 Katherine Pulaski debuted in the second season episode " The Child " , with <unk> Goldberg making her first appearance of the series as Guinan in the same episode . Even though Muldaur was a regular character on The Next Generation , she was only listed in the opening credits as a " Special Guest Star " . Overall , Muldaur described her experience portraying Pulaski as " hard work " . She expected to be cast for just one season , but was unaware of who would succeed her after she left . Following production of the second season , Muldaur left the series and joined the cast of L.A. Law . She used footage of the episode " Unnatural Selection " to gain the part . Gates McFadden returned to continue her role as Dr. Crusher on The Next Generation for the remainder of the series . 
