Editing Tasha Yar (section)

==Reception and commentary==
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 |quote = The loss of Yar is unfortunate. While it's true the character as portrayed didn't live up to the character as envisioned—Yar was the most interesting person in the TNG bible—that's also true of a lot of characters. Denise Crosby has never been the best actor in the universe, but Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, and Marina Sirtis weren't any great shakes in the first season, either, and their characters didn't blow the doors off. They got better with time, and there's every reason to believe the same would've been true for Crosby had she remained.
 |source = Keith DeCandido, July 25, 2011<ref name=decandido/>
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Science fiction writer [[Keith DeCandido]] considered Yar the most interesting role in the "''TNG'' writer's bible" used during the creation of the first season's scripts, despite missteps in fulfilling this potential.<ref name="decandido">{{cite web |last=DeCandido |first=Keith |date=July 25, 2011 |title=''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' Rewatch: "Skin of Evil" |url=https://reactormag.com/star-trek-the-next-generation-rewatch-qskin-of-evilq/ |access-date=October 13, 2012 |magazine=Reactor Magazine |publisher=[[Tor Books]]}}</ref>  Peter W. Lee likewise admired the original "Macha Hernandez" role from the drafts and the elements that stretched into the final version of Yar: a character whose backstory was informed by failures of the Federation, but who rose above them.<ref name="lee199">{{harvp|Lee|2018|pp=199-201}}.</ref>  Lee also felt that these themes were related to then-resonant issues from the [[Reagan era]] of the 1980s.<ref name="lee199" />  In particular, Yar provided a good counterbalance to the rest of the cast: she differed from the characters with utopian yet sheltered backgrounds, most starkly [[Wesley Crusher]].<ref>{{harvp|Lee|2018|pp=201-202}}.</ref>  However, Lee thought skepticism of career-oriented feminism in the 1980s resulted in contradictory depictions of her character.  He thought it was unfortunate that the character never had a chance to develop.<ref>{{harvp|Lee|2018|p=206}}.</ref> 

Critics were initially positive about the potential of her character as the first season debuted.  A ''[[Post-Tribune (Indiana newspaper)|Post-Tribune]]'' review of the series following the pilot described Yar as a "tough cookie" and the reviewer's favorite crew member,<ref>{{cite news|title=New 'Star Trek' Series May Not Get Lost in Space |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1N1-10853B850B4F0684.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316140123/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1N1-10853B850B4F0684.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 16, 2016 |access-date=February 10, 2013 |newspaper=[[Post-Tribune (Indiana newspaper)|Post-Tribune]] |location=Merrillville, IN |date=November 12, 1987}} {{Subscription required}}</ref> while the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called Crosby an especially good case of casting against type.<ref name="lee199" />

Frank Oglesbee, in an article on ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Deep Space Nine]]''{{'s}} [[Kira Nerys]], outlined the progression of female roles in "gender assumptions" from ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|The Original Series]]'' where women were on the bridge, through Tasha Yar in ''The Next Generation'' where they were in command positions, to ''Deep Space Nine'' and ''[[Star Trek: Voyager|Voyager]]'' where women were in lead roles. He noted specifically that women appeared in command positions more regularly as main and supporting characters, and were portrayed as more assertive and combative, with leading roles in action sequences.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Oglesbee |first=Frank W. |title=Kira Nerys: A Good Woman Fighting Well |journal=[[Extrapolation (journal)|Extrapolation]] |date=Fall 2004 |volume=45 |issue=5 |url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-128111698/kira-nerys-a-good-woman-fighting-well |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411163833/http://www.questia.com/read/1G1-128111698/kira-nerys-a-good-woman-fighting-well |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 11, 2013 |access-date=February 10, 2013 |doi=10.3828/extr.2004.45.3.06 |page=263 }} {{Subscription required}}</ref>  A ''[[Den of Geek]]'' article by Martin Anderson about women in ''Star Trek'' described the character as a predecessor to [[Kara Thrace|Kara "Starbuck" Thrace]] in the 2004 ''[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'' series.<ref>{{cite news |last=Anderson|first=Martin |title=Women in Star Trek |url=http://www.denofgeek.com/other/star-trek/11122/women-in-star-trek |access-date=February 9, 2013 |newspaper=Den of Geek |publisher=[[Dennis Publishing]] |date=March 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620092543/http://www.denofgeek.com/other/star-trek/11122/women-in-star-trek |archive-date=2018-06-20}}</ref>

Fans and media critics have speculated about the character's sexuality.  The series is largely silent about her sexuality, providing a space for interpretation that some fans have used to suggest she might be lesbian or bisexual.<ref name="roberts109" />  [[Henry Jenkins]] wrote that "For these fans, the text's silences about character's sexuality or motives can be filled with homosexual desire, since, after all, in our society, such desire must often go unspoken."<ref name="roberts109">{{harvp|Roberts|1999|p=109}}.</ref><ref>[[#tullochjenkins1995|Jenkins (1995)]], p. 259.</ref>  Jenkins described Yar as "an obvious bisexual".<ref name="watching">[[#tullochjenkins1995|Jenkins (1995)]]: p. 260</ref> [[Curve (magazine)|''Curve'']] magazine speculated that Yar was a "closeted" lesbian.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sherwin |first=Jenny |title=Top 51 closeted TV lesbians |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-206357193.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052943/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-206357193.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |accessdate=February 9, 2013 |newspaper=[[Curve (magazine)|Curve]] |date=June 1, 2009}} {{Subscription required}}</ref>  The main exception to the usual silence on Yar's sexuality is the episode "The Naked Now", where Yar pairs off with Data while both are under the influence of a mysterious uninhibiting malady.<ref name="roberts94" />  Jenkins disliked the implications of the episode, and wrote that "when they [the writers] decided to straighten her, they used an android. So we ended up heterosexualizing two perfectly wonderful characters".<ref name="watching" /> The authors of the book ''Deep Space and Sacred Time: Star Trek in the American Mythos'' thought that having Data and Yar consummate sexually was a means to state early on in the series the heterosexuality of the two most [[androgynous]] characters in the show.<ref>{{harvp|Wagner|Lundeen|1998|p=112}}.</ref>  Regardless of sexuality, Yar is portrayed as on the masculine tomboyish side, with short cropped hair and a lack of makeup leading to a "somewhat [[Butch and femme|butch]]" appearance.<ref name="roberts109" />  Yar seeking out Troi's seductive and flimsy dresses in "The Naked Now" is correctly taken by Troi as a sign that Yar is ill.<ref name="roberts94">{{harvp|Roberts|1999|pp=94-97}}.</ref>

Fans responded negatively to the death of Yar as they felt that the character had potential for future expansion.<ref>{{harvp|Jenkins|1992|p=103}}.</ref> Many reviewers were critical of the manner of her death. Keith DeCandido called it "pointless", but also thought that it was no worse than the deaths of other security officer "[[Redshirt (character)|redshirts]]" throughout the history of ''Star Trek''.<ref name=decandido/> He said that he preferred her death in "Skin of Evil" to the "clichéd-up-the-wazoo" death she experienced in "Yesterday's Enterprise".<ref name=decandido/> Gary Westfahl, in his book ''Space and Beyond: The Frontier Theme in Science Fiction'', described Yar's death as one of the most notable ones in ''Star Trek'', alongside that of [[Spock]] in ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]'' and [[James T. Kirk]] in ''[[Star Trek Generations]]''.<ref>[[#westfahl2000|Westfahl (2000)]]: p. 61.</ref> [[SFX (magazine)|''SFX'']] magazine included her first death in a 2012 list of "Naff Sci-Fi Deaths", writing that while the intended idea that "mundane" deaths happen was fair, the overall effect was still "a bit crap".<ref>{{cite news |last=Golder |first=Dave |title=21 Naff Sci-Fi Deaths |url=http://www.sfx.co.uk/2012/06/12/21-naff-sci-fi-deaths/ |access-date=October 17, 2012 |newspaper=[[SFX (magazine)|SFX]] |date=June 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616075140/http://www.sfx.co.uk/2012/06/12/21-naff-sci-fi-deaths/ |archive-date=2012-06-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  And while some critics thought her fate in that episode was cliche (such as DeCandido),<ref name=decandido /> many others liked "Yesterday's Enterprise" and considered it a classic episode, and praised it giving a chance for Yar to die heroically rather than meaninglessly.<ref>{{cite news |title=10 Episodes Fans List |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4229646.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307214037/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4229646.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 7, 2016 |access-date=February 10, 2013 |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=May 19, 1994}} {{Subscription required}}</ref>