Top 5 Star Trek Engineers

 This is even harder than the last two lists. Engineers are the heart and soul of their respective vessels even though it’s the captains who get all the glory and credit. Star Trek has a had a weird relationship with these characters however, as we’ll discuss as we go over them. 

Neither pilot really paid any respect to this position (Scotty was there but not in red yet). Did Pikr even have an engineer? It would take the series proper to finally make the engineer an integral part of the show. 

#5.Tripp

Not the worst character on the show but not the best. In fact I always forget he was the engineer that’s how much of an impact he made to me in that role. 

#4.Laforge

Laforge became the chief engineer in season two when creators realized that they needed to have a regular engineer on board. And while Laforge excelled at the role it seemed like he always needed help. Whether it was data or someone else on the engineering team, I would have liked him to solve problems on his own more. Heck even Scotty sort of pointed this out when the two finally met. 

#3.Torres

I’ve really grown to like this character. Yeah she has a temper and it was a little rough in the beginning, and I would have liked it better if she had been friends with Seven rather than rivals, but she was a great engineer and could really get stuff done. Not only was she half Klingon but she was the only commanding officer that had been Maquis (except Chakotay of course). She wasn\t afraid to get her hands dirty to solve a problem. 

#2.O’Brien

 

Yeah I know technically he’s chief of operations or something but come on, he’s the engineer. He even calls himself that at least once. I know it’s ironic that O'Brien worked under Laforge and I’m saying he was better, but he was. He kept the falling apart space station running and did with a minimal amount of help. He was as dependable as it comes while also being a loyal family man. 

#1,Scotty 

The original and the best. He could come up with impossible solutions and make them work every time. His nickname as the miracle worker was well earned. Not only that but he was a decent commander and did a superb job on the occasions he had to take over the center seat, standing up for his decisions no matter what. He was also as loyal as they come, always standing up for his commanding officer. One of my complaints about the movies is they never really did his character justice; he was kind stuck yelling all the time. But on the series, it may have been Kirk in command but Scotty sure as heck kept that ship running. 

Agree? Disagree? Comment and let me know. There’s really no comparable category for the other characters, great as they were. I do have one more idea but we’ll see.