Kate Pulaski & Season 2

[EnriqueH]

I just finished Season 2.

Boy, I tend to think of Season 2 as the weakest season in TNG, but there were some good ones.

Kate Pulaski had some good moments but not enough of them. You can tell the character was just not meshing with the rest of the crew. But one cool side effect of Pulaski was that I never realized how Picard did not seem to care for her. I wonder if this was intended or if the writers saw the writing on the wall and wrote that into the episodes. I can EASILY imagine Picard transferring her off the Enterprise due to her not meshing with the crew. That they seemed to force a "McCoy" style on Diana Muldaur made things worse.

Anyway, aside from Q-Who and Measure of a Man, I enjoyed quite a few episodes.

-Loud as a Whisper
-A Matter of Honor
-Contagion
-The Icarus Factor (I really enjoyed Riker's dad)


Up the Long Ladder was embarrassingly written, kinda like Lonely Among Us and the 20th century angle of The Neutral Zone.

 

[Richard Baker]

One thing I did like about her is that it broke up the whole huggy-family-command crew- a bit more realistic having people transfer on and off a ship instead of having the same people stuck in the same roles forever (ST-TMP).
Having people who work together but do not truly like each other is common- I have a few co-workers who come to mind. As long as the job is done it really should not matter how you feel about somebody and Kate Pulaski gave the crew dynamic a bit of a real world vibe like that...

 

[Makarov]

She wasn't bad at all but I never did like her hair style. I did like the fact that she seemed to dislike Data when everyone else loved him. Ideally I would have liked to see Data and her have a rivalry. Season 2 has some very good episodes like Time Squared.

 

[doubleohfive]

She wasn't bad at all but I never did like her hair style.

What an odd thing to object to.

 

[SB118_Laxyn]

I didn't really like her in general, but she had her moments. I really liked her part in Worf's surgery and getting him to do it for example. But yeah I was pretty happy when Beverly was back.

 

[Marsden]

I liked Beverly, too, so it's hard to chose just one because circumstances, one replacing the other, almost make it a direct competition, it's too bad there couldn't have been some way that they could have kept both.

The notion that there was only one doctor on board for a ship of a thousand is kind of silly, even with 24th century medicine being more advanced. One of them could have been CMO and the other a head of staff just under that position on a guest basis. Dr. Selar was only there just a few times.

 

[Leviathan]

-The Icarus Factor (I really enjoyed Riker's dad)

...so did Pulaski.

 

[EnriqueH]

Pulaski did give the series a "real world" vibe because she wasn't a comfortable presence, always seemed to be challenging everyone.

Maybe it's because I'm in a leadership role myself these days, but I found it interesting to see Picard dealing with a subordinate he didn't care for on a personal level.

That's what's so great about Star Trek: You watch the show in different times of your life, you can rewatch the same damn episode 5 years later and say, "Holy shit! That's cool! I didn't notice that before!" and it's because of whatever you're going through at the time.

 

[Riker Kenobi]

Pulaski had a nice story arc, initially dismissing Data before gradually coming to respect him around Pen Pals.

 

[TV's Frank]

Season 2 has some absolute highlights, "Q-Who" and "Measure of the Man" both being among the best episodes of the entire series. I never really warmed to Pulaski, but I appreciated what her presence brought to the show. It always irked me that she disliked Data, but it still made sense for her character and hey, not everyone is required to like him.

How often was Pulaski mentioned in later seasons? I can recall one instance.

 

[doubleohfive]

Season 2 has some absolute highlights, "Q-Who" and "Measure of the Man" both being among the best episodes of the entire series. I never really warmed to Pulaski, but I appreciated what her presence brought to the show. It always irked me that she disliked Data, but it still made sense for her character and hey, not everyone is required to like him.

Agreed.

How often was Pulaski mentioned in later seasons? I can recall one instance.

I think the only time is when Crusher admits she's "familiar with Dr. Pulaski's method" of memory erasure in "Who Watches the Watchers?"

 

[The Old Mixer]

Did Moriarty mention or allude to her when they brought him back in Season 6?

I used to just hate Pulaski, but I've come to see that Mauldaur brought something to the show. Unfortunately, she made a very bad early impression with the ill-conceived McCoy clone schtick. They should have given her an original character to play.

That said, I'm not generally a fan of the idea that one character should come into the cast and shake everything up (Pulaski, Ro). It would have been much better if they'd worked on some juicier character dynamics for the entire cast.

 

[Mister Spock]

I don't even think they mention Doctor Pulaski in Evolution, all we get in the matter is Doctor Crusher talking about being transferred to Starfleet Medical for a year and how excited she was to be back.

 

[2takesfrakes]

I never realized how Picard did not seem to care for her. I wonder if this was intended or if the writers saw the writing on the wall and wrote that into the episodes. I can EASILY imagine Picard transferring her off the Enterprise ...

I've read that Sir Patrick Stewart did not appreciate Diana Muldaur's use of Cue Cards and that his caused on-set friction between them, which I find understandable. Also, from what I've come across elsewhere and on these boards, as well, Michael Dorn was the only TNG castmember who actually warmed up to Diana. The rest of them gave her the brush-off, which I was surprised to "hear." Who knows what really went on, though? But even if you take a grain of salt with all of these reports, it's clear that Diana Muldaur wasn't having a good time on TNG and it does show, unfortunately. I honestly feel that had Kate Pulaski been retained as a sort of Dr. M'Benga, after Dr. Crusher came back, that would've been really cool. Pulaski did have potential ...

 

[Memory Alpha]

One thing I felt was that Crusher, like most of the show, definitely became less flat and a much warmer character as it went. Pulaski came across as stand-offish in a way that to me McCoy never did, and I would be just as inclined to blame the writing.

I think the 2nd season is a minute improvement over the first for no other reason than that there are just so many times in season 1 where I have to cringe. Two is very uneven, though. Peak Performance, The Outrageous Okona, and a few others are bad. OTOH, it produced Q Who (terrible title) and Where Silence Has Lease, though, which I think are great, as is The Measure of a Man.

 

[dub]

She wasn't bad at all but I never did like her hair style.

What an odd thing to object to.

How is that odd? I'm not fond of her hair either honestly. Same goes for hairstyles for early Worf, early T'Pol, Chekov's wig, alternate Yar, and others. None are deal-breakers though. I just don't really care for them. But there are also other superficial choices I'm not fond of, like certain uniforms, starships, alien make-up, sets, planet designs and wardrobes. And there's a whole thread devoted to some fans not liking Scotty's mustache in the TOS films. I guess there are plenty of "odd objections" here!

 

[Makarov]

She wasn't bad at all but I never did like her hair style.

What an odd thing to object to.

Hey if Janeway's bun is open to criticism then Pulaski's afro is free game Not to mention Worf's weird hair in the earlier seasons.

Also could you imagine Crusher with the same hairstyle as Pulaski? Yikes. Pulaski with Crusher's hairstyle on the other hand could have been a romantic interest for Picard.

 

[The Old Mixer]

It wasn't an afro...it was a granny perm.

 

[TV's Frank]

Season 2 has some absolute highlights, "Q-Who" and "Measure of the Man" both being among the best episodes of the entire series. I never really warmed to Pulaski, but I appreciated what her presence brought to the show. It always irked me that she disliked Data, but it still made sense for her character and hey, not everyone is required to like him.

Agreed.

How often was Pulaski mentioned in later seasons? I can recall one instance.

I think the only time is when Crusher admits she's "familiar with Dr. Pulaski's method" of memory erasure in "Who Watches the Watchers?"

Right, and I think I recall Crusher looking slightly annoyed at having to make that statement!

 

[TV's Frank]

One thing I felt was that Crusher, like most of the show, definitely became less flat and a much warmer character as it went. Pulaski came across as stand-offish in a way that to me McCoy never did, and I would be just as inclined to blame the writing.

I think the 2nd season is a minute improvement over the first for no other reason than that there are just so many times in season 1 where I have to cringe. Two is very uneven, though. Peak Performance, The Outrageous Okona, and a few others are bad. OTOH, it produced Q Who (terrible title) and Where Silence Has Lease, though, which I think are great, as is The Measure of a Man.

"Peak Performance" is an awesome episode and a much better season wrap-up than "Shades of Gray".