When it comes to beloved Star Trek characters, Robert Picardo's The Doctor ranks high on the list. From his dry wit to his constant displays of arrogance, the Emergency Medical Hologram became a fan favorite after his debut on Star Trek: Voyager and return in Prodigy.
Now, the Doctor is back on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, with Picardo reprising his role as the cantankerous medical hologram. who teased his character's approaching story arc. He revealed in an interview with TrekMovie.com:
"I would say that, I mean, after 800 years, what’s 801 years? I would say that it’s the relationships that I form with two of the cadets in particular that really show how this experience of teaching at the rebooted Starfleet Academy is changing him. He has two very unique relationships with two of the cadets, one male, one female. So that, I think, is the most interesting development for the character."
Picardo continued by saying:
"And he also has a really a deepening relationship with Nahla, with Holly Hunter’s character, because we don’t really know each other, but we have something really in common. She, being half Lanthanite, is 420 years old. I’m 800 years old, so we can commiserate about the burden of infinitude, which is where the opposite—most humans, at my age, are worrying about mortality, and my character is worrying about lasting forever. It’s a different burden. But when you think about it, it’s got its own challenges."
The Doctor isn't the first character to face such a long life span, but even after 800 years or so, he shows us that there's still room for change and growth.
One of the most captivating relationship types in the Star Trek franchise is the accidental mentor and the student who gets under their skin. Captain Janeway and The Doctor both mentored Seven of Nines, allowing them to observe the experience of what it meant to reclaim oneself after the trauma of captivity and forced physical changes. There's little doubt he carries that experience with him, especially with his ability to recall any moment from his long, long memory.
As a fan of The Doctor, I'm looking forward to watching how Robert Picardo handles his role as a mentor who didn't set out to be a mentor. His return to the character looks like he did no more than shrug on a vintage suit and so far, he's one of the highlights of the series for me!
His "humanity exhausts me" attitude is as on point as ever and will make an interesting ingredient when it comes to mentoring young people. I hope that SAM (Series Acclimation Mil) starts to emulate him completely because they're both holograms, and she thinks The Doctor is the best example of how to be human.
You can catch The Doctor on Starfleet Academy, which is now streaming on Paramount+ with new episodes dropping every Thursday through March 12. And for more Star Trek content, visit the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.