I read Wil Wheaton's blog, both here and elsewhere. And I feel I have to make a statement.
I thought Wesley Crusher was all right.
I was 11 when ST:TNG came to BBC2 and, although we were all deeply cynical about the show in general after the execrable trailer on the rental version of Star Trek IV, me and all my nerdy friends quite liked Wesley. He invented shit and pissed off the adult cast. Sure, the episode where he encountered the tribulations of middle management was glossed over during lunchtime conferences, but basically we thought he was pretty funny.
In our fantasy episode where the Enterprise was invaded by Daleks, only Data, Picard and Wesley would have survived. This was based purely on Season One, incidentally.
So, my considered opinion is that the only people who didn't like Wesley Crusher were Star Trek fans. And Star Trek fans are obviously braindead because they prefer Star Trek to Doctor Who.
My slightly MORE considered opinion is that the show needed a young character as a point of identification for the child viewers, and the infant prodigy was probably the shrewdest move. Such characters are never popular with the diehard fanbase, but then the diehard fanbase is never what makes a show run for seven years, despite what they'll tell you.
Tom Baker once summed it up when responding to fan criticism of Doctor Who:
'What these people are conceding is that they know absolutely nothing about making television.'
I thought Wesley Crusher was all right.
I was 11 when ST:TNG came to BBC2 and, although we were all deeply cynical about the show in general after the execrable trailer on the rental version of Star Trek IV, me and all my nerdy friends quite liked Wesley. He invented shit and pissed off the adult cast. Sure, the episode where he encountered the tribulations of middle management was glossed over during lunchtime conferences, but basically we thought he was pretty funny.
In our fantasy episode where the Enterprise was invaded by Daleks, only Data, Picard and Wesley would have survived. This was based purely on Season One, incidentally.
So, my considered opinion is that the only people who didn't like Wesley Crusher were Star Trek fans. And Star Trek fans are obviously braindead because they prefer Star Trek to Doctor Who.
My slightly MORE considered opinion is that the show needed a young character as a point of identification for the child viewers, and the infant prodigy was probably the shrewdest move. Such characters are never popular with the diehard fanbase, but then the diehard fanbase is never what makes a show run for seven years, despite what they'll tell you.
Tom Baker once summed it up when responding to fan criticism of Doctor Who:
'What these people are conceding is that they know absolutely nothing about making television.'
VIEW 5 of 5 COMMENTS
beckyjane:
But I've already done the UK thing...Seattle is calling!
helly:
Boo!