From: g92n3258@giraffe.ru.ac.za (MR RL NICOL)
Subject: From Wesley, the Borg, to Op: Annihilate!
Organization: Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
Distribution: World
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 17:43:28 GMT

To begin with, I've got a number of questions regarding the titles of some 
episodes.  For instance, just what the hell has the title "Q Who" got to do 
with the episode?  I understand that Q was in it, but besides that, the 
meaning eludes me.

As for Wesley, from a lot of the messages, I gather that there are not many 
Wesley-fans out there.  But I do believe that the fault lies not in Wil 
Wheaton (Who I saw in "Stand By Me" today, and was great in it!) but in the 
producers of the show.  In one of his interviews that I have, he mentioned 
how frustrated he felt that his character hadn't been developed, and I 
agree.  Wesley is not a bad character, and if he had been used right (
treated more like a human than some starfleet genius) then he would have 
been great.  From what I saw on "Stand by Me", Wil Wheaton is a great actor, 
and his part as Wes Crusher was a great pity, not because of him, but 
because of what his character was forced to do.  Episodes like "The Naked 
Now" make me cringe not because of Wil Wheaton's acting or because of Wes 
Crusher, but because of what he was forced to do in the scripts.  Therefore, 
perhaps all these "Nuke Wesleys" should instead be "Nuke the writers", as it 
was them who were at fault as far as that aspect of the show went.  I can't 
speak for the latest episodes, as I haven't seen them, but from what I've 
seen and heard Wil Wheaton couldn't have been given an improved position as 
far as his character went.  I haven't seen "The Game" or "The First Duty", 
and I don't even know what they're about.  But I certainly hope that Wes got 
a chance to shine in those episodes.  I've also heard somewhere that Wes may 
appear in Deep Space Nine.  I certainly hope so, but only if the producers 
have come to the realisation that he should be fleshed out and BE a 20-yr 
old human being instead of some super-genius who knows nothing but how to 
change the ship's tractor beam into a repulsor beam etc.  At least give Wil 
Wheaton something that will allow his character to grow as much as his 
character in "Stand By Me" did.

As for the old series, I managed to see "Operation: Annihilate!" on video 
yesterday, and was impressed with it.  When I last saw it (seven years ago), 
I didn't like it at all.  But I must admit that it is definitly one of my 
favourites.  The characters were great as far as they related to each other, 
and thank goodness they have something that you can believe could be an 
alien, and not some guy dressed up in a goofy costume or with wrinkles on 
various parts of his face, as is the case in quite a few TNG episodes.  And 
it was great to see Kirk come up with a real bummer of a decision.  Also, 
this is one episode where he doesn't resolve the crisis by wooing some alien 
that looks like she belongs more in Beauty Queen role than in the role of a 
menacing alien.

Also, thank goodness it was shot on location!  Those set scenes are enough 
to make one cringe.

Makes me wish that all the Star Trek shows were this good

Ryan.
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