Gates McFadden was the worst actor/actress on TNG

Posted by PileofTerdFarts@reddit | TNG | View on Reddit | 23 comments

I mean, aside from some of the temporary bridge ensigns of course. Am I alone? Or are there others who didn't mind her absence in season 2 ?? Any episodes that deal specifically with Dr. Crusher end up being the worst episodes, and frankly, I don't understand the Dr. Crusher / Cpt. Picard flirtation story either.
Picard has GAME! He has that "Captain of a Starship" swagger. Vash, the blonde in Paris, Piano in the Jeffries tube chick..... he can charm attractive women, so why is he messing with this gaunt bird-lady single-mom with the most irritating doofy kid on the ship?

Pat Stewart and Brent Spiner deliver a master-class in Sci-Fi acting every episode. Jon Frakes brings the legacy masculine swagger of James T. Kirk, even Levar, Marina and Michael Dorn have solid character-actor skills that make them dynamic and interesting.... and of course we cannot forget Colm Meaney or Whoopi Goldberg as excellent side-characters... but I just CANNOT believe Dr. Crusher's character. She instantly triggers my disbelief, (suspension ruined). Her "womens intuition" is always wrong seemingly ("The Talerians must beat Jono!" "No, Worf WANTS to live as a paraplegic!") so how is she this great doctor? While I understand Diana Muldaur gets a lot of hate, I honestly find Dr. Pulaski INFINITELY more believable as a "doctor". ( Except for... well I mean... we can all agree "Shades of Grey" was a total shit show)

Am I alone here? Or does the crappy acting and piss poor delivery of Gates McFadden ruin TNG for anyone else? "Wait! If there's nothing wrong with me... THERE MUST BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE UNIVERSE!" (*barf*) If I could go back in time, I would recast Dr. Crusher and Wesley Crusher in a HEARTBEAT.

Just imagine a universe where Bev and Wes were played by Kirstie Alley and Michael J. Fox! LOL... ok, Im kidding there. But the rest was dead serious.

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KathyFromUK@reddit

Just came across this post after searching for “Gates McFadden bad actor”. I completely agree. I always thought this in TNG but ignored it. I’m just watching Picard S3 and she is honestly bringing the quality way down with her performances. I don’t buy this excuse that it’s the writing/dialogue she is given. She’s having a scene with her son and yes the dialogue is exposition heavy to move the plot along but she is woeful. No little touches on the arm to comfort him, no maternal side eye, no rueful smile - it’s like she’s asking a call centre their policy on refunds. I’m sorry stage trained or whatever if she can’t sell the relationship with the person that she’s opposite then she is a bad actor period. Sorry . Rant over.

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IntelligentOffice160@reddit

I hate her so much. I can't describe it. Her character is the worst.

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PileofTerdFarts@reddit (OP)

Did we just become best friends???

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AndarianDequer@reddit

I'd argue she's one of the better actors in the show.

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IntelligentOffice160@reddit

How the hell? Could you possibly make this argument

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sludgepaddle@reddit

Pulaski all the way. I don't think Mc Fadden is a bad actress, I just prefer Pulaski's character.

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PileofTerdFarts@reddit (OP)

I agree wholeheartedly

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Kiki1701@reddit

I didn't like her at first, but I gradually warmed to her. That didn't stop me from laughing my ass off in Q Who with Olivia D'Abo when Q turned her into a barking dog. I couldn't help it. Beverly could be such a harpy sometimes. Yeah, I was much more enamoured of Diana Muldaur, but that was also because I go all the way back to the original series (okay, the original syndication of TOS) She was classier and had better acting chops. But Bev turned out okay.

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BalmyGarlic@reddit

Pulaski starts rough with the hardcore anti-android bigotry but once they toned that done/threw it out, I really liked her. McFadden suffered from being the 2D mom onboard whereas Pulaski felt like she got some more range. Maybe it was the modified TOS leftover scripts rewriting Bones for her, but I feel like she did a lot with what she had.

On another note, Muldaur's age and experience may have helped her with the sexism on set that led to the firing of McFadden for not putting up with it. I do not envy McFadden and Sirtis' time dealing with some of the writers, directors, and producers.

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PileofTerdFarts@reddit (OP)

Well said.

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Kiki1701@reddit

Thank you! That's very nice of you to say.

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PileofTerdFarts@reddit (OP)

Thank you! Yes.

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ChunkBluntly@reddit

Don't confuse bad writing and direction for bad acting. McFadden certainly isn't Meryl Streep, but she's not 'barf' worthy either. What's on the page is on the page.

The writing in that scene could definitely be less on the nose, but soap opera writers aren't exactly celebrated for their subtlety. The delivery is the real bold choice...a choice so bold that it wouldn't have made it to air if it wasn't what the director wanted. Cliff Bole wasn't big on subtlety either.

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PileofTerdFarts@reddit (OP)

Point is well taken, but I still find her acting hokey and far more "1980s sitcom mom" vs. "Medical doctor on 24th century starship". When I consider the "TV doctor" (everything from House MD to Grey's Anatomy to M.A.S.H ) I just don't get that vibe from McFadden. Her acting feels fake and stilted to me.

I respect your point though, im sure that is part of it, well said.

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Brunt-FCA-285@reddit

I’ve always felt she was good when she was actually given something substantial to do. Specific episodes that come to mind are “The Chase,” “Suspicions,” and “I, Borg.” Even in episodes considered sub-par like “Genesis,” I felt like she did a good job. So much of acting depends on writing. Patrick Stewart once said that even the best actor will only be doing a “cellophane job” with bad writing. Crusher and Troi didn’t get the strongest writing until the later seasons.

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PileofTerdFarts@reddit (OP)

See, but I BELIEVE Marina Sirtis, Even though she can be stiff and emotionally sappy at times, her role as an empath counselor, and her subsequent portrayal of a calm clarvoyant officer whose job was managing the emotional states of the crew came across as believable and authentic.
I think TNG has a dynamite cast and as I have been watching entire seasons of TNG on Pluto lately, I find myself drawn more and more towards Season 2 (when the show was finally starting to get legs under itself) and episodes where the action centers around Worf, Riker, Geordi, or Captain Picard himself. As far as strong female roles, the show really was anemic, and got even worse killing off Denise Crosby's Lt. Yar, until we are introduced to more interesting characters between seasons 2 and 5, like Ensign Ro, Vash, or Guinan.
Something about Gates McFadden always comes off as "high school musicial" caliber acting to me. It feels fake and forced. I guess I am part of the minority.

But I mean.... even her biggest fans have to admit that episodes like "Remember Me" or the comically bad "Sub Rosa" are hot stank garbage.

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BahamCrackers@reddit

She's a great actor and she's gorgeous

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cclmd1984@reddit

It’s just you.

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PileofTerdFarts@reddit (OP)

Ok neckbeard.

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