What if it HAD been "Lesley"?

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Aside from Molly O'Brien and Deanna Troi, how many main (i.e. not only appearing once or twice) female characters did we get to see in the "daughter" role, as opposed to "wife", "mother", "lover"?

How do you think TNG would have been different if they had given Beverly a daughter instead of a son? Who would you have cast at the time to play her? How might her story have been different from Wesley's?

I think it might have been interesting to have a character have a teenage daughter, as all the teenage girls we ever saw were minor characters.

 

[TheSeeker]

I think having a genius teenage daughter would have been very interesting as long as they actually gave the character good material. I think they could have really worked the father figure angle with Picard even more than they did with Wesley.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

And having a girl who could have young male love interests would also have opened up more casting possibilities.

 

[Papermoon]

And having a girl who could have young male love interests would also have opened up more casting possibilities.

I would have loved to have seen Guinan and Lesley talk boy trouble. She could be a raging teen feminist and put Riker in his place whenever he was a sleeze.

Telling her to shut up though wouldn't be as funny. She could tell someone else to shut up though: Shut up Worf!

Riker:"Why do you let her speak to you like that Worf"
Worf: "she is a women. A brave woman."

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

She could be a raging teen feminist and put Riker in his place whenever he was a sleeze.

Or crush on him...

Who would you have cast at the time to play her?

This can include TNG guest actresses we've seen who would have been the right age at the beginning of TNG, or anyone else who was that age then.

 

[F. King Daniel]

as long as they actually gave the character good material.

That's a 'no', then

 

[TheSeeker]

Exactly. Given the year I can just imagine the kind of quality material a teenage girl would be given.

 

[Tenacity]

The episode "The Dauphin" would have been really interesting.

 

[Finn]

Or crush on him...



This can include TNG guest actresses we've seen who would have been the right age at the beginning of TNG, or anyone else who was that age then.

Carmen Diaz

 

[TheSeeker]

Considering we probably would never have gotten the character Lefler if it had been Leslie instead of Wesley, Ashley Judd might have been a good fir for the role.

 

[ihno]

Just imagine the ensign with her rule book from "The game" as Beverly's daugther. It would have been just as terrible as having Wesley around. Voy had some girls, which were terrible. In general the sex of the children didn't make much difference in annoyance.

Jake wasn't as bad as the other kids. If Sisko had a daughter instead of a son it might have been interesting - Jane and Nog, Jane and her dad...

But as for TNG: the fewer kids there were, the better...

 

[retroenzo]

Aside from Molly O'Brien and Deanna Troi, how many main (i.e. not only appearing once or twice) female characters did we get to see in the "daughter" role, as opposed to "wife", "mother", "lover"?

Outside of TNG, Tora Ziyal, Naomi Wildman to name a further two.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Indeed. Re TOS Joanna McCoy or Demora Sulu would have been interesting to see as further developed characters. It's a crying shame Joanna is only mentioned in TAS.

Considering we probably would never have gotten the character Lefler if it had been Leslie instead of Wesley, Ashley Judd might have been a good fir for the role.

That's what I wondered, too.

 

[Leviathan]

Hmmm....interesting question...quick test...

"Shut Up Lesley!"

Nope...still works for me.

 

[suarezguy]

I imagine that Picard might have been a little less initially hostile (unless Leslie was written as even more annoying) and the degree of admiration (and wanting to emulate) Wesley had for Picard and Riker would have been a lot less although Leslie could have gotten good mentoring from Tasha. The writers may have also chosen to play up the scientific talent and interest in engineering more rather than the emphasis on Starfleet!!!! and specifically command (although if she was too dismissive of Starfleet that could have seemed like Annoying Young Person Knows Best).

 

[Nerys Myk]

Who would you have cast at the time to play her?

Mayim Bialik

 

[2takesfrakes]

Leslie Crusher would definitely have some "Daddy" issues, so I'm glad we never got to see that. The ghost of Jack Crusher haunted TNG throughout its seven year run, yet we on met him - we never knew him. Having his daughter cope with all that wouldn't have worked. As well, I have a hard time seeing Bev with a daughter. It doesn't fit.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Leslie Crusher would definitely have some "Daddy" issues, so I'm glad we never got to see that. The ghost of Jack Crusher haunted TNG throughout its seven year run, yet we on met him - we never knew him. Having his daughter cope with all that wouldn't have worked. As well, I have a hard time seeing Bev with a daughter. It doesn't fit.

I don't understand what you're trying to say here. A son's Daddy issues good? A daughter's Daddy issues bad?

 

[JirinPanthosa]

If Wesley was Lesley people would probably defend her more when you called her a Mary Sue.

That would have been a more interesting character, the girl genius. Brilliant young girls have to face different kinds of criticism and resistance as brilliant young boys.

 

[lordsofelsewhen]

I like Lesly crusher its a cliché to make her a genius just a smart for her 15 or 16 year old girl