Bones is toooo annoying

[sonak]

but what's funny is they added a character who was basically a CLONE of McCoy, down to the Pulaski/Data relationship mirroring Spock/Bones, but then fans HATED Pulaski!


I mean, wtf? If you like Bones how do you not like Pulaski?

The difference between Bones/Spock and Pulaski/Data was that Data was a much more innocent, almost child-like character than Spock. So it felt very different when Pulaski gave him grief.

Spock could defend himself. He gave as good as he got, and actually seemed to enjoy bantering with McCoy. It was a battle of equals.

But Data never fired back with dry little zingers about how silly and emotional humans were. So it just seemed like Pulaski was picking on Data . . . .

They were trying for the same dynamic, sure, but it came off very differently because Data was not Spock. It was too one-sided.

Plus, you always knew that, beneath the banter, Spock and McCoy respected each other. Pulaski and Data didn't have that same kind of relationship, perhaps because they didn't have any history together. She just seemed to disapprove of him because androids made her uncomfortable.

yeah, but they were showing an evolving relationship in season 2. By episodes like "peak performance," her attitude toward Data had softened considerably from early S2 episodes.


And let's not forget that McCoy could cross some lines and be downright nasty toward Spock at times, and yet he's just regarded as "good ol' cranky Bones," but when PULASKI does it, then just watch out for the fan reaction.


I don't want to play the gender card, but I wonder if there's a difference in viewers accepting a cranky male doctor versus a female one.

 

[BillJ]

I liked Pulaski too. The TNG cast was so 'dry' and her presence definitely lightened the tone considerably.

 

[evilnate]

I liked Pulaski too. The TNG cast was so 'dry' and her presence definitely lightened the tone considerably.

I liked her as well. I think I was 12 when she joined the cast, and even then I could recognize her as a take off of McCoy, but I didnt mind. The show needed that sort of character, and she was missed when she left.

 

[kirsten187]

I hated McCoy when I first started watching Star Trek so I can understand where people are coming from but I am completely biased in his favour now, I'm afraid.

 

[Greg Cox]

I don't want to play the gender card, but I wonder if there's a difference in viewers accepting a cranky male doctor versus a female one.

I think it's more like she had the thankless task of replacing Beverly Crusher.

So she had two strikes against her. Fans already knew Data, so naturally they were going resent some new interloper criticizing him. And she was replacing Beverly, which may have also predisposed people against her.

(Hell, there are fans on this very board who still haven't forgiven Seven of Nine for replacing Kes!)

By contrast, viewers met Spock and McCoy at the same time, in "The Man Trap," so it wasn't a case of some new character having the nerve to pick on an old favorite.

(The first two TOS pilots don't count since they didn't air until later.)

People might have liked Pulaski better if she had been there from the beginning.

 

[Pauln6]

I liked Pulaski too and I agree that her relationship with Data evolved. Part of her problem was that she was too obviously a McCoy clone and she was replacing a character that the fans were quite fond of whose 'official' reason for leaving was that the producers felt the character wasn't working out. Red rag right there.

Trip Tucker on the other hand really bugged me. He was a high ranking line officer and chief engineer. While a doctor can get away with a certain degree of unprofessionalism I always felt he abused his friendship with the captain. Junior crew must have been quite annoyed at the stuff he got away with. Once again though, his character evened out over time and I really felt for him while his doomed romance was going on.

 

[Mysterion]

Heresy! Leonard McCoy was the only truly sane person on the ship.

 

[Steve67]

For a taste of Spock being a pain, watch That Which Survives.

Spock could be just as "annoying" as McCoy, what with that dry Vulcan logic. Who knew he was overcompensating for being half human and trying to repress 50% of who he was?

 

[Mike Have-Not]

I love McCoy. And I liked Pulaski.

Bones is awesome.

I just love how he's always like, "Dammit, Jim, what the hell?!"

He just seemed to always be "keepin' it real", as it were, with very human reactions.

 

[T'Bonz]

I think it's more like she had the thankless task of replacing Beverly Crusher.

So she had two strikes against her. Fans already knew Data, so naturally they were going resent some new interloper criticizing him. And she was replacing Beverly, which may have also predisposed people against her.

Yeah, that was my problem with her. I can watch and appreciate her character now, but when the show was airing, I was irritated that she was replacing a character I liked.

(Hell, there are fans on this very board who still haven't forgiven Seven of Nine for replacing Kes!).

It's not so much that she replaced Kes. That alone was annoying. It was the fact that here comes Tight Catsuit and it was very, very obvious why the character was there, for T&A factor. As a female, that irked me.

Kes at least, was interesting to me, with her odd culture.

Plus - the Seven of Nine character was a Mary Sue and everyone seemed to be infatuated with her. The "different" name, the emphasis on her, her skills and hell, she even got the man in the end.

It's a pity as I like Jeri Ryan, but I loathed the Seven of Nine character and I liked Voyager much less after Seven's appearance.

I still can't watch her and like her, which I can do, as I said, with Pulaski.

And how the hell can anyone not like Bones?

 

[Freman]

Have watched all three seasons of TOS and all TAS and am wondering if im the only one who cant stand bones?

I find him very irritating and do realise he is meant to be an older grumpy type person but he just grates on me.

I love Scotty, Sulu and most of the others but just not Bones, how do you all feel about him?

This thread is just so ridiculous, I'm pretending it doesn't exist.

Not like McCoy??? Blasphemy!!!
First time EVER I've heard this complaint, and I hope to never hear it again.

 

[Kelso]

I love McCoy. LOVE him.

And 7 of 9 is in my top three VOY characters.

I also like Pulaski.

 

[A beaker full of death]

To me Bones just feels like a redundant third wheel to Spock and Kirk. Bones and Kirk I can tolerate. Kirk and Spock works for me.

You're entirely missing the dynamic. Spock and McCoy debate the different sides of an issue. Often, BOTH are right. I think it's sad that the humanistic arguments McCoy makes are so undervalued by modern viewers that their basic structural purpose is entirely missed.

A great example is in the long ABC, not theatrical) version of the scene in Kirk's quarters in TWOK. They had one of their best arguments there.

 

[WisTrekFan]

I love the Scotty in command episodes. "Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me." Those episodes always had a good interaction between Scotty, Sulu,
Uhura and Chekov.

 

[Greg Cox]

To me Bones just feels like a redundant third wheel to Spock and Kirk. Bones and Kirk I can tolerate. Kirk and Spock works for me.

You're entirely missing the dynamic. Spock and McCoy debate the different sides of an issue. Often, BOTH are right. I think it's sad that the humanistic arguments McCoy makes are so undervalued by modern viewers that their basic structural purpose is entirely missed.

A great example is in the long ABC, not theatrical) version of the scene in Kirk's quarters in TWOK. They had one of their best arguments there.

Exactly. As has been noted by many others over the years, Spock and McCoy serve to dramatize the dilemmas facing Kirk. Spock presents the cold, logical arguments. McCoy voices the human, emotional side of the situation. And Kirk is in the middle, having to make the final decision.

It's actually an ingenious dramatic device. Spock and McCoy are like Kirk's right and left brain. (Or is it the other way around?)

 

[RandyS]

Leonard H. McCoy is a brilliant surgeon, longtime friend of James Kirk, and comedic foil for Spock. The chemistry is terrific, and while Bones can be fiery, stubborn, and get frustrated easily, he's also very compassionate and doesn't hesitate when called to duty.

McCoy is the yang to Spock's yin, and they both balance out when brought together with James Kirk. That's why they're the Big Three. I love Bones. He's my hero.

You said it better than I could my friend.

 

[BlobVanDam]

To me Bones just feels like a redundant third wheel to Spock and Kirk. Bones and Kirk I can tolerate. Kirk and Spock works for me.

You're entirely missing the dynamic. Spock and McCoy debate the different sides of an issue. Often, BOTH are right. I think it's sad that the humanistic arguments McCoy makes are so undervalued by modern viewers that their basic structural purpose is entirely missed.

I'm not missing the dynamic, I just think it misses the mark. It's plain as day what they're going for (it's not exactly cryptic ), it just doesn't work to me. Just because I dislike the character and his dynamic, doesn't mean I'm missing the point or don't "get it". Often I've found his "humanistic" arguments very narrow minded, and it bothers me against Spock's calm objective logic.
It seems all too easy for TOS fans to play the "young'uns just don't get it" card, but I just don't like the way it was written or played a lot of the time. Is it that hard to accept there are some people who just don't like the character? Each to his own. That's all.

 

[muldwych who]

I get everyone's points and i think you for replying, it still doesn't make me like him anymore.

Sometimes in life people annoy you for no reason really could be the way he talks, acts even his hair i don't know i just don't like him sorry.

 

[Timewalker]

You say that you haven't seen all the episodes, so fair enough. I would recommend The Immunity Syndrome, or any episode where Kirk is taken out of the picture, such as The Tholian Web or The Paradise Syndrome to see good examples of McCoy and Spock's relationship.

The Empath is one of the best examples of Spock-McCoy friendship, as both of them demonstrate their willingness to risk death so the other can survive.

The Paradise Syndrome is a hoot, when we see Spock grinning and happily explaining this "mint julep" thing that McCoy has introduced him to: "That's a drink, Jim!"

I love McCoy. LOVE him.

And 7 of 9 is in my top three VOY characters.

I also like Pulaski.

A kindred spirit. Although I preferred Pulaski's relationship with Worf. She really was a genuine "racist" toward Data; can you imagine what a bitch she would have been to the Doctor if she'd been on Voyager?

 

[Gov Kodos]

You say that you haven't seen all the episodes, so fair enough. I would recommend The Immunity Syndrome, or any episode where Kirk is taken out of the picture, such as The Tholian Web or The Paradise Syndrome to see good examples of McCoy and Spock's relationship.

The Empath is one of the best examples of Spock-McCoy friendship, as both of them demonstrate their willingness to risk death so the other can survive.

The Paradise Syndrome is a hoot, when we see Spock grinning and happily explaining this "mint julep" thing that McCoy has introduced him to: "That's a drink, Jim!"

I love McCoy. LOVE him.

And 7 of 9 is in my top three VOY characters.

I also like Pulaski.

A kindred spirit. Although I preferred Pulaski's relationship with Worf. She really was a genuine "racist" toward Data; can you imagine what a bitch she would have been to the Doctor if she'd been on Voyager?

Great list of favorites. Someone mentioned above that the problem between Pulaski and Data was that Data was, more or less, too nice and an easy target for Pulaski's barbs. The EMH was a much more caustic character in his own right. I think the battle of insults between EMH Doc and Pulaski could have been as inspired between them as McCoy and Spock were.