JohnBillingsley.Net
January 2003
Magazine: TV Zone
Issue: #49
Hello Everybody
The crew of the Enterprise NX-01 never know quite what to expect when one of them pays a visit to the ship’s chief medical officer Dr. Phlox. Depending on the ailment, he will most likely treat his patient using one of the state-of-the-art medical instruments he has in sickbay. On the other hand, he has been known to try more "primitive" cures including various alien flora and fauna. No matter what the treatment, Dr. Phlox dispenses it with his usual efficiency and a healthy dose of bedside manner. Each day brings with it new challenges, and that’s how he likes it. His time spent traveling through deep space has so far been an eye-opener as well as an adventure for him. In some ways, the good doctor isn’t the same person he was a year-and-a-half ago when his tour of duty began on Enterprise, and that suits the actor playing him, Enterprise’s John Billinglsey, just fine.
"Looking back at the first couple of episodes, I think it’s obvious that my character’s almost rambunctious cheerfulness has been toned down, which I’m elated about," says Billinglsey. "That was a concern of mine when we first began working on the series. I didn’t want Phlox to be so peppy and jolly as to become annoying. Fortunately, the show’s writers have found a way to give me enough to do so that I’ve been able to pull the character in a different direction. It’s my hope that Phlox now comes across to viewers as having this tremendous reservoir of good cheer as well as a true sense of balance and perspective. At the same time, he’s also a deep thinker and not someone who is essentially a little boy in his excess of enthusiasm.
"The writers on Enterprise have also been willing to, and probably even eager to, find ways to mess with Phlox’s decorum," laughs the actor. "So they’ve taken advantage of opportunities to fluster him a bit or ruffle his hair. Remember in Two Days and Two Nights when he suddenly wakes up from his siesta? Then there’s A Night in Sickbay and some of that story’s more whimsical moments. So they’re not afraid to have Phlox fall flat on his ass or spill things on himself and I couldn’t be more pleased about that. I trust myself to have enough common sense to be able to engage in the silliness without him actually coming across as juvenile.
"The only thing I think they’ve really yet to figure out is what Phlox’s character flaws might be. It’s understandable, though, for a couple of reasons. One, they want to maintain some sort of mystery with the character. And two, in presenting somebody as hyper-competent as Phlox it’s a little tougher to figure out just what his flaws might be. Everybody else, with the possible exception of Mayweather [Anthony Montgomery], has this fundamental struggle that they’re engaged in. That provides a ‘laundry line’ that you can always hook a story on. Hoshi [Linda Park] is battling her anxieties, while Trip [Connor Trinneer] is trying to learn how not to be such a shoot-from-the-hip kind of guy. Sub Commander T’Pol’s [Jolene Blalock] issues are obvious, as are Captain Archer’s [Scott Bakula]. Again, with Phlox, the writers haven’t quite figured out whether or not there are some central issues that he’s struggling with. In a way this might be making it a little trickier for them to write for me. My sense right now is they’re able to come up with some funny stuff for me to do and, of course, given the nature of my character’s job on the ship there will always be shows where my role as the physician will involve me in the action. Believe me, there’s enough to keep me happy."
A native of the planet Denobula, Dr. Phlox was assigned to Starfleet Medical via its Interspecies Medical Exchange programme. In the Enterprise series opener Broken Bow, he is brought in to treat Klaang (Tom "Tiny" Lister Jr.), an injured Klingon and the first of his species ever to visit Earth. Captain Archer is so impressed with Phlox’s skills that he chooses him to be his chief medical officer when the Enterprise is ordered to return Klaang to the Klingon homeworld. Although the doctor is enjoying his new assignment, Billingsley suspects that his Denobulan alter ego may be a bit homesick.
"It must be a fairly isolating thing for Phlox being an anthropologist living amongst an alien culture," notes the actor. "This was touched upon briefly in the first season episode Dear Doctor, but since then it really hasn’t been explored in any depth. It’s a unique situation for him. Even though T’Pol has also been living with humans, she still has a fair amount of contact with other Vulcans. So it’s not quite as isolating for her. I’ve often wondered whether or not Phlox has a certain kind of loneliness that can be brought to the forefront a little bit more. That idea, though, has already been experimented with to some extent with Reed [Dominic Keating]. Because of his self-possession, the lieutenant is, perhaps, not as available to his fellow human beings as he could be.
"It could be the writers are worried about repeating themselves if they try something similar with Phlox," continues Billingsley. "Still, I can’t help but think how profoundly disorienting it must be for him to live with an alien race and not have any contact with his own kind. Perhaps he’s running from something in his past and has, therefore, chosen this way of life. Of course, that’s all speculation on my part. I know some actors in the past have, I guess, been fairly aggressive when it comes to lobbying Rick Berman and Brannon Braga [Enterprise creators/executive producers] with story ideas for their Trek characters. I’m not sure about that. It’s probably just not in my nature to do so. I tend to respect the roles we all play. They write and produce and I act. So I’m not knocking on their door. I’d rather wait and see what they come up with for me.
"It’s awfully tough to create a substantial character arc in a single season or two. Probably over the course of three or four seasons it will become clearer as to where they are taking Phlox. The writers have some clever ideas as far as certain quirks of his and they’re forming some interesting thoughts regarding my character’s background. But I think the trick is to determine what’s at the heart of this guy’s journey. Where’s he going over the course of the next seven years and how does it represent growth and change. If you went back and watched the first year of every Star Trek series, including the original, you’d see that all the actors had a tendency, and rightly so, to focus on what they took to be their characters’ essences. That’s because you don’t know what else you’ve got to go on. It’s only with time that you come to find that you actually have a ton of different facets to play."
Certainly Dr. Phlox’s continued interaction with his fellow Enterprise crewmates will help further flesh him out. "Obviously, Phlox has a mentor-type relationship with some of the characters, most notably Hoshi, and perhaps to a limited extent T’Pol," says Billingsley. "As for his relationship with the guys on the program, you’ve got me," he laughs. "I get a sense that Phlox enjoys tweaking people. He has a bit of a puckish nature underneath all that good cheer. He likes to throw the proverbial sneezing powder at folks, particularly Trip and Reed. I think Phlox is both amused by and scornful of their impatience and their maleness. Not that he’d ever actually do this, but I have this sneaking suspicion that deep down he would like to take their little heads, smack them together and say, ‘Come on, boys, grow up.’ Because Mayweather is the youngest of the trio, the doctor puts him in a somewhat different category. Phlox has more of a kindly uncle’s attitude towards him.
"As for Captain Archer, my character has really come to not only admire him but also genuinely like him. This might sound weird but I think Phlox would like to actually develop a friendship with the captain. Unfortunately, given the nature of their hierarchical relationship aboard Enterprise that probably isn’t as feasible as he’d like.
"Getting back to T’Pol, it’s my feeling that the doctor has a great deal of affection and respect for her extraordinary intelligence. Again, Phlox knows how difficult it is to live with strangers and what a courageous act it is. I remember this quick scene in one of the first season episodes [Shadows of P’Jem] where she’s preparing to leave Enterprise. Phlox says to her in passing, ‘No Vulcan has ever managed to live with humans before. I looked this up and you’ve lasted much longer than any other Vulcan ever has.’ The subtext of that was, ‘I have this amazing respect for you and what you’ve accomplished.’ I think that Phlox would like to find a way to reach out to T’Pol more."
The sub commander takes the doctor into her confidence in an episode Billingsley and the rest of the Enterprise cast and crew recently finished filming called Stigma. "The story is primarily about T’Pol, who has developed a degenerative medical condition caused by her encounter last season with a mind-melder [in the episode Fusion]," explains the actor. "Phlox is treating her covertly because she’s afraid that if word reaches the Vulcans that she has this disease she will be stigmatized and ultimately removed from her position. It’s an AIDS metaphor, in effect, and my role in it is primarily as a narrative advancer. In the end, Captain Archer sort of steps in and saves the day, as well he should being the captain.
"There is also a lovely B-story in Stigma involving Phlox’s second wife Feezal. She arrives aboard Enterprise and is immediately smitten by Trip, so she pursues him. Trip is appalled and shocked, not realizing that the doctor not only approves of his wife’s behaviour but is also delighted with it. I guess Phlox must come from the [Hugh] Heffner planet. I’ve begun to change my whole concept of Denobulans. I always thought they were a monastic people and that’s why we haven’t seen them very much. However, I’m starting to wonder if Denobula is a party planet that no one wants to leave," chuckles Billingsley. "It would be like leaving Hugh Heffner’s Playboy mansion. I had no idea I’d end up playing an intergalactic swinger with a medical degree."
Billingsley is nothing but complimentary when speaking about Melinda Page Hamilton, the actress who played his wife in Stigma. "Melinda is a lovely young lady. She’s a stage actress from New York and hasn’t been here in Los Angeles for very long. She recently appeared onstage in a production of All My Sons at one of the theatres in San Diego.
"I had actually hoped my own wife [Bonita Friedericy] might get to play my on-screen spouse. Phlox has three wives, though, so there are two wives left for her to try out for."
One of the actor’s favourite second season stories, and one that features his character quite prominently, is the aforementioned A Night in Sickbay. In it, Archer decides to spend the wee hours in Dr. Phlox’s inner sanctum while his dog Porthos is being treated by the physician. "A Night in Sickbay was a real departure from the tales we’ve been telling on Enterprise," says Billingsley. "It was reminiscent of the first Star Trek series and some of its more lighthearted stories. The episode allowed me to delve further into Phlox’s background. This included learning a bit more about his family. Of course, it’s always a blast to work with Scott. It was also a treat to play out some of the story’s more broadly farcical moments. Oddly enough, Hollywood has afforded me very few opportunities in which to do that. I’ve never really done any sitcom stuff, but during my 15 or so years as a theatre actor I did a lot of comedy. So it was nice to revisit that in this episode.
"Something else I loved about A Night in Sickbay was getting to see Phlox’s smile again," adds the actor. "They hadn’t brought my character’s smile back since the pilot. I was afraid that they either didn’t like it or had forgotten about it. Not that you want to see it 1,000 times, but it’s nice just as a reminder every now and then that part of what makes the doctor intriguing is his plasticity of expression. It was actually thanks to Scott that we got to see it again. When we were filming the final scene for this episode, Scott said, ‘Hey, for the last shot why not have Phlox smile at Archer as he leaves sickbay.’ He suggested we call Rick and Brannon and ask if we could do more CGI [computer-generated image] effect. They said, ‘Yes,’ which I thought was just great."
A second season episode that the actor found especially challenging was Singularity, in which radiation from a nearby black hole turns the Enterprise crew obsessive/compulsive. "I know that over the years on Star Trek they’ve done variations on a theme where the crew goes mad," he says. "However, what I found rather interesting was that our characters went mad because they were obsessing on minutiae. I thought that was a terrific idea. They changed things slightly in the final draft of the script, but the radiation ended up affecting Phlox to greater degree as opposed to the rest of the crew. So I had to figure out a way to go one step beyond the level of lunacy that was being displayed by everyone else. I was a bit on the edge of my seat when I watched the episode because I wasn’t sure if I’d come across as a great big glazed ham. It was a fine line to walk but I think I did OK.
"One of the things I appreciate about this program and, frankly, the thing I think makes it accessible to a wider audiences, is that we’re not portrayed as perfect people. Singularity is a wonderful example of this. The fact that we are all flawed is an aspect of our show that, I hope, will keep fans tuning back in each week, if only to see what we screw up next," laughs the actor.
Prior to beginning his second year of sickbay rounds on Enterprise, Billingsley spent a week in April up in Vancouver guest-starring in an episode of Stargate SG-1. He played Simon Coombs, one of two scientists who are "fans" of Colonel Jack O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) and the SG-1 team. Coombs and Felger (Patrick McKenna) mount a rescue when SG-1 is captured by the Goa’uld, but, not surprisingly, things don’t go precisely as planned.
"Stargate was a blast to do," says the actor. "Although you couldn’t pay me enough to be a Jaffa. Man, are those suits uncomfortable. They’re similar to the EV [environmental] suits on Enterprise. You feel like you’re carrying around 30-plus pounds when you’re wearing one. Other than that, though, it was a lot of fun. My fellow guest-star in the episode, Patrick McKenna, is a talented actor and one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. There was all this chitchat on the set as to whether or not we’d like to come back and reprise our roles. It would, of course, depend on my schedule on Enterprise but it’s something I’d definitely love to do. So we’ll have to wait and see."
With so many genre shows including Haunted and Birds of Prey already cancelled this season, Billingsley could not be more pleased to be part of a successful franchise such as Star Trek. Even so, he’s been acting long enough to know not to take anything for granted.
"This business is so fraught with peril," he says. "The idea that I’m actually able to make a nice living, buy a house, and they haven’t replaced me with some Denobulan cutie is enough to make me jump for joy. Let’s be realistic, the show’s producers could at any time be summoned by the suits upstairs and told to bring more sex appeal onto Enterprise. I’d probably be out the door as Phlox is the only ‘character guy’ on the show. Each season that they renew my contract is truly a blessing. That said, I’m thoroughly enjoying myself on the series and feel that I’m doing good work. You could say I’m one happy Denobulan."
By Steven Eramo
Submitted by Jo Healy