Wesley Crusher may not have been the most popular one on Star Trek: The Next Generation, but I wish he would have stuck around longer. Centering on Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crew aboard the USS Enterprise-D, TNG introduced an incredible cast of characters who came to feel like family. While I agree with the general consensus that Star Trek: TNG’s first season is the show’s weakest, a lot about the series worked from the very beginning, including most of its characters.
Wil Wheaton’s Wesley Crusher was the youngest main cast member by far, and he offered a glimpse of what life on a starship would be like for a teenage boy. While Wesley was not my absolute favorite character, I never understood all the backlash and hate he has received from some viewers. The writers of Star Trek: The Next Generation did not seem to know quite what to do with Wesley much of the time, but I think the character had a lot of potential and I wish he had stayed on the show longer.
Wesley Crusher Was Mishandled During Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Early Seasons
TNG’s Early Season Writers Didn’t Quite Know What To Do With Wesley.
Wesley Crusher was originally conceived as a bit of a stand-in for Gene Roddenberry, and who wouldn’t want to be a young boy genius who gets to live on a starship? But Wesley’s genius was part of the problem. As a child prodigy, Wes sometimes found solutions to problems that had evaded even the most senior members of the Enterprise crew. This made the more experienced crew members look incompetent, which didn’t exactly endear Wesley to viewers. Still, it wasn’t the character’s fault (or Wil Wheaton’s) that Wes was too often written poorly in TNG.
Wil Wheaton delivered a solid performance and Wes had a lot of potential if only he had been taken more seriously as a character and given better storylines. Episodes like TNG season 1, episode 3, “The Naked Now” and season 1, episode 8, “Justice” both feature Wesley stories that fall flat. But these two episodes had weak stories from the beginning, suggesting Wesley wasn’t the problem. In these early episodes, it was clear the writers were still developing the characters, and Wes just didn’t get the development that many of the other characters did.
Wesley Crusher’s Later Star Trek: TNG Stories Prove He Had Much More To Give
TNG’s “Final Mission” & “The First Duty” Are Both Strong Episodes.
Wesley had a few standout moments throughout TNG seasons 1 and 2, such as “Where No One Has Gone Before” and “Pen Pals,” but he doesn’t get much to do in season 3. It feels like the people behind the scenes saw that Wes wasn’t quite working as a character, so they stopped giving him significant storylines. But then the last episode with Wesley as a member of the main cast is surprisingly good. In TNG season 4, episode 9, “Final Mission,” Captain Picard travels with Wes to Starfleet Academy, but their shuttle crashes on the way there.
I enjoyed that Wes behaved like a normal teenager in “The First Duty,” but still proved himself to be a genuinely good person.
When Picard is seriously injured, Wes has to keep him alive until the Enterprise arrives, and he comes across as smart and capable. I have a particular fondness for “Final Mission,” as well as TNG’s “The First Duty,” which shows another side to Wes. After he’s involved in a flight accident that kills another cadet, Wesley participates in a cover-up with his fellow Nova Squadron members which results in him receiving a dressing down from Captain Picard. I enjoyed that Wes behaved like a normal teenager in “The First Duty,” but still proved himself to be a genuinely good person.
I’m So Glad Wesley Crusher Finally Returned To Star Trek
Wes’s Return In Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 Was A Welcome Surprise.
Way back in TNG season 1’s “Where No One Has Gone Before,” a mysterious being known as the Traveler (Eric Menyuk) informed Picard that Wesley was destined for greatness. After Wesley left to join the Travelers in “Journey’s End,” he remained mostly absent from Star Trek for 28 years (aside from a brief cameo in Star Trek: Nemesis). Although he popped up in Star Trek: Picard season 2, Traveler Wesley made a more significant return in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2. I’m glad we finally got to see Wes having fun, galavanting throughout time and space, and saving the universe.
I can’t help thinking of all of the adventures we could have witnessed had Wesley joined the Travelers earlier in TNG. Still, Prodigy delivered a great Wesley Crusher story, providing some closure for the character if it does turn out to be the last we see of him. Although, since Wes can travel throughout time and space, he could make an appearance in any Star Trek project, regardless of its place in the timeline. I, for one, really hope future Trek projects take advantage of this, giving Wil Wheaton’s Wesley Crusher the fun and compelling storylines he never got on Star Trek: The Next Generation.