Gates McFadden had a tumultuous relationship with Star Trek: The Next Generation showrunners during her initial years as Dr. Beverly Crusher. It eventually led to her firing from the show after Season 1. She was brought back in Season 3 and her working conditions improved, but the show still failed to address one important aspect of her character.
In the series, Beverly Crusher was the mother to Wil Wheaton’s Wesley Crusher, but McFadden felt that her single parenthood was not properly explored in the series. She complained that Wesley always went to male characters for advice despite having a mother, who was a fully certified bridge officer.
Gates McFadden Felt Star Trek: The Next Generation Undermined Her Role As A Single Mother
During an interview with Jake’s Takes channel, Gates McFadden opened up about the several issues she had to face in Star Trek: The Next Generation. McFadden was critical of the showrunner Gene Roddenberry‘s take on the female characters in his show. She revealed that she “struggled with some of the roles that women were in.”
McFadden’s biggest issue was that Dr. Beverly Crusher was sidelined when it came to her role as a mother. Beverly Crusher had a son with her late husband Jack Crusher before the pilot of The Next Generation. In the series, her son Wesley, played by Wil Wheaton, often went to the male characters for advice. However, he had fewer interactions with his mother.
McFadden shared that Roddenberry could never understand the relationship between a mother and son. She shared, “That was part of where I had problems because Gene didn’t have that particular experience that I had being a mother.” She further added that she had philosophical discussions with her son and she was not a mom who ordered her son around. She shared with Jake’s Takes:
Any time Wesley Crusher needed some advice it was always from one of the male characters.[…] I thought, what about these single parents, be [they] male or female? As a mother, I have had huge philosophical discussions with my son about all kinds of things. It’s not just, ‘Honey, do what I’m saying and here’s your lunchbox.’
It was not just Roddenberry’s ideals that irked McFadden, but she also had issues with the head writer and showrunner Maurice Hurley during the first season. Hurley was responsible for firing McFadden at the end of the first season. She told Michael Rosenbaum on his podcast Inside of You that she “definitely pissed off Hurley”.
Executive producer Rick Berman was supportive of McFadden and rehired her once Hurley left the show after the second season (TrekMovie.com).
Gates McFadden Also Had Issues With Her Romantic Arc With Jean-Luc Picard
Gates McFadden was disappointed with her character’s treatment in The Next Generation. In particular, she did not like how her romantic arc with Patrick Stewart‘s Jean-Luc Picard went unexplored. She shared that the characters had so much history that fans didn’t get to see because Hollywood wanted a new female interest for the main character every now and then. She shared with Variety:
So much of the history of the character — you didn’t even see it. Jean-Luc Picard could have this brand new love interest every time, and it was as if he and Crusher had nothing between them, or ever did. That was a huge part of the character that was just put away.
While she was happy to reprise her character in Star Trek: Picard, she was also skeptical about the storyline in the third season. In the season, it is revealed that Beverly Crusher and Picard had a son together whom she did not tell the latter about. McFadden shared that it was out of character for Crusher, who was a “very ethical humanist” and “cared about doing the right thing.”
However, the episode Attached of The Next Generation convinced her of Beverly’s intentions. In the episode, they were connected with each other’s deepest thoughts. While Beverly wanted a family, Picard’s deepest instincts showed that he did not want one.
Star Trek: The Next Generation is now available for streaming on Paramount+.
