There is a line in Enterprise‘s eighth episode “Breaking The Ice” which,while some people call it lame, we happen to think it’s halarious, just because of the way it’s delivered.
The scene in question involves Captain Archer having various crew members answer questions from a group of school children in Ireland.
ARCHER: Here’s one from Molly McCook. ‘When you flush the toilet, where does it go?’ That sounds like an engineering question, so we’ll ask Commander Charles Tucker, our Chief Engineer. Trip.
TUCKER: Pause it, will you? (Hoshi does) A poop question, sir? Can’t I talk about the warp reactor or the transporter?
ARCHER: It’s a perfectly valid question. (Tucker nods at Hoshi to resume recording)
Tucker is about to go into an explanation of the Star Trek equivalent of a compost tumbler when his answer is cut short by a well-timed interruption.
The way Tucker says, “A poop question” with that Southern drawl of his is just great. To this day, after seeing that episode I occasionally imagine a somewhat exaggerated Southern accent saying, “Ah Pooop Que-ahs-tyun”
Join us in wishing a Happy Belated Birthday to John Billingsley, Enterprise‘s Dr. Phlox.
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