By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
It took Star Trek: The next generation A few years difficult to really find its legs in space, and the series has had many changes along the way. A temporary change consisted in replacing Dr. Crusher by Dr. Pulaski in season 2 before bringing Crusher for season 3. Many have often wondered why Pulaski herself had been replaced after the second season, but the explanation is quite Simple: in simple terms, she was angry. Too much from the Star Trek Fandom.
Dr. Pulaski enters Star Trek
The next generation It was a little more like The original series At the time, and the doctor’s new character represented the producer’s desire to channel the first adventures of Captain Kirk. This is why Pulaski was played by Diana Muldaur, someone who played alongside William Shatner in the original film. Star Trek series. Her character was also vaguely modeled on Dr. McCoy, which is why she hates using the carrier and has a rascal attitude towards Data, the android which serves as the TNG version of M. Spock.
However, there was a major problem with Pulaski from the start: while Star Trek: the original series prospered thanks to occasional conflicts within the crew, The next generation It was a show where everyone got along more or less. However, when this new doctor was recruited, she immediately started to come up against Captain Picard. She also had such antipathy towards Data, based on the fact that he was an android, that the fans accused her of racism, a label that has never really disappeared.
Retrospectively, it is easy to understand why the character of Pulaski was imagined by Star Trek: The next generation producers. The fact that she was a severe clone and exchanged between Dr. McCoy’s sexes helped her stand out instantly from the maternal figure with the sweet and attentive heart of Beverly Crusher. In addition, finding yourself face to face with other characters introduced conflicts in the series, which Gene Roddenberry had prohibited and who had really made the writing of season 1. And the fact that Muldaur played in The original series meant that she could convince even older fans about the new derivative program.
Pulaski was not a favorite of fans
All of this sounded well on paper, but after a season to try to make Pulaski a reality, the scriptwriters and producers of Star Trek threw in the towel. Producer Rick Berman later admitted that his character “never really worked … Doctor Pulaski simply never really solidified”. Consequently, the series did not invite Muldaur to return, even if it was not disappointed because it believed that the new spin-off was too concentrated on technology and not enough on the construction of the character.
One of the main reasons why Pulaski has not returned to the new spin-off was Star Trek’s fandom, many of which launched a passionate letters’ writing campaign to bring Dr. Crusher from Gates McFadden to the series. They were joined by Patrick Stewartwho was just as passionate about his personal campaign to bring back his former colleague. The combined pressure of the fans and the TNG captain was sufficient to bring Berman to personally invite McFadden to return, and the rest belongs to the history of television.
Dr. Pulaski had many interesting qualities that made her a fascinating character, but she never really adapted to the relaxed atmosphere of Star Trek: The next generation. Fortunately, she was replaced by Gates McFaddenA killer actor whose character has become increasingly important and popular over time. Finally, Dr. Crusher was a central character of the last season of PicardyAnd this very satisfactory plot would probably never have occurred without the intense fans campaign aimed at abandoning Diana Muldaur and bringing Gates McFadden to the Enterprise to which she belonged.
