Dear Doctor

"Dear Doctor" is the thirteenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and originally aired on January 23, 2002, on UPN.

In "Dear Doctor", Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) faces a serious dilemma as a dying race begs for help from the crew of the Enterprise.

The episode is significant for introducing the concepts and motivations of the Prime Directive just prior to the founding of the United Federation of Planets.

Sub-Commander T'Pol reveals that the Vulcans are unaware of the species, but she agrees with Captain Jonathan Archer to help them.

Phlox continues his letter, describing the challenges of treating the disease – with over fifty million lives at stake.

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.

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."

Archer considers how a "Prime 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.

[3] UPN requested a modified ending to the episode, as the original version had Phlox and Archer disagreeing over what to do with the Valakians.

John Billingsley, who played Doctor Phlox in Enterprise, didn't agree with the changed version, saying "the ending that had initially been created I was fairly comfortable with.

I wasn't as happy with the revisions, but it's not my show, you have to sort of adjust, even if sometimes it does seem a bit of a contradiction in terms for what your character is supposed to be about.

[12] She enjoyed the "seamlessly interwoven subplots and moving character development" and the pace of the episode, but wanted to see more of the society of the two races.

[15] Keith DeCandido of Tor.com gave it 1 out of 10 in his 2022 rewatch, calling it "a morally repugnant, despicable, horrible, awful, revolting episode that's a blight on the franchise.

[20] Writer André Bormanis said that "Dear Doctor" was a "great example of a classic Star Trek / Science Fiction "what if" scenario that raised interesting and complex social issues.

[4] It was subsequently mentioned in an article on ethics in Star Trek written by Faith and Ethics reporter Stuart Laidlaw of the Toronto Star, who compared the actions of Phlox and Archer at the end of the episode to the response of the international community during 1994's Rwandan genocide.