Yet another observation about SF Medical

[Theunicornhunter 2]

I've mentioned a couple of things that bothered me about their depiction of medical issues. Now I have to ask am I the only one that sees inconsistencies in what the doctors can cure and how quickly? One example, on ENT - when Malcolm gets spiked by the mine he needs weeks of "eel" therapy to heal the hole in his leg. But on Rogue Planet when the alien is attacked by the beast Dr. Phlox has him all fixed up in hours - with no scars.

[mj 7]

I have to lo

[trekzone 0]

i agree with mjham, it could be related to the species healing abilities..

[Red Shirt Volunteer 0]

I think Unicorn Hunter raises a good point here. Star Fleet Medical seems only to appear in order to help the plot move along: they need to win an alien's help fast with a quick fix to a medical problem; they need prosthetics to go on a mission or some kind of new and unheard of inoculation to protect them from something fans would think can't be survived (some kind of energy wave or something); somebody needs help with a long-term problem so that we can see a flashback of how it all started; etc. It doesn't seem consistent. On the other hand, they do help the stories roll along.

[mj 7]

I guess I see your point... that a lot of what is done are just plot devices. I think I just was not paying attention, or giving it that much thought.

 

A lot of things people point out as inconsistencies never bothered me, because I have a tendency to try to put things into a context that makes sense to me. So I would expect Star Fleet Medical to be in a developmental stage, especially with regard to dealing with aliens. I would expect them to do some things well, and some things less well. Alien prosthetics I would expect them to be able to come up with -- computerized design, and so forth, because at this point human prosthetics would be so far along. And I do not expect Dr. Phlox's performance to be equal in all situations.

 

But I think I see what you mean about some things being a bit convenient.

Edited September 9, 2003 by mjham

[Red Shirt Volunteer 0]

Yeah, but the developmental stage re. aliens might be a good way to think about it. I sometimes shake my head at what happens but I like the way it helps to keep things moving along.