The Doctor will be more than just comic relief in Star Trek: Prodigy

Robert Picardo is back in Star Trek: Prodigy as The Doctor or EMH (Emergency Medical Hologram) he portrayed on Star Trek: Voyager for seven years. The season two trailer of the animated series showed him with the crew of the Protostar, who are now cadets-in-training. And though The Doctor was always one to bring comic relief to Voyager, he certainly had his serious moments. And, according to Picardo, who was at the Star Trek San Francisco convention on Friday [via Trekmovie], that will be the same for his return on Prodigy.

"“What’s wonderful about the writing of the show is that they maintain what I love most about doing Voyager itself, which was I could be a comic relief, but on a dime I could turn and it could get quite serious when it was a dire situation. [Prodigy] used me for comic relief, believe me, in a lot of scenes, in a lot of episodes. But there are some dramatic moments which was really a pleasure to do as well.”"

- Robert Picardo

Prodigy has its fair amount of humor, but it does lean into the serious when it needs to, like when Hologram Janeway sacrificed herself for the Protostar crew. The series is geared toward younger viewers, but still keeps in mind that everyday life isn't sunshine and roses so including the more somber moments shows a more nuanced view of this particular Trek world.

Though we're looking forward to The Doctor's unique personality and liberal doses of sarcasm, the juveniles trying to make it into Starfleet Academy will need guidance to help them continue on their path. And Admiral Janeway won't always be able to be there. Adding Picardo to the cast of Prodigy is a brilliant move as The Doctor is already a proven teacher. And he was one of the best characters on Voyager!