Set in the 22nd century, the series follows the adventures of the first Starfleet starship Enterprise, registration NX-01. In "Dear Doctor", Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) faces a serious dilemma as a dying race begs for help from the crew of the Enterprise. The culture consists of two related races, but only the more genetically advanced race has been stricken by a planet-wide plague.
The episode is significant for introducing the concepts and motivations of the Prime Directive just prior to the founding of the United Federation of Planets. UPN requested that the ending of the episode be changed, something that Billingsley did not like. However, he and other members of the cast and crew approved of the final episode. Due to the subject matter and the ending, it is seen as a controversial episode critically and by audience response. Although "Dear Doctor" received the same audience share as the previous episode, there was a 6.6% drop in viewers to 5.7 million viewers for its first broadcast.
Plot
Doctor Phlox receives a letter from his Interspecies Medical Exchange counterpart, Doctor Jeremy Lucas, who is serving a term on Denobula. He begins to compose a letter back, describing his experiences with the crew, and the ways in which humans are different. Meanwhile, on the Bridge, the crew are discussing a pre-warp vessel they have encountered. The alien they speak with, a Valakian, begs them to assist with a medical emergency their species is facing. Sub-Commander T'Pol reveals that the Vulcans are unaware of the species, but she agrees with Captain Jonathan Archer to help them. Phlox continues his letter, describing the challenges of treating the disease – with over fifty million lives at stake.
Enterprise arrives at the Valakian homeworld, where they are met by Esaak, the Valakian director of a clinic, and Larr, a Menk orderly. T'Pol, Phlox, Archer, and Ensign Hoshi Sato make a tour of the medical facility. Sato discovers that there is a second lesser-evolved yet unaffected race, the Menk, who live alongside the Valakians. Phlox makes the startling discovery that the Valakians are slowly dying out, not from an easily curable medical condition, but because of a genetic disease which is experiencing an accelerated rate of mutation. He also believes that the answer to a cure may lie in the Menk.
Archer, meanwhile, is debating whether to provide the Valakians with Warp drive, ultimately deciding against it. Upon further investigation, Phlox learns that the Valakians suffer from the illness because their gene pool has reached a "dead end" and that the Menk are undergoing an "awakening process." He also finds that the Valakians have been stifling and underestimating the Menk. He has found a cure, but does not believe it would be ethical to administer. Archer considers how a "Prime Directive" would be helpful, and provides the Valakians with medicine that will diminish the symptoms for a decade, anticipating the Menks' natural evolution and new levels of understanding between them.
Production
John Billingsley preferred the original ending where Archer and Phlox disagreed.
UPN requested a modified ending to the episode, as the original version had Phlox and Archer disagreeing over what to do with the Valakians.[4] Archer would have wanted to save the race, while Phlox would have wanted evolution to take its course. John Billingsley, who played Doctor Phlox in Enterprise, didn't agree with the changed version, saying "the ending that had initially been created I was fairly comfortable with. But the head of the studio suggested some revisions on the ending. What do you do? I wasn't as happy with the revisions, but it's not my show, you have to sort of adjust, even if sometimes it does seem a bit of a contradiction in terms for what your character is supposed to be about."[5] Billingsley later said "I know people were a little in two minds of that episode. I rather liked that episode."[6]
Billingsley also enjoyed the romantic subplot with Kellie Waymire as Elizabeth Cutler, however he was concerned that Waymire's working schedule wouldn't allow her to return to the show easily and so he wasn't anticipating the romance being followed up upon in future episodes.[5] She had previously appeared as Cutler in the episode "Strange New World", and was pleased for her character to be involved with Phlox rather than one of the more obvious possibilities, and was interested to see if the romantic plot would be brought back by writers in a future episode.[7] Waymire made one final appearance as Cutler in "Two Days and Two Nights",[8] before her sudden death on November 13, 2003.[9] Amongst other guest stars in this episode was Karl Wiedergott, who previously appeared in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Warlord" and is better known for his voice work on The Simpsons.[10]
Reception
"Dear Doctor" was first aired on UPN on January 23, 2002. The episode was watched by 5.7 million viewers and received a 3.7/6 percent share. This means that it was seen by 3.7 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 6 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This was the same share as the previous episode, "Silent Enemy", but a 6.6% drop in the number of actual viewers overall.[11]
Michelle Erica Green of TrekNation described "Dear Doctor" as the "first truly great episode" of Enterprise and compared it to "Pen Pals" from Star Trek: The Next Generation and "Tuvix" from Star Trek: Voyager in the way that the ethical dilemma is presented.[12] She enjoyed the "seamlessly interwoven subplots and moving character development" and the pace of the episode, but wanted to see more of the society of the two races.[12] Peter Schorn of IGN, reviewing the first season, described "Dear Doctor" as one of the more solid episodes.[13] Jamahl Epsicokhan, on his website Jammer's Reviews, said that it was "by miles the best episode so far". He calls it a "real story" with an actual issue, and praises the performance of John Billingsley as Phlox.[14]Aint It Cool News gave the episode 3.5 out of 5, and described the episode as "Thought-provoking, fast-paced and wholly devoid of action sequences".[15] Keith DeCandido of Tor.com gave it 1 out of 10 in his 2022 rewatch, calling it "a morally repugnant, despicable, horrible, awful, revolting episode that's a blight on the franchise."[16] In his season 1 overview he reiterated that the low rating he gave it, joint lowest with "Acquisition", was well-deserved.[17]
The episode was received warmly by members of the Enterprise cast and crew. Anthony Montgomery said prior to the end of the first series that he "absolutely loved 'Dear Doctor'; I thought that was fantastic".[18] After the end of the series, John Billingsley named the episode as one of his favourites as it was the first time he felt the character was three-dimensional,[19] and executive producer Brannon Braga subsequently called the episode a "classic".[20] Writer André Bormanis said that "Dear Doctor" was a "great example of a classic Star Trek / Science Fiction "what if" scenario that raised interesting and complex social issues."[21]
In 2014, The A.V. Club include this episode on their list of 10 episodes that best represented the series. Reviewer Alasdair Wilkins noted that the episode has been called the best or worst of the first season depending on who you asked. Wilkins praised John Billingsley for his nuanced performance.[22] In 2016, TrekNews.net rated it 8th on their top 10 essential episodes of Enterprise.[23]
In 2014 Io9 listed the top 100 Star Trek episodes, and placed "Dear Doctor" in 45th place.[24] In 2016, Vox rated this one of the top 25 essential episodes of all Star Trek.[25] In 2017, Screen Rant ranked this episode the 14th darkest episode of the Star Trek franchise. They note that it starts off as a medical mystery, but culminates in Archer committing genocide.[26]
In 2015, Den of Geek in a review of important show characters, recommended this episode along with "Stigma", "The Breach", and "Doctor's Orders" for the Phlox character.[27] In 2016, SyFy ranked Phlox 1st of the 6 main-cast space doctors of the Star Trek Franchise.[28]
Controversy
Almost immediately after airing, "Dear Doctor" received criticism from fans who disagreed with the conclusion of the episode.[4] John Billingsley said in an interview afterwards that he "had a feeling that probably there'd be some upset".[4] He didn't pay much attention to the response of fans on the Internet, and said of the online criticism that he "wasn't aware of it until well after the fact".[4] It was subsequently mentioned in an article on ethics in Star Trek written by Faith and Ethics reporter Stuart Laidlaw of the Toronto Star, who compared the actions of Phlox and Archer at the end of the episode to the response of the international community during 1994's Rwandan genocide.[29]
Home media release
The first home media release of the episode was on VHS in the UK on August 5, 2002.[30] It was first released in the United States on DVD (480 lines of resolution), having been released as part of the season one box set during May 2005.[31] The Blu-ray (1080p) release of Enterprise was announced in early 2013,[32] and was released in the United States on March 26 with the UK release following on April 1.[33][34]
John Billingsley is an American actor best known for his role as Doctor Phlox on the television series Star Trek: Enterprise.
"Doctor's Orders" is the sixteenth episode from the third season of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise. It's the sixty-eighth episode of the series, first airing on February 18, 2004.
"Similitude" is the tenth episode from the third season of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise. It first aired on November 19, 2003 and was the series' 62nd episode. Captain Archer orders a short-lived clone of Trip Tucker to be made to save Tucker's life. This episode won an Emmy for musical composition.
"Extinction" is the 55th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the third episode of season three. It first aired on September 24, 2003 on the UPN network in the United States. This was the first episode to include the prefix "Star Trek" in the title of the series. Set in the 22nd century just prior to the formation of the United Federation of Planets, the series follows the adventures of Starfleet's first Warp 5 starship, Enterprise, registration NX-01.
"Home" is the third episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise. It first aired on October 22, 2004, on the UPN network in the United States. It was the second episode of the season directed by Allan Kroeker and the first in season four to be written by Michael Sussman.
"A Night In Sickbay" is the thirty-first episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the fifth episode of season two. It first aired on October 16, 2002 on the UPN within the United States. The episode was written by executive producers Brannon Braga and Rick Berman, and directed by David Straiton.
"Regeneration" is the forty-ninth episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the twenty-third episode of the second season. It first aired on May 7, 2003, on the UPN in the United States. The episode was written by Mike Sussman and Phyllis Strong, and was directed by David Livingston. It was a follow-up to the feature film Star Trek: First Contact.
"Fight or Flight" is the third episode of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise. "Fight or Flight" was written by Brannon Braga and Rick Berman. Allan Kroeker served as director for the episode; he had previously directed "Endgame," the finale of Star Trek: Voyager.
"Strange New World" is the fourth episode of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise and was written by Mike Sussman Phyllis Strong based on a story from producers Brannon Braga and Rick Berman. David Livingston served as director for the episode.
"Civilization" is the ninth episode of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and was written by Phyllis Strong and Michael Sussman. Mike Vejar served as director for the episode.
"Fortunate Son" is the tenth episode of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and was written by James Duff. LeVar Burton served as director for the episode.
"Divergence" is the sixteenth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise. It originally aired on February 25, 2005 in the United States on UPN. It was the fourth episode of Enterprise to be written by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, and was the first episode of a Star Trek series directed by David Barrett. "Divergence" is the second part of a two part story, following on from "Affliction".
"Affliction" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and originally aired on February 18, 2005. The script was written by Mike Sussman from a story by executive producer Manny Coto. It was the second episode of Enterprise to be directed by Michael Grossman. The episode is the first of a two-part story, which concludes with "Divergence".
"The Breach" is the twenty-first episode of the second season and forty-seventh episode of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise. It originally aired on April 23, 2003, on UPN. This episode was written by Chris Black and John Shiban from a story by Daniel McCarthy; Robert Duncan McNeill directs. Guest stars include Henry Stram, Mark Chaet, Laura Putney, D.C. Douglas and Jamison Yang alongside the main cast of the show.
"Future Tense" is the 42nd episode of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the 16th of the second season. Set in the 22nd century of the Star Trek universe, a spaceship and its crew deal with aliens as they explore space.
"Sleeping Dogs" is the fourteenth episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise. It was written by Fred Dekker and directed by Les Landau.
"Fusion" is the seventeenth episode of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise. Set in the 22nd century, the science fiction television episode is about a spaceship exploring a galaxy filled with alien life. It aired on UPN on February 27, 2002.
"Two Days and Two Nights" is the twenty-fifth episode of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise. The episode won the 2002 Emmy Award for Outstanding Hairstyling For A Series. The television show episode first aired on UPN on Wednesday May 15, 2002. This episode was directed by Michael Dorn, with the story by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, and the teleplay by Chris Black.
"Singularity" is the thirty-fifth episode of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the ninth of the second season. The science fiction episode is set in the 22nd century of the Star Trek universe, where the NX-01 Enterprise with Captain Archer is exploring space.
The first season of Star Trek: Enterprise, an American television series, began airing on September 26, 2001, on UPN. The season concluded after 26 episodes on May 22, 2002. The series was developed by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, who also served as executive producers. Season one regular cast members include Scott Bakula, Jolene Blalock, Connor Trinneer, Dominic Keating, Linda Park, Anthony Montgomery and John Billingsley.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
