Aired: 2022- (Paramount Plus)
DAD: Dr. Joseph M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokan) / Unknown Marital Status
DAD’S JOB: Chief Medical Officer, USS Enterprise
KIDS: Rukiya (Lukita Maxwell)(10/17) Daughter
WHERE’S MOM?: “Debra” – unknown status
STAND-IN “MOM”: Nobody
Bringing back a legacy character from Star Trek TOS was a great idea, as viewers get more background to a “background” character, Dr. M’Benga.
Famous mostly for slapping the heck out of Mister Spock in the TOS days, Dr. M’Benga’s family life emerges a bit on the newer series. M’Benga has a daughter, Rukiya, who suffers from cygnokemia. M’Benga can’t cure her, so he stores her in a kind of stasis, using the Sickbay medical transporter buffer.
The Mike Brady Clock was activated for this character when a sentient non-corporeal lifeform living in a nebula cured Rukiya’s cygnokemia, but required her to also live a non-corporeal life. The Mindy McConnell Occupancy Act wound up in play, as the daughter stayed in the nebula, while Dad left to boldy go, etc.