Haven't seen his CSI appearance(early season role as a homeless guy named Walter)? One of his best acting jobs ever.
My Analysis of the Problems with Ens. Wesley Crusher
- Thread starter Graywand2
- Start date
I started to watch TNG when I was a wee boy in the early 90s. Wesley was one of my favourite characters because he was the one who was closest to me in age. I can still remember watching the episode when he became a full ensign, and feeling so proud of him.
The main problem with Wesley is that he was essentially a Mary Sue (or Gary Stu) type character. I believe Rodenberry even admitted he modeled Wesley after himself. It was ridiculous that Wesley could figure things out the senior officers couldn't and that he was even put in charge of a group of officers as an "acting ensign" when he hadn't even been to the academy. Add to that the fact that he was such a goody-goody doe-eyed innocent ("We're Starfleet. We don't lie.") most of the time and he is quite gag-worthy. I do feel bad for Wheaton though, he was just a young kid and there was nothing wrong with his portrayal, it was the writing that made Wesley bad. They did try to correct some of the problems in later season but the image of Wesley and the annoying and unrealistically all-knowing perfect wunderkind remained.
I believe the writers of DS9 learned from this mistake when they created the character of Jake Sisko. In many ways, he was the anti-Wesley. He was not incredibly brilliant or overeager or constantly cheerful. At times he was moody and butted heads with his father. He had realistic problems and reactions for his age and he wanted nothing to do with a Starfleet career but ended up becoming a great writer and an interesting character. And unlike Wesley, he was on all seven season of the show so we really got a close-up view of his transition from boy to man. Also, his relationship with his father was much more touching and compelling than Wesley's relationship with his mother (see DS9 episode: "The Visitor"). My only complaint is that there didn't seem to be much for him to do in season 7, but it's a minor quibble. It was truly a pleasure to have Jake on my screen, whereas Wesley ... well, sometimes I cringed. If Wes is a bad example of a character meant to draw in younger viewers, then Jake is definitely a good one.
I believe the writers of DS9 learned from this mistake when they created the character of Jake Sisko. In many ways, he was the anti-Wesley. He was not incredibly brilliant or overeager or constantly cheerful. At times he was moody and butted heads with his father. He had realistic problems and reactions for his age and he wanted nothing to do with a Starfleet career but ended up becoming a great writer and an interesting character. And unlike Wesley, he was on all seven season of the show so we really got a close-up view of his transition from boy to man. Also, his relationship with his father was much more touching and compelling than Wesley's relationship with his mother (see DS9 episode: "The Visitor"). My only complaint is that there didn't seem to be much for him to do in season 7, but it's a minor quibble. It was truly a pleasure to have Jake on my screen, whereas Wesley ... well, sometimes I cringed. If Wes is a bad example of a character meant to draw in younger viewers, then Jake is definitely a good one.
I got the impression that Wesley rubbed other characters the wrong way on occasion, usually by being that goodytwoshoes we find so distasteful, mainly because he felt the pressure of being a genius made him appear infallible, and he was terrified of failure. So when he did screw up, it was major.
Yes, you guys have nailed it perfectly.
If he did not eventually go to the academy as a cadet (a student) it would have stunted Wesley's career in Starfleet, not being a academy graduate would have cost Wesley promotions and opportunities at command. And who says that he had to "give up" his rank? If Wesley had flunked out of the academy, he would have retained his commissioned rank of ensign.
Was Chekov really supposed to be a teen? I always thought he was about 25ish.
But in general i hated wesley's appearance on TNG, especially the whole prodigy thing. It was barely developed and seemed pretty pointless imo.
I always felt Chekov was supposed to be maybe 20, tops.
i happen to be 17 so i do relate to the wesley demographic. I found i do like his character but i do not like his season 5 episode or very much what they did to his character.
Chekov's age is stated as 22 in "The Deadly Years."
Why? Why would Starfleet put more value on the Academy than hard-won experience?
Thank you. Crusher's problem was they gave him the commission and none of the respect. Once someone put's on that uniform he's earned the right to be treated like every other office and man on a Starfleet ship.
Not meaning to be rude, but I'm not one of those people who thinks that a college education makes someone inherently more qualified for a position.
Not meaning to be rude, but I'm not one of those people who thinks that a college education makes someone inherently more qualified for a position.
All my fellow TNG fans tell me i look like Wesley, it's so annoying 
