Earlier this year, at a convention in New York City, a guy brought me this picture to sign for him.
That’s me in 1987, wearing one of Wesley Crusher’s first sweaters.
As I reached for my pen, he reached into a bag he was carrying, and took out … that sweater, which he’d bought at an auction.
“OH MY SWEET BABY JESUS!” I may have shouted, “I NEED TO TAKE A PICTURE RIGHT NOW.”
So this happened:
As I held that sweater for the first time in 25 years, a flood of memories washed over me: the first day I worked on Next Generation, on Stage 16, walking through Farpoint Station with Gates … the first time I walked through the Enterprise, on stage 9, pretending that it was a real spaceship … the first time I walked into the bridge, while it was still being built on stage 6 … the first few months of working on Star Trek, being part of something I’d loved my entire life, and wearing truly awful sweaters in the middle of summer.
All my peers got to wear awesome spacesuits, and I was in these ridiculous things that were never cool, in any century, including the 24th. I remembered how happy I was when Wesley was promoted to Acting Ensign, and I knew that I wouldn’t have to put on one of those hideous sweaters ever again.
That’s when I got an idea.
There’s this thing on the Internet where people will post a picture that was taken in, say, 1987, and then recreate the picture in our modern times. I looked down at the sweater in my hands, and I knew what I had to do.
I’m not gonna lie, Marge: putting that sweater on again felt strange, but also good.
Here they are, side by side:
I love that I can still do that goofy smile — which was 100% genuine, because I was as excited to be on the Enterprise as Wesley Crusher was — all these years later. And though it felt pretty good to be temporarily reunited with an old friend, it felt even better to take that sweater off for the last time.
This. This right here is why I love you so.
So true.
Welp, I know which sweater Lil Wil is getting next….thanks for the inspiration
This is going to be tricky, because I mostly crochet instead of knitting, but I will also have to make Lil Wil a sweater.
I can neither crochet or knit, so hot glue it is, lol
We are crying. That’s too funny..
Beyond the fact this was cool, you probably made that fans life. Well done sir, keep up the awesome
The rolled the shoulders inward and ran a stitch to make it look all ‘Jetsons-ey’ didn’t they?
yer head got embiggened!
As did shoulder width. Amazing that Wil managed to even get that thing on, truly amazing.
Wow, dude. That’s awesome.
The circle is now complete. Or is it some sort of strange time-loop? FUTURE YOU SAYS HELLO.
That is awesomecakes.
And I love that it’s not just about getting you to sign something – it’s about sharing a memory with you.
Well done, NYC convention-goer.
(And that is a marvelously awful sweater. Glorious, really.)
Thank you for seizing that moment and sharing it with us. It’s freakin’ amazing.
Seeing you that young makes me think of Jaime Hubbard. The crushes of a 14 year old boy knows no time frame.
Also, I have a wordpress and Facebook but I can’t log in here with either of them, forcing me to use my twitter. In a 2nd tab I have my wordpress open so I know I’m signed in but it still won’t let me comment here with it.
Ahhh, yes – Jaime Hubbard. There was something magical about her. I always felt she was the hottest of the hot in the entire run.
All I can say is congratulations on being able to actually WEAR a sweater your 1987 self was able to wear…
Oh, what wonderful memories this brings up. Thank you Wil. I know you probably hate the sweater, but I’m a professional knitter and I love that sweater and all the others you wore in that show. It isn’t easy making sweaters look ‘futuristic’.
Golly. You even have the same teeth …
This is pretty much the most adorable thing I’ve seen today. Well played, sir.
This made me smile almost as much as you are smiling in both of those pictures.
This….. Is a shitload of Awesome
This is EXACTLY what I thought when I saw it. Since you wrote it, I’ll just “ditto” it and say Wil Wheaton, THIS is so much win and why we love you so much. You’re willingness to go forth into the areas of life that you love even though it’s “the sweater.” You reminded me of Nathan Fillion there for a moment…knowing it had to be done and willingly doing it for the cause (and the million smiles you knew it would bring). You’re second from the top of my “Awesome beyond belief” list (no one can take the place of Nathan [sigh]). A million thank yous.
You were the Bill Cosby of space travel!
*snuckles*
Who did that awful alteration to it after the show? It sure wasn’t on the enterprise with those awful tucks!
That was the sweater from “Justice,” and if you go back and look at episode stills on Google Image Search, you’ll see the sweater definitely had the shoulder rolls. It really was an exceedingly awful sweater.
It is very cold in space.
So awesome.
I love reading this kind of stuff from you because I feel like we’re right there beside you experiencing the moment…
Isn’t it wonderful that having survived being a child that had to wear what my parents pulled out for “special family functions”, and now I as a parent – I can do the same thing to my kid. Hurrah to parents – even pretend space parents on the Enterprise.
I was sitting here feeling kind of down as I recover from some painful surgery. I was online and I saw a Twitter post about Wil’s story of his prodigal sweater. I left behind the tragic news of the shooting in DC to visit this page. Reading this brought a smile to my face as this is a great story about Wil’s personal connection to his TNG experience which reminds me of my college days spent watching his adventures aboard the Big E. This is a nice reminder that Wil Wheaton is one classy gentleman and why he has such a huge following on this planet. Thanks for sharing this encounter from your past with us.
Aww, sniff.
I know you don’t get a chance to check the Facebook comments much, so I thought I’d crosspost this one for you:
Carolan Magnoli Prisco says, “glad to see you still look back on that moment with a smile. my daughter and i were the ones who brought the sweater. so when did i become a guy? lol! thats ok, i know u meet a lot of people and were probably distracted by the sexy brown sweater!”
This was nifty-keen! (I’m trying to curtail my over-use of the word “Awesome.”) I’m trying to figure out what color that sweater is, precisely…
Another reason I’m a fan! Stay classy, Wil!
I just giggled uncontrollably the entire time I read this. The. Entire. Time.
That’s fantastic. And yeah, those really were some epically hideous sweaters. I kind of want one, just for the ironic/nostalgic quality.
Could you BE more precious?!?!?! I don’t think so.
Love that the fan had this and brought the picture and that you made their decade by doing this for them. How fun! Thanks for sharing. It makes me smile a lot.
This just made my day. I have so much love for your smile in the “after” photo, but also think the one of you holding the sweater is simply teeming with WIN. Thanks for sharing and making me smile along with you
I really hope that fan walked away saying “I have Wil Wheaton’s DNA! I can grow my own Wil Wheaton!”
Awesome for you & also awesome of you to give that fan that experience.
“…the first time I walked through the Enterprise, on stage 9, pretending that it was a real spaceship …” ?!
don’t think I didn’t catch that “Naked Now” quote…
This totally give me an idea. They should make a new Star Trek Series where Wesley Crusher becomes the captain of the new Enterprise…man that would rock.
I couldn’t imagine fitting in to a sweater from 20 years ago. Perhaps I could use one as a scarf…
Wil, you look like you could be “Overly Attached Boyfriend”… or maybe Overly Attached Trekkie
Wil, you are just. so. awesome.
That is just beyond awesome. I haven’t been here in so long, which is strange since it used to be like my internet home years ago. You know we are all still very close. This cyber destination was the catalyst for connecting so many lives together. No matter how long I go between dropping by, reading your posts always makes me smile. BTW you still owe me and the hubby dinner.
*love to you and Anne*
Nephy