Wil Wheaton has never regretted his decision to beam off the Enterprise in 1990 with the “Next Generation” episode “Final Mission.”
At the time, he was yearning to move on professionally and grow personally. He also wanted to escape the wrath of fans who despised his character, Wesley Crusher, the young, brainy son of Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden).
“I’ve been afforded a lot of opportunities since leaving,” Wheaton says.
“I got in the trenches, went to auditions and acting school. I worked real hard just to make bill payments. I never had to do that before.”
Having “real-life experiences” helped the young actor mature, he says.
“Being in the industry, especially on a series, tends to shelter you from reality. You never worry about money or your job.
“Being in the real world has helped me grow immensely.”
Since ending his stint as a “Next Gen” regular, Wheaton, now 21, has starred in the features “Toy Soldiers” (1991), “December” (1991) and “Liars’ Club” (1993); the telemovie “Last Prostitute” (1991); and a recent episode of HBO’s “Tales From the Crypt.”
He also returned to “Next Gen” for the fifth-season episodes “The Game” and “The First Duty” and this year’s “Parallels.” His next “Trek” appearance will be in a “Next Gen” episode titled “Journey’s End,” to be broadcast in late March.
Before his two recent “Trek” voyages, however, Wheaton had decided to put his acting career on the back burner for a while.
He was living in Kansas and working for a high-tech computer company called NewTek. Stationed in the product-development division, Wheaton also served as an in-house producer for NewTek videos.
“I loved it,” Wheaton says. “I enjoyed the anonymity. No one was able to scrutinize me over whether or not I was doing the right career thing.”
But after filming “Journey’s End” and attending a recent Trek convention in Illinois, Wheaton realized how much he missed the acting world.
In January he resigned from NewTek and returned to Los Angeles, where he is taking acting lessons and pursuing film and television roles.
One of the things that probably helped change Wheaton’s mind about acting was his discovery, at the Illinois con, that many “Trek” fans who were once derisive of Wesley are now fond of both Wheaton and his character.
“I tend to sympathize with some of the people who said Wesley was annoying,” Wheaton says. “As I watched reruns of the first couple of years I could see where he was annoying.”
Still, he thinks some Trekkers went overboard in their hatred of the character-wearing buttons that read “Nuke Wesley” and taunting the actor who played him.
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“Wesley had his place, and I think the writers screwed up here and there, but I definitely think the fans overreacted.
“Wesley was extremely brilliant and gave his input, and people were thinking, `Where’s this kid coming from?’ I just think they didn’t understand.”
Now that he’s back in the acting saddle, one of the first big-screen roles that could come his way is that of Wesley in the impending “Next Gen” movies.
“I’d love to do it,” Wheaton says. “`Parallels’ came out of nowhere, so who knows what will happen with the films? I’m open and available.”
Trek TV preview
The following capsule previews are subject to last-minute changes.
“Next Generation” (WPWR-Ch. 50, 6 p.m. Saturday: repeats 10:30 p.m. Sunday the following week): A routine sensor scan of a comet turns dangerous when alien information from an ancient archive is downloaded into the ship’s computers. In “Masks,” Data (Brent Spiner) assumes several personalities as the archive transforms the Enterprise into a bygone society.
“Deep Space Nine” (WGN-Ch. 9, 6 p.m. Sunday; repeats 11:30 p.m. the following Sunday): In “Playing God,” Dax (Terry Farrell) hosts her first Trill initiate, Arjin (Geoffrey Blake), who hopes to qualify for joining with a symbiont. At the same time, Dax discovers a quickly expanding proto-universe which threatens to destroy Deep Space Nine.
Con calendar
Places to trek to March 4-6:
– Wiscon 18 at the Holiday Inn Southeast, in Madison, Wisc., featuring Melinda Snodgrass. (Call 608-233-8850.)
– Vulkon at the Sheraton North in Baltimore, featuring Siddig El Fadil. (305-434-6060)
– Creation at the Coast Terrace Inn in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, featuring Michael Dorn. (March 5&6 only; 818-409-0960)
QUIZ CORRECTION: The trivia quiz for Feb. 4 contained an incorrect reference. The episode in which Spock used the Vulcan mind-meld for the very first time was titled “Dagger of the Mind,” not “The Devil in the Dark.”)
TREK ALERT: If you have Trek news or trivia to share-or if you have questions relating to “Star Trek”-write to Ian Spelling, care of The New York Times Syndicate, 130 Fifth Ave., New York, N.Y. 10011. Be sure to enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you would like a reply.
NEXT WEEK: Trek trivia