So after listening to the very fun podcast this last week I heard a lot of back and forth stuff about Dr. Pulaski.
(thank you for the correct spelling Kevin!)I thought it would be interesting to hear everyone's thoughts on her.
What did you think about her? Did you like her? If you didn't what was it that bugged you?
I thought she was more like McCoy, and thus actually enjoyed her character. Kind of fiesty. :)
So.. what do you say?
I thought she was fine to be honest. Although I did prefer having Crusher back. Everyone blames her for what happens in TNG that season a lot though....I mean cmon, it could have happened to ANYONE.
All in all, I liked her, it was nice that she came in and thus. Nuff said.
King
Yeah I agree with Rick.. she was more like McCoy and I liked her butting heads with Picard all the time. She is in one of my favorite episodes "Unnatural Selection". I think she added a different dynamic to the show. I was sad to see her go but happy that Dr. Crusher came back.
Liked her too (although I thought that was an unpopular opinion). To disagree with the others, though, I'm not a particular Crusher fan so would have preferred it if Polaski had stayed on. She was a completely different character and the on/off conflict with Picard was very watchable.
I particulaly liked the episode where she saved Picards life during a heart replacement and the sheer annoyance this produced in him.
I don't dislike her as strongly as many others do. This was another way to make TNG more like TOS but the old forumla just doesn't always work. She was the female Bones but seemed to just hold down the fort in sick bay until Beverly came back.
I actually enjoyed Pulaski a lot and would have preferred that her character stayed on. I like Crusher but the Pulaski character gave much more freedom for conflict and thus better drama. I wish that some book writers would do something with Pulaski and redeem her character in the fans minds.
PS...You spelled her name wrong btw Rick!
Kevin
I had a "thing" for Gates McFadden so I was less than thrilled with Dr Polaski initially. She was fine as a character but give me Dr. Crusher anytime.
I didn't have an opinion on her or crusher, to me they were both pretty much disposable characters that never really had that much to do and didn't do anything that Joe Doctor couldn't do.
It wasn't until Bashir and The Doctor that they finally make the medial personnel more than just glorified extras.
For me there were just too many shows where the TNG docs needed some medical specialist to come in and help them save the day.
I liked them both to an extent, but I wasn't impressed by either.
Crusher was just Wesley's less smart mom in too many shows for me to gain a true respect for her. The few times that she did something great didn't make up for the other times were it was almost impossible for her to do her job.
Eheeemmmm.... Doctor Crusher is one of my favorite characters. She was smart, beautiful and I liked the relationship she and Troi developed. She was not a "throw away". And, BTW, today is Gates McFadden's birthday too. :)
I was in Jr. High when TNG aired and my teenage emotions were a bit on the spiky end when Crusher was replace. As a 13 year-old I could not identify with the Pulaski. I saw her as a grouch old lady and Crusher as a beautiful mom who should ultimately end up with Picard. I admit this is an adolescent view, but TNG is nostalgic to me as are the characters...and I loved all of them (except Pulaski). I was ecstatic when Crusher returned. When they actually devoted an episode to Crusher, they were good...save for the weird "Irish ghost" episode. :smilie_bleh:
Well, OBVIOUSLY you're not being at all biased Jen :D
I didn't like Dr. Polaski. What was the reason for her one season stint anyway ? I liked Diana Muldaur in TOS. She did a great job with her characters. Very good counterpoint to JTK.
In TNG, the writing wasn't up to par in the first 2 seasons but it was like she was at the bottom of the food-chain. On more then one occasion, I was thinking "people don't talk like that, do they ?"
Rumor had it that Gates MacFadden asked to be let out of her contract as she was not happy with the direction of Dr. Crusher in the first season. So they brought in a "Bones" type female doctor and the fans didn't take to her so they renegotiated with Gates and brought her back.
I don't know if it was the way Dr. Plaski was written or Dian Muldaur's performance in the roll, I didn't think she fit as a regular on the series.
She may have done better as a returning guest star, maybe a star-base doctor.
I did like her performance as Kirk's babe-of-the-week in "Return to Tomorrow".
Meow!
Diane Mulduar was terrific in TOS and I liked her a lot in TNG. I'm not a huge Crusher fan, although the one place they really succeeded with her character was her relationship with Picard. The quasi-sexual tension and their history were great. Otherwise she was more in the background for me. Having said that, and making the B-Day girl mad, I don't think the Pulaski character would have worked either.
I'm in the "who the hell is this woman" camp when Crusher went and Polaski turned up. I liked the fact she was a strong woman but it really didn't work. TNG works because of the comradeship, alas she seemed more like Frank Burns from MASH. Thanks for the explanation Kenny, i was going to ask why gates left. Her character certainly got better as the seasons went on and i agree with Jen that the relationship between her and Troi was brilliant, especially during the episode with the two Rykers, she is supportive but also professional.
I liked Dr. Pulaski and didn't have a problem with her. However, I did like Crusher better because of her relationship with Picard (and I preferred looking at her than Pulaski).
Well, it's hard to come in to an already running series (even in just year two of it) but I was fairly ok with Pulaski. Although I think they tried to make her a bit too much like McCoy. That being said, I much prefer Dr. Crusher. Her relationship and history with Picard and of course with her son aboard made for some interesting character stuff. Just wish we had gotten to see her dance more! Love her in "Data's Day." Keep in mind that even the best actor is constrained by the scripts given to them. They just act out what has been written for their character.
Quote from: HawkeyeMeds on August 28, 2008, 11:08:15 PM
TNG works because of the comradeship, alas she seemed more like Frank Burns from MASH.
I agree. Bones was a "country doctor". He was rough around the edges but not a snob. Like Frank, Doctor Pulaski came off as pretentious right off the bat. You know what they say about first impressions. ;)
Quote from: Jen on August 29, 2008, 06:28:45 AM
Quote from: HawkeyeMeds on August 28, 2008, 11:08:15 PM
TNG works because of the comradeship, alas she seemed more like Frank Burns from MASH.
I agree. Bones was a "country doctor". He was rough around the edges but not a snob. Like Frank, Doctor Pulaski came off as pretentious right off the bat. You know what they say about first impressions. ;)
ha ha, indeed. ;)
Quote from: Jen on August 28, 2008, 05:58:05 PM
Eheeemmmm.... Doctor Crusher ...
**OT, OT**
Nice throat clearing/righteous indignation Jen. I had always wanted to use something like that but could never come up with a good way to spell it.
Quote from: Ktrek on August 28, 2008, 04:43:59 PM
I actually enjoyed Pulaski a lot and would have preferred that her character stayed on. I like Crusher but the Pulaski character gave much more freedom for conflict and thus better drama. I wish that some book writers would do something with Pulaski and redeem her character in the fans minds.
PS...You spelled her name wrong btw Rick!
Kevin
Thank you Kevin, I changed it! :)
Oh no !! I noticed that TOO !! Now I have to go purge my mind of these trekkie memories - begone foul creature !!!
:)
Quote from: Darth Gaos on August 29, 2008, 12:26:29 PM
Quote from: Jen on August 28, 2008, 05:58:05 PM
Eheeemmmm.... Doctor Crusher ...
**OT, OT**
Nice throat clearing/righteous indignation Jen. I had always wanted to use something like that but could never come up with a good way to spell it.
LOL. All in good fun... Like BSG's Starbuck, I like the actress and dislike the character.
Look, I don't know what she was doing and I don't much care. She being Crusher when Dr. Pulaski was thrown into the mix. But what I do think is that a) the show was set up with a dynamic for Beverly and we all liked that. So when you add the Pulaski character for good or ill, it didn't really fit the dynamic that some of us prefer. And b) They set her up to be in the "Data is a toaster" camp and most of us are not fond of that regardless of what else she may have done. I agree with the Frank Burns line. And I do remember seeing her in TOS, she was a dish. :knight
Crusher FTW.
As was mentioned earlier, her ties to Picard's past and the conflicting emotions she helped stir up created a much better dynamic, in my opinion.
And I know it's shallow, but it's true: she was much more attractive than Dr. Bones-ette.
In my opinion, Diana Muldaur can not be blamed for her character taking off. I think it is quite showing of the tendancy of early TNG episodes to have very little character growth. If her character had stuck around for a few more seasons, or if she started out in a later TNG season with better writers, her character would have been much more successful.
Quote from: Talon Lardner on August 31, 2008, 04:59:25 PM
In my opinion, Diana Muldaur can not be blamed for her character taking off. I think it is quite showing of the tendancy of early TNG episodes to have very little character growth. If her character had stuck around for a few more seasons, or if she started out in a later TNG season with better writers, her character would have been much more successful.
What I wonder is did they modify the episodes for Pulaski or was she merely substituting for McFadden ?
Gates left after Season one.. so they knew they were getting a new doctor before hand.. so those episodes were written for Pulaski.
I know I'm in the minority, but I really dug the first two seasons of TNG. Kate added a great conflict element. I wish she would have stayed on with Crusher. It could have added a different dimension to the whole show.
One of my favorite episodes is Peak Performance, where she does an outstanding job at getting Data to compete. I also like the episode where she drinks poisonous tea with Warf in some ritual. She of course has to give herself some antidote beforehand. I also like the way she acts in the episode where Riker meets up with his dad. Pretty cool stuff.
The later years of TNG were more polished and space opera, but the first two season were more science fiction self contained episodes. The exception is shades of grey, which I don't think I will ever really enjoy. :)
Quote from: moyer777 on August 31, 2008, 05:33:20 PM...The exception is shades of grey, which I don't think I will ever really enjoy. :)
They say that Star Trek is like pizza: even when it's bad, it's good.
This episode is the exception to the rule. Truly the WORST episode in TNG history. If I remember correctly, that was a rough time for the series.. a writer's strike or something forced the producers to come up with that weak clip-show.
I liked Dr. Pulaski. She reminded me of Dr. McCoy. Actually I preferred her over Dr. Crusher. It's to bad that she didn't become a reoccurring character. I don't think it would have worked if she replaced Dr.Crusher. The Crusher/Picard relationship is priceless.
Hmm. Quite a pattern here. I like Pulaski better as well. Maybe she was a better actress, or just a more interesting character? Not sure which. Not that I didn't like Crusher. As long as the stories & writing were good, I'd take either.
In watching reruns of TNG when I was little I didn't like her but watching it now I really liked her. She brought something different to the show, loved the head-butting with Picard and stuff with Worf. Would have been fun to see her character develop over the rest of the seasons.
Quote from: celestialteapot on September 16, 2008, 04:34:09 PM
In watching reruns of TNG when I was little I didn't like her but watching it now I really liked her. She brought something different to the show, loved the head-butting with Picard and stuff with Worf. Would have been fun to see her character develop over the rest of the seasons.
As I've mentioned before, I think my dislike stems from my childhood as well. I had no connection with her. Now that I'm an adult, I can appreciate her performance. She's a good actress...but I'm glad McFadden came back to the show.