As fans get excited for Starfleet Academy, one famed Star Trek star is detailing how his character will be changing for the show!
As Star Trek: Strange New Worlds continues on its third season, fans are already looking ahead to Starfleet Academy. The upcoming series picks up from the end of Discovery as in the 32nd century, a rebuilt Federation is forming the first new Starfleet Academy class in a hundred years.
The show will have a fresh-faced cast as the cadets with some veterans mixed in. That includes Oscar winner Holly Hunter as Nahla Ake, the chancellor of the Academy. There are also going to be appearances from Discovery stars such as Tig Notaro and Oded Fehr.
There’s also one face more than familiar to Star Trek fans: Robert Picardo as the EMH Doctor from Voyager. Thanks to being a hologram, the Doctor is still around in this future time and ready to give his unique perspective to this class.
Speaking to Cinemablend, Picardo noted how he was honored to return as the Doctor and knowing how important it was for the fans to make the character shine.
“I felt a responsibility to be a role model for them, whatever that means. In other words, to know my lines, to be on time and sharp, but mostly I wanted to be a careful custodian of my character. The character I played is like a dear old friend to me now, so I did want to be careful that whatever I did in the show honored the tradition that the character had that made sense to me.”
That responsibility was carried to Picardo, making some bold choices with the role of the Doctor that will be a bit different than what fans are used to.
How is the Doctor different in Starfleet Academy?
The Doctor may be a holographic program, but he’s also a being who’s learned and evolved over the years. It thus makes total sense that a thousand years in the future, the Doctor will be different, with Picardo noting how he had to adjust his performance.
“The language is different in the 32nd century than it was in the 24th century. We never said any bad words in the 24th century. We spoke sort of this not Mid-Atlantic English, sort of mid-Galactic English, so there are differences in the show that I had to get used to. Mostly, it was the way the cadets spoke, and then I had to use their own vernacular when I talked to them. So I speak differently as well, but it's a reaction, and it's to gain their attention and hopefully their respect.”
Picardo’s words show the Doctor will be like any older person trying to talk to a younger generation. It’s also logical how languages will have evolved over a millennia in the Federation, and the discovery of new alien species means even more dialects being discovered.
Obviously, shifting from a network like Voyager to streaming will be different for Picardo. The idea of the Doctor dropping curses may seem odd, but then he always was known for his temper. It also fits that the Doctor's attitude will have changed from his centuries of existence.
If anything, having the Doctor be just like he was on Voyager or Prodigy wouldn’t make sense and just be a retread of old plots. A Doctor who’s been around to see the Federation nearly fall and then recover is more interesting and fodder for more drama. Picardo himself looks to be set to enjoy taking on the role again and having the EMH and his sardonic humor around will make Starfleet Academy even better for fans.
Starfleet Academy premieres on Paramount+ in 2026.
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