Why was the doctor Humaniform?

[Guy Gardener]

If he's just a bank of processors in the walls of the Sick bay, and the body we see is just forcefields and coloured resequenced photons, then obviously he could have had the (or even many if they borrowed form the borg template of a single consciousness driving multiple bodies.) appearance of something quite inhuman if it's articulateness was more amenable to the requirements of doctoring?

Imagine he had 8 arms with 12 fingers each?

Or he could fantastic voyage himself to minute sizes to... How much less processing power would it take to drive a nanite sized hologram if it was to be in battle with Borg nano Probes? If it cost the same energy to power a billion doctors who all fits snug into a thimble wouldn't it... Or is it the processing needs that each doctor no matter how small still has the same needs to think and chose?

Claws, suckers, spikes, tentacles, trunks and all manner of other appendage that could serve as some precise medical instrument? They seemed to sacrifice a hell of a lot of function to salve Zimmerman's ego and legacy and keep the luddites at bay in the pretence that it is still a human being keeping them alive and sane in deep space.

Wierd.

keep the Hindus on board in line that their primary medical practitioner cane be mistaken for their goddess of destruction.

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

The majority of Starfleet seems to be built upon the humanoid norm - likely that was why they went with a form that would be similar to the standard, to make the patients feel more comfortable.

The question is more why couldn't the Doctor make copies of himself and be a one-man medical team - all he needs to do is project himself in two places at once, his knowledge is stored in the ships databank, not a corporeal form, so he doesn't have to copy his knowledge, just activate a second 'shell' for that to be used.

 

[Tentacle]

The majority of Starfleet seems to be built upon the humanoid norm - likely that was why they went with a form that would be similar to the standard, to make the patients feel more comfortable.

The question is more why couldn't the Doctor make copies of himself and be a one-man medical team - all he needs to do is project himself in two places at once, his knowledge is stored in the ships databank, not a corporeal form, so he doesn't have to copy his knowledge, just activate a second 'shell' for that to be used.

Yes the the processing power would be too much, in computer terms you would be running a multi threaded program on a single cpu.

 

[karenjeane]

I like Renaissance Man since it shows all the tricks the Doctor can pull off. Unfortunately for us, disguising as other crew members and pulling off Matrix-like stunts isn't his regular inclination.

 

[Brit]

I think the easiest explanation is that sickbay on Federation Starships were designed for use by humanoids. Since the sick bay was designed for humanoids, then the EMH needed to have the appearance of being humanoid.

Then there is my daughter's explanation "The EMH program was designed by one Louis Zimmerman, who has a big gigantic ego." She also said "You could apply the same argument to Data and reference the big gigantic ego of Dr Noonien Soong."

Brit

 

[Michael]

I could be wrong, but I think the explanation has something to do with there only being very few real aliens in the Screen Actors Guild.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Althoguh there are many many many Muppets.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Because the guy who designed him was.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Because the guy who designed him was.

What about when that Tool Harry Kim was trying to build a replacement Doctor? was his problem trying to fit so much programming inside such a small architecture? Would it have been easier if he was 8 or nine feet tall.

[scrubs]Worlds most giant Doctor[/scrubs] anyone?

Johnny Dangerously flashback. Elephantitus of the balls. Imagine he kept aditional programming in giant balls he had to carry about in a wheel barrow?

But would you go out on a date with him?

[Jud Nelson]Of course you'd have to sit in the back of his car, because his balls would be riding shotgun. [/Jud Nelson]

 

[NumberOne]

Because the guy who designed him was.

...and thank you for this answer.

 

[Guy Gardener]

But Zimmerman was contracted to do so by a representative body for over 150 worlds. Surely that seems just a little racist or speciesist to the other 149 plus worlds? That you'd have a human EMH forced on your culture no matter what the dominant population of any sampling of some defined area of the federation might be?

A couple years ago. Doctor Who from the 80s skipped into the present and met the current chap with his job, surrounded by the new soundstage which was his same old ship after about 50 facelifts, he described this change in the decor of his spaceship had had it''s "desktop settings" changed.

Maybe he has several skins like our media players do if we getunder the hood and screw about with the tools options? We've seen how easily he changes form, and maybe he has a sleu of default species specifically created as his identies to be accepted by who so ever are the locals after his shingle.

Maybe it's not by choice? (Gravity and critical care might disqualify this theory unless you factor in periods of time as a qualifier too?) Consider if it's statistical sampling that he blends in wth whosoever is the dominant species?

Sounds like a Vorlon.

Note that he gave himself hair in Before and after. but then he had the gumption to name himeself too, so who knows what else he did to his prgramming to give him just that extra tetch of gumption. As if under Captain Chakotay's leadership no one was untowardly emasculating his frowth untowardly... Or he was still trying to be a better man to get kes interested even as she become more and more happily married?

 

[roguephoenix]

the better question is why isn't there a backup for him? there should be. we know he gets stranded on a planet in a data probe so he can be copied and stored and there was capability to do so.

 

[Guy Gardener]

In eye of the needle they said he could be extracted or copied.

However after the acquired the 29th century Mobile emitter with it's superior codecs and data buffers they must have laughed their asses off at what they thought was previously impossible and should have changed every facet of technology on the ship like when we went from vacuum tubes to transistors.

You do notice how they cut and past rather than copy and paste?

Why on earth did they pear away huge reams of the doctor conciousness life history and personality when sending him back to earth in Life Line? Did they get out a black and dekker cordless power sander to shave the pounds off Winnie the Pooh when he was trapped in rabbbits hole? maybe they were going to put it back when he got back, but by then he would be a different person who might not want to be cumbered down with the extraneous unknown baggage?

Considering he can possess Borg, you'd think that they would have massproduced the mobile emitter and used it as a weapon? AQnd who is to say whose personality they would load into the emmitter to inject into the Borg drones it was being fired at, it's not like they didn't know who to extract assimilated personalities like they did so roughshottedly in infinite regression, Not that you really want to see another 29th century Borg, but this time in the service of the collective if everything goes ass over tea kettle?

 

[Nebusj]

I could be wrong, but I think the explanation has something to do with there only being very few real aliens in the Screen Actors Guild.

But they did miss out on an easy way to ramp up the coolness factor associated with him: they had the holo-doc holding tricorders and hyposprays and those fiddling little whirry things as props. But as an extension of Sickbay's systems, there's no reason that he couldn't diagnose a person just by ``looking'' at him, taking in the sensor data from the bio-beds or whatnot; or why he couldn't surgically open someone by rubbing a finger in the target spot, which the holographic force fields would adapt into a knife better than the prop he'd have, or give an injection by pressing his thumb to the spot. It'd let him be all the more magical. This would have the disadvantage of leaving Picardo without any props to fiddle with, admittedly. But I think the coolness of playing him as if he had this superlative healing touch would be worth it. It'd make him stand out from other doctors in more than whining about being left on all night.

 

[Guy Gardener]

All computers go insane and try to kill their masters eventually.

Especially in Star Trek.

They mentioned this in dollhouse about not having killer ninja skills as the default settings on their actives because it cuts downing on the killing and the screaming and explosions.

When the doctor goes bad, Equinox, AlterEgo, Inside Man, Projections (he was pointing a phaser at the warp core, lets not split hairs.), it's nice not to assume that he can kill everyone on the ship with too much ease.

 

[Michael]

I could be wrong, but I think the explanation has something to do with there only being very few real aliens in the Screen Actors Guild.

But they did miss out on an easy way to ramp up the coolness factor associated with him: they had the holo-doc holding tricorders and hyposprays and those fiddling little whirry things as props. But as an extension of Sickbay's systems, there's no reason that he couldn't diagnose a person just by ``looking'' at him, taking in the sensor data from the bio-beds or whatnot; or why he couldn't surgically open someone by rubbing a finger in the target spot, which the holographic force fields would adapt into a knife better than the prop he'd have, or give an injection by pressing his thumb to the spot. It'd let him be all the more magical. This would have the disadvantage of leaving Picardo without any props to fiddle with, admittedly. But I think the coolness of playing him as if he had this superlative healing touch would be worth it. It'd make him stand out from other doctors in more than whining about being left on all night.

Yes, all very valid (and admittedly interesting) points. But in the end I think it was a conscious decision by the producers to make him appear more human.

 

[Triskelion]

It's an interesting question. Of course the one word answer of "budget" may suffice.

But in world, consider the species other than humaniform which were in sickbay (in the Delta Quadrant). Offhand I recall:

A suicidal member of species 8472
A big caterpillar (in Jetrel)
...?

And consider the other forms who were there:
Vidiians
Kaazon
Klingon
Bolian
Vulcan
Talaxian
Ocampa
...
...

Having a non-humaniform program for the sake of it being a nonhumaniform, when the galaxy, seeded by the Preservers, is clearly stacked towards humaniform, seems more racist, pandering and self-congratulatory to me, than validating the most common form, which also just happens to be your own. Why would anyone expect a largely human ship not to have a human doctor? Reverse discrimination. Either race matters or it doesn't. Cuts both ways.

For more discussion on the issue in general:
http://www.nitpickers.com/tv/nitpick.cgi?np=566

 

[Nebusj]

Having a non-humaniform program for the sake of it being a nonhumaniform, when the galaxy, seeded by the Preservers, is clearly stacked towards humaniform, seems more racist, pandering and self-congratulatory to me, than validating the most common form, which also just happens to be your own.

Objection: assumes a preponderance not in evidence. As Spock noted, humanoid life forms are a minority in the galaxy. The Enterprise (and Voyager) ran across more because they went places humanoid life forms could be expected, on the grounds that they would be more likely to be able to meaningfully interact with beings that share similar sensory and environmental factors, but that is not the same thing as the galaxy being mostly or even largely humanoid.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Humaniform is a word used by asimov to describe his robots which look exactly human rather than the clangers and toasters which trundle about.

And by Humaniform I did mean Human looking and not Humanoid looking.

I wonder if Riker would have been so smug about getting it on with Data's daughter if she had decided to opt with the male Andorian appearance that got cut at the final vetting?

Even the word "humnoid" is a little racist.

I liked it in Doctor who last Easter

"But you look human."

"Well, you look Timelord to me."

 

[Triskelion]

Having a non-humaniform program for the sake of it being a nonhumaniform, when the galaxy, seeded by the Preservers, is clearly stacked towards humaniform, seems more racist, pandering and self-congratulatory to me, than validating the most common form, which also just happens to be your own.

Objection: assumes a preponderance not in evidence. As Spock noted, humanoid life forms are a minority in the galaxy. The Enterprise (and Voyager) ran across more because they went places humanoid life forms could be expected, on the grounds that they would be more likely to be able to meaningfully interact with beings that share similar sensory and environmental factors, but that is not the same thing as the galaxy being mostly or even largely humanoid.

Sustained - to a point. I'll concede that the true contents of the galaxy can only be speculated about; but the point about who would be using the sickbay most often stands, it seems.