Monday, January 15, 2001

Doctor, doctor

Mark is telling me about a conversation he had with one of our actors about which Chief Medical Officer of the Enterprise each liked better on Star Trek: The Next Generation: Doctor Crusher or Doctor Pulaski. Mark favors the original, played by Gates McFadden, while Lex appreciates her one-season replacement, portrayed by Diana Muldaur. Mark contends that Lex is wrong, wrong, wrong.

"Well," I say, "let's look at this objectively. Dr. Pulaski was gruff and aloof, enjoyed genetic engineering as a hobby -- which, in one episode led to her accidentally aging 60 years in about three hours -- and, in another television role, had her character killed off by stupidly stepping into an open elevator shaft.

"Dr. Crusher, on the other hand, was a fabulous dancer, got to fool around with Captain Picard and, in one episode, got trapped in subspace such that she perceived she was the only living person in the whole universe.

"Frankly, I don't think there's any question about which one a gay man would favor."