The show generally sucked. But I hated Eli Wallace. He had no training in the sciences. But somehow he has no problem routinely outthinking trained professionals. Those professionals have been studying alien technology for years. Eli had a high school education and spent his time eating junk food and playing video games...
TL.DR
The fat loser guy is a super scientist.
Yeah not my favorite character either, he definitely knew way too much too early on in the show, going from zero knowledge of ancient technology to smarter than the veterans.
shareHe's my favorite character! The youngster who knows more than the professionals is a common trope in science fiction.
If you recall Will Robinson from Lost in Space, he was super smart and often knew more than the adults. I'm referring to both the TV series and the movie.
Star Trek: The Next Generation had the famous Wesley Crusher who was not only a boy genius, he snagged a plum assignment as a bridge officer while still an adolescent. He hadn't even attended Starfleet Academy.
With Eli, I can believe he has a brilliant mind. He came by it naturally although his ambition, up to that point, did not keep pace with his genius.
He does speak about his parents which may have contributed to his behavior as a full time slacker. He says that his father abandoned him and his mother. His mom was a nurse who became infected with HIV from an addict. It's no excuse for being lazy, but perhaps Eli just said, "The heck with it!", and gave up on life.
Still, his character was the one bright spot in the early episodes which were so very dark. Everyone (except for Dr. Rush) felt trapped, angry and hopeless. In contrast, Eli looked upon their plight as one big exciting adventure. It was as if he was finally getting to live a real life video game. The only time his enthusiasm seemed to waver was when they were about to burn up when the Destiny was going to fly into a star.
Guess I'll be in the minority. But Eli is cute and very sweet and a likable guy, at least to me.