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Julian was very quick to catch my attention
when I watched my first episode of the Deep Space Nine. I had just arrived in Kansas after a long stay overseas, and though I had heard of the series, I've never actually gotten a chance to see it. At home finally at 11:00 at night, the first show that I saw on TV was none other than Statistical Probabilities, a Deep Space Nine episode. Perhaps by predestination, it featured Dr. Bashir in a very character-driven plot. Though nothing was familiar to me, I immediately took a liking to the doctor. He was not only singularly young for a Starfleet Chief Medical Officer, but had a very un-Federation doctor-like sense of humor lurking about in his eyes, or, in his words, a zest for life. His love for a little fun aside, Bashir is very serious about his work as a doctor, and his painstaking care of patients was evident even after only a few episodes.
Star Trek as a series has always centered around the Federation and its core organization: Starfleet. In the Federation's role as a righteous interstellar political body, it has always managed to send out an endless stream of brilliant medical officers from the Starfleet Medical Academy. These miracle workers heal sickness and balm wounds with superior technology and capable hands. While I've yet to see a Klingon doctor or a Dominion medic, (Are there any to begin with? Everyone, save the Founders, is disposable) the doctors of Starfleet are exceptionally good at their jobs. Bones McCoy of Kirk's Enterprise may have a rather blunt and caustic persona, but he is protective of any lifeform that needs medical attention. Dr. Crusher may look unaware and flighty, but her skills are not to be doubted. Dr. Pulaski, the least known CMO perhaps of all the series, was an extremely capable doctor and the banner-bearer of humanitarian causes. While no two doctors share similar personalities, their unshakable belief in mercy to the injured and help to the needy is a common thread for all Starfleet doctors (We won't discuss the EMH, whose programming dictates most of his personality).
Still, having been used to the intense presence of Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy and the mild blandness of Dr. Crusher (she's never done anything outside sickbay), the brash, handsome young doctor of DS9 was quite a surprise. Not only does Bashir own a distinctive British accent that stands out amongst the notoriously American English speaking Trek cast of humans and aliens,
but he approaches the whole situation aboard Deep Space Nine as one adventure of galactic proportions, with him being the explorer who confronts the challenges of the frontier.
When he first came aboard Deep Space Nine, wide-eyed and full of heroic aspirations, he declared it everything he had wanted: a chance to practice frontier medicine in the farthest reaches of the Federation border. Little wonder then that the 300 year old symbiont within Lieutenant Jadzia Dax found him amusing when they first met. At the beginning, Julian thought perhaps a touch too highly about himself and unwittingly put off some of his colleagues, not to mention the dates he's had. The ganglionic nerve question has been fatal to his social life thus far, and it is a great relief that he finally "got the point" and stopped ranting on about his valedictorian loss. In fact, in the latter part of the fifth season, the audience learned why Julian had been wont to repeat the circumstances of his loss so often. Julian had purposely lost the honor of graduating first in his class, a sort of penance for being genetically engineered. Bashir was never really as annoying as some people have thought he was when his character was first introduced in "Emissary". His ebullience may have upset some people, but with the passing of years, he has aged and matured rapidly as the war progressed. The clean antiseptic Infirmary saw many deaths, injuries, and much pain during the wages of war with the Dominion and in the brief period when the Klingon Empire was at odds with the Federation.
Though many had once doubted whether such a young and irreverent doctor as Julian could possibly be up to the task of being a CMO, Bashir proved himself among Starfleet's finest doctors in short order, not only rescuing entire planets at a
time [The Quickening], but taking care of the psychological aspects of the crew and all in need of care.
So let's compare the best aspects of these four illustrious Federation Doctors and see how they match up with each other: Feel free to participate by emailing me
Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
Dr. Beverly Crusher
Dr. Julian Subatoi Bashir
The EMH of Dr. Lewis Zimmerman
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