One of the returning characters on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will be The Doctor from Star Trek: Voyager (and Prodigy), with Robert Picardo reprising the role . And now he is talking about the show and his character and how it all ties together into the themes of Star Trek.
The 900 year old Doctor
This week Bob Picardo took some time away from shooting Starfleet Academy in Toronto to appear on local television (TVO Today: The Agenda) to talk about his career in Trek, and the subject of the new show came up. Picardo gave a brief breakdown of how The Doctor, who first came online on the USS Voyager in the 24th century, finds himself at the new Starfleet Academy in the 32nd century:
They’ve taken me out of holographic mothballs. The character is an artificial intelligence. He’s now several hundred years old, but it is set in the more distant future that Star Trek: Discovery propelled itself into. So in that future that my character is now several hundred years old, maybe 900 years old. Remarkably, I don’t look that much older. But I’m having a ball working on it, revisiting the character.
He also noted how that new setting fits in with the themes of the show:
If you follow Discovery, this terrible thing called “The Burn” basically destroyed Starfleet Academy, everything was destroyed in the future. So now it’s come back. So it’s really about, rebirth, redemption, all of the great themes of after a tragedy, of rebuilding.
Picardo shared some insights into the cast of characters:
We’ve got Holly Hunter, who’s an extraordinary movie star, Oscar-winning actress who is leading our show as the Chancellor of [Starfleet Academy]. The first season villain is Paul Giamatti. And then there’s this incredible cast of new young actors – many of them have credits – they’re just new to me. But they’re just really talented and unique, and their characters – both in the writing and their performance – I find very well defined. So I’m excited.
Picado with Academy cast and producers at table read in August (Paramount+)
Bridging the Trek generations
When the host suggested that Picardo is acting as a bridge for fans between the older shows and the new, Picardo said he embraced that position:
I am a bridge. Our executive producer Alex Kurtzman has said, “You’re the bridge between the past of Star Trek and the future,” and that touched me to hear that. Yeah, I do feel that it’s a responsibility of a saga that has meant so much to now three generations… we’re working on three generations that find some kind of solace and comfort in the fact that humanity will not only have a future that far out, but that it will be a positive one. And all sorts of problems we seem to have in the present that kind of toxic seem to be worked through in the future. And obviously, in Star Trek is a little darker now than it was, the newer shows and the fact that this thing called “The Burn” happen in the future. And really, so many different cultures were damaged or destroyed. But now, the optimism of renewing our commitment to our ideals and rebuilding. All of that are really important messages to hear in troubled times. Obviously, the original Star Trek was during the turbulent ‘60s and times are fairly turbulent right now.
We still don’t now a lot about how The Doctor fits in with the new Academy. On The Agenda Picardo said he wasn’t breaking anything in his “lengthy” NDA, noting the producers have already revealed the setting of the show and his appearance. At Star Trek: Las Vegas during a panel with Picardo, he got Alex Kurtzman on speakerphone, who explained why they included the Doctor, saying: “In Star Trek: Prodigy The Doctor is there teaching cadets at Starfleet Academy and so it seemed very logical that he would still be there in the future in the 32nd century.” On the same speakerphone call shared at STLV was co-showrunner Noga Landau, who teased “He is going to do things we have never seen The Doctor do before.”
Robert Picardo gets the ‘Academy’ showrunners on speakerphone at STLV 2024 (Photo: TrekMovie)
Production on the new series began in late August and is still ongoing at Pinewood Studios in Toronto, Ontario. Paramount has not set a release date for the first season, but on Toronto TV, Picardo warned there may be a long wait:
It’s going to be a while until people get to see it… I’ve heard early 2026.
At New York Comic Con last month Robert Picardo was a surprise panelist, coming down from Toronto to help announce the show has already been picked up for a second season.
Bob Picardo with Lower Decks showrunner Mike McMahan at New York Comic Con 2024 reception (Getty Images for Paramount+)
It’s worth watching the full interview with Picardo who sat for 23 minutes with TVO Today talking about Toronto transit and his lengthy career, including the ad-lib that landed him the job on Voyager and how he weaseled his way into Star Trek: First Contact.
Not counting Picard and recastings, is this the first actual appearance of someone from ’90s Star Trek in 21st Century Star Trek? I cannot recall.
TNG had McCoy, DS9 had Picard, Voyager had Quark, and Enterprise had Cochrane.
DIS had Sarek, but that was a recast, and SNW gets Pike, Spock, Uhura, Kirk, Chapel, and Scotty, but those are also recast.
Picard, goes without saying, got the TNG cast and Tuvok, but that was a separate thing.
We still don’t know WHICH Doctor, though. Odds are it’ll be the one from VOY, but what about the one from Living Witness?
The one from Living Witness eventually got back to Earth and opened a Hotel in Torquay.
Heh.
It was going to take him 900 years or so to return to the Alpha Quadrant, no? More due to the Burn I’m sure.
The Living Witness version was already in the 31st century, not the 24th. And it wouldn’t have taken him 900 years to get home from the Delta Quadrant, more like a few decades at best.
True, true. I misremembered that. He could still show up, if he used a transwarp conduit.
Oh yeah, I think there is a decent chance we’ll see The Living Witness Doctor at some point as well. What’s better than having one Doctor? Having two of them! ;)
Indeed. And we might see more holograms, heh.
We could see Hologram Janeway too…
Yeah we very well could. I see all the usual fan speculation everywhere and many are suggesting you could see a hologram Archer, Riker, Kim, Scotty, Seven, Hoshi, Spock, Bashir you name it to show up. Not saying they will but absolutely nothing stops it either. It’s the 32nd century, anything is possible basically.
That was my hope for Discovery. I hoped we’d see Tilly or Michael visit a Starfleet museum and see holograms of all those characters. Alas, it was not to be.
Hopefully the academy setting of this show will allow for that. Specially Archer, who founded the Federation.
I was hoping we see a holographic Archer in Picard in season 3 when they got to the fleet museum lol.
But that’s why I think the Academy setting will be much more interesting than many people believe. I know many wanted it in the 24th or 25th century and that way you can have the characters appear for real. But I still think it’s just a more interesting idea to set it after the Burn. And I just love the idea we can learn a lot about Federation history post-Picard. They can have students directly interacting with legacy characters in simulated missions or history lessons. Because of the Burn, they will be learning just about as much as what the Federation used to be since they will be helping to rebuild it and can show many of the pioneers that were a part of it.
Again, I’m not saying they will do any of this but the fact that they can excites me.
The curator of the academy’s hologram museum should be a hologram of Barclay.
Too bad there can’t be an interactive hologram of Boothby. Best we could hope for is a static one…
I was hoping for a recorded President Archer speech like Zephram Cochrane’s in the Enterprise pilot at the end of Picard season 3.
Why Picard, why not Discovery? It would have fit well with the unveiling of the Archer shipyards.
The problem was that DISC should have been post-TNG in the first place; build its own legs rather than rely upon past tropes. In fact, had the studios weren’t so…whatever, THE OROVILLE could have been a ‘Trek series, one set far away in the TNG era while honoring it. DISC could have been its own thing from the start. Ridiculous.
Speaking to the choir on that brother.
By this era the mobile emitter should be old tech too so they could go anywhere
In theory, for sure.
I’m hoping in this era holograms are their own species.
I have to believe by the time of Living Witness Starfleet populated the Delta Quadrant. Heck, Janeway was able to in Prodigy. I bet the Doctor got home in no time.
True.
Yep and a couple centuries before there was Captain Braxton who could travel there in no time too.
I agree with this as well. Even Q in Death Wish said Starfleet would be in the Delta Quadrant by the 26th century. And as you said they were already getting there faster in Prodigy.
So probably by the 31st century there are probably Federation colonies and bases in that area.
Yep and detechting the Doctor’s federation based holographic matrix shouldn’t be too much of an issue for them I would imagine.
But don’t forget The Burn. Could have complicated things for him.
Also we don’t know what tech the civilization that discovered him had.
I’m not sure I understand your question. You note yourself Picard is full of characters from the ‘90s shows, reprised by the original performers, and both Lower Decks and Prodigy have a bunch as well. Of the five recent / current regular TV shows (as opposed to the Short Treks – really more additional material for the other shows than a discrete series in its own right, arguably), it’s only Discovery and Strange New Worlds that haven’t had any performers from the earlier eras of the franchise return for encores (and SNW does feature people reprising roles they’d played on Discovery, and now for that matter ones from Lower Decks; of the ten regular TV series in the franchise, Discovery is really kind of alone in not having people from prior productions reprise roles in it, and even that ceases to be the case once you include the Short Treks, since there’s at least one character who popped up first there and was then reprised by the same performer in Discovery proper).
I don’t count animation, heh. And Picard was a continuation rather than a new series.
In terms of live action, yes, but obviously many have been on LDS and Prodigy as well including the Doctor himself. We did see old footage of the original Spock and Picard in Discovery though.
It’s clearly the original Doctor from Voyager since he’s around 900 years old. In a separate interview, there was a mention he was already mentoring the young kids from Prodigy and implied he would eventually be part of Starfleet Academy in the 25th century. So it’s the original.
Oops, I should’ve read the entire article but they included the statement that I mentioned that he was already teaching the kids from Prodigy so it is the original Doctor.
“At Star Trek: Las Vegas during a panel with Picardo, he got Alex Kurtzman on speakerphone, who explained why they included the Doctor, saying: “In Star Trek: Prodigy The Doctor is there teaching cadets at Starfleet Academy and so it seemed very logical that he would still be there in the future in the 32nd century.”
Cool.
“is this the first actual appearance of someone from ’90s Star Trek in 21st Century Star Trek? I cannot recall.”
I suppose so, assuming you’re also excluding animation, re-used actors, archive footage, though that just leaves Discovery, parts of Short Treks, and Strange New Worlds.
Spoilers ahead if there’s anything you’re not caught up on, including trailers for upcoming Lower Decks.
Lower Decks had James Cromwell as Zefram Cochrane, John de Lancie as Q, Shannon Fill as Sito Jaxa, Jonathan Frakes as Riker, Susan Gibney as Leah Brahms, J.G. Hertzler as Martok, Alice Krige as the Borg Queen, Robert Duncan McNeill as Tom Paris and Nick Locarno, Lycia Naff as Sonya Gomez, Armin Shimerman as Quark, Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi, Nana Visitor as Kira, Garrett Wang as Harry Kim (upcoming), and Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher. He’s not 90’s (or 2000’s), but they also had George Takei as Sulu.
Prodigy had Robert Beltran as Chakotay, Billy Campbell as Okona, Ronny Cox as Edward Jellico, Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher, Kate Mulgrew as Janeway, Robert Picardo as The Doctor, and Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher.
If one counts the very Short Treks shorts, they had 90’s/2000’s actors Jonathan Frakes as Riker, Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher (she’s everywhere!), Ethan Phillips as Neelix, Armin Shimerman as Quark, and Connor Trineer as Trip (the only returning appearance from Enterprise so far). They also had George Takei as Sulu.
You said “not from Picard“, but since I’ve come this far… In addition to the obvious Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard and the rest of the “big seven” in season 3 (Jonathan Frakes as Riker, LeVar Burton as La Forge, Michael Dorn as Worf, Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher, Brent Spiner as Data [and Lore/B-4], Marina Sirtis as Troi), they had Daniel Davis as Moriarty, John de Lancie as Q, Jonathan del Arco as Hugh, Elizabeth Dennehy as Shelby, Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan, Michelle Forbes as Ro, Alice Krige as the Borg Queen, Tim Russ as Tuvok, Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine, and Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher.
There’s also been assorted archive footage, of which the most interesting is arguably the video from “Unification II” or the picture from “The Chase”, both in Discovery.
Although in a funny but hard-to-notice glitch, I want to say Picard himself technically appears in Strange New Worlds due to a reused exterior shot from Star Trek: Picard of Starfleet Headquarters or something.
In terms of re-used actors in different roles, off the top of my head Clint Howard appeared in TOS, DS9, Discovery, and Strange New Worlds and Annie Wersching appeared in Enterprise and Picard, plus the obvious Brent Spiner as Altan and Adam Soong. Probably other actors too, though I don’t think that’s what you were looking for.
So, yeah, I think this is the first appearance of a 90’s Trek actor in non-archive footage resuming their previous role in a live-action Star Trek show other than Picard if that’s what you were asking. Assuming it’s the same Doctor (or the “Living Witness” version since that’s pre-existing) or some other backup that would arguably make this a different role.
Prodigy also had Rene Auberonois as Odo.
I’d imagine (and I’m only speaking for myself here) that Mr. Auberjonois’ performance as the good constable on “Prodigy” was not mentioned (along with performances by Leonard Nimoy as Spock, Nichelle Nichols as Uhura and James Doohan as Scotty in the same episode) because those “appearances” were repurposed audio clips from previous episodes/films and not genuine new performances like Gates was in that episode.
Yes, great point. It was wonderful to still see them all.
No doubt about it… I got a little misty when I first saw that scene.
Me too. It was bittersweet to see them all back.
Heck ya it was.
That and the original post said they weren’t counting “non-archive” appearances in animated productions. Oops
Indeed.
I’m hoping for the one from Living Witness.
Same.
Heck maybe they will have both?
If you ignore everything, this is the first Star Trek show…
Just animation and Picard since that was a direct sequel.
I actually watched this interview yesterday on Youtube as well. I think bringing in the Doctor on this show was a brilliant move just like bringing in Seven on Picard. He’s a really popular and iconic character obviously and it will at least get some fans who are on the fence about this show to tune in.
It is interesting they decided not to go with The Living Witness version as many assumed would be the case; but I guess they wanted the original and someone who has literally lived the last millennium and now has a wealth of Federation history and experience under him.
I really liked what Alex Kurtzman told Robert Picardo and The Doctor is the ‘bridge’ between classic Trek and NuTrek. It’s a delight for old fans but give new fans a gateway to watch Voyager if they fall in love with the Doctor like so many others have over the past 30 years. And just like Prodigy is doing that will give kids or new fans a reason to try out Voyager.
I’m not a big fan of NuTrek as you know, but I have enjoyed a lot of the returning characters that we’ve gotten so far, especially in Picard season 3. They have given a lot of attention to TNG and VOY characters since they seem to appear in most of the new shows. Understandable as I imagine both shows still get tons of views by old and new fans. I still would like to see more DS9 and Enterprise actors in time though.
I also agree they probably wanted a living witness (see what I did there) to the last 900 years of history and why the original Doctor is there.
Yeah, that is such a great point and Kurtzman probably meant both literally and figuratively since the Doctor is the first 24th century legacy character (that we know of anyway) living in the 32nd century and obviously Picardo being the only legacy actor on the show.
And I would’ve been fine if it was The Living Witness version but I think the show runners wanted the original character that was directly part of the Voyager crew. It does make it feel more special.
And I also agree, it’s great to use him as a gateway to get newer fans to check out Voyager since he’s now part of two modern shows (and the Doctor has shown up in DS9 and First Contact as well. Picardo is catching up to Frakes in terms of appearances lol).
But your point about VOY characters showing up on various shows is funny because I always go back to a conversation I had with a former member here, pre-Picard show, who said that the modern shows would probably do their best not to even reference shows like DS9, VOY, etc because they weren’t as ‘mainstream’ as TNG was back in the day; even though probably 90% of people who is paying to even watch these new shows are the same people who watched those lol. But they were convinced those shows and characters would basically be non-existent in the modern era.
And now look where we are just a few years later? Voyager is represented everywhere in NuTrek today because it’s obviously still a very popular and watched show. It also proves just how myopic some fans are as if these shows have been forgotten since the 90s or have ignored all the new fans that have found these shows in the last 20 years. And of course all the new people making these shows today grew up watching those shows when they were in high school or college and obviously had a big impact on their life.
Today its different but I just never understood the older myopic fans who convinced themselves that the older shows would just fade into oblivion or the prime universe was gone forever and we’ll never see those characters again once the Kelvin movies started or that you can’t make more stories pass Nemesis for some bizarre reason. Apparently it’s all been told and no one cares about going forward, we just want endless prequels lol. Now we have a show that takes place in the 32nd century starring a 900 year old Voyager character; which is what most people are talking about. I think it’s been made very clear how relevant the old shows still are today. Alex Kurtzman seems to think so at least.
And I always state for the record, I was one of the few people excited about this show on day one because I believe Trek has to try new things and I really want to see the franchise go forward, not backwards. Until they announced Picardo I didn’t expect any legacy characters to show up. In fact this was the only show I was convinced we never would see any lol. But Star Trek is a business and they have to do whatever they can to get people to watch I guess. As long as we get more great performances from Picardo, then bring it on!
Those people you’re referring to were old cranky TOS fanboys that believed only that show mattered. Or they hated BermanTrek with the death of a thousand suns and just wanted it to be 1982 again witb TOS and the 23rd century being the only thing around.
I used to argue with these types of weirdos all the time on Trek web when that was a thing. Many believed Jar Jar Abrams was going to be their savior and make Star Trek great again by making TOS and JJ verse the sole proprietor of NuTrek. The ‘visionary’ was going to reinvent Star Trek and put it on the map that will make all the other shows and movies disappear like an STD.
Instead we got three Marvel movies of badly plotted stories with generic supervillains (and EXPLOSIONS!!!) trying to destroy the Federation for VENGEANCE(TM) with the crew of the USS Apple store as Fratboy Kirk rides motorcycles, do space jumps and bumps his head to Beastie Boys. Cool action, big sets, great CGI and zero intelligence.
Oh and white Khan. 🙄
(I did like Beyond though but still dumb like the others)
And they didn’t take into account the millions of us 90s fans who were still around, very loyal to those shows and movies and kept buying the merchandise and DVDs. I actually bought more merchandise after Trek was off the air than I did when it was on. And none of it was ever JJ verse crap.
And once TPTB knew those movies weren’t going to grab the teenagers as hoped and old fans wanted the prime universe Trek again they had no choice but to go back to the tried and true with characters that have been around for over 20 years that fans who grew up with still idolized.
Paramount thought JJ verse didn’t really need the 90s fans to succeed and that turned out false. They aren’t making that same mistake anymore and why TNG and VOY are getting represented big time. The Doctor is only on this show because they know it could flop if enough 90s fans don’t bother. And they knew we were sick of all the prequel junk, with SNW being the exception
And with SNW, Picard season 3, Prodigy and Lower Decks at least proves BermanTrek still feels alive and well in these shows’ DNA although sadly most will be gone after this year.
I still think Kurtzman like Abrams is a h.a.c.k but at least now he hired show runners who grew up with Trek in the Berman era and brought that spirit back.
Maybe SFA will have that same spirit. It doesn’t have to. As long as it’s good on its own, the new characters are giod and the Doctor is important to the show it will probably be popular enough.
I actually agree with most of this and there was a stark division between fans who were big TOS fans and nothing else. And of course, that’s OK. People will just like what they like. I too am an old TOS fanboy, but I was never obsessed with it either. I always thought it was great to see Trek expand and I loved every show after TOS with the exception of Enterprise (mostly due to being a prequel) and today I love that show too.
But I never understood this mentality that only one show should represent Star Trek when like you said all the shows have gained a huge following. End of the day, every spin off show lasted longer than TOS did, most twice as long. It tells you how popular Star Trek just became to the point you can have multiple shows on the air with movies every few years and a big enough audience to continue to watch all of it. Yes, ratings fell, but rating always fall eventually, the point is there was still a healthy fanbase to keep it on year after year for 25 seasons.
I’m not sure how I got into that rant lol but I guess because what Legacy said that VOY was still a very popular show today when the talking point back then became it was a show that no one cared about anymore once it left the airwaves. But you’re not bringing back multiple actors to star in your new shows from a show that went off the air literally over 20 years ago now (I feel so old lol) unless there are still many fans who watch and adores it today,
And I have always said this, until the day they announced Picard, I actually never expected any legacy characters and actors to ever come back. At least not full time. Probably in cameos or guest appearances but no one starring in a show again. Mostly because I always assumed once we went back to the Prime universe (which I never doubted would happen) they would just move more forward in time with a post-Nemesis show or movie. Not the 32nd century or anything lol, but like what TNG did and maybe 50-100 years after Nemesis. That just made sense to me because then they could just start over and do what they want and ironically because they wouldn’t have so much of the baggage with all the canon and continuity the Berman shows created. Instead they went literally the very opposite way with a prequel to TOS that I just thought was bizarre and the wrong move for many reasons…and I was proven very right lol.
But once Picard arrived I knew then that the floodgates were going to open and that we would get more legacy actors back from all the old shows. I am a bit surprised there hasn’t been more DS9 representation but I don’t think that’s for any particular reason just haven’t felt the need to add more. Thankfully LDS has brought some back at least. Enterprise mostly due to its time period it’s in but I have a sneaky suspicion they will be showing up in LDS soon as well (but ready to be proven wrong lol).
For me, I always been fine to see Trek move on from all the old shows and characters. I never had a big urge to see TOS or those characters again after TUC and still don’t really, but I love seeing them again in SNW of course. And obviously same for the Berman and TNG era. Now that they are all back, it’s great to have them. And obviously it’s a smart move because you have millions of fans like yourself invested in these new shows although I think all of them could still be very popular without legacy characters of course.
But seeing what we have today in the modern era, I don’t think that will change and have said I suspected every show would star a legacy character going forward, All except SFA because of its time placement obviously and I was proven wrong on even that lol.
But as the first two seasons of both Picard and Discovery proved, it’s not enough to just throw old characters in, you still have to have solid shows to win over fans. And I think starting with LDS to now has been a big turnaround as well in terms of reception even if other fans still hate the modern shows.
Hopefully SFA will keep the same positive streak. Having the Doctor already feels like fans are warming up more to it at least.
Hey Tiger2, it is interesting what you said about TOS. When I was a kid, IMHO TOS was easily the best show on TV. That said, I also remember walking out of Star Wars at the old Westmount theatre as a 13 year old, thinking that is the greatest movie I will ever see in my life. Of course later on, the ground breaking Lucasfilm effects and John Williams music endured, but as an adult I realized the writing and acting is maybe adequate at best.
In SOME ways TOS is the same. Yes, most of the first season, some of the second and maybe 5 episodes of the third season were legendary, groundbreaking and easily endure, but IMHO, many of the 79 episodes are less than stellar, with some just plain terrible.
As for SFA, really looking forward to seeing what they churn out. As you have said so many times, great they are trying to take the Franchise to so many new places and times, but I also of course really like what they have done with MOST of the legacy characters. I started to watch the TVO interview with Picardo and was impressed with his knowledge of Trek and loved his homage to DeForest Kelly. Looking forward to watching the rest of his interview later.
Hey DeanH!
Yes, I loved Robert Picardo in the interview talking about a big reason he got everyone’s attention in the audition was because he pulled out a McCoy “I’m a doctor, not a…” line. And I liked that it eventually became the Doctor’s saying as well. Always a nice honor. The entire interview is really good though.
While I read it was the new show runner idea to include him, I do think they knew how much people were on the fence with this show and a way to get more people onboard. Can’t prove it obviously but either way it was a smart move IMO. And since we both think they have done justice to most of the returning characters, I’m very positive on it.
As for TOS, I watched it religiously from the late 70s through the mid 90s. It was always on TV somewhere and I used to love that in L.A. at least when TNG went into syndication they would then show that and TOS back to back every night. It was great. But of course the show is very dated today (hell it looked dated to me when I first watched it and I was 5 lol) and yeah there are tons of stinkers. I still loved the line from the TOS Futurama episode where Fry says, “There were 79 episodes, about 30 good ones” lol. It still doesn’t take away from how revolutionary it felt back then.
And I will say when I rewatched the entire show again a few years ago and watched all of the dreaded season 3, there were actually many that I thought were better than I remembered. Still some truly bad ones but not all of course.
Oh as far as your point about the JJ verse, even though I have never been a huge fan of it (although more of a fan than you lol), I still think, even to this day, it was probably the right move to make; especially at that time. But I didn’t believe only those movies and universe should’ve represented the only Star Trek going forward either.
And as said, I never remotely believed that would be the case because you don’t dump a 40+ year old universe with multiple shows and movies that still had millions of loyal followers watching it and buying the merchandise. Taking a break from it after Enterprise was cancelled, OK, but to completely abandon it would be insane. But I do think it was smart to ‘start over’ with the Kelvin movies and find a way to get new fans into the franchise who didn’t feel the need to watch 700+ installments of shows and movies lol.
Unfortunately they squandered it badly, never tried a different formula and did feel more like style over substance and why they are still DOA to this day since most ‘new’ fans never really committed to it in a way Paramount hoped like the Prime universe. Now that ironically feels like the universe that has been abandoned since they can’t seem to do anything with it nearly a decade later. But I’m sure you heard me say this many times.
I think nuTrek was the right move, but not the right direction that they took. I think recasting TOS was fine and all, but as TG pointed out they made it to “Marvel” and “bang bang” and not enough heart.
Yeah I agree. But they were probably so worried that if think make it too Trek-y and alienate all the new fans that normally stayed away from it.
And I’m not directly comparing the two but I think they wanted the tone to be what Transformers was which was a fun blockbuster that took all the elements of Transformers but focused on the action and plot with big CGI set pieces.
TF was a name most people were familiar with like Star Trek but it was basically a dead IP for decades that was geared to young boys until Michael Bay came along. That was probably the attitude they had with Trek especially since the first TF movie had already came out and was a huge hit.
Also probably not too much a stretch why the same writers for Transformers was now making the movie.
But I also think that’s why the movies will always just have a harder time because they are constantly trying to speak to two different audiences. That was the problem with the TNG films and definitely the problem with the Kelvin movies. And they tried very hard to appeal to both but in the end the new audience it wanted just lost interest because sadly it’s still Star Trek and the old audience can take it or leave it because they still had all their DVDs at home watching TOS, TNG and VOY episodes over and over again where they could get ‘real’ Trek and in the universe of charactersthey grew up with.
In other words there wasn’t a huge attachment for those movies on either side and why they have stalled IMO.
If there is one compliment I can give nuTrek is that it did do it’s job in revitalizing the franchise. ST 2009 did that well. Even if I myself am not a fan the results speak for themselves. I just thing STID jumped the shark so to speak with going too far into TF territory.
THe only reason I appreciated Beyond was that it was a nice send off to the TOS crew and esp Leonard Nimoy.
He will also be the opportunity to mention the Voyager crew from time to time.
Oh yeah definitely agree.
There has got to be a pic in his quarters of the VOY crew!
Of all the characters the Doctor makes the most sense cause he is AI. Data is now biological and Picard is programed to self terminate.
I really had no interest in this show since I don’t care about Discovery, but the Doctor being included has made me a lot more interested now. Picardo is such a gifted actor, he used all his talents to make the Doctor an amazing character.
His inclusion also convinced me to give Prodigy a chance and so glad I did. That was an amazing show and it was so much fun to see The Doctor, Janeway and Chakotay back together along with the great new characters. Prodigy is Star Trek at it’s best.
It’s great to see Picardo back!
He really is brilliant.
900 years old? So not the Doctor from living Witness?
Probably not, though technically the backup EMH is only a few years younger than the original.
True. I guess being in storage doesn’t change his age.
Gosh, they’re going to reference “the Burn?” Cringeworthy Trek plot point best left to Lower Decks et al to parody. “Stone knives and bearskins” to TOS tech required 300 years, while dilithium as a power source last 1,000+ – all at risk from a crying Kelpian.
Welcome to Discovery man, where logic and reason goes to die.
The crying Kelpian kid is still the dumbest thing this show has done and that’s saying a lot. We can only hope the SFA has writers and a show runner who don’t start their day inhaling gasoline every morning.
Yeah man the burn was bad enough but having it caused by a kid with mommy issues was just uugghhh.
TBH they kinda have too. They are locked in with the plot of this show. THe Academy coming back after being gone for 100+ years due to the burn.
So excited to bring the Doctor back! Before I could not care any less about a Star Trek show since Enterprise and Discovery were announced.
But having Picardo is a huge plus. We better get one opera song a season from him or just cancel the show.
So I’m staying more positive about it, especially with such a stacked cast
So Bob Picardo appeared in Star Trek and Stargate, now all he needs is Star Wars and he will complete the holy trifecta of “Star” franchises.
Haha that would be awesome! 👍
Can’t do it. Kurtzman will do the same they always do. Him saying about Picardo being a bridge is exactly the limited thinking I’d expect. He’ll be there to prop up all those younger folks in the cast not to portray the Doctor in any way I’d be expecting or likely want.
I’m all for seeing The Doctor back on our screens but I sincerely hope that Nu Trek treats his character well. I’m not sure what others think, but for me the appearances of classic Trek characters in these new series has been quite jarring. They are far away from the characters we know of old. Classic Trek had a refreshing optimism for the future and brightness that is just not there in current series. And the new script writers have long departed with the stylistic, almost Shakespearean, line delivery which gave Trek a true identity to now short, snappy quips full of sarcasm that will age the series so quickly. Everyone is talking over each other and, in the case of Discovery in particular, stopping in a moment of life threatening danger just to have an emotional moment between characters which is totally unrealistic. I thought Seven in Picard just didn’t seem like the Seven from Voyager. I get that she’s moved on since Voyager got home, but she seemed like a completely different person with none of the mannerisms that made her Seven. It’s like they’re trying to force fit classic characters into a new (and incompatible) setting – like trying to run a train on a road.
I really hope they treat The Doctor well.
I think you can explain the fact of characters changing as it is what normally happens to people over the years. I mean even the TOS crew changed very much from the show to the movies. As long as the root of the characters are there, I don’t think changing them will be a problem. However I do agree with your observation of the new Trek shows having “simpler” dialogue but I think this is true for most modern shows. Unfortunately the reality these days seems to be that Shakespearean dialogue is boring and most people wouldn’t watch the show with that style of dialogue. I miss those more “literary” writing of Trek but at this point in time I don’t think that is doable.
All I can say for me personally I have liked what they did with most legacy characters so far. I actually thought Seven was handled very well in Picard for example, but I don’t think that’s a consensus either. There does seem to be many people like you who thought she wasn’t developed well enough or acted too differently.
And I also think LDS, PRO and SNW have all been very optimistic just like the classic shows. Yes DIS and PIC felt pretty dark, especially in the early days but the the other three shows started off more fun, adventurous and positive IMO. And I think all the legacy characters have been more upbeat (in LDS it’s kind of what that show does). The criticisms I hear with SNW (besides canon issues) is that the show treat the characters TOO light hearted at times and a bit immature. Spock has basically become a punchline in many cases, especially with the ‘comedic Vulan’ episodes. I personally don’t mind it but yeah others do.
So for me, I have faith they will treat the Doctor well. What did you think of his appearance on Prodigy? I seen others complain he wasn’t part of the main story line enough, but they captured the spirit of the character well IMO. My only take is if you liked him on Prodigy then you will probably like him in SFA although he will be significantly older lol.
But yes I do agree the dialogue is nowhere close to what we got in classic Trek and something I have brought up with nearly every show. They all just sound too contemporary. I know on LDS it’s clearly done on purpose but I can understand it takes other people out of the show when it’s suppose to be 400 years in the future, comedy or not. And it especially bothered me with Discovery because they are over a thousand years into the future and yet everyone sounds like they are in a TikTok video. Really jarring. But I’m not just picking on Discovery, they all have that issue IMO.
Honestly I agree Seven was handled well but I don’t think may others were. Picard lost all of his strength as a leader. Riker and Troi lost a child. Beverly is more of a Starfleet outcast than even Seven. Geordi and Worf were handled well tho.
Seven has had a lot of character growth, which can explain the changes. She was frozen in carbonite as a character because of her time with the Borg.
So here’s the question…will the character have been active for the last 900 years? Meaning, has he been “on” continuously, or will we see a Doctor who is freshly woken up after a centuries long nap? Also – I wonder how they will deal with the aging? Will they de-age him for the first appearance and then have him say “well, if I’m older, then I should appear so” (Like they did with John Delancey) and then presto, older Doctor?
Great question. I would assume he would have just stayed active since I’m guessing by that period, holograms could be pretty independent (although we barely saw any in Discovery). And I think they want the character to have been around throughout history. Again I could be totally wrong.
As for his aging, I suspect it will be done the same way they did Data and Guinan briefly comment on it and quickly move on. I think Guinan used the excuse she just wanted to start aging and we always known Data in fact could age, he simply didn’t until later. I suspect they will do the same with the Doctor and he just decided to look older being 900 years old and all.
My question is, if he has been active this whole time, how much has he grown as a living being and in quat ways? 700 years is a long time.
That’s a great question. And if he is woken up, what is the reasoning for it? What does he bring to the table from the 24th century?
I have placed this query arbitrarily here. It doesn’t have anything to do with this article.
I am curious to know why there has not been any coverage here (unless there was and I missed it) of the recent passing of Teri Garr. In particular, I was hoping there would be some discussion of Ms. Garr’s refusal ever to talk about her experience with Star Trek and why that was so. Thank you.
Probably because she was only in one episode as a guest star. I don’t think every actor who has played in an episode gets an entire article about their passing, even if she is a bigger star.
I don’t think they do an article unless it is a person who was majorly involved with Trek. I remember there wasn’t anything on here about Gary Graham’s passing as well.