What Does Wheaton Think About Wes Leaving Academy to Join the Travelr?

[Ro_Laren]

Just curious to know if Wil Wheaton ever commented about whether or not he thought it was realistic for Wesley Crusher to leave Starfleet Academy and join the Traveler on his adventures. Personally, the whole Wes-Traveler thing always annoyed the crap out of me and I hated the episode Journey’s End. Wes always seemed to truly enjoy his duties on the Enterprise and I thought it was unrealistic for him to decide quit the Academy & leave Starfleet. While I am sure that the events of The First Duty (the last non-parallel universe episode of Wes before Journey’s End) really impacted Wesley, I never thought that they would realistically lead him to feel and act the way that he did in Journey’s End. I was happy to see Wes back in uniform in Nemesis. IMO (or at least in my book) that scene is canon, even if it was cut from the final version of Nemesis!

And

Spoiler: TNG Novel Spoilers

sorry, but I don't like the Time for War / Peace movie viewpoint that Wes is still a Traveler, but Picard made him wear a uniform at Riker & Troi's wedding 'cause Picard didn't want Wes to be naked!

 

[Ro_Laren]

Re: What Does Wheaton Think About Wes Leaving Academy to Join the Trav

I guess no one knows the answer....

 

[T'Girl]

Re: What Does Wheaton Think About Wes Leaving Academy to Join the Trav

And

Spoiler: TNG Novel Spoilers

sorry, but I don't like the Time for War / Peace movie viewpoint that Wes is still a Traveler, but Picard made him wear a uniform at Riker & Troi's wedding 'cause Picard didn't want Wes to be naked!

My own take on Wesley at the wedding is no one knew he was coming because no one knew how to contact him.

Using his "traveler powers" he arrived at the wedding in Starfleet uniform, everyone remembers his being invited and being a member of Starfleet, he has a great time with his mother and his friends, but after he leaves no one remembers him being there.

"Traveler powers."

 

[Lance]

Re: What Does Wheaton Think About Wes Leaving Academy to Join the Trav

^ I like it, T'Girl. Nice and neat.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Re: What Does Wheaton Think About Wes Leaving Academy to Join the Trav

I don't think it's unrealistic for Wesley to have changed his mind about the academy. How many teenagers want to do the same thing when they're 20 as they do when they're 15?

Is there a novelverse explanation for why Wesley returned to Starfleet? Was he given a commission during the Dominion war or something?

 

[Lance]

Re: What Does Wheaton Think About Wes Leaving Academy to Join the Trav

Is there a novelverse explanation for why Wesley returned to Starfleet? Was he given a commission during the Dominion war or something?

As cannon fodder?

(I kid, of course. )

 

[Ro_Laren]

Re: What Does Wheaton Think About Wes Leaving Academy to Join the Trav

I don't think it's unrealistic for Wesley to have changed his mind about the academy. How many teenagers want to do the same thing when they're 20 as they do when they're 15?

Is there a novelverse explanation for why Wesley returned to Starfleet? Was he given a commission during the Dominion war or something?

Read the Spoiler that I put on the first post: it gives the novel's explanation for Wesley's appearance in uniform at the wedding.

I never thought of how the Dominion War could have motivated Wes to return to Starfleet. I like that explanation!!

 

[F. King Daniel]

Re: What Does Wheaton Think About Wes Leaving Academy to Join the Trav

I assumed TPTB didn't like "Journey's End" (who does?) and pulled their own version of the fanboy staple "STV/Threshold/TATV isn't canon!" and made Wesley a Starfleet engineer, academy graduated, and assigned to the USS Titan.

 

[2takesfrakes]

Re: What Does Wheaton Think About Wes Leaving Academy to Join the Trav

As I understand it, unlike most other STAR TREK stars, actually does post on STAR TREK forums. I do not know this for absolute certain, however, I am just the relayer. Never-the-Less, Wil Wheaton had no choice but to do and say whatever was written for the Wesley Crusher character and by the time he joined the Traveller, this had not changed, one iota. To see some of Wil Wheaton's earlier movies, you see so much potential, there. The Next Generation was a stellar role call of some of the finest talent available, in the Late Eighties.

 

[Kevman7987]

Re: What Does Wheaton Think About Wes Leaving Academy to Join the Trav

I always wrote Wesley's NEM appearance off under the assumption he was done exploring with the Traveler. For all we know, Wesley had already spent an entire lifetime exploring with him, but to us it may have only seemed like a few years.

For Wes, he was taking a year off of school to go abroad and find himself. In this case, abroad also included other dimensions (not only of sight and sound, but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination... the Twilight Zone).

 

[dub]

Re: What Does Wheaton Think About Wes Leaving Academy to Join the Trav

I still want to know what happened to Wesley because for me, neither Journey's End or Nemesis are canon.

 

[JD5000]

Re: What Does Wheaton Think About Wes Leaving Academy to Join the Trav

I loved Journey's End. Run, Wes! Run!!!

 

[Ro_Laren]

Re: What Does Wheaton Think About Wes Leaving Academy to Join the Trav

I assumed TPTB didn't like "Journey's End" (who does?) and pulled their own version of the fanboy staple "STV/Threshold/TATV isn't canon!" and made Wesley a Starfleet engineer, academy graduated, and assigned to the USS Titan.

STV? What's that?

 

[jimbotron]

Re: What Does Wheaton Think About Wes Leaving Academy to Join the Trav

^Star Trek V.

If Journey's End is not canon, that's fine with me. Insurrection too, which became eerily similar to Journey's End's plot, with some Homeward and Who Watches the Watchers thrown in.

 

[Hober Mallow]

Re: What Does Wheaton Think About Wes Leaving Academy to Join the Trav

Just curious to know if Wil Wheaton ever commented about whether or not he thought it was realistic for Wesley Crusher to leave Starfleet Academy and join the Traveler on his adventures.

All I could find was this, although it doesn't really answer your question:

I asked John Logan, the screenwriter "did Wesley Crusher come back to Starfleet after roaming around the galaxy in The Traveler’s windowless white van eating chloroform candy? Or was he at Starfleet Academy?" and John Logan said "I don’t have enough space in the script to address that, so you are just there and you are in a uniform." So the audience can just choose and ultimately it doesn’t really matter.

EDIT: I spoke too soon. Right after posting the above, I found this:

MillionairePlayboy.com: How do you feel about what the writers did with the character of Wesley? (The Traveler story.)

Wil Wheaton: I guess this is one of those vi vs. EMACS type of things. Some people think that it’s just terrible that Wesley turned into a ball of light, and vanished into the sunset. Others think that it’s really cool that Wesley transcended space and time to become something greater than himself. Personally, I don’t really take a side on it. Though I think there’s an interesting story to be told about what exactly Wesley did between Journey’s End and Nemesis.