Dear Doctor

Dear Doctor has some serious issues to discuss and does so very well indeed. Confronted by two different humanoid races inhabiting the same planet but possessing conflicting developmental challenges, the crew experiences the type of moral dilemma for which the iconic Prime Directive was created. The problem for the Valakians and the Menk is that this new Star Fleet policy hasn't been ratified yet. Captain Archer very much wants to help these interdependent races but doesn't know who to assist or how to do so.

We see hear the story unfold through the means of a long letter in which Doctor Phlox documents his doubts and discoveries in order to shares them with his exchange colleague Doctor Lucas. This is a well constructed episode with both Rick Berman and Brannon Braga taking writing credit. John Billingsley turns in a faultless performance as he always does when given a worthwhile part and, apparently, particularly liked this episode because he felt it was his first opportunity to flesh out his character.

Movie Night aboard the Enterprise is a good idea which will be resurrected many years down the line in Star Trek Discovery but, as with all those theatrical performances which took place aboard the 1701D, we are often left wondering who is minding the store when so many cast regulars are taking the evening off.

David Kimbel as the Valakian, Esaak, and Alex Nevil as the unnamed Menk give credibility to the plight of their respective races and Kelly Waymire continues to stand out as the lively Crewman Cutler. Jeremy Lewis, recipient of the doctor's revealing missive, does not appear in person until the Fourth Season but establishing him in this episode helps to round out both the professional and the personal aspects of Doctor Phlox.

Senior Trekker scores every episode with a Five.

After a dozen episodes, the Star Trek series "Enterprise" comes into its own with this amazing episode, written by Maria and Andre Jacquemetton (known for their later work producing the great "Mad Men" series. Dealing with the central issue of how a space exploration might interfere with alien races' development, it's dramatized carefully in a very logical and in fact, emotional fashion, to deliver via Archer's final decision a terrific conclusion.

With an insidiously beautiful and subtle musical score, and central character John Billingsley's voice-over narration and bemused acting style, the episode personalizes theoretical issues. His relationship to his human crewmates, especially the platonic romantic interest well-played by Kelly Waymire, makes the notion about interspecies relations more palpable and personal.

Unlike literary science fiction, where concepts are paramount, movie (and TV) examples in the genre tend to be biased in favor of "action movie" cliches & SPFX. This episode is a thinking person's show in the genre, and packs a wallop.

The good thing about Star Trek is its willingness to tackle philosophical concepts and that is what makes this a good episode. Also by combining it with development of the doctor - my favourite character, nonetheless - I think it's the best episode of Enterprise I've seen so far.

I've seen negative reviews on IMDb, perhaps because the reviewers believe the "correct" answer is blatant. However, I would argue that the point is that these concepts should be explored. That the answers are not clear cut and that challenging one's established ideas is good. Each side has merit and the way this is explored is well written and presented convincingly.

This brings this series back to what makes Star Trek great.

I've seen the trope of "a day in the life of... insert main supporting character here" in other series. As with this one, they usually take the form of correspondence being written to an off screen character, recounting the events of the day from that character's perspective.

This, however, was one of the best incarnations of the idea that I've seen. It was interesting to see how well the writers pushed a range of different threads into the doctor's day (or actually a few days, I think), and yet still managed to come up with a coherent story.

The story includes some ethical dilemmas which don't just take the easy, feel good way out, but I won't spoil the episode by going further than that. Better still, it enabled some of the characters to see issues from a different perspective.

The other thing that I enjoyed was the opportunity to let John Billingsley take the lead for the episode. As always Phlox was played calmly and methodically, and yet still managed to put some genuine emotion into the mix.

I've been binge watching Enterprise for the last couple of days and this was probably the best written and interesting episode to date... and it wasn't without competition on that score.

The Enterprise finds a primitive starship with two dying alien astronauts, and one of them tells that his Valakian race is extinguishing due to an epidemic. Archer travels to their planet and assigns Dr. Phlox to find a cure for the disease. Dr. Phlox, who is trying to understand his relationship with the human crewman Elizabeth Cutler, discloses that the planet inhabited by two humanoid races that pacifically coexists: the developed Valakian and the primitive workers Menk. Further, he discovers that the Valakian have genetic epidemic that will annihilate their race in about two centuries while the Menk have linguistic and manual abilities to be developed. With the dilemma of interfering in the development of races, Phlox has a serious conversation with Archer.

"Dear Doctor" presents a good discussion of ethical and moral concerns. The story is centered in the pleasant Denobulian Dr. Phlox, who is totally integrated to the human style of life but still have doubts related to relationship between male and female. The advice of T'Pol is very funny and logical, since she does not understand the matters of heart and love. The excerpts of "For Whom the Bell Tolls", showing the gorgeous face of Ingrid Bergman with about twenty-seven years old, is a plus in this great episode. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Caro Doutor" ("Dear Doctor")