Wesley Crusher
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Wesley Crusher |
| Occupation: | |
| Relationships: | Beverly Crusher (mother) |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: The Next Generation |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Wesley Crusher is a character on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The earliest of casting descriptions described Wesley Crusher as a 15-year old girl named Leslie. Later, a March 1987 comment in Comlink reports on the official casting description of Crusher: "Wesley Crusher -- An appealing 15-year old caucasian boy. His remarkable mind and photographic memory make it seem likely for him to become, at 15, a Starfleet acting-ensign. Otherwise, he is a normal teenager." [1]
Fandom
Wesley as a Mary Sue
Most fans disliked the character due to what they felt his Mary Sueness. Ironically, Gene Roddenberry, whose middle name was "Wesley," saw the character as an extension of himself.
A fan in 1988 wrote:
Only once did the Mary Sue/Billi Bob character have any merit and that was in the Star Fleet Academy exam episode. However, I find myself increasingly resenting a character that was specifically brought in to be the next teen heart-throb of the bubble gum set. I realize that ST:TNG has to be a commercial success, but surely that would have been obvious? Did they have to calculatingly pander to every set of demographics about the show? [2]
Wesley Getting Preferential Treatment
Wesley wasn't totally without flaws, but his flaws were constantly overlooked. There were times during the course of ST:TNG when, by all rights, young Mister Crusher should have been locked into a prison cell and left to rot. At one point, his actions contributed to the death of a Starfleet cadet. But, he got off with a proverbial slap on the wrist. He should have been expelled from the academy, and sent to do hard time! Many Star Trek fans have wanted to kill Wesley at some point. But, there was no way that Roddenberry was going to let something bad happen to him, because Wesley Crusher was an idealization of Gene Roddenberry! It was said, at the time, that Wesley was supposed to be different from everyone else, and he was portrayed that way. That's how he was supposed to appear, but how he really did appear was as an obnoxious prick with an oblivious mother and an even more oblivious Captain. [3]
Get Wesley
Some fans disliked the character so much they focused on creating and consuming fanworks that mistreated, tortured, and killed Wesley off.
While some fans found this funny and satisfying, many others found it rude, cruel, immature, and not in the philosophy of IDIC and the Star Trek universe.
See Get Wesley.
Early Comments About the Character by Patrick Stewart
From 1988:
I can tell you...and I know there are strong feelings about the character of Wesley Crusher. And over the course of the season one of the most discussed aspects of the show has been what exactly is Wesley Crusher's role on the show; his position on the Enterprise; how is he best used? The state that we have at the moment...the emphasis we have is a very proper one. And he's being used well. I know that there was strong feelings that if Wesley Crusher were to save the ship one more time... (laughter)
I like him. What I have enjoyed so much about the show is that it was not actually - as I calmly expected - programmed and fixed and scaled from the very beginning. The amount of flexibility, the amount of adjusting that's going on, not just month by month of the show, but moment by moment. It's what gives it for most of us great charm.
[...]
So far as Wesley Crusher, or Wil Wheaton, is concerned, if I were asked to pick out some personal highlights from the whole season, a scene that I have been involved in, with one or two exceptions they would be all sustained scenes that I have acted with Wil Wheaton. Most particularly in Coming of Age when he failed his entry to Starfleet Academy.
He is the most remarkable actor of his age that I have ever worked with. He is a phenomenon - Wil Wheaton - for his age and experience, temperament. And the difficulty surrounding what he has accomplished as a young man; the consistency of his work, his freedom, his intelligence is unsurpassed in my experience. And I wouldn't pause to play major scenes with that young man, because he brings out the best in me. And therefore I want to see him there and I want to see him happily functioning on the ship. I think he's tremendously important. He actually has a personally huge following. Well, Richard...this is the gentleman who delivers the mail. When we are sitting in our chairs taking a rest or looking at the script, Richard brings your mail to us. And if I said that Wil Wheaton's mail is just impossible, outrageously overwhelming (laughter) and that's just as it should be. You're talking to the number one fan of that actor... [4]
General Fan Comments
Wesley Crusher was a controversial character.
While some fans enjoyed his presence, many other fans did not citing his Mary Sue-ness, how he was a distraction to his mother, how the character pandered to demographics, and the unrealistic proposal of having such a young character who hadn't paid his dues achieve such high status and responsibilities.
The character was so disliked and seen as so receiving special treatment that on TV Tropes the trope Creator's Pet was originally called The Wesley.[note 1]
1988
I for one, like Wes Crusher. Wes is a great character. and the actor is as good as the character. But, as much as I like him, he does have a few faults. I felt most uncomfortable with him running the bridge as a civilian! I was made to feel more comfortable when they gave him a commission. I find him a distraction to his mother, thus keeping her from concentrating on her duties as Chief Medical Officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The Officers and crew should be her "on board" family; the center of her concentration. To have Wes on-board, does her patients a disservice! And it is unfair to the doctor/mother to force her into making choices between duty and motherhood every week. It also gets a little boring for the viewer. Besides which, keeping him tied to his mothers apron-strings. does him a disservice as well. [5]
Wesley Crusher in Fanart
1989
from Interstat #136, artist is Vel Jaeger (1989)
Wesley Crusher and Beverly Crusher, from Spock #55, artist is Wendy Purcell (1989)
1991
from Survival, artist is Adrian Morgan (1991)
from LoneStar Trek #3, artist is Brett Barham (1991)
from Eridani #12, artist is Julie Nosal (1991)
1992
from the zine In Need of Repair (1992)
1993
from Beyond Farpoint USA, artist is Ken Yarbrough (1993)
Further Reading/Meta
- Wither Wesley (1989)
- All Your Usenet are Belong to Wesley Crusher ("In light of Google's recent release of 20 years worth of archived Usenet postings, I spent a bit of time tracking down the first Usenet references to Wesley Crusher and to Wil Wheaton.')
References
- ^ from the editor of Comlink who passes along info about ST: TNG from the very short-lived zine, This is It!
- ^ Margaret A. Basta in The Clipper Trade Ship #61 (October 1988)
- ^ from Look Out! It's Mary Sue! by by Richard Pugh (1998)
- ^ from Patrick Stewart's talk at the 1988 UFP Con, transcript printed in B.A. News #9
- ^ from a long review of the show, printed in Sensorscans (spring 1988)