airyairyquitecontrary:readysteadytrek:Data’s emotions being defended by Doctor Pulaski is very impor
airyairyquitecontrary:readysteadytrek:Data’s emotions being defended by Doctor Pulaski is very important. The fact that Pulaski CALLS Data’s concern about Sarjenka an emotion is super important.A lot of people only seem to remember the START of Data and Pulaski’s relationship, and regard her as a bully who picked on him. She said some crummy things back then, like referring to him as “it” when he identifies as a “he,” and she often underestimated him.BUT SHE LEARNED. Doctor Pulaski is neither stupid nor mean. When she was reminded to call Data “he” and pronounce his name “Dayta” she DID, consistently from then on, and she didn’t make a big deal about it. She got to know him and realised how intelligent, capable and kind he is. It would have been nice if she had directly said “I was wrong about you, Data,” but her treatment of him is evidence that she realised she’d been wrong and needed to do better. In this scene, she shows clearly that she believes he’s capable of something even Data doesn’t believe he can do: feel emotions. This comes from a woman who, earlier in the season, had denied that Data had the imagination and insight to solve an original mystery. (I do wish that “Elementary, Dear Data” had found time for a scene that settled whether Pulaski believed Geordi had won their bet on Data’s ability. I also wish that we could have seen Data and Pulaski becoming better friends through their shared enjoyment of detective fiction - from the way she talks about Holmes’ psychological insight it sounds like she’s something of a fan.)Doctor Pulaski wasn’t the best written character; there was too much reliance on repeating bits of Bones through her, and of course I’m glad we got Beverly Crusher back because I like her very much.But if you compare the evolution in Pulaski’s treatment of Data over one season with McCoy’s treatment of Spock over three, she was way less stubborn and way more open-minded and accepting of Data’s differences. I don’t doubt that McCoy really loved Spock, but he was a real crabapple to him, and the culture of Starfleet at the time permitted him to keep cracking jokes at Spock and his culture’s expense, even though lip service was paid to anti-racism (Kirk’s instruction to whoever that jerk was in “Balance of Terror” to keep his bigotry off the bridge). It’s a reflection of the times in which the two series were written, of course. There’s also the fact that Spock was a very confident person who always had a comeback, while Data is more cute and vulnerable, so that criticising him seems meaner.Katherine Pulaski was an interesting person and I wish we could have had her and Beverly Crusher. And more Dr Selar while we’re at it! -- source link