Editing Gates McFadden (section)

===''Star Trek: The Next Generation''===
====Season 1====
In 1987, McFadden was cast as Dr. Beverly Crusher on ''Star Trek: The Next Generation''. The Crusher character was slated to be Captain [[Jean-Luc Picard]]'s love interest; another important aspect of the character was being a widow balancing motherhood and a career. McFadden clashed with [[Maurice Hurley]], head writer and [[showrunner]], about the characterization of Dr. Crusher; she later stated, "I definitely pissed off Hurley. Because I kept saying 'Why is it that I've raised this genius kid...and yet every time there's anything serious it's only the male characters who talk to him?'"<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rosenbaum |first1=Michael |title=How and Why GATES MCFADDEN Was 'Fired' From Her Role in STAR TREK |date=June 19, 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYsemEvV3-Y |publisher=Inside Of You |access-date=25 June 2023}}</ref> She was also highly critical of the episode "[[Angel One]]", labeling it sexist. At Hurley's demand, McFadden's contract was not renewed at the end of the season.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Pascale|first1=Anthony|title=Rick Berman Talks 18 Years of Trek In Extensive Oral History|url=http://trekmovie.com/2009/08/26/rick-berman-talks-18-years-of-trek-in-extensive-oral-history/|website=[[TrekMovie.com]]|publisher=The SciFanatic Network|access-date=February 3, 2015|date=August 26, 2009|quote=Berman on TNG [19:30 – 1:17:15]: Gates McFadden fired at end of first season because head writer Maurice Hurley "he had a real bone to pick" with Gates and didn't like her acting, Berman brought Gates back for third season after Hurley left.}}</ref> In her place, [[Diana Muldaur]] joined the production as the ''Enterprise''{{'}}s new chief medical officer, Dr. [[Katherine Pulaski]], for the second season.

====Seasons 3–7====
[[Image:Gates McFadden 2014.jpg|thumb|upright|left|McFadden in 2014]]
Series creator [[Gene Roddenberry]] admitted that the Dr. Pulaski character did not develop a chemistry with the other characters, so McFadden was approached to return as Dr. Crusher for the third season.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7mGgUGBKhw  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/v7mGgUGBKhw| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=Gates McFadden interview with Joan Rivers |publisher=YouTube |date=December 6, 1990 |access-date=August 30, 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref> She was hesitant, but after a phone call from co-star [[Patrick Stewart]], and numerous fan letters, McFadden was persuaded to return to the role, which she then played through the remainder of the series.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://trekmovie.com/2009/08/26/rick-berman-talks-18-years-of-trek-in-extensive-oral-history/ |title=Rick Berman Talks 18 Years of Trek In Extensive Oral History|publisher=trekmovie.com }}</ref>

Highlights for her character included "[[The High Ground (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|The High Ground]]", where she is kidnapped by terrorists; "[[Remember Me (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Remember Me]]", where she becomes trapped in a warp bubble created by her son, Wesley, plunging her into an alternate reality where everyone begins to vanish; "[[The Host (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|The Host]]", which features a romance between the doctor and an alien composed of two [[symbiosis|symbiotic]] organisms; "[[Suspicions (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Suspicions]]", in which she risks her career to solve the murder of a scientist; "[[Descent (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Descent]]" where Crusher takes command of the ''Enterprise''; "[[Sub Rosa (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Sub Rosa]]", where she becomes the victim of a seductive "ghost"; and "[[Attached]]", where Picard and Crusher become telepathically linked as prisoners and learn their true feelings for one another.

McFadden reprised her role for all four ''TNG'' movies and also provided her voice for PC games ''[[Star Trek: A Final Unity]]'' and ''[[Star Trek Generations (video game)|Star Trek Generations]]''. McFadden directed the seventh season episode "[[Genesis (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Genesis]]" (her only directing credit) in which an infection causes the crew to de-evolve into primitive forms of life, and choreographed the dance routine in the fourth season's "[[Data's Day]]".