Paramount should consider a Star Trek medical drama

While a spinoff from Star Trek: The Original Series was crushed way back in the sixties, medical dramas are in high demand

Grey’s Anatomy, ER, Private Practice, The Good Doctor, Chicago Med, and The Resident are a few of television’s medical dramas that have been and are successful. Viewers are fascinated by medical emergencies and the lives of the surgeons and medical teams that keep patients alive. I previously wrote about a proposed Star Trek spinoff with Dr. M’Benga who filled in for Dr. McCoy in two episodes of the original series, and while there’s little chance of such a spinoff happening now, Paramount has so many options for putting doctors on the frontlines. But there is one in particular that fans would most likely take an interest in—Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy.

Dr. McCoy was already older when he took over as the Chief Medical Officer aboard the Enterprise so he has an unexplored history. Fans would love to know what his life was like before the Enterprise and see the progression of his friendships and career. As Bones was someone who wasn’t a fan of some technology, this series could be rife with humor, providing the right actor was cast for Dr. McCoy.  Just imagine what it would be like to see Dr. McCoy’s first surgery, his first trip into space as a doctor, and even his first interaction with a Vulcan.

As he was one of the pioneering doctors in space (along with Dr. Phlox from Star Trek: Enterprise), Dr. McCoy has a lot of stories to tell, and this isn’t the first time this suggestion has been made. While some fans want new stories with new characters, other still want to learn more about the original characters because we can never know enough about our favorites.

Utilizing the earlier histories of the doctors (and other characters) gives Paramount more leeway when it comes to the timeline and canon. Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy was one of those doctors who was shrouded in mystery, and it would be interesting to see where his career began and how his personality developed into the loveable curmudgeon that he was.