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Wesley Crusher: Starfleet's Unsung Hero or Overhyped Prodigy?

It depends on which direction a Star Trek character takes.
Wesley becomes more evolved and exploring time and space.

I don't care about future books. If a character takes a step in to something bigger than themselves I'm all for it.
 
Wesley becomes more evolved and exploring time and space.

I don't care about future books. If a character takes a step in to something bigger than themselves I'm all for it.
I used to care about future books but the destruction of characters I like made by an author which I actually liked once has made me doubt about them too.

And honestly, I don't thinkt that the mumbo-jumbo in Journey's End takes the character Wesley Crusher into something bigger. It's all just silly.
 
He was pretty annoying in season one, nobody's debating that. But I think he got more tolerable as time went on and the show found its footing. I'd say it's just another symptom of S1 being S1.
 
I never really had a problem with Wesley. Once he joined Starfleet and actually had a JOB to do, he was fine.

Can't say I'm 100% in love with where he ultimately ended up (in PIC) but that's a minor thing.

So now he's the boss of Gary Seven and his ilk. The Aegis. Did NOT see that coming.
 
Haven't seen Picard yet but I was always pretty neutral on Wesley in TNG. He definitely had some annoying moments and I think the writers made some mistakes creating moments for him to look smart by dumbing down the rest of the crew, but I never understood some of the more rabid Wesley hate. The "ending" he got in TNG was stupid but so was most of the last season so I can't hold that against him in particular :lol:
 
I think the writers made some mistakes creating moments for him to look smart by dumbing down the rest of the crew, but I never understood some of the more rabid Wesley hate.

IMO, Wesley would have been better served as the ideas person (particularly the person who suggests the totally crazy idea that no-one would even consider normally, but conclude that... they might as well try it rather than nothing in this unusual scenario) rather than the person who actually does the work of "saving the day" (The Game was probably the closest to this that we got).
 
One of the problems with Wesley is that he sometimes 'saves the day' not by being a genius, but by the other characters being written as much dumber than they should be. (Or out of character, or more dismissive of him than they should be so that Wesley gets some kind of false "rising above the hardship" boost.) eg: DataLore, The Game, The Naked Now, Where No One Has Gone Before.

As far as I'm concerned, this.

Starfleet is supposed to hold quite high standards for its officers already and this particular crew is supposed to be the very finest crew in all of Starfleet, the best of the best. And then, you get some episodes where the crew acts beyond moronic just to give Wesley his shot to save them (e.g. The Game).

Strictly speaking, this is not really a problem with the Wesley character, just a case of writers being not sharp enough to come up with something more credible.

Also, I agree he gets better over time.
 
TBF, I rather enjoy "The Game". Yes, the premise is a little hokey, but Wesley and Robin have great chemistry and the chase Wesley leads Our Heroes on is pretty well done coming from someone who's familiar with the ship. Plus, there's something hilarious (and perhaps a bit prescient in the era of ubiquitous smartphones) about all of the 'adults' getting hooked on an electronic device.
 
TBF, I rather enjoy "The Game".

I have mixed feelings... the core premise is a little hokey as you say (though somewhat Vindicated by History IMO), but it's still one of my favourite Wesley episodes.

Unfortunately, good Wesley episodes are rare and rarely good episodes in and of themselves. The First Duty probably gets closest, though I must admit When the Bough Breaks is also another good one (though perhaps less so as an episode) and probably the best "Wesley saves the day" episode of the series.
 
I liked "The First Duty" as well. Is it the first time and perhaps only time we see Wesley actually make the kinds of mistakes we would expect a normal person of his age to make? Anyway, surly teenager makes total sense.
 
Yes. The first several seasons Wesley was written as some sort of paragon. In order to make it work, they wrote down the rest of the crew. Yes, bright adolescents are capable of some amazing things... but there's no shortcut through them making their share of mistakes along the way. Relationships with friends, first romantic relationships, relationships with his mom as friends replace parents as the center of his life... somehow Wesley was exempt. There were a few good Wesley episodes - I liked Final Mission and First Duty.
 
I was a young boy when I watched TNG (born in '83) and I felt I really identified with Wesley. I loved the character and I was quite shocked to find out, much later, that there was a section of the fanbase that disliked him. Ensign Crusher was always an integral part of TNG for me.
 
I've never understood the Wesley hate. It annoyed me a bit, though, that generally it wasn't necessarily his genius that saved the day, it was the adults being stupid that got the ship in trouble in the first place.

That said, I didn't like the way Dr. Crusher behaved around her son, she was constantly infantilizing him. I far preferred her as a character after Wesley went away.
 
I didn't really hate on em' from what I saw, even if the memetic kind of hatred sprung around him (that's humorous to me) and the dislike I have for Wil Wheaties as a person did spur me on in a certain direction, I just couldn't get into that. He had his function on the crew for what they were trying to do in that first season before things solidified in a better direction. I enjoyed him the most in 'First Duty' and the like where it showed complications with the path he's chosen in life, and his eventual go at making it on his own later on with the Traveler.

It's not a perfect kind of journey and things like 'Final Mission' do show a capability there that he rejects later as he grows up more, but I wasn't having any trouble following it. Even though I do think 'The Game' is stupid even if it's got some killer moments.
 
I like him in "The Game" and that's about it. I'm indifferent to him otherwise. He should have been the one on drugs in "Symbiosis"
 
TBF, I rather enjoy "The Game". Yes, the premise is a little hokey, but Wesley and Robin have great chemistry and the chase Wesley leads Our Heroes on is pretty well done coming from someone who's familiar with the ship. Plus, there's something hilarious (and perhaps a bit prescient in the era of ubiquitous smartphones) about all of the 'adults' getting hooked on an electronic device.
The Game is definitely on my list, though I can only assume it makes the officers slightly stupid too. Security seems somewhat confused by Wesley's efforts to evade them.
 
Well, at first, I didn't know why people dislike Wesley Crusher. As far as I watched Star Trek TNG long time ago, I like Wesley. Like in the episode where Riker brought the Alien game, or when he was trapped in a planet with Picard. Or when he joined Starfleet Academy and one of his friend was died. That's because I never watched TNG season 1.

But, when Star Trek TNG available in the internet, I tried to watch season 1, and I start understand why they hate Wesley.

But I think, it is not the fault of Wesley, but more of how the story was written in season 1. I couldn't enjoy season 1. Specially the episode where the Enterprise was thrown into the edge of the Galaxy, and the episode where Tasya Yar was died. They were... bad. I don't know how to express my feeling when I watched them. schetchy? weird? bad acting? Basicaly the acting and dialog still similar to TOS era of TV Show. The way they speak and act were not natural. Unlike the later seasons. And how they portray Wesley was bad. they want to make him a wonder kid, but unable to make him natural enough nor loveable.

But it was different in the episode where Comm. Riker brought an Alien toy to the Enterprise. I think that episode has become my most favorite Wesley episode. Because they manage to portray him as a wonder kid without making him annoying like in season 1.
 
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I think the problem of Wesley in TNG was because he was the only child character in Season 1. Unlike TNG, DS9 could do better with their kid characters, with the friendship between Jack and Nog. So because there were 2 kids character, DS9 can separate Jack & Nog story with the more serious matter that handled by the adults. And both can become interesting and engaging to watch. Because they are separated.

But in TNG, Wesley was alone. And he supposed to be a genius, a brilliant kid. And because he didn't has another kids to engage with, then he mostly involve into the Adult problem in the Enterprise. That's why people think that Wesley was annoying.

I think it was Roddenberry wrong decision. If he put another kids, like a girl or a boy in season 1, and Wesley mostly engage with them, then Wesley can become more interesting as a character.
 
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