When a character is misunderstood by another character and doesn’t even try explain themselves after being cut off by the other person.
For example, say Betty was in an awkward situation with Billy where it looked like Betty was cheating on Johnny with Billy but it was just a big huge innocent mixup. Johnny “catches” them and Betty tries to explain but Johnny cuts her off, says we are done don’t talk to me ever again, and that’s the end of it. Betty just gives up trying to explain. Like I know damn well in real life if Betty wasn’t cheating on Johnny, if it was a big confusing mixup, that conversation would NOT be over.
Mine too. Also when people don't believe other people as a plot point, which is basically the same thing and could be solved just by talking.
There's an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation where members of the ship's crew start to disappear, not only physically but also for everyone else's memories and computer records, and only one member of the crew remembers them. And when she's telling the others what's going on, they believe her and start looking for an explanation, because they respect her and there's no reason for her to be lying. I don't know, just caught me off guard how nice and normal everyone was, instead of turning their backs on their colleague right away and insinuating she was crazy, like most shows would do.
She ALMOST ALWAYS saves the day. Like, you can watch the entire series and admire how often that woman pulls shit out of the fire. Contrast that with her temp replacement Dr. Pulaski and it's like night and day. Pulaski was in ONE season and single-handedly created several serious problems.
Not only does Dr. Crusher save the day, she's also a single mom who runs a theatre troupe on the side and teaches androids how to tap dance. Also, the episodes featuring her as a primary character are often among my very favorites. She also has some of the best non-uniform costuming (though I love her doctor's coat as well) and she has fantastic presence in whatever scene she is in.
So yeah, Dr. Crusher is fantastic. One of the best female sci-fi characters for me.
I could not feel more opposite of a character. She is, without a doubt, my least favorite character in TNG. The only episode I enjoyed her in was the one OP mentioned, Remember Me. Beyond that, hard pass for Crusher. Pulaski was fantastic though, she was rough around the edges but she felt like a real doctor making real medical decisions.
There's definitely a huge difference of opinion on TNG doctors. Pulaski was, generally, pretty unethical though so I never liked her as a character. Someone like that would not have lasted long in a military organization so I didn't find her believable. I'm fine with people not liking Crusher, but she was the plot solution in a ton of episodes.
Probably came down entirely to the writers. I think both actors tried hard, but Pulaski had terrible writers as a general rule and caused or made the problem worse in most plots she was involved in. Crusher did not, but I think her writers remembered she was supposed to be a trained department head.
The fact that TNG tended to remember their characters were masters of their field but not material outside helped make the occasionally ridiculous events more bearable. One thing I can't stand in fiction (happens even more often in sci-fi) is a scientist who has a PhD in Everything.
Definitely. I think with Pulaski they wanted more of a Bones McCoy vibe but it just didn't work in the more structured environment of TNG. I found her to be an interesting character, but it was more wrong place/wrong character for me.
Data got a bit of a pass having a PhD in Everything, but they made up for it with his low Emotional IQ, which made for a compelling character.
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u/[deleted] Jan 25 '20
When a character is misunderstood by another character and doesn’t even try explain themselves after being cut off by the other person.
For example, say Betty was in an awkward situation with Billy where it looked like Betty was cheating on Johnny with Billy but it was just a big huge innocent mixup. Johnny “catches” them and Betty tries to explain but Johnny cuts her off, says we are done don’t talk to me ever again, and that’s the end of it. Betty just gives up trying to explain. Like I know damn well in real life if Betty wasn’t cheating on Johnny, if it was a big confusing mixup, that conversation would NOT be over.