 Quick Facts:
- Species: Denobulan
- Position: Doctor
- Assignment: Chief Medical
Officer, Enterprise NX-01
- Previous Assignment:
Starfleet Medical, via Interspecies Medical Exchange
- Full Name: Phlox
- Birthplace: Denobula
- Marital status: Three
wives on home planet
- Children: Five (youngest
is a son named Mettus)
- Office: Enterprise NX-01
Sickbay, E-Deck
Complete Bios:
FROM
STARTREK.COM
Though Dr. Phlox claimed that
he found it somewhat daunting to socialize with the Enterprise
crew, he soon proved quite adept at it, striking up friendships
with Ensign Elizabeth Cutler, Ensign Hoshi Sato and fellow
non-human Sub-Commander T'Pol. In fact, Phlox was initially
worried that Cutler had a romantic interest in him. Though his
suspicions eventually proved true, Cutler only wanted to be
friends, and she and Phlox enjoy taking in the occasional movie
together. Phlox was also key in helping the initially jittery
Hoshi realize that she belonged on Enterprise. He assisted her
in caring for a sickly slug creature, and is currently teaching
her Denobulan. The aloof T'Pol has been something of a
challenge, even for the genial doctor, but she and Phlox have
shared several meals together, and she doesn't even seem to mind
when Phlox picks errant food off of her plate. Phlox has another
human friend in regular correspondent Dr. Lucas, a human
colleague from the Interspecies Medical Exchange. Lucas is the
first human serving on Phlox's homeworld of Denobula, and as he
helped Phlox get settled in San Francisco, Phlox is now
returning the favor.
Like all Denobulans, Phlox only requires six days of sleep every
year. He claims, however, that two days can be sufficient. Phlox
is grumpy and disoriented if his hibernation is interrupted, as
he demonstrated when Cutler and T'Pol woke him up, seeking
assistance in treating Ensign Mayweather. As a child, Phlox,
like many young Denobulans, was regaled with tales of the "evil
Antarans," which caused him to have nightmares. The Antarans and
the Denobulans have been to war on several occasions, and much
animosity and hatred still exists between the two species. In
fact, young Phlox's grandmother wouldn't allow him to go on a
trip to a nearby arboreal planet because it has been "tainted"
by Antarans. The adult Phlox is determined not to raise his
children as he was raised, and has taught them to embrace other
cultures.
Phlox gets more mail than anyone on Enterprise, and has three
wives back home (in turn, they each have two other husbands).
This is the norm for his people, who apparently have very
complex mating rituals. Though Phlox's work keeps him from
seeing his family very often, he did get the opportunity to see
one of his wives, Feezal, when she came onboard Enterprise to
assist in installing a neutron microscope. Phlox has five
children, and his two daughters have followed in his footsteps —
one is a surgeon, the other a biochemist. His eldest son is a
potter. Phlox is somewhat estranged from his two younger sons —
Mettas, the youngest, holds archaic, anti-Antaran beliefs.
Though Denobulans do not like to be touched, Phlox has done his
best to overcome his cultural inhibitions. In fact, Phlox is
fascinated with human culture, and is particularly enamored of
Earth cuisine — egg drop soup, blueberry pancakes and potatoes
are a few of the dishes he enjoys. His menagerie of creatures
includes an Altarian marsupial, an osmotic eel, Regulan blood
worms and a Pyrithian bat. Though he finds Archer's relationship
with lesser creature Porthos amusing, Phlox admits that he
occasionally speaks to his bat. Other odd rituals include
cleaning his extra-long tongue and using his toenail clippings
as food for his creatures.
Though the doctor has proved his value as a physician and
crewmember numerous times, Phlox was not always such an assured
medical professional. Not long after he became a physician, he
was part of a medical team sent to a cargo ship orbiting his
homeworld. An explosion had occurred on the ship, and there were
seventeen bodies on the bridge. The sight of so many dead people
left Phlox shaken and disturbed. He also claims that he was once
nearly overwhelmed by 50 patients in a refugee camp on Matalas.
Phlox's skills as a physician were also put to the test when he
was infected by nanoprobes from some mysterious cybernetic
beings. Luckily, he managed to find a cure before he was
completely assimilated.
Still, he continues to welcome adventure, and is especially
intrigued by alien cultures. He jumped at the chance to observe
a culture other than humanity when he spent the night with the
alien pilgrims who were following the Great Plume of Agosoria.
In true Phlox fashion, he found his visit with the pilgrims,
which included four hours of ritual prayer and a string of
body-purifying exercises, "mesmerizing." Despite his genial
nature, Phlox always stands up for what he believes in, even if
it brings him into conflict with other officers. He refused to
let Reed experiment on the strange, symbiotic creature that took
over Enterprise's Cargo Bay Two, saying that it exhibited all
the signs of being an intelligent lifeform. He also nearly
withheld his findings on the Menk/Valakian situation from
Captain Archer, fearing that the captain would interfere with
the natural cycle of evolution. Luckily, Phlox trusted Archer to
make the right decision, and gained a new respect for his
captain. When Enterprise received its assignment to venture into
the Delphic Expanse, Phlox opted to stay onboard, citing his
loyalty to Archer.
Though Phlox finds humans fairly simplistic anatomically, he
likes their "charming optimism," and has said of his time on
Enterprise, "Every moment's been an adventure for me. Humans are
so unpredictable." |
