Why Star Trek: TNG Season 3 Offended Dr. Beverly Crusher Actor Gates McFadden

As a dedicated Star Trek fan who grew up watching Beverly Crusher navigate the final frontier with grace and intelligence, I can’t help but feel a mix of emotions when reflecting on her character’s journey throughout The Next Generation. While it was heartening to see her return in Picard, it was disheartening to witness the transformation of one of the most capable characters in Starfleet into a space mom who seemed more preoccupied with Wesley’s lunchbox than groundbreaking medical research.

Many Star Trek enthusiasts were overjoyed when the finale of “Star Trek: Picard” showcased a nearly full reunion of the Enterprise-D command staff from “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” including fan-favorite ship’s physician Beverly Crusher, played by Gates McFadden. Interestingly, McFadden faced the possibility of being written off after just one season in the 1987 series due to negative feedback from series writer Maurice Hurley regarding her performance. Despite this, McFadden was well-liked by her fellow cast members and Star Trek fans. As producer Rick Berman shared in “The Fifty-Year Mission: The Complete, Uncensored, and Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek: The Next 25 Years from The Next Generation to J. J. Abrams,” Hurley, who became head writer between seasons, used his position to persuade Gene Roddenberry to dismiss McFadden, eventually replacing her with actress Diana Muldaur, who had appeared in “Star Trek: The Original Series,” as Dr. Katherine Pulaski.

But despite Muldaur’s years in the industry and familiarity with “Star Trek,” Pulaski’s briny persona and oil-to-water chemistry with the crew weren’t a good fit for the series. When Hurley left the series at the end of Season 2, Berman wasted no time hiring McFadden back the very same day. Crediting her fans for their role in getting her back, in 2023 McFadden told Australian broadcaster SBS, “[F]or me, that was terrific […] It was very moving to me when I came back.”

However, according to McFadden in “The Fifty-Year Mission,” the writing for her character was not as she had anticipated. To McFadden, who had envisioned Crusher as one of the most distinguished doctors of her time, it was disheartening to see the Enterprise doctor’s character reduced to that of a tirelessly busy single mother.

Beverly Crusher was reduced from scientist to space mom

Upon coming back, McFadden noticed Dr. Crusher looking noticeably older and lacking the charming traits that made the character appealing. What really annoyed him was Crusher’s dynamic with her son Wesley (Wil Wheaton), as she expressed feeling like a mother fretting over her child’s lunchbox in “The Fifty-Year Mission.” Furthermore, when Wesley required help or advice, he didn’t confide in his mom. McFadden commented, “It was disheartening to see that every time Wesley encountered trouble or needed counsel, he sought guidance from a male figure, which I found somewhat offensive, given the abundance of single parents out there.

For the actress, the role of the grating space mother character fell short of her expectation for a highly competent figure on the starship, possibly even the most capable in the universe. As the chief medical officer aboard Starfleet’s flagship, a vessel frequently encountering diverse alien life forms and exotic worlds, McFadden envisioned Crusher as pioneering medical research. In “The Finest Crew in the Fleet: The Next Generation Cast On Screen and Off,” McFadden stressed, “I made it clear that if Beverly Crusher truly was the galactic equivalent of the Surgeon General, we should treat her with due respect.

Instead, she discovered her role diminished to a secondary character in a narrative predominantly focused on male characters, suggesting that the sexism McFadden experienced might not have been fully resolved even after the problematic writer who let her go had departed. As McFadden put it in “The Fifty-Year Mission,” “During the season I was absent, some decisions were made, and that’s when the three male characters took center stage. I wasn’t aware of this happening at the time, but that’s how things unfolded.

2024-09-14 17:59

Beverly Crusher was reduced from scientist to space mom

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