9. “Doctor’s Orders” – Star Trek: Enterprise
Humanity is a pack species, and because of that, most alien races in Star Trek are as well. The idea of family and community is huge in this universe and the impact of having one is prevalent and obvious in most episodes. What happens, however, when you’re left alone to fend for yourself?
Enter “Doctor’s Orders”, one of Enterprise’s best episodes ever. The premise is pretty simple, Enterprise has to go through a disturbance in space that will affect humans making it a necessity to put the crew in comas or suffer adverse side effects. Since Phlox is Denobulian, he’s not at risk and can stay away during the duration of the ship crossing the disturbance.
While the effects won’t be evident on Phlox, what will affect him is the isolation and loneliness that will come with the mission. While Porthos, Captain Archer’s dog, is along for the ride with Phlox, it doesn’t help the ship’s doctor as much as another person. Luckily for Phlox, he’s not alone, as he gets to deal with horrific hallucinations of the sleeping human crew, and the occasional meal with the only other awake member of the crew; T’Pol.
Since she’s a Vulcan, it’s basically the same thing as being alone. The scares and spooks in this episode are great but there’s an even better twist ending that really hits home. A must-see no matter the time of year.