Does anyone know what happend that Dr. Crusher was replaced by Dr. Polaski and then brought back?
I have always wondered about that.
As in the real reason or some role playing thing?
In season 2 gates was replaced and came back in season 3. I never got why. I hoped there would be an explanation on the dvds but there isn't.
I had always heard that Gates was not happy with her character and wanted to move on.. so they let her out of her contract and brought in Polaski. I'm not sure why she decided to come back. Maybe she had more control over her character or maybe they told her that she could direct, which she did.
I, for one, am glad Gates came back. She was a far more interesting character....plus I had a crush on her. :)
My understanding was that Gates took the fall for the perceived problems of season 1. Change was needed and she got it.
They brought in Pulaski from Classic Trek as part of the fix up.
Pulaski just didn't fit in. She was too abrasive with Picard and the rising star Data.
She was let go and thank goodness Gates agreed to come back, swallowing her pride.
That's how I understood it at the time, from the BBS boards and GEnie (Wil Wheaton was on that, btw, he never said anything about it) and such, just rumors and the like.
I really enjoyed Polaski. I thought she was the most like Mcoy from the old series. One of the best episodes was Peak Performance. She did an outstanding job and became closer to Data. I felt her interaction with the crew was on a more professional level. And who could forget "Elementary Dear Data" classic man, just classic. Dr. Crusher would have never eaten crumpets with the arch enemy of Holmes. :)
I wish they would have brought her back on occasion. I enjoyed her acting. I like Dr. Crusher too, I'm glad she came back, but I do have to admit that I missed Kate.
I didn't like how she treated Data. It seemed very unenlightened and not in keeping with the attitudes of the rest of the crew.
Still, I would have liked to have seen her return at some point.
At first, I did not care for Pulaski, but as the second season went on, the more and more I liked her. I was disappointed to see her leave the show, and wished she would have come back for some further episodes. Like mentioned, she was a real throw back to McCoy.
I seem to be agreeing with Jeff alot lately.. I really enjoyed Pulaski. Not that I disliked Crusher. I always like that fact that she was set in her ways. She was a good female version of Bones.