While I agree it is a bit much, I think I’m willing to lessen her sentence because Star Trek: TNG is full on hardcore competency porn. Everyone else on the show is an expert in exochemolinguistics, why shouldn’t the chief medical officer of the Federation flagship have six different medical degrees?
A lot of my issue with Pulaski is meta rather than in-universe; I’m not so happy with my understanding of what was going on behind the scenes in seasons 1 and 2, why McFadden and Crosby left among them. And something about trying to play it safer with Bones McCoy 2.0 feels slightly cynical?
The difference is overcoming odds and succeeding as compared to walking into the scene as the Galaxy’s foremost expert.
It’s the difference between Geordi having to learn about warp engines from Leah Brahms and instead Geordi tells the Captain, “I’m the Federation’s top expert on warp engines.”
Oh Data has a problem, “I’m also Federation’s top expert in cybernetics.”
Time travel problem? “Oh I solved that 3 times on my last assignment. Do you want me to fix it?”
Worf’s brother shows up. “I’m childhood friends with Worf’s brother.”
I assume you hated Spock, then. Buddy was literally an expert in everything! McCoy needs help reinstalling Spock’s own brain? Spock is on it! Computer seems to show Kirk killed a guy by accident? Nbd, Spock is a computer expert, he’ll figure it out with chess (did I mention he’s a chess master?). Need to implode the engines to escape from a collapsing planet? Also warp engine specialist! Oh and he can play the piano, that Vulcan guitar thing, and also happens to be deeply knowledgeable in earth history and culture as the needs require (including being able to recognize Brahms handwriting by sight).
Again, being competent isn’t the same as being the Federation’s foremost expert in the field.
When the Enterprise computer was going to get refit, Dr Daystrom came on board. Daystrom didn’t say , “Oh Mr Spock is here! He wrote the book on duotronics that is still standard today!”
(This is what the virus researcher said about Pulaski about virus research.)
You are shown Spock overcoming the odds. With Pulaski, you are told she is the expert. It’s bad writing.
Edit: It’s also Spock is Vulcan with superior intelligence. Bashir could have pulled it off because he was genetically improved. Pulaski was human.
Now I’m certain you’re just making up reasons to be mad.
Spock is repeatedly depicted as being an established expert across a truly improbable range of topics (including, of all things, brain reattachment surgery). Spock is to basically everything else what Kirk is to “talking computers into killing themselves”.
Would the episode have been better if McCoy announced beforehand, "The Mr. Spock! Author of Brain Reattachment Surgery, the standard book for brain surgery! I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be dealing with. "
And yes I hold TNG to higher standards than TOS. TOS’s contemporary TV writing was Gilligan’s Island.
Edit: Also it wasn’t Spock doing the surgery. He was only providing feedback to McCoy on the connections. This is the same as how today, brain surgery sometimes needs to be done with the patient conscious so the doctor knows what he’s touching and can get immediate feedback from the patient if their speech slurs for example.
No, Spock guided him through the back half of the surgery when the effects of the teacher wore off. He literally told him which instruments to use (oh that tri-laser connector!) and how to proceed. Here’s the dialog:
SPOCK: If you will finish reconnecting my speech centre, I might be able to help.
MCCOY: Speech centre.
SPOCK: Yes. That’s correct. One thing at a time. Ah, ah, mmm. (normal voice) That’s better. Now, Doctor. Try the sonic separator.
MCCOY: Sonic separator.
SPOCK: Yes, I believe I already have some sensation of feeling. Please stimulate the nerve endings and observe the physical reactions, one by one. In each case, I shall tell you when the probe is correct. You will then seal using the tri-laser connector.
MCCOY: Tri-laser connector. Ready?
SPOCK: Ready.
Of course, what the text fails to convey is McCoy’s hesitation and confusion, or Spock’s confidence as he instructs him on how to complete the surgery.
I… watch far too much TOS…
Edit:
By the way, there is one bit of headcanon, here, that could explain this specific example, so yes, I’m gonna undermine my own point, but hey, what’s a pedantic conversation about Trek without circling back and contradicting oneself??
So, the one bit of headcanon is: Spock seems to have had access to the knowledge of the people of Sigma Draconis, given that at the end he starts lecturing the group about the history of those people, with knowledge he presumably acquired by being wired up as the Controller. So maybe he also had full access to the knowledge of the teacher, including the knowledge needed to reattach a brain.
While I agree it is a bit much, I think I’m willing to lessen her sentence because Star Trek: TNG is full on hardcore competency porn. Everyone else on the show is an expert in exochemolinguistics, why shouldn’t the chief medical officer of the Federation flagship have six different medical degrees?
A lot of my issue with Pulaski is meta rather than in-universe; I’m not so happy with my understanding of what was going on behind the scenes in seasons 1 and 2, why McFadden and Crosby left among them. And something about trying to play it safer with Bones McCoy 2.0 feels slightly cynical?
The difference is overcoming odds and succeeding as compared to walking into the scene as the Galaxy’s foremost expert.
It’s the difference between Geordi having to learn about warp engines from Leah Brahms and instead Geordi tells the Captain, “I’m the Federation’s top expert on warp engines.”
Oh Data has a problem, “I’m also Federation’s top expert in cybernetics.”
Time travel problem? “Oh I solved that 3 times on my last assignment. Do you want me to fix it?”
Worf’s brother shows up. “I’m childhood friends with Worf’s brother.”
It’s bad writing.
I assume you hated Spock, then. Buddy was literally an expert in everything! McCoy needs help reinstalling Spock’s own brain? Spock is on it! Computer seems to show Kirk killed a guy by accident? Nbd, Spock is a computer expert, he’ll figure it out with chess (did I mention he’s a chess master?). Need to implode the engines to escape from a collapsing planet? Also warp engine specialist! Oh and he can play the piano, that Vulcan guitar thing, and also happens to be deeply knowledgeable in earth history and culture as the needs require (including being able to recognize Brahms handwriting by sight).
Again, being competent isn’t the same as being the Federation’s foremost expert in the field.
When the Enterprise computer was going to get refit, Dr Daystrom came on board. Daystrom didn’t say , “Oh Mr Spock is here! He wrote the book on duotronics that is still standard today!”
(This is what the virus researcher said about Pulaski about virus research.)
You are shown Spock overcoming the odds. With Pulaski, you are told she is the expert. It’s bad writing.
Edit: It’s also Spock is Vulcan with superior intelligence. Bashir could have pulled it off because he was genetically improved. Pulaski was human.
Now I’m certain you’re just making up reasons to be mad.
Spock is repeatedly depicted as being an established expert across a truly improbable range of topics (including, of all things, brain reattachment surgery). Spock is to basically everything else what Kirk is to “talking computers into killing themselves”.
If you can accept that you can accept Pulaski.
Would the episode have been better if McCoy announced beforehand, "The Mr. Spock! Author of Brain Reattachment Surgery, the standard book for brain surgery! I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be dealing with. "
And yes I hold TNG to higher standards than TOS. TOS’s contemporary TV writing was Gilligan’s Island.
Edit: Also it wasn’t Spock doing the surgery. He was only providing feedback to McCoy on the connections. This is the same as how today, brain surgery sometimes needs to be done with the patient conscious so the doctor knows what he’s touching and can get immediate feedback from the patient if their speech slurs for example.
It would’ve certainly made a lot more sense! Which, granted, for that episode is a fairly low bar (as much as I love it for it’s campy absurdity).
You replied too quick! See my edit. Spock didn’t do the surgery. McCoy did and struggled.
No, Spock guided him through the back half of the surgery when the effects of the teacher wore off. He literally told him which instruments to use (oh that tri-laser connector!) and how to proceed. Here’s the dialog:
Of course, what the text fails to convey is McCoy’s hesitation and confusion, or Spock’s confidence as he instructs him on how to complete the surgery.
I… watch far too much TOS…
Edit:
By the way, there is one bit of headcanon, here, that could explain this specific example, so yes, I’m gonna undermine my own point, but hey, what’s a pedantic conversation about Trek without circling back and contradicting oneself??
So, the one bit of headcanon is: Spock seems to have had access to the knowledge of the people of Sigma Draconis, given that at the end he starts lecturing the group about the history of those people, with knowledge he presumably acquired by being wired up as the Controller. So maybe he also had full access to the knowledge of the teacher, including the knowledge needed to reattach a brain.
Have I mentioned I watch far too much TOS?