The Doctor, an Emergency Medical Hologram (or EMH for short), is a fictional character portrayed by actor Robert Picardo on the television series Star Trek: Voyager, which aired on UPN between 1995 and 2001. He is an artificial intelligence manifesting as a holographic projection, designed to act as a short-term supplement to the medical staff of a starship during emergency situations. However, when the starship Voyager is stranded on the far side of the galaxy with no surviving medical personnel, he is forced to act as the ship's chief medical officer for several years. In an example of the Star Trek franchise's exploration of artificial intelligence, a simple software program becomes a major character in the show. Casting In a 2020 interview, Picardo said his agent told him that he was selected from 900 actors who auditioned for the role. He added that he first learned what a hologram was from being selected for the role. "I was confused, I didn’t know what it meant for him to be a hologram or a computer program. I didn’t understand enough about Star Trek 'science,' which is based on real science, although we still don’t know how to make a hologram with density. So I got the part without knowing at all what I was in for." Picardo initially auditioned for Neelix. Despite Ethan Phillips' getting the part, Picardo was asked by the producers to come back and audition for The Doctor — something that shocked him, because usually actors would be passed over completely. During his audition for the role of The Doctor, Picardo was asked only to say, "Somebody forgot to terminate my program." However, he then ad libbed, "I'm a doctor, not a nightlight!" (Picardo was initially afraid that he might have ruined his chances—ad libbing, he explained, was something that one just "did not do" in an audition.) Depiction The Doctor began his service on the USS Voyager as the standard Emergency Medical Hologram built into almost every newer Starfleet ship's sickbay. The EMH is to be used should the ship's doctor be incapacitated or require emergency assistance. In the series' first episode, Voyagers chief medical officer, along with his nurse, are killed, necessitating extended use of the EMH. The EMH eventually developed his own personality, although he generally maintained his acerbic wit and irritating "version one" bedside manner. As he was originally intended as a temporary medical