HerstoryBound Healers: Beverly Crusher

I’m celebrating Women’s History Month with new bounds, or everyday cosplays, every week in March. The theme of the first week is Healers.

Beverly Crusher

Doctor Beverly Crusher was my first favorite Star Trek character. I’d seen some of the Original Series in syndication, but I grew up with The Next Generation. By chance my first exposure to TNG was the last fifteen minutes of the first season episode “Datalore”. Beverly is a sensational roaring mama bear in that otherwise not great hour of television. I became a fan for life.

Beverly Crusher was chief medical officer of the starship Enterprise. She held the rank of Commander and was a member of the bridge crew, commanding shifts and capable of removing the captain from command if medically advisable. Crusher was a widowed single mother and brought her teenage son along with her on the Enterprise. She was also skilled in and passionate about dance and drama and started an amateur theatrical group on the ship.

Dr. Crusher is the protagonist of only six episodes of the series and in the films she’s an afterthought at best. More than one person has looked at me askance when I say she’s my favorite of the TNG main cast. They tell me she doesn’t have any depth of personality, that her episodes are forgettable or plain bad, that “She doesn’t do anything.”

If there’s nothing wrong with me, maybe there’s something wrong with the universe.

“Remember Me”

First of all, if that’s your impression of a main character, blame the writers, not the character. Second of all, that’s not my impression. And I don’t have to prove it to anyone. But for arguments sake, here’s a list.

Beverly Crusher:

• is a sensational roaring mama bear (“Datalore”)
• problem solves (“The Naked Now”, “Remember Me”, “Identity Crisis”, “Disaster”, “Cause and Effect”, “Suspicions”, “Descent”)
• knows and respects primitive/alternative medicine (“Arsenal of Freedom”)
• risks her life for the sake of her patients (“The High Ground”, “Suspicions”)
• stands up for her patients regardless of regulation or opposition (“The Enemy”, “The High Ground”, “Ethics”, “I, Borg”, )
• is a mentor (“The High Ground”, “True Q”, “Lower Decks”)
• supports her friends (“Sarek”, “The Loss”, “Thine Own Self”)
• shares her love of the arts (“Data’s Day”, “The Nth Degree”, “Frame of Mind”)
• stands up for the marginalized (“The Perfect Mate”, “Suspicions”)
• goes outside her comfort zone when needed (“Chain of Command”)
• commands (“Descent”, “Thine Own Self”, “All Good Things…”, offscreen in the second season)

In honor of Doctor Beverly Crusher and Gates McFadden, the gutsy and compassionate actress who portrays her, please consider making a donation to ActBlue or the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.

About My Look

I’ve had this top for a few years now and of course I purchased it because it resembles a TNG uniform. I paired it with black jeggings and slipper boots.

In the photo on the right (larger image here), you can see I have pin-badges for Voyager, Discovery, Starfleet visitors, and the Bajoran military, but none for TNG so I decided to leave it off.

I do, however, have tap shoes! I’m out of practice, but these are not a costume and were not purchased secondhand. They are real, fully functional tap shoes and they are mine.