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I'm a doctor, not a...edit this page

From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference

Real World article
(written from a Production point of view)

I'm a doctor, not a... is a famous catch phrase and snowclone used in Star Trek. Originally used by Dr. Leonard McCoy in Star Trek: The Original Series, the phrase lived on in various other incarnations of Star Trek and was used by both Julian Bashir and The Doctor, among others. Dr. McCoy's original delivery of the phrase varied with emotional intensity, from extreme frustration to light-hearted sarcasm. Subsequent uses in later series also mirrored this performance. This iconic phrase has also appeared in other media as both a parody and homage to the show.

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[edit] Usage

[edit] Dr. Leonard McCoy

...to which Kirk replies, "You're a healer, there's a patient. That's an order."
In the episode "Court Martial", Doctor McCoy is called as an expert witness in space psychiatry.
...to which Montgomery Scott immediately replied, "Now, you're an engineer."
During one episode of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, DeForest Kelley spoke the line "I'm not a doctor, I'm a convicted murderer."

[edit] Dr. Leonard McCoy (alternate reality)

  • "I don't need a doctor, damn it, I am a doctor!" (Star Trek)
  • "I'm a doctor Jim, I'm busy!" (Star Trek)
  • "Damn it man, I'm a doctor, not a physicist!" (Star Trek)

[edit] Dr. Julian Bashir

[edit] The Doctor

...interrupted by Torres: "...not an engineer. Right, but..." (VOY: "Prototype")
According to the official Robert Picardo website
wbm
during Picardo's audition, the final scripted line for the reading was, "I believe someone has failed to terminate my program", and he finished his audition with the ad libbed "I'm a doctor, not a nightlight."

[edit] Dr. Phlox

[edit] Starfleet EMHs

[edit] Variants

[edit] The Original Series
James T. Kirk
"I'm a soldier, not a diplomat." (TOS: "Errand of Mercy")
"You keep saying that. Are you a doctor, or aren't you?" (TOS: "Amok Time")
"These are people, not robots." (TOS: "The Apple")
Karl Jaeger
"I'm a scientist, not a military man." (TOS: "The Squire of Gothos")
[edit] The Next Generation
K'Vada
"This is a military vessel, not a pleasure craft." (regarding his Bird of Prey in TNG: "Unification I")
V'Sal
"I'm just a barber, not a miracle worker!" (TNG: "Data's Day")
[edit] Deep Space Nine
Gaila
"I'm a weapons dealer, not a soldier." (DS9: "The Magnificent Ferengi")
Cardassian Security Officer
"This is a jail, not a hotel." (DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels")
Dukat
"That's justice, not malevolence." (DS9: "Waltz")
Crewman Kellin
"I'm sorry captain, but I'm an engineer, not a magician." (DS9: "The Siege of AR-558")
Gilora Rejal
"We're scientists, not diplomats." (DS9: "Destiny")
Martok
"Why? You're a bartender, not a warrior." (DS9: "Shadows and Symbols")
Miles O'Brien
"I'm an engineer, not a philosopher." (DS9: "It's Only a Paper Moon")
Odo
"I'm a security chief, not a combat pilot." (DS9: "Vortex")
Benjamin Sisko
"He's not a detective, he's an engineer." (DS9: "Prodigal Daughter", about Miles O'Brien)
Douglas Pabst
"I'm a magazine editor, not a crusader." (DS9: "Far Beyond the Stars")
Julius Eaton
"Calm down dear boy. We're writers, not Vikings." (DS9: "Far Beyond the Stars")
Worf 
"I am a warrior, not a murderer." (DS9: "Broken Link")
[edit] Voyager
The Doctor 
"This is a sickbay, not a conference room." (VOY: "Caretaker")
"They're Klingons, not kittens." (VOY: "The Killing Game, Part II")
"This is sickbay, not an arsenal." (VOY: "Bliss")
"She's a counselor, lieutenant, not an engineer." referring to Deanna Troi (VOY: "Life Line")
"This is a sickbay, not a dormitory." (VOY: "Demon")
"This is a Federation starship, not the Barge of the Dead!" (VOY: "Repentance")
Diagnostic Hologram
"I'm a diagnostic tool, not an engineer." (VOY: "The Swarm")
(said of The Doctor): "It wasn't programmed to be a tenor, it was programmed to be a physician." (VOY: "The Swarm")
Tom Paris 
"I'm a pilot, Harry, not a doctor!" (VOY: "Message in a Bottle")
B'Elanna Torres 
"I'm an engineer, not a costume designer." (VOY: "Virtuoso")
Harry Kim 
"They're scientists, not soldiers." (VOY: "Nightingale")
Neelix 
(Quoting Captain Janeway, refering to her as "the warden") "This is punishment, not shoreleave." (VOY: "Thirty Days")
Chellick 
"We're healers, not killers." (VOY: "Critical Care")
Kathryn Janeway 
"This is a starship, not a nature preserve." (VOY: "Someone to Watch Over Me")
Nechani Magistrate 
"I'm an official of the government, not a spiritual leader." (VOY: "Sacred Ground")

[edit] Apocrypha

DeForest Kelley
"I'm an actor, not a doctor."
Quark
"You're a doctor, not a gambler". (The Big Game)
Kira 
"I thought you were a doctor, not a hacker." (Proud Helios 260)
Miles O'Brien 
"Dr. Bashir, you're a doctor, not a first-contact specialist." (Valhalla 19)
McCoy 
"You're a doctor, not a Horta." (The Return 268) talking to Bashir.
EMH 
"I'm a doctor, not a computer." (Avenger 350)
EMH as McCoy 
"I'm a doctor, not an interior designer." (Avenger 351)
McCoy 
"I'm a doctor, not a sideshow." (Avenger 354)
EMH 
"I'm a doctor, not an archaeologist." (Wildfire 118)
EMH 
"I'm a doctor, not a concierge." (A Time to Sow 135)
EMH 
"I'm a doctor, NOT a Space Marine!" (Star Trek: Voyager: Elite Force)
EMH Mark II 
"I'm a doctor, not a quantum mechanic!" (Spectre 212)
Brex 
"Damn it Jim, I'm an engineer, not a conversationalist!" (Star Trek: Bridge Commander)
Jean-Luc Picard
"I'm an explorer, Donald, not a warrior." (The Buried Age 97)
Q
"Well, what did you expect? He's a doctor, not a security officer." (Star Trek: Borg) referring to Dr. Thaddeus Quint

[edit] Prior Art

While the character of Dr. McCoy inarguably made the phrase "I'm a doctor ..." part of the common lexicon, he was not the first fictional doctor, or even the first character on the big screen, to coin the phrase. In the 1933 American film The Kennel Murder Case, Dr. Doremus, the coroner at the scene of the titular crime, states "I'm a doctor, not a magician," and "I'm a doctor, not a detective," within five minutes of his first appearance. The latter line was also uttered by Dr. Fortescue, played by George Zucco, in the 1949 version of The Secret Garden. It is unclear whether these particular dialog artifacts were progenitors of McCoy's famous phrase.

"I'm a [whatever] not a [whatever]" is also a Yiddish idiom, most commonly "I'm a [whatever,] not a rabbi."

[edit] Related topics

[edit] External links

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