The Funny Twist That Never Was: Dr. Phlox' Veterinary Secret in Star Trek: Enterprise
Chloe Ramirez
Updated on May 17, 2026
By Published Apr 7, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT John Orquiola is a New & Classic TV Editor, Senior Writer, and Interviewer with a special focus on Star Trek. John has over 5,000 published articles at SR, and he has interviewed the biggest names in Star Trek on the red carpet and VIP events, among other beloved shows, movies, and franchises. Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap
A hilarious rejected twist would have changed how we look at one character, although it would also have made perfect sense. Star Trek: Enterprise celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2026, and the prequel led by Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer is more popular today among fans than it was during its original 4-season run on United Paramount Network (UPN).
was primarily human, with two exceptions. Captain Archer's NX-01 Enterprise had a Vulcan Science Officer, Subcommander T'Pol (Jolene Blalock), and a Denobulan Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Phlox (John Billingsley). One idea that was vetoed by executive producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga would have shed light on why Doctor Phlox was so endearingly eccentric.
Star Trek: Enterprise co-producer Andre Bormanis joined The D-Con Chamber podcast hosted by Connor Trinneer and Dominic Keating for a watch party of Star Trek: Enterprise season 2, episode 8, "The Communicator." Bormanis, who was also Star Trek's science consultant, revealed his pitch that Dr. Phlox was actually a veterinarian. Read Andre's quote and watch The D-Con Chamber interview below:
Andre Bormanis: “You know, I tried to convince Brannon at one point, more than once, I think, that on his homeworld, Denobula, Phlox is actually a veterinarian. He’s not allowed to work on other Denobulans. But we’re not Denobulans, he’s trained, you know…”
Dominic Keating: “That’s hilarious. We might as well be horses.”
Andre Bormanis: “Yeah, exactly! Might as well. And Brannon and/or Rick were [like], ‘That’s maybe a little over the top.”
It would have been a genuinely funny — and logical — twist if Star Trek: Enterprise revealed that Dr. Phlox was really a veterinarian. The 22nd century kept a menagerie of alien creatures in Enterprise's sickbay, including Lysarrian desert larvae, Calrissian chameleons, Osmotic eels, and his unruly Pyrithian bat.
Doctor Phlox's method of curing the ailments of Enterprise's crew with exotic alien fix-its would perfectly track if he were secretly a veterinarian. It would also explain why Phlox joined the interspecies medical program; Phlox wanted to practice medicine on humanoids, but if he was banned from treating Denobulans, then he sought out aliens, which would have led him to Earth and the Starship Enterprise.
Thanks to , Dr. Phlox was a lovable oddball, and visits to Star Trek: Enterprise's sickbay were always a highlight. Revealing that Phlox is only licensed to treat animals on Denobula would have been a funny twist that makes perfect sense for how Billingsley played and evolved Phlox.
However, it's understandable why Rick Berman and Brannon Braga said no to revealing that Dr. Phlox is a veterinarian. It would have compromised the integrity of the Chief Medical Officer, who became a beloved Star Trek: Enterprise character, in the service of a joke, no matter how funny it would've been at the outset.
Cast
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Scott Bakula Jonathan Archer -
Jolene Blalock T'Pol
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StreamingDirectors David Livingston, Allan Kroeker, Michael Vejar, David Straiton, Roxann Dawson, , James A. Contner, Robert Duncan McNeill, James L. Conway, James Whitmore Jr., Michael Grossman, Marvin V. Rush, Patrick R. Norris, David Barrett, Jim Charleston, , Rob Hedden, Terry Windell, Winrich Kolbe, Les Landau, Manny Coto Writers Chris Black, Garfield Reeves-Stevens, Judith Reeves-Stevens, David A. Goodman, Alan Brennert, André Jacquemetton, Brent V. Friedman, Fred Dekker, Ken LaZebnik, Maria Jacquemetton, James Duff, Jonathan Fernandez, Paul Brown, Stephen Beck, André Bormanis, Manny Coto, Michael Sussman, Allan Kroeker, Brannon Braga, David Wilcox, John Shiban, Judith Reeves-Stevens, Phyllis Strong, Rick Berman, Tim Finch Franchise(s) Creator(s) Rick Berman, Brannon Braga, Gene Roddenberry Expand Collapse
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