STAR TREK: TNG - COMMANDER BEVERLY CRUSHER
While not what you would call a Trekkie, I have been a big Star Trek fan since I was a little boy. I have watched the series and franchise grow into one huge monstrosity over the last 30 years and with the current direction the films are taking, I think it will last a lot longer. This is a series dedicated to the lovable space pioneers and the movies for which they starred. A lot of these caches are on a fairly busy road. I tried to place them where parking was good. Please watch children along this stretch and use good judgement. I hope you enjoy my latest entries.
Commander Beverly Crusher, M.D. (born Beverly Cheryl Howard), played by actress Gates McFadden, is a fictional character on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and its subsequent spin-off films. She was a regular character in the show for all but the second of its seven seasons.
She was the chief medical officer of both the Enterprise-D and Enterprise-E.
Gates McFadden was reluctant to accept the role of Dr. Crusher because of her commitment to appear in the play The Matchmaker at the La Jolla Playhouse. During the second season, the Crusher character was written out of the show and replaced by the louder, more outgoing Dr. Katherine Pulaski (Diana Muldaur). Patrick Stewart was upset by McFadden's departure from the show and played a large part in bringing about her return. McFadden returned to the show in the third season, with her character being reassigned to the Enterprise. On the show, the explanation was given that her character "was off heading up Starfleet Medical for the year." Upon her return, the character became more varied and more richly developed, and was not afraid to go head-to-head with Picard. Episodes featuring Beverly Crusher focused on her romantic life, often with unexpected alien lifeforms.
Beverly Crusher was born Beverly Howard on October 13, 2324 in Copernicus City, Luna. Further back, before the colonization of Luna, her ancestors were Scottish-Americans. Following the death of her parents when she was very young, she lived with her grandmother, Felisa Howard on Arvada III, a colony planet until a great moon collision caused the planet to flood, forcing its evacuation. Resourceful Felisa, with her granddaughter's aid, used herbs, grasses, tree chemicals, and roots as medicines when synthetic medicines ran out for the injured.
During her youth, Beverly was known as quiet, shy, and socially awkward. She was also very self-conscious about her bright red hair and at the age of thirteen, attempted to dye it dark with disastrous results. She admits to Data later in the episode Offspring, that she was often ridiculed and unpopular in school and it had been very painful for her. She also admits that it brought back painful memories of those years when she saw her son Wesley going through the same ridicule as a child.
It was her grandmother's career as a healer and Beverly's own caring, high intelligence, and sensitivity that largely sparked Beverly's lifelong interest in medicine and healing the sick and wounded. The Arvada III disaster solidified Beverly's decision to be a doctor.
After Arvada III was evacuated, Beverly and Felisa then settled on Caldos II where Beverly finished growing up and entered Starfleet Academy.