What was the plan with Diana Muldaur?

The Chief Engineer Derby was a Gene thing, that the Enterprise was supposed to be so advanced and automated as a vessel and piece of technology, it didn’t need to have a dedicated Chief Engineer. When Gene left the day to day running of the series, the writers basically decided the absence of a designated engineer in the cast was a handicap in the writing.

I can see how the Enterprise should have multiple doctors, in the same way that a hospital has several specialists, with the CMO acting as the division’s manager. But, y’know, that would mean multiple characters and actors to pay per episode, which wouldn’t be cost effective for the production budget.

 

Some could be recurring, like they had on DS9.

 

Just watched "Unnatural Selection" and I still believe Diana Muldaur should have guest spotted more often on the series. I loved her in Season 2, felt she got the short end of the stick, and we lost some good potential stories because of it.

 

I remember her interview on the TNG Blu-Rays: she doesn't say anything about the work. How she got the job, yes. What a wonderful person was Gene. Something about the uniform and the technobabble. Stop. Not a single episode, the impression on the set, nothing.

It was so evident that she absolutely didn't want to talk about the experience despite being diplomatic that I almost felt embarrassed for the interviewer.

 

Sadly, actors can be temperamental people. I could tell you some stories about my community theater days. The cast were super salty about Gates being shown the gates, and Muldaur was a convenient target for their feelings.

 

Yeah, I've watched interviews she's done, she's very light on the details when she talks about the show. You can tell she'd rather talk about anything else, and I feel bad for her because of that. Diana deserved better than that.

It really is a shame. I mean, we're all only human, and it's not uncommon to blame "the new guy" for the space left behind by our buddy and co-worker. Plus, Gates left under pretty bad conditions, and rightfully so all things considered. I just wish that would have turned out different.

 

Incidentally, interviewers when they talk to someone who worked on Star Trek are always like: "How does it feel to have worked on the GREATEST THING EVER SEEN ON THIS PLANET???". Interviewees usually indulge their interlocutor but sometimes you can see it in their eyes: "Uh? It was just a job I did years and years ago, what are you talking about?"

I mean, why people never do hours-long interviews on her stints on (checking Wiki) McCloud or Dr. Kildaire, like they were some kind of mystical experience? .

 

You know, I would love a show that interviewed people about their day jobs as if they were talking about Star Trek: "Tell us about your two-week job you did 30 years ago at the 'Ma & Pa' supermarket! Is it true that your colleagues were angry with you for taking over from Jane, the beloved ex-cashier? How was the day shift manager in private? Very different from the public image he presented to customers? Also, we would like to know what you can tell us about the famous incident of December 3, 1992, when Timmy put the wrong price tag on cans of tuna. We all know the public version of events, but do you have any behind-the-scenes stories to tell us?"

 

Over the years, I've read every version of this story, from "He just didn't like her" to "He acted like a sexual predator towards her, traumatizing her and forcing her to run away" and everything in between.

I would be curious to know what the latest official version of the story is.

 

I loved Pulaski and wish she'd stayed. I couldn't stand Crusher (or her son) from the first moment I watched the show as an eleven year old. Nothing has changed in 37 years. That said, if Muldaur didn't want to stay and McFadden wasn't returning, Selar should have been the new CMO. Suzie Plaskon deserved a regular role.

 

That's actually not a bad thought. Plus, if Plakson was a show regular, they might not have done "Reunion", and Alexander might have been deleted like Frannie Sullivan, before he could torment the fanbase...

 

I never understood the negativity toward Dr. Pulaski. Sure, Beverly was kinder, and more relatable...but Pulaski was like a female version of McCoy, blunt and to the point. Its not that she didn't care about anyone else, but simply that she was determined to remain professional. We did get to see some of her gentler moments, such as when Wil's father visits the Enterprise, and Picard needing to get his artificial heart replaced. I do wish they would have brought her back at some point, but oh well.

 

Pulaski had something Beverly Crusher never had—a personality. Diana Muldaur had screen presence and was something of a scene stealer.

A lot of the negativity toward the character comes from the initial, hugely misjudged attempt to recreate the Spock/McCoy dynamic with Data, which frankly made the character look like a bully because Data couldn’t spar back. That only lasted a few episodes though. The rest of the season she was a great addition to the season. I’m still a bit pissed the way the character was airbrushed out and the way Muldaur was evidently treated by the highly cliquey cast.

 

Well, actually at first she seemed like a bully to everyone. She is a newcomer in a new work environment and instead of fitting in, she was bossing around.

If I had a new colleague like that, I would be very annoyed

 

Nah, she wasn’t a bully (outside of her prejudiced attitude to Data). She just had sass and spirit, something the quite bland TNG cast greatly needed.

 

Data handled himself Ok, though. When Pulaski got his name wrong, his response was pure Data: "One is my name, the other is not." And, it gave the rest of the cast the opportunity to rally to his side, as seen when Picard stepped on Pulaski when she questioned Data's competence.

And, it gave her someplace to go. And she was already in the way there when they pulled the plug.

I rather enjoyed the interplay with her and Picard and Deanna in "Unnatural Selection"... how did Deanna put it? They both had "well established personalities".

Sadly, she wasn't appreciated at the time. In general, her departure was not mourned at the time it happened.

 

I never really cared for either Doctor but Pulaski was such an obvious McCoy copy you could take anything she said and put in his mouth and it fits.

 

it's hilarious how early TNG distanced itself from TOS with excluding characters and even entire species from TOS, yet aped it every change it could

 

They moved away from that somewhat in later seasons. Though "Naked Now", "Where No One...", "Angel One", and "When the Bough Breaks" definitely followed TOS patterns.