When actor Denise Crosby was first auditioning for “Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology” again in 1986, she was extra within the position of Counselor Deanna Troi — the half-Betazoid psychiatrist on the Enterprise-D — than in chief safety officer Tasha Yar. The story goes that Crosby landed the position of Troi and Marina Sirtis was solid as Tasha Yar. Present creator Gene Roddenberry, nevertheless, swapped their roles on the final minute, and each actors took to their new roles extremely nicely.
Crosby projected a steely toughness as Yar, simply becoming into the brand new present’s ensemble. Yar was even given distinguished roles within the episodes “The Bare Now” and “Code of Honor.” She additionally delivered a infamous antidrug PSA within the episode “Symbiosis” and appeared within the matriarchal planet seen in “Angel One.” There was no motive for Yar to not proceed on the sequence indefinitely. As such, when Yar was killed out of the blue and randomly by the tar monster Armus within the episode “Pores and skin of Evil,” it got here as a shock to Trekkies. One of many present’s fundamental characters was, with none heroism or ceremony, killed off midway by means of a random episode.
Yar’s dying raised the stakes for “Subsequent Technology” — anybody might die at any second — but it surely additionally felt perfunctorily swift. Just like the character wasn’t being revered.
It seems Crosby requested to be written out of the present. She did not essentially need Yar to be killed, however the actor was sad with the best way “Subsequent Technology” was going. She realized after a number of months that she was principally simply assigned to face within the background and help the male characters in entrance of her. Not content material to be what she referred to as the “token sizzling blonde,” Crosby determined to stop. She talked about why she walked away from “Star Trek” in a 2024 interview with IGN, in addition to why she determined to return.
The dying of Tasha Yar
It must be remembered that the primary season of “Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology” was chaotic and tough. Roddenberry vied for full management over the sequence and sometimes butted heads with different producers and writers. There have been tales that Roddenberry’s private lawyer was re-writing scripts behind everybody’s backs. Crosby wasn’t keen on the whirligig manufacturing, however greater than something, hated that Yar wasn’t being given something to do. As a result of she was younger, already wealthy, and had no children or husband, Crosby felt she was in a great spot to stroll away from her contract, even when “Star Trek” was a profitable alternative for her.
She satisfied Roddenberry to let her depart after she aired her grievances. Yar was departing the present. Sadly, throughout all of the season 1 chaos, there was even speak that Sirtis is likely to be fired, and one of many producers actually hated Gates McFadden — who was finally fired on the finish of the season. Crosby felt horrible about including to the chaos, saying:
“And now they’re like, ‘Oh my God, there is not any […] girls. […] So now we have got to maintain Marina and Gates we’ll recast’ […] It type of wreaked havoc. That wasn’t my intention. My intention was to get any person within the room and inform me, ‘What is that this going to be? What is that this character?’ It is such an unbelievable alternative. You’ve a lot right here, however I am not going to simply be the token sizzling blonde on the present.”
Crosby identified that Roddenberry, for all his imaginative and prescient, was nonetheless type of caught within the miniskirted world of the Sixties “Star Trek” and seemingly had no issues with one other mostly-male TV sequence. However, Crosby identified, in 1991, “Gene handed. And it shifted. There was a shift when [showrunner] Michael Piller got here onto the present [in season 3] and issues modified.”
Yar’s a number of returns
In fact, “Pores and skin of Evil” would not be the final time Trekkies noticed Yar. Within the third season of “Subsequent Technology,” Yar was resurrected because of a time journey paradox within the episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” Within the episode, the usS. Enterprise-C flies ahead in time 22 years, fleeing a vital battle with the Romulans. As a result of the Enterprise-C deserted the battle, nevertheless, a struggle broke out, and the timeline shifted. The Enterprise-D out of the blue turns into a warship, and Tasha Yar remains to be alive. It was a intelligent approach to get Yar again on the ship.
Crosby cherished the script for “Yesterday’s Enterprise” and incessantly jokes that Yar needed to die to be able to get a great story. She recalled getting a name from govt producer Rick Berman and being skeptical of his provide to carry Yar again, stating:
“Rick Berman referred to as me at residence. It was a very long time since I talked to him. Out of the blue. And he mentioned, ‘We have now this episode that brings Tasha again.’ […] It was such a shock; by no means noticed that coming. And I mentioned, ‘Okay, ew. That sounds bizarre.’ And he goes, ‘However it’s actually good, the script. Will you learn it?’ I mentioned, ‘Completely. In fact.’ Learn it over the weekend. And I referred to as him Monday. I mentioned, ‘Oh my God, that is so good.’ That is what I wished! It is ironic.”
Crosby was introduced again later when the alternate timeline model of Tasha went again in time, had a baby with a Romulan, and the kid grew up into a bitter half-Romulan commander named Sela … additionally performed by Crosby.
As for leaving the present within the first place, Crosby says she has no regrets. She felt it was the suitable factor to do on the time and had each motive to imagine that Tasha Yar would eternally be a background character. Maybe Yar would have been expanded in later seasons, however Crosby was high quality with the best way issues performed out. In any case, “Yesterday’s Enterprise” is taken into account the most effective episodes of the sequence.
