My favorite thing aboutStar Trek: The Next Generationhas always been the show’s incredible cast of characters. Over the course ofTNG’sseven seasons, the crew of the USS Enterprise-D, led by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), came to feel like family. I found something to enjoy in even the less celebrated episodes of the show becauseI still got to spend time with these characters I had grown to love.EveryStar Trekserieshas a strong cast of characters, but, from the beginning, something aboutTNG’scast just clicked for me.
Ranking my favoriteStar Trek: The Next Generationcharactersis not an easy task, as I do not actively dislike any member of the main cast. While I have a clear favorite character, there is no one I would wish to kick off the show. One of the greatest things aboutTNGwas how wellthe characters came together to be so much greater than the sum of their parts.Captain Picard relied on his crew members, who relied on each other, and it was clear the actors were fond of one another as well.
25 Best Star Trek: TNG Episodes Of All Time
Star Trek: The Next Generation produced some of the best and most beloved science fiction television of all time. Here is TNG’s best of the best.
Wil Wheaton As Ensign Wesley Crusher
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike Wesley Crusher, but I do think he was the weakest member of the mainTNGcast. From the beginning,TNG’swriters didn’t quite know what to do with Wesley,and he became a boy wonder who found the last-minute life-saving solution a few too many times. Prodigy or not, it never made sense that Wes was able to solve problems that had stumped the more experienced officers around him.
Wil Wheaton did the best he could with the material he was given (and Wheaton has since become a welcome fixture in theStar Trekfandom), but much of that material simply didn’t work. Still,Wesley’s last couple of episodes were surprisingly solid,so much so thatI wish Wes would have stayed onTNGand grown as a character. Wesley’s relationships with his mother, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), and his mentor (and pseudo-father figure) Captain Picard, also had a lot of potential that went unrealized.
Wesley returned as a Traveler inStar Trek: Prodigy,finally getting to be the fun and well-written character he could have been onTNG.
9I Always Wanted To Know More About Guinan
Whoopi Goldberg As Guinan
Whoopi Goldberg joined the cast ofTNGat the beginning of the show’s second season as Guinan, the mysterious bartender in Ten Forward. Guinan was immediately a fascinating character, andTNGdropped hints about her history throughout the show’s run.Unfortunately, several questions surrounding Guinan and her history went largely unanswered, and I wish the show had delved more into her backstory.
Guinan’s position as a bartender meant she often took on the role of listener and advice giver. I always enjoyed how Guinan helped Captain Picard and the Enterprise crew members work through their problems.She had a knack for guiding people in the right direction,allowing them to find answers for themselves. Guinan existed on the periphery for most ofTNG, so it’s difficult to place her higher on this list, but I always enjoyed what she had to say.
Guinan Timeline: Every Star Trek Era TNG’s Bartender Appears In
Whoopi Goldberg’s Guinan is an El-Aurian, a species that lives for centuries,, which means the wise bartender has appeared in several Star Trek eras.
8I Like Commander Will Riker Just Fine
Jonathan Frakes As Commander William Riker
As Captain Picard’s right-hand man on the USS Enterprise-D, Commander William Riker makes a fine First Officer. And that word pretty much sums up how I feel about Riker as a character — fine. Compared toTNG’sother characters,Riker feels a bit less developed and not quite as compelling to me.It also doesn’t help that I don’t relate to him much as a character.
Early inTNG’srun, Riker was often portrayed as a ladies' man, sometimes with awkward and tone-deaf results. Still,Riker has some solid moments (“Frame of Mind” is a personal favorite of mine)and I enjoyedhis relationship with Counselor Deanna Troi(Marina Sirtis), though I wish they would have officially gotten back together during the show’s run.
I enjoyed Riker as a character much more inStar Trek: Picard,particularly in the show’s third season.
7Sorry, Lt. Worf, I’m Just Not A Fan Of Klingon Stories
Michael Dorn As Lt. Worf
It may be a controversial choice to have Worf so low on this list, but most of his stories onTNGinvolved Klingon politics which I just wasn’t interested in.Worf had some great moments throughoutTNG(and some hilarious one-liners), but he didn’t truly come into his own as a character untilStar Trek: Deep Space Nine. As the Security Chief of the Enterprise-D, Worf was often taken down by the villains of the week to illustrate how strong they were.
I enjoyed when Worf’s stories focused less on Klingon politics and more onhis search for identity as a Klingon raised among humansand theonly Klingon in Starfleet. I also loved Worf’s relationship with K’Ehleyr (Suzie Plakson) and wish it had been further explored (yes, I’m still mad about her senseless death). All in all, I enjoyed Worf more as a character onDS9, but his time onTNGlaid the foundation for everything that came after.
6I Wanted More For Counselor Deanna Troi
Marina Sirtis As Counselor Deanna Troi
Counselor Troi did not always get the best storylines onStar Trek: The Next Generation,and I wish she had gotten more to do. With her Betazoid empathic powers and her job as the counselor on the Enterprise-D,Troi had the potential to be an incredibly compelling character.While she had moments of greatness (such as season 6’s “Face of the Enemy”), she was often given questionable romantic storylines andDeanna truly deserved better.
Troi was a skilled counselor when she was given the chance, helping various Enterprise crew members work through their problems.TNG’swriters never quite seemed to know what to do with Troi’s empathic powersand she was too often reduced to pointing out the obvious. Still, Troi proved herself an invaluable member of the Enterprise crew, and her relationship with Riker blossomed into something truly lovely.
Counselor Troi’s 10 Best Star Trek: TNG Episode, Ranked
Marina Sirtis’s empathic Counselor Deanna Troi had some great moments throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation’s seven seasons.
5I Wanted To Be Friends With Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
LeVar Burton As Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Aside from his awkward (and occasionally problematic) attempts at romance, there wasn’t much to dislike about Geordi La Forge. A brilliant engineer, Geordi could find solutions to almost any engineering problems that arose on the Enterprise, and he successfully kept the ship up and running for years.The fact that Geordi was blind and required a special VISOR to see never slowed him down,and sometimes even proved to be an extra benefit.
Geordi has one of the least developed backstories of anyTNGmain character, and he didn’t get to be the central figure in many episodes. Still,TNGseason 3, episode 7, “The Enemy"remains a highlight and I love the portrayal of Geordi in that episode.He gets to be funny and sarcastic, but also compassionate and humble.I also love the friendship between Geordi and Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), as Geordi never treats the android as anything less than human.
4I Never Met A Q Story I Didn’t Like
John de Lancie As Q
Star Trek: The Next Generationbegan and ended with Q, highlighting how much the character changed throughout the show. In only eight episodes,Q became one ofTNG’smost memorable characters,livening up the screen with every appearance. With his questionable motivations and seemingly infinite powers, Q added an element of chaos to a fairly structured starship.
Patrick Stewart and John de Lancie played off of one another brilliantly, making all of the scenes they shared truly sparkle.
I love the comedic element Q brought toTNGand the ways he interacted with all of the different characters. In his first few appearances, Q felt like an antagonist, but over time,he warmed up to Picard and the Enterprise crew.Q may have been responsible forintroducing the Federation to the Borg, but he also gave Data the gift of laughter. Even as Picard grew more and more exasperated by Q’s schemes, the two became almost friends in a strange way.
3I Love Dr. Beverly Crusher’s Profound Compassion
Gates McFadden As Dr. Beverly Crusher
With her compassionate patient-focused approach to medicine, Dr. Beverly Crusher had a strong sense of morals that sometimes clashed with the rules and regulations of Starfleet.I love that Dr. Crusher was willing to stand up for what she believed in,even when it meant pushing back against Captain Picard. Beverly would put herself in danger if necessary to help others, and she regularly fought for those who couldn’t fight for themselves.
Like Troi, I wish Crusher had gotten stronger individual storylines, but she fared a bit better than the Enterprise Counselor.Crusher was not only a skilled doctor but also a brilliant scientist and a devoted single mother,proving that women should never have to choose between career and family.Beverly and Jean-Luchad one ofTNG’smost interesting relationships, and I would have loved to have seen them become a couple on the show.
One Of Dr. Crusher’s Best TNG Episodes Is A Breakthrough For Women In Star Trek
One of Dr. Crusher’s best and most important Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes celebrated strong women both in front of and behind the camera.
2I Still Believe Captain Picard Is Star Trek’s Best Captain
Patrick Stewart As Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Star Trek: The Next Generationwould not have worked as well as it did withoutPatrick Stewart’s Captain Picardat the helm. Stewart elevated every scene he was in,making Picard an incredibly compelling and likable character.I love that Picard used his intellect and diplomacy skills to navigate difficult situations, only resorting to violence as a last resort. With his strong sense of right and wrong, Picard remains one ofStar Trek’smost morally upstanding characters.
Jean-Luc may have kept himself at arm’s length from his crew, but he cared deeply about everyone on board the Enterprise.Picard always supported his crew members,including fighting for Data’s right to make his own choices in “The Measure of a Man” (with one of my all-time favoriteTrekspeeches) and helping Worf navigate Klingon politics in the “Redemption” two-parter.
1I Can’t Say Enough About My Favorite Trek Character, Data
Brent Spiner As Lt. Commander Data
From the beginning ofTNG,I connected the most with Lt. Commander Data. I found Data’s childlike curiosity and social awkwardness relatable, andI love that the Enterprise crew members never treated him as anything less than.Data’s search for his humanitybecame my favorite throughline ofTNG,and I love how the show explored this journey.Data went out of his way to help the people around him,like learning to dance for the O’Briens' wedding in “Data’s Day” or fighting to save a little girl on a dying planet in “Pen Pals.”
I didn’t love the way theTNGfilmshandled Data’s emotion chip storyline, butStar Trek: Picardseason 3 made up for that by finally allowing Data to achieve a more organic approximation of humanity.
Because Data saw the world through the eyes of a child, he often connected with children, becoming a friend when they needed one.Data could be funny and kind, sentimental and compassionate,making it hard to believe he was ever truly an unfeeling machine. Despite his protests otherwise, I believe that Data was always human in all the ways that mattered and he will always be my favorite character fromStar Trek: The Next Generation.
