Robert Picardo Teases Surprising Arc For The Doctor In Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

Robert Picardo says there’s “no comparison” between the sets of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Star Trek: Voyager, and he hints at a surprising arc for The Doctor. Executive produced by Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy premiered on Paramount+ and is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

For longtime Star Trek: Voyager fans, seeing Robert Picardo reprise The Doctor in live-action is a big draw to watch Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. The original Emergency Medical Hologram is now 800 years old in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy‘s 32nd century. The Doctor is as gruff and self-involved as ever in his dual role as an instructor and Chief Medical Officer of the USS Athena.

ScreenRant’s Liam Crowley spoke to Robert Picardo, who was paired with Gina Yashere, at Star Trek: Starfleet Academy‘s press junket. Picardo teased a “wonderful arc that was different” as the reason he reprised the EMH, and he discusses the impressive scope of Starfleet Academy‘s sets. Read Bob’s quotes below:

Liam Crowley: Did you ever think that you would play The Doctor this many times throughout your career?

Robert Picardo: No, I did not. It’s not something I could have imagined. I know that bringing back legacy players was very popular in the third season of Picard, but I never, ever saw this coming. But when they asked to speak to me, our two execs, Noga and Alex, and they pitched me this wonderful arc that was different, that you’ll see by the end of the first season. You’ll see the character in a way you’ve never seen him before, in all 800 years.

Liam Crowley: Sticking on that topic too, I’d love to know how you felt it compared in scope-wise, scale-wise, to Voyager.

Robert Picardo: It’s no comparison. I mean, this is the biggest set ever built for Star Trek. The Starfleet Academy Atrium. It’s on the biggest soundstage in North America. Most of my career has been in Hollywood, and I’ve been on the biggest stages in Warner Brothers, Universal. Nothing like this.

And just stepping onto that set is awe-inspiring and gives you a sense of the importance of what you’re doing. It’s all of 60 years of Star Trek tradition of optimism and training the explorers of tomorrow embodied in one glorious space and [we] have scenes all over. We still haven’t discovered every nook and cranny.

But in the opening episode, I cover more ground than anyone else does in a walk and talk scene. That Steadicam shot I have with wonderful actress Kerrice Brooks, who plays Sam. My fellow hologram. She’s annoying the pants off me and I have to run away from her. I think that it was so much fun to have that big space to play in.

Robert Picardo’s walk and talk scene with Kerrice Brooks shows off Star Trek: Starfleet Academy‘s majestic, multi-level Sato Atrium set, named for Star Trek: Enterprise‘s Hoshi Sato (Linda Park). Brooks plays SAM (Series Acclimation Mil), a photonic being, which makes her kindred to the EMH.

Star Trek: Voyager was filmed at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, but Robert Picardo is right that the Star Trek Stage in Toronto, where Starfleet Academy films, dwarfs his previous series. The Star Trek Stage is the biggest soundstage in North America, and it’s so large and detailed that there are still “nooks and crannies” he hasn’t seen.

Robert Picardo’s hint that he was lured to reprise The Doctor because of a “different” character arc that will show the EMH in a way we’ve never seen before is intriguing. Picardo previously voiced The Doctor in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2, where the EMH was a Starfleet Academy teacher, and this convinced Alex Kurtzman to bring Bob to Starfleet Academy.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy doesn’t skimp on amusing scenes with The Doctor, and Robert Picardo clearly has a ball playing his holographic curmudgeon once more. It’s also exciting to learn that The Doctor isn’t just around for comic relief, and that the EMH will have a character-altering arc of his own.