At
the start of the year I discussed the “perfect” Star Trek cast. But
with the criteria involved I picked the characters I thought best filled
various positions, even over a character I liked more. So it occurred
to me, if I take all the criteria away, who are simply my favorite
characters of all the series? Yes some of these choices will be the same
as that earlier list, but for different reasons.
The one rule is these have to be main characters, if I included supporting characters I think my head would explode. Here are my 15 favorite Star Trek (main) characters…period.
#15.Archer
Picking from Enterprise was…very hard. To say the least. And while Archer is not my favorite captain, as I said that is irrelevant to this list. Archer was probably the strongest thing in this series, and while he often did things people disagree with you can’t deny that he had a certain kind of charm. Scott Bakula did a good job playing him.
#14.Janeway/Scotty
A tie to start, but this was not an easy slot to fill. Yes I know Janeway has her haters. But I thought she rocked. She was tough and no nonsense while also having a softer side. She believed she would get her crew home, and that conviction gave the crew confidence that they would indeed reach that goal. True not every choice she made worked out, but I think that just made her more human. She is allowed to make mistakes after all. As for Scotty I love him..sometimes. When he is in command or trying to perform some miracle, he is awesome. When he is being goofy or silly he gets on my nerves a bit more. But when he was great he was really great, taking over the Enterprise when Kirk and Spock were away and doing a damn good job.
#13.Jadzia Dax
This was the hardest slot to fill. Picking a DS9 character is hard for me since they all pretty much fall into the same criteria. None of them really stand out (except two who we will get to). So why Jadzia? She had supreme confidence which was cool. She could seriously kick ass which was cool. She could relax and enjoy life which was cool. She was damn smart which was cool. And she was pretty damn beautiful too. No wonder Bashir fell for her, who wouldn’t? What about Ezri? Ehhhhh…. My only complaint with Jadzia is she could be a little to snarky at times.
#12.T’POL
While I feel bad for some the things they made Jolene Balock do on that show, you gotta admire the work she did on this character. T’Pol was a fascinating Vulcan and literally the only decent character on the show (yes including Archer). There isn’t much to say here, she made the show watchable.
#11.Tuvok
Speaking of Vulcans, Tuvok was pretty damn cool. He was a great tactical officer and really knew his stuff. But the thing I liked was the way he could be a really good friend. Whether it was guiding Kes or advising Janeway, everyone knew they could go to him to wise advice. True Voyager did some stupid things with him, but for the most part he as really awesome.
#10.Sisko
Sisko was badass…after they let Brooks shave his head and stop grinning every scene he was in. Some may be surprised he is so high, but Sisko is not my favorite captain. Not even close. That doesn’t mean he isn’t awesome, and man when he got pissed everyone better look out! He was a great commander not to mention a good father. And you have to admire the way he took over and fought The Dominion.
#9.Quark
Armin Shimmerman did something with this character that people forget. He made Quark, and by extension all Ferengi, into a three dimensional character rather than the joke they had been on TNG. Quark was greedy of course but he had feelings and cared for people. Quark was a fun character which was nice to see.
#8.Riker
Riker was simply badass. When TNG first came around he was the character I loved, and as time went on he remained cool. I was even going to do a list of badass Riker moments but that never happened. Riker is charming and loves to enjoy life, but man never get on his bad side! He took command during Best of Both World’s and kicked The Borg’s ass!
#7.Doctor
Unlike Riker, I didn’t like The Doctor at first. He just seemed like a jerk. But as Voyager went on and the character evolved, he really grew on me. The Doctor is charming because unlike others like Data, he is simply happy with who he is. He is a hologram and loves that fact, which is pretty unusual for Trek in a way.He is also a skilled physician of course, and as time went on became a good friend to all.
#6.Picard
Picard is higher because it took me some time to like him. At first he just annoyed me. But as TNG went on I learned to like him. Especially those episodes when he actually did something! Picard was a master diplomat which made him the opposite of Kirk, but in a good way. He seemed to always be several steps ahead of everyone else, so the crew knew even if they didn’t understand what he was doing that he did have a plan. He also had interests outside command including horseback riding and archeology.
#5.Seven
When Seven of Nine joined Voyager, it literally turned the show around. We finally had an interesting character that was worth coming back to week after week. And seeing someone go from being a Borg to human had never been done (Picard was only Borg for a few weeks, she was Borg for years). You knew there was a kind person in there but it took some work for that person to come out, and it was fun watching as she worked on it week after week. And need I mention, she was damn hot!
#4.Uhura
Not so surprising but my three of my top five come from the original series. And this choice is probably not news since I did a whole tribute to her last year. Uhura was awesome, plain and simple. Not only was she a black woman on board a starship at a time when that was unheard of, but she simply rocked. She was beautiful, she could sing, she was an expert at her job, and was so cool even Spock respected her.
#3.Data
What can I say about him that I haven’t already? Data has a child like innocence as he learns to be human, but really what he is doing is working on improving himself. You have to admire the way he has set a goal he knows he will never reach, but he works at it anyway. Data is cool, strong, and a damn good officer. Riker one pointed out the it was remarkable gow he even though he was an android would no emotions, he sure brought them out in others.
#2.Spock
Again, what can I say that I haven’t already? Leonard Nimoy created one of the most iconic and enduring characters of all time. Everyone knows who Spock is. He is logical but has compassion, he is serious but has a sense of humor, he is cold and yet has two very close friends in Kirk and McCoy. He believes in duty but that doesn’t mean he can’t chill out and play some music once in awhile. Spock has a charm that is simply unparalleled. And it’s all Nimoy and what he did with that character. What about McCoy? That’s a tough one I think he worked great as part of the Kirk/Spock/McCoy dynamic, but on his own? How many episodes was he out of commission or absent for half the episode and nothing was affected? Spock was always there and when he wasn’t, he was sorely missed.
#1.James T.Kirk
Who else could possibly be in the top spot? James Kirk was just plain awesome. He was great leader, he could fight, he was a romantic and lover, and he had a fun side too. Kirk commanded respect from his crew and he deserved it. He was also a master strategist who was able to outwit his opponents no matter how dire the situation. His one flaw may be that he does feel guilt, whether it be from a crewman getting killed or a mistake he made. He is hard on himself and always pushes himself..but he also never gives up and that is why he rocks.
Did I miss your favorite? Or do disagree with my order? Feel free to comment and let me know.
So I already did my favorite movie villains, and I’ve done episodes, and of course I just did my favorite main TV characters. I guess it’s only fair to do top 10 Star Trek villains from the TV series next
The one rule is these have to be main characters, if I included supporting characters I think my head would explode. Here are my 15 favorite Star Trek (main) characters…period.
#15.Archer
Picking from Enterprise was…very hard. To say the least. And while Archer is not my favorite captain, as I said that is irrelevant to this list. Archer was probably the strongest thing in this series, and while he often did things people disagree with you can’t deny that he had a certain kind of charm. Scott Bakula did a good job playing him.
#14.Janeway/Scotty
A tie to start, but this was not an easy slot to fill. Yes I know Janeway has her haters. But I thought she rocked. She was tough and no nonsense while also having a softer side. She believed she would get her crew home, and that conviction gave the crew confidence that they would indeed reach that goal. True not every choice she made worked out, but I think that just made her more human. She is allowed to make mistakes after all. As for Scotty I love him..sometimes. When he is in command or trying to perform some miracle, he is awesome. When he is being goofy or silly he gets on my nerves a bit more. But when he was great he was really great, taking over the Enterprise when Kirk and Spock were away and doing a damn good job.
#13.Jadzia Dax
This was the hardest slot to fill. Picking a DS9 character is hard for me since they all pretty much fall into the same criteria. None of them really stand out (except two who we will get to). So why Jadzia? She had supreme confidence which was cool. She could seriously kick ass which was cool. She could relax and enjoy life which was cool. She was damn smart which was cool. And she was pretty damn beautiful too. No wonder Bashir fell for her, who wouldn’t? What about Ezri? Ehhhhh…. My only complaint with Jadzia is she could be a little to snarky at times.
#12.T’POL
While I feel bad for some the things they made Jolene Balock do on that show, you gotta admire the work she did on this character. T’Pol was a fascinating Vulcan and literally the only decent character on the show (yes including Archer). There isn’t much to say here, she made the show watchable.
#11.Tuvok
Speaking of Vulcans, Tuvok was pretty damn cool. He was a great tactical officer and really knew his stuff. But the thing I liked was the way he could be a really good friend. Whether it was guiding Kes or advising Janeway, everyone knew they could go to him to wise advice. True Voyager did some stupid things with him, but for the most part he as really awesome.
#10.Sisko
Sisko was badass…after they let Brooks shave his head and stop grinning every scene he was in. Some may be surprised he is so high, but Sisko is not my favorite captain. Not even close. That doesn’t mean he isn’t awesome, and man when he got pissed everyone better look out! He was a great commander not to mention a good father. And you have to admire the way he took over and fought The Dominion.
#9.Quark
Armin Shimmerman did something with this character that people forget. He made Quark, and by extension all Ferengi, into a three dimensional character rather than the joke they had been on TNG. Quark was greedy of course but he had feelings and cared for people. Quark was a fun character which was nice to see.
#8.Riker
Riker was simply badass. When TNG first came around he was the character I loved, and as time went on he remained cool. I was even going to do a list of badass Riker moments but that never happened. Riker is charming and loves to enjoy life, but man never get on his bad side! He took command during Best of Both World’s and kicked The Borg’s ass!
#7.Doctor
Unlike Riker, I didn’t like The Doctor at first. He just seemed like a jerk. But as Voyager went on and the character evolved, he really grew on me. The Doctor is charming because unlike others like Data, he is simply happy with who he is. He is a hologram and loves that fact, which is pretty unusual for Trek in a way.He is also a skilled physician of course, and as time went on became a good friend to all.
#6.Picard
Picard is higher because it took me some time to like him. At first he just annoyed me. But as TNG went on I learned to like him. Especially those episodes when he actually did something! Picard was a master diplomat which made him the opposite of Kirk, but in a good way. He seemed to always be several steps ahead of everyone else, so the crew knew even if they didn’t understand what he was doing that he did have a plan. He also had interests outside command including horseback riding and archeology.
#5.Seven
When Seven of Nine joined Voyager, it literally turned the show around. We finally had an interesting character that was worth coming back to week after week. And seeing someone go from being a Borg to human had never been done (Picard was only Borg for a few weeks, she was Borg for years). You knew there was a kind person in there but it took some work for that person to come out, and it was fun watching as she worked on it week after week. And need I mention, she was damn hot!
#4.Uhura
Not so surprising but my three of my top five come from the original series. And this choice is probably not news since I did a whole tribute to her last year. Uhura was awesome, plain and simple. Not only was she a black woman on board a starship at a time when that was unheard of, but she simply rocked. She was beautiful, she could sing, she was an expert at her job, and was so cool even Spock respected her.
#3.Data
What can I say about him that I haven’t already? Data has a child like innocence as he learns to be human, but really what he is doing is working on improving himself. You have to admire the way he has set a goal he knows he will never reach, but he works at it anyway. Data is cool, strong, and a damn good officer. Riker one pointed out the it was remarkable gow he even though he was an android would no emotions, he sure brought them out in others.
#2.Spock
Again, what can I say that I haven’t already? Leonard Nimoy created one of the most iconic and enduring characters of all time. Everyone knows who Spock is. He is logical but has compassion, he is serious but has a sense of humor, he is cold and yet has two very close friends in Kirk and McCoy. He believes in duty but that doesn’t mean he can’t chill out and play some music once in awhile. Spock has a charm that is simply unparalleled. And it’s all Nimoy and what he did with that character. What about McCoy? That’s a tough one I think he worked great as part of the Kirk/Spock/McCoy dynamic, but on his own? How many episodes was he out of commission or absent for half the episode and nothing was affected? Spock was always there and when he wasn’t, he was sorely missed.
#1.James T.Kirk
Who else could possibly be in the top spot? James Kirk was just plain awesome. He was great leader, he could fight, he was a romantic and lover, and he had a fun side too. Kirk commanded respect from his crew and he deserved it. He was also a master strategist who was able to outwit his opponents no matter how dire the situation. His one flaw may be that he does feel guilt, whether it be from a crewman getting killed or a mistake he made. He is hard on himself and always pushes himself..but he also never gives up and that is why he rocks.
Did I miss your favorite? Or do disagree with my order? Feel free to comment and let me know.
So I already did my favorite movie villains, and I’ve done episodes, and of course I just did my favorite main TV characters. I guess it’s only fair to do top 10 Star Trek villains from the TV series next
No comments:
Post a Comment