A famous The Big Bang Theory plot line involving Wil Wheaton and Sheldon Cooper has an unexpected parallel to Wheaton and another Star Trek actor. Wil Wheaton plays a notably unpleasant version of himself on The Big Bang Theory. This character has a long-running feud with Jim Parson's Sheldon, dubbed the Cooper-Wheaton War by fans. This interesting storyline reflects a real-life feud that resulted from Wheaton's time on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Just as Wheaton's alter-ego was unkind to Sheldon, Wheaton's real-life hero was dismissive and rude to him. According to The Big Bang Theory story, Sheldon looked up to Star Trek: TNG's Wil Wheaton's Wesley Crusher since it meant a lot to him to see Wheaton portray a fellow young misfit genius. For his part, Wheaton was thrilled to be on Star Trek: TNG in no small part because he genuinely hero-worshiped an original Star Trek character. Like Sheldon, young Wheaton came away with a bad impression of his hero, though he had a more restrained reaction. Rather than turn it into a years-long rivalry, Wheaton started telling the story at conventions, which remains a huge hit (via WilWheaton.net).
TBBT's Cooper-Wheaton War Echos Story About William Shatner
When Wheaton was a teenager on Star Trek: TNG, he had an opportunity to meet the cast of Star Trek: The Original Series, who was filming a movie nearby. He finally got to meet his hero William Shatner, the Star Trek Captain James T Kirk, and this meeting illustrated the old adage that a person should never meet their heroes. Shatner was extremely rude to the then-16-year-old Wheaton, who was left crushed by the experience.
The Cooper-Wheaton War on The Big Bang Theory began with a grudge Sheldon held from when he attended a convention as a kid where he hoped to meet Wheaton, but Wheaton failed to show up. Wheaton was one of young Sheldon's heroes, and he looked up to him as a role model in much the same way that the real-life Wheaton looked up to Shatner's Kirk. Once Sheldon eventually meets Wil Wheaton's character on The Big Bang Theory, he retaliates, and their feud grows into a long-lasting rivalry.
Did Wil Wheaton Ever Reconcile With William Shatner?
One of the reasons that the story is one Wheaton feels comfortable telling is that Shatner did eventually apologize to Wheaton at the direction of Gene Roddenberry. They have worked together since this incident, and Shatner has behaved professionally toward Wheaton. According to Wheaton, he and Shatner will never be best friends, but they are polite when they meet. They even worked together on The Big Bang Theory. They appeared together in season 12, episode 16, "The D&D Vortex," where they cordially played the popular tabletop game with Joe Manganiello, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Kevin Smith.
Fittingly, it is at this The Big Bang Theory Dungeons & Dragons game that Sheldon and Wheaton finally end their rivalry and make peace. Just as Shatner and Wheaton were able to resolve their differences and work together as colleagues, Sheldon Cooper and Wheaton's character eventually overcame their differences and came together over the geeky hobbies they both love. While Wheaton has never explicitly said that his real-life experience with Shatner informed the Cooper-Wheaton War on The Big Bang Theory, the parallels are definitely there.