Wesley Crusher appreciation thread
- Thread starter Shat Happens
- Start date
Captain Kathryn said:
Well, it was a long time ago. It was shortly after TNG had started airing, and I saw Frakes in Chicago, which I left in 1990. He's certainly tall, as he entered near where I was sitting along an aisle. I haven't been to a con since 1995.
I think we should start counting Wesley as a former Enterprise captain.
He was (self-appointed) captain for ten minutes in 'The Naked Now'.
I'm sure the crew appreciated the free ice-cream, and lamented the fact that Jean-Luc Picard never does nice things like that for them, ever.
He was (self-appointed) captain for ten minutes in 'The Naked Now'.
I'm sure the crew appreciated the free ice-cream, and lamented the fact that Jean-Luc Picard never does nice things like that for them, ever.
I rather got the impression that Wesley, in his non-corporeal travels, discovered that there was a teenage boy on Voyager who was in desperate need of non-Borg clothing. "I will do something nice for this kid," Wesley thought. "I will give him my old sweaters I don't wear anymore since I ran away from Starfleet and became non-corporeal."
And ZAP! Icheb woke up one morning from his regeneration unit and found a closet full of Wesley's old sweaters. This enabled him to save his replicator rations for things other than clothing.
I really disliked Wesley in the first season. He was such a brat in "Encounter at Farpoint" when he was openly discussing his own mother's relationships with men, with Riker.
He improved with age, though.
Well don't start polishing his buttons yet. He actually appointed himself Acting Captain.
Early TNG was pretty bad overall, so I think Tasha Yar, Pulaski, and Wesley get a bad rap just from the nature of appearing (mostly) in the early episodes. How would Riker be remembered if he dropped out end of season 1, pre-beard?
I liked Wesley. There were A LOT of annoying children in Trek over the years, first place of them being Alexander. HATED THAT KID in TNG.
The best kid in TNG was 12 year old Picard.
I liked Wesley. There were A LOT of annoying children in Trek over the years, first place of them being Alexander. HATED THAT KID in TNG.
The best kid in TNG was 12 year old Picard.
That kid was terrific - he was totally convincing as a young Picard.
I liked Guinan as a kid, too.
I always thought those who hated on Wesley were way out of line. The character was written to primarily function in two ways: as the audience's eyes, and Gene's view of himself as a child. In 1987, diehard fans of TOS likely protested like crazy, with ideas like "Kids don't belong in Star Trek". Now, I never watched a lot of the 1960s show, but my basic response anyway was, "Why not?" Was Starfleet so strict and uptight that only adults were allowed to have any input, about what was happening around them? Different episodes of "TNG" stated that the Enterprise-D had a total population of over 1,000 people, and yet we only saw a few of them at any given time. Even Levar Burton would later comment, that one of his biggest regrets from doing the show is that the writers didn't focus more on the family aspect of it.
People who hated Wesley have often said things like, "The kid kept saving the ship!", which I think is absolutely ridiculous. There's less than a handful of episodes where he's depicted as anywhere near that smart, and most of the time he gets help from someone else (the Traveler being a good example). His main function on the series was to serve as a student under the higher-ranking officers, and try to see the various circumstances in ways that his peers usually wouldn't...which is how a lot of younger people's minds actually work anyway. I was personally disappointed with how Wesley was written out of the franchise at the end of "TNG", and the excuse that the "Picard" writers had, where "he lost his right to a human life, and could never see his mother again"...that was total crap. Wil Wheaton should've fought harder to be included with his castmates on that show, even if he didn't appear in every episode.
People who hated Wesley have often said things like, "The kid kept saving the ship!", which I think is absolutely ridiculous. There's less than a handful of episodes where he's depicted as anywhere near that smart, and most of the time he gets help from someone else (the Traveler being a good example). His main function on the series was to serve as a student under the higher-ranking officers, and try to see the various circumstances in ways that his peers usually wouldn't...which is how a lot of younger people's minds actually work anyway. I was personally disappointed with how Wesley was written out of the franchise at the end of "TNG", and the excuse that the "Picard" writers had, where "he lost his right to a human life, and could never see his mother again"...that was total crap. Wil Wheaton should've fought harder to be included with his castmates on that show, even if he didn't appear in every episode.
Alas bringing back threads from 10+ years ago isn't allowed on this forum and a mod will be along soon to lock it.
It's a shame really, I really appreciated Wesley as a teenager in the 1990s, so sign me up as a +1 on the alt.wesley.great.great.great fanclub
True, but I'd also say his reaction has easily enough content to stand on its own and I think he could simply start a new thread on the same topic with that post. That is, if newbies can even start new threads.
I think a lot of the issue came from the view that many people had that the Enterprise was a military ship -- you wouldn't get children on a US Naval cruiser, so why on a ship. Even if you did have kids (like at army bases), they weren't anywhere near the operational area.
Then of course in the first proper episode (Naked Now, which was a shonky episode at the best of times) he's in engineering and casually "invents" a repulser beam.
I for one empathised with the character trying to prove himself and get acknowledgement and validation from his role models, but I can see how that would annoy people - especially from a more authoritarian/military background. We then saw that he didn't have the ability to get into the academy (seriously if Wesley struggles with the entrance exams how did Ensign Ricky get in!)
After the first season his character I think settled into something far more realistic -- he made mistakes (Evolution), but had some decent storylines and they toned down the "wonder-kid" elements.
But first impressions make lasting impressions and I think people just got caught up in it - just like they do today with memes and stuff. The Wesley Hate took a life of its own, especially online, and Wil Wheaton was also a geeky teenager and not really prepared for it (who is prepared for the hatred you get online now, now imagine that in the 1980s where 99% of people including almost everyone you know has no idea what the internet is). It certainly didn't help when he met Shatner (https://wilwheaton.net/2021/03/the-william-fucking-shatner-story/) either.
From what Wheaton says though it sounds the others (especially I think Frakes and Spiner) were really supportive though.
Then of course in the first proper episode (Naked Now, which was a shonky episode at the best of times) he's in engineering and casually "invents" a repulser beam.
I for one empathised with the character trying to prove himself and get acknowledgement and validation from his role models, but I can see how that would annoy people - especially from a more authoritarian/military background. We then saw that he didn't have the ability to get into the academy (seriously if Wesley struggles with the entrance exams how did Ensign Ricky get in!)
After the first season his character I think settled into something far more realistic -- he made mistakes (Evolution), but had some decent storylines and they toned down the "wonder-kid" elements.
But first impressions make lasting impressions and I think people just got caught up in it - just like they do today with memes and stuff. The Wesley Hate took a life of its own, especially online, and Wil Wheaton was also a geeky teenager and not really prepared for it (who is prepared for the hatred you get online now, now imagine that in the 1980s where 99% of people including almost everyone you know has no idea what the internet is). It certainly didn't help when he met Shatner (https://wilwheaton.net/2021/03/the-william-fucking-shatner-story/) either.
From what Wheaton says though it sounds the others (especially I think Frakes and Spiner) were really supportive though.
"Coming of Age", if not season 2, is when when Wesley was brought back to Earth, so to speak, and was handled better as a result. It's pretty much early season one, when Wesley is written up by dumbing down everyone else, when the character and story go pear-shaped. "Datalore" is the easiest example to pick at in terms of egregious frequency, but a lot come to mind.
Sorry for Wil that Shatner was such an ass back then, but I'm glad for both of them, that they seem to have worked through their differences now. A lot of actors have huge egos (including two I've personally met, who I will not mention by name), and the younger people they insult often don't get any future resolution for it. The whole thing is very sad.
Can't blame them.
Neither comes across as a stereotyped kiddie show, and one states outright "adult space adventure". In that sense, a new show that feels stereotype-for-kids or patronizing would be a bit of a culture shock to an audience already having x episodes and movies and characters set in a certain way.
Indeed, how many people had seen "The Cage" by 1987? TNG, especially by season three, feels a lot like "The Cage".
With 26-episode seasons, there should be enough room for a family-themed episode. We got a few one-off episodes with the kid(s) of the week who won the cereal box send-in contest or whatever, but that was about it.
Or Picard vs his brother. The show was about space exploration and all the unknowns. Too frequent family time would make the show too much like "Our House", the drama from 1990 or so. Interestingly enough, Chad Allen (who guested in an early season 4 TNG) was a regular on that show, along with Wilferd Brimley. I can opine which show has dated the worst since original airing, but it's probably not TNG...
We would see family as related to Picard, Data (many times), LaForge, Beverly, Yar, Troi, Worf... but wouldn't it get boring too often?
Even more interestingly, considering the bridge crew didn't have families for various reasons, they ended up becoming their own family.
The fans' quote is as embellished and outlandish as Wes the character was in (the bulk of) the first season.
The idea of being a student getting firsthand experience from the senior officers isn't bad. The show just didn't stick to the idea, at least early on. The "Wunderkid" aspect was so caricaturized that it's not a surprise that the fans' response would also become as loud.
Wesley leaving was a mistake; the character was getting decent writing as early as "Coming of Age" and had been improving since. Coming back in season 5 just to be a screw-up with an ego-driven plane trick was odd enough, but later wandering with the strange intergalactic guy after years of nothing was hokum. Then he returns in a movie for no reason, then back in a spinoff show where the writing didn't sell Wes with much enthusiasm either.
Didn't Wil want to leave by season 4?
It definitely hurts that he would be booed in conventions. The booers are conflating character with actor, which doesn't make sense to me, but that's seemingly what they're doing. Wil wouldn't have had much of any input into Wesley in the first place. Or how much he would be allowed to have.
What happened to Wil in reality, is that he wanted to do the 1989 romantic drama Valmont, during the break before Season 4 started filming. But the producers of TNG refused his permission request, saying that Wesley was going to feature heavily in the first few episodes of the coming year. After Wil dropped out of the movie, the folks at TNG promptly wrote him out of those early stories. Wil would say many years later, "They were sending me the message of, "We own you". Don't ever do that again."
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