Despite trying his best to impress, Wesley Crusher remains one of the most hated characters in the Star Trek franchise.
Star Trek is a huge pop culture phenomenon that has introduced audiences to iconic and beloved characters, from the original series’ Spock (Leonard Nimoy) to Deep space nine‘s Odo (René Auberjonois) and TravelerSeven out of nine (Jeri Ryan). But for every emerging character, there is a mainstay of the franchise that consistently earns the ire of many. Star trek Fans: Wesley Crusher, the hopeful boy genius of Starfleet played by Wil Wheaton.
Many fans dislike Wesley because they believe him to be deeply annoying and arrogant, saving the day too often, and came to pilot the Federation flagship despite his limited experience compared to the professionals he shared the bridge with. He was also always in the way of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and got in the way of any mission that the Business In reality, however, Wesley was simply an enthusiast, for better or for worse, a dreamer with his eyes on the stars.
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Introduced in The next generationIn the pilot episode, “Encounter at Farpoint”, Wesley is the son of Doctor Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), the Medical Director of the Enterprise. His father, Jack, died in the line of duty while serving with Picard. Given his mother’s busy schedule, Wesley sought the attention of the other members of the Business crew, frequently ambushing them with wild excitement for whatever project he was working on, and generally making Picard, who wasn’t a huge fan of kids in the first place, uncomfortable. Despite Wesley’s brilliance, the rest of the crew despised him because he was a boy. Eventually, with everyone on the ship against him, he gains the attention of a being known as the Traveler, who recognizes the boy’s prodigious abilities.
Through TNGIn the first four seasons, Wesley becomes an Acting Ensign in the Business despite failing his Starfleet entrance exams. He continues to serve in the Business even after his mother left the series for a season to teach Starfleet medicine, irritating fans hoping to see him leave ship with Dr. Crusher. Instead, with his promotion to Acting Ensign, Wesley played an even bigger role in missions and had an excuse to be on the bridge. He often came up with solutions when none of the adults in the room could, and he was given a level of prominence on the show that fans didn’t think he deserved. The final straw for many came when he rejected Starfleet after several seasons of expressing his adoration for the Federation and his enthusiasm for his future studies and leaving the program to explore the galaxy with the Traveler.
Wesley was written as a character to appeal to a younger audience, but even they couldn’t connect with him because he was never seen doing anything an average kid would do. He spent all his time hanging around adults, and his genius-level intellect meant that he was uncomfortable in an impossible way to relate.
In the years since TNG It came off the air, widespread contempt for the character has become a running joke in pop culture, and Picard’s line, “Shut up, Wesley,” is one of the most recognizable in the series. The character had some potential, but unfortunately, Wesley was never able to escape the bad taste he left during TNGFirst season.
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