Dr. Katherine Pulaski
- Thread starter Chief Medical Officer
- Start date
I liked Pulaski. Normally I'd groan at an attempt at a McCoy redux but Muldaur was very natural with it. Not that she really is a McCoy, Pulaski is more upbeat and seems like someone who has lived a life as opposed to the other 30s somethings of the crew who haven't long been out of junior assignments.
The whole Data versus Pulaski stuff did misfire I think. Data is the 2nd officer, a graduate and you salute the 2nd officer not treat that 2nd officer as a toaster. I thought the clash between the two could've been written in a more subtle way. But overall, Pulaski was a strong character.
The whole Data versus Pulaski stuff did misfire I think. Data is the 2nd officer, a graduate and you salute the 2nd officer not treat that 2nd officer as a toaster. I thought the clash between the two could've been written in a more subtle way. But overall, Pulaski was a strong character.
Last edited:
The thing with her and Data was definitely intended to be aping the Spock-McCoy bickering, missing that with Spock and McCoy, it was a constant back and forth, push and pull dynamic between them both, having both Spock and McCoy offer zingers at the other, them both getting in hits on the other, and with her and Data, he didn't fight back, so it was less 'vitriolic best friends' and more 'picking on the kid in the corner.'
But, as has been pointed out, it actually did work out in the favor of storytelling - it was a natural reaction to Data as life as she's unfamiliar with. Data is, for all intents and purposes, unique, there is no other life form in her experience who has been artificially created who is sapient. She does get a chance to come around, and, from a storytelling perspective, it's showing her coming to recognize that Data is more than the sum of his parts.
Loved Pulaski. Wish she would have come back as a cameo somehow.
But that's because it was never supposed to be McCoy and Spock. People are seeing an opinionated doctor and an emotionless android and putting two and two together. There is no bickering between them.
She simply talks to him like a machine... because that's what she thinks he is. When she mispprounounces his name, he quickly corrects her and she quickly accepts it. No bickering. Just a woman trying to make sense of a sentient machine.
She's an opinionated woman who isn't embarrassed to express an unpopular opinion but when she is corrected (usually by Data), she takes it onboard and moves on.
Slowly but surely, she develops a relationship with him through her mistakes and assumptions. Instead of the sterile, stoic, disinfected behaviour exhibited by the rest of the Enterprise crew, she behaves like someone with more complexity. Like an actual person.
Right, and I say as much in the second paragraph. I'm just saying that the writer's intention in creating this dynamic between Pulaski and Data was attempting to follow in the pattern established by Spock and McCoy. Like, I'm not talking out of my ass here, look it up on Memory Alpha, it says in the notes section "Pulaski's relationship with Data was an attempt to mirror McCoy's relationship with Spock." That's a direct quote. That was the intention. It turned out to work in a different fashion, but the intention was that it'd be like the back and forth between Spock and McCoy, missing the fact that it worked for them because both gave and got in equal measure, while in those initial episodes, Pulaski gave and Data wasn't fighting back, so she ended up with a reputation as a bully towards him. It was in turning her attitude towards him as coming to see him as being more than just 'a machine that talks' and portraying those earlier remarks into character growth and development that they made it work.
I think people are over egging the McCoy/Spock angle. It may have been a basic template but it clearly wasnt their intention to pursue a McCoy/Spock dynamic. After all, why have a back and forth when one of the characters doesn't give back? They're not idiots; they know that it's a wildly different relationship. They're not attemptng to replicate anything. Kirk is a template for Riker but that doesn't mean Riker will tear his shirt off each week.
Pulaski doesn't take years to change her attitude to Data. It literally happens seconds after she does it.
"It does know how to do these things, doesn't it?".... then she instantly says sorry. Instantly. People are misremembering the woman.
A fascinating and wrongly maligned character.
Last edited:
I also completely understand that Dr. Pulaski was cautious around technology, afraid of malfunctioning. But I don't remember any moments where she literally thought Mr. Data who is a Star Fleet officer (even though there was hesitation by some about letting him into Star Fleet) differently from the LCARS super computer. I certainly remember her baffled about Data, but I don't remember any moments where she was struggling to use the computer. L'Waxana Troi clearly has issues with technology. She does not like the Transporters and she does not like LCARS. But I don't know of any hesitation towards Data. The character development of L'Waxana is a tiny bit better compared with the character development of Pulaski. At least from what I remember. I am going to have to watch again.
Or Beverly? That video was mostly well presented. However, Beverly did use that same authority to order Picard to sickbay about a headache. It just doesn't seem as passionate since it isn't about his heart. Perhaps Pulaski would "have more to say" but I doubt Beverly wouldn't force Picard to get his heart examined. The only thing I can think of is episode Tapestry but it is not in the same situation.
And that line about "I am familiar with Dr. Pulaski's technique." was directed towards Picard ordering her to erase her patient's memory and to not violate the prime directive. She was not being territorial against Pulaksi.
On the other hand, that video thumbnail has Pulaski now reminds me for some reason of an older version of Tasha Yar, not McCoy. Her personality was quite similar to Yar, with the exception of the technology. It wouldn't have been too difficult to make her a relative, perhaps long-lost mother or aunt ... considering that Beverly's son was on board, and Deanna's mother occasionally. The only problem with this comparison is that Tasha is supposed to be orphaned.
I enjoyed Pulaski's lines in Peak Performance.
Or Beverly? That video was mostly well presented. However, Beverly did use that same authority to order Picard to sickbay about a headache. It just doesn't seem as passionate since it isn't about his heart. Perhaps Pulaski would "have more to say" but I doubt Beverly wouldn't force Picard to get his heart examined. The only thing I can think of is episode Tapestry but it is not in the same situation.
And that line about "I am familiar with Dr. Pulaski's technique." was directed towards Picard ordering her to erase her patient's memory and to not violate the prime directive. She was not being territorial against Pulaksi.
On the other hand, that video thumbnail has Pulaski now reminds me for some reason of an older version of Tasha Yar, not McCoy. Her personality was quite similar to Yar, with the exception of the technology. It wouldn't have been too difficult to make her a relative, perhaps long-lost mother or aunt ... considering that Beverly's son was on board, and Deanna's mother occasionally. The only problem with this comparison is that Tasha is supposed to be orphaned.
I enjoyed Pulaski's lines in Peak Performance.
Pulaski is a funny one. I think at that point in the show, she was more interesting than Beverly, but I think that Beverly had better chemistry with the rest of the cast. I also thought the Spock/McCoy dynamic they were going for was a bit too mean to Data at first. But yes, she developed.
Pulaski had some good moments, especially in how she changed in her views toward Data, but it was a big strike against her to initially be and seem so much like a McCoy reuse and her friction with Picard in particular seemed pretty overdone and therefore uninteresting. Crusher had a lot more chemistry with the rest of the crew.
There was a point to it, and later it was resolved. I'm sure a lot of officers thought of Data in a similar way. Then came A Measure of a Man; a brilliant episode IMO.
I didn't hate her but I can see where the hate comes from. Had Pulaski been there from the start she probably would have been much more accepted. As it stood she shows up in the second season and starts butting heads with characters everybody had already grown to like/love. Most notably Picard and Data. Data was really the worst character they could have chosen for her to pick on due to his seemingly childlike innocence. He couldn't take offense but the audience could. Yes she was there to stir the pot, that was evident from the very beginning because they weren't very subtle in the writing. It felt really forced to me. That "In Defense Of" video states that Pulaski paved the way for later episodes like "Measure Of A Man", where I see it as those later episodes succeeded where Pulaski's character failed. Personally I'd drop Beverly/Pulaski and bring in Picardo as the holographic doctor.
Though that does raise the question of why Data couldn't. He may be a sweet and kindly-natured character, but he isn't stupid or incapable of reasoning. He should certainly be capable, for example, of taking a snide comment and showing it up for what it is in impressive detail. Did he never attend a forensics meet in college?
From my impressions, Ro Laren, another character intended to introduce sparks, was received a lot better by the fans, with her seeming to have better reasons to be abrasive, being pretty respectful with Picard and clashing the most with Riker who certainly could and did hold his own.
From what I recall, I didn't have a problem with Pulaski. I liked Crusher more, but I didn't hate Pulaski. In a previous thread someone had suggested that Pulaski might have worked better on DS9. I hadn't thought about that before, but yeah, I could see that. Perhaps she could've worked on Enterprise as well.
All that being said, I do wish they had at least given Pulaski a cameo at the wedding in Nemesis.
All that being said, I do wish they had at least given Pulaski a cameo at the wedding in Nemesis.
I thought this video made some pretty unfair comparisons.
Pulaski stands up to Picard while Crusher unzips her uniform for him. Ignoring that Crusher was under the influence of a virus that affected her behavior when that happened.
Crusher only said a few words to Jellico in protest over his decision to go after the Cardassian fleet in the McAllister Nebula while Pulaski would have probably said more. Maybe, maybe not. Pulaski would have known that Riker had already been relieved, which undoubtably have factored into how much of a protest she would make and realizing that she can't treat the injured while relieved of duty, she would likely have not said much more than Beverly.
Also, there's no doubt that Crusher episodes like "Remember Me" and "Sub Rosa" had their problems...
I'm a Crusher fan, always have been and was glad she returned in Season 3. That doesn't mean I dislike Pulaski, the character was mishandled. She did have interesting points to make in "Elementary, Dear Data" that challenged Data, but her dismissive approach to handling Data alienated the fans. She already assumed that she knew what Data was and could be, the fans had their own ideas.
I really don't think we can give Pulaski credit for "The Measure of a Man" and "The Offspring." She was barely in one was off the show by the time the other happened. The idea of bad starfleet officers dedicated to their own ends at the expense of others was hardly a new one, it goes back to the original series.
Bottom Line: Pulaski had potential, should have been revisited later on, but the right call was made to bring Crusher back.
Similar threads
