Gates McFadden, who played the original Doctor Beverly Crusher, had left the show after the first season. The producers brought in Diana Muldaur to play a different type of doctor named Katherine Pulaski. Pulaski had previously served as chief medical officer on board the starship USS Repulse and held the rank of commander. Despite her rank and service record, she was not a bridge officer like her predecessor, Dr.
Pulaski brought a new vibe to the medical bay. While Dr. Crusher was often defined by her role as a mother and consulted for advice on social and emotional matters just as often as medical ones, Dr. Pulaski was calculating and detached.
Creator Gene Roddenberry had wanted her to emulate some of the stand-out characteristics of Dr. McCoy from The Original Series , including a fear of teleporters and a mistrust of the overly-logical members of the crew.
In an interview for StarTrek. The procedure was perilous; if the disease could not be removed via transporter, Pulaski's pattern would have been dispersed in space to prevent contamination of the Enterprise crew. The procedure was ultimately successful, and used to treat the station staff. TNG : " Unnatural Selection ". While visiting the Mariposan colony in , Pulaski, along with Commander Riker, was briefly abducted.
The Mariposans took epithelial cells from both, intending to use them to preserve their colony which was being affected by replicative fading. Once she and Riker learned of this, they returned to the planet and destroyed the two clones. Beverly Crusher decided to return to the Enterprise in Pulaski transferred off the ship sometime prior to Crusher's return. TNG : " Evolution ".
Early in her career, Pulaski authored a groundbreaking research paper called " Linear Models of Viral Propagation ". It was still the standard on the subject many years later. She also performed two successful operations involving ocular implants. She offered the procedure to Lieutenant Geordi La Forge in , although he turned down the opportunity. She had an expertise in heart surgery, and when Picard initially tried to refuse her medical order to proceed to Starbase for a cardiac replacement surgery, she said then that her and her staff would be able to perform the surgery on Enterprise.
He refused because of his pride, saying it would be inappropriate for Pulaski to do so. Picard eventually did accompany Wesley Crusher to the starbase Wesley was going to undergo testing to see if he could continue his Starfleet Academy studies aboard Enterprise , but when complications developed that put his life in jeopardy, the surgeons, who were unqualified to perform risky techniques that might save Picard's life, called for Katherine Pulaski, who was so qualified.
When Picard awoke to see Pulaski in the OR, he was annoyed that she was there. When she says she was saving his life, he says that this was a routine operation but Pulaski says Picard is not a commonplace man and despite the fact that the entire crew now knows of what's happened, Pulaski tells Picard that he's still invincible in their eyes. TNG : " Samaritan Snare ". Pulaski pioneered a technique used to selectively wipe memory engrams from humanoid species, one that Dr.
Beverly Crusher was familiar with. Pulaski believed that traditional remedies were just as valuable as technological ones, perhaps even more so.
When the Enterprise was affected by an Iconian software transmission , she instructed her staff to use splints and other primitive treatments while most of the ship's systems were down. TNG : " Contagion " She also had her own blend of chicken soup, called PCS Pulaski's chicken soup , which she prescribed to those with ailments such as the flu.
Pulaski entered a romantic relationship with Kyle Riker during his convalescence in She later recalled that she would have married him "in a cold minute", but quickly realized that his priorities were elsewhere and she would not have a stable place in his life. She did not hold this fact against him, though, and they remained amicable. Pulaski never mentioned this to his son Will Riker until Kyle came aboard the Enterprise in to brief Will on his promotion to captain of the USS Aries , a position Will later turned down.
After she and Kyle parted ways, Pulaski had been married and divorced three times. Like with Kyle, she remained good friends with all three men. Pulaski and Jean-Luc Picard butted heads over a number of issues during her year aboard the ship. Picard was somewhat offended that her first destination upon boarding the ship was Ten Forward.
TNG : " Pen Pals ". He also argued with her over the surgery needed to replace his cardiac implant. Pulaski believed she could perform the surgery on the Enterprise , but Picard felt it would be inappropriate and a sign of weakness in front of the crew.
She gave him the option of going to Starbase , which he did. He nearly died on the operating table from complications, but the Enterprise rushed to the starbase and Pulaski transported down to complete the surgery. Her expertise saved Picard's life. Despite these conflicts, Pulaski had a deep respect for the captain. She admired him for some time prior to her assignment to the Enterprise , and jumped at the chance to transfer when the position became available.
Picard did not learn of this until he spoke with Captain Taggert while Pulaski was affected by the virus on Gagarin IV. Because of her discomfort with technology, Pulaski was not very kind towards Lieutenant Commander Data when she first boarded the ship.
She saw him as no more than a machine, pronouncing his name "DAT-ah" rather than "DAY-ta", and did not understand that, as Data pointed out, "One is my name. The tapestry of TNG is so complicated, that, as Q taught us, pulling at one of these strings could unravel the whole picture. The third season of The Next Generation is clearly the moment where the series becomes the confident and prestigious show we think of today. Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! People could die.
People could leave. And, in season 3, that meant people could get assimilated by the Borg. The return of Dr. Crusher in season 3 is essential to making TNG what it became.
But before that could happen, Pulaski had to arrive and make everyone uncomfortable. She was the lighting rod for conflict in the early days of this great series, and imagining its journey without her is impossible. Ryan Britt is a longtime contributor to Den of Geek! How the Making and Remaking ….
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