SFDebris: Where Silence Has Lease

[Tyyr]

Eh, this episode was never that big with me. It's well done but it never really captured my interest. I'd probably rate it a 6 or 7, eh I'll go with 6 for making Worf look like a neanderthal.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Boy... glad this episode reminded me why I hate Pulaski.

[Graham Kennedy]

They seemed to be going for a Spock/Bones dynamic with her and Data, but it just didn't work. McCoy's stuff came across as a guy who respected Spock's capabilities, but ribbed him about his lack of emotion. Even though Spock was massively popular we didn't hate Bones for that because he was in line with the audience - people like Spock, but we also wish he would break through that stoicism and be happy, so we're with Bones.

Pulaski didn't respect Data at all, and was open about it. This ep is a great example, where she questions Data's ability to even change the zoom setting on the screen with "It does know how to do these things?" Just imagine a bridge scene where Spock reports something on the scanners and Bones said "Does he even know how to use these systems?" It's a jarring image, because Bones knew perfectly well that Spock was superb at things like that and never questioned him on it.

Pulaski thought of Data and talked to him like one does a pocket calculator. Since Data was also massively popular, Pulaski just came across as a hateful bitch.

[Mikey]

That dynamic failed because - even if we discount the mitigation of Kirk's "superego" presence - the original one was a manifestation of Roddenberry's take on the dichotomy of the human condition. Pulaski's attitude toward Data wasn't a representation of any part of everyman, just of a part of a few people whom the rest of us despise.

[kostmayer]

The main difference in the Data/Pulalski and Spock/McCoy relationships for me is that Spock knew how to fight back, and often did.

[Tyyr]

For me that's hitting it closest. There was a give and take in Spock/McCoy. In TNG it's just Pulaski using Data as a punching bag.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Yea. Spock and Bones respected each other and showed it. They sniped at each other, but it was all in good fun.

[Griffin]

And, isn't it true that, Bones was right, spock did have emotion and such. Pulaski was quite clearly wrong most of the time.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

And, isn't it true that, Bones was right, spock did have eomtion and such. Pulaski was quite clearly wrong most of the time.

Oh, yeah. All Vulcans have emotions. They just suppress it.