Patrick Stewart's Hilarious Kindness towards Dr Crusher's Star Trek: TNG Successor

Summary

Patrick Stewart recalls a funny incident in his memoir where he helped Diana Muldaur deliver a complex speech by taping her dialogue on his forehead.

Dr. Pulaski, portrayed by Muldaur, failed to establish a strong connection with both the cast and the audience, ultimately resulting in her departure from Star Trek: The Next Generation after a single season. However, the return of Dr. Crusher, played by Gates McFadden, in season 3 proved to be significant as she went on to become a pivotal character throughout the remainder of TNG, as well as in subsequent Star Trek endeavors such as the films and the upcoming season 3 of Star Trek: Picard.

In his memoir, "Making It So: A Memoir," Sir Patrick Stewart shares a comical anecdote about his assistance to Diana Muldaur in portraying Dr. Pulaski on the set of Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2.

Diana Muldaur joined the Enterprise as the new chief medical officer, Dr. Katherine Pulaski. Although she is a talented actress who had appeared twice in the Original Series, our working relationship lacked rapport and she seemed somewhat distant from the rest of the cast. However, we shared a memorable moment when Diana had to quickly learn a complex speech for a scene with Picard. Since we didn't have teleprompters on The Next Generation, I offered to tape a printout of her dialogue on my forehead. Diana performed the scene flawlessly and was grateful for my assistance as her improvised teleprompter.