Was there a real reason Lieutenant Yar...

... was killed off in season 1's episode SOE? I mean - no, duh, the black slime thing killed her But did Deneise Crosby had to undergo surgery or something? I know. I can't spell her name for crap but I'm sure you guys know who I'm talking about.
She was such an interesting character and I would've loved to have seen her in later seasons of the show. At least Crosby got to reprise her role in AGT. Granted, I wasn't too crazy about the series finale and thought such an interesting series deserved a better finale, it's nice to see she comes back (well, not really since it was a flashback scene).

Speaking of which, was there a significant reason that other lady who played Doctor Pulaski had to leave TNG?

BTW - I'm new to the boards and this is my first post!

 

Yeah, the actress just wanted off the show - felt there wasn't enough for her character to do and thought she could do better elsewhere.

Pulaski left because Crusher came back.

 

Dear Mods,

I am very sorry for making this thread. I failed to notice the other thread devoted to this topic, so feel free to delete this thread at will.

 

^

Common newbie mistake, don't sweat it. Besides, you did ask about something else unrelated to the other thread in the form of what about Pulaski.

By the end of season 1, the show runners were unhappy with how Crusher was working, so they fired McFadden and decided to go a different direction. IIRC it was Rodenberry's idea to bring in Muldaur as he had worked with her on TOS and she had shot a pilot for him. Unfortunately for her, she was not well recieved by the fans, and from other things I've read, not by the rest of the cast either. From most accounts, it looks like it was a mutual decision not to bring her back for season 3. Also from what I've read, Patrick Stewart lobbied to bring back Dr Crusher and TPTB decided to give it another shot. So McFadded was rehired, and the rest is history.
BTW, welcome to TBBS.

 

I just thought McFadden had tied into other things when the shooting of S2 was due to start so they brought in Muldaur. To be fair, I've never really looked into it though. It was always just an assumption. I'm just glad they brought McFadden back. I never really liked Pulaski as a character

 

I was never a Pulaski fan myself and was glad to see her go, though Maulder did play some good parts in TOS, big mistake thinking she could carry that over to TNG.

When Yar was killed off I was disappointed as I thought she was really great, good acting and fantastic looking. Whatever the reasons for her leaving in the 1st series can't fully hold up as she returned later as her daughter to a Romulan (If memory serves correct?).

 

Yeah, McFadden was never fired - she even appeared in a few 2nd season episodes, IIRC. She just had other obligations and I do believe there was a bit of tension there that was worked out by season 3, hence her return.

 

(edit: I was incorrect, so I deleted my post)

 

Gates McFadden did not appear in any season two episodes. Events went down more or less as Alrik described them above.

 

Huh - for some reason I thought she would occasionally call Wesley from Starfleet HQ... I seem to remember that scene for some reason. Of course, it's probably been years since I've really sat and watched a 2nd season episode.

What's the source for this information, btw? I had heard a different story years back from McFadden herself at a convention appearance. Of course, her interpretation of events may differ from reality.

 

I thought the story was that she was pregnant or something...I certainly don't recall ever hearing that she was fired, though I could understand why they'd want to bury that.

 

To be fair, Diana Muldaur's Wikipedia entry is the one that goes far enough to say McFadden had been fired. However, the info at Memory Alpha and McFadden's Wikipedia entry pretty much back it up. The bottom line is, after season 1 she was released from her contract by TPTB and not really expected to return. Everything I have found points to it being their decision, not hers. Fortunately for Gates, the fans didn't much care for Pulaski, and it appears the main cast didn't much care for Muldaur. It's all out there. You just have to do some looking around.

 

Given the notoriously goofy TNG cast, I can see how that might not have worked out with Muldaur. Stewart had problems with their behavior in the beginning as well.

 

I thought McFadden left because Maurice Hurley was sexually harassing her. When he left, Stewart and I think some other cast members lobbied for he return.

As for Crosby, she thought she wasn't getting enough to do as Yar so she left the show. It's too bad they didn't just write her out, like saying she went back to the Academy to undergo additional tactical training. Then she could have returned in season three like McFadden, maybe as the conn officer and a shift commander now that Worf was security chief.

 

Crosby's character was an interesting concept - a human who'd had a rough life was apparently a rarity in the 24th century - but it was badly written and she, frankly, wasn't a very good actress. (Sorry to disagree, NZ, but I really thought she was very, very bad. Very bad. Just bad. It was embarrassing to watch her, really.) She might have gotten better though - some of the others certainly did. She did OK as Sela, I thought - not great, but perfectly respectable, and about 300 times better than anything she ever did as Yar.

I know I'm in the minority but I rather liked Pulaski - I liked Crusher fine, too, but I found the on-again/off-again, pseudo-quasi semi-romance with Picard tedious in the extreme (but then again, I find pretty much all on-again/off-again, pseudo-quasi semi-romances tedious in the extreme), so I found Pulaski's curmudgeon quality rather refreshing.

 

She was fired, she said so herself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntrmzQuqRhc

Might be in part 2 or 3, I'm too lazy to search, but it's in there.

 

I've heard those rumors about him harrassing her too, but of course there doesn't seem to be anything out there to back it up. However, there are places that strongly suggest, if not flat out say that it was the tension between Hurley and McFadden that lead to her being shown the door. And you are right about Stewart. Everything I've seen indicates that he was the one who lead the charge to bring her back.

To Kate
You're not the only one. I really didn't mind Pulaski. I thought she was a very different and interesting character. I will say though, it didn't really bother me when Crusher returned. I guess I really didn't care that much one way or the other. But I certainly am not in the camp that hates Pulaski.

 

I'm sure I read somewhere on these boards before about how after the got rid of Crusher, Gene Roddenberry wanted a McCoy-like doctor to replace her, but DC Fontana lobbied for an alien CMO. Roddenberry won out, but Doctor Selar was introduced (only for one episode though).

I liked Yar in S1, but she wasn't really developed all that well--but then again none of the characters really were. I wish that they had kept the character as Macha Hernandez and gave the role to Marina Sirtis, with Denise Crosby in as Deanna Troi. That way if Crosby still wanted to leave, TNG would have retained its female Security Chief and goten rid of the therapist who the writers had a tough time with in S1.

But that's just my thoughts on the matter,

Bry

 

Yeah, exactly. They both had their good points and bad points, both actresses seemed pretty competent (though I think I'd have to give the edge to Muldaur), so I didn't have strong feelings either way. Whatever makes for better plots was fine with me.

 

^

Agreed.
And in the long run, I'd say it worked out pretty well. The writers eventually fleshed out Crusher, and Gates did a fine job of selling it.