McFadden says Crusher was held from command to preserve Voyager’s female captain

Collider reports Gates McFadden said Beverly Crusher was intentionally kept off the permanent captain's chair on Star Trek: The Next Generation because producers were saving a female captain for the then-planned Star Trek: Voyager. McFadden, who played Doctor Beverly Crusher for six seasons, said her duties often kept her in the ship's medical bay and off the bridge.

She recalled being part of the original cast but clashing with head writer and showrunner Maurice Hurley, which led to her contract not being renewed after the first season and her temporary replacement by Diana Muldaur's Doctor Katherine Pulaski; when Pulaski did not connect with audiences McFadden returned for the final five seasons and four theatrical films.

McFadden told audiences, "They knew they were going to have a female captain fairly early on. They knew they were going to do Voyager. So, while I was put sometimes in the captain's chair, since I had the same rank as [Will Riker], they were careful about how much they wanted to do that, because they were saving that for when Voyager happened." Star Trek: Voyager launched in 1995 with Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway after Geneviève Bujold, initially cast in the role, dropped out early in production; Mulgrew ultimately led Voyager for seven seasons.

Key Topics

Culture, Gates Mcfadden, Beverly Crusher, Star Trek Voyager, Kathryn Janeway, Kate Mulgrew