#dr. Pulaski

[warpfactor9]

i couldn't find this clip of geordi fantasizing out loud about data wiping the floor with that smug zakdorn strategist in 2x21 Peak Performance so i cut and captioned it my goddamned self

[datas00ng]

[eileenjaneway]

dr. Pulaski apologist here, PULASKI RAINHA CRUSHER NADINHA

The thing about the fandom’s interpretation of Data and Pulaski is that it makes both characters extremely flat and boring while also erasing their whole relationship. Data’s made into this flawless, naive baby that can’t defend himself (when he does - when Pulaski mispronounces his name, he tells her exactly why she should pronounce it correctly), while Pulaski is an ugly bitch-hag who is morally reprehensible. Most fanfics portray Data as being uncomfortable or scared of her, while Pulaski’s chomping at the bit to break him into parts. Their whole relationship in season two is based around the fact they both have flaws, and that Data is still learning about what exactly he is capable of as an android.

In “Elementary, My Dear Data”, the big question of the episode is if Data can solve a narrative mystery without it being based on his knowledge of the original stories. Geordi doesn’t know the answer. Pulaski doesn’t. Data doesn’t. From what they know of Data, Pulaski outright dismisses the possibility that Data can, which sparks the episode’s plot.

So when Geordi goes back later and prompts the computer to alter the program to be more challenging, both Data and Pulaski are excited! They want to see where this goes! They are openly having fun with this.

In her first episode, Pulaski dismissed Data when he tried to stay during Troi’s labour, and only relented when Troi said she wanted him there. But by “Penpals”, she assures Sarjenka that Data will be at her side the whole time. When Data expresses doubts, she assures him that this is what’s best for Sarjenka, but that his memories of her will still be important. This is also the same episode where Pulaski defends both her and Data’s personal involvement in the situation to Worf.

In “Measure of A Man”, the game opens with some of the crew playing a poker game. Data and Pulaski are obviously friendly and comfortable enough to socialize together outside of professional circumstances. And again, the scene shows Data calling the game simplistic and assuming he will win, but he turns out to be wrong.

Later in “Peak Performance”, Pulaski sets up Data to compete in Strategema, only for him to end up losing, to everyone’s surprise. The reason why Data’s confidence falls is because he had the exact same assumption about his computational abilities as Pulaski. They were both wrong! When she sees how much losing has affected him, she apologizes:

Data says that he must be malfunctioning. It’s not until Picard tells him that failure can happen even when you do everything right that Data accepts he can make mistakes - and that making mistakes is okay! By the end of the episode, they both know that Data is not infallible, and that he can be affected by failure as much as any human.

Pulaski makes assumptions and mistakes, and so does Data. They learn and grow from them, and their relationship is overall a very positive one despite their very different personalities. It’s an interesting dynamic that gets rewritten by fans entirely, despite the fact that it’s weirdly one of the more developed dynamics in the show.

[caseyshadow]

Stormy cave chat

Casey had always known that she was different from her half-brother Spock. While he had been raised on the planet Vulcan, with their father teaching him the ways of logic and control, Casey had grown up on Earth with her human mother. She had always been more in touch with her emotions than Spock, which had caused some tension between them when they were younger.

Despite their differences, Casey and Spock had grown to have a strong relationship as adults. They both shared a love of science and exploration, which led them both to join Starfleet. Casey had been serving as a science officer on the USS Enterprise under Captain Picard for a few months when she was called on an away mission to a frozen planet.

Dr. Pulaski, the ship's chief medical officer, had also been assigned to the mission. Casey had always found Pulaski to be a bit abrasive, but she respected her skills as a doctor. They had been trudging through the snow for hours when a sudden snowstorm hit. Visibility dropped to almost nothing, and they quickly became disoriented.

"We need to find shelter," Casey shouted over the howling wind.

"There's a cave up ahead," Pulaski pointed out. "We can wait out the storm there."

They hurried towards the cave, trying to shield themselves from the icy wind. Once they were inside, they huddled together for warmth.

Casey shivered, trying to stay positive despite the situation.

"Well, that's tragic," she said with a forced smile.

Pulaski snorted. "I've been in worse situations than this, kid. We'll be fine."

Casey appreciated the older woman's confidence, but she couldn't help but worry. What if they were stuck in the cave for days? What if they ran out of supplies? Her mind raced with worst-case scenarios.

As they waited for the storm to pass, Casey and Pulaski talked to pass the time. Casey was surprised to learn that Pulaski had once been married to a fellow Starfleet officer, but the marriage had ended badly.

"I thought I could balance a career and a relationship, but it just wasn't meant to be," Pulaski admitted.

Casey felt a pang of sympathy for the doctor. She had never been in a serious relationship herself, but she knew what it was like to struggle with conflicting emotions.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

Pulaski shrugged. "It's in the past. I've moved on."

Casey nodded, grateful for the distraction. She realized that despite their differences, she and Pulaski had more in common than she had thought.

Eventually, the storm passed, and they were able to make their way back to the ship. Casey was relieved to be back in the warm confines of the Enterprise, but she couldn't help but feel a bit changed by the experience. She had always been focused on her work and her studies, but being stuck in the cave with Pulaski had made her realize the importance of human connections.

As she walked through the halls of the ship, Casey felt a newfound appreciation for her crewmates. She knew that there would always be more challenges to face, but she felt confident that she could face them with the support of her fellow Starfleet officers. And maybe, just maybe, she could learn a thing or two about human emotions from Dr. Pulaski.

The end.

[cuterefaction]

Trektober Day 21 - Canon Event Fix-It. I have a lot of these (Dr Pulaski stays and has a rivalry with Crusher, Sulu is in all of season 2, Tasha survives the evil puddle, Ziyal lives and dates Jake, Julian goes to Cardassia at the end of DS9, etc etc etc) but this will always be my biggie.

Like, seriously. Miles. You are there. You literally saved a person that medical science could not save (albeit with Geordi and Data teaming up) only a few years ago. Did you not remember? Can you not tell Julian to put your buddy in stasis for a few hours while you reprogram a single computer?

This of course brings up a bit of a major problem with Trek. We've seen so many different issues be solved that when they crop up later we can look at them and go '... don't you know how to deal with this?' - especially when it involves the same characters.

I'm seeing Miles in my mind's eye being at dinner a decade later and suddenly just freezing up and slapping himself in the face.

Anyway. We could have double Dax. It would be EASY. Jadzia would be such a good and terrible influence on Ezri. People would be constantly so confused.

This was a bit of a bugger to do in one day for the challenge so I may draw it more coherently in the future.

[dat4l0re]

the pronunciation of "Data"

Star Trek TNG: The Child

[fluctuating-fixations]

Dr. Pulaski is actually a pretty solid character when you don’t have a little bitch in ur ear telling her she sucks

[an-actual-floof]

consuming only canon tng content (at least up to s4, where I’m currently at) will have you feeling like the statement: “Data has emotions and other human traits he just expresses them in a unique way” is a controversial take it’s wild

[stellarred]

I liked Dr. Kathryn Pulaski. She was a good doctor, and I was sad she didn't stick around after Season 2 in TNG.

Come to think of it, we never got to see the Enterprise crew say goodbye to her, or throw her a goodbye/farewell party. There was no "Thanks for all you've done. Thanks for saving so n' so's life, etc."

Nothing.

There was no explanation provided as to why she left.

Pulaski just... disappeared.

[homewrecking-lore]

People who openly like Dr. Katherine Pulaski on fandom spaces are braver than any U.S. Marine truly

[geekysteven]

[Image description Scene from Star Trek The Next Generation PULASKI: Dah-ta, look at this. DATA: My name is pronounced "Day-ta." PULASKI: Oh my God, I am so sorry! This is all just so new to me. I just need you to know I truly feel you are "Day-ta" in my heart. Third panel is on the bridge with Data focused forward at the conn. Text reads "3 WEEKS LATER" PULASKI:...I'm really not androphobic, I just grew up in a different time, I think over time you'll see I'm a good person and...]

[jimmyandthegiraffes]

It’s me and Adric and Frankie Santana and Dr Pulaski we’re having a party and ur not invited and u know what we invited Jo Grant and Mike Yates and Amy Amanda Allen and Tawnia Baker and Monica Reyes and Victoria Waterfield and the 6th Doctor and no you still can’t come

[enterprise-bee]

man okay so. i'm on season three of my tng watch and have been so glad to have dr. crusher back but i keep on thinking about dr. pulaski and. man the thing about her is that in a show where she'd had more time and more episodes focused on her i think she could have turned into a character i'd like. in a show where she had like, an arc she could have been so cool. there was potential there! the problem is that the writers decided to make her literally the only "good guy" character in the entire show to be a dick to data and not really apologize for it (literally this is otherwise the single most reliable flag for a character being a villain; do they treat data like a person), have that be her only notable character trait that wasn't shared with dr. crusher for her first two episodes, and then immediately forgot to do anything interesting with her ever again. and it's killing me because if they'd just like... given her a Single Story that i don't think dr. crusher could have done, or explored at all the reasons why she was a technophobe, or even had an episode where she Learns Something and Grows, she could have been good. alas it was tng season two and the only characters they knew how to write so far were data and picard, let ALONE any of the women,

[phantasmawhoreia]

my unpopular star trek tng opinion is that I really genuinely like Dr. Pulaski and wish we got to have her on the show more than one season, love her entire attitude, someone needs to keep these idiots from hurting themselves

[cuterefaction]

#Trektober Day 18, "Medbay". Dr Pulaski is horrid and I love her so much.