What polarity can we reverse today?

[zen.]

Heeeey...weren't they genetically bred to be superior? Ah well, at least the Nietzscheans got to strike back.

Oh, wait, wrong series.

zen

[dmm]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Puke:
i guess you prefer the seaquest DSV Version of the boy genius? (not a flame, just curious)

---

I've only seen half of two episodes of SQDSV, so I can't answer that. What's he like?

A boy (or girl) genius should be troubled, and resented by his peers and adults alike, because he sees things from an adult perspective (mentally) without the benefit of adult maturity or prestige. Actually, from more than an adult perspective, because a boy genius by the age of ten is smarter than most fully-developed adults. Except that he only has the "common sense" of any ten-year-old (i.e., almost none)!

So, in the midst of doing super-genius things, Wesley Crusher should have been doing idiotic things, and making the adults around him annoyed, frustrated, nervous, and even scared.

[raynor]

...And you say you haven't watched much SeaQuest DSV?

Your description fits that shows boy-wonder much, much better than it fits ST:TNG's Wesley Crusher. (IMHO)

Interesting. I always regarded the ST:TNG characters as much more three-dimensional than the ST:TOS characters. But I can't remember young Wesley having as much depth. I dunno. I may just have forgotten most of the ST:TNG episodes while I've seen most of the SeaQuest episodes in syndication on the Sci-Fi channel. It will be good to watch TNG again this fall on TNN.

[murx]

re:So, in the midst of doing super-genius things, Wesley Crusher should have been doing idiotic things, and making the adults around him annoyed, frustrated, nervous, and even scared.

Isn't that what's Wezley is all about ? No one really likes him - a stupid pre-puberty boy who makes wonderous toys ...
No one likes that guy - neither his look nor his brain ... he's kind of the ST:TNG Teletubbi boy ...

murx

[zen.]

IIRC, Ashley Judd in the form of Ensign Robin Lefler didn't mind him so much. Now THAT'S acting ability.

Boy, hard to believe that was 10 or 15 years ago. I'm geezin'.

zen

[dogscoff]

Mmmm... Ensign Robin Lefler...

Good points well made. The trouble with Wesley was that he was created not primarily as an exploration of the child genius but as a cynical act of tokenism, hoping to give the show appeal to a younger audience. The boy genius bit was more of a plot device than a part of his character. After all, how could they justify his presence in the show if he wasn't allowed on the bridge?

------------------
"Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?"
"Uh, I think so, Brain, but balancing a family and a career ... oooh, it's all too much for me. "

[zen.]

And whatever did happen to Picard's standing order of no children on the bridge? Ah well. At least he's not a Daggit or a Twiki.

zen (geezin' again)