Was Pulaski really hated that much by the fans?

I know many fans disliked Pulaski when she was first introduced on the show in season 2, but I always found it strange that aside from one offhand reference, she was never seen or mentioned again. She could have easily guest-starred in an episode down the line, or appeared in an alternate universe, etc. But that never happened. Was she really hated so much that the producers never wanted to bring her back?

 

I don't think there was an active campaign by the fans to get rid of her. But a certain member of the cast was campaigning to get Gates McFadden back. And, I read somewhere that Muldaur didn't really want to come back for another season. She, apparently, didn't have much fun during her one season. Although no one has admitted to it, there may have been tensions on the set and her leaving was by mutual agreement, I believe.

Personally, I didn't care for her that much. They were trying to do crotchety McCoy in a female body and it didn't really work for me.



DES
Save one life and you're a hero.
Save 230 million and you're a Starfleet officer.

 

I think they could have done better that Pulaski. I didn't like her that much.

 

I never really disliked Pulaski that much, I just liked Crusher better. Her interactions with Data were good and bad, sometimes she was curious as a scientist and it was good for someone to postulate the science to Data, but other times like Elementary Dear Data she just seemed like she was wanting him to fail, which may have alienated Data fans.

I agree that she could have returned for some episode down the line, but it wasn't that big of a tragedy that she didn't. I think she would have been a good fit for the Doctor from "Ethics" showing a Doctor whom we know who has been seduced by the cutting edge of Medical technique and technology, and nearly kills someone she knows very well. It also would have provided a more credible opposite to Crusher in that episode, rather than this person we meet for the first and last time, someone who is know and credible. The opportunity was there, they just didn't take it.

 

I hate Pulaski. She was very mean and rude to Data beyond the scope of any and all reason and she just didn't "jell" with the crew well. She didn't fit in with the cast. Glad she was around for only one season and the shortest season at that. Glad Gates came back.

I hope the "fan speculations" are true and that Pulaski fell down an elevator shaft at Starfleet Medical never to be seen or heard from again.

Good riddance.

"It does know how to do these things doesn't it?"

Fuck YOU, Pulaski.

McCoy picking on Spock was one thing, Spock was adult and inteligent enough to dish it back. Her picking on Data was like a really mean person picking on a retarded 3-limbed chimp.

It's just not fair.

 

^^^
Her character in LA Law fell down the shaft...got the shaft...etc. Someone on here made an Avatar for Pulaski with it. What a shocking way to go!

I wonder who that was?

I liked Pulaski somewhat, as do I like Dr. Crusher. In the end Dr. Crusher worked better for the show, but I felt that her character could have benefited from the slight edge and history Dr. Pulaski had.

 

You need to rewatch it. The initial dismissive approach to Data was resolved early on and she becamequite a staunch supporter of him.

I had the impression that Muldaur was looking about reducing her time acting in any case, so is unlikely to have taken a guest appearance later in the show.

 

My first reaction to seeing Pulaski in season 2: get her off my screen!

On rewatching season 2 on Virgin 1 this year, I've found that I don't dislike her as much as I did at first but I still felt that she didn't work with the rest of the characters as well as she might have done. I much preferred Crusher.

Of course - both doctors were generally pretty badly written so I guess it's hard to judge properly.

 

Engarde!

I thought Pulaski was a great addition to TNG's cast and an improvement over Crusher. There just wasn't a lot to Crusher; she was Wesley's mother and Picard's potential love interest... and that was about it. Rounding out the character later was her interest in dancing and theatre; elements quite obviously drawn from the actress. I didn't dislike her, but I thought Pulaski - with her crusty, common-sense attitude that frequently but heads with the crew - was more interesting.

Pulaski has the misfortune of only appearing in what was one of TNG's weakest seasons, and for her early scene telling off Data (which instantly made her unpopular). That and the essentially true accusation that she was McCoy in a skirt. But she was well acted by Muldaur and well written, in my opinion. I think it's unfortunate she didn't remain on the show, far more so than, say, Tasha Yar.

I believe Muldaur has stated that, after wearing heavy old age make-up in "Unnatural Selection", she never wanted to act in sci-fi again.

 

I believe I've said it before. Let's see if I can source it!

Here we go, from Memory Alpha:

I'm pretty sure this is where I heard it. According to the article, this assertion is uncited... well, that's about how reliable I am, anyway.

 

Even that was something, I think, that Gates McFadden had to fight for. The writers really did treat Crusher quite appallingly. In fact - I think the TNG writers in general treated the principal women on the show badly, and this is even more evident in the movies. It's why I like Voyager with its female Captain.

 

They didn't have a lot to work with. I definitely feel these were beneficial additions to the character, for the record - we got some great scenes out of them in episodes like "Data's Day" and "Frame of Mind" (though those focused more on Data and Riker respectively, but I disgress).

To be fair to them, both Troi and Crusher had their problems conceptually. I think they got a good handle on Troi from around the fourth season on, when her role as a counselor - rather than miss state-the-obvious - was increasingly emphasized. The show gravitated towards characters like Picard, Data and Worf because, well - they were both more popular and more interesting, not because they were men. I think making Wesley a girl - the original idea - was a real lost opportunity.

In this light, Ensign Ro's role was pretty obvious, especially as she was a character created by the S3-onwards TNG writers rather than handed down to them. She was a female character who, like Pulaski, could ruffle the feathers of the rest of the cast, and she had an interesting background to work with. She was cleaned up to be to straight as a whistle in a couple of episodes but, hey, that's Star Trek.

Liked Voyager too, but I wasn't a big fan of Janeway. Torres, though.

 

Kind of my thoughts. If it was "growth" it doesn't make up for how rude and dismissive she of him at first. When she first encountered him she treated Data like an OBJECT and even got all snooty and dismissive when Data asked her to simply pronounce his NAME right she then goes on to continue to call him an "it" and speak about him like he's not in the room.

Enocuraging and congratulating him on playing crazzy finger-wiggling game hardly makes up for all her asshatry.

 

When you get down to it, she doesn't treat him any worse than Starfleet did in 'Measure of a Man.' Prior to that episode, Starfleet essentially - despite his attaining the rank of Lt. Commander - considered him a piece of property. Remember how Maddox was ordering Data to allow him to disassemble him, and that, as Starfleet property, Data COULDN'T resign?

In the early episodes, Pulaski treated him like that because she didn't know him. But over the course of the season, she did come to see him as more than just a bunch of circuits in a humanoid form.