Weekend Trek “Unnatural Selection”

Dr. Pulaski may not have lasted long on Star Trek the Next Generation, but she did leave an impression on Jimmy and Tom.

It may not be a good one, but she left an impression!  With “Unnatural Selection,” can we see if the good doctor can refrain from picking on Data for one episode and maybe leave a positive impression on these guys.

“Unnatural Selection”

A strange disease increases the aging process, and Dr. Pulaski caught it!

jimmy:  O’Brien gets a name and saves the day.

tomk:  Good for him. He even got a seat at the conference table.

jimmy:  But Pulaski didn’t. Not even via FaceTime.

tomk:  No one wanted to see that face covered in the old age make-up.

jimmy:  Is that a slight against aging or the make-up?

tomk:  The make-up.

jimmy:  Yeah, that could be better.  But it was 30 years ago.

tomk:  And we probably need to care what happens to Pulaski.

jimmy:  How old is Pulaski anyway?  I always think of her as “old”, but she’s probably not.

tomk:  Diana Muldaur is older than Patrick Stewart.

Pulaski is, uh, 300 years old.

jimmy:  Well, she was born in 1938 and the second season of TNG aired in 1988.  Let’s say she’s the same age as her character, which would put her at 50 years old during her TNG run.  That seems about right.

tomk:  That sounds like a better answer. You win a prize!

jimmy:  Is it a star?

tomk:  It’s that or a dinner date with the 35 year old director of that starbase.

jimmy:  

Can they zap her back to 35 with the same transporter trick they use on Pulaski?

tomk:  Supposedly.

jimmy:  Sounds good to me!

tomk:  And she hasn’t been born yet, cradle-robber.

jimmy:  I like my women -300 years old.

tomk:  Negative years old?  How curious.

jimmy:  Back to the show, Pulaski was pretty good to Data in this one, but she did get in at least one “you’re only a machine” dig.

tomk:  She totally misread his concern for her as concern for himself at one point.

jimmy:  She thinks he’s a selfish machine.

tomk:  Well, she hates technology of all stripes from the sounds of things.  Doesn’t like the transporter either.  That probably puts her on O’Brien’s crap list too.

jimmy:  Speaking of, it’s a common Trek motif to use the transporter to cure what ails you. (This was also basically spoiled by the “next week on” promo as well.)

tomk:  I know the animated series did it a bunch of times.  And there were only twenty episodes of that.

And by “a bunch,” I mean like three.

jimmy:  3/20 is like   %.  That’s a lot.

tomk:  I did dig how Picard volunteered to do the really dangerous part of the transporter operation, one that could expose him to the disease…while Data stood off to the side.

jimmy:  Or, you know, does Picard really know how to work the transporter better than O’Brien?

tomk:  You gotta know a lot to be a good captain.

He even knows the air speed velocity of an unburdened swallow.

jimmy:  Just don’t ask him his favorite color.

tomk:  He did have a famous French ancestor involved in things like that.

jimmy:  I can understand it from a “if we lose Pulaski forever I’ll be the one to blame ans take responsibility “. But yeah, O’Brien or Data would likely be better choices. And O’Brien was like 4 feet away, so if Pulaski showed up and was contagious, not operating the transporter wasn’t going to make a difference.

tomk:  Geordi was also standing nearby.

jimmy:  Exactly.

tomk:  That really didn’t make a lot of sense, did it?

jimmy:  I guess the thinking was either it would work or she’d be beamed out into space.

tomk:  Yeah, we can’t have Data making sure that doesn’t happen.  His all-consuming fury wouldn’t allow him to make that decision correctly.

jimmy:  “Just a machine am I??”  evil laugh

tomk:  She’d materialize with her head coming out of her armpit or something.

jimmy:  Or a leg for an arm and an arm for a leg.

tomk:  Or her head coming out of her…um…this is a family-friendly chat.

jimmy:  I know this isn’t an ordinary circumstance, but you’d think a transporter trace would be a standard piece of a HR file.

tomk:  You would think that.  But apparently not.

jimmy:  Maybe it will be going forward.

tomk:  Stop crapping on O’Brien’s hopes and dreams!

jimmy:  Well, there not being a trace made O’Brien look good.  Not quite in the Scotty “I need more time Captain” and getting it done with time to spare realm, but good nonetheless.

tomk:  It’s why he gets to sit at the conference table this time. Wesley couldn’t do that.

jimmy:  O’Brien is special.

tomk:  So special, we’d rather talk about a guy with no first name more than Dr. Katherine Pulaski.

And the guy in the bathing suit she called “perfect”.

jimmy:  I’m guessing these genetically engineered perfect kids are never mentioned again. (And didn’t play much of a role here besides being the catalyst for the disease.  The one we did see didn’t even have any lines.)

tomk:  He talked in Pulaski’s head.

jimmy:  Yes, but from an acting standpoint, didn’t give him much to do.

tomk:  You mean sitting there nearly naked and looking earnest isn’t acting?

jimmy:  It’s “acting”, but probably doesn’t pay very well.

tomk:  Oh, I know about that part.

jimmy:  From all your non-speaking roles on Battlestar Galactica?

tomk:  It wasn’t for my time as manager of the Minnesota Twins.

jimmy:  That paid handsomely.

tomk:  But then I blew it all on copies of issue #2 of Fallen.

jimmy:  We’re getting silly. So let’s bring it back round to Pulaski.

How long has she been on the ship?  There must be a not insignificant amount of time that has passed since the first episode of season 2. And Picard has to ask Troi about Pulaski because he hasn’t taken the time to get to know his new chief medical officer?  Made even funnier by the fact that he was just sitting in his ready room reading a book, instead of, I dunno, having a conversation with the doctor?

tomk:  Well, Pulaski’s previous commanding officer said she wasn’t exactly the friendliest person around.

jimmy:  Surprising.

tomk:  This episode demonstrated her doing the most McCoy-ish stuff.  The innate distrust in the transporter.  The dislike for the not-so-human member of the crew.  The general crustiness.

jimmy:  I can understand them wanting to repeat the success of a character like McCoy, but that rarely works directly.  Like Data is obviously the Spock character but is unique enough to stand on his own.

tomk:  And yet, Pulaski isn’t as distinctive a character,  I blame BAD WRITING.  Or something.  Maybe it was just Ryan’s fault.

jimmy:  As you’ve said, the writers strike didn’t do them any favors.  And based on what you’ve also said, Mo might have his own agenda to replicate McCoy after ousting McFadden.

tomk:  Why try something new with new characters when you can just copy the old ones?

jimmy:  Exactly. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

tomk:  Except…this does sort of break it.  Crusher wasn’t that sort of doctor, and none of the other characters are that much like the original crew.  I mean, Picard is no Kirk…Riker isn’t quite a Kirk, but he’s almost close.

jimmy:  Yes, I agree. But it seems like Pulaski is a step backwards. My diagnosis…bad babysitting!  Or writing. Bad writing.

tomk:  Jimmy seems to be onto something.  Judges?

jimmy:  

tomk:  So, as Pulaski goes all moony over some genetically perfect dude in a bathing suit, she makes herself sick with a rapid aging illness..  And she doesn’t snipe at Data as much as she had been, but she deserved it for being dumb.

jimmy:  Well, she knew the risks and admitted as much.  And since all she did was stand next to him with a medical tricorder…couldn’t Data have done that?  He even used it later to examine Pulaski, so he not surprisingly knows how to use it.

Or even some other form of protection, like a hazmat suit. Anything.

tomk:  Maybe she wanted to get a closer look to the guy in the plastic wrap.

jimmy:  It just seemed like she could have taken other precautions.

tomk:  Or, you know, any precautions.

jimmy:  Heh.

tomk:  Well, I sure am glad these genetically perfect kids are out there.  I am sure we’ll be seeing them again and again…

jimmy:  Maybe in the next episode!

tomk:  Maybe.  Are you saying you want to move on?

jimmy:  It was an attempted segue…unless you have more to add?

tomk:  Well, I’m not sure that I do.

jimmy:  Segue successful!

tomk:  So…how about some Klingons?

jimmy:  Klingons good.

tomk:  Well, then, let’s see some Klingons.

Next:  “A Matter of Honor”