The Age of Malcolm Reed

[bluetiger]

In the Archer and Tucker friendship thread EntAllat commented,

"In my opinion, the "father/son" dynamic works really well between Travis and Archer because of their age differences (and Travis's enthusiasm and Archer's experience). But it also works well between Archer and Malcolm, despite the fact that Reed's supposed to be only a year younger than Trip."

I watched the entire four years of Enterprise assuming that Malcolm was older than Trip by at least several years. He just seemed older to me. Then when I began to read fanfic he was invariably referred to as being younger. This surprised me. I don't see Malcolm as younger.

Is there any canon to support this, or did people assume it because Trip was of a higher rank? I just thought that Trip was the young 'engineering hot-shot' that rose quickly through the ranks.

It is no big deal, I was just curious.

[entkayjay]

I want to say that his original character bio stated his age as 27 at the beginning of the show, but I'll have to ask around.

[Kathy Rose]

I want to say that his original character bio stated his age as 27 at the beginning of the show, but I'll have to ask around.

I think that's right. I remember reading the official bios and Trip was supposed to be something like 34 when the series started, and Malcolm about 27. It works for the characters, but they cast actors whose ages, at least in Dominic Keating's case, were significantly different. (I must say, though, that he's one of those people who look a lot younger than they are.)

[entkayjay]

Was Trip in his 30's at the start? I've always been under the same impression as Bluetiger, that he was only a year or two older than Malcolm.

Geez, googling old information is getting harder as the internet gets bigger *shakes fist at Google algorithms*. Maybe Trek Today...

* * *

Okay, first bios (some of which changed A LOT ):

Lt. Commander Malcolm Reed: Armory Officer. British. Late 20s - early 30s. In the new age of humanity's enlightenment, Reed is a bit of a throwback. He's a 22rd Century "soldier", all spit and polish and by-the-book. Reed is filled with contradictions. Despite his near-obsession with munitions, he's soft-spoken, shy and awkward around women. When testing a new weapon, he's liable to put on a pair of space-age earplugs because he doesn't like loud noises.

Commander Charlie 'Spike' Tucker: Chief Engineer. Early 30s. A Southerner who enjoys using his "country" persona to disarm people. He has an offbeat, often sarcastic sense of humor. Spike was hand-picked by Captain Archer, who is something of a mentor to him. Although Spike is a brilliant Engineer and an outstanding officer, he has very little first-hand experience with alien cultures, and he's often a "fish out of water" when dealing with new civilizations.

Spike. That one never fails to crack me up.

[Kathy Rose]

Yeah, they were going to nickname him Spike, but for some reason, changed it to Trip. So that info you found is really old, entkayjay. Definitely from before the series aired but before they'd nailed down the details.

[Aquarius]

I had read Trip was 29 on "Broken Bow." But I don't remember where I saw that.

[Kathy Rose]

I found some info at TrekCore on their timeline, but a lot of it's based on supposition and educated guesses. According to the timeline there, Trip was 32 in Broken Bow, and Malcolm was 29.

[ladyrainbow]

I found some info at TrekCore on their timeline, but a lot of it's based on supposition and educated guesses. According to the timeline there, Trip was 32 in Broken Bow, and Malcolm was 29.

I've heard that too. In fact, Malcolm's birthday during "Silent Enemy" was supposed to be his 30th, I think.

[EntAllat]

The first bio I ever read of all the characters was on Startrek.com and was part of the original character profiles published during the first season of the show. That one had their ages as 30 and 29 respectively. I can't find those bios anymore and I've seen the ages listed differently elsewhere since then.

As far as canon goes, I don't think it was ever explicitly stated in the show. The closest I can remember is when Trip is talking about Lorian to T'Pol in E2:
TUCKER: Have you spent any time talking to Lorian?
T'POL: Not really.
TUCKER: You should. He seems like a good kid.
T'POL: He's hardly a kid. He's more than a hundred years old.
TUCKER: Only in the Expanse could I have a son who's nearly three times my age.

That would put Trip somewhere right around 34, 35, making him 31-32 at the start of Enterprise's mission. I can't remember any instance that stated Malcolm's age.

I tend to go with the one-year diff only because my brain is stuck on it now and I can't shake it.

[entkayjay]

I dunno, I'm almost positive he was 27 in Broken Bow, somewhere, somehow, because I and several others have had it in our collective heads that there was a 14 year difference between Reed and Archer. Archer in a later bio was 41 when he took command. I'm sure it was in something official.

Yeah, they were going to nickname him Spike, but for some reason, changed it to Trip. So that info you found is really old, entkayjay. Definitely from before the series aired but before they'd nailed down the details.

That was from the very first details released, posted to Trek Today. Maybe they have a later version somewhere...