- This page details Phillip Boyce in the primary universe; for the Phillip Boyce in the mirror universe see Phillip Boyce (mirror); for the Phillip Boyce in the Kelvin timeline created by Nero's temporal incursion, see Phillip Boyce (Kelvin timeline); for the Phillip Boyce in the mirror universe created by Nero's temporal incursion see Phillip Boyce (mirror) (Kelvin timeline); for the Phillip Boyce in all other alternate universes see Phillip Boyce (alternates).
Doctor Phillip Boyce, (also known as Joseph Boyce) born in New York City on Earth, was a noted Starfleet officer in the 23rd century. He was chief medical officer aboard the USS Enterprise from 2250 to 2264, serving under Captains Robert April and Christopher Pike.
History[]
Early Life[]
Phillip Boyce was born and educated in New York City. At the age of 15, he decided to become a doctor. He worked his way through the first two years of medical school by writing and performing satirical monologues, and was so popular he even received offers from Starfleet to tour starships, but turned them down.
He did his postgraduate work at Hoystadt Children's Hospital and some time after, while he was working as a pediatrician in Manhattan, he married, to limited success. (TOS comic: "Who's Who in Star Trek 1")
After working with children on Earth, Boyce began to lose interest in pediatrics, as the last children's epidemic on Earth had been more than a century ago. After he started reading about all the exciting medical maladies being contracted on the frontier in The Journal of Space Medicine, he decided to join Starfleet. In the 2240s, Boyce led a team that was attempting to cure Dezzla's disease on Argelius. (TOS comic: "Who's Who in Star Trek 1"; TOS novel: The Children of Kings)
Boyce completed his Starfleet studies so quickly, he was asked to stay on at Starfleet Medical Academy to teach, but turned down the offer to serve on the USS Enterprise. (TOS comic: "Who's Who in Star Trek 1")
Aboard the Enterprise[]
Boyce in 2254
Dr. Phillip Boyce was assigned the Enterprise for the ship's first five-year mission between 2246 and 2251, where he worked as assistant chief medical officer under Dr. Sarah Poole-April. When Dr. April left the ship with her husband, Captain April, in 2251, Boyce was made chief medical officer, and served under Captain Pike. (TOS novel: Where Sea Meets Sky)
- According to "Who's Who in Star Trek," Boyce was assigned to the Enterprise following the death of the former chief medical officer, Dr Raintree.
In 2254 Boyce assisted Spock in diagnosing a Ngultor viral infection on the Enterprise which was draining the ship's power. Together with Nurse Carlotti, Boyce and Spock devised a cure for the infection, allowing the Enterprise to break free of the Ngultor ship which had them in tow. (EV comic: "Flesh of My Flesh")
On the Enterprise's next mission, to the Marrat Nebula, Boyce joined a landing party to Starbase 13 to assist the station's personnel after recent attacks by the Marrat brigand. Once aboard the station he worked with Nurse Carlotti and Yeoman Dermot Cusack to set up a triage center. Boyce rejoined the Enterprise when it went to investigate a loss of communication with the nearby Project Pharos, and was part of a landing party to Pharos when they arrived. Boyce's presence was fortuitous; allowing him to treat Cayman when he took a disruptor blast when the party came under attack by Klingons who had boarded the facility. (EV comic: "The Fires of Pharos")
Over the years, Boyce and Pike became great friends, and the two would often share a drink and discuss their problems with each other. It was Boyce's support that helped Pike come to terms with the events on Rigel VII later in 2254. (TOS episode: "The Cage")
Later that year, the Enterprise visited planet Neydra Prime to lend medical aid to the local populace. Dr. Boyce led the Enterprise medical teams, and while on the surface he murdered a local businessman. Captain Pike wanted to prove his innocence, but Boyce himself confessed that he committed the murder. At the trial, Boyce was represented by the Vulcan Ambassador, Toluk, who performed a mind meld on Boyce to reveal the truth. His mind had been home to the consciousness of a patient he lost years before, who was a prisoner on the run. With the consciousness excised, Boyce was allowed to go free. (EV comic: "Immortal Wounds")
One year later, a birthday party was held for Boyce on board the Enterprise. During the course of the party, chemicals that the ship was carrying were accidentally spilled onto some minerals. The reaction created a gas which got into the ventilation system and disabled several crew members. Years later, when Merkaan raiders had captured a Federation colony, Spock used the phrase "Boyce's birthday" to tell a former Enterprise crew member working as the colony administrator to use similar methods to disable the Merkaan invasion force. (TOS novel: Legacy)
Later Years[]
Boyce continued to serve on the Enterprise until 2264. By this time, Boyce was seriously considering retirement, especially after treating Number One following a serious accident in the ship's cargo hold, which crushed both her legs. (TOS comic: "All Those Years Ago...")
Boyce retired to Earth, where he took a teaching job at the Starfleet Medical Academy teaching comparative anatomy and space medicine. (TOS comic: "Who's Who in Star Trek 1")
- The TOS novel: Enterprise: The First Adventure suggests that Boyce left the Enterprise in 2264 to head up medical services on Starbase 32. However, this contradicts other sources such as TOS comic: "Who's Who in Star Trek 1", which states that Boyce's last Starfleet service was aboard a starship, which suggests that Boyce did retire following his service aboard the Enterprise. TOS - My Brother's Keeper novel: Republic complicates matters further by stating that Boyce was dead by the time Kirk assumed command and had been replaced by Dr. Mark Piper.
Alternate timelines[]
In an alternate timeline created when Yeoman J. Mia Colt was sent forward in time from 2254 to 2293 after her tricorder scans released the tachyon energy contained in an Algolian artifact known as a Keepsake, Boyce remained the Enterprise's chief medical officer until his retirement in 2278. He was succeeded by Gabrielle Carlotti, who continued as chief medical officer aboard the USS Enterprise-A until its destruction in 2293. (EV comic: "Future Tense")
In another alternate timeline, Boyce was the chief medical officer of the UESS Enterprise under Captain Pike. Prior to that posting, he had served at the Battle of Donatu V in 2244. In 2264, he retired from the fleet due to his dissatisfaction with relations between United Earth and the Interstellar Coalition. He was succeeded by Leonard McCoy. (Star Trek: Myriad Universes novel: A Less Perfect Union)
Memorable quotes[]
- "Sometimes a man will tell his bartender things he'll never tell his doctor."
- —Doctor Boyce on his counseling methods. (TOS episode: "The Cage")
- "You know, I was considering retirement... but this only reminds me of all the suffering I've seen over the years... and how glad I'll be to leave it behind. Sometimes, I wonder if I do any good at all."
- —Doctor Boyce talks to Captain Pike following Number One's accident. (TOS comic: "All Those Years Ago...")
Appendices[]
Service Record[]
- Personal log, Phillip Boyce
Connections[]
| Chief medical officers of the starships Enterprise | ||
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise (NX-01) | Phlox | 
|
| USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) | Poole-April • Boyce • Piper • McCoy • Chapel | 
|
| USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) (Kelvin timeline) | Puri • McCoy | 
|
| USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) (other alternate realities) | McCoy • Boyce • Carlotti • M'Benga | |
| USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) | McCoy | 
|
| USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) (alternate realities) | Carlotti | |
| USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B) | Metcalfe • Michaels • McCoy • Morell | |
| USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-C) | Casado • Stern • Aristide | |
| USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) | Crusher • Pulaski | 
|
| USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) (alternate realities) | Ogawa | |
| USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) | Crusher • Stevenson | 
|
| ISS Enterprise (NX-01) | Phlox | 
|
| ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701) | Boyce • McCoy • M'Benga | |
| ISS Enterprise (ICC-1701-D) | Crusher | |
| Starbase 32 personnel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolores Arce • Richard Arnold • Richard Balder • Darya Bat-Levi • Rick Berman • Bob Blackman • Phillip Boyce • Brannon Braga • Dick Brownfield • Ed Charnock, Jr. • Joe Chess • Richard Chronister • Tom Conley • Daniel Curry • Dick D'Angelo • Doug Dean • Lolita Fatjo • Kim Fitzgerald • Arlene Fukai • Cosmo Genovese • Cheryl Gluckstern • Merri Howard • Phillip Jacobson • Richard James • Naomi Jerusalmi • Ralph Johnson • Heidi Julian • Mollie Katz • Carol Kunz • Peter Lauritson • Robert Legato • David Livingston • Joe Longo • Phillipa Louvois • Jim Magdaleno • Terri Martinez • Arlen McAteer • Scott McKnight • James Mees • Joe Menosky • Ronald D. Moore • Tom Moore • Andrew Neskoromny • John Nesterowicz • Wendy Neuss • Louise Nielsen • Ernie Over • Diane Overdiek • Bill Peets • Michael Piller • Tom Purser • Maricella Ramirez • Gene Roddenberry • Wendy Rosenfeld • David Rossi • Rick Rowe • Marvin Rush • Charlie Russo • Thomas Salisbury • Sartak • Fernando Sepulveda • Suzi Shimizu • Adele Simmons • Alan Sims • Waverly Smothers • Alex Smutko • Bob Sordal • Gary Speckman • Rick Sternbach • Eric Stillwell • Michael Stradling • George Stuart, Jr. • Jeri Taylor • Cari L. Thomas • Wil Thoms • Jim Thorpe • T'Lara • Murphy Wiltz • Edmond Wright • Herb Wright • Brad Yacobian |  
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UESS Enterprise personnel (alternate timeline) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Phillip Boyce • Pavel Chekov • Lee Kelso • James T. Kirk • March • Guillermo Masada • Leonard McCoy • Ann Mulhall • Christopher Pike • Montgomery Scott • John Stiles • Nyota Uhura • Vinci | 
| |
Background[]
- An early draft of "The Cage" listed Boyce as being 51 years old in 2254, suggesting a birth year of 2203.
- Boyce's appearance in the Early Voyages comic is a little different than in "The Cage", featuring a two-toned hair style. As explained in the letters page of issue 5 this is because Paramount did not have the likeness rights from the actor, so Boyce's appearance could not be an exact likeness.
Appearances[]
External link[]
- Phillip Boyce article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.