Leonard McCoy
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Leonard Horatio McCoy, MD, nicknamed "Bones" (as in "Sawbones", an old-fashioned colloquialism for a doctor or a surgeon), is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe, played by the late DeForest Kelley. In , he was one of the three main characters, and the humanistic counterpart to the logical Mr. Spock; capable of great compassion, yet also cranky, superstitious, and irrational, suspicious of advanced technology (especially the transporter, which he regarded with distrust and often outright dismay) and occasionally even bigoted with regard to Spock's half-Vulcan ancestry. He was the only American Southerner depicted among the racially and ethnically diverse crew of the Starship Enterprise.
McCoy often complains about technological advances in medicine and professes a preference toward "good ol' fashioned country medicine"; however, when he encounters 1980s medicine in , he reacts with anger and disgust. McCoy is a physician of considerable skill, capable even of successfully treating creatures whose physiologies he is unfamiliar with, such as the Horta.
History
Little is established about McCoy's biography in the official Star Trek canon. However, fans and writers of the original series have conjectured some facts about the character, which are generally accepted. They suggest that Leonard McCoy was born in 2227 and attended the University of Mississippi from 2245 to 2249 and medical school from 2249 to 2253. A backstory developed by Star Trek writer D.C. Fontana but not used in the series speculates that Leonard McCoy was married shortly before obtaining his medical degree. Starting a private practice, McCoy fathered a daughter, Joanna, before being divorced by his wife and losing custody of his child. This would have been revealed in an episode written for called Joanna, but this episode was heavily re-written into what would become The Way to Eden. (The character of Joanna was re-written as Irina Galiulin, Pavel Chekov's love interest in that episode.) Sometime after 2260, Leonard McCoy closed his medical practice and enlisted in Starfleet to escape the pain of losing his wife and daughter. Fontana's version of events, though not officially canonical, is considered part of the Star Trek Expanded Universe. McCoy's book Comparative Alien Physiology became a classic among medical textbooks on par with Gray's Anatomy, and part of the knowledge base of the Emergency Medical Hologram.Canonically, the ' episode "Trials and Tribble-ations" established that McCoy met Emony Dax, a female Trill athlete (with whom he had a sexual relationship, it seems), while a student at Ole Miss. ' depicted McCoy's memory of performing euthanasia on his terminally ill father, Dr. David McCoy, for which he carried lasting guilt after a cure for the ailment was discovered not long afterwards.
McCoy was not a graduate of Starfleet Academy but rather was commissioned by Starfleet as a Lieutenant. By 2265, he had been promoted to Lieutenant Commander and was assigned as a medical observer to the planet Capella. The assignment was unfruitful, as the Capellans found little need for medical arts and existed under a tribal society where only the strong survived.
In 2266, McCoy was named Chief Medical Officer on the Enterprise NCC-1701 under Captain James T. Kirk, replacing Doctor Mark Piper. (Some non-canonical, "Expanded Universe" stories suggest that McCoy was assigned to Enterprise from the start, but took a leave of absence for reasons not disclosed, during which time Piper substituted for him.) McCoy and Kirk became good friends, but the passionate, sometimes cantankerous McCoy was constantly getting into arguments with Kirk's other close friend/confidante, Mr. Spock. McCoy served until 2269, when the ship's five year mission ended. It is speculated that Leonard McCoy was promoted to Commander at this time, but in any event, he had retired from Starfleet by 2270 and again was engaging in private medical practice.
Circa 2271, McCoy was recalled to Starfleet and recommissioned as a Commander at the request of Kirk (Starfleet using a "little-known, seldom used, reserve activation clause" which McCoy likened to being drafted). After serving as the Medical Officer during the V'Ger Crisis, it is speculated that he signed on for a second five-year voyage and served as Chief Medical Officer until 2276, although the occurrence of a second five-year mission is not considered canonical. By 2282, he was a Medical Training Instructor at Starfleet Academy.
In 2286, McCoy was appointed as Chief Medical Officer of the second USS Enterprise (NCC 1701-A). He served at this post until 2293, when the vessel was decommissioned. Star Trek fans have speculated that McCoy was promoted to Captain sometime after 2295 and further speculation indicates that McCoy may have become the head of Starfleet Medical School, though to date nothing canonical has been confirmed about this part of his life.
By the early 24th century, McCoy had risen the to rank of Admiral; some have speculated he at one point was the Starfleet Surgeon General and that also he may have held a special rank known as Branch Admiral; however, there is nothing in canon to support this. Retired from Starfleet, he remained on-call for Starfleet duties and frequently performed starship medical inspections. He appears at the age of 137 years in "Encounter at Farpoint", the first episode of , in which Data escorts him through the corridors of the new Enterprise-D. (McCoy questions him, "I don't see no points on your ears boy, but you sound like a Vulcan." When Data explains that he is an android, the doctor says, "Almost as bad." However, when Data responds that the Vulcans are regarded as an honorable race, McCoy agrees, but counters that they're also "damned annoying".)There is debate among some fans over whether the character played by DeForest Kelley in "Encounter at Farpoint" is actually McCoy, given that the character is never referred to by name on screen, nor in the credits. The general consensus is that the character is indeed Leonard McCoy, based on the fact that his appearance, accent, attitudes toward Vulcans and the transporter, profession, rank, and age are all perfectly consistent with this supposition.
McCoy had no actual further appearances in The Next Generation or any of the following television series, though he was shown briefly in the past, in the episode "Trials and Tribble-ations", using footage from the original "The Trouble with Tribbles" episode. McCoy has made appearances in several Next Generation era novels. The passing of DeForest Kelley in 1999 precludes him from reprising his role as McCoy in the future.
In the non-canonical "expanded universe" of Star Trek, McCoy's death was marked by a comic book story published by DC Comics soon after Kelley's death, in which Spock and Montgomery Scott - two TOS characters known to still be alive and active in the 24th Century - visit McCoy on his death bed.
However, McCoy still appears in later Star Trek novels. In William Shatner's novels he is over 150 years old, with synthetic body parts (heart, lungs, digestive system, legs, etc.) outnumbering his original ones.
Note
Quotes
- (Talking to Data) "I don't see no points on your ears, boy, but you sound like a Vulcan."
- "I'm beginning to think I can cure a rainy day."
- (Referring to ships named Enterprise) "You treat her like a lady, and she'll always bring you home."
- (In the episode Court Martial upon being introduced to a beautiful ex-girlfriend of Kirk's) "Why is it all my old friends look like doctors and all his look like you?"
Catchphrases
\"He's dead, Jim.\" (or variations)
- Crewman Green in "The Man Trap."
- The Space Puppy in "The Enemy Within."
- The adult native in "Miri."
- Doctor Adams in "Dagger of the Mind."
- Captain Kirk in "Amok Time."
- Scotty in "The Changeling."
- Crewman Jackson in "Catspaw."
- Scotty in "I, Mudd."
- Lieutenant Galway in "The Deadly Years."
- The Table Dancer in "Wolf in the Fold."
- Lieutenant Tracey in "Wolf in the Fold."
- Commissioner Hengist in "Wolf in the Fold."
- Priestess Nona in "A Private Little War."
- Captain Kirk in "Return to Tomorrow."
- Professor Starnes in "And the Children Shall Lead."
- Marvick in "Is There in Truth No Beauty?."
- Ensign Chekov in "Spectre of the Gun."
- The old man in "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky."
- Murdered scientist in "The Lights of Zetar."
In the computer game when you repeatedly click on a Terran Medic, she will eventually say "His EKG is flatlining! Give me a defib stat!" followed by "He's dead, Jim."
\"I'm a Doctor, not a...\"
- A moon shuttle conductor (in "The Corbomite Maneuver").
- A bricklayer (in "The Devil in the Dark").
- A psychiatrist (in "The City on the Edge of Forever").
- A mechanic (in "The Doomsday Machine" and "The Empath").
- An engineer (in "Mirror, Mirror").
- A scientist (in "Metamorphosis").
- A physicist (in "Metamorphosis").
- An escalator (in "Friday's Child").
- A magician (in "The Deadly Years").
- A miracle worker (in "The Deadly Years").
- A flesh peddler (in "Return to Tomorrow").
- A coal miner (in "The Empath").
The Doctor from ' sometimes uses "I'm a Doctor..." McCoyisms. The similar Emergency Medical Hologram from ' also states, "I'm a Doctor, not a doorstop." Doctor Julian Bashir from said, "I'm a doctor, not an historian" in Trials and Tribble-ations..
Also from Star Trek: Voyager, Tom Paris says in the epsiode "Message in a Bottle": "I'm a pilot, Harry, not a doctor" when Paris is temporarly assigned to sickbay after The Doctor is sent on an away-mission.
The Transformers cartoon parodied McCoy in the episode The Return of Optimus Prime with Wreck-Gar saying "I'm a doctor, not a forklift" and "He's dead, Jim" when asked if he could repair Optimus Prime. (Wreck-Gar also parodies Montgomery Scott in the same scene.)
In the 1998 film The Man in the Iron Mask, the character of Aramis, played by Jeremy Irons sawed the beams of a barn to keep Porthos (Gérard Depardieu) from committing suicide by hanging. This resulted in the barn collapsing in on itself, to which Aramis remarked that he was a genius and not an engineer, in a parody of McCoy.
HK-47 in the game also says "Dammit, master, I'm an assassination droid, not a dictionary!" at one point, obviously parodying McCoy.
In the movie , Ace says, "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor not a pool man."
In keeping with its profusion of Star Trek references, Dr. Carson Beckett in Stargate Atlantis is often linked to McCoy; on at least one occasion, he says "I'm a medical doctor, not a bloody fighter pilot!" (in "The Storm"/"The Eye"). In addition, Dr. Rodney McKay needles Beckett about how, like McCoy, he didn't like going outside his safety zone (in McCoy's case, the ship, in Beckett's case, Atlantis) or using a teleportation device (in McCoy's case, a transporter, in Beckett's case a Stargate), at which point Teyla Emmagan inquires about McCoy; Major John Sheppard replies, "The TV character Beckett plays in real life."
In the Disney movie Treasure Planet, the character Dr. Doppler reverses McCoy's famous line: "Dang it, Jim, I'm an astronomer, not a doctor! I mean, I am a doctor, but I'm not that kind of doctor."
In an episode of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" which William Shatner guest starred in, Will Smith parodied the line by saying, "Dammit Jim, I'm a black boy from Philly, not a doctor!"
In the film Zoolander, Derek Zoolander's father, played by Jon Voight, says, "Damnit Derek, I'm a coal miner, not a professional film or television actor. "
In an late '90s episode of "Saturday Night Live", hosted by William Shatner, a skit involving the Enterprise as a rotating restaurant has the character of McCoy (played by Phil Hartman,) responding to a choking patron with "Dammit, I'm a Doctor, not a... OH!"
External links
- [StarTrek.com: Leonard McCoy]
- article at Memory Alpha, the Star Trek wiki
| Regular characters on Star Trek | |||
| Kirk | Spock | McCoy | Scott | Uhura | Sulu | Chekov — : Arex | M'Ress | |||
| Picard | Riker | Data | La Forge | Worf | B. Crusher | Troi | W. Crusher | Yar | Pulaski | |||
| B. Sisko | Kira | J. Dax | Odo | Bashir | O'Brien | Worf | J. Sisko | Quark | Rom | Nog | E. Dax | Garak | Martok | Damar | Dukat | Weyoun | Winn | |||
| Janeway | Chakotay | Tuvok | Paris | Torres | Kim | Doctor | Neelix | Seven | Kes | |||
| Archer | T'Pol | Tucker | Reed | Phlox | Sato | Mayweather | |||
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