Denise Crosby says her character had to die for her to get a good script

Denise Crosby played Lt. Tasha Yar for almost an entire season on Star Trek: The Next Generation. But she wasn't happy with her role on the series. She has said before how she couldn't wait to get off the show. Now, in an interview with IGN, Crosby talks about asking Gene Roddenberry, who was then still in charge of the series, to be let her out of her contract as she had signed for six seasons. Though Crosby says Roddenberry told her he didn't want her to go, he did agree to release her, and Tasha Yar was killed by the infamous Armus.

Two years later, Crosby would make a return to The Next Generation in "Yesterday's Enterprise," an alternate reality timeline where Yar is still alive. That script met with Crosby's approval, and she now tells fans at conventions she had to die to get a good script, which is the same thing she said in the IGN interview. She told executive producer Rick Berman this [the script] was what she'd wanted all along.

"“[Executive producer] Rick Berman called me at home. It was a long time since I talked to him. Out of the blue. And he said, ‘We have this episode that brings Tasha back.’ … It was such a shock – never saw that coming. … And I said, ‘Okay, ew. That sounds weird.’ And he goes, ‘But it's really good, the script. Will you read it?’ I said, ‘Absolutely. Of course.’ Read it over the weekend. And I called him Monday. I said, ‘Oh my God, this is so good.’ This is what I wanted! It's ironic.”"

- Denise Crosby

To be fair, the first season of The Next Generation wasn't its strongest overall. No one was getting really great scripts, but the rest of the cast did remain with the series that eventually became a success. By the time season three rolled around, the series had reached its stride so it's understandable the scripts would be better.

Crosby leaving the series opened up the door for Michael Dorn's Worf to become security chief, and, according to Marina Sirtis, saved her job. So, sometimes, the planets align as they are supposed to. Crosby has remained a part of Star Trek, appearing at conventions and on board the Star Trek Cruise. She was also the co-executive producer of the 1997 documentary "Trekkies."