I have very old memories of Pulaski having worked at Gagarin IV, on those genetically modified telepathic super children, before she arrived on Enterprise, which google doesn't seem to support.
Thoughts on Pulaski?
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I have very old memories of Pulaski having worked at Gagarin IV, on those genetically modified telepathic super children, before she arrived on Enterprise, which google doesn't seem to support.
It's been a while since I saw the episode, but I thought she wasn't too familiar with the research facility before they went there.
Kor
The only mention she has of any expertise during Unnatural Selection, is when the Darwin Station Doctor, Kingsley, recognizes her name from the old study she'd authored, Linear Models of Viral Propagation, but there's no mention of what that study covers. She's certainly not heralded as experienced on the genetic research at Darwin Station, during that episode
However, going back to an earlier point of mine, when I mentioned that Beverly had never been lauded for her expertise the way Pulaski was in Samaritan Snare's heart procedure, here too is yet another example, in the same season, of her notoriety for being exceptional. They clearly wanted to present Pulaski as being a more credited doctor than Crusher, & for some reason, when Crusher returned, they never bothered to try to repair that discrepancy, by giving her some of her own credits to her name, beyond the one mention that she'd been head of Starfleet Medical, which honestly could've just been an administrative position, not necessarily cutting edge medical practice
Hated Pulaski when I first saw season 2 way back when it first aired. Upon subsequent viewings over the years, Pulaski has really grown on me. I like her more than Crusher. Pulaski was interesting. She had strong opinions and wasn't shy about expressing them, even if it conflicted with Picard's. She had one of the best lines which I still quote when the situation arises: "Isn't that a little like curing the disease by killing the patient?!"
As Pulaski was credited specifically with cutting edge research, and was nonchalantly offering cures Crusher had never even heard about (c.f. LaForge's eyes) she would have been the perfect foil for Crusher in "Ethics". Too bad...
It's nice to have the two CMO characters remain dissimilar IMHO. No need for Crusher to be a super-duper medical researcher, or even the best in the field, any field: Riker didn't get selected to the Federation Flagship for being the first in his class, either. But a competence dissimilarity would have made for good drama, were the two characters allowed to actually meet.
But no, Pulaski had to fake her death in that turboshaft accident so that her exceptional memory-wiping skills could be put to use benefiting the entire UFP. (The black leather uniform was cool, tho.)
Timo Saloniemi
Oh, Kate. You were perfect. You treated Data like a machine, because he was... eeehhh, a machine. You stood up to Picard, called Worf 'handsome' and loved Klingon poetry. You stood up for what you believed in, even if that could get you killed. You were married three times and stayed good friends with all your ex-husbands. You didn't liked to be clones, but who would? Later on you started to understand Data more and stood up for him on several occasions, when none other of the crew did that. You disliked the transporter and were immediately called a McCoy clone. But you were so much more. You brought life to a rather bland a boring crew. You brought sarcasm and fun. You brought skills and dedication. You were the outsider looking in. You were great.
Unfortunately, Diana Muldaur wasn't treated very fairly on set by most of the other actors. They were jealous of her salary, her more comfortable uniform, her better billing in the credits. She left after a year, vowing to never return.
Oh, what could have been... and instead we got boring, puppy eyes Crusher back. Muldaur had more talents in her pinky toe than McFadden will ever have.
Unfortunately, Diana Muldaur wasn't treated very fairly on set by most of the other actors. They were jealous of her salary, her more comfortable uniform, her better billing in the credits. She left after a year, vowing to never return.
Oh, what could have been... and instead we got boring, puppy eyes Crusher back. Muldaur had more talents in her pinky toe than McFadden will ever have.
Wasn't the whole point of 'The Measure of a Man' to show that Data was more than just a machine?
Someone might? What's wrong with clones, in general?
So, TNG is boring?
Muldaur got more money than rest of the cast? ..why..
Can we just say they were both good?
As even StarFleet wasn't sure what he was before then, why would Pulaski in early season 2?
TNG is quite boring character-wise yes.
Muldaur was a well known TV actress at that time. The other actors hadn't done much.
No, they were not both good. McFadden is not a very good actress, Muldaur is.
Frankly, the only TNG actors I'd heard of before TNG were Wheaton, for having had a very successful motion picture, & Burton for having had a very successful mini-series, iconic actually. It took me years to even realize Muldaur had guested on TOS, & any of her other work had not much more of an impact than what she'd done on TNG
Meh... Honestly, if I'm looking for a "Good" actress, I'm not knocking on either of their doors. They were both competent tv soap opera actors, Muldaur being more prolific at it, & being a slightly more interesting presence, even though sometimes she's downright corny with her interpretations
I like both CMO's but Diane Muldaur had more charm and on screen presence. Her character improved later in the season as the writers dropped the McCoyisms. I loved her scenes with Worf when they bonded over tea and Klingon poetry. Can't see that scene with Crusher. Unfortunately for her, Crusher worked better with both Picard and Stewart, who said the cast felt uncomfortable with Muldaur. Oh well..If Maurice Hurley didn't have his issues with Gates McFadden, we wouldn't even be having this discussion...
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It could be some kind of nepotism in Starfleet; captains try to have as many personal connections on their senior staff as possible.
Kor
Pressman was incredulous when Picard admitted he had chosen Riker for First Officer for his reputation as a contrarian, when the expected standard was to handpick yes-men for XOs. If both handpicking and yes-men are standard, then choosing by personal connections would appear allowed and likely.
Which would go a long way in explaining how Starfleet heroes and guest stars so often seem to know each other in a Starfleet arguably millions of people strong - the handpicked handpick, until the top brass is an exclusive club of close acquaintances. (Although to be fair, there was very little such familiarity in TNG, as opposed to TOS.)
Timo Saloniemi
Which would go a long way in explaining how Starfleet heroes and guest stars so often seem to know each other in a Starfleet arguably millions of people strong - the handpicked handpick, until the top brass is an exclusive club of close acquaintances. (Although to be fair, there was very little such familiarity in TNG, as opposed to TOS.)
Timo Saloniemi
I wouldn't be specifically certain that the "Standard" is for captains to have yes men, per say, but there does seem to be quite a lot of leeway for Captains to choose how their crews are set. It is certainly one way I hand wave Ben Maxwell's crew being so complicit in the Phoenix's crimes. Although, it does seem from dialog that Picard was not looking forward to having Jack Crusher's wife serving with him... so maybe not. It could be done loosely in some cases & not so much in others
Besides, I couldn't see how the kind of familiarity between someone like Troi & Riker would be of any note to the captain they serve under. That shit just happened, & she even had to confess it at one point
Besides, I couldn't see how the kind of familiarity between someone like Troi & Riker would be of any note to the captain they serve under. That shit just happened, & she even had to confess it at one point
I thought Pulaski was great; I just didn't want her brought in as a replacement for Crusher. She was refreshing, but her spiky dialogue did make it look like they were self-consciously trying to replicate the TOS troika albeit no more than exactly the same dynamic in Enterprise.
I would have loved to see her appear a few times every season.
I would have loved to see her appear a few times every season.
It could have been administrative, but I always felt the implication was that Crusher was as exceptional as the rest of them, because everyone on the Enterprise was supposed to be the best of the best and that's a note they hit regularly. I'd always thought it was implied that they came to Crusher for that post because she is one of the absolute best doctors in Starfleet, but after a year she realized that kind of job wasn't a fit for her and she was happier out in the field and with her son.
But they aren't explicit about any of that on screen, and the viewer really can fill it in different ways. The writers decision to explain all this coming & going by papering it over with a line and then moving on does leave quite a bit of room for interpretation.
After "The Child", is Bev mentioned at all in season 2? Had Pulaski stuck, I wonder if Bev would have remained as forgotten a character as Pulaski ultimately was.
i hated her when i was a kid, but after the show was released in HD, i came to appreciate her as an adult. i wouldn't crusher for another year with pulaski, but i appreciate her contribution to show, especially when it was sagging in season 2.
and there's an interview with michael dorn in the blu ray supplements where he speculates worf's and pulaski's relationship would've become romantic, makes me even sadder we never got to see her again.
and there's an interview with michael dorn in the blu ray supplements where he speculates worf's and pulaski's relationship would've become romantic, makes me even sadder we never got to see her again.
When the show aired, I didn't like her too much. What did that grumpy, old hag (I was 17 or so) do where that lovely crusher belonged to be?
Now, in my mid-40's I appreciate her a good deal more. I suspect she's the only one who would not be afraid to confront Picard with his own prejudices - publicly even, if the situation would call for it (*), not sucking up to him, one of the few who wouldn't need to conform to 'crew consensus', or play nice girl/perfect starfleet officer because she was sufficiently strong as a person and had (supposedly) already earned her laurels.
(*) Well, Data might too, but in his case it would be because of his not understanding those kind of interactions.
LATER EDIT : Dialogue might try to establish from the beginning that Riker isn't afraid to step up to the Captain if needed, but when do we actually see evidence of such an attitude in him? Of course the argument could be that Picard very rarely gave him occasion to do so, but still ...
Now, in my mid-40's I appreciate her a good deal more. I suspect she's the only one who would not be afraid to confront Picard with his own prejudices - publicly even, if the situation would call for it (*), not sucking up to him, one of the few who wouldn't need to conform to 'crew consensus', or play nice girl/perfect starfleet officer because she was sufficiently strong as a person and had (supposedly) already earned her laurels.
(*) Well, Data might too, but in his case it would be because of his not understanding those kind of interactions.
LATER EDIT : Dialogue might try to establish from the beginning that Riker isn't afraid to step up to the Captain if needed, but when do we actually see evidence of such an attitude in him? Of course the argument could be that Picard very rarely gave him occasion to do so, but still ...
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Well, certainly they gave the impression of wanting to leave behind any of the missteps. Tasha too is barely spoken of in season 2. Is she mentioned anywhere but Measure of a Man? It isn't until subsequent seasons that they warmed up to embracing the entire history they had been through. I actually wish that shift could've included some mentions or reappearances of Pulaski. It really was the one missed opportunity to tie things all together imho
You're right that there's very little to judge it from, just a few offhand remarks about Pulaski & even less about Crusher's reputation, but the fact that she did go to Starfleet Medical & then left & had her spot waiting for her on the Enterprise just as easily, whatever the circumstances, does tend to speak on its own, as to her station
I'm not saying there's any reason to think of Bev as any less a top doc than Riker is a first officer, or Picard is a captain. It's true they wanted us to see them all as being the best of the best, but for some reason, they explicitly engendered Pulaski with a noteworthiness they never imparted on Bev, before nor after. Pulaski's acclaim seemed almost like fame, whereas Bev's came off more like status, the kind of doc who could come and go on the flagship, or take up the top spot at Starfleet Medical, & leave it behind just as easily. It just smacks of someone who has pull
I just remember that one time Bev had something of a defensive attitude about Pulaski's memory erasing technique, in Who Watches The Watchers. It just, once again, made Pulaski seem like some kind of famous hotshot in the medical community, and while I imagine the reason they felt obliged to talking up their new doc in season 2 was because of the need to compensated for a cast change, ("Hey this new doc is really good too!") that one remark about her, after Pulaski had gone, was still kind of rubbing it in on poor Bev lol
The only doctor that was more boring than Crusher is Dr. Helena Russell from Space: 1999.
I've always been #TeamPulaski myself. She was what the show really needed, someone to challenge both Picard and Data. And she stood damn well on her own as a character. Also remember...
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