# Death to Wesley Crusher! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 8, 2014, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857 "2014-02-08T20:53:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857/21 "2014-02-09T03:04:44Z")
> [@Cumberdale](#): > > I’d be behind this if it was _Death to the writers ruined what could have been an interesting character_. How about _Death to the idiots who put children on board the_ Enterprise? :dubious: If they wanted to appeal to the younger audience, all they needed was a character like Chekov, who (on _ **TOS** _) was already in his early 20s. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857/22 "2014-02-09T03:38:16Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > How about _Death to the idiots who put children on board the_ Enterprise? :dubious: > > If they wanted to appeal to the younger audience, all they needed was a character like Chekov, who (on _ **TOS** _) was already in his early 20s. Children were on board because: 1. The Feds have been mostly at peace and complacent for a long time. I mean look at the ENT-D. It’s a Pleasure Cruise ship…and… 2. It’s pretty unrealistic to go on a five year mission without seeing your family. Yes, the ENT-D wasn’t on a five-year mission, but still… Also, Wesley piloting the ship isn’t unrealistic. See: Midshipmen in sailing days. As for Wesley’s potential…it’s a shame he left when he did. Putting him in the uniform and making him a brashful counterpart to Picard (See the last regular appearance he made) did wonders for his character. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857/23 "2014-02-09T03:44:00Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > It’s pretty unrealistic to go on a five year mission without seeing your family. Yes, the ENT-D wasn’t on a five-year mission, but still… For service personnel, it’s not all that unusual. If you’re a husband and wife team of scientists, it’s reasonable so long as she doesn’t get pregnant. To ignore the dangers of interstellar exploration and needlessly endanger children is reprehensible. And Wesley Crusher was originally not a member of Starfleet. Even with junior officers/midshipmen, surely there’s a minimum age limit, and it probably ain’t 14. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857/24 "2014-02-09T03:52:41Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I’d do what they did, ship him off to never be seen or referred to again. Maybe give him a job in a submarine, with a talking dolphin. Nice reference. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857/25 "2014-02-09T05:39:41Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > For service personnel, it’s not all that unusual. If you’re a husband and wife team of scientists, it’s reasonable so long as she doesn’t get pregnant. > > To ignore the dangers of interstellar exploration and needlessly endanger children is reprehensible. > > And Wesley Crusher was originally not a member of Starfleet. Even with junior officers/midshipmen, surely there’s a minimum age limit, and it probably ain’t 14. In the age of sails, it wasn’t unusual to have 14 year olds on the ship. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857/26 "2014-02-09T05:42:47Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > In the age of sails, it wasn’t unusual to have 14 year olds on the ship. Or 12-year-olds, for that matter … in the Age of Sail. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Dumpster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Desert\_Dumpster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Dumpster)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857/27 "2014-02-09T05:57:41Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Or 12-year-olds, for that matter … in the Age of Sail. Yes…and in the Star Trek multiverse of 23whatever, surely human life expectancy would be well over 100, so Wesley would be just a baby, and certainly barely beginning his advanced-level education. It would be easy to envision no one actually starting to work until they were 40 or so and had obtained three or four advanced degrees. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857/28 "2014-02-09T06:07:04Z")
> [@Desert\_Dumpster](#): > > Yes…and in the Star Trek multiverse of 23whatever, surely human life expectancy would be well over 100, so Wesley would be just a baby, and certainly barely beginning his advanced-level education. It would be easy to envision no one actually starting to work until they were 40 or so and had obtained three or four advanced degrees. I doubt that. But even today, you need your parents’ permission to join the service if you’re under the age of 18. I see no need to lower that limit even if someone is a particularly gifted _Wunderkind_. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857/29 "2014-02-09T23:50:17Z")
My first thought – and my apologies if this isn’t gory enough – is that someone goes back in time and prevents his parents from meeting. Guinan, as we all know from “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” has a special sense that allows her to be aware when reality has been altered. It tells her that the new timeline is much, much better. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857/30 "2014-02-09T23:54:12Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > Guinan, as we all know from “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” has a special sense that allows her to be aware when reality has been altered. I found that to be the episode’s only flaw. Well, plus I didn’t like Guinan in general. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857/31 "2014-02-10T01:17:43Z")
Wesley meet Borg. Borg, meet Wesley. And then, Wesley develops an interesting character. Suddenly. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857/32 "2014-02-10T02:52:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And all of this has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that Wil Wheaton is awesome. _ **A great actor** _ can portray an annoying character. Wil is entertaining and seems like a nice guy, but let’s not go overboard. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857/33 "2014-02-10T03:59:42Z")
Yeah, I phrased that wrong. I meant that he’s an actor who’s a great guy, not that his acting skills themselves are remarkable. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857/34 "2014-02-10T04:04:17Z")
Tickled to death by his allasomorph girlfriend from **The Dauphin** (season 2) ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857/35 "2014-02-10T06:50:36Z")
Tribbles! ETA Although I have to break off some respect for Wheaton for saying he wanted to play the rabid fanboy at a \*\*Galaxy Quest \*\*convention screaming about how stupid it is to have a kid on the bridge. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857/36 "2014-02-10T07:13:57Z")
Wesley even ruined Picard’s character, I’m supposed to believe that this level headed captain has been pussy whipped by Beverly Crusher into letting her wunderkid have the run of the ship?! If it was Riker sure, but Picard? ---
**Author:** ![Garula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@Garula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garula)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857/37 "2014-02-10T08:38:21Z")
The problem as I see it is that the ways to make Wesley work as a character runs contrary to the Roddenberry vision of Star Trek. As I understand it, he was the one who insisted on a minimum of interpersonal conflict between core cast members. Even when they disagree everyone is pretty chummy. That utopian view of humanity moving past petty feuding in the future and whatnot. A brash, arrogant Wesley who has difficulty taking orders COULD work as a character, I think. (Note, I say ‘could’, as it could also be completely awful with bad writing.) Emphasize the fact that despite being a super genius he’s also an immature, rebellious teenager and you open up some interesting avenues for dramatic exploration. How much special privilege should we grant to people who are true geniuses? Should Wesley still be allowed to run experiments that could yield valuable results if he’s shown a reckless disregard for safety procedures? When he saves the day by disregarding direct orders, should he be punished? Would it be worth endangering the lives of other crew members to save him and his special talents? Those are worthwhile ideas to explore that would make good use of a wonderkid character, in my opinion. I seem to recall the episode where he and his classmates get a fellow cadet killed because of their arrogance was actually rather good, more of that might have been a boon to the show. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857/38 "2014-02-10T18:54:06Z")
I always assumed that Picard had been having an affair with Dr. Crusher even before Mr. Crusher’s death, and that Wesley was actually his son. This is no doubt easily proven with 23rd century genetic tech, but everyone refrains from saying so out loud out of politeness. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857/39 "2014-02-10T20:19:26Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > Wow. Star Trek: The Next Generation finished it’s run in 1994, fully twenty years ago now (Wesley stopped being a regular a few years earlier). It’s amazing this can still inspire passion (both ways, it appears), two decades on. Well, revenge is a dish best served cold. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857/40 "2014-02-10T20:51:07Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I always assumed that Picard had been having an affair with Dr. Crusher even before Mr. Crusher’s death, and that Wesley was actually his son. This is no doubt easily proven with 23rd century genetic tech, but everyone refrains from saying so out loud out of politeness. I thought that for about 4 seasons myself. Then I learned (I think thru Farrand’s Nitpicker’s Guild) that the Wesley character was sort of a version of Gene himself that he wanted in there. Since then, I’ve heard/read lots of discussion either yes, no, or maybe. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-to-wesley-crusher/680857.md?page=3)