What if it HAD been "Lesley"?

[2takesfrakes]

I don't understand what you're trying to say here. A son's Daddy issues good? A daughter's Daddy issues bad?

A son is more keen on following in his father's footsteps. It's more dramatic to show the son living in the shadow of the father. It's just more palpable ... more commercial, perhaps. The most famous male comicbook heroes, for example, live in the shadow of their fathers, or father figures ... Spider-Man, Batman, Superman ... and so on.

 

[Nerys Myk]

A son is more keen on following in his father's footsteps. It's more dramatic to show the son living in the shadow of the father. It's just more palpable ... more commercial, perhaps. The most famous male comicbook heroes, for example, live in the shadow of their fathers, or father figures ... Spider-Man, Batman, Superman ... and so on.

Any child, no matter what the sex can be keen on following in a parents footsteps.
No its not more palpable. Commercial, perhaps. But less so today.
No, they don't. Those father figures are motivators. Their deaths are what propel those men to become heroes. But they do not live in their father's shadows.

 

[sbk1234]

I like the idea of the character being a girl, Leslie. It could have been inspiring for the young girls watching to see her grow and learn and excel in the sciences and engineering.

I'd still would have wanted her to be played by Wil Wheaton.

 

[m.lp.ql.m]

What if it had been Lt Leslie?

 

[Vanyel]

I still say it's the age of the character that was the problem, not the sex. An engineering prodigy freshly graduated from the Academy learning that life out in the fleet is nothing like they were taught, while a bit cliche, would allow for better stories. Imagine what could have been done when the Yamato was destroyed, a newly graduated Ensign reaction trying to reconcile what they were taught in countless simulations against actually seeing 1000+ people die in an instant. It could have made a good character moment or even arc.

But they could have done a bit more with Wesley with that. He could have gone to Picard, like he did; then maybe at the end or near the end, gone to his mother for consolation. A tender mother/son moment, where he could be a boy and not a boy genius.

 

[Mojochi]

Since were fantasizing anyhow, it Probably would've made for infinitely better drama had it been Alexandra, daughter of Worf, with a deceased half human mother. Lord knows it couldn't have been any worse than the stories involving his son

 

[Christian Weston Chandler]

Any child, no matter what the sex can be keen on following in a parents footsteps.
No its not more palpable. Commercial, perhaps. But less so today.
No, they don't. Those father figures are motivators. Their deaths are what propel those men to become heroes. But they do not live in their father's shadows.

Well of course a female child can follow in their male parent's footsteps or vice versa. That's a commonly observable phenomenon that's irrefutable to deny. But the son following in the footsteps of the father is probably more statistically frequent and familiar to people, and is quite a well established trope in many societies including the West, so it maybe indeed be more palpable in the sense of being emotionally resonant to a wider range of the audience. Again, as you said, less so today.

 

[somebuddyX]

When I was making up my alternate universe TNG cast I went with Mädchen Amick for Leslie Crusher.

 

[SPCTRE]

Mädchen

I get that it sounds sort of adorable in English, but it's a really stupid name. Imagine if your parents named you Girl.

Pet peeve rant over.

 

[Tenacity]

An engineering prodigy freshly graduated from the Academy learning that life out in the fleet is nothing like they were taught, while a bit cliche, would allow for better stories

Isn't that basically what we had with Geordi? While he wasn't right out of the academy, he was depicted as a very young officer. Slot filled.

 

[JesterFace]

If it had been Lesley, many of the guys here wouldn't have a head anymore, all of them would have exploded when we saw a female nerd on TV.

The script might have been a bit different with the episodes with Ensign Lefler in them, or we could've seen female ensigns Crusher and Lefler on a date..?

 

[TheSeeker]

or we could've seen female ensigns Crusher and Lefler on a date..?

Sadly, I seriously doubt that would ever have happened.

 

[Vanyel]

Isn't that basically what we had with Geordi? While he wasn't right out of the academy, he was depicted as a very young officer. Slot filled.

No. Geordi was already piloting shuttles and been in Starfleet for a few years before arriving on the Enterprise. Picard commented on how Geordi had piloted him in a shuttle and that Picard thought the shuttle had some minor problem, and that Geordi stayed up all night to fix the problem. Picard said that when he learned that he knew he wanted Geordi on his next command. So I would think Geordi had been in Starfleet at least 5 years to be a Lt. JG. at the beginning of TNG.

 

[Nerys Myk]

If it had been Lesley, many of the guys here wouldn't have a head anymore, all of them would have exploded when we saw a female nerd on TV.

The script might have been a bit different with the episodes with Ensign Lefler in them, or we could've seen female ensigns Crusher and Lefler on a date..?

It would be Robert Lefler most likely.

 

[Lance]

No. Geordi was already piloting shuttles and been in Starfleet for a few years before arriving on the Enterprise. Picard commented on how Geordi had piloted him in a shuttle and that Picard thought the shuttle had some minor problem, and that Geordi stayed up all night to fix the problem. Picard said that when he learned that he knew he wanted Geordi on his next command. So I would think Geordi had been in Starfleet at least 5 years to be a Lt. JG. at the beginning of TNG.

They are still both 'junior officers' (as Worf and Geordi discuss in "Lonely Among Us"), but I agree they're most certainly characters with a history and some experience, even if it's only a few years each.

Somebody on here once theorized that Picard probably drew on a very disparate group of officers to staff his Enterprise, people who shown promise but whose capacities and full potential hadn't in his view been fully tapped. Geordi was likely one such officer, on the command track and piloting people around, but it was only Picard who saw his potential as an engineer.... that role being in flux in season one of TNG, he stuck Geordi at Conn, but always anticipated promoting him.

 

[TheSeeker]

Somebody on here once theorized that Picard probably drew on a very disparate group of officers to staff his Enterprise, people who shown promise but whose capacities and full potential hadn't in his view been fully tapped. Geordi was likely one such officer, on the command track and piloting people around, but it was only Picard who saw his potential as an engineer.... that role being in flux in season one of TNG, he stuck Geordi at Conn, but always anticipated promoting him.

I like that idea. It nicely explains how a pilot became the chief engineer of the federation flagship.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

It would be Robert Lefler most likely.

Robin is a unisex name.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Robin is a unisex name.

True, but a name more associated with women.
And using "Robin" would fail to illustrate the point I was making.

 

[JesterFace]

Sadly, I seriously doubt that would ever have happened.

It would be Robert Lefler most likely.

Maybe this could happen today, two Starfleet women on a date, but like you said, not at the time those episodes aired.

 

[Myko]

If it had been Leslie/Lesley then this thread would've been called 'What if it HAD been "Wesley"?'

 

[Tuskin38]

If it had been Leslie/Lesley then this thread would've been called 'What if it HAD been "Wesley"?'

Well Wesley was named after Gene, so people would asking 'Why would he name a character after himself?'

 

[TheSeeker]

They should have thrown Leslie into one of those alternate realities in Parallels instead of Wesley. Imagine viewer confusion when Riker turned to address a female Lt. Crusher!