Anyone else disappointed with 'The Doctor'?

[WorfSucksDax]

Voyagers EMH 'The Doctor' disappointed me in the same way Data did... but opposite.

Just like with Data, here is someone who was designed to look human, but not to feel human. Like Data, we enjoy the way the doctor reacts to certain situations and he gets some fun dialogue.

But where is the development? Data never becomes one nanobyte more human during his entire time with TNG, and he's already been among humans long enough to reach the rank of Liet. Commander, on the frickin' Flagship! And he still doesnt know basic human expressions!

The Doctor was opposite, he was totally human, he never become any more human, certain shows are about his humanity, but you dont get a different Doctor aterwards, they are just storylines. The guy falls in love in the first season! The one where he makes a family is a good example, this is all about how the doc has a different perception of family, and his accepting reality, but there is no difference in how he acts!! The only thing 'not human' about him is that he isnt human!

 

[C.E. Evans]

The only thing I was disappointed with was that they never gave him a name. "The Doctor"--that's not a name, that's an occupation/formal title! That's like having a captain known only as "the Captain" and nothing else. It's so generic and devoid of personality, IMO...
(Apologies to all "Doctor Who" fans, of course)

I wished they would have went with "Doc Zimmerman" or "Doc Hollow" or something that signified that he had truly become a person in his own right.

In regards to the EMH-Mk I being more advanced than a Soong-type android, I tend to agree. But while Data can process and store a great deal of information, the Doctor can't without severely damaging his subroutines. On the other hand, the Doctor can evolve and apply the information he can process in ways that Data can't, IMO...

 

[Lazarus]

The only thing I was disappointed with was that they never gave him a name. "The Doctor"--that's not a name, that's an occupation/formal title! That's like having a captain known only as "the Captain" and nothing else. It's so generic and devoid of personality, IMO...

Strange I feel completely the other way - I much preferred that they kept him as "The Doctor" throughout the entire series. The fact was that he was, despite whatever progress he may have made, still an emergency medical hologram, not a human being. I like that they kept him as simply "The Doctor", because it signified that he was not the same as everyone else.

Personally I think they should've kept him confined to sickbay, I think the whole point of the Doctor was that he was a short-term emergency program struggling to come to terms and cope with his current role. Yes he eventually wanted to become more than he was, but sometimes you're limited by the very nature of who you are.

I genuinely thought the Doctor was a terrific character in the 'outsider looking in' mold of Spock, Data and Odo. I enjoyed Robert Picardo in the role, but somehow in the later series the whole thing seemed to descend into parody with the whole opera singer business and the dire Emergency Command Hologram. I think the Doctor probably peaked around mid-series three with Real Life.

On a side note, what kind of username is Worf Sucks Dax!!!

 

[Pemmer Harge]

Shmullus? I love the guy! Having recently gone from watching the later seasons to watching the earlier ones I can say that he definitely changed a lot over the course of the show. And he's the focus of my favourite Voyager episode, Latent Image.

 

[Lynx]

Honestly, the whole thing about a projected picture becoming more and less human was over the top for me.

But thanks to the great personality of The Doctor, I could stand that and actually like and appreciate the character.

I remember when I first started to watch Voyager. I took an immediate liking to all the main characters, which is unusual for me. The only cast except Voyager which I've taken an immediate like for are the NCIS cast. Otherwise it would always take two, three episodes before I've decided if I like the characters or not.

However, I did have my doubts about The Doctor when I watched "Caretaker". As mentioned before, I did find the whole "holographic doctor" thing a bit over the top and I thought "why couldn't they have settled with an android if they wanted some extraordinary".

But it didn't take many episodes before I really started liking The Doctor and his wonderful comments. After that I accepted him as he was.

I can agree about some lack of character development but I still find The Doctor a great character.

As for the name, he's referred to as Dr Zimmerman in at least two of the season 1 Voyager books and I think it would have been an appropriate name. "Shmullus" was a good name too.

 

[Kai Winn]

well, it seems the android business has no future. lore became a thug, data's offspring broke down on the second day or so, and data's exploration of emotions was quite embarassing to watch. not that i disliked data, but he was by far no match for the doctor. the holotechnology seems to be more reliable, less complex and expensive, promises more applications, and greater autonomy.

 

[Lynx]

^^
Which is a pity actually because I think that they never used the full potential of the androids. There were a lot of possibilities there.

As I wrote before, I thought that and I still think that the whole hologram thing was a bit over the top but I've managed to overlook that because of the charm and personality of The Doctor who really is a great character.

However, I was never that happy with Starling's mobile emitter. I think that it made The Doctor too advanced and actually even more over the top. I would have preferred him as he was before "Future's End" (which otherwise was a great episode).

No chance that Starling shows up again and steal it back?

 

[Tomalak]

As for the name, he's referred to as Dr Zimmerman in at least two of the season 1 Voyager books and I think it would have been an appropriate name. "Shmullus" was a good name too.

I think it was a very, very late decision to have him nameless. I certainly remember all the publicity describing him as "Doc Zimmerman" (I think the action figure may have been as well), and I was a bit confused at first when no one seemed to call him by his name.

I thought he was probably Voyager's best character, but he definitely lost the plot towards the end. One thing that annoyed me was the way they never really discussed the ramifications of a sentient hologram.

This is a problem throughout Trek, way back to Minuet, Moriarty etc, and DS9's Vic Fontaine. How is a technology that is powerful enough to create new life at the touch of a button simply used for entertainment? It's basically slavery, and I loved the episode that ended with the holographic doctors mining dilithium. That was pretty much the only one that addressed the issue.

 

[Kai Winn]

^^
Which is a pity actually because I think that they never used the full potential of the androids. There were a lot of possibilities there.

they simply lacked the ability to build more datas, too complex a technology, otherwise they might have replicated him. holograms, that's just computing power which is plenty on a ship, emitters, and good software.
good that voyager explored the dangers of this technology, there was an episode were a hologram murdered its crew on an alien ship, and it lamented what a drain on the ships resources they had been. indeed, do starships (apart from transporting stuff) have a future, if holograms can be transmitted over vast distances in no time?
flesh and blood, the outstanding double episode of holograms on the warpath. had also one of those memorable debates of kate with a crewmember, the fallen from grace doc in this case.
if i were a sentient hologram, the first thing i would do is to become a specialist for subroutines, and how to protect myself from the tampering of my programming by anybody else. to my utter anstonishment, it occured to none of the many photonics in star trek.

 

[Tomalak]

if i were a sentient hologram, the first thing i would do is to become a specialist for subroutines, and how to protect myself from the tampering of my programming by anybody else. to my utter anstonishment, it occured to none of the many photonics in star trek.

The Doctor was constantly adding new subroutines, all the golf, the singing, the sex programme. He was always at it.

 

[Kai Winn]

as far as i recall, those changes were written by someone else. do you remember equinox, a push of a button disabled his ethics and changed the personality radically? i'd put this button out of business.

 

[Tomalak]

There was one episode (I think when he was sent to the Alpha Quadrant to heal Dr Zimmerman) where Seven of Nine had to remove all the junk he'd added just to fit him through the datastream. It was clear that he had written those programmes himself, as a lot of it was news to her. He was proud of the things he'd given himself, as it showed he'd grown beyond his original programming.

As for Equinox, he's still a computer programme, and will have certain vulnerabilities. It's like asking why humans don't figure out a way to stop dying.

 

[crouteru]

How could anybody be disappointed with The Doc?? He was Voyager's strongest character.

 

[Wicca who Wonta]

I was never disappointed with the doctor either. He got plenty of character development throughout the series.

His excistence also provided the show with a lot of interesting angles. He was sentient but he wasn't human, which made him an interesting subject when it came to human rights issues. He was never rewarded the same rights as a human doctor would have, even in the seventh season. And some were rude to him, or didn't take him seriously, in a way they might not have been if he had been human. These things made sure that he wasn't a boring character imo.

 

[Triskelion]

Loved the character and Picardo's performance. His wit and candor added a lot to the dialogue.

 

[Klaitu]

I initially liked the Doc, although once he started singing it was all over for him.

 

[Kai Winn]

so? i loved the episodes with some opera, in particular virtuoso. picardo's got a really nice voice. watched renaissance man previosly again, a tribute to the talents of the doc in the preultimate episode. what a fun watching him taking over the ship, disabling crewmembers, and acting as someone else, changing his body or voice three times per minute. astonishing the ease with which he disarmed and disabled tuvok.

 

[kimc]

He does have a good voice. Besides, ever since Uhura started singing in TOS it's been a bit of a Trek tradition. It makes sense actually, the crews are not in any position to buy hot concert tickets so they need to look to each other for entertainment.

 

[StardustSteph]

The Doctor was opposite, he was totally human, he never become any more human, certain shows are about his humanity, but you dont get a different Doctor aterwards, they are just storylines. The guy falls in love in the first season! The one where he makes a family is a good example, this is all about how the doc has a different perception of family, and his accepting reality, but there is no difference in how he acts!! The only thing 'not human' about him is that he isnt human!

I'm actually glad they did it this way, I don't think I would of continued to love the Doc as much if he had become fully human in a sense. I think that was his purpose, as he developed his own interests and skills more we needed to be reminded as an audience that he is still a hologram, but he has surpassed his expected capabilities. I think he was one of the characters left for interpretation, considering how in different episodes and by different characters he was treated differently.

I loved the Doc, probably the most enjoyable person in Voyager. I'm not disappointed with him at all he was a great character and a funny one at that.

 

[USSHermes]

Loved the character. Adds a much needed bit of cynicism and honesty to the show. Much like Bones in the movies.