The truth behind McFadden's absence in the second season?

[Visitor1982]

Gates McFadden was fired the day after the final wrap party of season 1. Because her character wasn't working and because she criticised the writing.

Diana Muldaur was then brought in. She only signed on for one year, not six like the others.

Muldaur got paid more then anyone else (with the exception of Stewart), because she was a very well known actress. She also was going to be in the opening credits after Stewart and Frakes, but some cast members objected. So she was billed as a special guest star.

Another perk she had was the clothing that was specifically designed for her. She didn't want to wear the very uncomfortable spandex suits. Other actors were jealous because of this.

Muldaur decided to leave TNG after filming Unnatural Selection. The other cast members treated her horribly. DirectorPaul Lynch even noted once in an interview that Muldaur was lovely, but that the others treated her so bad, she left the set in tears on more than one occasion. Muldaur herself said in 1999 that her year on TNG was a complete nightmare.

Pulaski was going to be in season 3. Scripts with her in it were already written when Muldaur made it very clear she was never going to work with those people again.

That's why we never saw her leave at the end of season 2. She wasn't supposed to.

Instead of bringing in a third doctor in three years, McFadden was asked back.

There never was a letter writing campagin by fans. McFadden's character Crusher wasn't popular at all during season 1. It's an urban myth.

 

[ClayinCA]

Wow. I'd heard some of this before (mostly the McFadden parts), but not all. I'd never heard anything about Diana Muldaur being treated so badly by the cast; that's terrible. I always liked Muldaur, and whenever I've seen her interviewed, she seems like a really gracious person. Sad to hear.

 

[trekker670]

Here's an excerpt from Muldaur's entry on MA

Ultimately, however, Muldaur found working on the show an unhappy experience and it wasn't what she hoped it would be. She stated that there was no imagination on the show and she felt that everyone was out for themselves and she felt they weren't happy she was there. During production of "Unnatural Selection", she and co-star Patricia Smith swore they would never work in Science Fiction again due to the prosthetics the actresses had to wear.

While I've heard the rumors in the past that the cast didn't get along with Muldaur, I haven't actually seen the interviews with the cast or production members others have referenced. I've actually never heard her or the other cast members talk ill of their interactions, which I figured would have come out during the rather candid interviews done for the blurays. I have heard her talk highly of Michael Dorn though, in an interview posted in another thread a year or two ago.

 

[MacLeod]

It might just be me, but given Crusher's rank, it seemed awfully low for a position as Head of Starfleet Medical.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Everything I hear about seasons 1 and 2 lead me to believe the show was pretty much a toxic environment until the writing staff got rebooted in season 3.

 

[Maurice]

Anyone who knows how TV credits work know that Muldaur likely couldn't have been put up near the front of the credits because billing is negotiated by contract, and you can't change the order unless all relevant actor contracts are renogiated. For TNG the contracts appear to give Stewart first billing, Frakes second, and everyone else was contracted to appear alphabetically by last name. Notice that when Michael Dorn and Jeri Ryan were added to the opening credit rolls of DS9 and Voyager, respectively, they appeared in alphabetical order by last name after the show's star. Actor complaints would have no bearing, but their contracts would. Likely the best Muldaur could have gotten was to be in the alphabetical cast list (basically right where McFadden was). She opted to go the Jonathan Harris (Special Guest Star) route and take a "Special Appearance by" credit.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Pulaski was going to be in season 3. Scripts with her in it were already written when Muldaur made it very clear she was never going to work with those people again.

In fact, she requested to miss the first three or four episodes of Season Three to appear in a reunion telemovie, "The Return of McCloud" opposite her old costar, Dennis Weaver. She was entitled to do so because she had no regular contract with TNG. The producers decided it was an opportunity to change doctors again. When McFadden was interested to return, thoughts of creating a new, perhaps alien, CMO were shelved.

 

[T'Girl]

It might just be me, but given Crusher's rank, it seemed awfully low for a position as Head of Starfleet Medical.

I wonder if she was in fact "The Head" of Starfleet Medical?

Crusher herself say she was at SM for a year (iirc), it was someone else (Riker?) who said the she was the "Head." It's possible that that was joke on their part, a friendly gag, and that Crusher was actually just a staff doctor or in a teaching position.

 

[RandyS]

Gates McFadden was fired the day after the final wrap party of season 1. Because her character wasn't working and because she criticised the writing.

Diana Muldaur was then brought in. She only signed on for one year, not six like the others.

Muldaur got paid more then anyone else (with the exception of Stewart), because she was a very well known actress. She also was going to be in the opening credits after Stewart and Frakes, but some cast members objected. So she was billed as a special guest star.

Another perk she had was the clothing that was specifically designed for her. She didn't want to wear the very uncomfortable spandex suits. Other actors were jealous because of this.

Muldaur decided to leave TNG after filming Unnatural Selection. The other cast members treated her horribly. DirectorPaul Lynch even noted once in an interview that Muldaur was lovely, but that the others treated her so bad, she left the set in tears on more than one occasion. Muldaur herself said in 1999 that her year on TNG was a complete nightmare.

Pulaski was going to be in season 3. Scripts with her in it were already written when Muldaur made it very clear she was never going to work with those people again.

That's why we never saw her leave at the end of season 2. She wasn't supposed to.

Instead of bringing in a third doctor in three years, McFadden was asked back.

There never was a letter writing campagin by fans. McFadden's character Crusher wasn't popular at all during season 1. It's an urban myth.

Actually, yes there was. I myself took part in it. it was the only fan letter I ever wrote to Star Trek. I was asked by a friend to write a letter as part of a group of local fans who wanted to oust Muldar and have McFadden back on the show. Since I agreed with what they hoped to accomplish, I sent the letter. I didn't expect at the time that it would do much good, and was pleasantly surprised when I got what I asked for.

 

[Memory Alpha]

Yeah, the original PR explanation was that she left "to pursue other options" or whatever, but indeed, the truth is that Maurice Hurly pushed her out the door. He left or was also pushed out the door at the of the 2nd season, and the first thing they did was bring back Gates. Trek TNG 365 (a nice cocktail table type book) has a page on it. Evidently, Hurly wanted someone more like Bones McCoy, which I think was unrealistic. Bones was written as essentially a sidekick. Crusher was not.

the TNG Companion from 1995 mentions that there were problems retaining writers and overall collegiality under Hurly.

I thought Dr. Pulaski was fine, but that Dr. Crusher was better. Crusher seemed very real to me. Pulaski was a different character.

 

[Makarov]

I'm curious what was so bad about the makeup in Unnatural Selection? Just that it made her look older?

 

[FormerLurker]

What I remember of it was that it looked like makeup. Even if it did follow the natural lines of her face, it looked like it was a layer of something that had been pasted on. It also, at least to my recollection, inhibited her performance. Others who have seen it more recently will be able to give a more accurate description.

 

[jimbotron]

I'm curious what was so bad about the makeup in Unnatural Selection? Just that it made her look older?

According to Memory Alpha, it was the experience of having the makeup and prosthetics applied for hours that turned her off to working in sci-fi.

 

[FormerLurker]

Oh, he meant from her perspective. Sorry. Move along, nothing to see here.

 

[Nerys Myk]

It might just be me, but given Crusher's rank, it seemed awfully low for a position as Head of Starfleet Medical.

I wonder if she was in fact "The Head" of Starfleet Medical?

Crusher herself say she was at SM for a year (iirc), it was someone else (Riker?) who said the she was the "Head." It's possible that that was joke on their part, a friendly gag, and that Crusher was actually just a staff doctor or in a teaching position.

It was Picard.

My guess is "Starfleet Medical" is a hospital attached to Starfleet Headquarters.

 

[Jerikka Dawn]

Clearly, Crusher's stint at "Starfleet Medical" was just a cover story for a year long Section 31 operation she was involved in.

 

[ClayinCA]

Either that or Q turned her into a dog and just forgot to change her back for a year.

 

[mos6507]

There are fairly interviews with Muldaur on Youtube where her recollections of Trek are much more upbeat and respectful than the classic gossip suggests. Of course, she may have mellowed with age, or the drama surrounding all this may have been exaggerated.

The one actress who has probably the most negative things to say about Trek is Teri Garr. She made an infamous interview for Starlog that they didn't even want to publish because they knew it would piss off Trek fans.

 

[Hober Mallow]

McFadden: "I got fired."

 

[Mudd]

Gates McFadden was fired...Because her character wasn't working and because she criticised the writing.

No.