Poll Crusher or Pulaski?
- Thread starter Akiraprise
- Start date
Happy to see Pulaski get a lot of love here. She deserves it. Data stand need to grow up on that. Her Data suspicion did not last long, and gave us the Moriarity episodes.
But I still voted for Crusher. It is a red-head thing. And she did get better.
But I still voted for Crusher. It is a red-head thing. And she did get better.
I kind of feel like this whole debate boils down to which is more important to you, interesting stories & character development from the doctor (which Kate had a lot of promise for & Bev maybe not as much) or comfortable relations & blending with the rest of the cast/crew. (Which Kate/Diana was going to seemingly struggle with & Bev/Gates was so instinctively prone to that the show got accused of them all being too dramatically sterile or perfect)
I don't see Kate having breakfast with Picard or working out with Troi. It says a lot when the person you've most connected with on the crew is Worf.
However, Bev was maybe never going to be a major part at the center of all kinds of good drama.
I don't see Kate having breakfast with Picard or working out with Troi. It says a lot when the person you've most connected with on the crew is Worf.
However, Bev was maybe never going to be a major part at the center of all kinds of good drama.
I do prefer Pulaski as a character and how much she got to do in one year compared to Beverly with 6x the amount of screen time, but... (melodramatic pause) ...we did get brash characters later in the show's run, had Pulaski stayed we may never have gotten Ro, never mind side-characters like Barclay, and Beverly is iconic in her own ways.
The only thing that she is iconically known for is not something I would be proud of.... LMFAO
Uh-oh. Is that thing the green gooey ghost with good hair?
Who ya gonna call?
Ok, now I want 23rd-24th century ghostbusters with starships.......
Hands down, I prefer Beverly over Pulaski, personally.
Pulaski always felt like a replacement since Gates McFadden had been fired after Season 1 then rehired her from Season 3 for the rest of the show's run whereas Beverly had always been established as part of the Enterprise D's family, especially with Wesley serving on board.
Plus Pulaski didn't seem to have much respect for Data and didn't seem to really connect with the crew like Beverly did.
It was kind of strange though that she just up and left after Season 2, never to be seen or heard from again. Even Denise Crosby after Tasha Yar was killed off halfway through Season 1 got to guess star very sparingly throughout the show's subsequent seasons, even as Tasha. But Pulaski was never seen or heard from again.
Pulaski always felt like a replacement since Gates McFadden had been fired after Season 1 then rehired her from Season 3 for the rest of the show's run whereas Beverly had always been established as part of the Enterprise D's family, especially with Wesley serving on board.
Plus Pulaski didn't seem to have much respect for Data and didn't seem to really connect with the crew like Beverly did.
It was kind of strange though that she just up and left after Season 2, never to be seen or heard from again. Even Denise Crosby after Tasha Yar was killed off halfway through Season 1 got to guess star very sparingly throughout the show's subsequent seasons, even as Tasha. But Pulaski was never seen or heard from again.
Except when she was mentioned in 'Who Watches The Watchers'. =)
It had to do with wiping Liko's memory, it must've had something to do with 'Pen Pals'.
I think if Pulaski had been there from S1 she would've been better received - except for the anti-transporter thing, that was just too much copying McCoy.
None of the audience knew much about Data then, and so her questioning of him "It does know how to do that, doesn't it?" probably would've gone down better, as we were learning about him at the same time, unfortunately, by S2 most of the audience loved Data, and they didn't like Pulaski having a go at him, and so it put them off her.
The supposed romance between Picard & Crusher was never going anywhere back then, but there wouldn't have been any of that with Pulaski anyway, and so you would've had a stronger, more experienced doctor, and someone that could've been a confidant for Picard, and someone that had a bit more bite to them, and could've pushed him when he was in the wrong.
It does seem as if the cast didn't really welcome Muldaur though, as if it was somehow her fault that Gates wasn't on the show anymore, and I've heard that a few resented her getting paid more than they did.
None of the audience knew much about Data then, and so her questioning of him "It does know how to do that, doesn't it?" probably would've gone down better, as we were learning about him at the same time, unfortunately, by S2 most of the audience loved Data, and they didn't like Pulaski having a go at him, and so it put them off her.
The supposed romance between Picard & Crusher was never going anywhere back then, but there wouldn't have been any of that with Pulaski anyway, and so you would've had a stronger, more experienced doctor, and someone that could've been a confidant for Picard, and someone that had a bit more bite to them, and could've pushed him when he was in the wrong.
It does seem as if the cast didn't really welcome Muldaur though, as if it was somehow her fault that Gates wasn't on the show anymore, and I've heard that a few resented her getting paid more than they did.
^^this
Loved the "realization that the walking talking toaster was sentient and even defended him jubilantly as the season went on" arc. There clearly was an "arc" and plan for her in the scripting, even if the season was cut short.
Crusher did become iconic for her own and for the right reasons. +1
^^this!
Great points.
But I like the anti-transporter thing, being she's medical and knows enough of the fun technical bits to be worried about it. That said, plenty of mechanics and physicists know drag coefficient and thrust/propulsion and that doesn't stop them from using the freeway regardless of speed. I mean, 100MPH+ on the Autobahn could turn one into a messy puddle fast enough that I promise you won't be sentient, but I digress.
^^this.
That makes sense, a lot of people would be put off. Zoiks, I now remember the flyer at the favored sci-fi bookstore about a petition to bring back McFadden for season 3...
They gave Pulaski's integral romance aspect to Riker's daddy instead. Worked no better than the Picard/Crusher shippin' action attempted (read: didn't work at all)...
I don't recall the reasons in full, but wasn't it because the established cast were more jovial and Muldaur was by-the-book stern in wanting scenes filmed? On the plus side, Pulaski paved the way for Barclay, Shelby, and especially Ro - for which none lasted too long and Ro had the best...
Unfortunately, her "personality" was just transplanted to her from Bones McCoy.
Something just occurred to me; if Wesley and Pulaski were on the ship from the beginning, would there have been more interest in a Bev/Picard romance if they had an episode where they reunited later in the series?
It could have been a big deal, when Wesley's mom comes to visit. If the reimagining did not include Troi, this could replace the lwaxanna episodes. Or would Beverly have been played by majel? Lol!!
I like both doctors to be honest. S1 Crusher and S2 Pulaski are both great. With TNG returning for S3, I'm glad Crusher returned. Besides, the actress playing Pulaski didn't want to return because of the cold reception from the cast. So, it was Crusher back in S3 or bring in a third doctor.
I saw an interview (with Sirtis, I think) and she said she and Gates were the only 2 cast members who knew how to fence and for Q-Pid they were the only two who didn't get a weapon in the fight scenes. Pots only.
Crusher no contest. She was my favorite female character when TNG first premiered and she had chemistry with Picard the likes of which is hardly ever seen. Very disappointed when the show fired the actress and for what a female McCoy who constantly had me thinking I thought this was supposed to be a totally new show so why are they now copying personas of TOS characters. Sad thing is Diana Muldaur is a good actress but there was zero reason for that change other than some exec behind the scenes who didn't like an actress who had the audacity to stand up for herself and the other female members of the cast Muldaur just got stuck in the middle but sorry Season Two to me still remains the worst season of TNG because of wrong decision made behind the scenes.
