Doctor Pulaski has her big moment. I’m not sure if this was always intended as the big ‘Doctor and Captain become friends’ moment, or if it was a mid-course correction from the writers when they saw how things were developing. Regardless, it doesn’t quite work.
Why not? Captain Picard never really has a breakthrough in understanding her, and he just shows the kind of concern he’d show for any member of his crew. And she still just seems mean and cranky, with too much regard for her own abilities. Oh, and a creepy fascination with eugenics.
It seems morally inconsistent to me that the Federation is cool with the kind of genetic modification being done here, but on the other hand has a Prime Directive.
Almost great moment: Dr Pulaski *almost* says “what is the nature of the medical emergency”. OK, that one won’t make sense until Voyager comes along, but still. There’s also the first TNG appearance of 3D Chess.
139 down, 598 to go.