Kirk, Spock, Scotty, Picard, Seven of Nine, The Doctor. The reasons for the first three are obvious, I've never got around to watching TNG, but I know who Picard and Seven of Nine are, and of course I'm going to vote for the Doctor on this poll, even if I doubt we're talking about the same one.
Garak should be on that list, we've had polls and survivor games for Trek before and he's won several. A guest might be Weyoun or Q but Garak was a recurring regular much as Guinan or Dukat.
It's hard to pick a singular favorite character. I'm a big fan of Patrick Stewart and Picard (who else could make a bald, pacifist space-frenchman look totally badass?). Worf obviously is totally awesome. I loved Sisko's deviousness, aggression, and ruthlessness and that was a singularly unique aspect amongst human character in Star Trek. Garak was interesting. Spock is always a favorite. Quark was always hilarious as well. Another character I liked a lot was Gul Dukat, a total sleezeball, a maniac and narcissist, but also probably the most complex character Star Trek ever had.
Sorta related on the Gul Dukat note, am I the only one that really disliked the Bajorans in DS9? Aside from Major Kira and maybe Veddic Barreil (even sometimes with them), they were almost always portrayed as seemingly the most self destructive group of people in Star Trek, almost always acting against their best interests and having to be herded and guided like children who just couldn't see what was best for them, and when left to their own devices almost invariably ended up at each others throats or taking the least intelligent option provided when faced with a choice. I'm not sure if that was intended or not, but it really did add an element of truth to Gul Dukat's thoughts.
A third vote for Elim Garak! His story arcs were interesting and his interactions with Bashir were breathes of a more carefree style in an otherwise intense series. He was able to maintain a mysterious character while continuously having more information revealed about him.
Gowron, son of M'Rel, gets a close second for his intense stare.
Every other person on this list I think you could make one good argument for, except perhaps Beverly Crusher, but Geordi is dishwater dull, it's his defining characteristic.
Of course the more important question is Who is your favourite Babylon 5 character? I know who I'd pick. No 'Spaced' quotes thank you
I think my favourite character is Data. He's fascinating, but also manages to be hilarious sometimes as he struggles with tying to be human. I never get enough Data episodes. I like Seven for the same reason, there was a beauty in how they would take the most ordinary things and see them in an extraordinary way: "Assist me. Slice these vegetables transversally in five millimetre increments."
I also really like Picard, he manges to take the whole lawful good thing, and make it badass. And I love to hate Janeway, her hair is amazing. Missing from the list: Ro Laren.
Garek: a true tinker tailor, soldier, spy. Kirk: Sorry he can't hear you over how awesome he is. Sisco: The one ST character who might actually bite your face off if you dick with him enough. He's the ST version of a wiener dog.
Yeah, Sisko is definitely the most badass ST character you can run into.
I'm also a big fan of Scotty - being something of an engineer myself, his constant "Ye cannae change the laws of physics" (and then figuring out some way to do it anyway) in the face of ridiculous demands of his captains rings soooooo true...
Darkjim wrote: Every other person on this list I think you could make one good argument for, except perhaps Beverly Crusher, but Geordi is dishwater dull, it's his defining characteristic.
Of course the more important question is Who is your favourite Babylon 5 character? I know who I'd pick. No 'Spaced' quotes thank you
Ohh, that's a good one, and of course, G'kar would have to be up there for sure, probably have my vote.
Frazzled wrote: Sisco: The one ST character who might actually bite your face off if you dick with him enough. He's the ST version of a wiener dog.
Seriously? I've always thought of Sisco as Captain Valium of the USS Narcolepsy. He looks like he's about to yawn every time the camera is on him.
He sometimes looks a bit absent, like he's thinking of something else. Particularly when they're at the controls of a shuttle or something, he doesn't focus on anything, but just sort of stares forward generally. I think that does give him a 'might well go completely mental in a minute, you never know, it's always the quiet ones' air.
Captain: Ben Siskio (you don't feth with THE SISKO)
First Officer; Spock
Security: Odo
Medical: The Doctor
Engineer: Scotty
Bartender: Quark
Villain; Gul Dukat
Overall; Garek And he is most definitely not a guest. He may have been in the early seasons of DS9, but by season 4 he'd become to regular a feature in the series to be considered a guest.
Captain: Ben Siskio (you don't feth with THE SISKO)
First Officer; Spock
Security: Odo
Medical: The Doctor
Engineer: Scotty
Bartender: Quark
Villain; Gul Dukat
Overall; Garek And he is most definitely not a guest. He may have been in the early seasons of DS9, but by season 4 he'd become to regular a feature in the series to be considered a guest.
Switch out Bones for the Doctor and thats an excellent list.
Meme Riker is my favorite character. I never really cared that much for the character until after the Jandrew Edits. Now, I just really enjoy seeing him in action, whether attempting to shoulder open a door or mounting a chair like a horse.
I can get why people might not like Sisko. he was more introspective than other captains, but I think that suited the show he was in. DS9 dealt with darker content and imo tougher moral questions. A cavalier captain like Kirk or a philosophical one like Picard would have been a poor fit for the show. It needed a character like Sisko. One who could sit there and 'stare' at the episode he was in and make the audience think about what was going on without really uttering a word.
LordofHats wrote: I can get why people might not like Sisko. he was more introspective than other captains, but I think that suited the show he was in. DS9 dealt with darker content and imo tougher moral questions. A cavalier captain like Kirk or a philosophical one like Picard would have been a poor fit for the show. It needed a character like Sisko. One who could sit there and 'stare' at the episode he was in and make the audience think about what was going on without really uttering a word.
He was my favorite when they weren't having him go off the deep end to wormhole alien space magic. He's definitely my favorite when it comes to more grounded stories. I'm not really a fan of Kirk or Janeway, Kirk for being just a bit too.. hands on, Janeway for being "Curious" to the point of suicidal. If the Voyager was a car she'd drive it off a cliff just because the there were interesting readings coming from the cliff face.
Had to vote Picard. The way he balanced being a bad ass space captain with thoughtful, optimistic ideology didn't just make him the best captain, it meant he pretty much embodied everything Star Trek.
Sisko was great, but he works because he's a reaction against what Picard had already established. Got to go with the original.
After those two, my favourites are all doctors. The Doctor, Bones, Bashir and Phlox. For some reason Star Trek always writes really good doctors, except Crusher, but even she had her moments, and is mostly unremarkable because she wasn't on-screen that often, as opposed to on-screen and boring. Even Enterprise, with a crew so generic I don't think I ever figured out which was which, Phlox was really entertaining.
sebster wrote: Had to vote Picard. The way he balanced being the wussiest captain with a weak-ass, psuedo-philosophical ideology didn't just make him the girliest captain, it meant he pretty much embodied everything that had become wrong with Star Trek.
sebster wrote: The Doctor, Bones, Bashir and Phlox. For some reason Star Trek always writes really good doctors, except Crusher, but even she had her moments...
I think Crusher was the best Doctor. Not that i didn't appreciate the sexual tension between Kirk and Bones, but...
I used to like "The Doctor" a lot, but as Voyager went on I started to find him a bit hammy and annoying, especially when every episode seemed to be about him and Seven trying to hook up, and then he strikes out anyway... Meh.
Best Star Trek character... Toughie. Never really cared for Picard. The only instances of him being awesome IMO were Generations and First Contact. Kirk and Sisko however, fething owned. Janeway was only any good in the series finale, facing off against the Borg with all her high(er)-tech toys.
Bones, Spock and Odo win best supporting characters for me.
I have no favourites, never had frankly. As Star Trek always had a deep harmony to it running through the crew DS9 excepted and I never really watched much of that.
Even the Spock McCoy rivalry going on was limited to the occasional witty comeback at an appropriate moment.
If I had a favourite character it would be The Team.
Of course the more important question is Who is your favourite Babylon 5 character? I know who I'd pick. No 'Spaced' quotes thank you
Too many. G'Kar and Londo along with Garabaldi are my favourites.
Though a special mention to Lou Welch who in one episode was asked by The Chief if everything is alright over the Link. Lou responds, whilst watching an unconscious drunken Soldier being carried passed, responded that "All OK here chief, everyone's going to bed"
O'Brien. He is an engineer and the writers always liked him suffering.
But Garak really should be on the list. He is awesome and would be the first choice for a few people. DS9 was always my favorite ST series. I liked the moral complexity and getting a chance to explore the different alien cultures.
In all honesty, Voyager sucked pretty bad. And enterprise.
Voyager and enterprise are without a doubt the two worst star-trek series and by a large margin. The only remotely interesting character in ether of these series is Janeway but not nearly interesting enough to carry the show.
I'd disagree. Voyager was bad, but The Doctor managed to be interesting in episodes about him, and Seven of Nine had her moments. Tuvok to me was... Far to predictably Vulcan to be enjoyable. T'Pol honest felt completely out of place in Enterprise. It seemed to me she belonged on a high school dramedy, not a sci-fi adventure series...
He commands the coolest ship in the coolest quadrant against the coolest adversaries. That wouldn't be enough for him to be the best. His character is very much human, he expresses emotion and feels for those under him and around him. He appealed to the emotions even of his enemies - even to a Jem'hadar! He just feels the most real of any startrek captain for me. DS9 is also the peek of startrek - so that helps him too.
sebster wrote: For some reason Star Trek always writes really good doctors, except Crusher,
Pulaski?
Does she really count? I always wondered if she was written with the intent of having Crusher promoted to her position in the first couple of seasons, to put some kind of movement through the ranks over the course of the show? Or was she just so uninteresting they decided to move her on early in the show?
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Smacks wrote: I used to like "The Doctor" a lot, but as Voyager went on I started to find him a bit hammy and annoying, especially when every episode seemed to be about him and Seven trying to hook up, and then he strikes out anyway... Meh.
The Doctor was doing it alone on the show until Seven showed up, and then it was the two of them trying to carry the whole show against the bland nothingness that surrounded them. So if they did start to wear thin, you have to remember what they were working with.
Does she really count? I always wondered if she was written with the intent of having Crusher promoted to her position in the first couple of seasons, to put some kind of movement through the ranks over the course of the show? Or was she just so uninteresting they decided to move her on early in the show?
From what I remember Gates McFadden had a falling out with one of the writers who wrote her out in favour of the terrible Pulaski. When said writer left, berman brought her back
Exactly, the effect of that scene is in the contrast to what came before.
I'd also argue that one of the most powerful moments in all of Star Trek belongs to Sisko;
Definitely. DS9 has many of the best Trek moments. It also had a game of baseball against Vulcans, and other standard Trek nonsense, and while all Trek had inconsistencies in quality and tone, I think it hurt DS9 a little more than TNG because of the attempt in DS9 to tell a larger and more serious story. The more episodic nature of TNG meant you could just ignore sillier episodes a little easier. IMHO opinion anyway.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
zedmeister wrote: From what I remember Gates McFadden had a falling out with one of the writers who wrote her out in favour of the terrible Pulaski. When said writer left, berman brought her back
Ah, never thought it could be something like that. Cheers for the info.
I liked voyager and enterprise.Mainly because I saw them first, so im not sullied by the old being "Better"
So, Im Voting Janeway
I wish voyager was the more Darker Show and DS9 was the more lighthearted one
Does she really count? I always wondered if she was written with the intent of having Crusher promoted to her position in the first couple of seasons, to put some kind of movement through the ranks over the course of the show? Or was she just so uninteresting they decided to move her on early in the show?
From what I remember Gates McFadden had a falling out with one of the writers who wrote her out in favour of the terrible Pulaski. When said writer left, berman brought her back
My understanding is that one of the producers had been sexually harassing her (I believe I heard Maurice Hurley?), so she left. The same guy ended up causing a lot more trouble with guest directors and actors in the second season, so he was let go. When he left, Gates McFadden came back. It helped that Pulaski appeared to be unpopular with fans.
Definitely. DS9 has many of the best Trek moments. It also had a game of baseball against Vulcans, and other standard Trek nonsense, and while all Trek had inconsistencies in quality and tone, I think it hurt DS9 a little more than TNG because of the attempt in DS9 to tell a larger and more serious story. The more episodic nature of TNG meant you could just ignore sillier episodes a little easier. IMHO opinion anyway.
Perhaps I am sexist, but I voted for the female characters. All the series had so many beautiful women (and the TOS costume designers were smart enough to design their uniforms accordingly ). I mean, who cares if Dr. Crusher is not that great of a character, she is (or was, I should say) so freakin' HOT!
You're missing Kira Nerys and Gul Dukat (probably spelled both wrong) from the list. They both deserve consideration, especially since the latter was such a damn good villain.
In all honesty, Voyager sucked pretty bad. And enterprise.
I liked Tuvok. I also didn't hate enterprise, it has some ropey stories and the temporal war arc was dire, but by it's last series it was in it's stride and doing rather well I thought. It also has two of my very high ranking character favorites in it, T'Pol and the amazing Phlox. It's human cast is regrettably wooden however and the 'love interest' story foisted between Tripp and T'Pol was really squirmingly bad. The mirror universe two parter is excellent, the portrayal of introduction to the OS alien species is great, especially the Orions and the Andorians.
As to Neelix, the man/dog/fish in a suite cut from early 90s travelodge curtains... no effin way. I hated that character, the spiney headed child and the ridiculous 'borg kids'.
I believe the correct order of things to be this: DS9 - NG - OS - ENT - VOY - JJAbominationmovies...
Picard is the best to serve under. He's capable, professional, and by the book. Wonderful qualities in a leader, but not resume of the most wonderful TV character. The entire cast of TNG was a little too dry for me. I thought the later series did a better job of providing more engaging characters.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Anyway I voted O'Brien, Colm Meaney is such a great actor and it shows in his characters career.
From a nameless extra to reoccuring character to star of a spin off.
And his character has growth and changes over the course of time while almost everyone else has to kind of stay the same since it's an episodic show.
And he's a great counter to the other characters who tend to be geniuses, heroes, and blue bloods. he's just a working class guy doing his job no matter how crazy things get.
How much O'Brien does Star Trek need?
MILES O'BRIEN!
And in conclusion, the Abrams films are a travesty in the eyes of man and God. When you have a franchise built around the idea of 'Boldly go where no one has gone before' you CANNOT go backwards!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Anyway I voted O'Brien, Colm Meaney is such a great actor and it shows in his characters career.
From a nameless extra to reoccuring character to star of a spin off.
And his character has growth and changes over the course of time while almost everyone else has to kind of stay the same since it's an episodic show.
And he's a great counter to the other characters who tend to be geniuses, heroes, and blue bloods. he's just a working class guy doing his job no matter how crazy things get.
How much O'Brien does Star Trek need?
MILES O'BRIEN!
And in conclusion, the Abrams films are a travesty in the eyes of man and God. When you have a franchise built around the idea of 'Boldly go where no one has gone before' you CANNOT go backwards!
Maybe he's talking about the holographic doctor on the Voyager?
Automatically Appended Next Post: Anyway I voted O'Brien, Colm Meaney is such a great actor and it shows in his characters career.
From a nameless extra to reoccuring character to star of a spin off.
And his character has growth and changes over the course of time while almost everyone else has to kind of stay the same since it's an episodic show.
And he's a great counter to the other characters who tend to be geniuses, heroes, and blue bloods. he's just a working class guy doing his job no matter how crazy things get.
How much O'Brien does Star Trek need?
MILES O'BRIEN!
And in conclusion, the Abrams films are a travesty in the eyes of man and God. When you have a franchise built around the idea of 'Boldly go where no one has gone before' you CANNOT go backwards!
He's also a badass of sorts, in addition to everything you listed.
grumpy_newenglander wrote:Ensign Kim getting no respect...
Certainly not, I am certainly unsure which I hate more, Hairy Quim or Neelix.
Kid_Kyoto wrote:
MILES O'BRIEN!!
Whilst I like his dour face and tiny mouthed mumblings, there is a very significant downside to MO'B... Mrs MO'B, the nipponese nightmare...
Kid_Kyoto wrote:
And in conclusion, the Abrams films are a travesty in the eyes of man and God. When you have a franchise built around the idea of 'Boldly go where no one has gone before' you CANNOT go backwards!
My favorite characters seem to change every time I go back to the series. However, the one character that has always been central to my enjoyment of the show is the Enterprise.
Now, my favorite Babylon 5 character is much trickier to nail down. Lord Refa made quite an impression on me, especially after he got the best death scene is a series full of great death scenes.
Londo really got to take out a lot of heavy hitting baddies.
i remember seeing the BBC cut of that episode on a smuggled VHS back in the day, and being unable to talk about it for three months until the episode aired in the US. I still prefer the British version.
Found a different one on the internet (Riker getting to 99% of a download then getting blue screen'd or something like that), broke it down into individual frames using some website, covered up the previous things on the Enterprise computer screen and put in some screen capture stuff of Dakka using Paint, then just recombine all the static images into a gif using the same website.
Spock, followed by Data. Kirk and Picard are great and everything (Picard man, here), but in both TOS and TNG, the major issues about what it means to be human (the most interesting thing Star Trek has to offer) are centered around Spock, and later Data.
Automatically Appended Next Post: P.S. Your list shopuld include Weyoun. One of the best villain performances on any TV show ever.
P.S.S. And there may be some Gul Dukat fans out there, too.
P.S.S.S. You also don't have Khan listed...at this point, I think you just don't like villains.
jasper76 wrote: Spock, followed by Data. Kirk and Picard are great and everything (Picard man, here), but in both TOS and TNG, the major issues about what it means to be human (the most interesting thing Star Trek has to offer) are centered around Spock, and later Data.
Automatically Appended Next Post: P.S. Your list shopuld include Weyoun. One of the best villain performances on any TV show ever.
P.S.S. And there may be some Gul Dukat fans out there, too.
P.S.S.S. You also don't have Khan listed...at this point, I think you just don't like villains.
I used to like Geordi LaForge a lot. I could relate to him, back when I was unsuccessful with women. Now, when I watch the show I feel bad for his character and the treatment the writers gave him.
As for him being anodyne, I remember some parody magazine awarding LaForge the title of "Least Threatening Black Male in Television." From what I understand, that may have been the writers' intention.
She was one of the most important characters in 2 and 3. She had a greater, more prominent role in those than some of the main crew.
I preferred the Alley rendition of the character, seemed like the spiritual daughter of Spock, and although has a different personality (instead of the monotonous modern Vulcan), goes through similar struggles too.
sebster wrote: Had to vote Picard. The way he balanced being the wussiest captain with a weak-ass, psuedo-philosophical ideology didn't just make him the girliest captain, it meant he pretty much embodied everything that had become wrong with Star Trek.
Just saw this...and exalted it.
TNG started Star Trek on that strange, stilted, sterile path that many confuse with "cerebral." Clearly the powers that be became aware of this and tried to re-infuse a sense of adventure with Voyager and Enterprise. The trouble there was that each series took a single half-step toward being different and then immediately fell in line with TNG. Huge missed opportunities with both series.
DS9 managed to be a little different by breaking some ST 'norms', but being mostly set on a station also didn't have the adventure level of the original series. And it was always the red-headed stepchild in the ST franchise.
Even with the faults of Into Darkness, kudos still go to Abrams for getting a little adventure and rawness back into the franchise.
I'm currently in the middle of a DS9 marathon, having not watched the series before, and O'Brien and Bashir's budding friendship is shaping up to get interesting. I couldn't stand Bashir at first, but I've softened up towards him.
Odo's pretty great too. In fact, I'm pretty happy with the entire series, but considering I found Voyager entirely fine I'm not sure that'd make people trust my opinion.
Bones best character in Star Trek
Picard best character in Next Generation
Sisko and Miles in DS9. - Though I did have a soft spot for Ezri.
Voyager, in all honesty, the only characters worth watching in the show were The Doctor and Seven of Nine.
Enterprise... Porthos
I did finally work out why I disliked Janeway so much after reading a few articles.
Basically, Janeway wasn't a character, she was a plot device. Her thoughts, personality, opinions and beliefs changed completely from episode to episode depending on what the plot required of her.
Don't forget Security Chief Roc Ingersoll. He was the heart of the crew.
As for Janeway, SF Debris' portrayal of the character as a megalomaniacal psychopath really saved her for me. It improves her almost as much as TNG Recut Riker.
). I mean, who cares if Dr. Crusher is not that great of a character, she is (or was, I should say) so freakin' HOT!
