For all their silliness and over-the-top strangeness, I love Dr. Crusher’s scenes when she first enters the holodeck in the TNG episode “The Big Goodbye” (which, of course, is the episode from which I pulled the images for my very first Doctober posting).

http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/ZqhbHLQl0Ss?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6

I say silly and strange because, right out of the gates (haha), would you enter the holodeck if those doors were wigging out like that? I’m going to have to say no, Bob. I most definitely would not. Of course, I also would hightail it in the opposite direction if I was alone in a dark house and I heard a strange noise coming from the attic or basement. I’d apparently make both a terrible sci-fi and horror movie character.

I also highly doubt that Dr. Crusher wouldn’t know basic things like how to “powder her nose,” regardless of the “ancient” trinket she’s found in that ginormous purse of hers. What? Do the women of the future just stick their faces into a replicator in the mornings and have their makeup applied that way? And would gum really no longer exist in the future? For some reason, this has always made me feel a bit sad. Everyone should know the joy of chewing gum now and again. And bubble blowing, too! I always wanted to see Data try to blow a bubble with a fat piece of Bubblelicious.

Also, listen to Data speak to Dr. Crusher when she enters the police station. “What’s cookin’? He’s on ice. He’s bein’ grilled.” Those lines would have worked had Data actually been able to use contractions but had made the conscious choice not to use them (which was Roddenberry’s original intent for the character). However, Data was supposedly unable to use contractions. It simply wasn’t within the parameters of his programming. So, regardless of the fact that he’s “in character” at this time, he still shouldn’t be able to contract words.

But now I’m nit-geeking.

Never mind all this though. These are some great scenes that once again showcase how lovely, funny, and physical Gates McFadden was in this role. Her quick teeter down the stairs in the police station always makes me laugh at how simple and small the moment is, but how delightfully executed it is as well. I stand by my conviction that she was perfectly wonderful as Dr. Crusher and that she could have made this character one of the standouts of the series if only more writers had given her opportunities like the ones given to her in this episode.