I have always been a fan of space-based television programs and in particular that of star trek. My favourite characters are always the doctors that are on board the ships. They seem to have an ability be able to deal with any medical issues across such a vast array of species – although they do get a lot of help from the ships medical computer. I’m sure that the development of the medical technology must have been as a result of Paid Medical Trials that are taking place on earth with companies like https://www.trials4us.co.uk

My favourite Star Trek doctor of all time was Dr “Bones” McCoy from the original series. His character added some much-needed emotion to the triangle of himself, Captain Kirk and Spock and was played expertly by DeForest Kelly. Here are some interesting facts that I stumbled upon about Dr McCoy and the actors that have played this role.

• In the pilot episodes of the series (there were two pilots) DeForest Kelly did not play the role of the Doctor. Other than Leonard Nimoy who played Spock (although in a very different way to how we know the character to be now) all of the cast from the first pilot were changed to the people that we came to know and love in their roles in the original Star Trek programs.

• In an interesting twist DeForest Kelly originally auditioned for the role of Spock. The character of Spock that he was trialled for was very different to the Vulcan character that they finally decided upon. The character was much more like “Bones” in that he was hot headed and emotional. Thankfully for us Kelly did not get the role of Spock and was brought in to play the Doctor instead.

• When choosing the name for the character the writers and producers opted for McCoy as a link back to a well-known American family that was involved in a fud with the Hatfield family back in the 1800s. There were many deaths in both the McCoy and Hatfield families before the rivalry between the two Tug River valley located groups ended.  The team on Star Trek wanted to give McCoy some link back to well-known ancestors in America history.

• McCoy was not a Starfleet graduate. Throughout the series new recruits arrive having recently graduated from the Starfleet Academy and the training establishment is referenced numerous times. However, McCoy is not character who attended the academy to become an officer. Instead he is commissioned due to his reputation and work as a doctor to work with Starfleet and he only attended a few courses to understand the requirements of becoming an officer and working aboard a star ship.