Get Wesley

Tropes and genres
Synonym(s)	Kill Wesley, Bash Wesley
Related tropes/genres	Get Story
See also	Character Bashing
Related articles on Fanlore.

Wesley Crusher, a Star Trek: TNG character, was initially unpopular.

Early on, fans tended to dislike the character's Mary Sue elements (Gene Wesley Roddenberry admitted that Wesley was a bit of his own avatar). They did not like how he saved the day and outshone his elders, and that as a civilian, he was allowed on the bridge and given duties. They also cited how they felt Wesley was, at times, a distraction to his mother, Beverly Crusher, the ship's doctor.

Some fans channelled their dislike of the character, Wesley, into fanworks that humiliated, hurt, or killed him.

The publisher and editor of the zine series, Eridani, encouraged fans to create their "get Wesley" stories and poems. The editor wrote: "We half-heartedly requested such stories as the kid seems to be the least liked of all the Next Trek cast."

Most of them were included in an optional supplement to the first issue, and described as "'Get Wesley!' by Bill and Ann Hupe, and Cyrena White - "A collection of "Get Wesley" stories wherein Next Gen's resident know-it-all dies in a variety of gruesome ways. Fans really hated this character, especially in the beginning of the series. Not that it ever got much better..."

Not all the get Wesley content was in the supplement for issue #1. One of the stories was in the main section. It was titled, "All Strung Out," and it was by Roger Sorensen.

While some fans enjoyed the fanworks, most found them rude, cruel, and inappropriate. One story, they felt, crossed a line when it deviated from the character, to the actor who portrayed him, Wil Wheaton.

The publisher, Randall Landers, wrote in subsequent issues that he agreed with some of these assessments and fan comments, but he also stated that he found them funny, which was why he printed them.

Comments From and About the "Eridani" Supplement

The final section is a series of 'Kill Wesley' vignettes which will only be sent if specifically requested (there is some debate on the appropriate use of violence here and is definitely not for the squeamish, such as stripping the flesh inch by inch... in detail.)

'All Strung Out' by Roger Sorenson, is a funny story, and is even funnier on re-reading. It's a 'get rid of Wesley Crusher' story.

ERIDANI, for the most part, ranged from excruciatingly awful (the kill-Wesley short-shorts—which were mercifully brief), to fair ...

"Get Wesley" stories; the solutions that the writers suggested were unusual enough to hold one’s interest, but I was also startled by the intense hatred which seemed to be the motivation behind the writing of these stories. Yeah, I’d be the first to admit that The Kid is a pest, and I wish that he’d quit saving the ship, and I don’t even appreciate how he manages to treat Lieutenant Commander Data like the android is Wes’ younger brother, and... Hmmm. I think I can see now why fans are so vehement in their hatred against Wesley. So keep those short stories about offing The Brat coming! They are the best parts of your zine!

[Editor: Actually, I'd hate to think that the "Get Wesley" stories were the best part of ERIDANI 1. I had a great deal of fear and worry to publish them. I thought they were simply tasteless. Don't get me wrong; I can't stand the fact that Wesley saves the day all too often for me to believe. But I think the stories were a bit on the far side of good taste. In the future, we may print more such stories, but we’ll never make the zine such that "Get Wesley" becomes a central theme to ERIDANI. More input on whether or not to keep this questionable section would be appreciated. - RAL]

The first "Get Wesley” story ["All Strung Out,” by Roger Sorensen] was amusing, but the concentration on "Get Wesley" stories bother me.

[Editor: They bother me, too. I am not certain whether or not they will be regular feature. - RAL]

I don't care for the character myself, but enough is enough! Please keep the "kill Wesley” stories to a bare minimum. It goes against the Star Trek theme of brotherhood and humanity to express such deep hatred of a character. I’ll admit that one was slightly amusing, but four or five (I lost count) were offensive. In Wil Wheaton’s defense, he himself went to the writers and said, "Hey, you can't have me saving the ship every week. This is ridiculous!” Maybe he hates Wesley, too! Seriously, though, let’s show some restraint in ’offing the brat.’ There are so many possible story ideas with these wonderful new characters, so much to explore. I’m certain we can do something more positive than snuff a fifteen year old.

As for "All Strung Out” and the "Get Wesley" section (which I ordered for the sake of getting the "complete zine”) — Poor Wes. If only the series’ writers would quit bashing us over the head with "Children’s Lib” and giving Wesley such an attitude problem, we might actually end up with a sweet kid. I HATE the way his character is written now, but I'm starting to feel sorry for him, too. However, I have to admit that I did get a pretty good snort out of "One Day on the Set of the Next Generation. I wonder if poor Wil Wheaton really does get a lot of hate mail..."Transporter Accident" was also good for a laugh, as was the punch line of [their] "Wesley Meets Momma Alien." The other vignettes and "All Strung Out" were all right, but a bit too cruel or graphic for my taste.

And then, of course, there were the Hate-Wesley stories "All Strung Out” and ”Get Wesley” vignettes). Actually, my husband found them even more amusing since he is definitely not a fan of Wesley Crusher.

Finally, the "Get Wesley” section. I like Wesley. I really do. They haven't developed the character the same way I would if I ran The Next Generation, but that’s life. So I really am not adverse to a little Wesley-bashing, especially if it’s in a humorous vein, like the Bill and Ann Hupe stories. But Cyrena White’s "Untitled" was a little...much. (I

can’t say, however, I wasn’t warned. When I bought ERIDANI, and I believe it was from Bill Hupe. I was told there was a real graphic "Get Wesley" story. I thought, okay, they put the kid on a spit and roasted him and had a few laughs. Boy, was I surprised! I guess eyeball-eating is just a little too fast-lane for me.) But that was

just a minor quibble.

The "Get Wesley" stories were too numerous and bordered on being cruel.

"Get Wesley" was the highlight of my year.

My only other complaint is with the "Get Wesley!" section of the zine, and include "All Strung Out" in this category although technically it wasn’t placed there. Actually, I had looked forward to this section, expecting to find something really funny and off-the-wall. I have been as irritated as anyone else by the tendency at the beginning of the season to have Wesley keep saving the ship while all of the professional engineers and bridge crew Just stood around looking stupid. But that wasn’t Wesley’s (or Wil Wheaton’s) fault. That was the fault of the writers, and perhaps Gene Roddenberry as well, who freely admits that he patterned Wesley after his own teenaged dreams of what he would like to be. (In case anyone doesn’t already

know, Gene's middle name is Wesley.) Anyway, when I finally received my zine and read the stories, I was very disappointed. Rather than funny and off-the-wall, I found them tasteless and at least bordering on being down¬ right sick. If you decide to continue this section of the zine, please tone the stories down a bit and go for the humorous rather than the graphically violent. It somehow just doesn’t seem to me to be appropriate for Star Trek. This is not the philosophy of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations, of non-discrimination, and of a better universe ahead that first drew me to Star Trek so many years ago and kept me a fan for so long, even through the many years in which I was unaware of the phenomenon of fan fiction and the wonderful people out there who shared this love with me. Please, let’s get back to that philosophy and drop all of this sick hatred of what is really a rather nice teenaged boy. At least, let's give him a chance, now that Wil Wheaton says he’s not going to save the

ship anymore.

Now, what did we learn from ERIDANI #1? Well, we learned that many want a Riker-Troi romance, like the idea of Worf expressing "appreciation” for Tasha, want Wesley dead no matter how fantastic of monstrous the means of his demise, and most importantly of all, that this fanzine is incredibly...open-minded in subject matter while keeping a high standard in stories and art... However, the "Wesley Crusher Must Die”-type of stories almost make me feel sorry for the brat; be careful, okay? .

Please, I do want the infamous "Get Wesley" section. Next time around, I hope you'll turn it into a "Get Riker" section, as this guy bugs me to no end.

I do have to object to the untitled piece in the "Get Wesley" section graphically describing the torture of Wesley. While I found the other stories in this section to be amusing, I felt that the aforementioned piece was disgusting and in poor taste. There are laws that prevent me from expressing my thoughts about this particular piece and its author, but I think you get the idea.

[Editor: Actually, there are no laws which restrict you from stating your opinions. Please feel free to do so! - RAL]

My advice would be to drop the "Get Wesley" section and use the extra space to include more stories like the other two I mentioned. Thank you for allowing me to express my opinion.

I was generally please with the quality of ERIDANI #1, that is, until I got to the final section of vignettes, entitled "Get Wesley." Granted, Wesley Crusher is the least developed and more poorly utilized character of the ST:TNG cast, but what Bill and Ann Hupe, and especially Cyrena White, have done to his character is worse than anything the series has shown him doing.

Zine writers write their stories because they want to handle the characters the way the "official" stories can and/or will not: explore histories and relationships beyond the sparsely established limits of TV or the movies. If they dislike a character or his/her presentation, zine writing is their chance to either comment upon or "explain" the character’s irregularities. Cyrena White’s "Untitled" serves no purpose other than to literally torture and kill a character, in protracted detail. This puts the story on par with the most gratuitous EC horror/ schlock comics of the 1950’s. The appeal of such prurient material is certainly beyond me; while I am not personally offended by graphic violence in most media, I only accept it when there is a legitimate dramatic context.

Perhaps more offensive while being less explicit, is Bill and Ann Hupe’s "One Day on the Set of the Next Generation," in which their target is not Wesley, but Wil Wheaton. Even if Wil had the clout to demand that his character be written the way it was, which is certainly not evinced by numerous articles and interviews from Starlog to TV Guide, there is no reason to assassinate the actor because of his portrayal. This becomes even more odious in light of the redirection of Wesley's character as the first season of ST: TNG progressed and the writing improved.

Even worse than the entire section of stories in ERIDANI #1, however, is the solicitation for more stories in the same vein. I feel that it is counter-productive to good zine writing to encourage fans to concoct sadistic vendettas against an unpopular character. There is nothing funny or clever about such writing.

Editor’s Note: While I might agree with some of what Lawrence has said, I would like to point out that the purchase of the "Get Wesley" section was optional.

More interesting, perhaps is that since the first issue, there seems to be no frenzy of "Get Wesley" writers sending their material in to this office. As this section is being typed, there have been only two such "Get Wesley" stories received, one of which was rejected, and the other one will be published next issue.

I do feel Lawrence is exaggerating a situation somewhat. The stories were intended to be amusing, not serious. Perhaps the gore was a bit much, but no more so than that one of my favorite scenes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. In this scene, Arthur does battle with the Black Knight. It is a quick battle, and the Black Knight quickly loses an arm. Blood is spurting everywhere, but the knight says "It’s only a flesh wound."

Now, many I know do not like that scene, because it is gory. Blood is spurting everywhere, much more than even your average Rick Endres novel has. But I can look past the gore.

In the future, we will be holding the "Get Wesley" section to a minimum. If I think it's necessary, it well be offered as either an option (as was the case with the first issue) or as a separate publication. Personally, given the few subs I've received on it I doubt we’11 see anything more than the occasional cartoon.

Other Fan Comments

Ron Murillo's Wesley story [Battle Alert! in The Clipper Trade Ship #64] is a gem. A "Get Wesley" story that makes us happy without brutalizing the poor kid. Every adolescent's nightmare of humiliation in full color.

Some Examples

• "All Strung Out,” written by Roger Sorensen (from Eridani #1, in which the editor described it as "A "Get Wesley" story wherein the ingratiating teenager gets his just reward. -- Note: Violence.")
• Battle Alert! by Ron Murillo (from The Clipper Trade Ship #54)