Wesley Crusher
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (August 2008) |
| Wesley Crusher | |
 Ensign Wesley Crusher |
|
| Species | Human |
|---|---|
| Home planet | Earth |
| Affiliation | Starfleet |
| Posting | USS Enterprise-D civilian, helmsman Starfleet Academy cadet (resigns) USS Titan assistant chief of engineering |
| Rank | Acting ensign Ensign (resigns to attend Academy) Cadet (resigns) Lieutenant junior grade (Star Trek Nemesis) |
| Portrayed by | Wil Wheaton |
Wesley Crusher is a character in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. Played by actor Wil Wheaton, the character was a regular for the first four seasons. Afterwards, the character appeared sporadically. The character also appeared briefly in Star Trek Nemesis.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Wil Wheaton first read for the role in 1986.[citation needed]
Subsequently, in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the character of Wesley Crusher first arrived on the Enterprise-D with his mother, soon after Captain Jean-Luc Picard assumed command. Captain Picard was annoyed by Crusher at first – as Picard is uncomfortable around all children – but he comes to realize that Crusher understands many things beyond his age and has inherited his mother's high intelligence.
An alien Traveler expressed to Captain Picard and Dr. Crusher that Crusher had a unique intelligence and great potential if provided encouragement and opportunity, comparing him to a child prodigy like Mozart. Picard soon appointed Crusher to an acting ensign.
In early episodes of the series, Picard did not allow Crusher on the bridge of the ship. Crusher eventually took the entrance exam for Starfleet Academy. His test score ranked lower than expected, and he was not accepted into the Academy in his first attempt. ("Coming of Age"). Later he missed his second chance to take the Academy entrance exam in order to assist the Enterprise-D crew in rescuing Will Riker, Deanna Troi, and Lwaxana Troi from hostile Ferengi. Picard soon granted him a field promotion to full ensign ("Ménage à Troi").
Crusher was invited to reapply the following year, took the exam, and was accepted into the Academy where he joined an elite group of cadets known as Nova Squadron. His involvement with this group nearly led to his being expelled from the Academy ("The First Duty"), when a squadron-mate was killed attempting a dangerous and prohibited flight maneuver and, under pressure from the team leader, Nick Locarno, Crusher abetted the squadron's efforts to cover up the truth. Although the crew's intervention and the boy's own testimony saved him from expulsion, all of Cadet Crusher's academic credits for the year were cancelled and he was required to repeat the year and graduate after most of the rest of his class. He remained in the Academy thereafter until the Traveler re-contacted him, whereupon he resigned his commission and went with the Traveler to explore other planes of reality ("Journey's End").
The back story states that Wesley Crusher is the son of Beverly Crusher and Jack Crusher.
Some fans considered the character to be a Gary Stu stand-in for Gene Roddenberry, whose middle name was "Wesley."[1]. This seems to lend credence to some fans disliking the idea of a young boy constantly seeming to save the whole ship. Commentators have observed at least seven times in which Wesley, "who has trouble getting into the Starfleet Academy" and is on a ship "filled with Starfleet's best and brightest crew members", has come up "with the needed solution"[2].
[edit] In popular culture
- It is stated in several commentaries for the TV show Futurama that the character Cubert Farnsworth is loosely based on Wesley Crusher. Series co-creator David X. Cohen says the character was intended to parody "annoying" characters such as Wesley, who many fans would like to "punch in the face" except in Cubert's case, he actually would be punched.
[edit] References
- ^ Pat Pflieger (2001). TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE: 150 YEARS OF MARY SUE. 3. Presented at the American Culture Association conference. http://interalia.org/filestore/single_pages/MARYSUE.HTM. Retrieved on 2007-01-15.
- ^ Phil Farrand, "Updated Conundrum Tote Board" The Nitpicker's Guide for Next Generation Trekkers, Vol. 2 New York: Dell (1995): 319
[edit] External links
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
