Do you guys think that the writers felt that Tasha Yar's character was a mistake? It seems like they had nothing of substance to give her character throughout the second half of the first season. She was just sort of there hanging about most of the time, with few lines.
Keep in mind that you're talking about different "they"s. Most of the people who developed TNG -- David Gerrold, D.C. Fontana, Bob Justman -- had been driven away well before the season ended. So a lot of the original ideas behind the show fell by the wayside. For instance, the
Enterprise was meant to be exploring the great unknown on a mission that would keep them away from Federation ports for up to 15 years, hence the need for the ship to be a "city in space" with civilians and families aboard. But it ended up spending most of the show's seven seasons in Federation space and dealing with local politics. Also, virtually no use was made of Geordi's enhanced vision after "Heart of Glory"; practically the only purpose the VISOR served after that was as a way for enemy aliens to brainwash or otherwise compromise him.
So I figure Tasha is another aspect that fell by the wayside due to the revolving door on the writers' room. The original staff took their plans for Tasha with them, and their replacements didn't have much of anything to take their place. (Not that they would've been "plans" in the sense of a preplanned character arc like in today's shows -- just an interest in the character and a willingness to explore her.)
Also I was confused by her tales of 'rape gangs' and how tough it was to survive on her home planet, yet her character was very compassionate and calm and didn't seem like she would survive a 'rape gang' any day of the week.
Those aren't incompatible at all. Compassion is not weakness; on the contrary, it takes a lot of strength. And someone who's been a victim of abuse and trauma can be very compassionate toward other victims as a result. Calm isn't weakness either; ask any martial-arts master. It means she'd learned to manage her passions and channel them -- something that takes real strength and discipline. Learning to stay calm and controlled in the face of danger would've helped her to survive on her world.
I had a friend in college who was a rape survivor, and though she sometimes had difficult days, for the most part she was a very calm, compassionate, affectionate person.
I may be missing something, but I feel like I missed out on some good Worf involved stories by having her there for the first 3/4 of the season.
Whereas I feel we missed out on some good Tasha stories because the writers were too busy focusing on Worf and the other men.
This is my first time watching the series and I was prompted to ask this after watching season fours episode 'Legacy' with Tasha's sister. Her sister seemed like the kind of character that Tasha's history would have developed her into(and not what we saw in Season 1).
Ishara was what someone with that history would've become if she stayed in that hellish environment and let it define her. Tasha was what someone with that history would've become if she left, became part of a more enlightened and peaceful society, got therapy and nurturing, and went through Starfleet training. Trauma doesn't have to define you for the rest of your life. Not if you have the
strength to rise above it. Tasha had the strength to make herself a better person. Ishara didn't. To me, that makes Tasha the more interesting character.
