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Tasha Yar Development

Danny99

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Here's a hypothetical scenario:

Denise Crosby and the character of Tasha Yar continue for all seven seasons of TNG.

Where do you envision her character going in terms of development over those 7 seasons?
 
^Nah, wouldn't have worked. "Way of the Warrior" was a Klingon-centric story. Worf was the only logical choice.

As far as Yar is concerned though, she would have eventually had more to do, right around the third season, when the character stories were beginning. They would have gotten around to her.
 
^Nah, wouldn't have worked. "Way of the Warrior" was a Klingon-centric story. Worf was the only logical choice.

That's getting the cause and effect backward. The only reason they opened the season with a Klingon-centric story was to give them an excuse to add Worf to the series. If they'd been trying to add a different character, they would've come up with a different storyline.
 
In a way, I wish she would've stayed on. I liked Yar, and I think it's a crying shame she's only in TNG's worst season.

She would've wound up on Deep Space Nine instead of Worf. -- RR

And hooked up with Jadzia instead of Worf? :shifty:

But really, it's hard for me to think of how she would've turned out, since we didn't have much to go on. I think it'd be great if they still did the story where her sister shows up with Yar alive. The only thing is that Yar dying sort of gave Worf his position on the Ent-D that he really grew into. I would have to wonder if Worf's role on the show would be in flux for longer if Yar hadn't been killed by Armus.
 
I suspect that if Tasha had stayed security chief, Worf would've probably taken over permanently at conn when Geordi transferred to engineering.
 
I think this is a great question, and a tough one because we had so little to go on. I think that her development would have suffered at the hands of Worf and Data, as a lot of others did. OTOH, if she had been around maybe Worf wouldn't have got the spotlight that he did. I think I'd like to have seen her come to terms with her history, the gangs, the colony and the things that happened to her in her past. It would have been interesting to see her meet Ishara, and we could have had that episode with Tasha alive. Maybe the writers could have taken the idea where she and Data slept together in Naked Now and developed it into a relationship between them over time. It could have explored Data's sexuality, and Yar coming to terms with her past at the same time.

Tasha could have had some interesting things to do in BOBW. They might even have had her challenge Riker rather than Shelby.

I think she could have become more comfortable in herself, have settled into her job and recognise her own capabilities, which in turn might have led her to become involved in trying to help her homeworld. We could have had an exploration of failing colonies, how the Federation deals with them etc, as a recurring theme in TNG. Might have made it a bit more edgy. If Yar had stayed, I wonder if Ro would have appeared?
 
I think this is a great question, and a tough one because we had so little to go on. I think that her development would have suffered at the hands of Worf and Data, as a lot of others did. OTOH, if she had been around maybe Worf wouldn't have got the spotlight that he did. I think I'd like to have seen her come to terms with her history, the gangs, the colony and the things that happened to her in her past. It would have been interesting to see her meet Ishara, and we could have had that episode with Tasha alive. Maybe the writers could have taken the idea where she and Data slept together in Naked Now and developed it into a relationship between them over time. It could have explored Data's sexuality, and Yar coming to terms with her past at the same time.

Tasha could have had some interesting things to do in BOBW. They might even have had her challenge Riker rather than Shelby.

I think she could have become more comfortable in herself, have settled into her job and recognise her own capabilities, which in turn might have led her to become involved in trying to help her homeworld. We could have had an exploration of failing colonies, how the Federation deals with them etc, as a recurring theme in TNG. Might have made it a bit more edgy. If Yar had stayed, I wonder if Ro would have appeared?

Intriguing ideas for Yar, WillsBabe. I also think Worf's character might have suffered a bit, and he would have ended up as the conn officer to replace Geordi. But I always thought Worf looked better in command red, anyway. And if Tasha wound up on DSN, I think she and Bashir would've hooked up. I can definitely see her as strategic operations officer, and clashing with a number of characters, most notably Odo and probably Kira, too. -- RR
 
My first thought was that if Tasha had stayed, Ro probably wouldn't have been necessary, since there already would've been an edgy character to provide conflict. But then I thought, maybe not. Tasha was a character who really embraced Federation/Starfleet values, idolized them as the thing that had saved her from her hellish life. So she wouldn't have been a critic of Starfleet ways like Ro was. On the contrary, she would've been their most impassioned supporter. A Tasha-Ro interaction could've been interesting -- two characters with similar backgrounds but very different responses to them. Maybe it could've been Tasha rather than Guinan who took Ro under her wing, seeing a kindred spirit who hadn't yet found her way. Conversely, it could've been Starfleet fanatic Tasha who was most hostile toward Ro's iconoclasm, which would've meant Riker wouldn't have had to be so out of character in "Ensign Ro" because Tasha could've filled his role in the story.

On the other hand, Tasha did have a pretty dark past and thus had the potential to be a more flawed, screwed-up character than the others. In the right hands, this could've made her a very rich and interesting character, and maybe Tasha could've taken on some of Worf's role as the outsider who sometimes took a more violent path when confronted with past demons. Not sure if Roddenberry, or Berman trying to follow Roddenberry's rules, would've allowed that from a human character of any background, though.
 
I suspect that if Tasha had stayed security chief, Worf would've probably taken over permanently at conn when Geordi transferred to engineering.

Or Worf would've been made chief engineer. He was sent down there nearly as much as Geordi in the first season to "check on things."

On the other hand, Tasha did have a pretty dark past and thus had the potential to be a more flawed, screwed-up character than the others. In the right hands, this could've made her a very rich and interesting character, and maybe Tasha could've taken on some of Worf's role as the outsider who sometimes took a more violent path when confronted with past demons. Not sure if Roddenberry, or Berman trying to follow Roddenberry's rules, would've allowed that from a human character of any background, though.

Yeah the character of Tasha/Macha from the original description showed someone with great potential for the series. Someone that wasn't as 24th century perfect, who could demonstrate that humanity still had things to overcome.
 
I think this is a great question, and a tough one because we had so little to go on. I think that her development would have suffered at the hands of Worf and Data, as a lot of others did. OTOH, if she had been around maybe Worf wouldn't have got the spotlight that he did. I think I'd like to have seen her come to terms with her history, the gangs, the colony and the things that happened to her in her past. It would have been interesting to see her meet Ishara, and we could have had that episode with Tasha alive. Maybe the writers could have taken the idea where she and Data slept together in Naked Now and developed it into a relationship between them over time. It could have explored Data's sexuality, and Yar coming to terms with her past at the same time.

Tasha could have had some interesting things to do in BOBW. They might even have had her challenge Riker rather than Shelby.

I think she could have become more comfortable in herself, have settled into her job and recognise her own capabilities, which in turn might have led her to become involved in trying to help her homeworld. We could have had an exploration of failing colonies, how the Federation deals with them etc, as a recurring theme in TNG. Might have made it a bit more edgy. If Yar had stayed, I wonder if Ro would have appeared?

I love the idea of Tasha's relationship with Data developing, I would have loved to have seen that. I also think exploring her past would have been a really interesting plot, and it would be great to have seen her with Ishara.

Not related to the above, I would have loved to see her on DS9. I'm not bothered about Worf and Dax, but think she could have had great conflict with Kira and possibly Odo so it would've been cool to see her go over there instead of Worf. I couldn't see her with Bashir though, that just doesn't connect in my head!

I have always thought it was a real shame that we didn't get to see any progression for her as she was only there for such a short time. She was one of my favourite characters when I first started watching TNG and it's a crying shame that none of these ideas ever actually came to pass :(
 
I'm finding the idea of what would have been Tasha's development really quite interesting. It could have gone in so many ways. I think ultimately, that I would have liked to have seen her become confident and relaxed in herself. It would have been a really interesting story watching her get there. I haven't written fanfiction in 10 years, but it's making me want to break out Word! :)
 
Worf as engineer would have been interesting. "Be sure not to touch the power conduit otherwise you will find out today is a good day to FRY."
 
^ Mr Worf I realise the injectors were fused, but did you really think they would open after repeated blows from a Bat'Leth?
 
Worf as engineer would have been interesting. "Be sure not to touch the power conduit otherwise you will find out today is a good day to FRY."

Probably better than Counselor Worf:

Ens. Whiner: I just feel so stressed out.

Counselor Worf: You are WEAK! Do the honorable thing and kill yourself NOW before I MUST DO IT FOR YOU!
 
Doctor Worf: Chicken Pox is a dishonourable ailment Lt Barclay. You must complete the right of Hegh'Bat.
 
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