The Strange New Worlds team boldly went back years to pull off this memorable feat.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds just quietly reintroduced the very first doctor to hold down and manage the USS Enterprise's iconic sickbay, while the beloved starship was caught in the deadly grip of a slipstream wormhole, And a former Trek actor played the part perfectly.
Guest actor Brian Markinson was beamed aboard for the SNW season 4 episode as none other than Dr. Phil Boyce. The doctor, who was originally portrayed by veteran Hollywood actor John Hoyt in Star Trek’s first pilot, “The Cage,” joins the crew of the Enterprise in Strange New Worlds season 4’s latest installment, “Off-Hour.”
And while the now popular pilot never made it to television screens in 1965, it doesn’t change the fact that Boyce was the first ever chief medical officer to serve aboard the USS Enterprise NCC-1701.
I can already hear some fans grumbling about Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) technically being the first, but he served aboard the Enterprise NX-01.
Now, if Dr. Boyce’s presence on Strange New Worlds’ “Off-Hour” wasn’t enough, the showrunners, Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers pulled off another incredible bit of casting in bringing aboard a former Star Trek thespian.
Markinson is likely best remembered by Trekkies and Trekkers (without makeup) for playing another physician, Dr. Elias Giger, nearly 30 years ago on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s season 5 episode, “In the Cards.” However, Markinson also appeared in two other [Rick] Berman-Era Treks.
Markinson also portrayed the Boraalan historian Vorin during the final season of Star Trek: The Next Generation in “Homeward.” But here's the role almost everyone in the fandom will remember.
Markinson's most famous Star Trek character — he's hard to recognized under all of Sulan's makeup — came in Voyager as Lt. Peter Durst/the Vidiian physician in the show’s back-to-back episodes “Cathexis” and “Faces.”
Personally, I love when new Treks bring back characters and actors from previous series.
In this case, though, I think Dr. Boyce’s appearance on the Enterprise got lost in all the drama, particularly the jaw-dropping ordeals Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) and Mr. Spock (Ethan Peck) were enduring in Strange New Worlds’ latest episode.
What do you think about Dr. Boyce’s appearance in “Off-Hour?” How about casting a former Star Trek guest actor to play the role? Share your thoughts and comments with us on the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages. And Strange New Worlds season 4’s sixth episode is now streaming on Paramount+.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!
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