25 Favorite Star Trek Characters

Now that I’ve gone through my favorite antagonists of Star Trek, it’s finally time to quickly talk about some of my favorite characters from the franchise. I’m sort of going all out on this one. I decided 25 was a nice number considering we’re in Star Trek’s 50^th anniversary. Of course, I’ll be listing my favorites from the main casts of all shows. I’ll also include some recurring characters that I thought were pretty cool. I won’t be including villains though. I already went through that.

25. Kes - Yes, Kes made it to the list. I did like her over some of the other characters on the show especially Neelix. I will say that her species kind of sucks in the evolutionary hierarchy. A 9-year life span? What’s up with that? Anyway, I liked her for a couple of reasons. She had a nice personality that made her easy to talk to anyone on the crew. I also liked that she had telepathic abilities and that she wasn’t always in control of them. It sucks that she got let go from the show. To me, her character had more potential on the show than a couple others.

24. Deanna Troi - Yeah, I got her on the list too. Even though Counsoler Troi’s role on the Enterprise-D was a little useless at times, I did like her. There were some episodes that revolved around her that I thought were nice. The one where she was surgically altered to be a Romulan (“Face of the Enemy”) was pretty cool. I also liked her rapport and relationship with Will Riker.

23. Jonathan Archer - While Archer was my least favorite captain, he did have some moments to shine for me. By the way, Archer was captain the NX-01 Enterprise. Most of those moments were in the third season during the Xindi arc. He also had some standout moments during the fourth season. Besides, it’s Dr. Sam Beckett in the role. That’ll automatically get me to like the guy somewhat!

22. Martok - Martok was a Klingon commander on DS9. While we got introduced to him in the fourth season, we didn’t get to really know him until the fifth season and afterwards. If there was a Klingon I would say was legitimately cool, it would be Martok. He even beats Worf in that aspect. He was probably also one of the more likable Klingons since he wasn’t too uptight in honor.

21. Geordi LaForge - There really isn’t too much to Geordi other than the fact that he’s blind, he’s an awesome engineer, and he sucks with women. Huh…. that kind of reminds me of someone barring the blind thing. Anyway, I liked Geordi on TNG. I liked his friendship with Data. I also liked that he was just a regular guy. Also, having Levar Burton in the role is always a plus. The episodes that revolved around him were pretty nice.

20. Malcolm Reed - Reed handled security and tactical on the NX-01 Enterprise. He was pretty uptight on the show. It must have been the British in him… I’m not talking about all of y’all over there, okay? We got uptight folk over here too. Anyway, I liked that he was the man for the job on that ship. I especially liked it when they basically had to rig up new weapons on the ship. His friendship with Trip was pretty nice. I also liked his connections to Section 31. That definitely made him a little more interesting to me.

19. Katharine Janeway - Janeway was far from my favorite captain but she had her moments. I liked how different she was when regarding the crew. She was a bit more open and caring which was needed for the problem they had in getting home. She also had to make tougher decisions than most of the captains had to make. She had her moments of “meh” but I have to look toward the writing with that. I especially liked her friendships with Tuvok and Chakotay.

18. Tuvok - Tuvok was the security/tactical officer on Voyager. I’m shocked that he’s really only the second major Vulcan we’ve had on a series at that point. I guess Spock was enough for a while. I liked Tuvok for a few reasons. His interactions with Janeway and the rest of the crew were pretty cool. He was also a family man and that kind of gave him a big reason to make it home. He was also even more of a Vulcan than Spock was. He didn’t have many episodes revolve around him but the ones that did used him well. Tim Russ was a nice choice for Tuvok.

17. Thy’lek Shran - One of Star Trek: Enterprises’s high points was Jeffrey Combs as Shran from the Andorian Imperial Guard. He and Archer kind of started out as enemies since the Andorians were enemies of the Vulcans. That lessened over time and Shran eventually became an ally to the crew at times. It was a joy to see him pop up from time to time. I thought Combs did the character well and I hope he gets involved with the new Trek show coming out. Even though Shran could be a jackass, he was a likable one.

16. William T. Riker - While I did once say that Will Riker was a tool at times, he was be pretty likable as well. Commander Riker was the First Officer on the Enterprise-D. In a lot of ways, he kind of mirrored Kirk. He was a lover of the ladies, an action man, and had charisma. Even though he was just First Officer, he had the potential to be a cool captain. He did eventually become a captain in the end. Jonathan Frakes did some good stuff to the character throughout his time as Riker. Finally, he probably has the best beard in all of science fiction. If you want to know when TNG was getting good, look for the beard!

15. Quark - He’s the thief with a heart of gold… or latinum. Take your pick. Quark was a Ferengi bartender on the DS9’s Promenade. He’d also dibble and dabble a bit in illegal sales. He is a follower of the Rules of Acquisition, after all. Even though he could be a scumbag at times, you can’t help but like him. He had his moments of immorality, but he did care for the crew and his family. Even when he and Odo were always at odds, there was sort of a friendship there. All of the episodes that revolved around him and his people were laugh riots even when they weren’t that good. Let’s forget about him getting into drag, shall we?

14. Charles “Trip” Tucker - When it comes to the best character from Star Trek: Enterprise, it’ll have to be Trip. Commander Tucker was the chief engineer for the NX-01. I’d say that he was the McCoy of this group. It probably had to do with that Southern accent. He probably had some of the show’s best stories centered on him. I’m not talking about the one where he got pregnant either. He also seemed like an ordinary guy which is something I’m seeing a lot about the engineers of the franchise. Connor Trinneer played him like he was just the regular guy down the street. His friendships with Archer and Reed were good and I liked his relationship with T’Pol.

13. Miles O’Brien - The Chief was pretty much the “Average Joe” of the whole franchise. He started out on TNG as some random dude, became the transporter guy, and finally became the engineer on DS9. He was a working man as well as a family man with a wife and couple of kids. He’d also get put through the wringer in some episodes too. “Let’s Torture O’Brien” was kind of a thing on DS9. I also liked his friendships with the crew especially his friendship with Julian Bashir. Last but not least, Colm Meaney played that role so well.

12. Leonard McCoy - Doctor Leonard “Sawbones” McCoy was the doctor on the original show. He was the typical cranky, overemotional one of the Kirk/Spock/McCoy trinity. While we really never got a lot of a backstory on him, I thought McCoy was cool. He was definitely the funniest of the three. I liked his friendship with Kirk and his sort of friendship with Spock.

11. Worf – Worf ran security/tactical on the Enteprise-D and was the strategic operations officer on Deep Space Nine. He was the first Klingon to join Starfleet and that usually put him at odds with his people. He sort of had an identity crisis since he was born in the Klingon Empire but raised by human parents. Some of his best episodes revolved around him sorting out his own identity. He could also kick all sorts of butt though it was DS9 where really got to let loose in a lot of ways. Michael Dorn always knew how to bring it as the character.

10. Data - Lt. Commander Data was the Enteprise-D’s operations officer. Also, if you didn’t notice the weird skin and eyes, he’s an android. Created by Dr. Noonian Soong, Data has all the capabilities of humans except for the emotions. He’d get those later though but let’s not talk about that. Like other characters, Data was the outsider who didn’t understand things about the human condition. He was a great character for that and Brent Spiner did that character justice. I liked his friendships with everyone on the the ship. Even though he had no emotions, he was probably more human than some of the crew.

9. Kira Nerys – Major Kira was the Bajoran liaison officer on DS9 and its Executive Officer. During the Occupation of Bajor, she served under the Resistance. She was a tough one and didn’t take to being pushed around. Kira was a cool character that had to balance a lot of stuff. She had to balance her job, her beliefs, and just about everything else. I liked her interactions with Sisko, Dukat, the crew, and the witch herself:  Kai Winn. I especially liked her friendship/relationship with Odo.

8. The Doctor (EMH) – The hologram with no name pretty much made Star Trek: Voyager a watch especially in those early seasons. When the ship got pulled over into the Delta quadrant, all of the medical staff died and the crew was left with the EMH. The crew and the Doctor had to pretty much get used to the situation. Over the years, the Doctor grew in character, skills, and overall bed manner. He showed us that holograms could very well have some sort of sentience too. One thing that helped the character was that Robert Picardo played the character well.  The Doctor and Seven were the best characters on the show by far.

7. James T. Kirk – If I have to tell you who this is, you haven’t been around long, have you? Kirk was the captain of the Enterprise on TOS and the later movies. When you think of Star Trek, this guy (and another) comes to mind. It was he who brought a lot I liked about Star Trek. He was the first captain I was exposed to in my youth. He was the explorer, the thinking man, and the action hero. He also had some decent development to him over the ears. William Shatner did good things with the character even when the acting was… interesting.

6. Benjamin Sisko – Ben Sisko was the commander (and ultimately captain) on DS9. He was also the Emissary of the Prophets aka “The Wormhole Aliens.” When to came to being cool, calm, and collected, Sisko was that sometimes though there were times where he had to get a little loud. I think the goatee and shaved head gave some more coolness. He was probably one of the more relatable captains of the franchise. He had a lot to deal with since he was a single father, a commander of a space station, and somewhat of a Messiah to the Bajorians. He handled it all in spades. All he needed were some sunglasses to match his goatee.

5. Seven of Nine – Seven of Nine was a Borg drone that got disconnected from the Borg Collective. She was one of the characters of the franchise who was pretty disconnected from humanity in some way. Unlike most of them, she was trying to reclaim the humanity the Borg stole from her. She was one of the best parts of Voyager and it helped that Jeri Ryan was up to the task. Did it help that she was gorgeous? A little, but there was much more to her than that her looks. Some of the show’s best episodes involved Seven. It just sucks they paired her up with Dullman at the end though.

4. Odo – If there is one person who combines cynicism, crankiness, and a sense of order, it’s Odo. Constable Odo was the security officer on Deep Space Nine. He was the show’s outsider in that he was a Changeling impersonating a humanoid. His true form is a gelatinous state. He grew a lot over the seven years as he got to experience what it meant to be human. He was even good detective and had a romantic side to him.  His constant opposition to Quark was awesome. I also liked his relationship with Major Kira.

3. Garak - You got to know that “plain, simple Garak” had to be at the top of this thing. If there was another definition for “gray,” it would probably be Elam Garak and it’s not because he’s gray-skinned either. Garak was a Cardassian tailor on the Promenade who was much more than he said he was. He mostly had half-truths and lies surrounding his backstory. He did have hidden ties with Cardassia. His friendship with Julian Bashir was pretty cool and I liked how he interacted with the rest of the cast. It also helped that Andrew Robinson did a lot of good things with the character. It was always a delight to see him guest star because you knew you were going to get something really good.

2. Jean-Luc Picard – If it was Kirk who started it all, I do believe it was Picard who perfected the role of Captain. Picard was captain of the Enterprise-D and Enterprise-E. He was possibly the ultimate diplomat with a nice speech and a good British (for a Frenchman) accent to save the day.  We actually got to see him grow over the years from an uptight old man to one who was much less uptight. One thing that made Picard so cool was Patrick Stewart’s awesome acting. Is Picard my favorite captain? Maybe, but I think he, Kirk, and Sisko are interchangeable when it comes to the favorites.

1. Spock - To me, Spock is everything else I like about Star Trek. If Kirk is the action man, Spock is the brains of the operation. For those not in the know, he was the science officer and First Officer on Kirk’s Enterprise. When it comes to intelligence and stone cold logic, Spock wins in spades. Of all of the original cast members, he had the most growth and development. He had to find ways to center his Vulcan/human natures. His friendship with Kirk and McCoy is also one of the best ones. The late Leonard Nimoy did a lot to influence that character and the franchise as a whole. Without a doubt, he is my favorite Star Trek character.

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And that’s all got, folks. I know there are other characters that may had made the list, but I didn’t want to overload it with ones from just one show. Heck, I could have easily made this a DS9 list with all of those folk. If you have any favorites I missed or didn’t miss, let me know. For now, I’ll bring my Trek frenzy to an end. There are other things to talk about the franchise and I’ll get to them at a later date. I know there’s one book I wanted to talk about in August but didn’t get to. Since it’s September, you might know who I’ll be talking about this month especially if you check what I post. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and Live long and prosper.