Starfleet Academy is the first live-action Star Trek project to feature Robert Picardo as the Doctor since 2001's Voyager finale. Although he also appeared in Prodigy season 2, the animated series' low profile means many Trekkies are only just now reuniting with the EMH MK I. Despite being active for hundreds of years by Star Trek's 32nd century, the character's comeback proves that a key part of his personality has survived since the 24th century.
As a non-organic lifeform, the Doctor is one of only a few beloved Star Trek characters who can appear in Starfleet Academy without any overly twisty sci-fi writing. The fact that he's a functionally immortal hologram is explanation enough. Still, Picardo's presence among the cast presents him with an interesting challenge. While Voyager fans will want more of the same old Doctor, he's lived too long for that to be the case. At least his best trait has remained unchanged.
SPOILERS ahead for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1 Episode 4, "Vox in Excelsio."
Starfleet Academy proves the Doctor never stopped learning new skills
Starfleet Academy season 1 Episode 4, "Vox in Excelsio," shows the Doctor teaching the cadets the art of debating. While he explains that he gained this skill "debating himself into existence" aboard the USS Voyager, it actually goes far deeper than that. Originally designed as a short-term addition to a Starfleet medical team during a crisis, the Doctor was never intended to be online for anywhere near as long as he has been. In fact, there is even a Voyager episode where the crew needs to account for the Doctor's unplanned level of activity by saving his program from folding in on itself entirely.
As well as becoming Voyager's Chief Medical Officer, the Doctor also learned new skills along the way that helped himself and the crew. Most were tied into the duties that were expected of him, but he also learned and programmed abilities that had nothing to do with medicine. For example, he taught Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine how to integrate with humans, a skill he had to figure out for himself. He even manifested his dream of serving as the ship's Medical Command Hologram when the senior crew was incapacitated.
So, while it's logical that the Doctor teaches medicine at Starfleet Academy, the fact that he's also so pivotal to the debate program proves his thirst for knowledge, and imparting said knowledge, hasn't gone anywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw the Doctor leading lectures on a variety of other subjects as Starfleet Academy progresses. Of course, his duties as the USS Athena's Chief Medical Officer also need to be accounted for.
How the Doctor has changed since Star Trek's 24th century
As mentioned earlier, the Doctor isn't identical to how he's portrayed in Voyager, or even Prodigy. By the time of Starfleet Academy, Picardo's character has had centuries of off-screen experiences that have shaped how he conducts himself. Firstly, there is the obvious: he looks older than the last time we saw him. Holograms typically don't age, but Starfleet Academy has accounted for this by having the Doctor explain that this was an intervention he made himself "to put organics at ease."
More generally, the Doctor has become more brash in his ancient age. He never suffered fools in the 24th century, but there were occasions when he softened his demeanor in scenarios that called for it. I'm sure he still does this in certain medical settings, but seeing how he speaks to the cadets while teaching them proves he has a stark style that sets him apart from the other officers who have similar posts at the Academy.
The Doctor's growth makes an unsung Star Trek hero even more legendary
The EMH MK I, of which the Doctor is one, was initially rolled out as a feature on all Starfleet vessels. Designed by Dr. Lewis Zimmerman, also played by Picardo, the first iteration of the EMH was deemed too rude to serve as a Doctor, and they were promptly pulled from service and replaced with an updated model that looked and acted differently. Voyager's situation of being stranded in the Delta Quadrant made this impossible, and the Doctor was allowed to continue in his expanded role as the ship's Chief Medical Officer.
The rate at which the Doctor has evolved remains a testament to Zimmerman's genius in the holographic field. Although sentient holograms appear to be commonplace in the 32nd century, the Doctor was an early trailblazer in this respect. Dr. Zimmerman designed a holomatrix that, inadvertently or otherwise, allowed the Doctor to last and learn for what's rapidly becoming a millennium. You might not see Dr. Zimmerman's name in the Starfleet history books as much as the Doctor, but Star Trek: Starfleet Academy proves just how brilliant he was.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1 is streaming now on Paramount+. The finale will land on March 12, 2026.