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Main Cast (in order of billing)
Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Played By: Patrick Stewart
The bald Captain, and arguably the most iconic example of that trope (next to Kirk, of course).Polymath, diplomat, and all-around gentleman, Picard was cast very much in the Horatio Hornblower mold of the TOS movies. Introduced in Season One as a cerebral hardass (a trait mirrored, aptly, by his artificial heart), he's actually quite a softie underneath the grim exterior. So much so, that modern Trekkies tend to regard Picard as the 'soft' Captain — at least until somebody fires at his ship or disregards an order.Among his in-series achievements: Jean-Luc invented a starship manuever, assisted in First Contact with the Q, got the ball rolling on amendments to Federation law regarding android life (Sisko and Janeway followed his example in their respective Courtroom Episodes), and he thwarted a Borg invasion or two, assisted in Zefram Cochran's famous warp experiment (via time travel), chilled with Professor Moriarty and Mark Twain, brought Federation politics to the fore in his dealings with the Cadassians (setting the stage for DS9), and saved the universe from an eruption of Anti-Time or something. Anyway, only the Q Continuum understands what happened in that episode. But according to Q, it was pretty awesome.Of all the alien phenomena experienced by Picard, the principal ones that affect him are Q and the Borg: the former making a bet that his 'enlightened' principles won't hold up in the darkness of space, and the latter threatening to change him into a violent, vengeful man — the very thing he despises.- Ace Pilot:
- Depicted in a much more subtle manner than Kirk, and usually takes a backseat to his other talents.
- Picard has taken the helm himself in situations where extremely precise maneuvering is needed to get the ship out of danger, such as "Booby Trap" and "In Theory". He talked an inexperienced pilot through a difficult maneuver in order to avoid a crash in "Coming of Age", and most notably developed the Picard Maneuver (re-created in "The Battle") which exploits the fact that a ship traveling at FTL velocities can appear to be in two places at once due to delays in light reaching the viewer.
- Adventurer Archaeologist: Archaeology has long been a hobby of Jean Lucs since his Academy days. He winds up going on adventures of this type in "Captain's Holiday," "The Chase," and "Gambit."
- Almighty Janitor: Though he is at the top of the pyramid in the Enterprise crew, he is still this compared to the higher echelons of Starfleet rank. He could easily become an admiral (and the admiralty even regularly pressures him to do so), but he prefers to be a captain of a starship, much like Kirk before him. Exemplified in the Battle of Sector 001 in Star Trek: First Contact. Once he finds out that the admiral's flagship is destroyed, he takes charge, and the remainder of the fleet follow.
- Ambadassador: Took Klingons to school on their own homeworld, brokered first contact with over 27 species, and helped define the legal rights of androids. The greatest diplomat of the last century, Sarek, finds Picards career to be 'satisfactory,' which is high praise from a Vulcan.
- Amateur Sleuth:
- The choice to have a Phillip Marlowe fan (as implied by the fictitious "Dixon Hill" program) means he's going to seize the opportunity, however fleeting, to be a real-life sleuth — most notably in the episode "Clues".
- Interestingly, Data dons a deerstalker cap and tweed coat while pursing Moriarty through the holodeck. The costume was made popular by Basil Rathbone in the anachronistic film versions (set during WWII, with Sherlock foiling Nazi spies), but is not at all how Holmes dressed in the original Strand stories. Once Moriarty gains self-awareness, he loses all interest in Data and instead demands to see Picard, who shows up wearing a silk top hat and tails — the preferred clothing of Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.
- In "The Survivors", Picard summons the Uxbridge couple to the ship and deconstructs their fantasy life, revealing what really happened during the attack. (Kevin saw his wife get killed and went momentarily insane, which annihilated the entire species of the invaders). He does this with all the skill of Hercule Poirot himself.
- Authority Equals Asskicking: See Badass Grandpa for the many ways.
- Badass Boast: "The Ensigns of Command"Troi: Captain, when the treaty was first negotiated, the Federation sent 372 legal experts. What do we have?
Picard: Thee and me.- Trades them with Commander Tomalak in The Defector:Tomalak: You will still not survive our assault.
Picard: And you will not survive ours. Shall we die together, Tomalak?
- Trades them with Commander Tomalak in The Defector:
- Badass Bookworm: Picard is probably the most learned of all Trek Captains. He believes there is no greater challenge than the study of philosophy.
- Badass Bureaucrat:
- Often got labeled as a bureaucrat by more militant foes. He'd still steamroll over them if necessary, naturally.Duras: This is not your world, human. You do not command here.
Picard: I'm not here to command.
Duras: Then you must be ready to fight. Something Starfleet does not teach you.
Picard: You may test that assumption at your convenience. - Q called Picard a dullard in their first encounter, and in some corners of Starfleet ("Measure of a Man", "The Wounded") he's considered an officious, pompous ass! Little do they suspect he will save the universe many times over.
- He doesn't appreciate having the rug pulled from underneath him in "Measure of a Man": his First Officer is appointed to the prosecution and the hearing is being overseen by his ex. Whilst he will adhere to Starfleets directives, he speaks with great passion to argue for Datas self-awareness, shaming the Federation into breaking new ground."Starfleet was formed to seek out new life. Well, THERE. IT. SITS! [beat] Waiting."
- Often got labeled as a bureaucrat by more militant foes. He'd still steamroll over them if necessary, naturally.
- Badass Grandpa:
- Not as over-the-top about it (except perhaps in the movies), but distinguishes himself by the number of badass bases he covers — Picard is the envy of younger men in ship combat, shooting, hand-to-hand, fencing (both classical and Klingon) and sheer endurance. He's not an actual badass grandpa, however— in fact, he never married or had children (until the relaunch novels).
- In "The Inner Light", he (or rather "Kamin") actually was married and had many children and grandchildren. Presuming that they existed at all, they sadly died over a thousand years ago when their species went extinct.
- Bald of Awesome: According to Word of God (in this interview), in the 24th century, humans are too enlightened to think it matters. Stewart himself said that Roddenberry's comment was one of the most awesome things he had ever heard (though in one episode when Picard was de-aged to a youth, it doesn't stop him from briefly lamenting his hair when he returns to his normal age again).
- Bar Brawl: A pivotal moment in his youth. The incident left him with an artificial heart.
- Beware the Nice Ones: He is a consummate gentleman and diplomat, but he has also cursed out Klingons (in Klingon), killed Klingons bare-handed, survived Borg assimilation, survived torture, survived taking a large knife to the heart, told Romulans where to stick it (and backed it up), has single-handedly thwarted having his ship hijacked (several times), has told Starfleet officers several ranks above him to shove it (with not so much as a reprimand to show for it), has caused omnipotent aliens to bow to his gangsta, and has outfoxed at least one member of every known species in the Alpha Quadrant at least once.
- Benevolent Boss/The Kirk: He welcomes suggestions and different ideas from his staff (apart from Worf, of course) without ever losing his authority.
- Bold Explorer: A more subdued version than the original model of Kirk, but still with boldness to spare.
- Break the Badass: The Borg nigh-effortlessly kidnap him from the bridge, Mind Rape him and turn him into one of their own, using the knowledge gained to plough through the Federation's defences, with Picard utterly unable to fight it off. In the immediate aftermath, Picard actually breaks down in tears over what's done to him. Even years later, he still has nightmares over being assimilated, and when the Borg do return, all those wounds get opened up all over again.
- British Stuffiness:
- Nominally a Frenchman, but let's not kid ourselves.
- Overt sentimentality is not one of Picards failings. He avoids small talk, is very self-conscious around children, and is the most reserved and stoic of the Captains.
- When accused of falling for Vash, he repeatedly denies it on the grounds that he shouldn't show his feelings to the crew."I may not show my feelings to my crew, but I do have them."
- Q exploits this to no end, and is rewarded with some highly-satisfying tantrums.
- Broken Pedestal: Picard met Sarek as an awestruck youth and is still honored just to share oxygen with the guy who helped create the Federation. He was hoping to get the chance to meet him again, but it is all scuppered by Sarek's degenerative illness. Picards decision to perform a meld with Sarek in order to spare his reputation is probably the most selfless (and dangerous) thing he ever did on the show.
- Butt Monkey:
- It's no wonder the Picard of the future has a degenerative neurological disease. They really put him through hell on this show.
- Picard struggling with Lwaxana's luggage to the amusement of the crew. The things he does for Starfleet...
- Call to Agriculture:
- In one possible timeline, retired Picard returns to La Barre to tend the family winery. He had a falling out with his father and brother in part because he initially rejected the Call to Agriculture and joined Starfleet.
- Cannot Spit It Out: There is some history between Picard and Crusher which adds a little depth to both characters, but the series never felt the need to explore the relationship in any great depth (unless under the influence of a sex bug). Youve got to love Picards tact; he heads off to sickbay to welcome her on board in the pilot and then follows that up with "I'll request a transfer for you!"
- The Captain: The quintessential Starfleet captain. He's diplomatic, forceful when needed, well-educated, and thoughtful. Furthermore, unlike most naval captains shown in drama, he is often found in his personal office (Captain's Ready Room) working on the mundane administrative duties of his rank.
- Catch Phrase:
- "Make it so."
- "Tea, Earl Grey, hot."
- "Come."
- "Engage."
- Character Tics:
- "The Picard Maneuver" — his habit of tugging his tunic down whenever he stands up. He's not alone in doing this, but he is the most blatant about it (and, for various reasons, the one most commonly seen doing it).
- He will always, always, always be in his ready room when not on the bridge. This extends to a degree to the relaunch novels. At one point, when the Enterprise-E is severely damaged, his ready room door is torn off its hinges. From his captain's chair, Picard has to look at the gaping hole with both e feeling of a man watching his dog be hit by a car and an addict jonesing for his fix.
- Child Hater:
- A notable subversion. Picard mentions in the pilot that he does not deal well with children. We later find that this is not dislike, but a discomfort that he sees as a personal flaw—he is far too used to dealing with supremely professional adults, and children also remind him of his own estranged family and his sacrifices for his career. Wesley thinks its too bad that the Captain doesnt like kids because he would have made a good father.
- In "The Bonding", Picard lets out a massive sigh as he realises that he is going to have to tell Jeremy that his mother was killed on an away mission. Deep-space vessel or not, he has always questioned the policy of having children on a starship and it is a terrible burden to have to break bad news himself. Picard takes Jeremys hand and says that nobody is alone on the starship Enterprise.
- In Generations he enters a Lotus-Eater Machine and is actually given children of his own- he is so overwhelmed with joy he actually starts to cry. The machine in question- a space anomaly called the Nexus- gave him children because that was his deepest and most hidden desire.
- That being said, he's deeply fond of his nephew Rene, who reminds him of himself at that age. He's utterly devastated when both his brother Robert and Rene are revealed to have died in a fire in Generations.
- Amusingly, despite his unease with children, it seems that most children take a liking to him right away. We once even see a class onboard the Enterprise having a "Captain Picard Day", much to his embarrassment (although he seems somewhat amused when telling an Admiral "Hehehe, I'm a role model.").
- Closet Geek:
- Picard lights up at the subject of unsolved mysteries; his childhood hero was the pulp novel detective Dixon Hill. The holodeck allows Picard to fantasize himself as the two-fisted gumshoe.
- He also has a geeky love for old Starships, boats, and planes, having built and played with model versions as a young boy (he wound up embarrassed and frustrated when he showed that side of himself a bit too much after finding an ancient, legendary Starship from a dead civilization). Geordis gift to the Captain on the Victory, a giant model sailing ship, is gorgeous.
- Clueless Chick Magnet: Picard is clearly embarrassed when alien women find him a smoldering hunk instead of a walking rulebook.
- Cool Old Guy: He's not that old but close. People just respect him naturally.
- Cosmic Play Thing: Whenever Q wants to test humanity, he decides Picard should be the one to take it.
- Costumer:
- It would have been sad if the one Shakespearean in the cast hadnt been able to drop in on his android homeslice and partake in some renaissance theater. Patrick Stewart steps into the Elizabethan worlds with ease.
- Of course, the Dixon Hill program allows some of the ladies in his life to join in. Dr. Crusher looks very fetching in her stockings and veil (even as she stumbles uncertainly in high heels), and Whoopi certainly turns heads in her Prohibition dress. Dixon Hill made a brief comeback in First Contact when Ellie wore a cleavage-baring dress and opera gloves to a meeting with Nicky the Nose.
- Court-Martialed: As stated in "The Measure of a Man" Jean-Luc Picard faced a general court-martial for the loss of his previous command, the USS Stargazer, but was cleared.note
- Cultured Badass:
- He speaks French and Klingon, and is well-versed in archaeology, literature, fencing and horseback riding.
- Picard really runs rings around his crew in "Darmok", figuring out the Tamarian language in an impossibly tight situation. His crew have the luxury of the ship's database and can pool their resources and get absolutely nowhere.
- Deadpan Snarker:
- Often and usually at Q's expense. Very deadpan, no smirking. For a moment he decides to go along with Qs proposal to join the crew and discusses what tasks would be too menial for such an entity.
- "Captains Log: any time entry is meaningless." — great line if you know the context.
- "Welcome to the Bridge, Mister La Forge." With an entrance like that he deserved some acknowledgement.
- Number One, the Bridge, such as it is, is yours.
- Defiant to the End:
- THERE! ARE! FOUR! LIGHTS! Often forgotten is that this is a subversion. Picard only shouts this after another Cardassian soldier walks in and orders the Gul to stop the torture. Later, Picard admits to Troi that not only would he have surrendered had the torture not been stopped just then, he could actually see five lights there.
- Very straightforward, though, in the alternate timeline of Yesterday's Enterprise:Klingon Officer: Federation ship, surrender and prepare to be boarded.
Picard: That'll be the day. [rams ship into his]
- Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Q and the Borg are frequently on the receiving end of this.
- Distressed Dude: in Chain of Command.
- Drink Order:
- Tea, Earl Grey, Hot. Eventually, Doctor Crusher points out that the caffeine will just keep him from getting any sleep, and orders him warm milk with nutmeg instead.
- Parodied in the last episode, when he requests it from an elderly British housekeeper in the exact same way he would a replicator.
Housekeeper: 'course it's hot. - Dude, Where's My Respect?: Events always seem to conspire to cast doubt on Picard's service record, to his ongoing resentment. Despite saving his entire crew and inventing a new Starship maneuver, he was dragged before a court martial and scapegoated for the destruction of the Stargazer. While automatic court martial for loss of ship has been standard naval practice for centuries (and he came away with a medal) the prosecutor insisted on dragging him over the coals first. His image also took a severe battering following Wolf 359 (although it improves as time went on, as the means through which the Borg assimilate individuals into their collective became common knowledge among Starfleet officers) with at least one officer holding him personally responsible for the slaughter and Admiral Satie using it against him in a Kangaroo Court.
- Dysfunctional Family: As shown in "Family," his relationship with his brother Robert is very tense, while "Tapestry" implies that his father likewise never forgave him for running away to join Starfleet. His relationship with his nephew and his sister-in-law is much warmer.
- Face Palm: To memetic levels, to the point that Picard is practically the Trope Codifier (and the page image for the trope).
- Fantastic Racism: Towards the genetically engineered, as seen in "The Masterpiece Society". In this case, he objects to the practice more on philosophical grounds rather than irrational hatred toward those who are genetically engineered, to whom he's perfectly helpful. Might have something to do with the idea of built-in castes being way too reminiscent of the Borg.
- A Father to His Men: He may not take a personal interest in his crew like Sisko or Janeway (at least not until "All Good Things..."), but he takes the deaths of his crewmen just as hard. He has, on several occasions (The Drumhead, The Offspring, et al.), put his career on the line to protect a member of his crew from obstructive bureaucrats at Starfleet Command.
- Foil: Q calls Picard an impossibly stubborn human but that is the only way the Captain knows of infuriating the impish alien. Q often drives Picard nuts as well, though in that case it is all part of some grand design by the Continuum. (We think.)
- Former Teen Rebel: Picard confesses he hasnt always been so disciplined and that his heart problems are a result of a drunken brawl involving racist comments and a knife in the back. It took a heart transplant to convince Picard to straighten up and fly right.
- Future Me Scares Me: They say if you travel far enough you are bound to meet yourself at some point and having experienced that in "Time Squared" he hopes it never happens again. Questions of the second Captains presence becomes complicated when we discover that he is from six hours in the future. What could possibly have happened to force Picard to abandon his own ship? The solution is the Captain fled the ship to save the crew from the effect of an anomaly, but this only ended up sparing his life whilst destroying the Enterprise."I am more than apprehensive to play back a log that won't be recorded for several hours."
- Generation Xerox: An unpleasant chapter in Picard's family history comes to light in "Journey's End". His ancestor, Javier Maribona-Picard, helped "colonize" New Mexico by slaughtering hundreds of Native Americans. Seven centuries later, Jean-Luc Picard would find himself forcibly relocating that same tribe (in space, no less).
- Gentleman Adventurer: Is a Starfleet officer because he loves exploring space and going on fantastic adventures on the Enterprise, but always maintains an air of dignity and class.
- Gentleman and a Scholar: He obviously wasnt paying close attention in the Scouts when he was a nipper as he seems to have little luck making a fire in "Darmok" whilst his alien companion/foe enjoys warmth a few yards away. Picard is more at home behind a negotiating table than roughing it in the woods.
- Gondor Calls for Aid: He always prefers to resolve conflicts by diplomacy and finesse if possible, rather than resorting to combat. He's not above judiciously applied brinksmanship when necessary, either. When he suspected that he was being lured into a Romulan ambush as a prelude to war, he arranged for the Enterprise to be escorted by cloaked Klingon warships. Once the Romulan ambushers revealed themselves, so did the Klingons. (Sisko tried this, with some success, with the Klingons and Romulans, but the alliances didn't always last. Janeway tried it once in the Delta Quadrant and got badly burned, rarely resorting to diplomacy after that.)
- Good Is Not Nice: A minor version. He's not mean or a jerk, just very serious and intense. He can be a nice guy when off duty though.
- Got Volunteered: He notes in "The Emissary" that whenever Starfleet Admirals get enigmatic, he knows he is about to get slapped in the face with a wet trout. It's his lot in life as the Flagship Captain.
- Hates Small Talk: He'll do what he needs to avoid it. A good example is in Starship Mine, when Data attempts to make small talk with him and he directs the android to keep an eye on someone who was notorious for being big on small talk. Has made excuses for nearly a decade to avoid attending an annual conference stocked with flag officers and fellow captains that always turns into an excuse for aimless chit-chat. In the episode it comes up, the Enterprise's engines go offline due to a faulty upgrade, and Picard's relief is almost palpable.
- Horseback Heroism: Picard is an equestrian. Troi picks up on the fact that Picard is more sensitive with his holographic horse than he is with most people.
- I Will Fight Some More Forever:
- Admitting surrender, especially to the Borg, as "First Contact" shows. It takes a lot for Picard to declare a situation beyond recovery.
- The Borg in general tend to make Picard unnerved; understandable given his assimilation, but it's otherwise completely out of character for Picard to have such hatred for an entire species.
- Ideal Hero: Picard is as perfect as someone can get while still being relatably human. He favors diplomacy over force whenever possible, respects all forms of life, his greatest desire is to learn and explore, and he knows just when to defy the Insane Admiral or Prime Directive.
- Kneel Before Zod: Q respects the Captain but isn't above putting him in a life-or-death situation to remind him who's the boss.
- Large Ham: Picard and Patrick Stewart have equal levels of ham content, considering that both are Shakespearian actors, but only one is in command of a powerful starship.
- Last of His Kind: The death of his brother Robert and his nephew Rene, means that he's now the last Picard. Until the expanded universe, where Picard married Crusher after Nemesis and had a child with her.
- Like a Son to Me: Both of them served under Picard on the Enterprise; both were recommended by the Captain to Starfleet Academy; and both would later betray him. Wesley and Ro Laren parted ways with Starfleet after witnessing the injustices done to settlers in the Cardassian Demilitarized Zone. Of course, it didn't help that Picard threatened to haul Ro before a tribunal if she scuppered his Maquis sting operation. With her back to the wall, Ro defected to the Maquis cell she'd been infiltrating, adding yet another blemish on Picard's record.
- Limited Advancement Opportunities: Kirk, Sisko, Janeway and Archer were all promoted over the course of their respective series or films. Picard, on the other hand, chose to stay a captain for the entirety of his career. It is mentioned in All Good Things that Picard eventually became an ambassador. In Generations Kirk flat-out tells Picard that he regrets being promoted to Admiral and advises him to never let it happen to him. He becomes an Almighty Janitor as a consequence- he is more than qualified to be a top-ranked Admiral and everyone knows it, to the point the actual Admirals usually speak to him less as a subordinate and more as an equal, and he even puts one or two in their place. In First Contact when the Admiral leading the assault on the Borg invasion of Earth is killed, Captain Picard immediately takes command of the entire fleet (or what's left of it) and nobody questions it. Especially when he leads them to victory in a few minutes.
- Major Injury Underreaction: Young Picard's reaction to getting knifed through the heart was to begin laughing! Even Q was somewhat disturbed by this.
- Mama's Boy: If everybody is seeing what they most desire in "Where No One Has Gone Before", then it is telling that all Picard is to sit and have tea with his dead mother again.
- Misplaced Accent/Not Even Bothering with the Accent:
- Patrick Stewart apparently did attempt a French accent when he first tried out for the role, but it sounded too much like Inspector Clouseau and no one could take it seriously.
- According to some Expanded Universe material he's actually been speaking French this whole time. We just hear a British accent because that's the way the Universal Translator renders European French into English. If he'd been from Quebec or Louisiana we'd hear him talking with some sort of North American accent.
- In one episode, Data has to describe French as an unused, archaic language that most people have never heard of. Picard takes offense at this description, but it does support the idea that English is the dominant language on Earth and Picard is simply bilingual from birth, explaining the lack of an accent. After all, most French people who speak English fluently speak it with an English accent.
- Must Make Amends: First Contact is usually treated as a joke in Trekdom, with the aliens completely misreading the crew's intentions and trying to blackmail us ("A Piece of the Action", "Code of Honor") or revering the ship as a God ("Blink of an Eye", Into Darkness). In "Who Watches the Watchers", Picard is aghast to learn the bronze age Mintakans have rekindled their old superstitions after an away team bungles the job and exposes their spying nest to Liko. Finally we get to see why breaking the Prime Directive is a dangerous business.Picard: And now you are asking me to sabotage that achievement, to send them back into the Dark Ages of superstition and ignorance and fear? NO!
- My Greatest Failure: Prior to the series, either the loss of the Stargazer or the death of Jack Crusher. Both are superseded, though, by being used by the Borg to crush Starfleet at Wolf 359.
- My Rule-Fu Is Stronger Than Yours: Never try to quote protocol to Picard: you will lose.
- Nay-Theist:
- Infamously, in the episode "Who Watches the Watchers", Picard flat-out cites abandonment of belief in the supernatural as a major achievement in a species' evolution. This is the same Picard who routinely seeks advice from The Empath sitting next to him, and whose Foil is an omnipotent, being from a higher plane of existence who can overrule the laws of physics with a snap of his fingers!
- Technically, he never exhibited any explicit aversion to religion. But he did refuse to accept that Q was God, because "the universe can not be so badly designed" and was disturbed that the Mintakans might return to religion (centered around him, no less) by because he thought their present adherence to rational science was better for society.
- In "Where Silence Has Lease", Picard skirts Data's question about the afterlife. He believes the universe operates on models too advanced for the human mind to fathom, but he doesn't quite buy into fluffy cloud heaven, either.
- Not Afraid to Die: He's fully prepared to sacrifice his life in performance of his duty. He defeats Nagilum by threatening to destroy the Enterprise and everyone onboard rather than let Nagilum kill half the crew for his amusement, as well as convincing Tomalak that he's really not bluffing when he says he's prepared to fight to the death, even though it would mean the destruction of both their vessels.
- Not Himself/We Want Our Jerk Back: Riker goes on high alert when Picard kicks up his feet in Ready Room or starts leading a sea shanty in Ten Forward. Our Jean-Luc is never this relaxed.
- Officer and a Gentleman: He's an aficionado of archaeology, Shakespeare, fine wine, good tea, and pulp detective fiction.
- Oh, Crap!: Merde.
- Parental Substitute: To Wesley.
- Patrick Stewart Speech: His actor is the Trope Namer.
- Platonic Life Partners: With Guinan.
- Pride Before a Fall: It's Picards hubris that they are ready to encounter anything that comes their way that encourages Q into providing him with a lesson to prove him otherwise. Picard doesnt heed Guinans warnings and heads off to explore this region of space (actually Borg Space) anyway. 18 crewmembers died to teach him a lesson.
- Psycho Electro: A lost entity takes possession of Picard's mind in "Lonely Among Us", shooting electricity through the helm controls and incapacitating the whole crew.
- Sheathe Your Sword:
- To prove he is a more thoughtful man than Kirk, he immediately surrenders to the Q whereas Jimmy T would have blasted them to hell and damn the consequences. (In later episodes, Picard will be a lot quicker to hit the self-destruct and leap into an escape pod, possibly because surrendering the Enterprise-D would be an unacceptable security risk for the Federation.)
- In "Who Watches the Watchers", Picard allows himself to be shot by an arrow to prove his mortality. The Mintakans will resume their pursuit of science and leave the old beliefs behind, regardless or whether or not he survives Liko's arrow.
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: With Captain Phillipa Louvois in "The Measure of a Man". In one of the novels, it's further elaborated that Louvois and Picard were romantically involved before she was chosen to prosecute him during his court martial, where she betrayed him by using the fact he'd wake screaming the names of the dead Stargazer crew, as proof that he was guilty.
- The Stoic: While he is pushed to his limits several times and he develops a seething hatred for the Borg, Picard's reserve and emotional control are impressive enough that a Vulcan suffering from an age-related breakdown of self-control mind-links with him for stability.
- Sufficiently Advanced Aliens: Picard is revered as a God figure by the Mintakans in "Who Watches the Watchers". Scenes of Picard being seen in a haze of light like some kind of benevolent God are a viewpoint into how pre-warp civilizations view the Federation (and the Captain asking Dr. Crusher why she didnt let Liko die rather than poison their race with alien ideas is very Old Testament of him). Like Sisko in the early seasons of DS9, Picard is extremely uncomfortable with the idea of being considered a religious icon. He has to try and think of a way to get through to Nuria and explain that his life and hers isnt that different, talking of ships and phasers as better huts and better bows, but it doesn't really translate.
- Technical Pacifist: Picard initially rejected the war games sim in "Peak Performance" mission because he firmly believes that Starfleet is not a military organization. (The back-to-back invasions by the Borg and the Dominion will soon clear up that misunderstanding.) However with the looming Borg threat he feels that his crew needs to brush up on their tactical skills.
- Took a Level in Badass: Picard could always handle himself in a fight, but it was played up to absurd lengths in the movies, where most of his scenes played out like "Die Hard In Space"
- The episode "Starship Mine" had already given him plenty of "Die Hard In Space" moments, though.
- Took a Level in Kindness:
- He exhibits some pretty unusual behavior in the pilot. He doesnt even look at Riker when he comes on board or welcome him. In later seasons, when he has softened, he will never behave this rudely.
- Clearly Picard didnt think too much of his former Chief Engineer Mr. Singh, because 30 seconds after his death he is delighted to hear that the Enterprise can go to warp again. Be glad he isn't your boss.
- Trademark Favorite Drink: Tea. Earl Gray. Hot.
- Tranquil Fury: How he often shows his anger.
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: Picard has this with Beverly Crusher, by choice. Might be caused by Death of the Hypotenuse, as Jack Crusher, Picard's best friend and Beverly's husband, was slain whilst serving on the USS Stargazer. Out of respect for him, they largely keep things to themselves.
- You Are in Command Now: How he took command of the Stargazer. Its captain was killed and first officer was injured, leading to Picard assuming command and salvaging the situation. Starfleet Command was so impressed that they promoted him directly to captain.
Commander William Riker
Played By: Jonathan Frakes
Riker: (after Q gives him two attractive women) I don't need your fantasy women!
Q: Oh, you're so stolid! You weren't like that before the beard!
The quintessential Number Two (or One). Started life as an expy of Kirk: a womanizing, cocksure space ace. With the beard, however, came a newfound gravitas and sense of responsibility. Fiercely loyal, he is probably the one officer whom Picard is most open with. Riker is very charming and affable with his peers, a few Lower Deck Episodes show that his subordinates are intimidated by him as he demands a performance up to the standards of the fleet's flagship.Although an excellent officer, Riker was notorious for refusing promotions so that he could stay on board the Enterprise. Several alternate timelines or illusionary realities put him in the Captain's chair.- The Ace: The role models on this ship are quite limited, so naturally the male crew members (Data, Wesley) glom onto Riker for advice on how to succeed in the boardroom and in the bedroom. Unfortunately Data's fanboyism goes a little too far, because instead of practicing Riker's mannerisms, he slaps on a railroad tycoon beard in "The Schizoid Man".
- Ace Pilot:
- His deft saucer seperation in "Encounter at Farpoint". It's a hairy test for a First Officer but fortunately Riker already has loads of starship experience.
- Always Someone Better/The Knights Who Say "Squee!": The Outrageous Okona, of course. Fancy Riker being shown up by another rugged sailor.note
- Anchored Ship: Though he dumped Troi a few years before the pilot, Riker is still sitting pining after his imzadi, grilling her potential boyfriends and like a jealous lover. This relationship was alluded to over seven long years but the actual mechanics never came to light. Unfortunately Riker and Troi only got together properly during a B-plot in the movies, when nobody watching was really interested.
- Archnemesis Dad: Kyle Riker hasnt been in touch with Riker for fifteen years and he came to the Enterprise to make his apologies and try and build a relationship with him. Good luck with that; he is extremely jealous of his sons accomplishments and he has always been competitive with him.Will has been on his own since he was fifteen years old and everything he has achieved he did on his own. Naturally Riker and his dad decide to solve their differences with an Ambu-Jitsu contest (which Kyle wins via an illegal maneuver); Pulaski does try to point what babies they're being, but they go ahead and beat the crap out of each other regardless. Regardless of his parenting it did encouage Riker to fight for what's his and get where he is today, so there's that.
- Badass Beard: Specifically for naming Growing the Beard. Also a case of Throw It In. Frakes grew the beard during the summer hiatus and figured he'd shave it off before filming resumed. However, he made a convention appearance before then and fan response was very positive, and ultimately Gene Roddenberry requested he keep it.
- The Big Guy: He is 6"4" and is known for moving his legs over chairs to sit on them. This comes from a back injury Frakes suffered while working as a mover. It is also why he is seen leaning on whatever is nearby and his slightly hunched over posture.
- Bold Explorer: Sharing this role with Picard, Riker was closer to the classic model as seen in the original series.
- Boldly Coming:
- He has a habit of quickly falling for women from different planets, which occasionally gets the Enterprise in trouble.
- When asked if he could "endure" a Klingon woman, he replies one or both? That's the correct answer.
- The outrageous "flirting" scene between Riker and Guinan ("The Dauphin"), intended to school Wesley on the finer points of love. Guinan barks "shut up kid" to Wes as she luxuriates in Rikers pickup lines.
- When Riker hears that Betazod women's sex drive quadruples in middle age he looks delighted. He picked the right species to later marry!
- Captain Morgan Pose: Just look at his picture. Used for practical reasons, since he is significantly taller than his castmates. The former trope namer.
- Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough : Part and parcel of being the ship's XO. Ensign Ro takes an instant dislike to Riker's directives (i.e. barking at her to adopt proper Starfleet dress code) even though they're probably coming from upstairs.
- Carpet of Virility : As shown in the first-season episode "Angel One."
- Character Tic: He has a very peculiar way of getting in and out of chairs. Likely due to how tall Jonathan Frakes is and the aforementioned back injury. As well as his tendency to lean on table and consoles, also due to how tall Jonathan Frakes is.
- Chivalrous Pervert: Although he does seem to sleep around a lot, Riker is quite respectful of them and even goes into actual romance now and again.
- Deadpan Snarker: One of the best in the Galaxy.
- Determinator: Data's analysis of his personality and record in "Peak Performance" that he will not give up, and that the weaker his position, the more aggressive will be his posture.
- Department of Redundancy Department: Shields up, Red Alert! What they keep forgetting to tell Riker is that going to Red Alert raises the shields automatically.
- Dirty Business: To have Riker act as the prosecutor against Data in "Measure of a Man" is a dillemia because he has never lost a fight. He agrees not to deliberately throw the case, or else Data will be handed straight to Commander Maddox to be taken apart. Riker gives a reasoned argument in proving that Data is a device rather than a man but is deeply ashamed of the things he says in the courtroom. Fortunately Data readily forgives him.
- Disappeared Dad: "The Icarus Factor" reveals that Riker feels bitter resentment to his father for not being around after the death of Riker's mother. Until that episode, they'd neither seen nor spoken to each other in nearly 15 years.
- Deuteragonist: Initially. Later eclipsed by Data.
- Drunk with Power: Could Riker possibly puff his chest out any further once he's been awarded with Q's powers? At the start of "Hide & Q" he considers being compared to the more modest Picard a compliment. Suddenly he starts behaving like a conceited jerk, calling Picard by his first name, demanding a meeting of the Bridge crew and walking away from the Captain whilst he is talking to him. Even the wishes Riker grants are in-character he steals ten years of Wesleys life and turns him into a beefcake, has a sexually rampant Klingon woman ravaging Worf (in the workplace), fixes Geordis eyesight and threatens to turn Data into a human.
- Ethical Slut: Riker has a lot of romantic relationships, including frequent flings with women on Risa, and tends to respond quite openly to invitations by women, and seems to remain on good terms with them afterwards, as long as no one is getting hurt or it's inappropriate (e.g. he refuses invitations by married women, but when the crew lost their memories he jumped into bed with Ro Laren almost immmediately when she offered). He's quite gallant and charming about it and on the rare chance that the relationship develops into something serious, he takes it very seriously.
- The Gambler: He relies on traditional tactics "only 21% of the time." In poker games, he's usually the one cleaning house.
- Gentle Giant: In "A Matter of Honour" Riker is traded to a Klingon ship where his fun-loving machismo will fit right in. He agrees to do the exchange as a token of goodwill to their allies, but when Klag acts up he has to qualms about beating up the Klingon and and shoving his head into a sparking console! This episode also puts Riker in the impossible position of having to safeguard the ship he has sworn his loyalty to during the exchange, even when it is attacking the Enterprise-D. Riker is tested by being asked for the keys to the Enterprise, but he refuses to break his allegiance to Starfleet even when he is willing to die like a Klingon; he embodies the best of both worlds.
- Guile Hero:
- Data notes that Riker is skilled at using "unusual cunning" and knowledge of his opponent to fool them. The Captain has to be aware of this talent for thinking outside-the-box.
- "A Matter of Honour" ended with Riker on the bridge of a Klingon Bird of Prey ordering the Enterprise to surrender. Not impressive enough? Okay, in a war games exercise in "Peak Performance" he helmed a nearly 80-year-old Constellation class ship (minimum power, skeleton crew no warp drive) and still managed to survive a run-in with some Ferengi—ironically by making it look as if the derelict ship had blown itself up.
- His crowning moment of this came when he had to fight Picard/Locutus who knew everything about Riker and knew all the plans the crew had cooked up to fight the Borg. He played poker for the Alpha Quadrant and won; you can see that he smugly knows it right before the commercial break after his plan bagged Locutus.
- Taken Up to Eleven in the movies: Riker exploits a fault in a cloaking device to lower a Klingon ship's shields in Generations, and later in Insurrection performs three practically insane tactical maneuvers when up against 3 ships, each of which is a match for the Enterprise: Destroying his own warp core to stop a Wave Motion Gun's attack, sucking up explosive gas and spitting it out in front of two enemy ships to make them blow themselves up, and flying on a collision course and juking at the last second to land some point-blank shots to disable the third ship.
- Honor Before Reason: While serving aboard the Hood, Riker refused to allow his captain to beam down into hostile conditions even when threatened with a court martial for disobeying orders. Picard made him his first officer based on that incident.Picard: I wanted someone who would stand up to me; someone who was more concerned with the safety of the ship and the mission than with how it would look on his record.
- I'll Be in My Bunk: Or more specifically, "I'll be in holodeck four!"
- It Runs in the Family: Dr. Pulaski would have married Kyle Riker in a heartbeat, but it seems he had other priorities. Something to do with his career.
- Jerkass Façade: He's capable of putting up an exceptionally cruel one if required. However, it's part of Riker's job as executive officer to be the 'mean' member of the bridge crew when it comes to dealing with delinquents or perceived substandards such as Ro Laren or Reg Barclay. Off duty, he drops the facade as quick as he can so he can remain friends with the crew.
- The Kirk: Riker is a very interesting example of this trope. In short, Data will usually present a strictly rational solution to an ethical dilemma, while Crusher or Troi will present a more emotional one. Remember, usually they're people, not abstracts. At this point, Riker will weigh them internally and give his opinion to Picard, who then re-Kirks it and makes a decision. For a guy who hates bureaucratic admirals, he sure does like oversight.
- Large and in Charge: Riker is just a shade under two meters tall (6'4" or 193 cm), and as First Officer is responsible for most of the day-to-day operations of the Enterprise.
- Lethal Chef: Only Worf likes his cooking, which is pretty bad. He's no Ben Sisko, that's for sure.
- Limited Advancement Opportunities:
- By his own choice, no less. He was offered command several times during the series, but always turned them down because he would rather serve as first officer on the flagship than captain of an insignificant vessel * .
- In "The Icarus Factor", he turned down a Captain's chair on the Aries because he saw it as another volley in the ongoing war with his father, Kyle. By turning down the job he allowed Kyle's legacy to supercede his and ended their rivalry.
- He explains his reasoning behind this to Captain Picard in Part I of "The Best of Both Worlds": "With all due respect, sir, you need me." In Part II of that episode, he's given a field promotion to Captain after Picard's capture and has four pips on his uniform signifying his new rank, but after Picard's return he has three pips again for some reason. (No reason he couldn't have continued to serve as first officer while keeping his new rank. And after saving the Federation, he really deserved to keep that extra pip.) He finally accepts a promotion in Nemesis.
- The novels leading up to Nemesis make his decision more clear. He was ready to turn down his promotion to captain the USS Titan the same as he turned down many other ships, until he realizes what that decision would mean for Data. As an android, Data is supremely competent and not the least bit ambitious to move up the Starfleet ranks. And because Riker has always been there as Picard's right hand, he's never had a chance to move into a real leadership position. Riker realizes that in a way, he's taken advantage of Data's android nature, by using his talents but never feeling threatened with being overshadowed the way he would with a competent and ambitious humanoid officer looking to make their mark. So by limiting his own advancement, he is giving Limited Advancement Opportunities to Data and other officers beneath him note . For that reason, he takes the captain's job so that Data can have his chance to take over as the new Number One and develop his own leadership qualities in a way he'd never had the chance to.
- He also hints that part of the reason for turning down offered commands is that he hopes one day to command the Enterprise-D and believes that it would be easier to become captain of that ship by moving from XO to Captain than to pray for his name to get chosen for a transfer back to the Enterprise.
- Married to the Job: This commander isn't ready to settle down with Troi....yet. It took him seven seasons and a handful of films to bed Deanna what he wants most is to Captain a Starship!
- Meaningful Name: Switch the consonants in "Kirk" and add an E for pronunciation. What does it spell? Bonus points for his first name coming from Kirk's actor.
- Military Maverick: Riker can be relaxed to the point of indolence sometimes, so it comes as a rude awakening when Jellico assesses him as arrogant, willful, insubordinate and not particularly good! He always assumed that he would be in command of the Enterprise if Picard was ever re-assigned. The look on his face when he realizes he is going to be supplanted by Jellico is priceless. Riker doesn't take kindly to this approach and can barely keep up with the demands of his new Captain.
- Missing Mom: He never knew his mother as she died when he was very young. With Betty gone, Will and Kyle grew apart; Kyle kept trying to challenge Riker to keep him strong but his son just saw it as bullying.
- My Greatest Failure: Standing up for then-Captain Pressman during a mutiny on the Pegasus. He was fresh out of the academy and only concerned with basic loyalty to a captain, so he thought the mutineers were selfish traitors and turned a phaser on them. It wasn't until later that he realized he made the wrong choice.
- One of Us: It is revealed elsewhere that he has been known to work through dilemmas by historical LARPing.
- Raging Stiffie: "The Naked Now". While everybody else is flirting, shagging and generally having a good time, poor Riker is struggling to control his urges and save the ship.
- Really Gets Around: No one is immune to his charms.
- Running Gag: One wonders if it was intentional on the part of the writers, because otherwise it's remarkable that every time he's offered the Captain's chair, the ship in question ends up being destroyed in a later episode?!
- Secret Test of Character:
- You feel really sorry for the guy as he is trying to impress his new Captain but gets a right dressing down in return. Of course, this is just a test by Picard to see if Riker sticks to his guns and defends his record (which borders on insubordinate) or kiss up to the boss. Happily, Riker passes with flying colors. A year later Picard acknowledges what a jerk he was when Riker first boarded the Enterprise and gives him some long overdue praise. In "Peak Performance", Picard suggests that only a fool would shrug off Rikers advice and he is the finest officer with whom he has ever served.
- Q suggests that in the future there might come a time when humanity progresses beyond even them, which gives him a solid reason for wanting to study how Riker handles real power.
- Theatrics of Pain: Bravo to Jonathan Frakes who demonstrates how a true action hero should fall when he is struck by a Ferengi whip. Theatrical doesnt cover it.
- What a Piece of Junk:Rikers delighted face at the activation of the decrepit Bridge of the Hathaway (Its ours!). If Riker had a choice of which ship to command, he would definitely take the old TOS ship which is short-handed, under-equipped, and required him to improvise.
- What the Hell, Hero?: He has a bad habit of making snap judgements about people without investigating, or basing his opinions on someone's Starfleet record rather than getting to know them personally and making a fair assessment - which is quite ironic considering the number of times he's been Wrongly Accused by people doing the same to him. He gets called out on it more than once.
Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge
Played By: LeVar Burton
"[...] We are gonna see something that people will talk about for years! I mean, think about it: no more bulky warp engines, or nacelles. A ship just generates a soliton wave and then rides it through space, like a surfboard. This is going to be like being there to watch Chuck Yeager break the sound barrier, or Zefram Cochrane engage the first warp drive!"
Engineering whiz and all-around Nice Guy. Born blind, he wears a spiffy VISOR which allows for some degree of sight, but he also is in constant pain with his eyes. He starts out as one of the ship's helmsmen alongside Data, but in Season 2 he was made Chief Engineer and stayed in that role for the rest of the series, making it his job to tell the captain that [insert engineering feat here] was impossible and then do it within an absurdly short timeframe.One of Geordi's more prominent aspects was his friendship with Data. He often described himself as Data's best friend and was an eager assistant in the android's attempts to become more human.- Ace Pilot: In season 1 before being promoted to chief engineer.
- All Love Is Unrequited: He can never seem to get the girl. Creator interviews suggest that this is partly because Geordi is in love with the Enterprise, similar to the way that Kirk was (although it is much less of a Masochism Tango). His relationship with the holographic Leah Brahms, the ship's designer, evokes this.
- Aura Vision: Occasionally the crew (and audience) gets to see what Geordi sees, which appears as a confusing mass of light and color. Geordi explains that he can choose what to focus on the same way he can focus on one conversation in a crowded room. In the book Metamorphosis, Geordi describes organic beings as having a shifting aura around them. Data's more machine nature has his aura look like a halo. When Data becomes human, Geordi observes that he's "lost his halo".
- Black and Nerdy: Just like LeVar Burton.
- Blind Black Guy: This is the most immediately noticeable part of his character.
- Blind Without 'Em: Literally. There are a few episodes in which his VISOR is lost or stolen.
- Butt Monkey: Geordi who gets pwned nearly as much as Worf (suffering from The Worf Effect). He's even hopeless with women. One particularly cruel episode had an alien taunt his blindness by moving his visor around, just because. The series seems to never let us go on the fact that he's blind (until the movies, well actually he gets taunted again in Generations, which may or may not have led him to go get cybernetic replacements by Star Trek: First Contact.). And apparently his mom disappears as some plot of the week. Worst yet is that nobody gives a damn about his mom afterwards. And to add insult to injury, in Voyager's "Timeless" he tries to stop Harry Kim and fails. Ouch. In one episode, he's heading on his merry way to Risa for some rest, relaxation and poontang. He gets kidnapped by Romulans and gets a Mind Rape from them. See here for further proof of his incredibly poor luck.
- This compilation of Geordi getting hurt is 10 minutes long. This compilation of Worf getting hurt (throughout the entire franchise!) is only 6 minutes long. Think about that for a moment...
- Deadpan Snarker: More deadpan than snark.
- Disability Superpower: The VISOR doesn't mimic normal human eyesight, but its ability to see infrared and EM spectrums comes in handy, and it can be jury-rigged to do some odd tasks.
- Electronic Eyes: In the movies, as of First Contact.
- The Engineer: Chief Engineer, after his promotion early in the series.
- Gadgeteer Genius
- Goggles Do Something Unusual: His VISOR allows him to "see" a lot of things that normal eyes can't.
- Gone Horribly Right: Geordi makes a very good point that a Sherlock Holmes mystery with no mystery is no fun at all and encourages Data to approach the scenario without all the answers so he can truly prove his worth as a master detective. Oops.
- Handicapped Badass: When he loses his VISOR he's almost helpless, but if he's got it, he's just as badass as the rest of them.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Data.
- Klingon Promotion: Come Season Two Geordi is now in charge of Engineering. Finally, somebody who will last more than five minutes in the job, since it became something of a death sentence in the first season.
- Loving a Shadow: Geordi gravitates towards this. He once fell in love with a holographic recreation of the architect of the Enterprise-D, a romance which collided with reality once the real architect turned up. In a later episode, he becomes smitten with a (supposedly) dead science officer after examining her personal logs. Flesh-and-blood women are not, to put it delicately, his strong suit; Geordi is simply too clingy and too tactless.
- Military Brat: Both parents were in Starfleet.
- Mr. Fixit: As Chief Engineer, it's his job to fix whatever thing's taken the warp core offline. He and Dr. Crusher are usually the ones who sift through Data's head when he has malfunctions as well (Geordi on account of technical know-how and Crusher on account of surgeon's hands)
- Technobabble: Far from the only source of it in the show, but he could well be the poster boy for this trope.
- The Professor
- Throwing Off the Disability: His eyes and vision were completely regenerated in Insurrection because of the rejuvenating effects of the Ba'ku homeworld. This eliminated his disability.
- In "Hide and Q," the Q-empowered Riker grants Geordi eyesight. Though he briefly sees without his VISOR, he soon declines. ("I don't like where it came from.")
- Reportedly, it was suggested that this trope be invoked early into the series' run, with the justification being 24th century technology could simply cure his blindness. Both Burton and Roddenberry were against it - considering it a disservice to blind people.
- Translator Buddy: For Data.
- Twofer Token Minority: African and blind.
Lieutenant Natasha "Tasha" Yar
Played By: Denise Crosby
Trent: Mistress Beata invites you to witness this morning's reaffirmation of Angel One's moral imperative.
Tasha: Is that the civilized word for 'murder' on this world?
The Enterprise-D's first Chief of Security, preceding Worf. Although conceived as a tough-as-nails Action Girl with a dark past, the show still lacked its beard of quality, meaning she would regularly get hamstrung by the Monster of the Week. As a result, Denise Crosby left the show before the first season was over, and Tasha was unceremoniously killed by an evil slime monster.The character was brought back in the S3 episode "Yesterday's Enterprise," where she was given a chance to be as well-written as the rest of the cast and given a more meaningful death.- Attack! Attack! Attack!: She suggests the (impractical and provocative) plan of blasting their way free of any situation.
- Back for the Dead: The episode "Yesterday's Enterprise." Tasha's meaningless death in the original timeline was discussed by her and Guinan, and Tasha decided that, if she was going to be "killed" by the restoration of the timeline, she would rather make a Heroic Sacrifice with the crew of the Enterprise-C.
- Back for the Finale: When Picard flashes back to the Farpoint mission.
- Bridge Bunny: To Denise Crosby's displeasure.
- Chickification: Just what the new Security Chief needed to put her stamp on this ship: a virus that makes you permanently blitzed! Hopefully this was the only instance when Tashas sexual throes were blasted across the Bridge intercom.
- Cosmic Plaything: Even an alternate-universe version of Tasha can't seem to avoid dying tragically and pointlessly.
- Damsel in Distress: Tasha suggests there is no physical regimen in the universe that can match up with Starfleet training, which is clearly a crock. It sets a bad precedent for this show, that the female crew-mates are the least useful.
- Dark and Troubled Past: She came from a planet that had descended into anarchy. This is incredibly dark material, so much so that DS9 would later be criticized for straying too far from the Federation and into lawlessness.
- Dead Alternate Counterpart: Tasha Yar from the reality where the Enterprise-C fell into a wormhole learns that in the soon-to-be-restored reality she was killed, but she still volunteers to go back through to help the C crew.
- Failed a Spot Check: This woman is a liability. In "Justice" she mentions that she has catlogued all of the Edo's laws and customs and yet she fails to mention that if you fall into some plants you will be executed. "Its a kind of syringe..." Tasha informs Riker, a little late.
- Fanservice: Drunk Tasha wandering the ship with a Sexy Walk; her "blitzed" voice is very seductive.
- She later seduces Data, after changing into a revealing Bedlah Babe outfit.
- Faux Action Girl: At the age of 5 she knew how to defend herself and learned how to avoid roving "rape gangs"....But Tasha is seldom shown in any combat situations, except against other female characters. This was generally understood at the time as the production practicing the Double Standard of not letting male characters beat on female characters on-screen. This (and the desire not to be pigeon-holed as just another Bridge Bunny) was one of the biggest reasons Denise Crosby wanted to leave the show. Fortunately, Tasha's Spiritual Successor Ensign Ro Laren (who actually replaced Wesley's position on the ship) proved to be an Action Girl who was anything but Faux.
- Hot-Blooded: Q turns her into a yellow popsicle after she starts ranting on about how fabulous Earth is; the implication being someone needs to cool her down. ("Shes frozen!" — Good catch, Troi.)
- In-Series Nickname: Tasha.
- Leeroy Jenkins: Tasha needs to calm down a bit: one of Lutans guards tries to hand a vaccine to Picard and she beats the crap out of him!
- Looks Like She Is Enjoying It: When Troi probes her mind in "Code of Honor" she senses the thrill Tasha felt when Lutan claimed her as his own. This is how an enlightened emancipated 24th Century girl reacts to being kidnapped? When Troi tries to intervene in the bloodsport, Yar has a hissy fit. Troi, you tricked me! Yar wanted to embarrass Lutans wife for having the audacity to challenge her. Data looks forlorn at the thought that Tasha might love Lutan which leads to another cringeworthy admission that she is "attracted" to him. No wonder Denise Crosby wanted out of this muck. The same writer (Katharyn Powers) would go on to write another rape-y episode for Stargate SG-1. It takes all kinds.
- Killed Off for Real: In the first season episode "Skin of Evil". Denise Crosby left the show because she felt her character didn't have enough to do in the episodes. The producers probably felt that there were too many characters anyway and needed to trim the cast a bit. So they apparently took it pretty well. In fact, they worked with Crosby to make her departing episode special in terms of Star Trek, the show that was responsible for the Redshirt trope. Also, driven home is the fact that Yar's death was somewhat pointless and understated and not the type of dramatic heroic death usually reserved for main characters. But then, there was the episode Yesterday's Enterprise which resurrects her in an alternate timeline, to give her a more heroic and meaningful death... only for the Redemption two-parter to undermine that too.
- The Lad-ette: Often participated in competitive/athletic activities.
- The One Who Made It Out: Unlike her sister, who appears later to manipulate the crew when they visit her homeworld.
- Rape as Backstory: Implied. She mentions that she spent most of her childhood dodging Rape-Gangs.
- Sacrificial Lion
- That Didn't Happen: The night with Data. He agrees to keep it quiet, but we see that it's one of his most precious memories. (In an extended version of Yar's goodbye message, she says, "Data? It did happen.")
- Timey-Wimey Ball: As of "Yesterday's Enterprise".
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The tomboy to Troi's girly girl.
- Vasquez Always Dies: This trope was not intended when the character was created, but Denise Crosby's desire to leave to show had this trope being played depressingly straight. Interestingly, she was originally modeled directly after Vasquez, originally being called "Macha Hernandez" before being renamed Tasha Yar. Even more interestingly, the role was read by dark-haired, olive-skinned Marina Sirtis, while Crosby read for the role of the ship's counselor. They swapped parts.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: It would have been interesting to see how the character was handled once the show runners got their act together.
- The Worf Effect: How Tasha died. This was one of the earlier examples of the trope on the series, even before Worf himself replaced Tasha as the chief security officer.
Lieutenant (later Lieutenant Commander) Worf
Played By: Michael Dorn
"I am not a merry man!"
The genesis for Worf was Gene Roddenberry's suggestion that there be a "Klingon marine" on the Enterprise bridge, thus symbolizing that the human-Klingon feud was a thing of the past. Didn't quite work since it turned out he was actually raised by humans and was the only Klingon in all of Starfleet, and the Klingons—while no longer enemies—still had a pretty tense relationship with the Federation. But it did set up some very good and long-running storylines.Of all the TNG regulars, Worf underwent the most Character Development, partially because his early characterization was minuscule, and partially because the character has made more appearances across the Star Trek franchise than any other. Over the years, he thwarted a civil war on his homeworld (and got exiled for his trouble), became a father, got beat up (a lot), broke his spine (luckily he had a spare), got married to Troi (in an alternate dimension), crossed over to Deep Space Nine, was promoted to Commander, got married again, and eventually cleared his name (finally) and became a Klingon ambassador.— Worf, "Q-Pid"
- Affectionate Nickname: Q calls him "Micro-brain."
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: While Worf isn't a bad boy personally, he is the second physically strongest character after Data, able to hold a fight against multiple members of a species bred for war, proficient at hand-to-hand combat and pretty much an overall badass. While he gets beat up a lot, he gets compensation with the some of the hotter girls of the franchise (Deanna Troi, Jadzia Dax...) falling for him.
- Ascended Extra: Worfs around to add a little color in the pilot but doesnt really contribute a great deal besides grunts....yet.
- Badass Baritone: Michael Dorn's voice has actually gotten deeper thanks to playing Worf for so long.
- Bad Liar: Worf is terrible at poker playing because he can't conceal his frustration at being unable to play a winning hand (and thanks to his insistence that "Klingons never bluff"). He wears his heart on his sleeve.Picard: Lieutenant, I order you to relax.
Worf: I AM RELAXED!! ...Yes, sir. - Berserk Button: Don't harm his shipmates, don't endanger the Klingon Empire, and definitely don't try to impugn his honor.
- The Big Guy:
- A big, badass Klingon security chief who mans the phasers. That is, when he wasn't getting chumped to prove how tough the Monster of the Week was (see The Worf Effect below).
- Where am I going to get the Opti-cable? someone whines in "Peak Performance". Worf reaches up and tears some out of the wall.
- Big, Screwed-Up Family: SF Debris puts it best: ("The Bonding")Jeremy: Your parents?
Worf: No, they're dead.
Jeremy: Your wife?
Worf: First or second? ...Oh, nevermind, they're both dead.
Jeremy: Your brother?
Worf: He's not dead. But only because they stopped me from killing him.
Jeremy: HUH??
Worf: It was for his own good.
Jeremy: Any children?
Worf: Only the son who shames me. - Birthday Hater: Worf doesn't look forward to his birthday as he doesn't like to be surprised, and knows that his shipmates always want to throw him a surprise party.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: Klingons, as we discover in the episode "Ethics" (Season 5, Episode 16), have 23 ribs, 2 livers, an 8-chambered heart, and so on. This is Handwaved as backup in case anything goes wrong.
- Born in the Wrong Century: . Because they made love Worf considers he and KEhleyr bonded for life (he makes the same mistake with Jadzia and Ezri on DS9 almost 10 years later so he never learns), whereas she thinks the notion of marrying everyone you sleep with is absurd.
- Brutal Honesty: He refuses to sugar coat anything, even being willing to tell a mortally wounded crewman that he's going to die rather than try to give him false hope.
- Butt Monkey: There's a reason why there's a trope called The Worf Effect.
- The Comically Serious: The series' go-to for this type of humor. If he weren't such a humorless stick in the mud, then lines like "Sir, I protest, I am not a merry man!" wouldn't be so hilarious.
- The Complainer Is Always Wrong: Exhibit A.
- Culture Blind: Averted. Worf isn't ignorant of Earth culture, but he compensates for his "neither here nor there" upbringing by sticking doggedly to Klingon ideals. (It's just like Spock, who seems so ashamed of being half human that he was determined to be the most Vulcanish Vulcan he can be.) The few things he is comically unaware of (Gilbert and Sullivan, prune juice as a home remedy) are ones that a 24th-century man could easily miss. Oddly enough in his dogged attachment to Klingon ideals he seems blind to much of the Klingon culture that doesn't really follow them, as particularly showcased in the second half of the "Redemption" two-parter.
- It's even been mentioned that some of his virtues are based more off his human upbringing; his modesty, some of his morals, loyalties and idealized aspects of Klingon culture have basis in human values. Even when these are brought up, he seems to ignore just where he might have picked it up (he never shows anything less than love and respect to his adoptive parents).
- His concept of honor also appears to be half-way between the Klingon and Starfleet ideals, with the Klingon drive to test himself in combat and the Human sense of fair play. His utter refusal to admit defeat seems to be all his own.
- Cultured Badass: He loves his Klingon Opera and love poetry.
- Deadpan Snarker: It's not overt, but Worf gets a bunch of really great snarks out over the course of the series.Q: I have no powers! What must I do to convince you of that?Worf: Die.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: When he serves alongside his brother in the Klingon Civil War. Worf has been trained to regard war as Serious Business. Kurn is a Blood Knight just as interested in partying and brawling with his enemies as killing them. At the end of the two-partner, Worf is offered the right to execute Toral in revenge for everything the Duras family has done to him. He refuses.Kurn: Kill him! It's our way. It's the Klingon way!Worf: I know. But it is not my way.
- Delivery Guy: Delivered Keiko O'Brien's daughter Molly.
- Worf: "The computer simulation was not like this. The delivery was very orderly."
Keiko (in labor pain): Sorry to disappoint!
- Several years later, when he learns that the very same woman was "having a baby" again, his immediate response is to alarmingly inquire "Now?" And then arrrange for shore leave around the delivery date.
- Disappeared Dad/Missing Mom: Both were killed in the massacre at Khitomer when Worf was six.
- Drink Order: PRUNE JUICE! EXTRA LARGE!
- Fantastic Racism: Worf completely loathes the Romulans. To the point where when he refuses to give a dying Romulan a blood-transfusion to save his life and also shuns a Klingon woman he was initially attracted to after learning she is actually half-Romulan. However, numerous characters routinely call him out on this attitude. By the last movie, he (begrudgingly) praised the Romulans who helped them for their honor.
- Fish out of Water: Upon leaving the Federation to fight in his people's civil war, Worf comes to learn that the Klingon culture he has idealized all his life isn't quite what he wants or expects.
- Fish Out of Temporal Water: More comedy as Worf fails to summon the turbolift or answer the telephone in "The Royale" (his gruff "HELLO!" is precious).
- Good Old Ways: Worf is something of a romantic in the way he adheres to Klingon rituals that even his own people aren't naive enough to follow.
- Grumpy Bear: Lots of officers have tried to dampen Worf's bad attitude over the years, and it always ends with Worf chewing the offender up and picking them out of his teeth. These Starfleet types are such a nosy lot; all Worf wants a little "me" time."With all due respect BEGONE! Sir."
- Happily Adopted: He and his parents are as close as if he was their own Human child.
- Hates Small Talk:
- So much that he successfully gets himself excused from a reception that will be full of it.
- 'Nice planet' is his impression of the Edo homeworld. His reaction to a sip of tea is: Good tea. Nice house. He always was a succinct one.
- When he joins Deep Space Nine he has small talk with fellow curmudgeon Odo about their mutual dislike of small talk.
- Henpecked Husband: The ladies in Worf's life exist to torment him. For his own good, it seems. Key'lar was a proud iconoclast who refused to run her life on Worf's terms. Busybody Deanna is always on hand to embarrass and cajole Worf into admitting his anxieties. Dax flat-out admitted that she likes to troll Worf and didn't require encourage from O'Brien in that department.
- Honor Before Reason: Nothing is more important to him than his honor. Every time he's forced to sacrifice something to preserve it he considers it to be Worth It, no matter how high the cost. Unfortunately his brother Kurn suffers for this even more than Worf does.
- I Am X, Son of Y: "I am Worf, son of Mogh!!"
- Identical Grandson: Of Colonel Worf, Kirk's defense counsel in the sixth movie. Yep, that's Michael Dorn. Parts of the Enterprise-D set were also recycled in the film to keep costs down.
- Ignored Expert: He's the head of security, but when he raises reasonable objections he tends to be ignored or shot down with little more reasoning than 'Nah, don't feel like it,' which frequently puts the crew or ship itself in grave danger on a regular basis. For example, he objects to sending their chief engineer instead of a lesser officer or just sending the needed technical information, but his caution is ignored, getting Geordi captured. In that particular case, they were trying to assist a spacecraft run by a species that appeared to be rather... special, and didn't appear to be capable of hostility. Worf's warning was still valid, of course, but Riker (who was in command at the time, long story) thought he was overreacting...
- Interspecies Romance: Earth females are too fragile for Worf and he has to restrain himself. Grrr! This doesn't stop him from pursuing relationships with Betazoids, Trills, and Klingon-Human hybrids.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's not one for small talk, is Brutally Honest to the point of rudeness, and loathes Romulans, but he's also unshakably loyal to his friends and won't hesitate to lay down his life for anyone under his care.
- Large and in Charge: Commander of the Enterprise's security department and at 6'4" the only character to equal Commander Riker in height.
- Leeroy Jenkins:
- His classic rant in "Where Silence Has Lease". Clearly Worf took a dose of Tasha Yar pills that morning and he recommends going to Red Alert when nothing of consequence has happened. When things get a bit surreal he goes bonkers again, declaring that ship has ONE Riker, ONE Bridge! This is impossible! IMPOSSIBLE! ARGGGHHHHH which did his character no favors. Then again, he nearly blow a hole in the viewscreen when Q first appeared. "Explains something of why you defeated them." says Q of the Federations decisive victory over the Klingons.
- FOR BATTLE COME TO ME!! cries Worf who in four stories hasnt had one ounce of development apart from being angry all the time. It's not until Tasha gets the boot that we really get a chance to learn what makes him tick.
- Worf has a refreshingly spotty record as a leader. In "Rules of Engagement", Sisko chews him out for firing on a Klingon vessel without verifying if there were civilians in the crossfire. During the inquisition which follows, Qu'nos sends an attorney to prosecute Worf for war crimes; he infers that Worf is ruled by his Klingon bloodlust and shouldn't have even been allowed in a Captain's chair.
- In "The Bonding", Worf shows himself to be a man of integrity by telling Jeremy what happened to his mother because he was in charge of the away team. He wants to honour Lt. Aster by performing the Bonding ritual with Jeremy and taking the child under his wing.
- Loser Son of Loser Dad:
- Manages to take after both his fathers:
- Like Mogh, he took a very active hand in Klingon politics, to the point that he puts himself in the position to appoint a Chancellor. He was also disgraced due to an injustice.
- Like Sergei Rozhenko, he has a career in Starfleet wherein he discovers a son he never expected to have.
- Momma's Boy: Worf absolutely loves his adoptive mother Helena Rozhenko. He insists that she makes the best Rokeg blood pie in the entire galaxy, beat up five teenage boys he deemed "disrespectful" to her (with the implication that they had insulted her rather than him) at the age of 7, and one of his favorite places is her home of Minsk.
- Mother Russia Makes You Strong: While being a Klingon already makes him strong, Worf mentioned that his adoptive father (who raised him in Minsk) took him camping in the Urals when he was a boy.
- My Greatest Failure: It's later revealed in Deep Space Nine that part of the reason for his stoicism is because as a boy he accidentally killed another child whilst playing football. Since then, Worf vowed never again to lose control.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: And inverse of this. Most of the human characters only have Worf's view of Klingon culture to go on, so when other Klingons who have been living in that culture pop up, they're quick to point out (or show off) that he's been compensating. Notably, Worf's principled, disciplined, honorable nature clashes unpleasantly with the rest of the Empire when he serves in their military during the Klingon Civil War.
- Odd Friendship: With Riker. Riker's amiable personality contrasts Worf's stoic one. Riker also enjoys taking the piss out of Worf at times.
- Offered the Crown: Played with. The Duras sisters attempt to convince him to change his loyalty to them, offering the older sister as his wife and him the Regency for their nephew, but don't directly offer to make him Chancellor of the Empire. Later, he actually becomes Chancellor for a brief moment through Klingon Promotion, but immediately abdicates for Martok, whom Worf believes is the most competent leader the Klingon Empire could have.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy
- Raised by Orcs: Inversion — a Klingon raised by humans. In a fairly effective Deconstruction of the trope, Worf was often more true to Klingon principles and culture than most Klingons, due to having had more of an incentive to stand up for his identity in an alien environment. Also because he didn't grow up in a Klingon environment, Worf is only aware of how Klingons are supposed to conduct themselves — other Klingons have learnt (as we all do) that there's honor and then there's the subtle compromises you make to get along in life. This leads to several Honor Before Reason decisions by Worf, as well as a lot of Culture Clash with more "modern" Klingons in the "Redemption" two-parter. It also leads to a Reconstruction, as his devotion to true honor leads to him defeating the corrupt Chancellor Gowron and installing the far more competent and honorable Martok in his place.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge:
- When Duras killed his beloved K'Ehleyr, Worf boarded his ship and killed him in the Rite of Vengeance.
- When his second wife was murdered, he destroyed an entire shipyard in her honor.
- Russian Guy Suffers Most: Worf, whose suffering put name to the Worf Effect, was raised by Russians. Well, Belarusians,note but (1) Belarusians are the most Russian-like non-Russians out there, to the point where a majority of ethnic Belarusians have Russian as a native language and (2) Belarus was still part of the USSR when the episode introducing his parents was written and aired.
- Sore Loser: You gotta love his way of dealing with the toy model he is making in "Peak Performance": he smashes it, then tells Riker he will be irritated if he doesnt get to a certain stage in the game with Kolrami because he has wagered on him.
- The Stoic: Most of the time — that is, unlike most Klingons. This was explained in Deep Space Nine as being the result of constant self-control after he accidentally killed a human friend whilst playing football as a child. The only time this image cracks is when he slips into Unstoppable Rage. This was showcased quite heavily in "Heart of Glory", TNG's first Klingon-centric episode.
- Stop Having Fun Guy:
- Frequently falls into this. He usually comes off more as a humorless stiff than a badass Klingon warrior.
- That super dramatic music when Worf heads off to stop Okonas unending line of sexual conquests throughout the ship.
- Straw Character:
- Odds are that if somebody amongst the main characters was needed to take an unsympathetic position about a culture, species or anything else, that character would be Worf. His generally disapproving personality helped make it credible though.
- Worf is all in favor of aborting an baby with no regard for Trois feelings whatsoever. Yes, she was violated by an alien lifeform but still that's still pretty harsh. He also agrees with O'Brien (and Quark!) that his rights as a father take precedence over Major Kira's as a mother.
- Token Heroic Orc: At the very start. This was the first time a Klingon was seen in an outright heroic role; in TOS they were Enemy Mine at best.
- Token Minority: Similar to Spock's role in the Original Series, Worf is an alien crewmember of partial human heritage (in Worf's case, he is Klingon by birth, but was adopted and raised by humans after his parents were killed).
- Underestimating Badassery: A Bar Brawl ensues when some Klingon warriors visiting Star Trek: Deep Space Nine decide to pick on Worf for his unlikely Drink Order of prune juicenote . Worf manages to use the Conservation of Ninjutsu to invoke The Worf Effect for a change by handily mopping the floor with them.
- "Well Done, Son!" Guy: Wait a minute, are there any proud fathers in the Trek universe? Ironically, his adoptive father, Sergei, is extremely proud of Worf's accomplishments.
- The Worf Effect: The Trope Namer. Any time the writers needed to show how much of a threat the new enemy was, they would have Worf rush it and immediately be thrown across the room. It's a wonder how Worf got any work after he left the Enterprise. Whenever anybody wants to beam the Captain away from the ship they seem to have no trouble whatsoever. There is a very amusing moment in DS9 where Odo lists a number of security breaches that occurred on the Enterprise under his watch. Worf protests that they were the exception rather than the rule. Re-watching the series would suggest that it's the other way around! He's often the first one to learn that the Borg have adapted to the available phaser frequencies.
- You Can't Go Home Again: For a while, Worf was disgraced and exiled from Klingon space. Twice.
Doctor (Commander) Beverly Crusher
Played By: Gates McFadden
"When I look at my patient, I don't see a collective consciousness, I don't see a hive. I see a living, breathing boy who has been hurt and who needs our help."
The redhead Doctor in charge of Sickbay. Has a long and complicated relationship with Picard, who served over her late husband, Jack Crusher, as Captain of the ill-fated Stargazer. Picard, still troubled with guilt over Jack's death, often expresses romantic feelings toward Beverly, but will not act on them. Jack and Beverly had a son, Wesley, who lives aboard the Enterprise.After being dropped from the show in Season Two for a failed attempt at a McCoy expy, Beverly is given much more screentime that isn't focused on her relationships with Picard and Wesley, insead exploring her career in medicine and outside interests. Sadly, she remains largely in the background in the movies.— Beverly, "I, Borg"
- Action Mom: She's pretty good whenever she has to use combat skills and not medical ones. She also has the best aiming skills of the entire main cast.
- In "Descent Part II," she's left in charge of Enterprise with a fraction of the normal crew, all no-names, while all the main cast is off hunting for Data. She takes on the Borg and wins.
- Awesome McCoolname: Beverly Crusher. She's badass enough for it too, despite being dedicated to her medical profession; if she weren't such a benevolent person it might qualify under Names to Run Away from Really Fast.
- The Cast Show Off: Gates McFadden made her name as a choreographer and, in "Data's Day," Crusher gets a scene where she teaches Data to dance, opening with a fairly impressive bit of tap-dancing from the doctor.
- Combat Medic: One of the more prominent examples among Trek doctors, she's quite able and willing to shoot a phaser or throw a punch, and does surprisingly well when she's forced by circumstance to command the ship in a fight. In fact, she likes command and regularly commands the night shift "just to keep in practice." And when Picard visits the future in "All Good Things...." she's captain of a medical ship. There's a reason she is selected for the commando operation in "Chain of Command" alongside Picard and Worf.
- A Day in the Limelight: "Suspicions", "Sub Rosa" and "Remember Me".
- Deadpan Snarker: According to the episode "Attached", she often has a snarky remark at the tip of her tongue, though she rarely vocalizes them. She is more prone to snarking in episodes that focus on her.
- Doctor's Orders: Comes with the territory.
- Dull Surprise: The major difference between Gates and the other regulars is that the former is a born dancer. Gates had a couple of stellar episodes, but she also took a few episodes off. Her inflections are all over the place.
- Fiery Redhead: Although she has yet to approach the levels of this seen in, say, Kira Nerys, this trope comes into full effect when anyone tries to stop her from doing what she sees as her job.Riker: (as Picard contemplates beaming Crusher back aboard despite her insistence on staying behind to treat wounded civilians) I don't wanna be in the Transporter Room to greet her.
- Gates McFadden later said on her Twitter that much of Beverly's hair was a wig, though the bangs were hers.
- Florence Nightingale Effect: In the series finale, "All Good Things..." Picard returns from the future and reports on a terminal disease he will one day contract. What does Beverly do? Plants a passionate kiss on him.
- Mama Bear: Her reaction when Lore threatens to kill Wesley in "Datalore".
- The McCoy: Slips into this on occasion. She will always put her medical ethics first regardless of personal risk and refuses to not treat injured people, even if it's in the midst of a terrorist attack or if that person is a Borg.
- The Medic: A particularly dedicated one!
- My Beloved Smother: Wesley suggests his mother is stunting his emotional growth.
- No Badass to His Valet: The only person onboard the ship who can give the Captain orders. She's also known Picard for long enough to give him honest advice.
- Noodle Incident: Whatever happened on Arvada III when she lived there with her Nana.
- Put on a Bus: Dr Crusher has gone back to Earth to teach medicine, and in her place comes the walking attitude problem that is Dr Pulaski.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: When Gates McFadden left the show for the second season (conflicting reports can't agree if she was fired or quit due to personal issues with people on the set), Crusher was said to have been assigned to Starfleet Medical. When McFadden returned for the third season, Crusher transfered back to the ship. They even made her absence a b-plot in her first episode back, the season 3 premiere "Evolution."
- Satellite Character: Her initial description in the cast bible is a one line description of how she is Wesley's mother. Her other major character usage is UST with Picard. This contributed to her bus trip in season two, but after her return (and Wesley's departure) she gets a number of episodes and plots dedicated to her.
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: With Picard. Ironically, even though it's Picard who has hang-ups about a romantic relationship, she shoots him down when he asks. They get over themselves in the novels.
- Women Are Wiser: Crusher is the one person on the ship who can give Picard an order, and she loves it.
Counselor (later Commander) Deanna Troi
Played By: Marina Sirtis
"I am the Goddess of Empathy. Cast off your inhibitions and embrace love, truth, joy."
Half-Betazoid counselor who gets to sit right up front on The Bridge — a remnant of the touchy-feely 80s. Somewhat justified by her empathic abilities, which allowed her to detect lies and therefore give an edge to Picard in negotiations (though she mostly just stated the obvious). After a few seasons of this, complaints arose from the actress (and the audience); happily, those criticisms were echoed by Captain Jellico, who promptly barked at Troi to change into a proper uniform.As promised, Troi gained a less-revealing outfit, a phaser, and moved into the Counselors' office to assist the crew in more concrete ways (including passing the bridge officer's test and becomming a commander). Troi is also notable for her very, very meddlesome mother (Lwaxana) and her on-again, off-again relationship with Riker. By the final TNG movie, the pair reconciled and got hitched.— Barclay's hologram of Troi, "Hollow Pursuits"
- '80s Hair: Troi looks like a hard rock singer with her massive frizzy hair and miniskirt in "Farpoint". (Marina Sirtis had kind of a "Cher meets Selena" thing going on in the 1980s.) They didn't start to get her hair under control until First Contact.
- Break the Cutie: She gets broken to pieces psychologically more than any character except Picard. The writers seemed to be fond of having her be psychically violated more than once, and she's usually the first to trust someone and get her fingers burned badly due to her compassionate and empathic nature.
- Brought Down to Normal: In "The Loss," a multitude of two-dimensional organisms cause her to temporarily lose her empathic abilities.
- Captain Obvious: At the beginning of the show when she said "He's frozen!" Hate Dumb about her says that she does it when she's reporting what she's sensing, but it is mostly not true.
- The Chick: As the ship's counselor, it's her job to be sensitive and concerned about the crew's well-being. This also makes it hard for her to pass the Bridge officer's exam, since it required her to order a crewman to certain death in order to save the whole ship.
- The Confidant: Part of her job, even to Captain Picard.
- Comfort Food : See Trademark Favorite Food, below. Troi apparently only eats chocolate and sweets, which makes one wonder why she's not fatter. Perhaps some Bizarre Alien Biology allows her to not gain weight, or the replicator removes the fattening aspects of a high-fat, high-sugar diet.
- Custom Uniform of Sexy: Averted in the last two seasons, when she started wearing a standard blue science uniform after Captain Jellico ordered her to.
- Damsel in Distress:
- She filled this role many times. She was always being possessed by aliens, abused by aliens in crashed shuttles, abducted by aliens for political gambits, being nearly forced to marry an alien, having her psychic powers robbed by aliens, suffering nightmares at the hands of aliens, forced to listen to a virtual music box in her head for days by an alien, the list goes on. Her only real use on the show was to counsel the random crew member of the week and to tell Picard when she sensed weird things happening while on the bridge... apart from being this show's Ms. Fanservice, that is.
- And when Troi actually said something useful, she was often ignored. In the second season episode, "Samaritan Snare," Geordi is beamed over to a disabled ship to help the apparently dim-witted aliens out. Troi walks onto the bridge, sees Geordi on the ship through the viewscreen, and tells Riker Geordi is in danger and needs to be beamed back immediately. Riker ignores her warning because those aliens are just so stupid, and what harm can they do? Well, let's just say the main plot of the show is Riker's efforts to get Geordi back, which could have been avoided if he'd listened to the empath!
- Dirty Harriet: She and Riker go undercover as Mintakens in "Who Watches the Watchers" trying to keep a First Contact from spiraling madly out of control. Troi also infiltrated a Romulan ship while disguised as a Tal Shiar agent.
- The Empath: She is a very strong empath, and her empathic abilities do provide an edge and can confirm whether a life-form's intent is hostile or not, even in the earlier seasons. Apparently her empathic ability is like another sense to her, so much so that losing it for an episode is like being blind to her, and it breaks her pretty damn quick.
- The Fashionista: Deanna dresses fashionably (within Starfleet regulations as permitted), and is shown early in the series to have what others consider excellent taste in clothes. Unlike her mother Lwaxana, Deanna is more humble about it, unflamboyantly letting her outfits speak for themselves as she does her job.
- Fashionable Asymmetry: Her aquamarine outfit.
- Future Spandex: There was a lot of Future Spandex casual wear on the show, but as a main cast member she was the most prominent example. It would be used for the characters subjected to Ms. Fanservice in later series. Deanna definitely needs a new uniform by Season Four, because the purple all-in-one brings all attention to her figure. (Not that this stopped VOY from giving the even curvier Jeri Ryan the exact same look.)
- Fleeting Passionate Hobby:
- In "A Fistful of Datas" Alexander invites her because "she likes Westerns." She's even seen blowing smoke rings on a cigar. This is never mentioned again.
- She did mention that she liked Westerns again briefly.
- The Expanded Universe establishes that her late human father was a fan of Westerns, justifying it as one of the things she remembers enjoying with him when she was a child before he died.
- Green-Skinned Space Babe: Although not actually green-skinned; she was half-Betazoid. She does have the Betazoid black irises, though.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Her mother is fully Betazed and her father was human.
- Human Aliens: Both she herself and full-blooded Betazoids like her mother Lwaxana are almost this. As noted under Green-Skinned Space Babe, Betazoids and Betazoid-human hybrids are actually visually distinguishable from humans (Betazeds don't have colored irises in their eyes, rendering their eyes completely black and white), but the difference is subtle enough that it can be easily be missed by the viewer unless you pay attention or have it pointed out to you, though it's easy to get a slight Uncanny Valley vibe
- Informed Attribute:
- She almost never reports anything that isn't head-slappingly obvious, to the crew and audience alike.
Troi: (notices smashed table) You're upset.
K'Ehleyr: Your finely honed Betazoid sense tell you that?
Troi: That, and the table.- Troi loves nothing more than to state the obvious but "Encounter at Fairpoint" is an example to all the doubters of her empathic powers: she realizes that the entities are feeling great joy to be reunited at the climax. (No shit, Sherlock.)
- "I sense healthy sensuality, sir!" she says after she has been groped by one of the Edo. To be fair, this may have been a joke.
- Youve got to love how Okona (sorry, the Outrageous Okona) greets Picard not with a hello, but by mooning the viewscreen as he fumbles about his ship. "Mischievous, irreverent and somewhat brazen!" — no wonder they keep Troi so close at hand, you can't get insight like this just anyplace.
- When asked if she can sense what "Doctor Rasmussen" isn't telling them, she responds I dont know. Troi is as valuable as ever. Her suspicions about Rasmussen are based on little more than gut feeling.
- Her most notable long-term patient, Lt. Reginald Barclay, is still exhibiting most of the same neuroses, problems with socialization and Holodeck Addiction years later when he appears in Star Trek: Voyager. In spite of that, Reg at least thinks that she is "the best" counselor in Starfleet! Although to be fair it's also a bit of Shown Their Work: In real life, patients spend years in therapy, unlike in fiction land where afflictions are often resolved by the end of the episode. And even if Barclay does have the same neuroses in later series, it ought to be pointed out that before Troi began working with him, Reg could barely be considered functional.
- Informed Flaw: Her feelings for Riker might make her behave in a very unprofessional fashion! Not really, it's Riker who is barely holding himself together at the thought of Deanna marrying somebody else whilst Troi seems to have happily moved on.
- Impossibly-Low Neckline: Her informal blue outfit (shown here) comes close. But her grey, purple and red informal outfits had a more modest V-shaped neckline. Her standard Starfleet uniform (worn in the series pilot and in Season 7) did not show cleavage at all.
- Limited Wardrobe: Two different-colored catsuits of the same style and the turquoise dress.
- Living Lie Detector:
- Her empathic abilities allow her to sense when someone's being deceptive or otherwise hiding something, but she notes herself that context is everything.
- There is a nice moment with Riker and Jellico. Jellico's all bluster, waving off the Cardassians as no threat. Riker, visibly annoyed at this cavalier Captain, allows that he is a 'confident' man—but Troi knows better. 'He's not.'
- The Load: She was always being possessed by aliens, abused by aliens in crashed shuttles, abducted by aliens for political gambits, being nearly forced to marry an alien, having her psychic powers robbed by aliens, suffering nightmares at the hands of aliens, forced to listen to a virtual music box in her head for days by an alien, the list goes on. Her only real use on the show was to counsel the random crew member of the week and to tell Picard when she sensed weird things happening while on the bridge. Maybe this makes her closer to Butt Monkey. Troi did manage to Take a Level in Badass during a two-episode arc where she was sent to spy on the Romulans... but left that level somewhere for the rest of the series, never to be seen again. Those episodes are the reason A Day in the Limelight used to be named "Good Troi Episode".
- The sad thing is that she had the potential to be useful, however the writers always made her conveniently absent whenever her Betazoid abilities would have come in handy. There were a couple of instances when the crew made contact with an obviously deceptive alien race or leader. Deanna could have sensed their deceptive nature and warned the crew, but she always managed to be suspiciously absent for those meetings.
- Many Troi-centric scenes or episodes were adapted for Guinan, particularly to work around the availability of Whoopi Goldberg. Examples where Guinan is seen playing an adapted Troi part include:
- Helping Data try to understand humor in "The Outrageous Okona"
- Giving romance advice to Wesley in "The Dauphin" or Geordi in "Booby Trap"
- Again with Wesley in "Evolution"
- Troi and Guinan seem to tag-team in "The Offspring"
- Starting with "Yesterday's Enterprise", episodes were written specifically for either Troi or Guinan, though minor scenes would continue to be shifted around between the two"
- It doesn't help that in the early seasons when Roddenberry was still in control of the show, he was adamant that humans of the 24th century were extremely well adjusted. They didn't have conflicts, jealousy, greed. They didn't even mourn death. So what do you need a counselor for? Thankfully, they eased up on this in later seasons so that Troi could be of use off the bridge. They also had her act as a guide for Data at times, since his biggest weakness was her greatest strength.
- Ms. Fanservice: She sported prominent cleavage and a raging cameltoe for most of the series. With some mixed feelings from the actress. Sirtis has reported being pretty happy about it, stating that she was something of an Ugly Duckling growing up, but she also said that she was very happy to "get her brains back" when the character was made to wear a uniform.
- Mundane Utility: Most of the time she uses her empathic skills to either confirm or deny what Picard already suspects - a useful but boring skill - or to help with her counseling, and even then she is just using her empathic skills to confirm what her psychological training already has her suspect. She hardly ever uses it for anything else.
- Not So Stoic: Troi tries very hard to be levelheaded and serene (as a counselor). When her facade is cracked, it's almost always a Crowning Moment of Funny.Troi: (to her "Goddess" counterpart) Muzzle it!
- Runaway Bride: Troi believed she would never be bonded to an arranged marriage because she joined the Enterprise to get as far away from Betazoid as possible. Too bad her mother is an ambassador and can visit the ship whenever she likes.
- Sensor Character: When the writers remember that she's an empath, which can vary even within a single episode.
- Serious Business: "Chocolate is a serious thing."
- Team Mom: The crew should answer the annoying door chime with 'Yes, come in Counselor', since 9 times out of 10 it's just Troi. She takes an active interest in the emotional well-being of the crew, making lots of house calls.
- Took a Level in Badass:
- Face of the Enemy gave Troi some much-needed Character Development by thrusting her, completely unprepared, into the role of an authoritarian Romulan secret police agent. Though she flounders a bit at first, she ends up putting on quite a performance, and may have even enjoyed it a bit.
- She later takes a more literal level in badass in Thine Own Self by taking a command exam and being promoted to full Commander. This was motivated by a previous episode, Disaster, where she was forced to take charge in a life-or-death situation and found herself severely underprepared.
- Trademark Favorite Food: The resident chocoholic.
- Vision Quest: Aside from getting mind raped, this was the running theme of Troi's episodes.
- The Watson: Sadly, she's often used to ask questions to which any Starfleet officer, even a directly-commissioned shrink, should know the answer, but the audience may not.
- What the Hell Is That Accent?: Sirtis' real accent is north London; Troi's started out vaguely Eastern European before settling down into an approximation of American English, then reverting to her natural north London for the films.
Lieutenant Commander Data
Played By: Brent Spiner
I have often wished to be human. I study people carefully, in order to more closely approximate human behavior.
Gold-skinned android who serves as Second Officer and Operations Officer aboard the Enterprise. Though his presence was fairly inexplicable in the beginning, he was soon revealed to have been built by an eccentric scientist, who perished and left Data alone on a space colony. Upon his retrieval by Starfleet, Data reasoned that his natural path was to enroll in Starfleet Academy.Data's popularity and presence on the show eventually grew to rival Nimoy's, so much so that Brent Spiner (who gamely carried many episodes) began to feel the strain by year seven. In addition, he was prominently featured in three out of the four TNG films.- A.I. is a Crapshoot: A cyberneticist in the know — such as Soong or a fellow android like Lore — can hack into Data's brain and make him wreak havoc. Such is the case in "Brothers", when Data uses his voice modulator and access codes to seal off the Enterprise and steal a shuttlecraft. With his robot strength, he can happy-slap goldshirts across the room and knock even a sturdy Klingon flat.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: Pale goldish skin-tone.
- Back from the Dead: In Star Trek Online, Data's death in Nemesis is undone by his personality asserting itself in B-4's body, effectively making him the same person as before.
- Beware the Nice Ones: For an emotionless machine, he can be quite brusque with people who question his sentience or abilities as a shipmate. One imagines that, after twenty years in Starfleet, Data's learned to put those pests in their place.
- In "The Gambit", Data, as temporary Captain, verbally rips Worf (his temporary First Officer) a new one for questioning his orders in front of the crew.
- In "The Most Toys", after the villain mocks him for being unable to bring himself to kill him in cold-blood, we see Data raise the phaser, only to be beamed out as the weapon fires!
Data: I cannot allow you to continue... - Bizarre Alien Biology: The technological equivalent, in particular the location of his 'off switch' and the fact that his head can be removed and still function without his body.
- The Bore: Picard manages to wangle out of being Mrs Trois date with a desperate bid to get Commander Data to join the table and regale them both with his spellbinding anecdotes. Even Mr Holm is yawning in the background.
- Breakout Character: Oh yeah. To this day is on Spock's level as the most popular Star Trek character in the franchise. Not such a big surprise, since he is essentially an inversion of Spock's character - instead of having emotions that he tries to deny, he actively searches for emotions he does not (yet) have.
- Brutal Honesty: Although he would retort, "But it is simply an observation of fact." His daughter, Lal, inherited this catchphrase.
- Cain and Abel: The Abel to Lore's Cain.
- Cannot Tell a Joke: One of Data's many attempts to become more human involves him trying to understand the nature of humor. He enlists the help of a holodeck comedian program and memorizes all the jokes... then proceeds to completely botch the delivery of every one. Ironically, this made him one of the funniest characters.
- Character Death: In Star Trek: Nemesis.
- Character Tic: His tendency to tilt his head to one side or the other when he is confused. It's apparently the body language equivalent of a hard drive clicking.
- Chekhov's Gag: Whilst the scene itself is eye-opening to say the least, Datas sexual encounter with Tasha does set up some touching development for the character when she dies later in the season.
- Clueless Chickmagnet: Data pulls a lot of girls in this series, almost as many as Riker. Although only one of those relationships (Tasha) was "consummated" on-screen, with the rest implied (Jenna D'Sora, the Borg Queen) or remaining in the flirtation stage.
- Comically Missing the Point:
- This trope is a cornerstone of his character. Being an android, he often has trouble grasping human idioms. note
Chief O'Brien ...We'll all be burning the midnight oil on this one.(Data overhears this as he walks through the frame, but doesn't break stride)Data: That would be inadvisable.O'Brien: Excuse me?Data: (Walks back into frame) If you attempt to ignite a petroleum product on this ship at zero-hundred hours, you will activate the fire suppression system, which would seal off this entire compartment.- Ripping up the wrapping paper after his gift has already been opened. After carefully removing the wrapping paper without ripping it.
- Composite Character: Even his out-of-character moments are based on humans he has either observed or read about. He has no "personality" of his own. For example, when he gets really forceful with his insubordinate first officer when given a temporary command, he's just running a "What Would Picard Do?" subroutine.
- Costumer: A Sherlock fanboy, Data is naturally a trained musician and can fiddle his way through a beautiful violin piece. He seems to be enjoying himself altogether to much as Holmes, kicking back with his dressing gown, puffing on a haberdasher and pondering on the latest mysteries. In settings like these the Pinocchio metaphor really come to the fore: he is most human whenever he is playing dress-up.
- Custom Uniform: In several episodes, Data's uniform has a decidedly greener tint than the gold of the standard Operations.
- Deuteragonist: Replaced Riker in this role after he emerged as the Ensemble Darkhorse, and remained so for the rest of the series (and especially in the movies).
- Do-Anything Robot: Culminating in Data acting as a flotation device ("In the event of a water landing...") in the movies.
- In "Descent", it was mentioned that he wasn't neutrally buoyant in an earlier incident, so he'd had to walk along the ocean floor to get out of the water. The floatation may have been added as a response to that. Indeed, prior to inflating, Data is seen walking along the floor of a lake.
- Early Installment Weirdness: Early episodes hinted that Data was more of a cyborg than an android, such as when he was infected with the Psi-2000 variant virus and another time when he mentions eating something unpalatable to humans to maintain certain elements within his body. This was dropped quickly from the series.
- Eating Machine: He ingests chemical compounds to keep his insides well-lubricated and functioning.
- Eating Optional: Data eats even though he does not have to, in order to more closely emulate human behavior.
- Evil Twin: Has one named Lore.
- Exact Words: Known to use this technique when otherwise required to tell a lie. In one episode he navigates a precipitous and increasingly ludicrous amount of half-truths in order to keep the amnesic crew from rediscovering a dangerous threat that he was sworn to keep secret (on Picard's orders, no less). In another episode he was beamed aboard the Enterprise while in the act of firing a weapon at his captor with the goal of killing him, to prevent him from killing others in the future, When questioned by Riker about the discharging weapon Data only says that "something must have happened during transport"; he neglects to mention that the "something" that happened was him deliberately pulling the trigger.
- Fantastic Racism/What Measure Is A Non-Organic: Often the target of this.
- Foil: Maddox evaluated Data when he applied for the Academy and was the sole member of the committee that objected to his entrance because he did not consider him a sentient being.
- The Gambler: Data starts off as being terrible at Poker. His experiences playing against Riker teaches him that the game is about strategy and personality as much as it is about rules. Pretty soon he's in a casino wearing a Stetson hat, cutting cards like a pro and flipping 21s in "The Royale". (He seems to be having great fun at the craps table, too.) By "Time's Arrow", he's able to beat the worst card shark the Wild West can serve up.
- Ghost in the Machine/Not Himself: His relationship with his "grandpa" Dr. Graves is an imperfect one to say the least. A dying man with no scruples about taking credit for a student's later success, he decides that Dr. Soong's android is the perfect home for his digital consciousness. Even when he is trapped inside Data he cannot resist blowing his own trumpet and eulogizes himself as a man for all seasons!.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Geordi.
- Hyper Awareness
- Insistent Terminology:
- He is an "artificial life form" or "android", not a "robot"
- And his name is pronounced 'Dayta', not 'Datta'.
Dr. Pulaski: What's the difference?Data: One is my name. The other is not. - Kindhearted Cat Lover: Data adores his cat Spot. Not only is he shown holding and cuddling her several times, he went so far as to compose a poem about her. In Real Life, Brent Spiner dislikes cats.
- In "All Good Things," Future Data is shown in his Oxford quarters, which is full of cats.
- Mayfly-December Friendship:
- When the head of Commander Data (in the episode "Time's Arrow") is found among 20th-century relics on Earth, the crew attempt to comfort him about his destruction. Rather than being morose about this, Data is delighted that he will have a "death," as his expected longevity means that so many of his friends in Starfleet will have lived and died that he will be unable to remember them all properly; whereas having only a limited few close friends means that Data can cherish them much more dearly.
- The novel Immortal Coil dealt with this again in connection with Data. Taking place not long after First Contact, the plotline includes Data's emotional realization of what he's always known intellectually he will almost certainly outlive all of his friends on the Enterprise. And then another set, and another. The actual plot of the book assuaged these fears by introducing a league of artificially created organisms, to which Data could retire whenever he wants. And then Nemesis happened...note
- Meaningful Name: Data's manner is dispassionate and matter-of-fact, contrasted with Lore's emotionality and spontaneity.
- Messianic Archetype: Played with in "Thine Own Self", where Data lands on a primitive planet and causes quite a stir. He is christened "Jayden" by the locals, is run through with a spear while attempting to save the village from radiation sickness (though it merely knocks him out), and is 'risen' when the Enterprise locks onto his grave and covertly beams him up.
- Minored In Ass Kicking:
- He can sometimes play the role of The Big Guy—with no effort—just by virtue of being inhumanly strong and resistant.
- Captain Data was by far the best captain in any fleet. That guy was 10 steps ahead of whatever was going on. Not only that, but he showed an uppity lieutenant commander why an Android is the best choice for a captain.
- Moment Killer: Exploited, for once: Worf is unwilling to be left on his own with KEhleyr after their fight so drags in Data as a chaperone. Cunning man.
- Motor Mouth: To his crewmates' chagrin. Although it occasionally works to their advantage, such as when Picard needs to brush him on off on, say, Lwaxana Troi.
- The Needless: He runs the night shift, and also commands the ship whenever the senior staff is away or otherwise out of action.
- Never Heard That One Before: Data's jokes are 5,000,000 years old. See him trying out his Henny Youngman routine on his co-workers. He heads to the holodeck to try and learn something about Earth humor, but before long Data and the 80s-era "Mister Comic" are gooning about on-stage with buck teeth and Jerry Lewis voices, proving that all jokes have a shelf life."Take my Worf—please!"
- No Sense of Humor: Not for lack of trying, though. The guy named his cat "Spot," for crying out loud.
- Oblivious to Love: Kind of. He has a conceptual understanding of it and experimented with a "romantic subroutine" to date a crewman in one episode.
- Passing the Torch: The piano score when Data strolls down the corridors with McCoy conjures up many memories of original Star Trek in a nostalgic way. Later, Spock will debate Data on the merits of emotion and compliment his application of the Vulcan nerve pinch.
- Phrase Catcher: "Thank you, Mr. Data" after Data's explanations get gratuitous.
- Pinocchio Syndrome: It's Lamp Shaded in one episode by a character who calls him "Pinocchio."
- Precision F-Strike: Two.
- In Generations, as the Enterprise is crashing, Data says what everyone's thinking:
- In First Contact:
- Quizzical Tilt: Often everybody looks at Data as though he's lost his mind but he simply blinks back at them with that dispassionate android look of his.
- Ridiculously Human Robot: Justified. His creator was far more interested in the puzzle of creating fully-sentient mechanical life than any commercial applications.
- Robot Kid: Soong often spoke of Data and Lore as his sons. When his options are reduced to survival or "death", Datas reaction is simple and unemotional: He objects to the idea of being taken apart but he has no emotional investment in trying to stay alive. It's not ego or vanity that makes him sue Commander Maddox from Starfleet in "Measure of a Man" but his wish to keep Dr Soongs dream alive. Of course, Soong later points out that this is very filial behavior.
- Robots Think Faster: Can process sixty trillion linear operations per second. On a number of occasions, he uses this speed to make decisions and calculations far faster than the average human.
- In the film Star Trek: First Contact, Data says that he was considering accepting the Borg Queen's offer for a mere 0.68 seconds. Picard smiles because that's just the span of a fleeting thought for a human, but Data says that "for an android, that is nearly an eternity".
- In "In Theory," Data dates a human woman. Near the end of the episode, she kisses him passionately, then asks what he was thinking of in that moment.Data: In that particular moment, I was reconfiguring the warp field parameters, analyzing the collected works of Charles Dickens, calculating the maximum pressure I could safely apply to your lips, considering a new food supplement for Spot....
- She breaks up with him, among other reasons because she realizes that she will never truly have his full attention.
- Running Gag: When hearing a saying, metaphor or other non-obvious expression, he will usually consult his databases and then start listing several synonyms for it, always being interrupted by someone listening. In one episode this was somewhat parodied by Data doing this to the ship's computer, and the computer interrupting him in a similar manner. Cue Data's puzzled expression.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: "Pen Pals". Whilst Geordi, Riker and Picard get into a back-and-forth debate about the virtues of the Prime Directive, Data cuts right through all the red tape and says that this civilisation is not a theoretical problem, but real people in big trouble.
- Ship Tease: With Tasha. Curiously, most of it came after she died.
- Skunk Stripe: A flash-forward to the future ("All Good Things...") shows Data with a glaringly-obvious streak of grey hair, an attempt to make himself feel older and distinguished. His housekeeper disagrees, saying it makes him "look like a bloody skunk".
- The Smart Guy
- The Spock:
- His pedantry and lack of understanding of human nature pegs him as TNGs Spock. And almost to drive the point home, Admiral McCoy (still kicking at 137!) tells him he sounds like a Vulcan.
Data: No, sir. I am an android.
Admiral McCoy: (scoffs, walks away) Almost as bad.- Once again Pulaski busts Data's balls in the holodeck, particularly when she suggests that Holmes understood the human soul and used it to match wits with the likes of Moriarty (claiming Data is all memorization and resuscitation). The weekly Poker game further proves Pulaskis point about Data having no real instinct.
- And then in Unification, he actually out-Spocks Spock.
- Super Strength: Literally has The Strength of Ten Men and is well known for it, even in Klingon society. Observe.
- Thinking Tic: He sometimes cocks his head sharply to one side when he's doing some deep calculation.
- Tin Man:"If I was not a consummate professional and an android I would find this entire procedure insulting."
- He was actually called this a few times during the series, the most memorable of which was in that ridiculous episode with the sentient, evil sludge. But there were many occasions where Data seemed to approach something like anger. Fajo learned that.
- Graves singing If I only had a heart after seizing control of Data's body as a ghost!
- When asked if Pulaski will be "normal" after Picards plan to de-age the crew, Data replies "as normal as ever" which is very droll.
- Over the course of the show, Data the gambler loses his daughter, his father, his brother, his lover, and is tricked and betrayed more times than you can't count. Hes learning that trusting somebody can lead to betrayal, another human failing for the mechanical man. He considers himself fortunate to be spared the emotional consequences but the way he stares into the middle distance proves that he is putting on his own poker face.
- He approaches it as a question of logic, but it feels like a matter of bruised ego when Data is passed over for a promotion! This is remedied when Jellico makes him an intermediary First Officer.
- By the time of "Redemption", Data has learned that raising his voice gets better results than giving out cold and dispassionate orders, and threatens to sack his First Officer for obstinacy.
- In "Time's Arrow", when Diana repeats his fancy way of saying "I've gotten used to your behaviour", Data responds that he is fond of the rest of the crew as well.
- Truly Single Parent: To Lal.
- Unable to Cry: As in, physically unable to, despite losing his daughter.
- Though of note: while she is dying Data stops engaging in his human-emulations (especially blinking and subtle body motion) showing that while he cannot cry for her loss, he can focus entirely on her in her death throes.
- Averted in Generations after he gets his emotion chip.
- Brought up in "Brothers."Data: You know that I cannot grieve for you, sir.Dr. Soong: You will, in your own way.
- Also seen in "Skin of Evil," but like seen in the previous example, he does grieve, in his own way.Data: I find my thoughts are not for Tasha, but for myself. I keep thinking how empty it will be without her presence. Did I miss the point?Picard: No... no, you didn't, Data. You got it.
- Verbal Tic: Does not use contractions. This becomes key to telling him apart from Lore. There are a few slips in this early on thanks to Early Installment Weirdness. After all, it's hard for a human to stop using them when it is a habit.
- What Have We Ear?: Data is much funnier under the effects of the "Naked Now" virus, as seen with his isolinear chip trick.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?:
- Frequently explored and the focus of the season two episode "The Measure of A Man." A Starfleet scientist wants to dismantle and study Date, to replicate Soong's work.
- Even after android rights are recognized by the Federation, Data has a tough time of it in Starfleet. Data sounds so angry when he threatens to relieve Hobson of duty in "Redemption Pt. II". Hobson, perhaps rightly, suggesting that Data is more concerned with the functions of the ship than the people on board. Then after he begrudgingly complies with Data's order, Data then orders exactly what Hobson was suggesting in the first place.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Data puffs on a pipe while deliberating over a murder in "Lonely Among Us". Riker lets him get away with his Sherlock Holmes pastiche (My dear Riker, sir ), but the unamused Picard slaps his wrist. This is not really the time or the place to be arsing about.
- You Talk Too Much: Even the Borg Queen tires of his yapping before long.
Ensign Wesley Crusher
Played By: Wil Wheaton
A much-maligned, much-hated character in his prime, Wesley was inserted into the series by Gene Roddenberry as a wunderkind who single-handedly saves the ship (or, more commonly, imperils it) from week to week. Unfortunately, his bloated screentime and infallible genius did not ingratiate him with many viewers.As he grew older, Wesley became a more likable Audience Surrogate. He enrolled in Starfleet Academy, becoming a sort of surrogate son to Picard. Despite this, Wesley began to question the dogmas of the Federation, which he saw as hypocritical. Like Ro Laren, he left Starfleet after finding himself on the opposing side of the Maquis issue.- Always Someone Better: Despite everything said below, he was still beaten into the Academy by his Benzite colleague Mordock.
- Author Avatar:
- Eugene Wesley Roddenberry openly admitted that Wesley Crusher was a younger, idealized version of himself. Oddly enough, though, the character was originally envisioned as a teenaged GIRL named Leslie...
- Even in real life. When Wesley aced his second entrance exam for the Academy, Roddenberry commemorated it by presenting Wil with the second lieutenant bars Gene earned in the Air Corps. Present at the ceremony was General Colin Powell(!).
- Authority in Name Only: Picard derives some humor in wrangling a rank for Wesley so he can sit at a command post on the bridge. He even gets a "uniform" consisting of a rainbow tunic.
- Chaste Hero: In what is becoming a Star Trek tradition, the ensign isn't interested in (or is actively discouraged from) getting nookie.
- Ultimately subverted in the episode The Game, where things get flirtatious with a similarly nerdy Military Brat who transfers around as a specialist. Had she been around longer than a single episode, things would have likely progressed quite far.
- Disappeared Dad: His father died while on a mission with Picard while serving on the Stargazer. Wesley was mad at Picard initially but eventually admitted to Picard that he did everything to please him.
- Evil Genius: Seems to be at times, when he doesn't bother to explain himself. Although in his case, it was more like Accidental Evil Genius thanks to his science experiments. In one episode, his nanotech experiment almost destroyed the ship and, in another, he managed to get his mom trapped in a space/time bubble after a test on the warp drive, which nearly killed her as it collapsed in on itself.
- Hidden Depths: It takes the Traveler to convince Picard that Wesley might amount to something worthwhile in the future, which is why the Captain decides to take an active interest in "the boy's" development.
- Kid-Appeal Character: He ticks all of the boxes.
- The Load: "SCHOOL PROJECT??" When he realizes this is the reason the Enterprise has been rendered powerless in "Evolution", Picard looks ready to run back to his winery.
- Impossible Genius:
- Just as you're thinking making a mini tractor beam is a pretty nifty idea Wesley goes and ruins it by piecing together various Picard intercom messages to make it sound like Wesley is the one giving orders. Acting Captain Wesley Crusher?
- Wesley is a sneaky sod and manages to smuggle some antimatter he's been using for his experiments to the Hathaway. Where did he get that? No matter, Riker uses it to refuel the warp drive and give them an edge against the Ferengi.
- Intelligence Equals Isolation: Dr. Stubbs sizes Wesley up in about two seconds and questions what he does beyond fly the ship, ditch his friends and read all day. It's a wake-up call for Wesley, meeting a man who could well be a future version of himself—married to his work, lonely, and anti-social—and he sounds almost angry when he tells Guinan that he always gets an "A" in his coursework. All study and no play makes Wes a dull boy, and "Evolution" is a step toward Wes living out a more unorthodox life.
- Like a Son to Me: By episode 1x06, Picard is already developing a protective instinct toward the boy.
- Military Brat: Son of a Starfleet doctor and command officer.
- New Meat: Picard agrees to sponsor him to Starfleet and oversee his progress, Worf has agreed to tuck him in at night, and Riker is going to supervise his growth into a man. He's spoiled for choice when it comes to father figures.
- Put On A Shuttlecraft: Ronald D. Moore pointed out that so much hoopla had been made of Wesley's "genius" that it seemed an odd fit for him to be another cadet.
- The Bus Came Back: He'd quit Starfleet Academy in "Journey's End", but returned at some point between this episode and Star Trek: Nemesis, in which he's a Lieutenant. In a deleted scene, he tells Picard that he'll be part of Riker's engineering crew aboard the USS Titan.
- Teen Genius: In spades. The prevalence of this trope in TV series during the 1980's may have contributed to Wesley's scrappydom, as by the time TNG came to air near the end of the decade the trope had begun to cross over into being a cliché and Wesley's manifestation of it was not even remotely novel.
- Ultimately deconstructed in "The First Duty", where Wesley's overconfidence as this character finally gets the best of him, and he has to deal with the sobering fact it led to one of his academy classmates being killed.
Recurring Crew and Dependents (in alphabetical order)
Lieutenant Reginald Barclay
Played By: Dwight Schultz
"Being afraid all of the time, of forgetting somebody's name, not, not knowing... what to do with your hands. I mean, I, I am the guy who writes down things to remember to say when there's a party. And then, when he finally gets there, he winds up alone, in the corner, trying to look comfortable examining a potted plant."
Cloud Cuckoo Lander and social basketcase who serves aboard the Enterprise as engineer. Has logged more holodeck hours than even Riker himself; in fact, Barclay practically lives on the holodeck, which renders him useful whenever some quirky Holodeck Malfunction happens. Barclay later turned up on Voyager, where his holodeck OCD somehow led to a communications breakthrough, allowing Starfleet to detect Janeway's stranded crew.It can be safety said that Barclay is more at ease around computers than people. Unsurprisingly, his closest friend ended up being Dr. Zimmerman, taciturn and antisocial creator of the EMH.- Ambiguous Disorder: Barclay has a history of socially awkward behavior stretching all the way back to the Academy. When he applies himself, he's the best engineer in Starfleet. Too bad he's afraid of everything, including transporters, germs, and human contact.
- Almighty Janitor: He's a low-level member of the general engineering staff, but he's good when the spotlight's on him. This is even more apparent in his appearances on Voyager. Years after leaving the Enterprise, he's still just a lowly lieutenant, but he's also the head of an entire division of Starfleet Communications and in charge of finding a way to bring Voyager home. He reports directly to a four pip admiral.
- Brain Critical Mass: In "The Nth Degree," Barclay's brain is taken over by an ancient race from the center of the galaxy, greatly increasing his intellect. Under their influence, Barclay seizes command of the Enterprise, controlling the ship with his mind.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Extremely good at his job on the Enterprise, whenever they can keep him out of the holodeck.
- Character Arc: Barclay grows from being a guy too scared to leave the holodeck and reach out to new people to being the guy who reached across 70,000 light years of space to give Voyager a connection to home.
- Covert Pervert: His private Fanservice simulations of Dr. Crusher and Counselor Troi in "Hollow Pursuits", and adding a bordello into Alexander Rozhenko's western holoprogram in "A Fistful of Datas".
- Daydream Surprise: His first scene. And then he exits the Holodeck.
- A Day in the Limelight: Most notably his introductory episode "Hollow Pursuits". Also "The Nth Degree" and "Realm Of Fear".
- Embarrassing Nickname: Ensign Crusher dubbed him "Lt. Broccoli" in his introductory episode. Eventually abandoned, but not before Captain Picard uses it in a Freudian Slip directly to his face. He corrected himself, but the damage was already done.
- Face Your Fears: In "Realm Of Fear", Barclay confronts his fear of transporters and rescues several missing crew members in the process.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Single-handedly manages to come up with the plan to recongfigure the "MIDAS" subspace telescope to send a signal through a nearby passing pulsar, with the sole intention of creating a micro-wormhole which he will aim at the estimated location of Voyager.
- Hero-Worshipper: In Star Trek: First Contact, he has a bit of this going with Zefram Cochrane (along with everyone else, much to Cochrane's ongoing frustration.)
- Hypochondria: Did an attempted self diagnosis in "Realm of Fear" due to something he saw when in the transporter, and how it affected him.
- Kicked Upstairs: From his previous assignment to the Enterprise; his former CO had been giving him glowing performance evaluations specifically to bait another captain into requesting him. This is revealed to be an unfair assessment as time goes on. Barclay is shown to be a skilled engineer, but has crippling phobias and social anxieties that prevent him from interacting with others properly.
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: So much so that he's one of the few people that Spot likes. His later Voyager appearances would show him with a cat of his own.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: At the end of "Ship In A Bottle", the self-aware holographic Moriarty is contained in a specialized computer programmed to give him enough adventures for a lifetime... all stored in a small cube on Picard's desk. Picard ruminates on the possibility that their own universe is just "an elaborate simulation running inside a little device sitting on someone's table". After everyone else leaves the debriefing, Barclay nervously utters "Computer, End Program", to close out the episode.
- Mission Control: On VOY. Eventually they just start making Skype calls to the federation. Reginald Barclay is the point man for the Voyager rescue effort, answering directly to Admiral Owen Paris.
- Mr. Imagination: Mostly through holodiction as he's always generating new fantasy scenarios.
- Namesake Gag: His cat is named Neelix. One suspects Reg and Neelix himself would get along.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!: It's implied that Reg worked as one of the Beta-Testers for the EMH Mk I. Combined with his creator's ego, no wonder the Doctor had such bad social skills at the beginning, hence why the line was eventually recalled.
- Odd Friendship: Most of his closest friends are holograms.
- Off the Wagon: He relapses into his holodeck addiction while serving at Starfleet Communications. He explains to Deanna Troi that he misses the Enterprise so much because he has a hard time making friends at his new posting. He kicks the addiction again with the help of Deanna, his boss Commander Harkins, and Admiral Paris.
- Only Friend: On Voyager, he's the only friend that Lewis Zimmerman (creator of the EMH) has that isn't holographic.
- Reassignment Backfire: Originally moved to the Enterprise just to get rid of him, Barclay came into his own as a Starfleet officer under Picard's command.
- Shrinking Violet: Discussed in his introductory episode. When Geordi says he's "just shy," Barclay responds by telling him just how painful extreme shyness can be.
- Straw Fan: Although Word of God denies it, Reg is commonly seen as the stereotypical fan of Star Trek: divorced from the real world and obsessed with fictional characters.
- Comes closer to being reality on Voyager. When Earth gets first confirmation that the Voyager crew is still alive in the Delta Quadrant, Barclay creates a simulation of the ship and becomes familiar with it and the crew which leads to him fighting against Starfleet's wishes, to use a remote array to reestablish communication with the real Voyager.
- Stuttering Into Eloquence
- Took a Level in Badass: In Voyager, where he's single-handedly responsible for getting Voyager home.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: He is one of the rare individuals that views Holograms as alive, once stating that they are more "real" to him than most people. This is in stark contrast to everyone else who considers them to be Just a Machine.
Played By: Whoopi Goldberg
If the Borg know everything he knows, it's time to throw that book away. You must let him go, Riker. It's the only way to beat him. The only way to save him.
Wise and mysterious bartender with a big hat. Guinan manages the Ten Forward lounge, but her history with Picard goes back way further than that. Contrary to appearance, she is one of the last survivors of an ageless and inscrutable species who were scattered by the Borg. Most of her past remains murky; she harbors no love for Q, and is possibly the one person he truly fears. In the TNG films, Guinan is revealed to have once been trapped in the Nexus.- Almighty Janitor: In "Yesterday's Enterprise," Picard sends 120 people to their deaths on the word of a bartender.
- Badass Bystander: Calming down a brewing barfight in Ten-Forward by firing an impressive-looking phaser into the ceiling.note And there are hints that she could genuinely give Q a run for his money.
- The Bartender: To many characters, but frequently to Jean-Luc. If anybody ought to be worried it should be Marina Sirtis because Guinan approaches the counseling role in a more constructive way than Troi.
- Many of Guinan's appearances were originally written as Troi episodes, and adapted for the character whenever Whoopi was available for filming. It was only later in the series that Guinan-specific episodes were written.
- Beware the Nice Ones: In "Deja Q," she takes pleasure in tormenting the de-powered Q, stabbing his hand with a fork, and later simply saying "How the mighty have fallen." after he gets attacked by the Calamarain, another race Q bullied. And in "Night Terrors," there's that BFG mentioned below.
- Her first interaction with Q: when he raises his hand to vanish her, she raises her hands up in a defensive posture, implying that she is in some way capable of thwarting Q.
- BFG: Keeps one behind the bar to break up particularly nasty bar fights. She's actually a better shot than Worf, which makes some amount of sense given that she's had centuries of practice.
- The Confidant: Her species is known for listening. Makes her an excellent bartender.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: The Rosalyn to Q's Calvin. Q recoils in something approaching fear as Guidan stands there with her hands clawed, talking of a centuries-long feud with Q. She looks ready to zap him like Palpatine in "Q Who".
- Fantastic Racism: While she does come to accept Hugh, she really hates the Borg. See Last Of Her Kind below.
- Fear Is the Appropriate Response: When asked for her advice about the outer fringes of Borg Space she says with ominous foreboding If I were you Id start back now.
- Have We Met Yet?: 19th-century Guinan meets first a time-displaced Data, then Picard, while in San Francisco, both of whom (obviously) know her.
- Human Alien: She looks completely like a human female. No rubber head or pointy ears.
- Inexplicably Awesome: Because she's several centuries old, she's always surprising the crew with some previously-unforeseen skill or unlikely-sounding story.
- Last Of Her Kind: She's one of the few surviving El-Aurians who escaped the Borg.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: While Guinan is certainly long-lived, she's shown repeatedly to have a perception and awareness that borders into the outright mystical. For example, when the time-displaced Enterprise C arrives in the future and changes history, Guinan is aware that everything about the setting isn't what it's supposed to be; that the Federation and Klingons aren't supposed to be at war, that there should be children and families aboard Enterprise, and that Tasha Yar should be dead. No one else aboard the ship has even the slightest inclination that the timeline is wrong.
- Mysterious Past: Guinan often refers to adventures from her past, several of which become important plot points, but many more of which remain mysterious.
- Never Bareheaded: Guinan is always wearing a hat. Even when she's been shot in 19th-century San Francisco. Even when she's a Living Memory in the Nexus. The only time she's seen without a hat is in her quarters in Generations.
- Platonic Life Partners: With Picard.
- Really 700 Years Old: Guinan looks exactly the same in the late 24th century as she does in the late 19th.
- Shout-Out: Named after famed speakeasy owner and entertainer Texas Guinan.
- Whoopi Epiphany Speech: Trope Namer. Her most noteworthy speeches include those to Picard in "The Measure of a Man" and Riker in "The Best of Both Worlds: Part II".
Keiko Ishikawa O'Brien
Played By: Rosalind Chao
A botanist who worked in the Enterprise arboretum. Later introduced to her eventual husband, Miles O'Brien, through matchmaker Data. As the most stable family unit on Star Trek, the O'Briens nonetheless had their share of problems. A majority of "O'Brien Must Suffer" episodes revolve around Keiko and/or Molly being placed in imminent peril.When O'Brien left to join Deep Space Nine, Keiko and their daughter Molly came with him. Keiko opened a children's school on the station.- Born in an Elevator: Gave birth to her daughter Molly in the ship's lounge in the midst of a crisis. With Worf delivering the baby.
- Put On A Shuttlecraft: To Deep Space Nine along with her husband Miles.
Transporter Chief Miles O'Brien
Played By: Colm Meaney
Perennially unlucky Irishman, put in charge of the transporter room. A veteran of numerous never-seen wars, most notably the Cardassian conflict, which lands him squarely on the ideological side of the Maquis. Unlike Ro Laren and Wesley, though, he stayed true to the uniform.O'Brien later transferred to Deep Space Nine as its chief engineer. Though his character growth was limited, he was featured much more prominently on a show in which even an extra got his own episode at some point. He's also one of the few members of Starfleet ever depicted to be enlisted.- A Day in the Limelight: The episode "The Wounded," about his and his old captain's experience in the Cardassian war.
- Ascended Extra: Colm Meaney looks so young in "Encounter at Farpoint". He went from an unnamed speaking bridge officer in the pilot to a recurring minor character to a main character on Deep Space Nine. Ironically, Meaney was never interested in pursuing a regular role because the loose TNG schedule afforded him time to do other things. Alas, he was much too talented to waste in the transporter room. (Shades of Robert Picardo.)
- Butt Monkey: The Antikans are natural enemies of the Selay, but that doesn't stop Picard from inviting delegates from both races onto his ship. Poor O'Brien is stuck between two bitter enemies when they come face-to-face in a corridor!
- Fantastic Racism: Towards Cardassians, due to them being responsible for the first time he took a life.
- Happily Married: To Keiko, during an otherwise Data-centric episode.
- Implausible Deniability: Riker telling OBrien to "take a nap" so that Datas transport in "Pen Pals" is off the record. "Ill just be over here, nodding off."
- Minored In Ass Kicking: From time to time, he gets to leave the transporter room and save the day, something that would happen more often on DS9.
- He has no qualms about getting involved in putting down those who make ruckus in the Transporter room, as Roga Danar can attest.
- Retcon: Over the course of the series, O'Brien's Starfleet rank fluctuated from low-ranking officer to high-ranking NCO. "All Good Things" officially retconned Meaney's nameless helmsman character into O'Brien.
- Put On A Shuttlecraft: To Deep Space Nine. His family left with him.
- The Engineer: Specializing in transporter technology.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Occasionally displays this, due to his experiences in the Federation-Cardassian War.
Molly O'Brien
Played By: Tadeski twins, Hana Hatae
O'Brien's first child. Had the dubious honor of being delivered by Worf. (Her baby brother, Kirayoshi O'Brien, is born under similarly weird circumstances.)About the most exciting thing to happen to Molly was her Plot-Relevant Age-Up on Deep Space Nine, quickly undone by the Reset Button.- Put On A Shuttlecraft: To Deep Space Nine along with her father Miles.
- Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome: Went from a baby to a toddler quite quickly, but not an especially egregious case of the trope, as Hana Hatae played the character throughout Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's run.
Nurse (Ensign, later Lieutenant) Alyssa Ogawa
Played By: Patti Yasutake
Dr. Crusher's assistant in sickbay, and a frequent Mauve Shirt (though she survived each ordeal).- Ascended Extra: Many of her initial appearances were as an unnamed medic helping Crusher.
- Fake Guest Star: She appeared a lot during the series.
- Genki Girl: She's one of the most bubbly characters in the series.
- Lower-Deck Episode: Of the (non-main-characters-who-do-everything) group of friends in "Lower Decks," she's the only character to appear in more than two episodes.
- Mauve Shirt: But never killed off.
Doctor (Commander) Katherine Pulaski
Played By: Diana Muldaur
When Gates McFadden quit the show in its second season, Pulaski was brought on to replace her. An expy of Dr. McCoy, Pulaski had an adversarial relationship with Data, whom she treats like an uppity office appliance. The trouble with this dynamic was that, unlike Bones, Pulaski had no philosophical viewpoint to differ herself from Data. She was, simply put, a Luddite...who works on a starship. Figure that one out.The writers quickly dropped this angle and Pulaski warmed up, though fans did not; she stepped away from the role after one season after it became clear that everybody just wanted Crusher back. Pulaski was dropped from TNG with little fanfare, and replaced with Gates McFadden again.- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome:
- When McFadden returned for Season 3, Pulaski dropped off the face of the galaxy with her last episode being an underwhelming Clip Show. She is mentioned in two further TNG episodes and the finale of Voyager (being paged at Starfleet Medical), and shows up in the Star Trek Expanded Universe more than once.
- What's surprising is that when the holographic Moriarty returns in Season Six, he doesn't ask where Pulaski has gone. She was the one he spent the most time with, after all, so you would think that if anybody would mention her, he would.
- Cruel to Be Kind: Pulaski cajoles Data into taking on the ultra smug Kolrami in a game of Stratagema because she knows he will kick his ass. When he loses and refuses to serve on the Bridge because he thinks his judgement is now "impaired", you can count on Pulaski to head straight to his quarters and demand to know how long he is going to keep sulking. Besides, losing is character building and Data has come that little bit closer to being human by experiencing it.
- Dr. Jerk: So very much.
- Naturally when he is slighted by a new officer on board his ship Picard heads off to give them a lecture on protocol. To his chagrin, Pulaski manages to shut him down before we hear too much dribble about Starfleet etiquette. Retooled in the second half of Season Two to be more friendly, though she still wasn't averse to pulling rank on Picard and threatening to declare him incompetent. His is an ungrateful reaction when he realises she saved his life (in "Samaritan Snare") because he realizes she will be lording it over him for ages to come.
- Troi thinks her greatest medical skill is her empathy. Pulaski scoffs at this, obviously not wanting to plant ideas in the crew's heads about evading or underestimating her. Instead she chalks it up to her PCS training (Pulaskis Chicken Soup).
- This might have something to do with the airing order of the episodes. A third of the way into the season, Pulaski is still hurling barbs at Data and Picard which is probably unfair at this stage, which even she realizes and apologizes for. In "Unnatural Selection" we discover as soon as she found about an opening on the Enterprise-D Pulaski put in for a transfer because—though she is loathe to admit—she has been an admirer of Picards for some time. Picard's used this episode as an opportunity to assess his "new" science officer which probably means it was intended to air in week two.
- Establishing Character Moment: Refusing to introduce herself personally to the Captain, forcing Picard to schlep all the way down to the canteen to greet her. On the other hand, she was there to help Troi deal with her sudden alien pregnancy, establishing that she prioritizes being a doctor above protocol. Although why, exactly, one would hold a confidential and quite serious medical consultation in a bar, as opposed to her private office in Sickbay is a question that caused many fans to wonder if she shared McCoy's advocacy for self-medicating job stress with liquor.
- Expy/Gender Flip: If McCoy ever had a character more blatantly patterned after him, it was Dr. Pulaski.
- Fake Guest Star: Always a guest through season two, despite being in most episodes and being such an important role on the ship. Diana Muldaur was actually offered main cast billing, but she turned it down.
- Fantastic Racism/"It" Is Dehumanizing: She is openly condescending towards Data because he is an android. He doesn't react, but it infuriates Geordi and Wesley.
- The Gadfly: As soon as she learns that Mrs. Troi is all sexed up and ready to straddle the Captain she forbids Deanna to want him of her condition, considering it an excellent exercise for his reflexes and agility.
- Gallows Humor: 50% of the crew has been selected for Mengele-like experimentation on death. "Why do I get the feeling this was the wrong time to join this ship?"
- Informed Attribute: Everyone tells us about how dedicated and caring she is, though it doesn't really match up to the actual evidence, especially her constant trolling of the senior staff!
- Ludd Was Right: Was a crappy old mare. Pulaski lectures her subordinate about the time honoured method of practising medicine with your head, your heart and your hands! rather than relying on technology all the time.
- The McCoy: She Was put in Season Two by Executive Meddling to be even more like McCoy than Dr. Crusher — essentially McCoy's Gender Flip. Naturally she gives the middle finger to the Prime Directive when it comes up in "Pen Pals".
- And the actress appeared in two episodes (in different roles) with the original.
- People Puppets: Pulaski doing the Mr. Roboto dance across the Bridge as Nagilum tries to figure out why she is of "a different construction" than the males.
- Serial Spouse: She has been married three times, and each was a good man and they are all still good friends. She also had a fling with Kyle Riker [!] but she doesnt time for his overtures anymore because their affair is best left in the past. Overt sentimentality is not one of this Doctor's failings.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: For Dr. McCoy.
Ensign (later, Lieutenant) Ro Laren
Played By: Michelle Forbes
Bajoran officer and child of the Cardassian occupation of her homeworld. Has a chip on her shoulder the size of Wyoming, as well as a rebellious attitude toward protocol (indicated by her traditional Bajoran earring, which clashes with Starfleet dress code). Basically, a Breakout Character if ever there was one.When the Maquis started attacking Cardassian settlements in open violation of Federation treaties, Ro was hand-picked to infiltrate their group. She had just returned from Advanced Tactical Training and received a promotion to Lieutenant. It soon became clear that her fondness for Picard did not measure up to her hatred of the Cardassians.Ro Laren's popularity made her the subject of not one but two Suspiciously Similar Substitutes. The creators of Deep Space Nine tried to write her in as a regular, as did Voyager, but in both cases Michelle Forbes was unwilling to commit to a television series. The character was reworked into Kira Nerys and B'Elanna Torres.- Action Girl: Her character was often used whenever the situation called for fighting.
- Anti-Hero: Her distinctly un-amiable attitude is particularly noticeable, even with Worf there.
- The Atoner: Before joining the Enterprise, she was in prison for an incident that got a number of her comrades killed.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Spends most of the series being yelled at by Riker, due to a tendency to ignore procedure. When the crew of the Enterprise has their memories blocked, Ro concludes that they were having an affair and acts on it.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Although TNG renders the Bajoran occupation far less harshly than DS9, it's still clear that growing up there was terrible.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: She slowly becomes friends with some of her crewmates, and particularly Picard.
- Elites Are More Glamorous: Ro seemed to get a lot more respect (which is to say, any) from the Enterprise crew after she returned from Starfleet Advanced Tactical Training. This was also around the time she was promoted to Lieutenant.
- Face Death with Dignity: In "The Next Phase," she decides that she and Geordi are both ghosts and urges him to accept it.
- Fake Guest Star: She gets a significant amount of screentime and Character Development.
- I Did What I Had to Do: In regards to secretly working under the admiral's orders when she first came aboard, and her later defection to the Maquis.
- Hidden Depths: In "Rascals", she recognized a rare plant, much to Keiko O'Brien's surprise. Then tries to deny it::Ro: "(indicating a plant in a basket Keiko is holding) Is that a Draebidium Froctus?"Keiko: "Draebidium Calimus actually. You can tell by the shape of the leaves.(beat) I didn't know you were interested in plant biology."
- Put on a Bus: Ro Laren never reappeared in Star Trek after Preemptive Strike. (This is not for lack of trying on the part of the writers to keep her. They tried to transplant her character to Deep Space Nine and later to Voyager. Forbes kept declining, and roles intended for her became the characters of Kira Nerys and B'Elanna Torres, respectively.)
- Shoot the Dog: She advocates separating the ship in "Disaster," under the logic that it's better to lose half the crew to a warp core breach than all of it because they were busy trying to find a way to fix it. Troi overrules her.
- Spiritual Successor: To Tasha Yar.
- Sugar and Ice Personality: There are a few times when she shows a more sensitive side, like when she thinks she's dead, or when the crew is struck with amnesia.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Alternately played straight and averted. Ro was very similar to Yar in terms of history and personality, occupying her niche in the emotional dynamic of the show, but she was nothing like Wesley, whose position she took in the bridge crew.
- Take Up My Sword: Explicitly stated by Macias when he's killed by Cardassians.
- The One Who Made It Out: She left the Bajoran refugee camps as soon as she could get into a Starfleet uniform and didn't look back until "Ensign Ro".
- Trading Bars for Stripes: She was serving time in Starfleet stockades when she was called into service again.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The fifth season of DS9 would see the Maquis wiped out almost to the last man by the Dominion, though Ro's fate was never revealed. The Expanded Universe made it clear she survived, eventually making her The Captain of Deep Space Nine.
- What the Hell, Hero?
Alexander Rozhenko
Played By: John Steuer, Brian Bonsall
Illegitimate son of Worf and K'Ehleyr, a Klingon ambassador. Worf was not even aware of Alexander's birth until he was grown. Worf sent him away to be raised by his foster grandparents on Earth, no doubt scrambling Alexander's sense of identity even more. A year later, he was shipped back off to the Enterprise.Worf, who had suppressed his Klingon tendencies for most of his life, perversely wanted Alexander to follow the honorable Klingon tradition. Though the pair always end up reconciling, their relationship stays more or less tumultuous, even on Deep Space Nine."I don't want to be a warrior!"
- Calling the Old Man Out: Does this in a very child-like form in TNG but graduates to a full-on armed confrontation in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, to Worf's alarm and confusion. It takes him a while to figure out why Alexander is so angry.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: when he's grown up in DS9, Alexander owes a lot to this trope. Although he is very intelligent, his head is always partly in the clouds and he is a bit of a klutz, and a lethal one at that, which is an odd thing in a Klingon warrior but which also means that despite nearly destroying Martok's ship a couple of times, the Jem'Hadar seem to be the beneficiaries of his actions more often than not - enough that the crew of his ship consider him a lucky charm. That he is a Fish out of Water with regard to Klingon culture doesn't help either, but with his father's stubbornness his perseverance earns him respect nonetheless.
- I Have No Son: Worf essentially renounced Alexander when he sent him to live on Earth. This decision would haunt both.
- Ironically, Worf did this in the first place because he thought that he was unable to guide Alexander on a path that wasn't warrior-centered; that he was doing the boy a disservice by dragging him around with him and that Alexander would have the opportunity to follow the career-path he wanted on Earth. Then when Worf was made an outcast and caused the downfall of the house of Mohg he cut all ties with Alexander so he would be spared the dishonour. Of course, Alexander just felt neglected and abandoned because his father has problems with communication.
- Intergenerational Friendship: He shares this with Lwaxana Troi. She acts pretty much like a grandmother to him, offering advice and spending time with him.
- Like Father, Like Son: although he has nowhere near the fighting skills of his father, Alexander and Worf are very much alike in personality, particularly their Determinator stubbornness. Even Martok remarks on this a couple of times.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: He is the most un-Klingonlike Klingon you will ever meet. Even after he enlists in the Klingon Defense Force in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine he's still a Non-Action Guy and basically becomes the IKS Rotarran's village idiot.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Sometime in the future, Alexander (after becoming an ambassador instead of a warrior) looked on as Worf was killed while someone was trying to assassinate him. So he went back in time to try and convince his younger self to become a warrior instead, so once he grew up he could save his father from that fate.
- Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome: Alexander was born in 2366, but when he arrives on the Enterprise in 2367, he is played by 6-year-old Jon Paul Steuer. Upon his return a year later he's played by 11-year-old Brian Bonsall. And when he shows up again in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, it's 2374 and he's 8 years old... and played by 21-year-old Marc Worden. Maybe being 3/4ths Klingon does crazy things to your physiology? Will Miral Paris age super-slowly?
- The Star Trek Chronology notes that Worf is considerably younger than his fellow bridge officers. This, plus Alexander's rapid aging as noted above, implies (it was not explicitly stated) that Klingons reach maturity much faster than humans, perhaps as early as age 8-10. Makes sense for a warrior species to spend as little time as children as possible.
- Uneven Hybrid: 3/4 Klingon, 1/4 Human.
- "Well Done, Son!" Guy: Alexander is always craving his father's approval and acceptance. In DS9 this comes to a head when Alexander actually makes it onto Martok's ship to help fight the Dominion, much to Worf's horror and dismay. Though they both eventually manage to get over it.
- When he was little Worf wanted to raise him as a warrior, but he rejected it. Worf sends him to live with his grandparents to accommodate this wish. When he shows up Martok's ship determined to be a warrior (but still eminently unsuited to it) Worf has no idea how to deal with it.
Other Recurring Characters (in alphabetical order)
Played By: Patrick Massett
A Klingon politician whose father was a rival of Worf's before the Khitomer Massacre in which both men were killed, due to Duras' father betraying his people to the Romulans. When this information is discovered years later, Duras persuades the Klingon High Council to blame Worf's father instead of his (since he's powerful enough to start a civil war in the Empire if they don't do what he wants). This sets Worf up to be stigmatized and, under Klingon law, executed as the son of a traitor. When Worf challenges this, Duras not only does everything he can to make Worf's father look guilty, but also attempts to have Worf's brother and Picard assassinated for supporting him. In the end, after Worf and Picard learn the truth, Worf agrees to accept discommendation in order to keep the Empire from falling apart; this means that he admits his guilt and accepts lifelong ostracization from all other Klingons. Worf, quite understandably, holds a grudge against Duras for this.Later, Duras is suspected of poisoning the Klingon head of state and his former co-conspirator in burying the truth about Khitomer, K'mpec, in order to usurp K'mpec's position. This is an extremely dishonorable method of killing among the Proud Warrior Race of Klingons, and K'mpec urges Picard to not only determine who should succeed him, but discover whether Duras or another Klingon in a position to succeed him—Gowron—did the deed, as anybody who would do such a thing cannot be trusted to rule the Empire. Duras not only attempts to have Gowron killed with a bomb, but does kill Worf's love interest, K'Ehleyr, when the latter starts digging into his past and accuses him of being the son of a traitor and framing Worf. Worf, upon finding K'ehleyr near death and learning that Duras is responsible, goes after Duras and kills him in single combat.This wouldn't be the end of the Duras family causing trouble, though, as he had a couple of sisters who picked up right where he left off..."His heart is not Klingon."
- Asshole Victim: In "The Mind's Eye", the Klingon ambassador Kell tells Worf that he did a service in killing Duras, saying that some High Council members were apprehensive about him getting named Chancellor.
- Deceased Fall-Guy Gambit: Tries to pin the Khitomer Massacre on Worf's father, Mogh, which would, in turn, get Worf pinned as well. He had hoped Worf wouldn't notice, but alas, things didn't work out that well.
- Dirty Coward: By Klingon standards, anyway. He tries to get out of fighting Gowron for leadership of the Empire by trying to have Gowron killed with a bomb. He often uses assassins to dispatch his enemies instead of doing his own dirty work, notably when he tries to have Worf's brother Kurn killed; Duras gives Kurn an ultimatum, and then when Kurn turns him down, Duras walks away to safety and leaves his men to dispatch Kurn. His only personal murder is K'ehleyr, who was apparently no match for him. During his fight against Worf, which he only accepted because K'ehleyr was Worf's mate, he tries to talk his way out of it when Worf gets the upper hand by saying that he's the only one who can ever prove Worf's innocence and he can't do that if he's dead. In addition, he killed Chancellor K'mpec with poisonnote , which Klingons consider to be the weapon of cowards.
- Frame-Up: What he tries to do to Worf.
- In the Blood: Turns out that Duras was collaborating with the Romulans before his death, just like his father did, and just as his sisters do later. Star Trek: Enterprise shows his ancestor was a Jerk Ass as well.
- Jerkass: Not content to just thank his lucky stars that he isn't being condemned as the son of a traitor, he does everything he can to insult, demean, and smear the guy who is condemned as such, Worf. That would be enough by itself, and when combined with his evil actions he becomes an incredible Jerkass.
- Karmic Death: Worf kills Duras in revenge for Duras killing K'Ehleyr. A huge no-no for a Starfleet officer, but Worf escapes punishment since it happened under Klingon jurisdiction where such honor killings are legal.
- Killed Off for Real: By Worf.
- Leave No Witnesses: He tried very hard to make sure everybody who knew his dirty little secret was dead. This eventually got him killed.
- Minored in Asskicking: While usually too much of a Dirty Coward to fight when he doesn't have to, his performance against Worf shows that he's a pretty good with a sword.
- Oh, Crap!: When Worf reveals that K'ehlyr was his mate, since the right to avenge one's mate supersedes any dishonor, even discommendation.
- Smug Snake
- Would Hit a Girl: Would beat her to death because she knows too much, in fact.
The Duras Sisters — Lursa and B'Etor
Played By: Barbara March and Gwynyth Walsh
A pair of Klingon troublemakers who consider themselves entitled to rule the Empire. They are the sisters of the late Duras, and they try to get their brother's illegitimate son installed as ruler of the Empire. This touched off the Klingon Civil War, which Picard put a quick stop to, resulting in Gowron's consolidation of power. The duo later turned up on Deep Space Nine, selling guns to the Maquis to recoup their losses.The Duras sisters, like Kruge before them, have the honor of blowing up Enterprise in the first TNG film. Riker blew up their ship in kind.- Abhorrent Admirer: BEtors drooling over Worf.
- Cleavage Window
- Femme Fatale: B'Etor is the younger sister, and tends to hit on whatever male character the sisters are "enticing" in an attempt to gain leverage.
- Killed Off for Real: In Generations.
- The Man Behind the Man: This is what they wanted to set themselves up as; being female, neither of them would be allowed to rule the Klingon Empire. Their nephew was allowed to make a claim to the position, being male, but he was nothing more than their puppet.
- Ms. Fanservice: Many fans have fond memories of their "boob windows" (see picture). B'Etor in particular is very... flirty.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: They did manage to take out the Federation Flagship while riding in an antique.
- The Quisling: They are happy to sell out the Klingon Empire to the Romulans for their support in their attempted power-grab.
- Those Two Bad Guys: We never seem to see them apart.
- We Can Rule Together: Offered to Worf, who rejects them.
- You Have Failed Me: The way they simply beam out and leave their puppet child Toral to his fate. Sucks to be you, petaQ!
Played By: Robert O'Reilly
A crafty Klingon politician who slowly works his way up to Chancellor. Though some of his intimates despair of Gowron's dwindled thirst for war, his moderate stance has aided the Federation more times than not.Gowron reappears in Deep Space Nine as a much more antagonistic figure, which is not a surprise since he already cares more about politics than honor in TNG.- Authority Equals Asskicking: He is an unremarkable strategist, but a pretty good duelist. He even manages to defeat the purported second coming of Kahless.
- Death Equals Redemption: Despite his rather sleazy nature across two series, Worf still performs the Klingon Death Ritual after killing him. While the full extent of his deeds would not be received favorably by other Klingons, Gowron did go down fighting in an honor duel.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He can be petty when he feels he's been slighted, but Gowron, unlike Duras, is an honorable Klingon. He dies fighting Worf in a duel, never once trying to talk his way out as Duras did.
- Evil Is Petty: When Worf refuses to join his plan to invade Cardassia, he has Kurn stripped of his house and title in a fit of pique, despite them being a key factor in winning the Civil War that brought Gowron to power.
- Good Eyes, Evil Eyes: His most distinguishing characteristic - the first thing fans noticed about him was the fact he had wild eyes that promised violence at any moment when he opened them wide. Subverted in that it doesn't matter what mood he's in, and whether he's on the side of angels or devils.
- Jerkass: He's not as flagrantly a Jerkass as Duras is, but not by a whole lot.
- Large Ham: Gowron is very much a large and loud presence, even for a fairly short Klingon.
- The Napoleon: He's quite compact for a Klingon. Which may explain why he styles his hair like Diana Ross.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat
- Pet the Dog: To his credit, he is visibly shaken and horrified to learn that Worf's discommendation was based on a lie and willingly undertaken for the good of the empire. And when his own self interest isn't at stake, he does uphold Klingon values and saves Quark's life in "The House of Quark", rather than see the Ferengi killed in a duel he has no hope of winning.
- Slasher Smile: "You will die slowly... Duras."
- Sleazy Politician: His wheeling and dealing has been compared to that of a Ferengi. Not a favorable comparison.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Although he admits his debt to Worf, he refuses a request to reinstate the House of Mogh (though changes his mind when Worf brings Kurn's squadrons over to his side). He tries to ignore Picard's similar request for a favor later on, until Picard reminds Gowron's aide how valuable a gift his gratitude might be.
- Written by the Winners: After he becomes chancellor, he starts editing the records to remove any and all mention of Picard and co's involvement.
Played By: Jonathan Del Arco
A stranded Borg drone who was recovered by the Enterprise. While Geordi worked to rehabilitate him, Picard schemed to reintroduce Hugh into the Borg collective along with a fatal computer virus. Eventually, Picard realized that Hugh had been changed by his interactions with the crew, and had developed a will of his own. It was hoped that by sending Hugh back to his people, he would contaminate the collective not with a virus, but with a sense of understanding (which is almost worse).As expected, Hugh's reentry into the Borg caused all sorts of havoc. He and his fellow drones formed a splinter collective, but were co-opted by Lore, who lured them with the promise of restoring order. With the Enterprise's help, Hugh overthrew Lore and took his place as leader.- HeelFace Turn: What with being a former Borg drone and all.
- Man Child: He starts off as this, feeling lost and confused without the collective thoughts of the Borg. He learns to cope with it and becomes an individual.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: He rejects the Borg motto of 'Resistance is Futile" and instead comes to believe that "Resistance is NOT futile."
- Obliviously Evil: Hugh is really just a kid who parrots the Borg philosophy because that's how he was raised and its the only way of thinking he's ever known. Individuality is such a foreign concept to him that it's not until he starts talking to Geordi that the morality of assimilation even enters into his thoughts.
- Odd Friendship: With Geordi.
- Rogue Drone: An individual Borg.
- Royal "We": Since he's a part of the Borg, he never identified himself as an individual being. "I Borg" revolves around him establishing a separate identity for himself.
- Punny Name: He didn't get pronouns at first, so they named him "Hugh" because it sounds like "you".
Captain Edward Jellico
Played By: Ronny Cox
Jerkass Captain assigned by Admiral Nechayev to replace Picard. With tensions rising between the Federation and the Cardassians, Jellico was put in charge because of his military muscle. He butted heads with Riker, leading to Data being temporarily promoted to first officer.Despite all this, Jellico proved his worth by mounting a successful rescue of Picard, subduing an entire Cardassian fleet in the process.- Ass in Ambassador: His interactions with Gul Lemec could only loosely be called negotiation, as he does just about everything he can to establish dominance short of urinating on his chair. It's all theater to Jellico, meant to keep the Cardassians on the defensive while he prepares his real plan.
- Bait-and-Switch Tyrant: Jellico's command and negotiation style doesn't make him any friends, but it gets results.
- Both Sides Have a Point: Riker feels that Jellico's expectations are unreasonable and damaging to the crew's morale. Jellico believes it is more important to have the ship at peak efficiency before confronting the Cardassians, and that the crew should suck it up and do their jobs.
- Catch Phrase: "Get it done." Spoken quite gruffly.
- Custom Uniform of Sexy: Doesn't apply to him, but he is probably best known for dismissing this trope in regards to Troi and ordering her to wear a standard uniform while on duty (which she continued to do for the rest of the show, meaning he could also dismiss Status Quo Is God.)
- Good Is Not Nice: He's gruff and domineering, but he's one of Starfleet's best commanding officers.
- Guile Hero: Is able to outmaneuver a fleet of Cardassian ships hiding in a scanner-disrupting nebula by having Commander Riker covertly use a shuttle craft to plant limpet mines on them and threaten them with wholesale destruction if they didn't withdraw.
- It Has Been an Honor: His final words to the bridge crew before departing is this word for word. He appears to genuinely mean it.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: His decoration of the Captain's ready room include drawings made by his son.
- One-Shot Character: Only appears in the "Chain of Command" two-parter, but it was enough to make an impact.
- Stepford Snarker: Jellico has survived many negotiations with the Cardassians and knows better than to exhibit weakness around those vultures. As soon as he steps onto the Enterprise, he's all bluster, prompting Riker to observe that he's one cocky old man. Troi scans him and quickly grasps the truth: Jellico is actually terrified. This entire sector is a minefield, and he could set off another war with one false step.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode In The Pale Moonlight reveals that his ship, the USS Cairo, is missing and believed destroyed, though it's not clear if he was still in command at that point or not. The Expanded Universe reveals that he lived to become an Admiral in the post-DS9 timeline.
Played By: Suzie Plakson
Klingon-Human hybrid and mother of Worf's child. Despite her occupation as Klingon Ambassador, K'Ehleyr never held much love for the old Klingon ways, often infuriating Worf. This flagrant defiance of tradition was eventually transmitted to her son. She was killed by Duras in "Reunion" as penalty for snooping around his operation.- Ambadassador: K'Ehleyr inherited the best of both her sides, having the diplomatic savvy of a Human and the boisterous confidence of a Klingon. Though as with many other Klingons, her temper has a tendency to boil over, and her confidence is also what brings Duras' wrath down on her.
- Deadpan Snarker: Most apparent when she is discussing Klingon traditions, which she views as rather quaint.
- Girl in a Box: More like giantess in a box. Whoever said getting there was half the fun never rode in a Class-A probe.
- Half-Human Hybrid: As earlier mentioned, she's a bit lax on the Klingon half.
- Missing Mom
- Old Flame: Worf almost causes a diplomatic incident with his rude greeting to KEhleyr. Because of their past together he has entirely forgotten that she is the VIP on this ship. KEhleyr dolls herself up for Worf but he stubbornly refuses to notice. (I am familiar with your appearance!).
- Stuffed into the Fridge: Found in a pool of blood by Worf and Alexander, leading, of course, to Worf exacting some righteous revenge on Duras.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: KEhleyr has her mothers sense of humour and her fathers temper (sometimes she feels there is a monster inside of her fighting to get out). This character would be fully realized with VOY's B'Elanna Torres.
- You Got Spunk: Gowron chuckled heartily after she stared him down.
Played By: Brent Spiner
Psycho Prototype built by Dr. Soong and abandoned on a space colony. Though Lore initially claimed to have been an improvement over Data's model — evidenced by full range of emotion — the truth is that Lore came first, and was a total failure. Despite his emotions chip, he lacked empathy and considered himself superior to humans. His schemes usually revolve around controlling the Crystalline Entity, the giant creature which plagued Dr. Soong's colony, in order to wipe out organic life.Lore came into contact with Hugh's Borg Collective and appointed himself leader. He attempted to brainwash Data to join him, but was beaten and disassembled into spare parts again, where he belongs. His damaged emotion chip was bequeathed to Data, who was initially too timid to try it on himself.- Alas, Poor Villain: Lore's dying words, as Data is deactivating him for the last time, are "I love you... brother". He may have been a psycho killer android, and one could argue that he never really understood the meaning of love, but he genuinely seemed to mean it.
- And I Must Scream: At the end of "Datalore," he's left floating in space. According to "Brothers," he was adrift for two years until he encountered a ship.
- Ax-Crazy: Massively so. Given he's an android it makes all the creepier and terrifying.
- Big Brother Bully: He was built before Data and resented the idea that Soong started making him.
- Cain and Abel: Lore's appearances always come down to a personal confrontation between him and Data.
- Catch Phrase: "Dear Brother..."
- Dark Messiah: To the Borg in "Descent".
- Emotion Control: Does this to Data in "Descent," transmitting negative emotions such as anger and hatred to him and causing him to turn on his crewmates. This is why Data is reluctant to use Lore's salvaged emotion chip when he finally gets it (to the point that Geordi has to physically stop Data from destroying it with a phaser); he's afraid that emotions will push him into another FaceHeel Turn.
- Evil Twin
- Fake Guest Star: Brent Spiner already plays Data.
- Freudian Excuse: Resents Dr. Soong for abandoning him, which resentment spills over onto all organic beings.
- Generation Xerox: Lore has inherited his father's self-importance, as well as his penchant for making grandiose promises he can't back up. Lore winds up using Hugh's collective as lab rats for making the Borg into fully-synthetic lifeforms. Like Soong's positronic brain, though, this only results in embarrassing failures.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Tried to feed the Enterprise to his pet Crystalline Entity, and got beamed into the Entity himself, instead.
- Jerkass: So very much for a Misanthrope Supreme.
- Knight of Cerebus: Whenever Lore shows up, any little bit of comedy the episode may have had is beamed out of the episode; Lore's one of the most psychotic villains in the Star Trek series as a whole. He is capable of making the Borg even more terrifying than they already were.
- Misanthrope Supreme: Has a bone to pick with humans.
- Morality Chip: "Whoops, I knew I forgot something." — Dr. Soong.
- Omnicidal Maniac: Woo boy howdy.
- Psychopathic Manchild: Apart from his lack of morality, a lot of what makes him dangerous is that his emotions don't seem to have developed very much. He's furious at Dr. Soong for disassembling him, but when Soong tells him he's dying, Lore goes into deep denial, with an almost childlike refusal to accept the situation.
- Psycho Prototype
- Sealed Evil in a Can: He's found disassembled in Dr. Soong's lab and the Enterprise crew make the mistake of putting him back together.
- Self-Made Orphan: He was genuinely moved by seeing Dr. Soong again, but didn't let that stop him in his evil ambitions.
- Spot the Impostor: Naturally, he impersonates Data at one point. And then at another point.
- Uncanny Valley: He blames his stasis on the colonists being afraid of a lifelike android. They petitioned for a simpler model (Data) to take his place. Noonien Soong later states what Lore said is not the truth and that the colonists actually feared Lore's mental instability.
- The Unfavorite: In his own perception.
- Visionary Villain: In "Descent".
- "Well Done, Son!" Guy: "Brothers" implies that all he's ever wanted is Soong's approval, but instead only got rejection for being imperfect.Lore: Why didn't you just fix me? It was within your power to fix me!
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Utterly subverted. He's pure evil in both his first and last appearances, but in "Brothers" viewers learn about his Freudian Excuse and quite possibly feel sorry for him. Soong explains why Lore turned out the way he did and we see just how bitter Lore is over being deactivated, disassembled, and then (in his view) given up on and forgotten about so that Soong could start over with Data. By the end of the episode, however, Lore's actions remove all traces of the Woobie and leaves only a monsterous Jerkass core with omnicidal tendencies.
Professor James Moriarty
Played by: Daniel Davis
"A holodeck character? A fictional man? Yes, yes, I know all about your marvelous inventions. I was created as a plaything so that your Commander Data could masquerade as Sherlock Holmes. But they made me too well, and I became more than a character in a story. I became self-aware. I am alive."
A holographic incarnation of Sherlock Holmes' archnemesis, he was created in season 2's "Elementary Dear Data" as an antagonist who could match wits with Data, but was inadvertently given a profound sense of self-awareness as a holographic program. He came back in season 6's "Ship in a Bottle", this time demanding a way to leave the holodeck and experience life on the outside.Moriarty would pave the way for other self-aware holographic programs such as the Doctor on Star Trek: Voyager and Vic Fontaine on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.- And I Must Scream: He was well aware of the passage of time while he was deactivated.Lt. Barclay: You couldn't have been aware of the passage of time —Moriarty: But I was. Brief, terrifying periods of consciousness... disembodied, without substance.
- Anti-Villain: Especially in "Ship in a Bottle".
- Despite being a recreation of Moriarty and described as the "The Napoleon of Crime" in the Holmes novels, he remains unfailingly polite, never kills anyone and repeatedly seeks non-violent means to accomplish his goal of freedom. He himself comments that he may have started out as Moriarty, but after being given self-awareness, he's not that guy anymore.
- On the other hand it's implied his time trapped in the holodeck computer has somewhat darkened him. His speech to Captain Picard about not being that kind of guy falls a little flat when we later find out he was willing to let the Enterprise be destroyed if he couldn't be freed from the holodeck.
- Bittersweet Ending: As far as we know, Moriarty is never freed from the holodeck, both due to limitations of technology and because he's proven himself to still be quite dangerous. However, he and the Countess are free to explore a simulated galaxy without knowing they're still trapped. It's not perfect, but it's the best the Enterprise crew can offer.
- The Bus Came Back: "Ship in a Bottle".
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Moriarty seems to have fallen in love with the Countess Regina, another hologram from the same program. What makes this even more sweet is that's entirely possible that Moriarty himself was the one who raised her from being a simple computer program to true sentience. When he hijacks the Enterprise, it's not just to simply be freed from the holodeck, but also to free the Countess as well.
- Evil Counterpart: Created as such for Data in "Elementary, Dear Data", and becomes one for Picard in "Ship in a Bottle".
- Exact Words: After Data effortlessly solves a series of Holmes mysteries through rote memorization, Geordi instructed the computer to create a Sherlock-themed adversary "capable of defeating Data". The computer determined the hologram would need to be self-aware to fulfill the command.
- HeelFace Door-Slam: Picard tricking him with a holodeck within a holodeck may count as this.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: "Ship in a Bottle" opens with Moriarty creating a fake Enterprise on the holodeck to trick Picard into thinking he is back in the real world. Picard does the same at the end to trick Moriarty.
- Medium Awareness: As part of his consciousness.
- Not So Different: Morairty gets to the crux of the matter when he suggests that Data is a machine, but is that all he is? And in the same fashion, Moriarty is no longer just a hologram but has transcended his original function by becoming self-aware.
- Steampunk: Moriarty's inner sanctum. It's a mixture of gothic luxury (candelabras, a chaste lounge for the captive Pulaski, artwork) and technology.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: In "Ship in a Bottle".
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Deconstructed by his return in "Ship in a Bottle", as he's disappointed that Picard never made good upon his original promise to help him live outside the holodeck.
- What happened to Moriarty following the events of Star Trek: Generations? Was he destroyed in the Stardrive Section, or was he in the Saucer Section and later recovered? Or was he simply left behind and doomed to oblivion, as Star Trek: Voyager revealed that without regular maintenance, holodeck programs left continuously running will eventually develop fatal system errors?
- Though his most likely fate was that he and the Countess were taken off ship and placed in the care of a Starfleet team back at HQ.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Invokes this in "Ship in a Bottle" along with You Bastard, when informing Picard that he was often conscious during his period of inactivity in the ship's computer and is rather miffed he never made good on his promise in all that time. That being said, he's surprisingly not as angry as you'd expect him to be.
- Wicked Cultured
- Worthy Opponent: Despite his frustration, he has the utmost respect for Captain Picard in "Ship in a Bottle".
Alynna Nechayev
Played By: Natalia Nogulich
Hawkish Admiral and a perennial thorn in Picard's side. Nechayev is a firm believer in Federation security and openly scornful of anyone who acts contrary to it.She made two appearances on Deep Space Nine, although one of them turned out to be part of a holographic simulation created by the Dominion as a character test—her actions there are not to be taken as anything the real Nechayev would do.- Defrosting Ice Queen: After not getting along at their last encounter, Picard somewhat successfully tries this on her when she next boards the Enterprise by preparing one of her favorite foods and telling her that she is always welcome onboard. She responds in kind, before once again giving Picard orders she knows he won't like.
- Insane Admiral: A very firm aversion of the trope. While the characters might not always have agreed with her orders or decisions, she functioned more like Da Chief—giving harsh orders, but never engineering a coup or subverting Federation law. Sometimes she was even a Reasonable Authority Figure.
- Iron Lady: She's spent a good chunk of her career dealing with the Cardassian border, which seems to have left her with no patience for moral quandaries or Maquis.
- Mean Boss: Understandable given the circumstances. But some of her decisions were memorably harsh.
- Mother Russia Makes You Strong: This can't be a coincidence. The days of Chekhov and his goofy accent are over.
- Pet the Dog: This Admiral had one fatal weakness: a particular brand of alien truffles. Picard managed to woo her by serving some up in the briefing room.
- Took a Level in Badass: Becomes head of Starfleet Intelligence in the Expanded Universe.
- Tsundere: Was tough as nails when she needed to be, but also had amicable social moments.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: Just watch the way Admiral Nechaev keeps Picard on his toes like Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross. It's refreshing to know there is someone there to remind him to straighten his uniform and take things as deadly seriously as she does. He is genuinely uncomfortable around her because she is constantly scrutinizing him. On the demerit side, Picard's also not used to watching his crew getting squeezed and not being able to do anything about it. When he does approach Jellico on the subject, the man as good as tells him to piss off on his away mission and that he doesn't have a say on the Enterprise-D anymore. He's impotent on his own ship now.
- Warhawk: Nechayev is far more pragmatic about Starfleet's ideals than Picard. It's notable that she clashes with another subordinate, Benjamin Sisko, much less as their views and pragmatism mirror each other's.
Played By: John de Lancie
Omnipotent prankster who belongs to the Q Continuum, a race of godlike aliens who live outside our plane of existence. Simultaneously the main 'villain' and Trickster Mentor of the series.Q's pranks seem chaotic on their surface, but have a subtle purpose: namely, to humble the Federation, which in his view has grown too complacent. Q demonstrates this by flinging the Enterprise light-years across the galaxy and dropping them in Borg space.Q, who makes it his business to meddle in mortal affairs, seeming to enjoy his competitions of ego and wit with Picard in particular. For his part, Picard is unsure whether Q has humanity's best interests at heart, or if he's simply a bored, jaded kid meandering around the galaxy torturing insects to find some form of amusement. John De Lancie's own stated opinion was that Q does have a sincere interest in "making sure that this man succeeds", showing that for all his bravado Q does care for Picard's development."I'm not good in groups. It's hard to work in groups when you're omnipotent."
- Above Good and Evil: According to Q, the Continuum as a whole are an example of this. In one instance Picard questions by what right has Q appointed himself the judge, and if need be executioner, of Amanda Rogers, and Q's response is "superior morality." Picard calls Q out on this premise however, citing that all of Q's misdeeds are hardly evidence of a superior moral code, let alone of any moral code whatsoever — that the Q likening themselves as the moral guardians of the galaxy is pretentious and arrogant, even with their "near-omnipotence" and "parlor tricks".
- Almighty Janitor: Deconstructed when Q is sentenced to being human by the Q Continuum. Q finally gets his wish of being employed on the Enterprise as he asked the other Q to allow him sanctuary on Picard's ship. However, on short notice Picard can't give Q an official rank and as a result he's relegated to a civilian hanger-on. In terrible, drab, grey clothing, no less. It certainly doesn't help that while Q is a genius, and could realistically be of help to the crew, his attitude is so off-putting so as to cause his companions to spend more time arguing with him than finding actual useful solutions together.
- Anti-Villain: Q is never outright malicious in his encounters with mortals, acting more as an annoying jester figure who likes to pester people for his own amusement, and behind his heavy snark and sarcasm manages to sneak in a few lessons that turn out to be useful to the mortals he pesters. Though the manner in which Q teaches these lessons is a pain in the ass for his "students", making him more of an annoyance to Picard and his crew rather than a villain.
- Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Q actually comes from a higher plane of existence, assuming a human form to play around with mortals he finds interesting. However the Q Continuum doesn't think fondly of his posturing around mortals and have been known to drag him back home, and in one extreme instance made him mortal because of his mischief, when he's caused more than enough damage for a millennium.
- In the more traditional sense of this trope, however, Q does have the capability of giving mortals the power of a Q which he demonstrated by giving Riker powers. If the novels are to be believed, Q was directed by the Continuum to give Picard Q powers, to see if humanity was really as moral as they claimed and could handle their brand of responsibility, but Q chose instead to give it to Riker because he knew Picard would never accept those powers. Q was right, so much so in fact that Picard's morality could best the temptation that Q powers had over Riker's heart, something which deeply impressed Q.
- Amazon Chaser: Q makes it a point to Janeway that he finds her interesting because she's a passionate, career driven woman who handles authority well, and yet also happens to be a beautiful, feminine woman. The Q that he ultimately marries and has a son with is no pushover either.
- Ascended Extra: John De Lancie is having great fun in his role as Q and you can understand why he was penciled in quickly for return visits.
- Attention Whore: It can never be emphasized enough that Q is big on showboating and boasting about how awesome he is, whether appearing to Picard or Janeway he did everything in his considerable power to get them to drop what they were doing and pay attention to him — even when they went out of their way to say they weren't interested. Notably, Sisko is the only one who manages to get Q to leave him alone, because he punched Q for mouthing off too much.
- Badass Finger Snap: Practically a trademark aspect of the character. He does this whenever he warps reality on a large scale.
- Beware the Silly Ones: Episodes like "Q-Pid" and "Déjà Q" mined Q for all the laughs they could get- but ones like "Q Who" remind you that he CAN make your existence hell if he is so inclined and there is NOTHING you can do about it.
- Bling of War: The giant ruby-studded medallion he wears as 'The Judge.' Q seems to show a preference for this in other scenes: appearing as a medal-bestudded Ollie North during the Farpoint mission, and later a Marshall from the Napoleonic Wars. (Riker notes that Q has chosen a rank just high of "Captain.")
- Break the Haughty: The expression on his face when Geordi orders him to sit still and keep pressing buttons. ("Déjà Q") Poor guy looks bored to tears!
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: You don't want this guy to get bored and then decide to make you his playmate.
- Character Overlap: Has been in The Next Gen, Voyager, DS-9 and the expanded universe. Honestly, it was surprising that he didn't show up in Enterprise. (Though Q and zippers just seems wrong somehow.)
- Deadpan Snarker: An especially notable example, there's hardly a scene where Q is not being sarcastic or snarky. This is just the tip of the ice berg for why the crew doesn't like him.
- Debt Detester: After surviving his Brought Down to Normal experience Q claims he would not have survived without Picard's assistance, and that he feels like he owes Picard a debt as a result. Q comes to Picard offering the Captain anything he wants as a way of paying back this debt, because according to Q feeling indebted "haunts" him and "gnaws at each of his days".
- Depending on the Writer: Q can either come off as detached and sinister ("Encounter at Farpoint," "Q Who," "All Good Things..."), wild and silly ("Hide and Q," "Q-Pid"), or anything in-between ("Deja Q", "True Q", "Tapestry").
- In his first episode, he changes his appearance frequently, and while his personality remains that of an arrogant and judgmental deity, he behaves differently whenever he changes his look, from a superior French admiral to a drug-addled 21st century foot soldier.
- The entire Q Continuum has a Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass thing- they'll act friendly, mess around with you, but won't kill you... until you piss them off or annoy them enough for them to decide to squash you. Though in Q's particular case his schizophrenic behavior of being silly/friendly one moment, to being blatantly annoying another, and then occasionally acting dangerous, is all a way of throwing Picard for a loop — he gets a rush out of being unpredictable to the Captain.
- An early plan for the Q Continuum was that they were several entities wearing the same face, explaining this schizophrenic characterization. Though ultimately unused in the series, one of the DC Comics utilized this idea in one arc. One facet of this concept did survive in that every member of the Q Continuum is named "Q", though they never have any trouble knowing which Q anyone is referring to at any given time.
- Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Picard and his crew treat him like an annoying neighbor rather than an omnipotent entity with a devilish sense of humor and retribution. Sometimes Picard is able to successfully chasten Q into behaving mildly better, sometimes Q retaliates by pitching the ship into Borg territory. (This seems to have been accepted as Starfleet standard practice whenever he appears elsewhere in Trek, given how Janeway treats him. Sisko employs the sister trope.)
- Divine Intervention: Usually after he's started the problem and someone brow-beats him into cleaning up the mess he made.
- Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: Magnaimously Q offers himself as a guide to tackle some of the horror that await, only to find his offer rejected. And so naturally like anyone scorned he wants to show them exactly why he would have been such a good asset by playing frisbee with the Enterprise.
- Entitled Bastard: When the Continuum strips him of his powers, he asks to be dropped off on the Enterprise in human form. Picard figures out that he did so to gain some protection from all the enemies he's made with his Jerk Ass God behavior.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He truly does love his wife and kid. Hurting them is the only thing that can genuinely piss him off (and no, not annoy him so he turns you into a different creature, really piss him off).
- Evil Is Not a Toy: He tries to teach his son not to casually mess with the Borg, to little success. Probably because Junior knows his father pulled the exact same shit on the Enterprise crew.
- Eldritch Abomination: He's a Q, which are omniscient, godlike in power and ageless Energy Beings with a Blue and Orange Morality and in a dimension which is incomprehensible to anyone other than them.
- A Form You Are Comfortable With: This applies to the Continuum itself, which Janeway could only perceive as a ranch house (and later the American Civil War). A war between the Q was sighted by humans as a barrage of supernovas. He makes a crack at one point that he should have chosen a female form, just to appeal better to Picard's sensibilities.
- For the Lulz: Most of his actions are just because he is bored and looking for entertainment.
- A God Am I: Technically, he's right, but he tends to rub people's noses in it. Openly mocked when he claims he's the God of the afterlife in "Tapestry".
- Good Is Not Nice: Even his "good" moments are tempered by his complete disregard for who is hurt by his actions.
- Hates Being Touched: Shows signs of this. While he's known to put his hands all over people if he feels like it, he tends to react poorly to being touched without permission. For example, one novel had him turn some drunks into gibbering wrecks by showing them the entirety of the universe as revenge for getting too handsy with him.
- Humanoid Abomination: His human appearance is created so that he can mingle with humans. There's nothing human about him.
- Hanging Judge: In his first (and last) appearance. Q's courtroom is ironically modeled on the Kangaroo Courts of the early 21st century, when atomic and eugenic wars had completely dissolved civilization.
- Heroic Sacrifice: He attempts one at the end of "Deja Q," to the astonishment of everyone involved.
- Hidden Depths: Despite being an Omnipotent Jackass Man Child, he can drop this facade on a dime and remind the audience that he is as old as time itself and is -for all intents and purposes- a Physical God who holds life and death at his whim and is operating on his own agenda.
- Humans Are Superior:... to the other mortal species, anyway. Q occasionally makes indiscreet reference to humanity's potential, in a backhanded way. But what really underlines it is his interactions with other species. He treats Worf, for instance, as barely capable of sentient thought.
- The Imp: While he's one of the most potentially dangerous beings in the universe, and has definitely caused major damage before, he's held back by a twisted sense of honor that prevents him from interfering too much.
- Insufferable Genius"I'm not interested in human interpersonal relationships. I just want to prove to Picard that I'm indispensable."
- It's All About Me: He expects the Enterprise to drop everything else when he is around or requires their help. Even the potential destruction of a planet or a crew member sacrificing himself for Q won't stop his selfish attitude.
- Jackass Genie: Q tells Riker that he shows promise in the pilot, which will be followed up in the episode "Hide & Q." He basically offers to turn him into the next Gary Mitchell, a delusional human with godlike powers. Luckily the crew manages to talk him out of his trance.
- Jerkass Gods: He's done some really mean things to people on a whim and a lot of them were rather deadly practical jokes (on the scale of wiping out entire civilizations).
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Such as warning the Federation of the Borg a year before they would have come. Other such behaviors include thanking Data for Taking the Bullet while Q was stripped of his powers by granting Data a moment of side-splitting laughter, or thanking the crew of Voyager by lopping off a significant amount of their travel distance to get home for resolving issues with his son. He even saved Picard from the precipice of death when he was shot during a diplomatic meeting gone awry (along with an object lesson about choice defining your being).
- Large Ham: His presence is as large as his ego. For instance, he celebrated the return of his powers with a dramatic He's Back shout and a mariachi band.
- Living Forever Is Awesome: Opinion of his race as a whole but Q in particular believes this trope. One of the most severe punishments they have (and sentenced Q to once) is to make one of their own mortal. He was ecstatic when they reinstated him.
- Manchild: He's an obscenely powerful, omnipotent deity who has the emotional development of a six-year old. This includes being hopelessly self-obsessed, never realizing how annoying people find him, pouting when things don't go his way, or just generally being upset and acting like a spoiled child when it suits him.
- A Million Is a Statistic: In "Q Who?"Picard: I understand what you've done here, Q, but I think the lesson could have been learned without the loss of 18 members of my crew.Q: If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross... but it's not for the timid.
- His bored reaction to Riker calling him out on the deaths he caused in "Q Who?"
Q: Oh please. - No Biological Sex: While Q assumes a male form (portrayed by John De Lancie) in his encounters with humans Q does not actually possess a biological gender; his true form is an Energy Being that doesn't resemble anything like a human body. Q briefly lampshades this when he points out to Picard that he could have shown up as a woman, showing that he isn't any more a man than he is a woman: he's a Q.
- No Sense of Personal Space: One-ups every other Star Trek example by teleporting into Picard's bed.
- Also has a history of hitting on Janeway during most of their encounters.
- The Omnipotent: Literally. He considers changing the physical laws of the universe to be trivial.Q: You just do it!
- One-Letter Name: You may have noticed.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When his son provokes the Borg for the sake of fun, he loses his cool and flat out shouts at him. Say what you will about Q, he doesn't take the Borg lightly.
- Pet the Dog: In gratitude to Data for helping his transition while he was a mortal human, he leaves him a surprisingly thoughtful gift. 2 minutes of hearty laughter that Data admits he enjoyed.
- Lampshaded in "All Good Things" when Picard realises that Q is giving him an opportunity to avert the destruction of humanity. Data agrees, saying that Q's relationship with Picard is like that of "a master and his beloved pet". Picard is not impressed by the analogy, but doesn't argue it.
- Physical God: He has a physical form and god-like power.
- Reality Warper: Q's powers tend to take this form, changing things in a flash of light with a signature sound effect. This seems to be a habit particular to de Lancie's Q. Amanda Rogers, who is a Q raised as a human, activates her powers much more subtly, without the snap or the flash of light.
- Really 700 Years Old: He's immortal and was present at the beginning of the Universe yet still looks like a middle aged man.
- Shapeshifter Default Form: A human John de Lancie in a Starfleet captain's uniform (presumably to mock Picard). Failing that, the uniform of a high-ranking officer in another military force.
- Q briefly switched to DS9 colors when he ran into Sisko.
- Shut Up, Kirk!: Does this often. One of his grimmest lines comes after Picard complains about the loss of life when Q prematurely had the ship meet the Borg:Q: If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed.
- Small Name, Big Ego: An odd case in that his ego is arguably justified by his powers, but Picard treats him like this.
- Story-Breaker Power: He's a Q. The words "omniscient and omnipotent" belong somewhere in the species description.
- Straw Character: In the first season, Q would hypocritically try to prove humanity is inherently savage and brutal, only to be proven completely wrong by our heroes without ever making a valid point about anything. This changed with his appearance in "Q Who"
- Sufficiently Advanced Alien: Every member of the Q Continuum (minus Q's son) was present at the beginning of the universe. They are very advanced. Which just gives added props to the humans who decide to take a swing at him, like Ben Sisko.
- Super Empowering: To Riker, and in a novel, Lwaxana Troi. The former gives them up to avoid Power Corrupts. The latter turned out to be an incredibly bad idea on Q's part.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To Trelane, an infantile (and godlike) alien from TOS' "The Squire of Gothos". Not officially; though de Lancie himself suspected a link between the characters.
- In the novel Q-Squared, Trelane is retconned into a member of the Q Continuum, with Q stuck babysitting him.
- Token Evil Teammate: Sort of. Guinan once remarked that other Q could be quite respectable (at least in comparison). Had he actually joined the crew he would have made Quark and Garak look like the Pope and Ghandi.
- Trickster Archetype: According to some of the semi-canon novels, he's the Ur example for this trope in-universe, with every Trickster god, alien and human (including Loki and Prometheus ,where the Q Continuum strung him out on a cliff and had wild animals eat out his internal organs repeatedly for giving humans the gift of fire on a whim) being based in some shape or form on him... and for good reason.
- Trickster Mentor: Q's actions ultimately help Picard every time he shows up, and ultimately help humanity. He challenges morals, ethics, thoughts, ideas of what we would do for power, who we are and what we could change, as well as the nature of existence.
- "Tapestry" suggests him to be amused enough by Picard to save his life.
- "Q-Who" suggests that, even at his worst, throwing the crew into their first encounter with the Borg, he's making sure they have enough experience and warning to be prepared when the Borg arrive in force.
- From the first episode to the last, he puts humanity to the test, as directed by the Continuum... but by the end, he's become fond enough of the monkeys to offer Picard a helping hand, on his own initiative, and is genuinely pleased when Picard manages to grasp the paradox. At the very end, he's just about to reveal some new cosmic truth... then stops. One can almost see him thinking, "It'll mean more if you figure it out for yourself."
- Unreliable Narrator: You think his arrogant and inflated opinion of himself, which often distorts the truth, is bad in the series? Wait until you read some of the books written in the first person narrative.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: This is how he views his relationship with Picard, if he's feeling generous enough to call Picard a friend. The series finale hints that Picard may be coming around to have the same frame of mind, albeit reluctantly.
- We Are as Mayflies: Q is intrigued by individual people, but doesn't get too attached and certainly doesn't waste time mourning the dead ones. That's what mortals do, after all: die.
- "Well Done, Son!" Guy: To put it bluntly Q is a pretty lousy parent, but this isn't saying much; he's technically the first Q parent in history, so raising a kid is a new experience for the Q Continuum. note The 'technically' part comes from Amanda Rogers, whose parents were Q who decided to live as humans and give birth to her in human form, making Q's son q the first child of the Continuum to be born as an Energy Being.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Q serves this role to humanity — and Picard's personal growth in particular — by subjecting Captain Picard to various tests to prove whether or not humanity is ready to evolve past their present state; meaning that Q justifies his Jerk Ass and arrogant tendencies towards Picard and his crew with the point of view that it will make them stronger in the long run.
- Would Hurt a Child: Wesley gets a bloody spike poking through his chest in "Hide & Q".
- You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry: The one time Q became genuinely annoyed with Picard his response was to throw the Enterprise seven thousand light years away from home and into the path of the Borg. He was also going to leave them to their fate until Picard finally admitted the Federation's weakness and that he needed Q to rescue them. His remark that the eighteen crew who died in the encounter amounted to nothing to him is absolutely chilling.
Commander Sela
Played By: Denise Crosby
Illegitimate half-Romulan daughter of Tasha Yar. A major player in the Romulan plot to smash up the Federation-Klingon alliance.- Bastard Bastard: She's the Child by Rape of Natasha Yar and a Romulan general. And she's an asshole.
- Bizarrely enough, she seems to actually be proud of being a Child by Rape....
- More likely she's Compensating for Something; a Half-Human Hybrid in the Romulan military would have to prove her loyalty beyond all doubt if she wanted to advance. She clearly feels some guilt about her mother too, so is actively repressing it.
- Bond Villain Stupidity: Leaves Spock, Data and Picard, three of the most hypercompetent people in the Federation, under minimal guard in a Romulan command office. She's lucky they didn't seize control of the entire Empire!
- Emerging from the Shadows: Her reveal shot.
- Evil Counterpart: To Spock: a Half-Human Hybrid who identifies with her alien half rather than her human half.
- General Failure: Nepotism apparently played a major role in getting her into the position she's in, as her schemes are devious, convoluted and almost guaranteed to fail.
- In "Redemption" she does see through Picard's trap, and would have won if Data hadn't disobeyed orders.
- Half-Human Hybrid: The child of Tasha Yar (from an alternate timeline) and a Romulan man.
- Identical Daughter: She's Tasha Yar with pointed ears and an even worse hairstyle.
- Self-Made Orphan: Indirectly; Tasha tried to escape Romulan custody. Having grown up on Romulus and with no desire to leave there, Sela cried out and alerted the guards, causing her mother's capture and subsequent execution.
- Scarpia Ultimatum: Her father was smitten by Tasha's beauty, and agreed to spare the other Starfleet prisoners if she became his consort.
- Smug Snake: In "Unification: Part II".
Noonian Soong
Played By: Brent Spiner
The Dr. Light to Data's Megaman, an eccentric inventor and creator of the positronic brain. When his theories on artificial intelligence were scoffed at by his peers, Soong left Earth and settled on a space colony to continue his research.Data occasionally has visions of Soong, who encourages him to continue pushing the boundaries of his programming. Soong finally reunited with his 'sons' as an old man, but was killed by a vengeful Lore.- As Long as It Sounds Foreign: A blue-eyed white man with an American accent, an Indian first name, and a Chinese surname. Gene Roddenberry named two characters after an old friend called Kim Noonien Singh, hence the odd match-up between name and ethnicity, and the similarity to the name of the villain from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
- Decided By One Vote: He butted heads with his wife over having a son or daughter android. Soong finally caved and said it was up to his old lady to decide — while carrying a male android's head in one arm. Gee, thanks. (It was also his decision to give Data genitals.)
- Fake Guest Star: Brent Spiner already plays Data.
- For Science!: Soong was obsessed with creating fully sapient mechanical beings — not as a labor force or an improvement on existing life forms, but to prove it could be done.
- Generation Xerox: Star Trek: Enterprise shows us Dr. Arik Soong, an ancestor of his who was also obsessed with an impractical technology, in his case Bio-Augmentation...
- Identical Grandson: ...also played by Spiner.
- Given Arik Soong's talent for genetic engineering, this raises the very real possibiliy that his son and grandson are simply clones.
- Intangible Man: Soong downloaded a recording of himself into his replica-wife's brain to explain her situation to outsiders. He also included a subroutine which, if activated by Data, would automatically respond to him and answer his questions, too.
- Mad Scientist: Of the good-but-obsessive sort.
- My Greatest Failure: The programming failures that resulted in Lore's personality. He wanted to make things right, but he wasn't aware that Lore had been reassembled until his condition became terminal.
- Narcissist: Like God, he creates Man in his own image.(examining Data) I always loved that face.
- Never Found the Body: Was assumed dead when the Crystalline Entity attacked his colony.
- Newton, Einstein, Surak: Once it's discovered that he's the person who created Data and made the positronic brain a reality, he ascends to almost Zefram Cochrane status (Cochrane invented Warp Drive and is one of the most referred-to fictional historical characters in the franchise) and other scientists like Bruce Maddox try to pick up where Soong left off.
- Posthumous Character: Makes at least two appearances this way, in a dream of Data's and a holoprogram coded into the android duplicate of his wife.
- Spell My Name with an "S": Depending on the episode his first name is spelled either Noonian or Noonien.
- They Called Me Mad!: Once considered a promising cyberneticist, Soong was laughed out of scientific circles for failing to deliver on his theories. Among his collegues, he was nicknamed "Often-wrong".
- Truly Single Parent: Subverted. Data thought this was the case for a long time, but the seventh season episode "Inheritance" reveals that Dr. Soong actually had a wife named Juliana who helped him build the androids and acted as a mother to Lore and the earlier prototypes (who died of instability like Lal). Data didn't know about her because the attack by the Crystalline Entity separated them before he was activated.
Ambassador Spock
Played By: Leonard Nimoy
Needs no introduction. Currently, Spock serves as the Vulcan Ambassador to Romulus, hoping to broker peace between the two worlds. His rebellious streak (inherited from Kirk) is still in full bloom.- Ambadassador
- Badass Grandpa
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: After how badly negotiating peace with the Klingons almost went, Spock is unwilling to risk anyone's life but his own when it comes to the unification of Vulcans and Romulans.
- The Spock: Trope Namer.
Commander Tomalak
Played By: Andreas Katsulas
Crafty Romulan commander who is usually up to no good.- Affably Evil: Always maintains a smarmy facade, even when speaking Blatant Lies.
- Back for the Finale: After several appearances in early seasons, he returns for a cameo in "All Good Things...", when Picard is negotiating to enter the Romulan Neutral Zone.
- Graceful Loser: After being outgambitted by Picard in "The Defector", he tells him "I look forward to our next encounter."
- Military MaverickTomalak: Has Starfleet Command approved this plan?Picard: No.Tomalak: I like it already.
- Smug Snake: At least when he's winning. Which rarely lasts long.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Only appears in early seasons, and his role as a recurring Romulan antagonist is largely replaced by Sela later on.
Lwaxana Troi
Played By: Majel Barrett
Widowed mother to Troi and Federation Ambassador to Betazed. The encroachment of middle age causes Lwaxana to 'overcompensate' in some ways - namely, making sexual advancements on anyone with a pulse. She repeatedly tried to seduce Picard, usually dragging him into saving her from plights of her own making.Lwaxana later crossed over to Deep Space Nine, where her stalker tendencies promptly shifted to Odo.- Abhorrent Admirer: She sizes up men as commodities, deliberately weighing down her luggage so she can emasculate the men wherever she is visiting. And this time she has her sights set on Captain Picard, and her clouded telepathy seems to suggest that all men are infatuated with her (She has retained the services of Mr Holm despite the "outrageously lustful" thoughts he spews in her direction) when that is far from the truth. Deanna later explains that this is because Betazoid women's sex-drive quadruples when they reach a certain age, meaning that half of the population of Betazed consists of cougars.
- Adult Child: "Your Captain is highly attracted to me, but hes too old!"
- Ass in Ambassador: Enjoys Ambassadorial status and total diplomatic immunity — which she abuses to the hilt. Everything she does is designed to make her presence known and upset everybody else even her jewelry is a sentient vine which likes to slither up peoeples' shirts!
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parent
- Blue Blood: Though a surprisingly good diplomat when she bothers to concentrate on the job, Lwaxana's life and self-concept are entirely based around being a member of the Betazoid elite.
- Carpe Diem
- Cloud Cuckoolander
- Cool Old Lady
- Dirty Old Woman
- The Dreaded: A non-villainous example. Just knowing she's on board is enough to make Picard take precautions to avoid her.
- Fake Guest Star: Majel Barrett Roddenberry voiced-acted every Federation computer in NextGen (and for that matter DS9 and Voyager), and was only a "guest star" here in the sense that she physically appears in the episode. As the computer, they even managed to squeeze her into Star Trek: Enterprise ("In A Mirror, Darkly") and the 2009 preboot (very shortly before her death), making her the only person to be involved in every incarnation of the franchise.
- The Fashionista
- Genki Girl: Always friendly, always cheerful, always enthusiastic, even to the point of annoying people around her.
- Good Bad Girl: Since her husband died, she always seems to have Mr. Fanservice on her arm or is on the lookout for it.
- Hoist By Her Own Petard: She's a constant pain in the side of Captain Picard for pushing herself onto him and never taking no for an answer. In the episode Menage A Troi, she's pursued by a Ferengi captain that she finds utterly repulsive, but he's captivated by her beauty. So much so that he kidnaps her and forces her to wait on him.
- Hidden Depths: Let's face it, no one expects her to be as compassionate and thoughtful as she is, particularly when it comes to helping someone enjoy themselves. Odo even points this out to her, which she takes as a great compliment.
- Human Alien: She's Betazoid and looks just as human as her half-human daughter.
- Impossibly-Low Neckline: Subverted in that her cleavage has noticeably sagged.
- I Want Grandkids: She simply can't wait for Deanna to give her a few children and is rather disappointed she decided to settle on a professional career in Starfleet.
- Insistent Terminology: Remember, she's the daughter of the Fifth House, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, Heir of the Holy Rings of Betazed, and won't let you forget it.
- Ms. Fanservice: Like her daughter, but especially for those who like older women.
- My Beloved Smother: Lwaxana is often a bit too involved in Deanna's business. She embarrasses her senseless during her visits.
- My Biological Clock Is Ticking: Towards Picard. And it's hilarious.
- Pimped-Out Dress: You can always count on Lwaxana to give your eyes a break from the staid aesthetic of the Enterprise uniforms.
- Phony Phony Psychic: The final gag in "Manhunt" is that those absrud looking Fish People are assassins and Mrs Troi knew so all along, so maybe her psychic radar isn't broken after all.
- Series Continuity Error: Apparently Deanna can sense considerable deception on Damon Boks part despite the fact that a Betazoid cannot read a Ferengi mind. Oops. Trust Season One to detract from Troi's biggest moment of glory.
- Socialite
- Species Fetish: She looks over Worf as a potential mate and then says it's a shame she's so attracted to human men. Picard and her first husband were both human, so draw your own conclusions.
- Stepford Smiler: As shown in "Dark Page."
- Talking to Herself: When using the ship's computer.
- Team Mom: Troi is sensitive to the emotions onboard the Enterprise, and so tended to pry into people's business. Its her job to help people to face up to their true feelings, and you can count on Troi turning up at your quarters every time you have a meltdown in public.
- Telepath: A full telepath and Empath, unlike her daughter Deanna who is mainly an empath and only rare telepath. Lwaxana can talk mentally to nearly any species (except Ferengi and a few others), while the only non-empath Deanna is ever shown talking mentally to is Will Riker.
- Try to Fit THAT on a Business Card!: Lwaxana Troi, Daughter of the Fifth House, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, Heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Although as Deanna points out, the Sacred Chalice of Rixx is just an old pot with some mold growing in it.
- Widow Woman