Patton Oswalt says he will return as his funny, oddball Vulcan character in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Oswalt portrayed a Vulcan spiritualist named Doug in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, episode 8, “Four-and-a-Half Vulcans.” An expert in Vulcan katras, Doug was summoned to the Starship Enterprise to solve the problem of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and three of his crew being stuck as Vulcans. Doug also has a surprising and sordid romantic history with Lt. Commander Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn).
Appearing on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend to promote his YouTube comedy special, Patton Oswalt: Tea & Scotch, Oswalt discussed his guest spot as Doug, a Vulcan who loves humans, in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. When Conan asked, “Does he wake and bake?”, Oswalt improvised what that might be like for Doug, having not considered it before. Patton then leaked that he will reprise Doug in “some more episodes.” Read his quote below:
Patton Oswalt: “You know what, I’m doing some more episodes, so maybe they’ll –”
Conan O’Brien: “Just talk to them about that.”
Before that surprising info drop, Conan, who grew up a fan of Star Trek: The Original Series, and Patton verbally jested about the origin of Doug’s name. Oswalt discussed the heretofore unrevealed backstory of Doug, and why he grew up as a Vulcan enamored with human culture. Read their quotes below:
Patton Oswalt: “Yeah, I’m playing a Vulcan, but it’s a Vulcan who’s obsessed with human culture, and –”
Conan O’Brien: “His name’s Doug.”
Patton Oswalt: “His name is Doug.”
Conan O’Brien: “He’s a Vulcan named Doug, which is my favorite thing.”
Patton Oswalt: “But his parents were obsessed, so they gave him… It’s the same way as, like, hippies giving their kids names like American Indian names…”
Conan O’Brien: “Yeah. Starshine.”
Patton Oswalt: “Exactly. So, why wouldn’t that happen in another culture? Why wouldn’t they try to do that? And unlike Spock, who kind of struck this balance, he’s so clumsy with it because he really loves it. And that’s a really real thing.”
Conan O’Brien: “So, a Vulcan with an artistic edge.”
Watch Patton Oswalt on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, with their Star Trek: Strange New Worlds talk beginning at the 37-minute mark:
Patton Oswalt returning as Doug is an unexpected but welcome surprise, as is his reveal that he’s “doing some more episodes.” Between seasons 4 and 5, there are only 16 more episodes left of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Thus far, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 has not touted celebrity guest stars the way they did Rhys Darby, Cillian O’Sullivan, and Oswalt in season 3.
The title “Four-and-a-Half Vulcans” was always a misnomer because of Patton Oswalt, whose Doug was the fifth Vulcan in the episode. Between the barely-contained mutual lust Doug shared with Una, his former paramour, and Spock’s hilarious attempts to explain human behavior like high-fives to Doug, Oswalt delivered some of the best Vulcan comedy in the episode.
“Four-and-a-Half Vulcans” was a divisive episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, perhaps the least warmly-received of the season’s genre-bending “big swings.” Angry Star Trek fans attacked the episode online, with complaints ranging from the episode being racist, discriminatory to the neurodivergent, to just not being very funny.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 looks to set the Starship Enterprise back on course by focusing more on outer space exploration in the style of classic Star Trek. Yet comedy will still be part of the new episodes, and it sounds like Patton Oswalt will contribute more hilarity as Doug, possibly in both seasons 4 and 5.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 premieres Thursday, July 23, on Paramount+.
- Release Date
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2022 – 2027-00-00
- Network
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Paramount+
- Showrunner
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Henry Alonso Myers, Akiva Goldsman
- Directors
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Dan Liu, Amanda Row, Maja Vrvilo, Akiva Goldsman, Dermott Downs, Eduardo Sánchez, Jeffrey W. Byrd, Jonathan Frakes, Jordan Canning, Leslie Hope, Valerie Weiss, Sydney Freeland, Christopher J. Byrne, Rachel Leiterman
- Writers
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Onitra Johnson