The opening day of the 56-Year Mission Star Trek convention in Las Vegas kicked off with an intriguing comment during a panel discussion with Star Trek: The Next Generation season one star Denise Crosby.
Tasha on Picard?
A fan asked Crosby if she will be part of season three of Star Trek: Picard, which is bringing back the rest of her former TNG castmates for what is billed as a “sendoff” season. Crosby responding with a somewhat cryptic remark regarding her TNG character of Tasha Yar and Picard:
Oh. I don’t want to give away too much. But I’m going to tell you that you will see Tasha Yar, but I’m not going to tell you how. You’ve got to watch.
While intriguing, that comment could mean many things. In a May interview with TrekMovie.com, Crosby said “that ship has sailed” regarding a chance to appear on Picard, as the series has already wrapped production.
Denise Crosby at 56-Year Mission Star Trek convention (Photo: TrekMovie.com)
Wanted to explore Tasha’s kickass backstory
Crosby famously left TNG during the first season, frustrated with a lack of character development for Tasha Yar. In response to a fan question about her TNG departure, the actress talked about why she left but noted she enjoyed the opportunity to return to the show periodically over the following seasons:
I was hoping [to stay], yeah, it was going to be what the writing for me I wanted it to be. But I did get to stay. I got to pop in all the time.
Later she spoke more about the kind of character development she would have liked to have played over the years with TNG had she stayed as part of the cast:
I was really was looking to explore her grappling with being a Starfleet officer. There were hints of Tasha that she earned her position as chief of security, rightfully so. But she had some doubts inside of her that she was grappling with. So I always like to play against type, so to speak. And what were her ongoing relationships over the years would have been the fellow crew members and things like that. I think it would have been fun to really see her kick ass. Really get in there and really fight. Not just “Code of Honor” kind of fight, but like organized battles… I think it would have been fun to explore Tasha’s origin story. We know she came from this failed Earth colony and war and she’s an orphan. Like, how did she get from there to Starfleet? That’s a story. That’s an inspirational story.
Back in May, Crosby told TrekMovie she still feels leaving the show was the right decision to do.”
Denise Crosby with Creation’s Adam Malin at 56-Year Mission Star Trek convention (Photo: TrekMovie.com)
Much more to come from STLV
This is our first report from the 56-Year Mission Las Vegas (aka STLV). TrekMovie has full team coverage of the event so look for more reports and more live updates on Twitter @TrekMovie.
At #STLV, @TheDeniseCrosby talks about Quentin Tarantino asking her to sign her Tasha Yar action figure. #StarTrekTNG #StarTrek pic.twitter.com/IGGL0Hwjda
— TrekMovie.com @ #STLV (@TrekMovie) August 25, 2022
Find more news about the Star Trek TV Universe here at TrekMovie.com
With all due respect to Ms. Crosby, who strikes me as sweet and funny… Tasha Yar was TNG’s weakest main character other than Pulaski, played by TNG’s weakest actor. The show got a lot better after she left, and Sela was even duller than Yar was. So I’d be in no hurry to have her return. There was just no chemistry between Crosby and any of the cast. They all gelled together so well otherwise, but Yar’s scenes were always so forced.
I could not agree more. And yeah, Sela was even more lackluster.
I could also do without Spinner playing another freaking Soong or Data analogy…they need to move on from just trying to force-fit in Spinner in every season. Were pretty close to this becoming the basis for a fan drinking game…Spin the Spinner?
…totally agree about Spiner. I have nothing against the guy, but enough already.
I thought Spine’s surname has the same letters as the word “sniper.”
No different when the character Steve Urkle essentially took over FAMILY MATTERS, due to his popularity…
I didn’t miss her, but a lot of characters weren’t really ironed out in season 1. Crusher, Riker, Troi, Wesley, and even Picard had some real growing pains that it took another season and a bit to properly balance out. I don’t disagree Crosby’s acting often wasn’t convincing (though her chemistry with Spiner I bought), but that’s the asterisk I put with Yar. We’ll never know what might have been if she’d stuck around for the Michael Piller era.
Yet when they brought her back as Sela much later in the series (i.e. when Piller was involved), she was still as unconvincing in her role as in S1, so that sort of disproves your point in my book.
But I didn’t think she was unconvincing as Yar in Yesterday’s Enterprise or All Good Things. Sela is supposed to be a cartoonish villain and had no arc on paper, so that doesn’t really weigh heavily in my judgment.
Yar was better written in those episodes and Denise did a fine job. S1 didn’t have the best written material. I still love it though.
Agreed. She was far more interesting and performed better in those episodes. Better writers, better directors. TNG S1 was largely a trainwreck by TREK standards. When we remember how good TNG was – it’s not because of Season 1.
IIRC her lack of character time and development is why she left the show. She got much more as Sela than she ever did as Yar.
And how did that work out?
For her career? Not great. For trek? Pretty well.
Hmm. In my opinion, watching Sela was borderline cringeworthy. Total forcefit, like a Dr. Soong #7 retread.
I’m not really talking about her portrayal tho. Some may like it some may not. They point I am trying to make is that Yar in S1 was not a meaty role to play. Sela on the other hand had and huge influence on the canon of TNG from the Klingon Civil War to Unification and possibly beyond. As an actor I imagine that has to be rewarding for Crosby.
The show didn’t get better *because* she left. That is such a weird thing to say. The show changed a lot after the 1st year (and it kept changing) because of a lot of reasons.
Lorna Dune didn’t actually say the show got better *because* she left, rather that ‘The show got a lot better after she left’.
“The show didn’t get better *because* she left. That is such a weird thing to say.”
Agreed. Luckily, I never said that.
The show got better because Roddenberry was shown the door.
The show did get better after she left, but not because of her departure but because they got better writers and stopped trying to emulate the tone and style of The Original Series.
Just imagine how well Tasha might have been in Best of Both Worlds.
Remember, Tasha was inspired by Vazquez in Aliens. Now imagine her inside a Borg Cube.
In that first season, I think Marina Sirtis was the weakest actor. Sirtis got quite a bit more to do than Crosby, and unfortunately she was not very good. But she got better as the show progressed and Crosby left before that could be a possibility. Crosby really had very little to do in Season 1, featuring only in the awful “Code of Honor” (no actor could have saved that one, no matter how good), so I think it is a little unfair to take Crosby’s acting to task. There was precious little what I would call good acting Season 1.
And yet she is the basically the star of what many consider the best episode of the series, and top ten episodes of Star Trek all time.
Lets face it, for the first couple of seasons the entire cast were a bunch of weak characters.
That’s true of DS9, VOY and ENT. Not a real shocker, because we all know the legacy shows got better 3rd season onwards. The newer shows are far more variable though.
I would disagree on DS9. The cast was very good from ep 1 on. Now they got better as time went on, but it wasn’t the anemic start that we saw from the casts on those other two shows.
Im not convinced about about DS9, it was quite rough in the beginning both in acting and storylines. I think fans have nostalgia glasses for that show because it had it’s flaws and warts like the rest of the shows.
Some of the DS9 cast was good. Brooks chewed the scenery so much that even Shatner would have blushed, it really wasn’t until he shaved his head and made the character his own that I really started to like Brooks. Farrell and Lofton were pretty weak in season 1, I think. Visitor, Auberjonois, Shimmerman, Meaney and Siddig were solid, much better than any of the TNG cast of Season 1.
Someone argued once (I think it may even been Behr) that once Brooks made Sisko “Black” by allowing him some control over the character, Sisko really started making sense and coming together. Apparently behind closed doors Brooks was concerned that all the white writers didn’t really know how to write a black character.
Agree that Sela was a really weak character (Denise didn’t seem to have the screen presence to make her a convincing villain) but, aside from her initial Data bullying, Pulaski was a really enjoyable, feisty character, and miles better than bland Bev. Justice for Pulaski!!
I prefer season 3-7 Beverly, but I also like sticking up for Pulaski. The conflict she introduced was forced at times, she’s a bit of a McCoy clone, and I know we can never forgive her for picking on Data, but she had her merits. Her dynamic with Picard and Worf was charming. Her relationship with Data evolves rather well. The mere fact that she changes up the dynamic and keeps some characters on their toes is welcome in my book.
Diana Muldaur is a really good actress, too. It’s sad how horribly she was treated by the rest of the cast.
Yes, but I’d rather see Tasha Yar than Raffi. Raffi is the weakest character of any ST series.
To be fair to Raffi, the writer’s don’t know what to do with her, and thusly her character is a mess. If PIC follows the mold of taking three seasons to sort things out, then we will never really see a good season of PIC or good character development since it is ending. in Season 1 Raffi was an alcoholic bad mommy, in Season 2 she was irrelevant to the story and was really only “devastated Seven’s girlfriend”. She is the weakest character, but to be honest she doesn’t really have a character or a reason to be on the show. Tasha was the same, but she didn’t give the show any time to figure her out. So we can’t really say what Tasha would have been, or Raffi.
The problem was that Crosby was too impatient to wait for her story to unfold, not that her character was “lackluster”. And to be perfectly frank, S1 of TNG was the weakest of the series.
I agree. To be honest, she didn’t have the clout or the experience to be able to make those kind of demands to the producers, even if the producers had any idea what to do with her. In that show they had a veteran theater actor with lots of acting experience on stage with Stewart, and LeVar Burton. Burton was really the only household name on the cast in Season 1 with his time on RootsThose two were really the two actors who in theory the producers would kowtow to.
I know Dorn and Frakes had runs on other shows, and Spiner appeared here and there on tv before landing Trek, but in all seriousness Kunta Kinte was the biggest name.
I was so sad/shocked way-back-when when they killed off Tasha, she was an early favourite of mine. But I always reconcile her departure by reasoning that if she hadn’t left, we wouldn’t have got Sela who was a great villain. I have a Romulan obsession! When they announced that the rest of the cast was returning for PIC season 3 I REALLY hoped Sela was going to be the season’s villain with Lore, but I think that ship has sailed too. Looking forward to seeing how Tasha return. She does say “ I’m going to tell you that you will see Tasha Yar, but I’m not going to tell you how” – she doesn’t even specifically say that SHE (Denise Crosby) is returning, but that the character Tasha shows up. Could be another actress playing a younger version of the character in a flashback?
They will be going through Data’s things and her holographic bobble head that Data had will be turned on.
Assuming the rumors are true about enterprises and such im guessing we’re going to see a 1701 D flash back on the bridge with Yar.
Maybe with de-aging tech like Data?
I always expected her to return. It would have made sense in S1 as Sela, but I’ll be very happy to see her, in any character, in any timeframe, in S3.
Same. It’ll be good to see the D again too. We sorta kinda got too with 10 Forward in S1 but the bridge would be way better.
Consider Me Intrigued.
Well of course she will. So will Data’s cat. And Picards fish
It’s just fan wan*ery.
I would love to get wa*ked like that.
Star Trek Picard: The Search for Spot.
I would watch.
Looks like it will be virtual Tasha, that thing data used to have when she died and she was leaving him a message
Oh I never thought of that. That would be so much more clever than the Holocene or a flashback.
Something tells me this is just some voiceover work with an image, or something. With all the rumors of a starship museum, obviously the Enterprise-C can’t be in there because it was destroyed. Perhaps instead there’s some memorial or something to that crew. I just don’t know how they’re going to fit all this into 10 episodes
I really hope they stay away from somehow reviving the character. Trek does a lot of death reversals, and it lessens the stakes.
The props from PIC season 2 had the plaque honoring the Enterprise D that didn’t make it to air, but it was shown on twitter somewhere (can’t find it). The plaque mentions that the saucer section was removed from Veridian 3 to prevent the inhabitants of Veridian 4 from finding it when they started to explore their solar system. The plaque also said the Saucer is in the Starship museum next to the USS Voyager.
Count me as one of those people that just wasn’t a big fan of Denise Crosby. However I will say this. Even bad actors occasionally turn out a good performance. She did well on Yesterday’s Enterprise . Her only good performance in Srar Trek IMO
I liked her turn in Yesterday’s Enterprise too, which I thought was an integral part of that story. It was also fun to see her turn up in a bit part in The Walking Dead a few years ago, too.
Yes over the years she has had a pretty decent career has a character actor.
That is the point though. She was a decent actor and if she just remained patient the writers would have figured her out. I think YE Tasha Yar would have been the direction they went with her and I think she would have been a kick ass character. However, moving Worf to tactical and head of security was a smart move, so they would have needed to move her as well. I’ve racked my brain and I can’t really think of a job she would have had on the ship, and keeping Worf as a bridge relief officer wasn’t going to work……
I thought there was a lot of potential for her character. The backstory was good, but never explored. The writer’s really didn’t do anything with her. Then again, the first couple of seasons were like that. Character’s not fleshed out, not much chemistry in the beginning. But I like what they did with Yar’s character in Yesterday’s Enterprise. In the beginning, Worf was just a Klingon in Starfleet. His character wasn’t fleshed out and was given very little to do. It would be interesting if a different timeline Yar was to appear. We will have to wait and see.
…Worf actually used to ‘Growl’ in the first couple of seasons, which I found mildly cringe-worthy back when it first aired (and before that term existed), and still do on re-watches.
Exactly!
To be fair he continued to growl throughout his run on both series…… they just dialed the reasons for the growl back a little.
Agreed. I get why she left because Yar didn’t have a whole lot to do but she made her decision like 1/2 way through the first season. She didn’t give the writers time to flesh out her character like they did with Worf.
She was a great character. Not very fleshed out but she had lots of potential. Surely she would have had better moments in the following seasons. I wish they had her make a cameo at the end of season 1 where data’s consciousness was turned off. She could have appeared in his mind and held his hand as he faded away.
Fleet museum? Enterprise-D saucer exhibit? Yar memorial? Shape shiiiiffffffttttttteeeeeerrrr?
Holodeck.
I always kinda assumed they torpedoed the saucer out of existence so the future Veridian alien astronauts couldn’t find it. But I suppose salvaging it and putting it in the fleet museum would be even better.
I just watched her as the bad guy in Star Trek Continues Blood and Fire.
She was the Romulan Empress in the New Romulan Empire in Star Trek Online.
What if Sela was misled or lied? What if the alternate Yar survived like in ST: Online?
LOL, these actors! They are so good at hiding or denying projects they are in, especially when it comes to being in the Picard show it seems. Crosby denied in the the last Trekmovie interview in a way that she was totally out of the loop with that show. Now she is saying she is involved in some way. She had to know she was involved before the last interview because they had wrapped up production long before then IIRC.
Anyway, it’s just funny. I always loved Tasha Yar, was also disappointed she was killed off so early in the show but I understood why Crosby wanted to leave at the time. I don’t expect much but will be great to see her back in whatever form she shows up in! The season is sounding more and more promising.
Ok if Crosby is back can we please have Colm Meaney too? I don’t actually care about Yar at all, or Sela, but if they’re going to do this walk down memory lane/fan service can they put it to good use and include someone everyone would be really happy to see like O’Brien?
Matalas said he tried to get Meaney back but was too busy. But again who knows? Maybe O’Brien will be in 8 episodes lol. These people are good at denying whose in what until the last minute.
Thanks, didn’t know Matalas had already addressed this, but as you said you knows? It was only a few weeks ago that Crosby herself was saying she didn’t know anything about season 3.
Tasha Yar traveled between time and dimension… Does that mean she suffered the same fate as Georgiou. Even though Sela said she was “killed” it makes you wonder if she’s still alive… Remember the episode of STD Lt Yor Time Soldier. He said he was the only known individual to do this… But I guess they never figured out that Yar was on Romulus. 🫠 Just thinking out of the box 😩
Picard became what Patrick Steward said it wouldn’t….TNG retread
I’m honestly surprised she is involved at all considering her open consternations on Twitter, it doesn’t sound like she has a good relationship with Paramount.
What if the name of the new ship is the U.S.S. Tasha Yar? It is in keeping with her comments that we will see her represented but not in the way we think. It would be a good way to honor her and feel her presence without her coming back.
Would’ve loved if that stuff was kept secret. Not even a hint. I really liked when a few months backed she acted like she didn’t know there was a season 3 already filmed.