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

[Visitor1982]

^

Yes, McFadden herself says so on the season 2 blu ray of TNG.

And about Muldaur being positive about Star Trek TNG in some more recent interviews: she has done that during recent interviews for specific Star Trek media. Don't know why. Maybe she's just classy and doesn't want the negative to be the main focus any longer.

However, in the past, she wasn't positive at all. She didn't leave because she had such a great time on the show. It was a "complete nightmare" and "there was a lot of backstabbing, they were all in it for themselves", according to herself in a 1999 interview. L.A. Law was fantastic for her though. "

 

[drmick]

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.

Had to google who she was. She was barely in any Trek, so find it hard to believe she would be the actor to have the "most negative" of things to say?

 

[2takesfrakes]

I haven't read this interview, but not everybody's a fan of STAR TREK, nor do they have to be - even if they acted in it. It may have also been Sour Grapes, due to the fact that she was given to understand that her TREK episode was a sort of "Pilot" to a spin-off series, which never happened. But, we all have to start somewhere and she went onto other things without STAR TREK affecting her - just the way she planned it.

 

[HIjol]

[

I haven't read this interview, but not everybody's a fan of STAR TREK, nor do they have to be - even if they acted in it. It may have also been Sour Grapes, due to the fact that she was given to understand that her TREK episode was a sort of "Pilot" to a spin-off series, which never happened. But, we all have to start somewhere and she went onto other things without STAR TREK affecting her - just the way she planned it.

...um...wait...no...you mean to say that...not EVERYone has to be...not everyone is a fan of...Star Trek?...I do not...trying to grok it...now wait just a darn minute...isn't everyone a fan of Star Trek...thought I read somewhere there was a rule...

...and I read a completely different take (no pun intended) on why Gates left TNG, and it co

 

[2takesfrakes]

Even Shatner's not a STAR TREK fan, really ... but what's your "take" on what happened with Gates? Your post seems to have been cut short somehow.

 

[HIjol]

Even Shatner's not a STAR TREK fan, really ... but what's your "take" on what happened with Gates? Your post seems to have been cut short somehow.

...sorry...site died...any who...from Berman's own mouth, there was friction between her and Maurice Hurley, along with, serparately, unsubstantiated harrassment between her and Maurice Hurley...

also, this...

[FONT=Tahoma]The truths behind McFadden’s leave – and subsequent return a season later – are unclear. Paramount officially announced that she had left “to pursue other career options.” Although McFadden has claimed that the news was a surprise to her. “I got a call from my agent saying that they had decided to go in another direction with the character. And that was literally all I heard.” [/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma]Another explanation arises from an April/May 1994 story published in Star Trek the Official Fan Club Magazine. The story claims that McFadden attempted to renegotiate her contract at the end of The Next Generation’s first season. Although this may be a reasonable ploy for an actor on a hit series, Paramount refused to meet her demands and removed her from the program. The article also claims that when McFadden returned to Star Trek, it was at a lower salary than the rest of her co-stars. [/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma]http://justgates.tripod.com/biography.htm[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma][/FONT]

 

[2takesfrakes]

Hard to believe Gates would get sexually harassed on the show, but Maurice Hurley really looks the part, too ...

 

[Mudd]

Yes, McFadden herself says so on the season 2 blu ray of TNG.

No.

...from Berman's own mouth, there was friction between her and Maurice Hurley, along with, serparately, unsubstantiated harrassment between her and Maurice Hurley...

 

[Therin of Andor]

Actually, yes there was. I myself took part in it. it was the only fan letter I ever wrote to Star Trek.

Yes indeed. It was a surprisingly effective movement. My penpal cc'ed her very moving letter to "Bring Back Gates!" to Gates' fan club, Beverlyophiles, and even got back a signed reply from Gates herself saying, "Thank you especially for your letter..."

Beverlyophiles also ran a funny parody ad campaign for a supposed rival club for Pulaski fans, called Crustyophiles.

Hard to believe Gates would get sexually harassed on the show...

What's that supposed to mean?

Welcome to showbiz.

 

[Jewel]

Yes, McFadden herself says so on the season 2 blu ray of TNG.

No.

...from Berman's own mouth, there was friction between her and Maurice Hurley, along with, serparately, unsubstantiated harrassment between her and Maurice Hurley...

Are you saying she wasn't fired because of a conflict with Hurley, even though she and Berman have said she was? Or that she was fired because of more than conflict with Hurley? Actually, I'm not sure if I've seen McFadden mention Hurley specifically (though Berman did), but she has said more than once she was fired due to conflict with the writers, particularly that she fought for Crusher to have a more fully realized part.

 

[2takesfrakes]

Hard to believe Gates would get sexually harassed on the show...

What's that supposed to mean?

Welcome to showbiz.

Understood & Confirmed!

The Casting Couch™ goes together with Show Business like Bacon & Eggs ... Pork & Beans ... Cornflakes & Milk ...

 

[Relayer1]

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.

I've disliked her intensely in everything I've seen her in.

I don't, obviously, know her personally, but there being lots of evidence of how mutually supportive they are and how well the TNG cast STILL get on, doubt that any friction was entirely their fault.

 

[HIjol]

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.

I've disliked her intensely in everything I've seen her in.

I don't, obviously, know her personally, but there being lots of evidence of how mutually supportive they are and how well the TNG cast STILL get on, doubt that any friction was entirely their fault.

In her own words:
"The imagination and joy wasn't there. Everybody was out for themselves. I don't think they were happy to have me there. It wasn't what I hoped it would be. I thought it would be wonderfully inventive and wonderfully creative, and I found it was not any of those things. But it did give me Trekkies. I love Trekkies. I find them very dear."

(Her) character also proved very unpopular with fans, who among other things found her treatment of the lovable android Data to be mean-spirited.

Roddenberry described Muldaur as "a most talented actress", and said that the decision "to let her go was made solely because the hoped-for chemistry between her and the rest of the starship cast did not develop."

...from Wiki and footnoted references

She lost me with that awful "Day-ta/Daah-ta" scene...mean-spirited at the least...never understood why they wrote and aired that scene...I am old enough to remember Muldaur in '60's and '70s, but glad they got Gates back...all IMHO.

 

[Forbin]

I always thought Muldaur was quite lovely. Here she is in a Kung-Fu ep as a beguiling gypsy:

 

[HIjol]

@Forbin..."beguiling"...GREAT word choice!!!

 

[2takesfrakes]

Gypsy Muldaur looks mad as a Hatter.

 

[plynch]

I never found Data all that lovable. Annoying straw man. In many intended-to-be-humorous-but-very-unfunny scenes. I can just hear someone explaining some Human Attribute to him with their amused-voice on. Viva Pulaski!

 

[TheSubCommander]

I wasn't a fan of Pulaski during the first run. I was a teen then, and when they brought her in, it was jarring. And of course the behind the scenes reasons weren't known to me. No send off for Crusher, and in fact I remember thinking they got rid of the wrong Crusher. It didn't even make sense that Wesley was still on the Enterprise.

I also remember thinking they were going a bit over the top for the female Bones route with Pulaski, but I also thought she was pretty mean-spirited at times, especially towards Data. I also wasn't a fan of the Icarus factor. I didn't actually get used to Pulaski until towards the end of season 2, and distinctly remember thinking every time Pulaski was in a scene, "OK, joke's over. When is Crusher coming back?"

I am sure the rest of the cast was not a fan of Muldar replacing McFadden, but I find it hard to believe they were unprofessional enough to overtly give Muldar a cold shoulder or mistreat her. Maybe Muldar saw it that way, I don't know. But I think this rumor that the TNG cast mistreated Muldar is more about fans seeing there wasn't a lot of chemistry between Muldar and the rest of the TNG cast in the episodes, and leaping to conclusions.

 

[Marc]

Hard to believe Gates would get sexually harassed on the show, but Maurice Hurley really looks the part, too ...

Perhaps you can could ask Grace Lee Whitney about her experience with sexual harassment on the originals series.

 

[HIjol]

I never found Data all that lovable. Annoying straw man. In many intended-to-be-humorous-but-very-unfunny scenes. I can just hear someone explaining some Human Attribute to him with their amused-voice on. Viva Pulaski!

...sorry to hear, but I respect your opinion...I admit it took a while for me to get used to him, but IMHO, he was great!