Who doesn’t love the drama and intrigue of a well-written suspenseful medical drama series? As a kid, I loved Doogie Howser, M.D., and how this socially awkward teenage doctor (Neil Patrick Harris) would solve impossible medical cases despite the misgivings of attending adult doctors and nurses.
Medical drama series have been a fan favorite pastime since the first American medical drama Dr. Kildare (starring Richard Chamberlain) aired in the 1960s. Since then, we have cheered, mourned, and sobbed our way through medical melodrama in series such as ER, Chicago Med, The Good Doctor, Boston Med, House, Private Practice, Nurse Jackie, and arguably the most successful medical drama series with 19+ seasons – Grey’s Anatomy.
These medical series are typically set in either a clinic or hospital of some kind where patients are treated for a variety of ailments and medical conditions. Add in the theatrics of the interactions between the medical staff and their patients, conflicts with interpersonal relationships among the staff (romantic or otherwise), and through in a few rare diseases or unexplained illnesses and you may just have a medical series hit on your hands!
The studio model for the USS Pasteur hospital ship -- still labeled as its original name, the USS Olympic -- used in the #StarTrek TNG series finale, "All Good Things." pic.twitter.com/lekRmnYCDD
— TrekCore.com 🖖 (@TrekCore) June 30, 2018
Medical Starship USS Pasteur could lead to a Star Trek medical show
So why couldn’t Star Trek creators do the same and develop a medical sci-fi spin-off series based on a medical starship and its crew? There have been several medical starships that have either been shown or mentioned in Star Trek canon such as the USS Pasteur (S7 E25,26 TNG) from a future timeline that was captained by Dr. Beverly Crusher (Cheryl Gates McFadden).
The USS Pasteur, likely named after Louis Pasteur (the French microbiologist who discovered the principles of vaccinations and his namesake pasteurization), is an Olympic-class medical starship. With warp speeds up to a maximum of Warp 9.2, Pasteur has 27 decks, and a crew of 750 that can accommodate up to 2500 passengers with a maximum of 8000.
Featuring the USS Pasteur in a sickbay series spin-off from TNG on medical, research, and humanitarian missions would be a refreshing twist to Star Trek canon. If Star Trek creators are still ambivalent about Star Trek: Legacy, the premise of a crew of young legacy Starfleet officers could still be viable in the medical series spin-off called Star Trek: Pasteur.
We learned in Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard that Jean-Luc fathered a son, Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) with Dr. Beverly Crusher. Getting a legacy handoff from its previous captain (Dr. Beverly Crusher), for continuity, Jack could be a formidable young captain of the USS Pasteur. With a crew of legacy officers on medical, research, and humanitarian missions, and his mother’s medical acumen along with his father’s diplomatic and tactical prowess - Captain Jack Crusher and the USS Pasteur could be the foundation of an intriguing new way to tell Medical Starfleet stories for Star Trek creators!