Like we’ll wager a lot of you, we’re getting pumped for a new Star Trek movie — especially with the new trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness dropping today. We’re really excited to see what characters from the show may get renewed leases on life in the fresh timeline they now have to play with. Through a history spanning six decades, there are plenty of characters in the Trek universe that we have come to love dearly as well as a few that we’ve come to loathe with all the strength in our black little hearts. Recently, we turned to Facebook — on our page and our own walls — to find out who the most reviled characters in Trek history were, and we’ve got them here for your perusal. Feel free to let us know how right or wrong we are in the comments, as it wouldn’t be a Star Trek conversation without a nerd fight or two.
One of our office mates asked if Wil Wheaton's rebirth as a beloved geek icon and role model has softened the general stance on Wesley Crusher, and that's a reasonable question. The answer, of course, is no, because Wesley Crusher is everything that is wrong with the universe. No amount of respect we have for Wheaton -- and again, that's quite a lot -- could ever diminish the hatred for the magic ensign who always had the idea that saved the ship at the last possible moment. The fire of that hatred burns very bright in our hearts, and is stoked pretty much any time we watch one of the much maligned 'Wes episodes.' Her death is widely remembered by fans, but the crew of the Enterprise mourned Yar's loss more than most viewers did. Yar never really meshed with the rest of the crew, and seemed to be perpetually out of place -- actress Denise Crosby, who played her sure thought so, asking to be released from her contract before the first season was out. Crosby's wish was granted, and Yar was killed by an alien made of hate, an ignominious fate usually reserved for red shirts rather than series regulars. Pretty much no one missed her. Like Janeway, Riker is another divisive figure. While some --ourselves included -- have a soft spot for Number One, others just see a man who contented himself with living in the shadow of a great captain, a perpetual second place finisher who, if not for a beard of great renown, would have pretty much nothing to distinguish himself. It's a sad but understandable thing to hate on Riker, the man with so much potential who did so little. Plenty of us will see a little of that in ourselves if we go beneath the beard. Do you need feelings described to you? Feelings that could generally be gleaned from context and a basic understanding of body language and tone? If you do, Deanna Troi, ship's counselor for the Enterprise, is your woman. If you need anything else, though, she is kind of useless. Unless you need someone to spout vaguely New Age psycho-babble at you, clutch their brain when their psychic abilities go on the fritz, or have cleavage. She's really good at those things, too. Also: nothing else. Does anybody like Neelix? It certainly doesn't seem so. The chef and "morale officer" of Voyager, it was hard to believe this Talaxian ever seemed to like himself. His best friend was a Vulcan who only barely failed to actively hate his guts. If Neelix were even just a little more likeable, we'd feel bad for the poor guy. Alas, he is not, and as it stands, we just kind of want to see him sucked out of an airlock. Loud, brash, and spectacularly annoying, Deanna Troi's mother may be the only Troi we're capable of liking less than her daughter. Deanna's mom (played by Majel Barrett-Rodenberry, wife of series creator Gene Rodenberry) is basically a psychic space cougar, three words we never thought we would use to desribe something that is terrible. And yet here we are. We'll admit to being surprised to see some hate for John De Lancie's omnipotent prankster, who is one of our very favorite Trek characters. That said, we kinda get it. If you're not in the mood, Q episodes can be grating, and the whole smarmy, godlike entity from beyond space and time schtick can get a little tiresome. While we love seeing John de Lancie show up, we understand the sentiment of people who, like Picard and Sisko, just wish he would go away forever. Troubled by the at times too cozy relationship between Captain Picard and Dr. Beverly Crusher, producers decided to replace Crusher with a ship's doctor who would prove a foil to Picard instead -- Dr. Katherine Pulaski. This proved to be a pretty serious case of overcorrecting. Pulaski was a clear attempt at bringing in the Kirk/McCoy relationship that worked in TOS -- which would have worked if Diana Muldaur had any real chemistry with Patrick Stewart or any other member of the cast. She did not. Plus, she was mean to Data, which is as close to an unforgivable sin as you can get in out book. Dr. Julian Bashir is in possession of a relic of great power -- the most punchable face in the galaxy. Combined with a truly staggering degree of self-absorption, the chief medical officer for Deep Space Nine is just one of those people who has the staggering capacity to be fundamentally annoying no matter what he is saying. Of course, what he's saying is usually pretty douchey as well, so there's that. Due to these factors, Bashir has the rare distinction of being one of those characters we like much better when he's knocked out or has his brain replaced by an alien. At those moments, he verges on being tolerable. The rest of the time? The worst. The captain of the starship Voyager got at least a couple votes from readers, and may go down as one of the more divisive Starfleet officers in Trek history. Some folks love her, and will go to bat for her every time, and frankly, we see the argument. But there are haters as well, and they are nothing if not vociferous.
No. 1 | Wesley Crusher
No. 2 | Natasha Yar
No. 3 | William T. Riker
No. 4 | Deanna Troi
No. 5 | Neelix
No. 6 | Lwaxana Troi
No. 7 | Q
No. 8 | Dr. Katherine Pulaski
No. 9 | Dr. Julian Bashir
No. 10 | Kathryn Janeway
A couple of things that we found interesting: most of the least liked characters are from The Next Generation, which is surprising to us — while we are familiar with most of the series, TNG is, speaking frankly, our Star Trek. It’s also, perhaps, predictable. TNG was probably the most influential of the shows, and the most likely to inspire strong feelings on either side. Voyager also contributed some characters to the DO NOT WANT list, including one of the only two official Star Trek ship’s captains, if you listen to her. Also fun to note — pretty much no suggestions stemming from Enterprise, which says less about how great the characters were and more about how few people ever gave a damn about Enterprise.
- Star Trek Settlers of Catan? Why yes, we are in love.
- This guy wants to save the bridge of the Enterprise-D, and for that he has our respect
- These are all of the TOS episodes, in order, out of one dude’s mouth, in under two minutes
