Warning: contains spoilers for Star Trek #24!
Star Trek just gave Voyager’s Emergency Medical Hologram a heartwarming new purpose in canon. The Emergency Medical Hologram, or EMH, was one of Star Trek: Voyager’s most popular characters, with one of the franchise’s most memorable story arcs. The EMH was designed to be the vanguard of a wave of holographic officers, and in Star Trek #24, a new, and wholesome, variant is introduced.
Robert Picardo, the actor who played the EMH on
Star Trek: Voyager
, will reprise his role in the forthcoming Starfleet Academy.
Star Trek #24 is written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly and drawn by Megan Levens. The USS Theseus has escaped the destruction of the Pleroma, and is now heading into the literal unknown. Lore has detonated the Bajoran Orb of Destruction, which is causing the universe to come unraveled. The ride promises to be a bumpy one. Tom Paris, who pilots the Theseus, radios down to Sickbay, instructing the EMN, or Emergency Medical Nanny, to watch over his daughter Miral, who is sleeping.
The EMN, when booted up, states: “please state the nature of the childcare emergency.”
Star Trek: Voyager’s Emergency Medical Hologram, Explained
At the Time, the EMH Was a Revolutionary Star Trek Character
Holographic characters were one of the ways Voyager broke the mold. When the franchise returned to television in 1987, fans wowed at some of the new innovations aboard the Enterprise, including the Holodeck. It became so popular that entire episodes began to be written around it, as early as the first season “We’ll Always Have Paris.” “Elementary, Dear Data,” airing in Star Trek: The Next Generation’s second season, took the idea a step further by introducing a self-aware holographic character, forming the blueprint for numerous “Holdeck run amok” episodes.
Over the next seven years, the EMH (who never received a formal name, but was often called “the Doctor”) became one of
Star Trek’s
most compelling characters.
The next step for the Star Trek franchise was to create a regular, holographic character: enter Voyager’s EMH. Created as a supplement for medical personnel, Voyager’s EMH became the ship’s regular doctor after it was transported to the Delta Quadrant, a move that killed many of the ship’s chief personnel and all of its medical staff. Over the next seven years, the EMH (who never received a formal name, but was often called “the Doctor”) became one of Star Trek’s most compelling characters. His growth from a simple hologram to a complex, layered character ranks as a Star Trek highmark.
Star Trek: Voyager’s EMH Kicked Off a Wave of Holographic Starfleet Officers
The Federation Must Deal With Hologram Sentience
The EMH kicked off a wave of holographic personnel in Starfleet. During Voyager’s fourth season, in the episode “Message in a Bottle,” fans met the Emergency Command Hologram. The ECH proved the program had merits, but any talk of creating a class of subservient, holographic workers was laid to rest during Voyager’s seventh season. The EMH petitioned for his personhood, which would directly affect any attempts by Starfleet to duplicate the success of the EMH. Whether he was successful is unknown, but holographic characters were glimpsed on Star Trek: Picard.
While the Federation continues to debate the sentience of holograms, it is still rolling out new models, including the wholesome Emergency Medical Nanny. The EMN is a natural outgrowth of that EMH and could signal the beginning of holograms that specialize in one particular field. The EMN, in his brief appearance, watches over Miral while she sleeps. Fans do not get to see the EMN in action during this issue, but hopefully soon they will. Voyager’s EMH grows to become a compassionate officer, and his new wholesome purpose in the Star Trek universe only makes him cooler.
Star Trek #24 is on sale now from IDW Publishing!