Dr. Crusher or Pulaski

Discussion in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' started by Captrek, Sep 16, 2011.

?

Which character do you prefer?

  1. Beverly Crusher

    133 vote(s)
    64.3%
  2. Katherine Pulaski

    60 vote(s)
    29.0%
  3. no preference

    14 vote(s)
    6.8%
  1. mr.peany

    mr.peany Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    May 23, 2000
    Location:
    Melbourne, Australia
    I dont believe so. She may have appeared in some TNG novels. But no mention in the actual television series.
     
  2. Newspaper Taxi

    Newspaper Taxi Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Feb 8, 2004
    Location:
    Newspaper Taxi
    I've been trying to put into words why I prefer Crusher over Pulaski -- even though I realize Pulaski is a bit more dynamic of a character. In the end, I'd say it's this: Picard is the ultimate father figure, and Dr. Crusher is the mother figure. I think that adds to the overall feeling of family among the crew and fits the tone of TNG better. Pulaski's more like the cranky aunt or the mother-in-law or something of Enterprise.

    I know in some of the TNG-relaunch books set after Nemesis they experimented with adding characters that had a more tense relationship with one another but I flet that was out of place, too. TNG isn't DS9 and shouldn't be written as if it were.
     
  3. Admiral James Kirk

    Admiral James Kirk Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2001
    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    I thought she was fantastic as Rosalind Shea on LA Law,
     
  4. JRS

    JRS Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2003
    Location:
    Finland
    Beverly Crusher absolutely:techman:
    I honestly did never care much of Pulaski and found her slightly annoying also. The Bones II factor did not really suite well to TNG universe. Nothing against the actress, though.
     
  5. DataLoreSpock

    DataLoreSpock Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2011
    Location:
    Somewhere Interesting
    Dr. Crusher of course!
    The masses agree too because Dr.Pulaski bad mouthed Data. Well most of the masses. I like Dr.Crusher because she has a zing to her. As seen in the episode The Enemy and The Defector. She zings Worf when she is checking Admiral Jarok's injuries while saying that they have come across some Romulan anatomy. Pulaski does not appreciate Data at all.
    She mispronounced his name and said that their was no difference between the correct pronounciation and the incorrect one.
     
  6. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2000
    Location:
    In the lap of squalor I assure you.
    I know why they couldn't have Pulaski and Crusher on the Ship at the same time.

    It was the homoembargo.

    But they're probably both just bi enough to totally be into one another.

    Why wouldn't they?

    Now I hear you saying, but what about that episode with the Trill who Bev turned down the opportunity to much a little carpet with, because ironically her worldview was a little too inside the box?

    This is good.

    If Bev and Katie couldn't help but throw themselves at each other if they had ever got in a line of sight, then that means that the reason Bev passed on that Trill is not becuase she's afraid of vaginas romantically, but because she's not into blondes.

    See!

    Bev isn't a homophobe after all!

    Squee!
     
  7. James R

    James R Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2011
    Beverly Crusher for me.
     
  8. timtonruben359

    timtonruben359 Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2012
    Thanks to the blu rays I've just finished re-watching season 1. It's been so long since the series aired I almost forgot Dr. Crusher was written out in the second season. I have to say I prefer Beverly only because she seemed to fit in with the other characters better than Pulaski. With Pulaski it was clear they were trying to make female Bones. The problem is Bones was gruff but really a down home country guy at heart, Pulaski was just gruff. The writers made the fatal mistake of trying to reinvent the Bones/Spock dynamic with Pulaski and Data but the problem was Pulaski was just plain rude to Data referring to him as it and just a machine.

    That being said I actually think Diana Muldaur is a better actress than Gates McFadden. Muldaur gave a rather two dimensional character a lot of personality. It says something that 25 years later we're still talking about it. Now, I'm not saying McFadden was a terrible actress far from it. Certainly in the [few] episodes that Crusher was center stage she gave some good performances but she was a bit stale at times.

    They really shouldn't have written Crusher out of the show in the Second Year it was too unrealistic that she'd leave her 15 year old son to fend for himself on the Enterprise. It all worked out for the best though. Diana Muldaur has stated she only did TNG as a personal favor to Gene Roddenberry and that she hated her time on the show. Apparently with the exception of Michael Dorn and Patrick Stewart she was treated pretty shabby by the rest of the cast who were all upset over Gates McFadden's firing (yes, Gates was fired from the show as a result of some sort of feud between her and Producer Maurice Hurley). Diana apparently left on her own accord, she never signed a full contract (which is why her name was never in the main credits).
     
  9. los2188

    los2188 Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Jul 3, 2011
    Location:
    North Carolina
    Dr. Crusher is a pretty handsome woman. Hard to go against that. I know, I know...so superficial.
     
  10. Use of Time

    Use of Time Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2012
    Location:
    Va. Beach, VA
    Crusher easily, but it would have been interesting to see how the Pulaski character developed if their roles were reversed and we got six years of Diana instead.
     
  11. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2001
    Location:
    Sac, Ca
    Pulaski wasn't a bad character, but I have to agree with those who felt she didn't really fit with the show. Like it or not, TNG had much more of a warm, friendly type of atmosphere where everybody loved each other and got along, and Beverly fit within that perfectly.

    Plus I liked the little dynamic between her and Picard. Even if it never went full-boil, you could always sense the concern and affection the two had for each other.
     
  12. R. Star

    R. Star Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2012
    Location:
    Shangri-La
    Pulaski treated Data almost as badly as that jerk Maddox from Measure of a Man. That's the main reason I never liked her.
     
  13. Peacemaker

    Peacemaker Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2000
    Location:
    Time Vortex
    Yeah, what he said.
     
  14. NebulaClassGuy

    NebulaClassGuy Lieutenant Commander

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2012
    Location:
    Dallas, Texas
    Crusher was hotness incarnate, but as doctors, I liked both equally. They both had their good and bad points. It's a shame Crusher never got the amount of dialogue or stories that Pulaski got, but nothing we can do about it now. I voted for Crusher, but I really have nothing against Pulaski.
     
  15. Lt_Rowy

    Lt_Rowy Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2011
    Location:
    in the western suburbs
    Likewise...i liked them both except that Beverly Crusher had a better bedside manner than Pulaski did...also the Crusher-Picard thing was happening towards the end of TNG...I liked Pulaski dont get me wrong...but I did prefer Beverly.
     
  16. Louigi Verona

    Louigi Verona Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2012
    I would not necessarily compare them. I found Pulaski to be an interesting character. I loved her in The Icarus Factor. I was surprised to read she was unpopular.

    Btw, it surprises me to read people think Beverly is hot. Always found her to be very unhot, an image of a middle-aged mother that has all the romance behind her.
     
  17. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2001
    Location:
    Sac, Ca
  18. Use of Time

    Use of Time Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2012
    Location:
    Va. Beach, VA
    I could see a very slow growing relationship with Data and Pulaski over the years had she stayed. She had already showed a learned mutual respect with Worf. It would have been cool to see which characters she would have gravitated torward had she remained the CMO.
     
  19. BriGuy

    BriGuy Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2001
    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA, USA
    Crusher. Easy, no doubt, no question.

    Pulaski was just a McCoy carbon copy made female, with all the gruff and none of the charm or appeal. Lazy and totally uninteresting.
     
  20. MikeS

    MikeS Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2008
    Location:
    Liverpool, UK
    Crusher had six seasons to show her character, Pulaski had one. It is easy for me to chose Crusher now, but I think that's a little unfair. I try to remember what I felt about the comparison at the end of season two when it was originally broadcast and tbh I don't think I had been particularly taken by either. First season Crusher was a bit dull and second season Pulaski was gruff. I do believe that had Pulaski stayed she'd have mellowed, become a great friend and admirer of Data and been a classic. However because of what we got over seven seasons Crusher gets my vote. Simple as that.

    Great thread necromancy btw!