I'm so surprised that so many people have stuck up for Pulaski. When I saw this thread, I was sure Crusher would win in a landslide. I always liked her a lot, and not just because I thought she was a babe even though she was never presented to be perceived that way (I just wish they hadn't put so much eye make-up on her and Troi, yech!). I don't think she was a boring or wooden character, she just (more than any other character) wasn't given enough to do, and that's not her fault, that's a result of the writers and the fact that there were just too many other characters. It's true, most episodes centred around her were bad, but again, that's not the fault of the actress or character, it was just the luck of the draw with so many characters that this one was always written to get the short end of the stick in terms of quality episodes.
When she did get a chance to show some personality, I liked what I saw. I always thought of Pulaski as sort of a crochety old disciplinarian type, like a grumpy school principal or something, whereas Crusher was more vibrant and spunky. Yes, McCoy was grumpy too, but he was also endearing because he showed a lot of affection for his crewmates even through all his grumbling. I didn't sense that with Pulaski.
Crusher was much more friendly, warm, and funny in her interactions with people. For example, the look on her face and tone of her voice when she says "Maybe you're hungry" to Q in "Deja Q", her conversations with Data about dancing and the lesson she gives him in "Data's Day", the banter she has with the inventor in "A Matter of Time", and the way she looks at Picard at the end of "Allegiance". She was playful and flirtatacious, and this made her a lot more interesting to me than Pulaski. I always wished Crusher and Picard would get together and marry in the series or in one of the movies.
The only time I found Pulaski likable or memorable was pretty much her last episode (okay, she was in "Shades of Grey", but that doesn't really count). In "Peak Performance", I loved the scene where she tries to talk Data out of his quarters and accuses him of "sulking". That was the one time I thought she was actually funny and looked like she really cared about someone else, instead of just being the dull "all business" type of person she seemed to be most of the time.
