Warning: SPOILERS For Star Trek: Prodigy season 2, episode 18, “Touch of Grey”
Summary
During his return inStar Trek: Prodigyseason 2, the Doctor (Robert Picardo) repeated a trick from one of his most interesting episodes ofStar Trek: Voyager.Prodigyseason 2 picked up from season 1 with an action-packed storyline that focused on time travel and the fate ofStar Trek’s multiverse.The Doctor’s role inProdigyseason 2 marked another point of connection between it andVoyager, withProdigybeing the first time many important members ofVoyager’s cast of charactershave been seen in the franchise since the early 2000s.
Although theDoctor’s presence inProdigyseason 2was a bit smaller compared to the presence of otherVoyagercharacters, like Captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran), he still had several memorable moments throughout the season. One of these wasa well-executed bait and switch he and Admiral Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) pulled on Asencia (Jameela Jamil), the season’s villain who was attempting to start a war between the Federation and her home planet of Solum. The trick came inProdigyseason 2, episode 18, “Touch of Grey,” and mirrored a similar maneuver the Doctor orchestrated inVoyagerseason 7.
Star Trek: Prodigy Cast Guide: All Returning TNG & Voyager Characters In Season 2
Star Trek: Prodigy’s cast of young alien heroes are joined by legacy characters from TNG and Voyager in season 2.
Star Trek: Prodigy Repeated A Trick The Doctor Already Pulled Off On Voyager
The Doctor’s disguise skills were already explored in Voyager season 7
The Doctor disguising himself as Janeway to fool Asencia wasn’t the first time he had taken on her visage for an important mission. DuringVoyagerseason 7, episode 24, “Renaissance Man,“the Doctor pulled a similar trick by disguising himself as Janeway after she was captured by aliens attempting to steal the USS Voyager’s wrap core. Working for the aliens against his will, the Doctor was forced to impersonate other members of the crew to ultimately pull off the plan, includingChakotay and B’Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson).
The Doctor impersonated Janeway mostly successfully during both episodes, although “Touch of Grey” arguably showed that his skills at mimicking her have gotten better over time.
Although “Touch of Grey” and “Renaissance Man” don’t have a lot of other similarities,the moment Asencia found out that the supposed Admiral Janeway she tried to murder was actually the Doctor called to mind a lot of the stunts he pulledon during “Renaissance Man.” The Doctor impersonated Janeway mostly successfully during both episodes, although “Touch of Grey” arguably showed that his skills at mimicking her have gotten better over time. The real difference between the two episodes was that the Doctor’s particular set of skills was on better display inVoyagerthan inProdigy.
Star Trek: Voyager Did A Better Job Than Prodigy Of Showing The Doctor’s Skills
Voyager showed a more complete picture of the Doctor
In general, and especially in “Renaissance Man,“Star Trek: Voyagerdid a better job of showing just how capable the Doctor was as a character. “Renaissance Man” was in many ways the culmination of the Doctor’s entire character arc onVoyagergiven that it was one of the last episodes in the series. The episode pushed the Doctor’s abilities to the limit and showed that he could pull off a lot of impressive mental and even physical feats. It was a true heist episode, and the Doctor was shown to be a capable secret agent.
Despite his ultimate triumphs in “Renaissance Man,” the episode ended with the Doctor almost being decompiled after the sheer amount of information needed to pull off the plan that he had uploaded into his program threatened to overload his holomatrix.
In contrast, besides his one moment of deception, the Doctor mostly acted asProdigyseason 2’s comic relief. He didn’t have a lot to do besides occasionally advising the former Protostar crew and joking about his various holonovels. WhileStar Trek: Prodigyseason 2 showed the evolution of otherVoyagercharacters like Janeway and Chakotay, the Doctor didn’t get much of an update.This was a bit disappointing given how popular the Doctor continues to be as a characterand how much potential he had from the end ofVoyagerthat could have been showcased.
