime timelineand was held by the Tholians.T’Pol betrayed Archer,but he still needed her scientific expertise to help operate the Defiant. Mirror T’Pol was last seen as a prisoner of Archer and Hoshi Sato (Linda Park), who ordered the Vulcan’s execution.
Hologram T’Pol In Star Trek: Enterprise’s Finale
Commander Will Riker Consulted T’Pol In The Holodeck
In a pair of instances inStar Trek: Enterpriseseasons 2 and 3, Jolene Blalock portrayed illusions of T’Pol. But inStar Trek: Enterprise’s controversial series finale, Blalock played T’Pol as a hologram.Enterprise’s series ender centered onStar Trek: The Next Generation’s Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), who consulted the crew of the NX-01 Enterprise in the USS Enterprise-D’s holodeck to help him solve a moral dilemma.Enterprise’s actors did not portray their flesh-and-blood characters in their own series finale.
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T’Pol inStar Trek: Enterprise’s finale was years removed from her romance with Trip Tucker, and she was winding down the NX-01 Enterprise’s decades-long mission. Hologram T’Pol had touching scenes with Trip before his death, a heartfelt moment with Captain Archer before he helps found the United Federation of Planets, and amusing interludes with Riker posing asEnterprise’s mystery chef.Still,Blalock publicly criticizedStar Trek: Enterprise’s finale, echoing fans' feelings.
T’Pol In Star Trek: Lower Decks
An Alternate Reality T’Pol Explores The Multiverse
Credited with only her first name, Jolene made a surprise comeback as T’Pol inStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 5, episode 9, “Fissure Quest.” However,Jolene voiced T’Pol from an alternate realitywhere she had been married to Trip Tucker for decades.Star Trek: Lower Decks' variant T’Pol was the First Officer of Section 31’s Defiant Class starship Anaximander commanded by Captain William Boimler (Jck Quaid). The Anaximander’s mission was to find the culprit opening up Quantum Reality fissures throughout the multiverse.
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Jolene Blalock hadn’t portrayed T’PolsinceStar Trek: Enterpriseended in 2005, but she picked up the Vulcan as if 19 years hadn’t passed. InStar Trek: Lower Decks, T’Pol struck up a one-sided friendship with Curzon Dax (Fred Tatastciore). When Curzon was dying, T’Pol downloaded the Dax symbiont’s memories into her brain via mind-meld, preserving Dax for its next host. Jolene’s return as T’Pol inStar Trek: Lower Decksproved that time had not diminished fans' love affair with T’Pol.
