Star Trek: Wil Wheaton Reunites With His Next Generation Uniform

It may be 30 years since the premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but for some fans, Wil Wheaton will always be Wesley Crusher.

Wheaton was reminded of that fact today when he was reunited with a piece of Wesley’s wardrobe that the actor hadn’t seen in three decades, Wesley’s acting ensign uniform.

“It doesn’t fit, but it sure was cool to see and hold Wesley’s acting ensign uniform for the first time in 30 years,” Wheaton tweeted out from Awesome Con in Washington DC.

Wesley Crusher originally boarded the Enterprise as the civilian son of the ship’s doctor, Beverley Crusher (Gates McFadden), but Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) assigned him the rank of acting ensign following Wesley’s helpful contributions during the mission in which the Enterprise crew first encountered The Traveler. It was then that Wesley began wearing his acting ensign uniform.

Wesley later attempted to enroll in Starfleet Academy but failed the entrance exam. Picard offered him encouragement and Wesley continued his duties as acting ensign. Wesley passed his written entrance exam on his second attempt but missed the ship to take his oral exam. Picard reviewed Wesley’s service record and gave him a field promotion to the rank of full ensign, affording him all appropriate rights and duties, including the right to wear an official ensign Starfleet uniform. Wesley served in that capacity on the Enterprise for a year before leaving to become a cadet at Starfleet Academy.

As it turned out, Wesley’s destiny lied beyond Starfleet altogether. Unhappy with his Starfleet career, Wesley agreed to join The Traveler in exploring new planes of existence. Nine years later, in the film Star Trek: Nemesis, Wesley was shown to have rejoined Starfleet and attained the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade.

In a bit of Star Trek apocrypha, the A Time For… series of Star Trek novels leading up to the events of Star Trek: Nemesis suggest Wesley was still a Traveler. He showed up to Will Ryker and Deanna Troi’s wedding naked because he believed it would be a Betazoid ceremony. Picard, Riker’s best man, covered up the mistake by beaming down a uniform for Wesley to wear. However, these novels are always of questionable status in Star Trek canon, so make of it what you will.

Star Trek: The Next Generation will celebrate its 30th anniversary in September.

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