Doctor (Star Trek)
The Doctor is a male artificial intelligence television character who features in Star Trek.
Contents |
Biography
The Doctor was an Emergency Medical Hologram developed by Starfleet that was installed on U.S.S. Voyager. The EMH was briefly activated during a tour of the U.S.S. Voyager that was given by Vice Admiral Patterson to Captain Kathryn Janeway before she took command of the ship. (VOY: Relativity) On stardate 48308.2, the Starfleet vessel came to be displaced to the Delta Quadrant with the ship's medical officer being killed in the incident. As a result, Ensign Harry Kim was forced to activate the EMH to help treat injured crewmen with the Doctor being forced to engage in medical tasks alone as all the staff had similarly been killed. Intended for short time use, it was determined that the Doctor had to remain active for a long period to maintain the medical needs of the crew as they sought to find a means of returning to the Alpha Quadrant. (VOY: Caretaker)
Later on, Voyager came under attack from the Viidians who came to steal Neelix's lungs during an organ-harvesting raid. In an effort to keep Neelix alive, the Doctor devised a plan to use holographic lungs to allow him to keep breathing artificially. Thus, the Talaxian was kept alive in a major clinical achievement but meant that he was confined to an isotropic restraint and unable to move as it would break the projection of the holographic lungs. An effort was made to recover the stolen organ but ultimately Voyager was unable to retrieve them. However, the Vidiians in conjunction with the Doctor were able to transplant one of Kes's lungs into Neelix. (VOY: Phage)
It was not until Kes volunteered to work with The Doctor as an assistant – and later medical student – that relations between The Doctor and most of the other crew members began to improve. It was Kes who first discovered the crew's disrespectful behavior toward The Doctor; she noticed that, just as with an item of equipment, they never addressed him directly, they barely listened to him, and often exited his presence without deactivating his program. Kes brought the matter to Captain Janeway's attention, asking that The Doctor be treated with greater respect and granted some interpersonal autonomy. Janeway took Kes' advice to heart – somewhat reluctantly, as she herself was aware of The Doctor's questionable bedside manner – but nonetheless granted him partial control over his activation and program. He was subsequently left hurt when it was revealed that the crew were exploring a means of transporting back to the Alpha Quadrant through a small wormhole, as he was the last one to know about this development and would be left on the ship as it was impossible to download his program at this time though it was later learnt that the wormhole only led into the past thus making the entire matter academic. (VOY: Eye of the Needle)
Over time, he developed a personality of his own, and despite his occasional crankiness developed a friendship with much of the crew, particularly Kes and (later) Seven of Nine. His lifestyle was greatly enhanced when a 29th-century portable emitter enabled him to leave the confines of sick bay.
At some point in the year, he participated in a mission with Ensigns Kim and Jehtal where their shuttle was attacked by a hostile species. The attacker fired an energy weapon that badly wounded both pilots where they were transferred to sickbay. It was revealed that the energy weapon used was destroying their nervous systems with the Doctor having to isolate the brain to protect the patient. However, he only had enough time to perform the operation on one patient with both having an equal chance of survival. Ultimately, the Doctor chose Harry Kim with Jehtal dying as a result of the decision. Though programmed to accept losing patients, the death created a conflict within his ethical subroutine over the decision leading to him growing violent. The crew were ultimately forced to wipe the Doctor's memories of the death and the circumstances around it. (VOY: Latent Image)
After Voyager returned to Earth, he married.
Overview
Personality and attributes
Powers and abilities
The universal translator algorithm was written into the EMH's matrix. (VOY: Gravity)
Notes
- The Doctor was portrayed by Robert Picardo where he featured in the setting of the Star Trek universe.
- In an interview with Robert Picardo, the character commented, "I got the part without understanding that the character would be the outsider, the Spock-like character. The character who initially inherited that was Data, who had no emotion and longed to be a real boy in the same way as Pinocchio. I thought that, because Tuvok was a Vulcan character, he would deal with those issues. Once I realized that I had gotten the plum role, it was a delightful surprise. I went from thinking I had the dullest role in the show to believing I may have the best role in the show. That was a little daunting."
Alternate Versions
In other media
Video games
- In Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force, the Doctor appeared in the setting of the first-person shooter video game where he was voiced once again by actor Robert Picardo.
Novels
Appearances
- Star Trek: Voyager:
External Links
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