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In “Dear Doctor” we learn a lot about the day to day activities of Phlox, the resident doctor aboard the Enterprise. We learn that he keeps a lot of pets. We learn that he’s interested in forming romantic relationships with humans. And we learn that he occasionally has to convince his commanding officer that committing genocide by withholding medication from a terminally ill civilization is the right thing to do. “Dear Doctor” feels like a very fresh and intriguing take on the Prime Directive and acts as an insightful porthole into one of Star Trek’s central moral conundrums.
Wikipedia plot summary of “Dear Doctor”:
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 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 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 “primary 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.
In this episode of the podcast, Wes and Clay discuss crafting the perfect situation for the Prime Directive. Plus! They guys break down Enterprise’s Netflix queue, the cruelty of T’Pol, and the ethics of Phlox’s decision!