Character Insight No. 142: Best of the EMH

This is the latest installment in a series of "Character Insight" articles regarding the rich history of characters in the Star Trek universe.  An audio version will appear on the This Week in Trek podcast, available for direct download here.
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Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we continue our "Best Of" series with a look at some of the best episodes for advancing the character of the holographic doctor on Voyager, also known as the EMH.

  
(The first version of the EMH, courtesy memory-alpha.org)

Star Trek often does character development best with the different characters like Spock and Data, and The Doctor in Voyager is just another final frontier of character development, specifically holographic intelligence. From the moment the EMH is granted access over his own activation and program by Janeway in season 1, he develops more and more into a regular member of the stranded crew.

In the episode Projections, the Doctor hallucinates about the nature of his real or holographic existence, and his programming defenses do not step in to stop this:
The Doctor: I experienced an elaborate delusion concerning the nature of my existence: human or hologram, person... or projection. Why? Why would my program focus on such an esoteric dilemma?
Kes: Well... I sometimes ask those kind of questions. Who am I? What am I doing here? What's my purpose in life? Doesn't everybody?
The Doctor: Not me. I know exactly who I am and what my purpose is: I am the Emergency Medical Hologram aboard the starship Voyager.

In the episode Lifesigns, the Doctor falls in love with a holographic representation of a Vidiian scientist named Denara who he was treating for the phage, and he must deal with these new feelings and emotions:
Dr. Danara Pel: Before I met you, I was just a disease. But now, everything's different. When people look at me, they don't see a disease anymore. They see a woman - a woman you made, a woman you love, a woman you're not afraid to touch.
The Doctor: Danara, I was never afraid to touch you.
Dr. Danara Pel: Why? Because you're a doctor?
The Doctor: Because I love you.

In the episode Real Life, the Doctor learns how to be a father in a human family while on his free time in the holodeck, including how to deal with severe grief when his daughter dies in an accident:
Lieutenant Tom Paris: I guess all of us would avoid that kind of pain if we could. But most people don't have that choice. The Doctor: Well, fortunately I do. Lieutenant Tom Paris: Is it so fortunate? You created that program so you could experience what it's like to have a family. The good times and the bad. You can't have one without the other. The Doctor: I fail to see why not. Lieutenant Tom Paris: Think about what's happened to us here on Voyager. Everyone left people behind, and everyone suffered a loss. But... look how it's brought us all closer together. We found support here, and friendship, and we've become a family, in part because of the pain we shared. If you turn your back on this program, you'll always be stuck at this point. You'll never have the chance to say goodbye to your daughter. Or to be there for your wife and son when they need you. And you'll be cheating yourself of the chance to have their love and support. In the long run, you'll miss the whole point of what it means to have a family.

In the episode Revulsion, the Doctor and B'Elanna Torres try to help a stranded hologram on a ship, but they end up needing to defeat him when he turns on them after they reveal he killed his organic crew after being driven mad by being treated like a tool rather than as an intelligent being, which is an interesting contrast for the Doctor on Voyager:
The Doctor: Not so fast, Mr. Paris. You are going to help me sterilize every square millimeter of this sickbay. No doubt you've left your oily residue on every hypospray, your sloughed secretions on every console! - Just kidding. In fact, I've had a change of heart about my fastidiousness. A little clutter'll never hurt anyone. Sickbay should have a more organic touch, don't you think? To help our patients feel... more at home? Tom Paris: [to Torres] What's gotten into him? B'Elanna Torres: It's a long story.

Finally, in the episode Latent Image, the Doctor discovers that his memories about a dead ensign were deleted because he had made a decision to treat Harry Kim when he couldn't treat both crew members critically injured on an away mission, which led to a personal breakdown and inability to function. The crew helps him on the second time deal with his feelings and guilt to help him understand everyone overcomes tough decisions:
The Doctor: Causality - probability. For every action, there's an infinite number of reactions, and in each one of them, I killed her. Or did I? Too many possibilities; too many pathways for my program to follow. Impossible to choose. Still, I... I can't live with the knowledge of what I've done, I can't.

Other good episodes to check out for The Doctor include Equinox, Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy, Lifeline, Flesh and Blood, and Renaissance Man. You could honestly do two "Best Of" segments with this character, as his development into a brilliant, compassionate, and loyal crewmate and man is one of the most beautiful character arcs provided in Star Trek history.

The Doctor was played by Robert Picardo, who is a very interesting person to follow on Twitter these days.

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Feedback can be sent to me with future segment suggestions on Twitter @BuckeyeFitzy. Until next time, live long and prosper...

Character Insight No. 141: Private S. Money

This is the latest installment in a series of "Character Insight" articles regarding the rich history of characters in the Star Trek universe.  An audio version will appear on the This Week in Trek podcast, available for direct download here.
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Welcome back to Character Insight! There's nothing more relevant to taxes than money.  This week, to celebrate tax day finally passing by last week in the U.S., we profile Private S. Money, a recurring character from Enterprise. 

You know what's more annoying than tax day? (Enterprise theme song)
 
  
(MACOs and their guns, always together, courtesy memory-alpha.org)

What's not quite as annoying is the inclusion of the MACO troops during the Xindi conflict through most of season 3 of Enterprise. These characters were typically not credited for appearances, but some of them, like Private Money, were in nearly half the episodes and were effectively regular redshirts of the era.

Things start off well for Private Money, as she shows her expertise with a stun baton and a few types of guns and rifles in missions where parts of the crew had to take back the ship from boarding parties such as the Xindi and the Triannons. She also shows well for the MACOs in a combat exercise and sharpshooting competition against the enlisted Starfleet officers later in the year.

But like all redshirts, the good luck can't last forever. During a rescue mission to extract Hoshi Sato from the Xindi, she is shot but survives. The very next day, she is shot again during a repelling of a Sphere Builder ship invasion. The next time we see Private Money, she is hit by a disruptor shot when trying to stop the Augments from preventing a rescue of Arik Soong. She's a true redshirt, soaking up as much if not more punishment than she doles out in security services.

Private Money is not paid to speak, she's paid to fight. Here's a sample of her killer jujitsu:
(Insert audio clip from Chosen Realm)

Private S. Money was named for a key costumer Susie Money, a nice nod to the background cast workers who make shows like this tick. Like other regular MACOs, this background character was a good face to see in the crowd for many episodes, and even more so as a woman who kicks some serious butt.

Speaking of background, Dorenda Moore is the actress who plays Private Money, and she makes much more of a living off stunt appearances and coordinating instead of acting. Enterprise was her only long term acting gig. She's been a stunt double for Natalie Portman in Thor, for Marina Sirtis in Terminal Error, and in Star Trek 2009.

Until next time, keep dodging death redshirts.

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Feedback can be sent to me with future segment suggestions on Twitter @BuckeyeFitzy. Until next time, live long and prosper...

Character Insight No. 140: Boothby

This is the latest installment in a series of "Character Insight" articles regarding the rich history of characters in the Star Trek universe.  An audio version will appear on the This Week in Trek podcast, available for direct download here.
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Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we profile Mr. Boothby, a recurring character from TNG and Voyager.
 
  
(Replicated Boothby, courtesy memory-alpha.org)

Mr. Boothby is the groundskeeper at Starfleet Academy. His character is referenced many more times than his actual appearances because he serves as a de facto mentor to many future powerful Starfleet officers. Captain Picard and Captain Janeway are two of these mentees who became something much greater than your average cadet at the Academy.

Boothby likes to give out grand tours of the Academy grounds to new cadets, and despite his curmudgeon appearance, he also loves to dole out wisdom and advice to the young future officers and servicemen of Starfleet. That wisdom can be invaluable, as it proved to save Picard's career following a mistake he made during his Academy days.

Likewise, Boothby also saw right through the ruse when Wesley Crusher and his elite Nova Squadron had an accident that claimed the life of one of the cadets during a training mission. His insight into the squadron and what they likely felt they had to do to keep their lofty reputation on campus led Picard to reveal the truth about the squadron practicing a dangerous and banned Kolvoord Starburst in the episode The First Duty. Just like with Picard, he ends up helping Picard mentor Crusher to save the young man's career.

From The First Duty:
Capt. Picard: You could use a good herbicide instead of pulling the weeds with your bare hands.
Boothby: M-hm... And you could explore space on a holodeck instead of a starship.

Much like other notable one-off or recurring characters, Boothby jumped series and made two appearances on Voyager, albeit not as the real Boothby. He is replicated by the leader of a group of Species 8472 when that species tries to infiltrate the Federation using Voyager as a first step. Janeway negotiates with the leader, playing as Boothby, for the mutual benefit of both parties.

He also shows up in hallucinations of Chakotay later that same year, caused by another group of aliens trying to use his subconscious to communicate with him telepathically. That includes one of the sillier scenes including Boothby, a boxing training scene where he speaks platitudes about the fight.

Quote from The Fight:
Boothby: [about boxing] It all comes down to the heart. Do you have the heart for this? That's the contest. It's not against him, it's against your own natural human desire not to get hurt. That's the real fight.

Boothby was also to appear in the movie Star Trek Insurrection, but his part got cut before filing began. Even without this callback, he is an interesting character who adds some much needed background on both the Academy and the captains of these shows. It would be fascinating to have seen more from this character, including any mentorship he had for others we know and love.

Boothby was played by Ray Walston. He died in 2001 at the ripe old age of 86, and two of his most famous appearances were on the movies Fast Times at Ridgemont High in the 80s and in My Favorite Martian in the 60s.

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Feedback can be sent to me with future segment suggestions on Twitter @BuckeyeFitzy. Until next time, live long and prosper...

Character Insight No. 139: Kurn

This is the latest installment in a series of "Character Insight" articles regarding the rich history of characters in the Star Trek universe.  An audio version will appear on the This Week in Trek podcast, available for direct download here.
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Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we profile Kurn, who is Worf's brother and who appears in a few episodes of TNG and Deep Space Nine. And it's a bunch of Klingon honor episodes, which means StarMike can go take a nap for this one!
 
  
(TNG Klingons just have that badass look, courtesy memory-alpha.org)

Kurn grows up as the assumed son of Lorgh, a family friend of the Moghs, as a result of being left with Lorgh when Worf and his parents go to Khitomer on a trip that happened to coincide with the Khitomer Massacre. Thus, unlike the unique path that Worf takes, Kurn grows up as your typical Klingon warrior, even reaching the commander rank in the Klingon Defense Force. 

Kurn does find out his true family heritage when reaching the age of ascension, and that becomes important when a Klingon high council member tarnishes the reputation of the Mogh family by accusing them of betraying the Klingons at Khitomer many years later. Kurn comes aboard Enterprise to evaluate his older brother and whether to seek his help, and they decide to go to Qo'nos to clear the family name in what passes for Klingon legal proceedings. 

[[Stabbing sounds from fight in Sins of the Father]] and...
Kurn: So, your blood is not so thin after all.
Lieutenant Worf: I am a Klingon! If you doubt it, a demonstration can be arranged.
Kurn: That is the response of a Klingon - the response I would expect... from my older brother.

Later, Worf talks Kurn out of assassinating Chancellor Gowron in an attempt to bring powerful leadership back to the Klingon Empire. Kurn listens to his younger brother and defends Gowron from other attacks, which leads to his further elevation to a high council member. Leading his brother from dishonored family to the high council so quickly shows why Worf became an excellent ambassador candidate.

 Of course, no position of power is ever truly stable in the Klingon Empire, where backstabbing is more common than in Frank Underwood's Oval Office. Worf refused to join the Klingon invasion of the Cardassian Union in the preludes to the Dominion War, and that brought dishonor that kicked younger brother Kurn from the high council.

Kurn ends up suicidal but is eventually guided to a solution by the Deep Space Nine crew. Dr. Bashir erases his memory and alters his face and DNA, allowing him to assume a new identity as Rodek, the son of Noggra. Although he's much uglier then, at least he has his honor back.

From Sons of Mogh
Kurn: I have never understood you, Worf. But I do know this: in your own way... you are an... honorable man.
[he slums on the table]
Lt. Commander Worf: And you will be an honorable man again. But not as my brother.

Kurn or Rodek is an interesting character who makes for a good tie into Klingon stories for Worf. Thus, even though it would have been good to see this recurring character developed more, he did provide good fodder for furthering Worf's rich character build. Perhaps if Captain Worf gets his own show, this would be a good character to bring back somehow.

Kurn was played by Tony Todd, who also appeared as adult Jake Sisko in The Visitor and is set to appear in Star Trek Axanar this year. He is still very active today in acting, but his best role was probably as the title villain in the Candyman movies, which is the creepier cousin of Beetlejuice.

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Feedback can be sent to me with future segment suggestions on Twitter @BuckeyeFitzy. Until next time, live long and prosper...