Why is Doctor Pulaski (2nd season of TNG) almost universally disliked by Trek fans?
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I don't recall her being disliked at the time.
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MovieChat Forums > Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) Discussion > Why is Doctor Pulaski (2nd season of TNG...
I sort of like her.
The thing is she's kind of a ripoff of Dr. McCoy - the cynical, world-weary, yet dedicated and brilliant doctor. I like McCoy very much, and I like Dr. Pulaski too, because I like cynical, world-weary, yet dedicated people, but I like her less than McCoy because she's less original.
But the real problem with her is that she didn't fit in with the TNG crew. TOS was so freaking weird that McCoy's cynicism seemed like an appropriate reaction to the more ridiculous goings-on, but nothing ridiculous or over-the-top ever happened on TNG. And the rest of the crew were so utterly professional, dedicated, and borderline dull... that a cynic just didn't fit in.
https://www.quora.com/Does-Dr-Pulaski-return-to-Star-Trek-after-the-second-season/answer/Gary-Bisaga
I think the biggest problem, though, was her relationship with Data. Reportedly they were trying to recreate the Spock/McCoy relationship, and I do see where they were going with it. McCoy was crusty, Pulaski was crusty; Spock was an outside observer of humanity and fan favorite, Data was an outside observer of humanity and fan favorite. What could go wrong? What the producers and writers didn’t take into account was Mr Data had an innocence that Spock never had. Spock was right at home trading barbs with McCoy, Kirk, or Scotty, and we delighted seeing the ol’ curmudgeon McCoy get a few of his own in, knowing that Spock would have his own zinger to deliver either then or next time. Data, on the other hand, was totally innocent. Seeing Data wounded, played to perfection by Brent Spiner, you feel the wound yourself. Mr Data coming back with anything other than sincerity was unthinkable. Data tells Pulaski how to properly pronounce his name; Pulaski laughs and says “What’s the difference?”; Data says with total innocence “one is my name… the other is not.” You look away and think (like the female changeling after they killed Weyoun) “I wish you hadn’t done that.”share
Yeah, that was a bad decision, badly handled. Partly because it made Pulaski look like a bigot, partly because the writers couldn't actually write Data as having no feelings. Which was one of the many things about Data that annoyed me greatly, quite frankly he was a pest and unconvincing and if Pulaski had just disliked him because he wasn't likeable then I'd have been her biggest fan.
Hey wait, I may actually BE her biggest fan!
Anyway, because Data was hurt by her behavior she not only looked like a bully, she looked wrong in her conclusions about him. And if the writers had actually found a way to have Data actually BE without emotions, as he supposedly was, then it all might have worked. But because Data was actually written as being cutesy or emotional when it was convenient, having another character complain about his lack of emotions didn't work.
I don't know Otter, I think Polanski gave as a proper double-take on what Data was - some hardware with an interface.
Sure we the audience get to see his character arc moreso than Polanski but as far as she was concerned she was talking to a sophisticated hoover at that point.
I find her relationship with Worf to be a richer one, she sees him as an interesting fish out of water and gives him more time to try and help him, and to some end herself, feel at ease on the Enterprise.
Well, the whole Pulaski thing would have worked if Data HAD been written as an "interesting Hoover" (love that phrase BTW), but instead they had to go and write him as Pinocchio.
I never liked Pinocchio.
But my real point is that the Pulaski-Data relationship didn't work because the writers were working at cross-purposes. And Brent Spiner couldn't actually play Data as having no feelings.
Brent did occasionally play Data as having no emotions when the story called for it (The beginning of "Brothers" comes to mind when Data hijacks the Enterprise). I think the idea that Data had all the personal logs and memory engrams of the colonists on the planet where he was created, and the fact that Lore had emotions and manipulated them to his own ends, had Noonian Soong keep Data down to a minimum until he had perfected the emotion chip for his particular positronic brain.
It's all speculation of course but I think the idea was for Data to get more and more human as the series continued.
I enjoyed Pulaski's take on him as everyone else (Bar Riker in the first episode) warmed to him almost instantly.
Maybe if Pulaski's time on the show had been longer it might have blossomed into a good friendship.
"Maybe if Pulaski's time on the show had been longer it might have blossomed into a good friendship."
Of course it would have. Whenever shows have two starring characters be polar opposites and have an antagonistic relationship, they always eventually have episodes that show that even though they act like they don't like each other, they really care very deeply about one another. Usually one of the characters is injured badly and could die, and they show how it affects the other.
That's one of the things I liked about TOS, that Spock and McCoy never got all touchy-feely. Okay, they may have grudgingly admitted a bit of mutual respect, and may have gotten more buddy-buddy as time went on if the series had continued, but it never came to that.
Which is realistic. Think of the co-worker you have the least in common with, whose personality clashed the most with your own, and whose world-view is the most different from your own. Have you ever gone from dislike to close friendship with such a person? Probably not, but if you were professional you avoided conflict and respected their skills.
And there's the fact that McCoy actually liked having someone to grumble about.
I didn't dislike her, but her habit of whispering the last word or syllable of just about every sentence kind of irritated me.
shareI liked her, but she was kinda obnoxious at times, especially toward Data.
shareHave you ever seen Gates McFadden? I rest my case.
share^This^
Nothing against the replacement actress’ ability but Gates was also an accomplished actress AND was smoking hot. Her character had great chemistry with Picard and her friendship with the others felt genuine but what Gates brought to the show was pure eye candy.
Yup, this is literally it. Pulaski wasn't attractive enough. lol
shareFirstly, Doctor Crusher was always intended as a sex-appeal character. The series Bible even refers to her as having “the walk of a strip-tease queen”. She was always intended as fan service for thirsty male fans. Doctor Pulaski, by contrast, was very much not sexualised in the same way and that created resentment from those same fans.share
But that was just one reason for the backlash against the character.
You can also blame the disastrous decision to use Pulaski to try to re-create the McCoy-Spock dynamic from TOS, with the android Data playing Spock to Pulaski’s McCoy. But whereas Spock and McCoy were always able to spar as equals, Data’s more innocent and child-like nature made Pulaski come across as more of a cruel bully.
Then there was the manner of her introduction. The first episode she appears has her snubbing Picard by not reporting to his ready room when she arrives and instead going to Ten Forward to meet Deanna Troi. This was meant to establish her as a renegade who plays by her own rules but instead just rubbed the fans the wrong way, making her seem like an arrogant jerk. Now, would they have been more forgiving of this if the character was male? Quite possibly, but there it is.
Lastly, characters become beloved when they play major roles in good episodes. Pulaski had the misfortune of joining the crew in the second season of TNG, a strong contender not just for the worst season in TNG but the worst in the franchise overall. When I think of “Pulaski episodes” I think of The Child and Shades of Gray, two of the worst stinkers in all of Trek.
shallow trekkies
shareBecause she called Data an "it", a sentence of death for any character trying to win over the public.
shareIt mostly had to do with the beautiful, red-haired Dr. Crusher being temporarily replaced by an older, less likeable woman who seemed almost condescending in nature. While she wasn't always an annoying character, many fans are still grateful she only lasted one season, and they got the more beloved Dr. Crusher back.
Fun Trivia: The actress who played Dr. Polaski appeared in two TOS episodes (as two different characters), and actually was semi-attractive in her younger days!
Yup, exactly what it was. Basically, Crusher was a MILF, Polaski wasn't. Although as a kid I always much preferred Troi, who was the real eye candy.
shareWhat's a MILF?
shareReally? Haha
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=milf
As you can see, more describes Crusher than Polaski!
I always think Gates McFadden's "MILF-vibe" in the "Naked Now" episode, where Dr. Crusher unzips her Starfleet uniform and tries to seduce Captain Picard.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/44/af/28/44af2877ac9882c55651e20ccf3b0033.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpYtyEU8gE4
In a nutshell, we traded this beautiful redheaded woman in Beverly Crusher favor of a crusty, "Space Karen" in Dr. Pulaski.
https://www.quora.com/What-would-be-a-Karen-in-Star-Trek