“So, I feel like I've had this special luck…”
After over 800 years, the beloved EMH Doctor now serves under the watchful eye of Holly Hunter’s Chancellor Nahla Ake in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. For actor Robert Picardo, it’s nothing new for his character to take orders from female commanders like Captain Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager. And he feels “lucky to be in shows that are led by women.” Picardo said in an interview via People:
“I've been really lucky to be in shows that are led by women — China Beach, even before that [Voyager], the Vietnam drama I was in where the point of view character was an Army nurse played by Dana Delaney. So, I feel like I've had this special luck to be on shows where women, female characters, really carried the show or were the dynamos behind the show."
When Voyager first debuted in 1995, it was the first Star Trek series to feature a female lead, Kate Mulgrew, in command of a Federation starship. And with iconic captains like William Shatner’s James T. Kirk and Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) coming before her, Kathryn Janeway (Mulgrew) had plenty of detractors 30 years ago. Picardo said during the same sit-down:
“It takes every new Star Trek show two years or so to kind of hit its stride. And until then, people complain about what kind of female Captain Janeway should be. ‘Do we really need a female captain in the mid-90s?’ I mean, we were 25 years ahead of Doctor Who, having the first female doctor! 25 years!"
Picardo continued by saying:
"And of course, Kate [Mulgrew] really won over all of the initial critics to the idea of taking this traditionally male role. And since then, of course, we've had Captain Michael Burnham, we've had Michelle Yeoh's character, [Philippa Georgiou], and now Holly Hunter.”
I for one love the proud lineage of Starfleet’s female commanders, and Holly Hunter is just the latest in what I’m sure will be an ever-expanding roster. Personally, Janeway is still my favorite, but I’d also like to point out that Star Trek: Prodigy’s Gwyn (Ella Purnell) even gets a shoutout in episode 1 of Starfleet Academy.
For those who didn’t watch the animated series, the USS Prodigy falls into the capable hands of Captain Gwyn in the series finale as the new vessel embarks on a training mission to explore strange new worlds with Hologram Janeway aboard. This is yet another female commander The Doctor served with, but, as I already said, Janeway remains the gold standard for the others, like Nahla Ake, who follow.
Share your thoughts and comments on Robert Picardo’s interview with us on the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages. And Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is now streaming on Paramount+.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!