This year is Star Trek‘s 60th anniversary, and there’s a sense in which Starfleet Academy is the perfect celebration. Set in the late 32nd century, it nevertheless features a stunning number of homages to some of the best episodes of the past; we’ve already had secret sequels to Next Generation episodes, returning actors from Deep Space Nine, and – of course – a supporting role for Robert Picardo as the Doctor, still active 900 years after he returned from the Delta Quadrant.
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Starfleet Academy episode 8, “The Life of the Stars,” is an unusual episode dealing with the emotional impact of everything the Academy students went through when they clashed with monstrous aliens known as the Furies. It finally confronts an odd question that’s been running through this first season; why is the Doctor so hesitant to work with SAM, another holographic being who wanted him to serve as her mentor? The answer, it seems, likes in one of Voyager‘s best episodes.
The Doctor Is Still Wounded After One Of Voyager’s Best Stories
Star Trek has always been fascinated by the idea of a character who’s trying to learn what it means to be human; the trope was originally established by Spock, but is best typified by Commander Data. Unsurprisingly, then, the Doctor became Voyager‘s embodiment of this storyline. That’s never more the case than in the Season 3 episode “Real Life,” in which the Doctor sought to create a holographic family for himself so he could understand his patients better. He initially created something far too saccharine, but some reprogramming from B’Elanna Torres added randomness into the mix.
Crucially, and unsurprisingly, this does not go well. “Real Life” is generally seen as one of the strongest episodes in Season 3 (and certainly one of Star Trek‘s best holodeck episodes ever). That’s largely due to a standout performance from Picardo, who effortlessly moves from comedy to tragedy; the Doctor’s initial inability to understand social interactions causes lots of laughs to begin with, but events taken a sudden serious turn. The Doctor’s daughter, Belle, is critically injured. Even the Doctor cannot save her life.
“Real Life” sees the Doctor initially attempt to retreat from all this, unable to handle the emotions he’s now feeling. It takes Tom Paris to persuade him to reactivate the simulation, to stand at his daughter’s side alongside his family as she dies. But here’s the catch; it’s striking to note that the Doctor’s family never appeared again. He was there for Belle’s death, but he never seems to return again. It’s particularly heartbreaking given Paris’ caution that the Doctor will never truly be human if he cannot embrace the pain of it as well as the pleasure.
Starfleet Academy Finally Sees the Doctor Embrace the Consequences of “Real Life”
This, then, is where SAM comes in. The Doctor outright rejected the relationship she wanted with him, simply because he knew where it would lead; to tragedy, to heartache, to pain. He has been retreating from that kind of life for over 800 years, explaining why he reacted so strongly to her hopes he would be her mentor. But episode 8 forces the Doctor to confront these instincts, finally choosing to grow past his fear of further hurt.
It’s not smooth sailing. Picardo is a phenomenal actor, and he’s only grown stronger in the years since Voyager. The tone is set right from the start, when the Doctor delivers an all-too-rare personal log in place of the traditional captain’s logs, but the most impactful moment is one where SAM wants the Doctor to hold her hand as she undergoes monitoring. Picardo really sells the scene, portraying the Doctor as an emotional being who feels completely out of his death, and even Chancellor Ake is shocked at his choices at that moment.
But, in the end, the Doctor chooses life. He even explains his previous reluctance to interact with SAM, explicitly joining the dots for viewers struggling to understand his decisions. It’s a superb moment, one that completes a forgotten Voyager plot that really should have become a core part of the show after “Real Life.” And it really does make this one of the most emotionally resonant episodes of Starfleet Academy to date, even if – like the original Voyager episode itself – some of its subplots are rather stranger.
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