Posted in: Paramount+, Star Trek, streaming, TV | Tagged: Dr. Beverly Crusher, Gates McFadden, paramount, star trek, Star Trek Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: Picard Star Gates McFadden on "Kicking Ass" in Season 3

Gates McFadden on Dr. Beverly Crusher getting more physical during Paramount+'s Star Trek: Picard Season 3 as compared to her TNG days.

It seems like in the third and final season of Star Trek: Picard, Gates McFadden's Dr. Beverly Crusher loves to chew bubblegum and kicks ass…and she's all out of bubblegum. At the Television Critics Association, the actress was among the cast and crew to talk about how physical the chief medical officer of the Enterprise gets. "I love kicking ass, first of all," she told The Wrap. "It was really a lot of fun. I had a fantastic time working on this show."

McFadden's co-star Patrick Stewart chimed in. "I wish," he interjected. "Watching this, more of those elements in Crusher could've been touched on earlier because they're absolutely wonderful." The actress responded that she tried. There haven't been many opportunities for McFadden during her run on The Next Generation to get into fights, but Crusher's made the most of them. The most prominent was 1998's Star Trek: Insurrection, which found the Enterprise-E's crew defending the Ba'ku planetside.

"I always wanted to do more action," McFadden said. "As a choreographer, I've done dance and combat; I really did want to not have a makeup kit on me while on the away team. I wanted to actually have some things I could use to be helpful." That changed during her run on TNG. "I felt like with the switch between second and third season; I felt I came back, and it was a much more matronly character, and I felt it took several years to return to what I was told the character is by ['Star Trek' creator Gene Roddenbery]. For me, it was that kind of a journey."

The actress left during season two and was replaced by Diana Muldaur's Dr. Katherine Pulaski after creative differences with the showrunner. When McFadden came back for Picard, executive producer Terry Matalas won her over. "I really loved Terry's ideas, and he had these ideas for where Crusher would be now," she said. "I love that they had me at the beginning doing something active… I think there was a much bigger range to Crusher in this season." Star Trek: Picard season three premieres on February 16 on Paramount+.

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