Poll Crusher or Pulaski?

[Mojochi]

I've always thought Crusher was a better fit for the crew, (which is important) but as doctors go, I'd prefer Pulaski, despite any friction. Friction I can get past. I want the best doc, & if I'm being honest, that really seems like Kate.

Not that Bev wasn't a top doctor in her own right. She was offered the head job at Starfleet Medical. That's an administrative job though. Kate seemed more renowned among contemporaries for her actual doctoring, not an ability to command, which I'll grant you, as an eventual captain herself, Bev gets props for being better at that.

However, when did anyone talk to Crusher in 7 years, like she'd had accomplishments of note? Pulaski got it at least twice in one season, when she'd been the only one to pull off Picard's surgery & when some distant random genetic researcher had heard of her & read her research.

I liked Bev becoming a captain in the finale. In truth, my biggest gripe with her over the years has always been her tendency to prioritize her doctor oath over her Starfleet oath. I imagine being a captain of a crew would be just the education she needed in that regard. The voyages of Captain Beverly Crusher is thoroughly interesting to me

To be fair though, Bev got 6 seasons for her to be judged on, & Kate only one. I might have had just as many issues with Kate's choices too, for whatever reasons, had she been around as long

 

[Lynx]

Crusher was better.

I was annoyed when she was dumped and was happy to see her back.

I never really liked Pulaski, at least not back then.

In recent years, I have re-evaluated Pulaski somewhat. I wish that she had showed up in some episodes as a recurring character.

 

[PoorSailorsAirline]

If there was a "both" button I'd have been able to answer this. I'm just happy someone else noticed the Crusher/Pulaski thing from the Geordi thread.

I know every practical reason this could never happen (McFadden/Hurley, Muldaur wanted to take the elevator ride of her life, how it would mess up the writers, etc etc...) *but* ...

What if we could have had something besides a 6/1 split of Crusher/Pulaski seasons? A 4/3 split, 3/4 split, alternate seasons, whatever you like. Hey, go crazy! Have 3/3 and then 1 season where Dr. Selar has to referee their different styles.

The Crusher/Picard relationship was an interesting one; it provides some depth into Picard's past and gives him a non-Troi confidant. But Pulaski was written with so much more nuance, it's a shame we didn't get to see more of her. (Example: "I will sacrifice myself and everyone else--the virus must stay here and I'm a scientist with principles!" [...a few weeks later...] "Damn, I got caught fibbing that Data would play stratagema because I don't like windbags.") She was given way, way more highway by the writers and producers.

They were both good. I'm a voter hold-out!

 

[Phoenix219]

If there was a "both" button I'd have been able to answer this. I'm just happy someone else noticed the Crusher/Pulaski thing from the Geordi thread.

I know every practical reason this could never happen (McFadden/Hurley, Muldaur wanted to take the elevator ride of her life, how it would mess up the writers, etc etc...) *but* ...

What if we could have had something besides a 6/1 split of Crusher/Pulaski seasons? A 4/3 split, 3/4 split, alternate seasons, whatever you like. Hey, go crazy! Have 3/3 and then 1 season where Dr. Selar has to referee their different styles.

The Crusher/Picard relationship was an interesting one; it provides some depth into Picard's past and gives him a non-Troi confidant. But Pulaski was written with so much more nuance, it's a shame we didn't get to see more of her. (Example: "I will sacrifice myself and everyone else--the virus must stay here and I'm a scientist with principles!" [...a few weeks later...] "Damn, I got caught fibbing that Data would play stratagema because I don't like windbags.") She was given way, way more highway by the writers and producers.

They were both good. I'm a voter hold-out!

Was that an LA Law reference?

From my understanding, she was on Star Trek in '88-'89, and was on LA Law from 1989-1991 as a guest star. I don't think there was any overlap.

Also from my understanding, she was treated pretty coldly by the rest of the cast, and never felt very welcome on the set. The entire situation was unfortunate.

She definitely has more depth, charisma and nuance, and I can hear the exact same dialogue sounding better coming from Muldaur. She can bust your balls but in a friendly way that makes you smile with her, while Crusher was just condescending.

 

[Laughing Dragon]

This has come up a lot and the same answer is I like them both (so I can't vote in this poll) but I agree Pulaski was spicier. Data is one of my favorite ST characters too. And yes, she was jerk in the beginning, but I think before the time she left she saw him differently. Especially because of him defending that alien girl. it was interesting to see her clash with the others.

 

[somebuddyX]

I never really watched Season 2 so I don't have any strong feelings for Pulaski. But I liked Beverly a lot, especially when she took command in "Descent." I liked Pulaski appearing in the "All Good Things..." novelisation where she talks with Lwaxana, and "Rogue Saucer" is not all that hot and I haven't finished it but I love the idea of "Beverly in command 2.0" with Deanna as her first officer.

 

[at Quark's]

How about they both stay aboard?

We could have had interesting episodes with e.g. internal power struggles for who deserves to be CMO, transporter incident episodes where they are mixed up and we get dr Pusher (who has a little side hustle with all the drugs she has access to) and/or dr. Crulaski instead, and so on.

 

[AntonyF]

doesn't treat Data like dogshit.

This is a perception I still rail against 35+ years later. She didn't IMO. She was rude and a bit abrupt in learning about him at first, I think her life is flesh and blood and she didn't get him at first. But once she got over that initial scepticism (and I saw it as just her way - like she's sceptical of transporters too).

I felt she was fine with him and indeed they shared some really nice moments together after that. I remember one episode where she said sorry to him a lot, as she shifted and tried to correct her biases. That's not the actions of someone who doesn't respect him.

They went and played Sherlock on the holodeck together, and was his advocate to "bust up" the guy at Strategema. In that same episode she consoled Data as he sulked and even apologised to him getting him to play the game. (Oh and as Laughing Dragon notes, Sarjenka in Pen Pals... she fought Data's corner to help her.)

I saw a person who respected her colleague in the same way she did the others. But I think so many people saw that initial impression (where she was a bit rude, and they were trying to create a Spock/Bones dynamic) that they couldn't move beyond it.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

I like both, but I went with Bev.

 

[Jedi Marso]

The episode Sub Rosa probably never would have happened without Crusher.

So I gotta go with Crusher.

 

[Hawku]

Pulaski got referred to as "Your Excellency" in one of my fan fics.

 

[Oddish]

The episode Sub Rosa probably never would have happened without Crusher.

So I gotta go with Crusher.

Pulaski would have eaten Ronin for lunch. And washed him down with Klingon tea.

 

[PoorSailorsAirline]

We could have had interesting episodes with e.g. internal power struggles for who deserves to be CMO, transporter incident episodes where they are mixed up and we get dr Pusher (who has a little side hustle with all the drugs she has access to) and/or dr. Crulaski instead, and so on.

Dr. Crulaski is the chiropractor. Dr. Pusher is the friendly one with the Rx PADD and hypospray.

Come to think of it, even though she hated the transporter and would have been way more likely to be on the shot-up shuttle, Pulaski could never have worked in S4 The Host. That was all Crusher for sure.

Was that an LA Law reference?

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

Hey, Dr Crusher has finally caught up with Dr Pulaski in the poll! I never doubted her.

 

[Laughing Dragon]

They are both tied together at 18 votes.

 

[Phoenix219]

They are both tied together at 18 votes.

If you give it weighted responses based on screen time then Pulaski is crushing it. Haha.

 

[Oddish]

Pulaski took a huge lead early on, suggesting that she has the more devoted fanbase.

 

[Visitor1982]

I wonder what I should vote...

 

[Farscape One]

I think it's rather telling that, as of this writing, Pulaski has 3 more votes than Crusher (21 vs. 18) Pretty remarkable for a character that only appeared in one season.

I voted Pulaski. When TNG season 2 first aired, I hated her... primarily because of her treament of Data at first. (9 year old me adored Data, just as 45 year old me adores Data.) But as I rewatched the episodes, I actually changed my opinion of her because she had growth... she went from thinking (and showing) of Data as a walking calculator and asking if 'it' knows what he's doing, to not only respecting him as a person but also fully supporting him. ("Pen Pals" is the full turning point... she backs him simply because Sarjenka was important to him.) The growth is slow and took time, but that also had the benefit of making it realistic. Almost no one goes from that kind of initial stance to full support overnight. I appreciated that about season 2 overall, as well. (There's a LOT of subtle things that elevate season 2... it really doesn't get the credit it deserves for being so solid a season.)

While I like Crusher, I do find she is at the bottom of my list of CMOs in the franchise, and even though my reasons for it are peppered throughout the series, I can trace it to a single episode that encompases how she is in general... "Ethics".

While it was a very good episode (and gave Frakes one of his very best scenes in TNG when he tells Worf he won't assist him in his ritual), this episode paints Crusher very badly because she is imposing her value system and choice on Worf. Worf's decision to commit suicide was a cultural decision based on his values and beliefs. If he feels he cannot keep going with a disability, it is HIS choice to end his life. Crusher's job, as a doctor, is to present the options available, not try to force her belief that he can live with paralysis or even partial paralysis. I understand where she is coming from and why she feels that way, but where I draw the line is her pushing her values onto Worf and saying things like "no one is commiting suicide in my sickbay".

While I don't really agree with Dr. Russell's methodology of just using near-death patients for experimental drugs without their consent, the episode goes out of its way to paint her far worse than necessary. I actually think this would have been a perfect opportunity to have Pulaski here to serve as a voice for Worf, especially considering she is familiar with Klingon customs. (Her knowledge of the tea ceremony is proof of this.)

 

[Oddish]

While it was a very good episode (and gave Frakes one of his very best scenes in TNG when he tells Worf he won't assist him in his ritual), this episode paints Crusher very badly because she is imposing her value system and choice on Worf. Worf's decision to commit suicide was a cultural decision based on his values and beliefs. If he feels he cannot keep going with a disability, it is HIS choice to end his life.

Maybe you're right about that... but she did make up for it with her final words to Dr. Russell, who was using live patients as Guinea pigs. She hammered that woman.