Original artwork, not a still
Please state the nature of the medical emergency.
— Star Trek: Voyager · 1995
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The Doctor's stock greeting is a medical-program version of 'how may I help you', delivered to a frightened ship's crew. It is funny because the answer is the entire premise of the series, and because he starts as a bedside-manner-free tool and grows into one of Voyager's best-loved characters.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Star Trek: VoyagerShow the scene
In "Caretaker" (1995), the two-hour premiere of Star Trek: Voyager and UPN's first telecast, a displacement wave in the Badlands hurls the ship across the galaxy and kills much of the crew, including the whole medical staff. Harry Kim orders the computer to activate the Emergency Medical Hologram, a stand-in doctor meant for short emergencies. The hologram appears and recites its default greeting, the first words the character ever speaks. Kim explains that the ship's doctor is dead. The Doctor says he needs a replacement soon, and Tom Paris warns that they may be stuck with him for a while.
Sources (3)
- Memory Alpha: CaretakerSummary; Memorable quotesReference checked
- Wikipedia: Caretaker (Star Trek: Voyager)lead; PlotReference checked
- Memory Alpha: Emergency Medical Hologramquotation headerReference checked
Context reviewed
