10 Weirdest Star Trek Doppelgängers

8. Sam Mark II

Series Acclimation Mil, or Sam to friends, was one of Starfleet Academy's most unique cadets. Sent by a photonic civilisation to test whether it was safe to attempt reintegration with organics, Sam was designed and activated as a seventeen-year-old girl. The problem was her lack of life experience.

At first, the obstacles were surmountable. Sure, she was a little socially awkward, but that only endeared Sam to her new friends and plenty of viewers. Who hasn't felt like they're on the outside looking in at some point in their lives? And yes, her quirky behaviour differentiated her from the organic cadets, but she would always strive to learn from each and every new experience.

The real problem came when Sam experienced trauma. Without a childhood to strengthen her resilience, it was too much for her to process. In a moving story about the importance of family and nurture, and how a fragmented past can make trauma harder to process in the present, Sam is remade, but this time with a childhood and The Doctor as a parent.

The worry for viewers was that Academy would wave its magic wand when the new Sam arrived, forgetting the entire chapter by the next episode. But no, when Sam returned, she was a very different young woman. While she retained memories of her old life, she had been shaped by her new one. Her journey had an effect on both her personality and her relationships. And while it took time to readjust to her friends and the Academy, she was finally able to reconcile her past with her...well...other past.