Why did they get rid of Tasha Yar?

[G2309]

One of the problems I have with Denise Crosby portraying a Head of Security is that she would have had to have come up through security presumably (although Worf didn't), Tasha just doesn't physically look the part. Think about imagines of female marines and female police officers that you have seen, now think of Tasha. the two imagines don't exactly line up do they? Yes, I know that the majority of her fighting would have been with energy weapons of some kind, but you think the girl would be packing some muscle too.

still she looked more suited to the role than Marina Sirtis. Who originally auditiond for the part.
She's a good actor it's a shame she didnt get more to do. Woopi Goldberg definately took over her role giving all the best advice.

I thought Denise Crosby did a good job with her role in Yesterday's Enterprise.

 

[ClayinCA]

I thought Denise Crosby did a good job with her role in Yesterday's Enterprise.

She's certainly better in that episode than she ever was during her time as a regular cast member (although to be fair, that episode also gave her much better material to work with than most of her first-season stuff).

 

[Red Ranger]

I thought Denise Crosby did a good job with her role in Yesterday's Enterprise.

She's certainly better in that episode than she ever was during her time as a regular cast member (although to be fair, that episode also gave her much better material to work with than most of her first-season stuff).

Exactly. That was Crosby's problem with the writers. I mean they gave her truly cringe-worthy dialogue like her anti-drug speech to Wesley in Symbiosis, or her crying-in-the-penalty-box crap in Hide & Q. No wonder she wanted out! BTW, the inspiration for a female security chief came from Aliens and the character Vasquez. Originally, the name for the security chief was something like "Macha" Hernandez.

 

[Saxman1]

I thought Denise Crosby did a good job with her role in Yesterday's Enterprise.

She's certainly better in that episode than she ever was during her time as a regular cast member (although to be fair, that episode also gave her much better material to work with than most of her first-season stuff).

Exactly. That was Crosby's problem with the writers. I mean they gave her truly cringe-worthy dialogue like her anti-drug speech to Wesley in Symbiosis, or her crying-in-the-penalty-box crap in Hide & Q. No wonder she wanted out! BTW, the inspiration for a female security chief came from Aliens and the character Vasquez. Originally, the name for the security chief was something like "Macha" Hernandez.

Hence Sirtis originally trying out for the security chief role and Crosby for counselor. Roddenberry supposedly flipped them, role-wise. I can't picture a 4 foot-something chief of security (Sirtis) and yeah, Crosby was much better in YE, but laughable IMHO as the Romulan Sela.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I can't picture a 4'-something chief of security

So take a look at Vasquez (Jeanette Goldstein) in "Aliens" and you have the original template for Security Chief Macha Hernandez.

 

[Saxman1]

I can't picture a 4'-something chief of security

So take a look at Vasquez (Jeanette Goldstein) in "Aliens" and you have the original template for Security Chief Macha Hernandez.

Well, I may have spoken out of turn as I've never seen any of the "Aliens" movies, nor do I wish to. I'm not a horror fan. Sorry.

 

[ALF]

As far as Denise leaving, love her or hate her, we got a lot more Worf as a result, and I think that's a good thing.

Agreed completely.
I also love how they brought Yar back in for All Good Things.

 

[Shon T'Hara]

In reality, it would make sense for a starship to have separate security and tactical officers, but the TNG writers couldn't come up with a way to distinguish the roles on screen, so we ended up with a lot of scenes like this:

WORF: Captain, I recommend a preemptive strike!

YAR: I concur, sir.

Watching the first season, it's obvious that the two characters were redundant. Crosby's decision was the best for the show, even if it was a bad career move.

 

[Gary7]

Yeah, Sirtis would have been too soft for the security officer role. It's no wonder why they were switched. Interesting tidbits on the back story, lots of things I hadn't heard before.

Denise Crosby had a long string of very small roles when she took on the role of Tasha Yar. That coupled with the early rough start of the show (as with any new TV show having a green cast), and not much in the way of good dialog writing for her role, Crosby was rather stifled. I can appreciate her desire to leave. But she didn't give it enough of a chance. Also, when you're starting out with a role in the Star Trek franchise, you don't make a big fuss... that'll follow you to your next gig and nobody likes a fussy actor.

It was certainly a boon for Michael Dorn, another unknown. You can see an obvious shift in his performance across the seasons. He really grew into his Worf role... and the Klingon perspective was great to have in many cases. His role gave strong incentive for a lot of good story ideas that became episodes.

I am glad they brought her back. She was much better in Yesterday's Enterprise, although I thought her reaction to Guinan was a bit overdone. I actually thought that they would try finding a way for her to "slip through" realities and make it back to the proper timeline. But the Romulan idea was really cool. If only they'd done more alterations with makeup so she wasn't a mirror image of Tasha Yar. Genetically speaking, there's no way she'd look so close.

 

[L0g1c]

I must admit. I found her "scraper from the streets fights her way up the star fleet ranks" background a bit dull. I think the group of Picard, Riker, Data, Troi etc etc worked better without her....

Worf supplied the shouting/anger...everyone else was chilled and worked off each other. With Yar in the room AND Worf....I think the shouting would of gotten too much

 

[Warped9]

Having a female security chief was a bold move that was due, but it suffered because they didn't know how to pull it off. And part of that was the actress chosen. I also felt that the character (as she was portrayed) lacked a measure of maturity and composure appropriate to the position.

When I envision a female security guard I see someone more like a Lucy Lawless or Mariska Hargitay. They can act and they look like they can kick your ass and yet without being butch about it.

In Trek I've rarely seen a convincing portrayal of a Security Chief. I think Odo worked in DS9. I think Worf was okay, but could have been better if his advice had been heeded and proven right at least occasionally and we didn't always see him getting his ass kicked...or at least that was the impression. In TOS the only time we glimpsed what I thought was a convincing Security Chief was Lt. Cmdr. Giotto briefly seen in "The Devil In The Dark."

In like manner I think the ship's counselor Deanna Troi was also badly done throughout the whole series. True, I never cared for the actress, but a great deal of that is how the character was handled. She was simply an annoyance and far more so than Wesley crusher.

 

[TroiFan4ever]

Denise Crosby wanted out. She was hopin' for more character development, and it wasn't happenin', so she asked to be let go. I did read that if there had been more bits like the teaser for 'Skin of Evil' between Yar & Worf, she would have stuck around longer.

Boy that didn't turn out to well, didn't she later regret leaving the show years later?

Probably why she reprised her role for the TNG finale in the flashback scenes...

 

[LeadHead]

Yar was interesting enough for me when she was in the show. Given Worf's apparent skills for security, it would've been interesting if they'd played on that within the show. (She feeling overshadowed by Worf after Heart of Glory, maybe since he managed to subdue the last Klingon) I enjoyed both versions of Worf honestly, the Bridge officer who can step into any job on the bridge easily, Helm, Ops or Tactical, and then the Head of Security who in my opinion ends up being Riker's right hand man.

The question was raised early on in this thread, how did this help the character of Worf? I think we best see that in The Drumhead. Worf's focus became security and we see him get taken in by Satie and her paranoia.

Tashas death is still to me, one of the best deaths on TV, it was quick, painful and sad. It was not a Spock sacrifice at the end of TWOK, nor was Skin of Evil a particularly pivotal episode. It said the galaxy is dangerous and sometimes the non faceless people die for nothing on missions.

 

[Destructor]

ashas death is still to me, one of the best deaths on TV, it was quick, painful and sad. It was not a Spock sacrifice at the end of TWOK, nor was Skin of Evil a particularly pivotal episode. It said the galaxy is dangerous and sometimes the non faceless people die for nothing on missions.

I also enjoyed it for that reason. Red shirts died so easily all the time, when it was usually fate, not skill or some controllable factor, that meant the red shirt died and one of our heroes did not. This time Tasha was the red shirt- that simple. I wish it had happened more often, actually.

 

[Keith1701]

Denise Crosby wanted out. She was hopin' for more character development, and it wasn't happenin', so she asked to be let go. I did read that if there had been more bits like the teaser for 'Skin of Evil' between Yar & Worf, she would have stuck around longer.

You are so RIGHT, Denise Crosby wanted out of the role, which was a BAD idea on her part. She later came back as a guest star, but her career would have been much better if she had stayed on TNG but she decided to leave the show instead.