Wesley, a defence

[john titor]

Wesley is perhaps the most unpopular characters in Star Trek. However I will offer a defense in the interests of fairness.

Wesley was in fact a very good character. Most if not all teenagers are annoying and stupid. Wesley was annoying and stupid. Therefore Wesley was a very realistic character, his annoying stupidity, blatant sucking up to Picard and so forth were expressions of stupid teenager behaviour. What is more, Wesley's behaviour was not typical. He didn't smoke, drink, do drugs, have a motorbike or beat up crew members, he was incredibly nerdy and off kilter in making friends mostly with adults and idolizing Picard. In a sense his real life counterpart would be William Hague circa 1980.

Thus the writers took a very daring decision to introduce such a character, someone we all know from our own lives and who would probably not have been well liked. Yet in Star Trek, this person was given his fair dues, portrayed from his own perspective, in a positive light. Thus we get an insight into how this persons mind works.

In conclusion Wesley gradually became less annoying to the extent that by his departure he was tolerable. This in turn reflects the maturation of most people wherein by the time they are 18-24, they grow up and aren't as annoying anymore.

 

[trekkerguy]

He/she was even more annoying when he got older.

Teenage retardedness is acceptable, though I've met many who are
nowhere near as annoying and stupid as he, but he was still a nuckin
wussy when he was older.

His only defensable role was in one of the novels once he's a Traveler.

Don't remember which though...

 

[aladinsane]

I like the idea of having a child prodigy on board; however, the writers really failed to give Wesley the character any real substance. I like Wil Wheaton the actor so much in Stand By Me that whenever I watch TNG I really want to like Wesley Crusher. The writers made it really hard to do so.

 

[FamilySlitheen]

I like the idea of having a child prodigy on board; however, the writers really failed to give Wesley the character any real substance. I like Wil Wheaton the actor so much in Stand By Me that whenever I watch TNG I really want to like Wesley Crusher. The writers made it really hard to do so.

Too true. Wil Wheaton is phenomanal, simply magnificant in Stand By Me and sadly, a lot of fans seem to get Wil Wheaton and Wesley mixed up.

His website is excellent, very self depreciating and very, very funny indeed.

So, yes, although Wesley does come across very, very badly in some episodes, there are a few performances where he's not too bad at all.

 

[eepruls]

I always liked the character of Wesley and Wil Wheaton for that matter. It was the writing for the character that was just silly at times. Take for example that scene with Tasha where she's explaining drug abuse. That is just horrible.

But I actually liked the character because not all teenagers are stealing cars, drinking, and sleeping around! I find that sometimes writers resort to making teens have almost unrealistic problems or they become the problem child. Some young people ARE smart and want to do their best. They can be an asset to the crew, not a liability. Too many people don't give teens credit. I actually respected that that was the way they envisioned Wesley. Obviously the execution was done poorly, especially in the fist two seasons, but the character itself was fine for me.

 

[JNG]

I too am glad that Wesley wasn't made a "problem child," and maybe he was annoying for being earnest and always having all the answers on top of teenage awkwardness, but that's a believable sort of annoying and made for a decent role model for young viewers.

 

[Lt.Cmdr.LaForge]

I totally agree with John Titor. I personally liked the character of Wesley Crusher, and I believe he gets far too much criticism from fans. Admittedly he saved the day far too often. The fact that a boy without even having passed through star fleet academy should hold such a prestigious rank on board the flag ship is unrealistic, but that doesn’t warrant hating him.

 

[Piper]

I've never really had an antipathy towards Wesley, but I think something that does detract from him is that once he left you don't notice his character's absence at all - the show didn't need him.

 

[Praetor]

I've never really had an antipathy towards Wesley, but I think something that does detract from him is that once he left you don't notice his character's absence at all - the show didn't need him.

Agreed. I think had the writing been handled better, it could have been fascinating to see things from a 24th century teenager's perspective. As it was, he was just too smart and came off annoying. I remember (watching this being not that much younger than he was) thinking 'who the hell does he think he is, talking to those knowledgeable Starfleet officers like that?' None of this was Wil Wheaton's fault. Arguably, his best storyline was in 'The First Duty,' not because it had him in trouble but because it was well, and believably, written. 'Journey's End' was not a good way to send him off, IMHO. I'd have rather he just stay in Starfleet on some ship somewhere, maybe call Mom once in a while. I think it would have been more dramatically interesting had he chosen not to go with the Traveler as a way of trying to live down his disgrace.

 

[JustKate]

Yes, Wesley was annoying, but what I really disliked about him was that he was boring and unrealistic.

Personally I don't think Wil Wheaton was a particularly good actor at the time. That he improved later says nothing about how good (or bad) he was when he was a regular on TNG. I seldom saw him do a thing on Trek that wasn't gawky and amateurish and clumsily acted.

But I don't think it was all Wheaton's fault -- the problem was with the character. It's like the writers had no idea what an actual teenager might be like. I mean, sheesh, didn't they know any? Hadn't they ever even been one?

And I think the underlying problem is that they really never developed that character, and they seldom used the character in anything like an effective way. Wesley was used...not as a person but as a plot device most of the time. Hey, somebody had to goof something up and put the ship in danger -- somebody had to be the innocent in jeopardy. At least I guess somebody did. That's certainly what the writers seemed to think, anyway.

Now, I was well past teenagerhood when TNG came out, so perhaps I wouldn't have enjoyed the Wesley story lines very much even if the character had been written in a better and more interesting way -- teen angst can be interesting, but (to my mind) only to a limited degree. But perhaps I wouldn't still be avoiding them, which is what I do now.

But he's still not my least favorite Trek character. That honor goes to Nelix!

 

[Dane_Whitman]

After seasons 1 and 2 I never had a problem with Wesley. Even at his worst (The Naked Time, Justice) he wasn't half as annoying as the sweaters he wore.

 

[Praetor]

After seasons 1 and 2 I never had a problem with Wesley. Even at his worst (The Naked Time, Justice) he wasn't half as annoying as the sweaters he wore.

QFT. Those were terrible, terrible sweaters.

 

[Commander Rabbit]

Wesley's not my favorite character, by far, but I never minded him (except for the aforementioned sweaters LOL). It's refreshing to see a brilliant, mostly-well-behaved, mostly responsible teenager. They do exist, but you'd never know it from the media.

 

[RaymondJames]

I will take Wesley over:

Doctor Pulaski
Data
Jake Sisko
Chakotay
Seska

 

[JustKate]

Really? Wow. It actually does take all kinds to make a world! ;-) Because I prefer any of those characters -- even Jake -- to Wesley, and in particular, I think Seska was one of the most interesting bad guys (OK, bad gals) in all Trekdom. But that's a topic for another thread.

 

[2 of 10]

I've never really had an antipathy towards Wesley, but I think something that does detract from him is that once he left you don't notice his character's absence at all - the show didn't need him.

Agreed. I think had the writing been handled better, it could have been fascinating to see things from a 24th century teenager's perspective. As it was, he was just too smart and came off annoying. I remember (watching this being not that much younger than he was) thinking 'who the hell does he think he is, talking to those knowledgeable Starfleet officers like that?' None of this was Wil Wheaton's fault. Arguably, his best storyline was in 'The First Duty,' not because it had him in trouble but because it was well, and believably, written. 'Journey's End' was not a good way to send him off, IMHO. I'd have rather he just stay in Starfleet on some ship somewhere, maybe call Mom once in a while. I think it would have been more dramatically interesting had he chosen not to go with the Traveler as a way of trying to live down his disgrace.

Agreed, "The First Duty" was his best work, I think if he had better scripts written for his character he probable would not have been so unpopular, I really don't mind Westley, and his mom was totally cool...

 

[2 of 10]

I like the idea of having a child prodigy on board; however, the writers really failed to give Wesley the character any real substance. I like Wil Wheaton the actor so much in Stand By Me that whenever I watch TNG I really want to like Wesley Crusher. The writers made it really hard to do so.

Hey Man I saw Skynyrd back in 77 and Freebird was rock at it's best, and it's still a very popular song, people still yell Freebird at concerts.

 

[Bacl]

I always felt they should have focused on how, realistically, Wesley would have been HATED by his peers...a 24th century nerd, as you will. We could have all related to this, and Wesley's challenges would have been between being popular with a bunch of kids his age, or taking the taunts and teases in order to do something greater.

 

[trekkerguy]

I always felt they should have focused on how, realistically, Wesley would have been HATED by his peers...a 24th century nerd, as you will. We could have all related to this, and Wesley's challenges would have been between being popular with a bunch of kids his age, or taking the taunts and teases in order to do something greater.

I don't think that would have fit well in Trek as everyone is
essentialy encouraged to be "nerds".

Really? Wow. It actually does take all kinds to make a world! ;-) Because I prefer any of those characters -- even Jake -- to Wesley, and in particular, I think Seska was one of the most interesting bad guys (OK, bad gals) in all Trekdom. But that's a topic for another thread.

Jake is far closer to the model they should have used for Wesley.
Granted Wesley came first so they had a chance to learn from him.

He could have been such a great characters. And no I wouldn't
have wanted him to be a problem child either. Just not so damned...
Wesley-ish.

 

[JustKate]

Jake is far closer to the model they should have used for Wesley.
Granted Wesley came first so they had a chance to learn from him.

He could have been such a great characters. And no I wouldn't
have wanted him to be a problem child either. Just not so damned...
Wesley-ish.

Oh, I agree. The Wesley character was an interesting idea (at least potentially), but it was an idea that just didn't come off right.