Gates McFadden Cheryl Gates McFadden has portrayed Beverly Crusher , MD , in most episodes of and in four . McFadden also directed the TNG episode and choreographed the dance routine in . McFadden left the series at the end of the first season and was replaced by Diana Muldaur as Doctor Katherine Pulaski in the second season . An official announcement states , that McFadden had left the series to pursue other career options . McFadden herself got a call from her agent who told her that the producers decided to go in another direction with the character . Like the other cast members , McFadden was surprised . ( " Gates McFadden - Dr . Beverly Crusher " , " The Official Star Trek : The Next Generation Magazine " Vol . 12 , p . 43 ) But thanks to a letter - writing campaign , support from Patrick Stewart , and a personal invitation from Rick Berman , McFadden was brought back to the TNG cast for the third and subsequent seasons . McFadden was absent for all episodes of the second season and only appeared in stock footage in which was used from the first season episodes and . During her break from " Star Trek " , McFadden played Cathy Ryan ( coincidentally another doctor with a husband named Jack ) in the movie , although most of her scenes were edited from the film . She returned to Manhattan for the break where she performed in a play and took up her pre - " Trek " teaching post in acting and improvisation at the New York University ' s Graduate School of the Arts . McFadden became pregnant with her first child during the fourth season of TNG , learning of the pregnancy only days after performing her own stunts for the episode . This explains her absence during the last part of the season . Although the directors were able to hide her pregnancy behind objects and Crusher ' s trademark lab coat , it was briefly visible in some episodes , including . Her son was born over hiatus ; Brent Spiner is his godfather . McFadden has been quoted as saying her son grew up on the bridge of the , and he was upset when the sets were torn down following . Gates McFadden is an accomplished dancer and puppeteer ; she worked on several Jim Henson productions as a choreographer , most notably in the film " Labyrinth " ( she also choreographed movement for " The Dark Crystal " , and made her film acting debut in " The Muppets Take Manhattan " ) . She prefers stage roles to television , and has been seen in countless productions over her career . She is trained in stage swordfighting ; ironically , only she and Marina Sirtis were trained in the technique which was featured in but only the male characters were allowed to use swords . In 1992 , McFadden appeared alongside fellow castmembers Patrick Stewart , Jonathan Frakes , Brent Spiner , and Colm Meaney in a production of " , " which was performed in four cities . In 2011 , McFadden began a recurring role as judge Mallory Jacobs on the legal comedy television series Franklin and Bash having her working again with Malcolm McDowell . McFadden debuted in the first season finale " Go Tell it on the Mountain " where as Jacobs , presided over the trial of Macdowell ' s character Stanton Infeld . McFadden returned in the second season , first in " For Those About to Rock " joining Geoffrey Blake , Peter Weller and Tom Wright and again in the season finale " 650 to SLC " reuniting with Conundrum guest star Erich Anderson . Anderson himself has a recurring role on the series . " Star Trek " interviews . McFadden was interviewed for the following " Star Trek " specials :