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How can we defend the most hated character in the history of science fiction? I'll begin.

I will say, I HATED Wesley in Season 1, as he managed to save every episode it would seam. This admittedly became less apparent in seasons two and three, though we do get those wunderkind moments in some episodes.

My only real defense to him was that by the time he was a temporary ensign and later (the few episodes from the Academy onward), Wil Wheaton became a manageable enough actor that he ceased to be annoying every second he was on screen. His later episodes also allowed him to see the transformation of the character into a real person (well that's ruined in the end) and not just this obnoxious little kid.

This isn't a resounding defense, though I suspect some people will give other defenses of W.C. that may be manageable.

I'd also like to add that the BIGGEST flaw to his character is that he wasn't allowed to be a kid, but instead a mini adult who was a miracle worker. The episodes where he got to act in the way a teenager would such as "Coming of Age" and "The Dauphin" were quite adequate portrayals of someone that age.

When TNG was on the air, Wesley Crusher was my favorite character, since I was roughly the same age (I even dressed up as him for a convention). I loved the idea of somebody my age being able to do everything an adult could do, and for the most part better.

It wasn't until I matured a bit before I realized how ridiculous this was. Since I didn't HAVE any experience, I didn't know how critical experience IS for somebody, especially in a position of serious responsibility.

Once I hit my late twenties, it went from silly to annoying that a character would be written like this and be expected to be believable.

Wil sure wasn't the problem - it was the char, not the performance.

And the only time I can defend him is in the academy years, when he actually showed signs of humanity and fallibility.

As I said in the "what it Wesley was a girl" thread, the problem was with the very concept of the character itself. Regardless of how good an actor you have playing him, the character still sucks.

At least he wasn't in every episode.

And that is what made TNG bearable...

Was the Wesley character used to try and bring in a younger fan base? I would hate to think so... When I started watching Trek (reruns in the late '60s) I sure as hell didn't tune in because I saw Miri! I watched it because it was friggin' cool! I wouldn't have a problem with him showing up in a minor role every fourth or fifth episode, but week after week?

I agree - it wasn't Wil Wheaton's acting...IT WAS THE CHARACTER!!!

steamrunner wrote:Was the Wesley character used to try and bring in a younger fan base?

Can't see anyone thinking his character would attract adults to the show.

Well... more than a few of a certain type of adult.

Tyyr wrote:

steamrunner wrote:Was the Wesley character used to try and bring in a younger fan base?

Can't see anyone thinking his character would attract adults to the show.

Well... more than a few of a certain type of adult.

Ewwww...

One of Gene's concepts for TNG was that Wesley, Riker and Picard were essentially the same character at three different stages of life. Interesting idea, but it never really panned out that way.

Wesley was just so badly done as a character. It's interesting reading Wil Wheaton's reviews of TNG episodes on his blog and his memories of the show; he wasn't really aware of the hatred that was brewing for the character, but young as he was, even he knew that there were serious issues with what he was being asked to do on screen. But what could he do about it, he was just a kid and had no authority to say "hell no, that's stupid".

My favourite of his memories was the director in the pilot episode. The scene when Wesley first comes onto the bridge, and has to look all awestruck... to get him in the right frame of mind the director stood off to the side during the shot screaming "Picard controls to sky, Wesley! PICARD CONTROLS THE SKY!!!!"

GrahamKennedy wrote:"...PICARD CONTROLS THE SKY!!!!"

Dude, really?

That explains a lot.

And where was this guy trained to direct?

Haha, probably the same place Michael Bay was, he did the same exact thing in Transformers 1&2 to make them look believable in thier reactions, or maybe its a trade secret, that they don't keep a secret well..

GK wrote
The scene when Wesley first comes onto the bridge, and has to look all awestruck... to get him in the right frame of mind the director stood off to the side during the shot screaming "Picard controls to sky, Wesley! PICARD CONTROLS THE SKY!!!!"

Yeah, I can see how that would work

That would just make me burst into laughter, rather than look awestruck.