• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Wesly never really bothered me all that much...

infinix

Fleet Captain
Fleet Captain
I always knew he wasn't popular amongst Trekkie but never really understood why...


What are some of the things about him that pissed you off? The incident that got him suspended from the academy not withstanding. That was pure crap out on his part.
 
Most people that didn't especially like the character perceived him to be a Mary Sue type I guess. Here he was, saving the day again and again, because the "best crew in Starfleet" wasn't able to.

Back in the day, I thought he was totally awesome. Then again, I was about six years old and fit the target audience perfectly ;)
 
I've always kinda liked him. But I can see why some people didn't - he was a bit of a goody-two-shoes
 
I didn't have any special hatred for Wesley, but I wasn't sorry to see him leave the show the first time, either. It was fitting for him to go off to starfleet academy, and i didn't mind the occasional appearances he made after that. Except the Traveler episode where he leaves for the last time in season 7, though. That was kinda lame, and they could have given him a better send off. I mean the whole show, he tries to get into starfleet, then pisses it away in his last appearance. Then all of a sudden, he shows back up in Nemesis, in a uniform, and with no explanation.
 
What always bugged me was what Wesley represented - the idea that families and children are on the Federation's deep space vessels. It completely took away the notion that space exploration was a dangerous, challenging line of work and just made everything seem too safe and family-friendly.

But I didn't have any animosity toward Wesley in particular.
 
What always bugged me was what Wesley represented - the idea that families and children are on the Federation's deep space vessels. It completely took away the notion that space exploration was a dangerous, challenging line of work and just made everything seem too safe and family-friendly.

But I didn't have any animosity toward Wesley in particular.

There were lots of families, and lots of kids in general on the Enterprise, but I guess maybe Wesley embodied that. Although he was there with his mother because his father had been killed in the line of work as a starfleet officer. So that was a reminder that it wasn't all safe all the time.
I always liked Wesley, but I was just a couple years younger than him when the show was on, so I think I just felt a certain camaraderie. Except for when my dad teased me about having a crush on him (which I didn't). That was always a sure way to get me to hate a character/actor.
 
I think people would have liked him more as an ensign post-academy. That grey "uniform" was terrible.
 
I liked Wesley more after the minor retooling that occurred between Seasons 2 and 3, maybe even mid-Season 2.

The goofy, grinning, aw-shucks kid we got in S1 and S2 (who acting unbelievably naive for a 1980s teenager let alone a 2360s one) was just terrible. Really, Wesley?! You're going to put on your "big boy voice" and say, "I'm with Starfleet, we don't lie."

:rolleyes:

When the Wesley character "grew up" and was treated better through the remainder of his tenure there (and also wasn't one on the ship to save the day) he was a lot more tolerable.
 
I liked Wesley more after the minor retooling that occurred between Seasons 2 and 3, maybe even mid-Season 2.

The goofy, grinning, aw-shucks kid we got in S1 and S2 (who acting unbelievably naive for a 1980s teenager let alone a 2360s one) was just terrible. Really, Wesley?! You're going to put on your "big boy voice" and say, "I'm with Starfleet, we don't lie."

:rolleyes:

When the Wesley character "grew up" and was treated better through the remainder of his tenure there (and also wasn't one on the ship to save the day) he was a lot more tolerable.

This is mostly how I feel. He was an annoying, naive, goody-two-shoes who does what the Ent-D crew can't at first, which is extremely annoying. But as the writers start to treat him more realistically, he gets much better. Really, save for the completely out of nowhere character derailment in Journey's End, I don't really have any problems with him after Evolution.
 
I liked Wesley more after the minor retooling that occurred between Seasons 2 and 3, maybe even mid-Season 2.

The goofy, grinning, aw-shucks kid we got in S1 and S2 (who acting unbelievably naive for a 1980s teenager let alone a 2360s one) was just terrible. Really, Wesley?! You're going to put on your "big boy voice" and say, "I'm with Starfleet, we don't lie."

:rolleyes:

When the Wesley character "grew up" and was treated better through the remainder of his tenure there (and also wasn't one on the ship to save the day) he was a lot more tolerable.

This is mostly how I feel. He was an annoying, naive, goody-two-shoes who does what the Ent-D crew can't at first, which is extremely annoying. But as the writers start to treat him more realistically, he gets much better. Really, save for the completely out of nowhere character derailment in Journey's End, I don't really have any problems with him after Evolution.

Same here, "Journey's End" pretty much raped his character.
 
I didn't like the special treatement he got, just bc he was the dr.'s son. How many kids or teens would have absolutely died to be on that bridge? I don't like obvious favoritism in the present or in the future. Yeah he was smart and talented, but he should have had to do his time in starfleet like all the other kids before he was given such huge responsibilities.
 
As the mum of a very "nerdy" 5yo boy when it started being aired here, I had no problem with the "nerdy kid on the bridge".
 
I like to poke fun in a most insincere manner. Its a running gag, not something I actually believe. Wesley is just fine, but very entertaining to make fun of.

As mentioned already, Journey's End was crap.
 
I seriously wonder if anyone checked th 24th Century's equivalent of a sex-offenders registry for The Traveler. There was just something creepy about that guy, his fixation Wes and just the way he talked! Ick!
 
Never minded him that much. I think some of his lines, roles in stories and acting were pretty poor in early season 1, and the fans never really forgave the character for that. I thought by season 2 Wesley was a worthy addition to the show and cast.
 
I didn't like the special treatement he got, just bc he was the dr.'s son. How many kids or teens would have absolutely died to be on that bridge? I don't like obvious favoritism in the present or in the future. Yeah he was smart and talented, but he should have had to do his time in starfleet like all the other kids before he was given such huge responsibilities.

This

That really bugged me that especially since imo Will Wheaton was a weak actor and a weak character personally.
 
What always bugged me was what Wesley represented - the idea that families and children are on the Federation's deep space vessels. It completely took away the notion that space exploration was a dangerous, challenging line of work and just made everything seem too safe and family-friendly.

Well, one could always argue that with technology like we see in Trek, being on a starship isn't necessarily more unsafe than being on a planet. Both are vulnerable to attacks, though a planet might have more advantages than a ship. The original idea was to keep the Enterprise out at the edges of Fed space anyway, hence the need for families on board.
 
Actually, I've been thinking about this since I first posted and there is one thing about him that kind of bothered me. Not about the character so much as behind the scenes.

Shortly after I started watching it, I found out that Gene Roddenberry's middle name was Wesley so that kind of made me think that Roddenberry based the character on himself. To me, that made the ones where Wesley saved the day seem a little narcissistic and a bit embarrassing to watch.

I think this is a common impression (at least according to a couple of websites I found) but no one here seems to have mentioned it :)
 
Actually, I've been thinking about this since I first posted and there is one thing about him that kind of bothered me. Not about the character so much as behind the scenes.

Shortly after I started watching it, I found out that Gene Roddenberry's middle name was Wesley so that kind of made me think that Roddenberry based the character on himself. To me, that made the ones where Wesley saved the day seem a little narcissistic and a bit embarrassing to watch.

I think this is a common impression (at least according to a couple of websites I found) but no one here seems to have mentioned it :)

What does that say about Wesley getting to kiss Ashley Judd?? (Still the most beautiful women to put on a Star Trek uniform.)
 
I liked Wesley more after the minor retooling that occurred between Seasons 2 and 3, maybe even mid-Season 2.

The goofy, grinning, aw-shucks kid we got in S1 and S2 (who acting unbelievably naive for a 1980s teenager let alone a 2360s one) was just terrible. Really, Wesley?! You're going to put on your "big boy voice" and say, "I'm with Starfleet, we don't lie."

:rolleyes:

When the Wesley character "grew up" and was treated better through the remainder of his tenure there (and also wasn't one on the ship to save the day) he was a lot more tolerable.

Yup. You know, after that gig at the Academy, I sort of forgave him all that came before. He showed that he's a real human being, after all, capable of screwing up royally and making all the wrong decisions after all. I thought that was good character development...he had none before that.
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top