Star Trek: Voyager - 10 Greatest Doctor Episodes

No list about episodes centred on the Doctor could be complete without this gem. It's similar to Message in a Bottle, as it provides no character development, but instead gives plenty of tension and laughs galore.

After asking Janeway to make him an Emergency Command Hologram in an emergency but having the request denied, the Doctor alters his program to allow himself to daydream. In so doing, he inadvertently provides a hidden ship belonging to the Hierarchy species with the ability to access his daydreams and "spy" on the crew. It goes undetected until the daydreams begin to happen when he doesn't want them to, prompting the crew to investigate.

Using the information they collected from the daydreams, the Hierarchy plan an attack on Voyager. When the alien responsible for accessing the Doctor's daydreams asks him for help, Janeway must indulge the request and make the EMH the ECH.

The Doctor has no meaningful character development, but Janeway's view of him does. She realises after watching one of his daydreams that he only wishes to become more than he is and just wants the capacity to do so. The story sets up this realisation and the consequence of it well, and the audience is treated to some hilarious scenes along the way.

This episode again handles the balance between humour and tension brilliantly and shows the comedic talents of the cast, particularly Picardo.