Editing Katherine Pulaski (section)

==Concept and development==
Towards the end of the first season of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', staff members convinced [[Gene Roddenberry]] to drop [[Gates McFadden]] as Dr. [[Beverly Crusher]] from the show. Executive producer [[Rick Berman]] opposed this decision.<ref name=nemecek64/> To allow for McFadden's return in the future, Roddenberry wrote Crusher's character out rather than killing her.<ref name=reeves76>[[#Reeves-Stevens1998|Reeves-Stevens (1998)]]: p. 76</ref> McFadden's departure led to an opening for a new cast member.<ref name=gross171>[[#grossaltman1993|Gross; Altman (1993)]]: p. 171</ref>  The producers contacted actress Diana Muldaur, unaware of her past involvement with  Roddenberry's ''[[Star Trek]]'' and ''[[Planet Earth (TV pilot)|Planet Earth]]'' pilot.<ref name=starlog141>{{cite journal|last1=Warren|first1=Bill|title=Diana Muldaur, Ship's Doctor|journal=Starlog|date=April 1989|issue=141|pages=30–33|url=https://archive.org/details/starlog_magazine-141|access-date=September 7, 2014}}</ref>  In [[Star Trek: The Original Series|the original ''Star Trek'' series]], Muldaur played the role of a doctor in two episodes: as Dr. Ann Mulhall in "[[Return to Tomorrow]]", and as Dr. Miranda Jones in "[[Is There in Truth No Beauty?]]"<ref name=torchild/> Muldaur also worked on the pilot for ''Planet Earth'' after getting to know Roddenberry and his wife, [[Majel Barrett]], through their annual ''Star Trek'' Christmas parties.<ref name=stinterview2>{{cite web|title=Catching Up With Diana Muldaur, Part 2|url=http://www.startrek.com/article/catching-up-with-diana-muldaur-part-2|publisher=Star Trek.com|date=January 12, 2013|access-date=July 14, 2014}}</ref>

Muldaur was not required to audition for the role of Pulaski.<ref name="stinterview1">{{cite web|date=January 11, 2013|title=Catching Up With Diana Muldaur, Part 1|url=http://www.startrek.com/article/catching-up-with-diana-muldaur-part-1|access-date=July 14, 2014|publisher=Star Trek.com}}</ref>  Instead, she was given 15 [[VHS]] cassettes of the first season. She found it "very exciting", noting it "got better and better and better" as she watched it.<ref name=starlog141/> [[Christina Pickles]] was also considered for the part of Pulaski, a decision Berman described as "very tough".<ref name=nemecek64>[[#Nemecek2003|Nemecek (2003)]]: p. 64</ref> Muldaur finally agreed to play the role, but asked Roddenberry to change the name of the character to Kate, which became Katherine.<ref name=stinterview2/>  The character of Katherine Pulaski was not modeled on Doctor [[Leonard McCoy]] from the original ''Star Trek'', despite claims to the contrary.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

Pulaski debuted in the [[Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2|second season]] episode "[[The Child (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|The Child]]", along with [[Whoopi Goldberg]] making her first appearance as [[Guinan (Star Trek)|Guinan]] in the same episode. Even though Muldaur was a regular character on ''The Next Generation'', she was listed in the opening credits as a "Special Guest Star".<ref name=torchild>{{cite web|last1=Decandido|first1=Keith|title=Star Trek: The Next Generation Rewatch: "The Child"|url=http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/08/star-trek-the-next-generation-rewatch-qthe-childq|publisher=[[Tor Books|Tor.com]]|date=August 11, 2011|access-date=July 14, 2014}}</ref> After the second season, Muldaur left the series and joined the cast of ''[[L.A. Law]]''. She used footage of the episode "[[Unnatural Selection (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Unnatural Selection]]" to gain the part.<ref name=stinterview2/> Gates McFadden returned to continue her role as Dr. Crusher for the remainder of the series.<ref name=toroverview>{{cite web|last=DeCandido|first=Keith|title=Star Trek: The Next Generation Rewatch: Second Season Overview|url=http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/10/star-trek-the-next-generation-second-season-overview|publisher=Tor.com|date=October 31, 2011|access-date=July 14, 2013}}</ref>