History Characters / StarTrekTheNExtGeneration

[[/index]]

* [[Characters/StarTrekTheNextGenerationOtherRecurringCast Other recurring characters]][[note]]Duras, The Duras Sisters, Gowron, Homm, Hugh, Cpt. Edward Jellico, K'Heleyr, K'mpec, Kum, Lore, Gul Madred, Prof. James Moriarty, Alynna Nechayev, Q, Cmd. Sela, Noonian Soong, Ambassador Spock, Cmd. Tomalak, Lwaxana Troi[[/note]]

* [[Characters/StarTrekTheNextGenerationJeanLucPicard Jean-Luc Picard]]
* [[Characters/StarTrekTheNextGenerationMainCharacters Main Cast]][[note]]William Riker, Lt. Cmd. Geordi [=La Forge=], Lt. Natasha "Tasha" Yar, Lt. Cmd. Worf, Dr. Beverly Crusher, Counselor Deanna Troi, Lt. Cmd. Data, Ens. Wesley Crusher, the ''Enterprise''-D[[/note]]

* [[Characters/StarTrekTheNextGenerationMainCharacters Main Cast]][[note]]Cpt. Jean-Luc Picard, Cmd. William Riker, Lt. Cmd. Geordi [=La Forge=], Lt. Natasha "Tasha" Yar, Lt. Cmd. Worf, Dr. Beverly Crusher, Counselor Deanna Troi, Lt. Cmd. Data, Ens. Wesley Crusher, the ''Enterprise''-D[[/note]]

* [[Characters/StarTrekTheNextGenerationRecurringCrew Recurring Crew and Dependents]][[note]]Lt. Reginald Barclay, Guinan, Keiko O'Brien, Transporter Chief Miles O'Brien, Molly O'Brien, Nurse Alyssa Ogawa, Dr. Katherine Pulaski, End. Ro Laren, Alexander Rozhenko[[/note]]

* [[Characters/StarTrekTheNextGenerationOtherRecurringCast Other recurring characters]][[note]]Duras, The Duras Sisters, Gowron, Homm, Hugh, Cpt. Edward Jellico, K'Heleyr, K'mpec, Kum, Lore, Gul Madred, Prof. James Moriarty, Alynna Nechayev, Q, Cmd. Sela, Noonian Soong, Ambassador Spock, Cmd. Tomalak, Lwaxana Troi[[/note]]

[[foldercontrol]]

!Main Cast (in order of billing)

[[folder:Captain Jean-Luc Picard]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/picard_stewart_9637.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/PatrickStewart

->''[[SpotOfTea "Tea. Earl grey. Hot."]]''

The bald [[TheCaptain 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. 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 [[UnderestimatingBadassery fires at his ship]] or disregards an order.

Among his in-series achievements: Jean-Luc invented a starship maneuver, 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 Episode}}s), 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 Cardassians (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.

For tropes applying to him in ''Picard'', see [[Characters/StarTrekPicard here.]]
----
* AcePilot:
** 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 [[HyperspeedAmbush 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.
* AdventurerArchaeologist: Archaeology has long been a hobby of Jean-Luc's since his Academy days. He winds up going on adventures of this type in "Captain's Holiday," "The Chase," and "Gambit."
* AlmightyJanitor: 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 ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact''. 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 Picard’s career to be 'satisfactory,' which is high praise from a Vulcan.
* AmateurSleuth:
** 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 Creator/BasilRathbone 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.
* BadassBoast: "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?
* BadassBaritone: '''COME CHEER UP MY LADS 'TIS TO GLORY WE STEER... ♪'''
* BadassBookworm: Picard is probably the most learned of all ''Trek'' captains. He believes there is no greater challenge than the study of philosophy.
* BadassBureaucrat:
** 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:''' [[BadassBoast 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 Starfleet’s directives, he speaks with great passion to argue for Data's self-awareness, shaming the Federation into breaking new ground.
--->"Starfleet was formed to seek out new life. Well, [[PunctuatedForEmphasis THERE. IT. SITS!]] [beat] Waiting."
* BaldOfAwesome: According to WordOfGod ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXOK-ZVJMaU 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).
* BarBrawl: A pivotal moment in his youth. The incident left him with an artificial heart.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: 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.
* BenevolentBoss: He welcomes suggestions and different ideas from his staff ([[RunningGag apart from Worf, of course]]) without ever losing his authority.
* BoldExplorer: A more subdued version than the original model of Kirk, but still with boldness to spare.
* BreakTheBadass: The Borg nigh-effortlessly kidnap him from the bridge, MindRape him and turn him into one of their own, using the knowledge gained to ''plough'' through the Federation's defenses, 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.
* BritishStuffiness:
** Nominally a Frenchman, but let's not kid ourselves.
** Overt sentimentality is not one of Picard’s 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 [[StiffUpperLip 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.
* BrokenPedestal: 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. Picard’s decision to perform a meld with Sarek in order to allow an important treaty to be concluded is probably the most selfless (and dangerous) thing he ever did on the show.
* ButtMonkey:
** 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...
* CallToAgriculture:
** 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.
* CannotSpitItOut: 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). You’ve got to love Picard’s 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!"
* TheCaptain: 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.
* CatchPhrase:
** "Make it so."
** "Tea, Earl Grey, hot."
** "Come."
** "Engage."
* CharacterTics:
** "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 the feeling of a man watching his dog be hit by a car and an addict jonesing for his fix.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: He was a bit of an asshole in the first season. He wasn't just aloof or professional; he was a short-tempered hardass who hated kids and had little patience for practically anything. Later, he developed into the diplomatic [[FatherToHisMen father to his crew]] that he's remembered as. Picard also briefly carried on Chekov's habit of attributing everything to his home country. This running gag ended quickly, and seems [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness very strange]] in light of the extensive knowledge of history and culture that he displays later on.
* ChildHater:
** A notable {{subversion}}. [[TheCaptain 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 doesn’t like kids because he would have made a good father.
** In "The Bonding", Picard lets out a massive sigh as he realizes 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 Jeremy’s hand and says that nobody is alone on the starship ''Enterprise''.
** In ''Generations'' he enters a LotusEaterMachine and is actually given children of his own who adore him - 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. [[spoiler: He's utterly ''devastated'' when both his brother [[AloofBigBrother Robert]] and Rene are revealed to have died in a fire in ''Generations'']].
** Amusingly, despite his unease with children, it seems that most children [[OneOfTheKids 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.").
* ClosetGeek:
** 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). Geordi’s gift to the captain on the ''Victory'', a giant model sailing ship, is gorgeous.
** He was ''this close'', more than once, to taking up archaeology as his full-time profession.
* CluelessChickMagnet: Picard is clearly embarrassed when alien women find him a smoldering hunk instead of a walking rulebook.
* CoolOldGuy: He's in his 60s during ''The Next Generation''.[[note]]He was born in 2305, per his biography in "Conundrum."[[/note]] People just respect him naturally.
* CoolUncle: His nephew Renee thinks the world of him.
* CosmicPlayThing: 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 hadn’t 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.
* CourtMartialed: 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]]Most navies have a standard court-martial which convenes whenever a ship is lost; this does not presume that the captain is suspected of wrongdoing, but merely that the circumstances surrounding the loss of the ship be made part of the official record. In fact, historically, some officers have been left in disgrace because they were ''denied'' the opportunity to try and clear their names in a court-martial.[[/note]]
* CulturedBadass:
** 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.
* DeadpanSnarker:
** Often and usually at Q's expense. Very deadpan, no smirking. For a moment he decides to go along with Q’s proposal to join the crew and discusses what tasks would be too menial for such an entity.
** "Captain's Log: any time entry is ''[[IronicEcho 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.’
* DefiantToTheEnd:
** '''THERE! ARE! FOUR! LIGHTS!''' [[spoiler: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]].
** '''THE LINE MUST BE DRAWN HERE. THIS FAR, NO FURTHER!''' [[spoiler: crew and friends beg him to sacrifice his ship to the Borg to save the future]]. He gets over it, after an extremely rare, and brief, but intense emotional meltdown.
** 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]''
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: Q and the Borg are frequently on the receiving end of this.
* DistressedDude: In Chain of Command at the hands of the Cardassians and in Best of Both Worlds, where he's captured by the Borg.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: 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 apparently went above and beyond in attacking him. 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 [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine at least one officer]] holding him personally responsible for the slaughter and Admiral Satie using it against him in a KangarooCourt.
* DysfunctionalFamily: 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.
* FacePalm: To [[MemeticMutation memetic]] levels, to the point that Picard is practically the TropeCodifier (and the page image for the trope).
* FantasticRacism: Towards the [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke 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.
* AFatherToHisMen: 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 bureaucrat}}s 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.)
* FormerTeenRebel: Picard confesses he hasn’t 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.
* FutureMeScaresMe: 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 captain’s 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 [[ApocalypticLog won't be recorded for several hours.]]"
* GenerationXerox: 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).
* GentlemanAdventurer: 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.
* GentlemanAndAScholar: He obviously wasn’t 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.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Picard utters the French swear word "merde" on occasion, which means the same as "shit". TNG was produced for mainstream syndication and was considered a family show, and was produced at a time when mainstream TV almost never allowed strong language in its programming, but they got away with "merde" because it wasn't an English swear.
* GondorCallsForAid: 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, [[OutGambitted 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.)
* GoodIsNotNice: 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.
* GotVolunteered: 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.
* HatesSmallTalk: He'll do what he needs to avoid it. A good example is in ''[[DieHardOnAnX 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.
** In the same episode, Worf, a fellow small-talk hater, picks up on Picard's small-talk avoidance strategies and quickly requests to excuse himself from the event they are supposed to attend. Picard, clearly impressed, grants him this request. Geordi tries the same thing and Picard denies him on the grounds that he can't excuse his entire senior staff, telling him, [[ActuallyPrettyFunny "Mr. Worf beat you to it."]]
* HorsebackHeroism: 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.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: He was run through by a long Nausicaan dagger as a cocky ensign, necessitating an artificial heart.
* IWasQuiteTheLooker: Not that Picard isn't handsome now, but he was quite dashing as a young Starfleet ensign thirty years prior, as seen in "Tapestry".
* IWillFightSomeMoreForever:
** 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.
* IdealHero: 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 InsaneAdmiral or Prime Directive.
* InSeriesNickname:
** Q frequently refers to Picard as "''[[GratuitousFrench Mon capitaine]]''" (my captain).
** In "Tapestry", his Starfleet Academy friends called him "Johnny".
* KneelBeforeZod: Q respects the captain but isn't above putting him in a life-or-death situation to remind him who's the boss.
* LargeHam: [[TheCaptain Picard]] and Creator/PatrickStewart have equal levels of ham content, considering that both are Shakespearian actors, but only one is in command of a powerful starship.
* LastOfHisKind: [[spoiler: 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.]]
* LimitedAdvancementOpportunities: [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Kirk]], [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Sisko]], [[Series/StarTrekVoyager Janeway]] and [[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Archer]] were all promoted over the course of their respective series or {{film}}s. [[TheCaptain 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 AlmightyJanitor 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, not blinking at him addressing them by their first names, 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. [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority Especially when he leads them to victory in a few minutes.]]
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: Young Picard's reaction to getting knifed through the heart was to begin ''laughing!'' Even ''Q'' was somewhat disturbed by this.
* MamasBoy: If everybody is seeing what they most desire in "Where No One Has Gone Before", then it is telling that all Picard desires is to sit and have tea with his dead mother again.
* MemeticHandGesture: Besides the FacePalm, there's also the way he points whenever he says "Engage" to get the ''Enterprise'' moving.
* MinoredInAsskicking: Even though he prefers diplomacy and has said more than once that he does ''not'' command a warship, he has proven to be an able battle commander on many occasions. The Picard Maneuver was the source of his initial fame, after all.
** There's a few hints that he's a decent wrestler as well. In "The First Duty", the Starfleet Academy groundskeeper recalls the time where Picard hit "caught a Ligonian with a reverse body lift and pinned him down in the first fourteen seconds of the match."
* MisplacedAccent:
** Creator/PatrickStewart apparently did attempt a French accent when he first tried out for the role, but it sounded too much like [[Franchise/ThePinkPanther Inspector Clouseau]] and no one could take it seriously.
** According to some Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse material, he's actually been speaking French this whole time. We just hear a [[UsefulNotes/BritishAccents British]] accent because that's the way the [[TranslatorMicrobes Universal Translator]] renders European French into English. If he'd been from Quebec or Louisiana we'd hear him talking with some sort of [[UsefulNotes/CanadianAccents North]] [[UsefulNotes/AmericanAccents 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 (having learned it from actual English people).
* MisterBig: A heroic variant. Picard is completely average in both height and build, especially when compared to [[GentleGiant Riker]] and [[TheBigGuy Worf]], but this does not compromise his authority.
* MouthOfSauron: After his abduction and assimilation by the Borg, he was supposed to be the Collective's mouthpiece to the Federation, demanding its surrender and leading the Cube to Earth. To further this, he was given the name Locutus, which is roughly Latin for "speaker".
* MustMakeAmends: First Contact is usually treated as a joke in Trekdom, with the aliens completely misreading the crew's intentions ("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? '''[[BigNever NO!]]'''
* MyGreatestFailure: 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.
* MyRuleFuIsStrongerThanYours: Never try to quote protocol to Picard: you will lose.
* NayTheist:
** 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 TheEmpath sitting next to him, and whose {{Foil}} is an [[TheOmnipotent omnipotent]] [[AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence being from a higher plane of existence]] [[RealityWarper 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.
* NoodleIncident: He did something while he was a cadet that would've gotten him expelled were it not for the intervention of Groundskeeper Boothby. We don't know what it was as Boothby [[ThinkNothingOfIt brushes off Picard's thanks]].
* NotAfraidToDie: 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 [[BadassBoast fight to the death]], even though it would mean the destruction of ''[[TakingYouWithMe both]]'' their vessels.
* NotHimself: Riker goes on high alert when Picard kicks up his feet in his Ready Room or starts leading a sea shanty in Ten Forward. Our Jean-Luc is ''never'' this relaxed.
* NotSoAboveItAll:
** Does ''everything'' in his power to get Lwaxana Troi out of his hair, including going to Warp 9 just so she'll be off the ship faster.
** His Dixon Hill program contrasts with the cultured image he likes to present of himself -- a place where he can brawl with hoods and be snogged by dames of dubious morals. Not unlike the things he liked in his younger years, if "Tapestry" is any guide.
** He has a nose for alcohol and, when times are appropriate, appreciates a good drink. Makes sense, given he spent his childhood on the family vineyard and his brother still runs it.
*** Considering the Federation prefers Synthehol (replicated alcohol with the deleterious effects removed), Picard might be one of the few people on the ''Enterprise-D'' with a proper drinking tolerance. He has no problem trading shots with Scotty using real whiskey. In fact, he brought it on board in the first place!
* OfficerAndAGentleman: He's an aficionado of archaeology, Shakespeare, fine wine, good tea, and [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers pulp detective fiction]].
* OhCrap: ''Merde''.
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Picard is supposed to be French, but Patrick Stewart, an English actor, very rarely if ever actually uses a French accent. Pretty much the only time you hear it is when Picard speaks French.
* ParentalSubstitute: To Wesley.
* PatrickStewartSpeech: His actor is the TropeNamer.
* PrecisionFStrike: On a couple of occasions, Picard has uttered the word "merde" on screen; this is the French word for "shit".
* PrideBeforeAFall: It's Picard’s hubris that they are ready to encounter anything that comes their way that encourages Q into providing him with a lesson to prove to him otherwise. Picard doesn’t heed Guinan’s warnings and heads off to explore this region of space (actually Borg Space) anyway. 18 crewmembers died to teach him a lesson.
* PsychoElectro: A lost entity takes possession of Picard's mind in "Lonely Among Us", shooting electricity through the helm controls and incapacitating the whole crew.
* TheReliableOne: Even among his enemies, Picard is known for his dependability and honor. No less a figure than the Chancellor of the Klingon Empire assigned this random human to be mediator over the procedure that would determine his successor, solely because he trusted Picard more than anyone else despite only having met him once.
* SheatheYourSword:
** 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 of whether or not he survives Liko's arrow.
* SlapSlapKiss: 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.
* TheStoic: 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. Spock himself finds Picard to be "remarkably analytical and dispassionate, for a human."
* SufficientlyAdvancedAliens: ''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 didn’t 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 isn’t that different, talking of ships and phasers as better huts and better bows, but it doesn't really translate.
* SuperHearing: In his backstory, he once suffered from a form of hyperacusis. Even though it was treated, he still has highly acute hearing by human standards.
* TechnicalPacifist: Picard initially rejected the war games sim in "Peak Performance" 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.
* TookALevelInBadass: 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"
* TookALevelInKindness:
** He exhibits some pretty unusual behavior in the pilot. He doesn’t 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 didn’t 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.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Tea. Earl Gray. Hot.
* TranquilFury: How he often shows his anger.
* UnresolvedSexualTension: Picard has this with Beverly Crusher, by choice. Might be caused by DeathOfTheHypotenuse, 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.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Commander William Riker]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/riker_frakes_8603.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/JonathanFrakes

->'''Riker:''' (''after Q gives him two attractive women'') I don't need your fantasy women!\\
'''Q:''' Oh, you're so stolid! [[LampshadeHanging You weren't like that]] [[GrowingTheBeard before the beard!]]

The quintessential NumberTwo (or One). Started life as an {{expy}} of Kirk: a womanizing, cocksure space ace. With the [[GrowingTheBeard 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 Episode}}s 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.
----
* TheAce: 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".
* AcePilot:
** 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.
** In "Chains of Command", Capt. Jellico confers with Geordi about a dangerous mission he needs flown. Geordi says he can do it, but if Jellico wants a hundred percent certainty, then Riker should be in the driver's seat. Jellico and Riker have been butting heads up until this point, but this assessment makes him swallow his pride and request Riker for the mission.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: The Outrageous Okona, of course. Fancy Riker being shown up by another rugged sailor.[[note]]Bill Campbell, who played Okona, was also in the running to play Riker before Frakes won the role hence the similarities.[[/note]]
* AnchoredShip: Though he dumped Troi a few years before the pilot, Riker is still pining after his ''imzadi'', grilling her potential boyfriends 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.
* ArchnemesisDad: Kyle Riker hasn’t 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 son’s 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.
* BadassBeard: Specifically for [[TropeNamer naming]] GrowingTheBeard. Also a case of ThrowItIn. 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 Creator/GeneRoddenberry requested he keep it.
* TheBigGuy: 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.
* BoldExplorer: Sharing this role with Picard, Riker was closer to the classic model as seen in the original series.
* BoldlyComing:
** He has a habit of quickly falling for women from different planets, which occasionally gets the ''Enterprise'' in trouble.
** When two Klingon women make a pass at him, he gets asked if he could "endure" a Klingon woman, and he replies ‘one or both?’ That's the correct response.
** The outrageous "flirting" scene between Riker and Guinan ("The Dauphin"), intended to school Wesley on the finer points of love. Guinan barks "[[MomentKiller shut up kid]]" to Wes as she luxuriates in Riker’s pickup lines.
** When Riker hears that Betazoid women's sex drive quadruples in middle age, he looks delighted. He picked the right species to later marry!
* CaptainMorganPose: Just look at his picture. Used for practical reasons, since he is significantly taller than his castmates. The former [[RikerPose trope namer]].
* CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough: 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.
* CarpetOfVirility : As shown in the first-season episode "Angel One."
* CharacterTic: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVIGhYMwRgs 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 [[CaptainMorganPose his tendency to lean on table and consoles]], also due to how tall Creator/JonathanFrakes is, since it helps him stay in frame.
** According to Frakes more recently, the affectation was a pure character bit, driven by his desire to have a physical mannerism that stood out among the crew. With his extra height and leg length, it was just as easy to swing his leg over a chair as it was to pull it out and sit in it. Likely, the truth is a bit of both.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In the pilot, it's stated that he wants to be captain of the ''Enterprise'' more than anything else. He would frequently decline promotion opportunities.
* ChivalrousPervert: Although he does seem to sleep around a lot, Riker is quite respectful of women and even goes into actual romance now and again.
* CommanderContrarian: Sometimes, and that's because it's his job to point out when his captain may be wrong. The fact that he did just that on the ''Hood'' is why Picard chose him to be Number One.
* DeadpanSnarker: 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.
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: '''Shields up, Red Alert!''' What they keep forgetting to tell Riker is that going to Red Alert raises the shields automatically.
* DirtyBusiness: To have Riker act as the prosecutor against Data in "Measure of a Man" is a dilemma 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.
* DisappearedDad: "The Icarus Factor" reveals that Riker feels bitter resentment to his father for not being around after the [[MissingMom death of Riker's mother]]. Until that episode, they'd neither seen nor spoken to each other in nearly 15 years.
* {{Deuteragonist}}: Initially. Later [[SpotlightStealingSquad eclipsed by Data]].
* DrunkWithPower: 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 Wesley’s life and turns him into a beefcake, has a sexually rampant Klingon woman ravaging Worf (in the workplace), fixes Geordi’s eyesight and threatens to turn Data into a human. But Data's response sobers him up, and he acknowledges that he's been acting like a fool - though he does bristle just a bit when Picard bluntly affirms it.
* EthicalSlut: Riker has a ''lot'' of romantic relationships, including frequent flings with women on Risa, and tends to respond quite openly to invitations by women, [[FriendsWithBenefits 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 immediately 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.
* Expy: To Captain Kirk, with his way with [[BoldlyComing (alien)]] women and his reputation as TheAce.
* TheGambler: He relies on traditional tactics "only 21% of the time." In poker games, he's usually the one cleaning house.
-->'''Crusher:''' (''throws in her cards'') Take it.\\
'''Riker:''' Any time, Doctor.\\
'''[=LaForge=]:''' Four hands in a row. How does he do it?\\
'''Riker:''' I cheat. (''{{beat}} as everyone looks at each other'') I'm ''kidding''.
** As Frakes himself pointed out, this is all the more impressive considering Riker's usual opponents include an android who can remember every card in the deck, his empathic ex-girlfriend and a guy who can possibly see through the cards.
* GentleGiant: In "A Matter of Honor," 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 no qualms about beating up the Klingon 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.
* GuileHero:
** 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 Honor" 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 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, when his plan to capture Locutus succeeds.
** Taken UpToEleven 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 three ships, each of which is a match for the ''Enterprise'': Destroying his own warp core to stop a WaveMotionGun's attack, sucking up explosive gas and spitting it out in front of two enemy ships to make them blow themselves up, and flying at the third on a collision course and juking at the last second to land some point-blank shots to disable it.
* HonorBeforeReason: 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.
* IllBeInMyBunk: Or more specifically, [[MemeticMutation "I'll be in holodeck four!"]]
* ItRunsInTheFamily: Dr. Pulaski would have married Kyle Riker in a heartbeat, but it seems he had other priorities. Something to do with his career.
* {{Jerkass}}: Occasionally invoked. He's capable of putting up an exceptionally cruel front 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. He's basically a really nice guy.
* TheKirk: 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.
* LargeAndInCharge: 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.''
* LethalChef: Only Worf likes his cooking, which is pretty bad. He's no Ben Sisko, that's for sure (although, in fairness, the problem could have been the weird alien eggs he was cooking the one time we see him do it).
* LimitedAdvancementOpportunities:
** 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 [[labelnote:*]]and because StatusQuoIsGod[[/labelnote]].
** 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, [[Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier especially since]] [[Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry there's already precedence]] for it. And after ''saving the Federation'', he really deserved to keep that extra pip.) He finally accepts a promotion in ''[[Film/StarTrekNemesis 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 [[TheLancer 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 LimitedAdvancementOpportunities to Data and other officers beneath him [[note]] This is true in real life militaries; it's known as the "up or out" system. It is a process designed to promote a steady stream of officers to ever-higher ranks as merited, while filtering out those who don't match up, in order to ensure that the top officers reach the top ranks and that those same officers don't linger to impede the upward mobility of those coming up behind them. In a real life system, if Riker hadn't been promoted to captain after X number of years, he'd have been retired to free up his billet for someone who can[[/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.
* MarriedToTheJob: 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!
* MeaningfulName: 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.
* MilitaryMaverick: 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.
* MissingMom: 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.
* MyGreatestFailure: 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. It's implied his mistake on the ''Pegasus'' is why he was more willing to stand up to his superior officers in later assignments.
* RagingStiffie: "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.
* ReallyGetsAround: No one is immune to his charms.
* RunningGag: 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?!
* SecretTestOfCharacter:
** 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 Riker’s 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.
* TheatricsOfPain: Bravo to Jonathan Frakes who demonstrates how a ''true'' action hero should fall when he is struck by a Ferengi whip. Theatrical doesn’t cover it.
* WhatAPieceOfJunk: Riker’s delighted face at the activation of the decrepit Bridge of the ''Hathaway'' (‘It's 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.
* WhatTheHellHero: 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 WronglyAccused by people doing the same to him. He gets called out on it more than once.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/laforge_burton_2264.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/{{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 [[Film/StarTrekFirstContact Zefram Cochrane]] [[HilariousInHindsight engage the first warp drive!]]''"

Engineering whiz and all-around NiceGuy. 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 [[ScottyTime 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.
----
* AcePilot: In Season 1 before being promoted to Chief Engineer.
* AllLoveIsUnrequited: 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 MasochismTango). His relationship with the holographic Leah Brahms, the ship's designer, evokes this.
* AuraVision: 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 ''[[HumanityEnsues Metamorphosis]]'', Geordi describes organic beings as having a shifting aura around them. Data's more machine nature has his aura look like a [[HolyHalo halo]]. When Data [[spoiler: becomes human]], Geordi observes that he's "lost his halo".
* BewareTheNiceOnes: One of the nicest characters on the show, but in "The Next Phase" he still [[AndIMustScream shoved an armed Romulan agent into the vacuum of space]] to save Ro.
* BlackAndNerdy: Just like [=LeVar=] Burton.
* BlindBlackGuy: This is the most immediately noticeable part of his character.
* BlindWithoutEm: Literally. There are a few episodes in which his [=VISOR=] is lost or stolen.
* ButtMonkey: Geordi gets pwned nearly as much as Worf (suffering from TheWorfEffect). 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 ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'', which may or may not have led him to go get cybernetic replacements by ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact''.). 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 "The Mind's Eye", he's heading on his merry way to Risa for some rest, relaxation and poontang. He gets kidnapped by Romulans and gets a MindRape from them.
* DeadpanSnarker: More deadpan than snark.
* DisabilitySuperpower: 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.
* ElectronicEyes: In the movies, as of ''[[Film/StarTrekFirstContact First Contact]]''.
** An example of RealLifeWritesThePlot, as the VISOR prop was literally clamped onto Burton's temples. The appliance led to Burton having horrific headaches at the end of a day of shooting.
* TheEngineer: ''Chief'' Engineer, after his promotion early in the series.
* GadgeteerGenius
* GogglesDoSomethingUnusual: His VISOR allows him to "see" a lot of things that normal eyes can't. There are several times where the ''Enterprise'' comes up against something weird, and Picard orders LaForge to go look out the nearest window and report what he sees.
* GoneHorriblyRight: In "Elementary, Dear Data", 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.
* HandicappedBadass: 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.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Data.
* KlingonPromotion: Come Season 2, 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.
* LivingLieDetector: Thanks to his VISOR, he can detect subtle shifts in people's bio-signs (at least, with humans) that let him tell if they're lying. Makes Riker's ability to bluff at cards all the more impressive.
* LovingAShadow: Geordi gravitates towards this. In "Booby Trap," he fell in love with a holographic recreation of Dr. Leah Brahms, the architect of the ''Enterprise-D'', a romance which collided with reality once the ''real'' Leah turned up in "Galaxy's Child". In a later episode, "Aquiel," he becomes smitten with the eponymous (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.
* MilitaryBrat: Both parents were in Starfleet.
* MrFixit: 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)
* NiceGuy: Quite probably the nicest and most easy-going guy in the whole future. An android who is literally incapable of feeling affection for anyone or anything considers this guy his best friend. A Borg drone was turned away from the collective after a day of conversation with him, and when re-encountered, his first instinct was to ask if his old friend Geordi was alright. That's how likable Geordi is.
* {{Technobabble}}: Far from the only source of it in the show, but he could well be the poster boy for this trope.
* TheProfessor
* TheSmartGuy: The most likely cast member to {{Technobabble}} a solution to the problem of the week.
* ThrowingOffTheDisability: His eyes and vision were completely regenerated in ''[[Film/StarTrekInsurrection 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 [[DealWithTheDevil 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.
* TranslatorBuddy: For Data.
* TwoferTokenMinority: African and blind.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lieutenant Natasha "Tasha" Yar]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yar_crosby_4897.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/DeniseCrosby

->'''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 ActionGirl with a dark past, the show still [[GrowingTheBeard lacked its beard of quality]], meaning she would regularly get hamstrung by the MonsterOfTheWeek. 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 [[HeroicSacrifice meaningful death]].
----
* AttackAttackAttack: She suggests the (impractical and provocative) plan of blasting their way free of any situation.
* BackForTheDead: 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 HeroicSacrifice with the crew of the ''Enterprise-C''.
* BackForTheFinale: When Picard flashes back to the Farpoint mission.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Tasha is actually a sweet person to her comrades. But she is all business when it comes to doing her job. Her hotheadedness actually didn't last long beyond the first few episodes; this possibly being a vestige of when her character was originally written as a [[Film/{{Aliens}} Vasquez expy]]. After this, she was typically affable and soft spoken. All of the hotheadedness was probably transferred to Worf in order to avoid character trait redundancy.
* BridgeBunny: To Denise Crosby's displeasure.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In "Encounter at Farpoint", Tasha Yar loses her temper and essentially goes into a tirade against the illusionary postapocalyptic courtroom. This may be a carryover from The SeriesBible where her character was originally called Macha Hernandez and was essentially meant to be an {{expy}} of Vasquez from ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' (whom the series bible specifically refers to), in that she was fiery and feisty. This was evidently forgotten immediately when the producers realized that a characterization based on a SpaceMarine was not exactly compatible with the non-violent, MildlyMilitary vision of Creator/GeneRoddenberry's future. After this, Tasha was regularly shown to be somewhat mild mannered but still capable and independent.
* {{Chickification}}: Just what the new Security Chief needed to put her stamp on this ship: a virus that makes you [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl permanently blitzed!]] Hopefully this was the only instance when Tasha’s sexual throes were blasted across the Bridge intercom.
* CosmicPlaything: [[spoiler:Even an alternate-universe version of Tasha can't seem to avoid dying tragically and pointlessly.]]
* DamselInDistress: 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 crewmates are the least useful.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: 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.
* DeadAlternateCounterpart: 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.
* DroppedABridgeOnHer: Infamously so, killed off by a random one-shot MonsterOfTheWeek in as abrupt a manner as would usually fit a RedShirt.
* FailedASpotCheck: This woman is a liability. In "Justice", she mentions that she has catalogued 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. ''"It’s a kind of syringe..."'' Tasha informs Riker, a little too late.
* {{Fanservice}}: Drunk Tasha wandering the ship with a SexyWalk; her "blitzed" voice is very seductive.
** She later seduces Data, after changing into a revealing BedlahBabe outfit.
* FauxActionGirl: 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 [[DesignatedGirlFight against other female characters]]. This was generally understood [[TheEighties at the time]] as [[ExecutiveMeddling the production]] practicing the DoubleStandard of [[WouldntHitAGirl not letting male characters beat on female characters]] on-screen. This (and the desire not to be pigeon-holed as just another BridgeBunny) was one of the biggest reasons Denise Crosby wanted to leave the show. Fortunately, Tasha's SpiritualSuccessor Ensign Ro Laren (who actually replaced ''[[CreatorsPet Wesley]]'''s position on the ship) proved to be an ActionGirl who was anything but Faux.
* HotBlooded: 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. (''"She’s frozen!"'' -- Good catch, Troi.)
* InformedAttractiveness: While Denise Crosby isn't ''unattractive'' per se, the reactions to Tasha's looks (Geordi comments on her beauty, and multiple humanoid aliens - like the Ligonian ruler and a Romulan general - try to make her their concubine) seem to be a bit... excessive. Though to be fair, Geordi is seeing ''anyone'' for the first time (Riker had just used the powers of the Q to restore his sight) when he comments on Tasha's appearance, and the Ligonian ruler is as interested in her formidable strength and fighting prowess as anything else.
* InSeriesNickname: Tasha.
* KilledOffForReal: In the first season episode [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E22SkinOfEvil "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 ''Franchise/StarTrek'', 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.
* LeeroyJenkins: Tasha needs to calm down a bit: one of Lutan’s guards tries to hand a vaccine to Picard and she beats the crap out of him!
* TheLadette: Often participated in competitive/athletic activities.
* TheOneWhoMadeItOut: Unlike her sister, who appears later to manipulate the crew when they visit her homeworld.
* RapeAsBackstory: Implied. She mentions that she spent most of her childhood dodging Rape-Gangs.
* SacrificialLion
* SexSlave: Tragically, she wound up being forced into this position by a Romulan general in order to save the lives of her fellow prisoners of war.
* ShipTease: Besides Data, Tasha seemed to share feelings with Geordi and Worf, as well.
* ThatDidntHappen: 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.")
* TimeyWimeyBall: As of "Yesterday's Enterprise".
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: The tomboy to Troi's girly girl.
* VasquezAlwaysDies: 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, [[FollowTheLeader she was originally modeled directly after Vasquez]], originally being called "[[CaptainErsatz 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.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: It would have been interesting to see how the character was handled once the show runners got their act together.
* TheWorfEffect: How [[SacrificialLion Tasha]] died. This was one of the earlier examples of [[TheWorfEffect the trope]] on [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration the series]], even before [[TropeNamer Worf himself]] replaced [[SacrificialLion Tasha]] as the chief security officer.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lieutenant (later Lieutenant Commander) Worf]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/worf_dorn_204.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/MichaelDorn

->"''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 CharacterDevelopment, 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 ([[TheWorfEffect a lot]]), broke his spine (luckily he had a spare), got married to Troi (in an alternate dimension), crossed over to ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'', was promoted to Commander, got married again, and eventually cleared his name (finally) and became a Klingon ambassador.
----
* AffectionateNickname: Q calls him "Micro-brain."
* AscendedExtra: Worf’s around to add a little color in the pilot, but doesn’t really contribute a great deal besides grunts... yet.
* BadassBaritone: Creator/MichaelDorn's voice has actually gotten ''deeper'' thanks to playing Worf for so long.
* BadLiar: 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.
* TheBigGuy:
** A big, badass Klingon security chief who mans the phasers. That is, when he wasn't getting chumped to prove how tough the MonsterOfTheWeek was.
** "Where am I going to get the Opti-cable?" someone whines in "Peak Performance". Worf reaches up and tears some out of the wall.
* BigScrewedUpFamily: Website/SFDebris puts it best: ("The Bonding")
-->'''Jeremy:''' Your parents?\\
'''Worf:''' No, [[DeceasedParentsAreTheBest they're dead]].\\
'''Jeremy:''' Your wife?\\
'''Worf:''' First or second? ...Oh, nevermind, [[TheLostLenore they're both dead.]]\\
'''Jeremy:''' Your brother?\\
'''Worf:''' He's ''not'' dead. But only because [[CainAndAbel they stopped me from killing him]].\\
'''Jeremy:''' HUH??\\
'''Worf:''' It was for his own good.\\
'''Jeremy:''' Any children?\\
'''Worf:''' [[IHaveNoSon Only the son who shames me]].
* BirdsOfAFeather: He and Data bond over the fact they are both "outsiders" among their human co-workers.
* BirthdayHater: 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.
* BizarreAlienBiology: 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.
* BizarreTasteInFood: Crossed with AlienLunch, Worf has a ''very'' strange palette probably owed to Klingons not actually ''cooking'' their meals. A recurring gag is Worf's eating habits bringing about total bafflement to his friends. His own mother learned to cook Klingon blood pie but admitted she "never learned how to ''eat'' it." When he asks her to cook some when she comes to visit, she can barely hide her horror.
* BornInTheWrongCentury: Because they made love, Worf considers he and K’Ehleyr 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.
* BrutalHonesty: 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.
* ButtMonkey: There's a reason why there's a trope called TheWorfEffect.
* TheComicallySerious: 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. However, it gets {{Deconstructed}}.
* CultureBlind: Averted. [[TheBigGuy 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 (Creator/GilbertAndSullivan, 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.
** His isolation from growing up on a Klingon world has made him from a Klingon perspective extremely antisocial.
--->'''Worf:''' Klingons do not laugh.\\
'''Guinan:''' Oh, yes, they do. Absolutely they do. You don't. But I've heard Klingon belly laughs that'd curl your hair. Your son laughs. He's Klingon.\\
'''Worf:''' He is a child and part human!\\
'''Guinan:''' That's right. And you're not; you're a full Klingon, except... you don't laugh.
* CultureClash[=/=]DeliberateValuesDissonance: The biggest source of this during the series' height, with Ro's coming a distant second. For example, his rushing off the ''Enterprise'' to murder Duras for killing his mate is viewed as justified by the Klingon Empire, and even a non-issue (this while Worf was still "discommendated"), but Picard tells him despite the fact it's not a diplomatic incident in any way and that Worf was following the rules of his culture, he's ''still'' a Starfleet commissioned officer and it ''will'' be a black mark on his service, even if not on the record.
* CulturedBadass: He loves his Klingon Opera and love poetry.
* DeadpanSnarker: It's not overt, but [[TheBigGuy Worf]] gets a bunch of really great snarks out over the course of the series (they acquired the nickname "Worfisms"). Michael Dorn's incredibly dry delivery is a big part of it.
-->'''Q:''' I have no powers! What must I do to convince you of that?\\
'''Worf:''' ''[matter-of-factly]'' Die.
* DecompositeCharacter: Data and Worf share Spock's persona from TOS. Worf takes Spock's token alien who's sometimes torn between his loyalties to his Federation comrades and his own people.
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: When he serves alongside his brother in the Klingon Civil War. Worf has been trained to regard war as SeriousBusiness. Kurn is a BloodKnight 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 [[PuppetKing 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.
* DeliveryGuy: 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!
** [[BrickJoke 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.
* {{Determinator}}: Say what you will about Worf, but the man ''does not give up''. Best exemplified on ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''.
-->'''Jem'hadar First:''' I yield. [[WorthyOpponent I cannot defeat this Klingon. All I can do is kill him, and that no longer holds my interest.]]
* DisappearedDad: Both his dad and his [[MissingMom mom]] were killed in the massacre at Khitomer when Worf was six.
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Worf isn't actually a bad guy, but he is an example of GoodIsNotNice. He is, however, softer around his adoptive parents.
* FantasticRacism: Worf completely ''loathes'' the Romulans, chiefly because the Kittomer Incident discommendated his family thanks to their mechanations with a Klingon traitor. 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.
* FishOutOfWater: 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.
* FishOutOfTemporalWater: More comedy as Worf fails to summon the ‘turbolift’ or answer the telephone in "The Royale" (his gruff "'''HELLO!'''" is precious).
* GoodOldWays: 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.
* GrumpyBear: 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 is a little "me" time.
-->"With all due respect... '''BEGONE!''' Sir."
* HappilyAdopted: He and his parents are as close as if he was their own Human child.
* HasAType: his son's mother was a Klingon/Human hybrid with a smart mouth and was the Federation ambassador to the Klingon Empire. His later wife Jadzia was a Trill whose previous host was also the Federation ambassador to the Klingons (possibly K'Ehleyr's immediate predecessor?). She adopted Klingon ways of living so much she might as well be a reverse hybrid - with a smart mouth.
* HatesSmallTalk:
** 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.
* HenpeckedHusband: The ladies in Worf's life exist to torment him. For his own good, it seems. K'Ehleyr 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. Jadzia Dax flat-out admitted that she likes to troll Worf and didn't require encouragement from O'Brien in that department.
* HonorBeforeReason: ''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 WorthIt, no matter how high the cost. Unfortunately, his brother Kurn suffers for this even more than Worf does.
** Website/SFDebris did [[https://sfdebris.com/videos/startrek/yt_worfandklingonhonor.php an extensive analysis of Worf's code of honor]] and deconstructed why he is so different from the majority of other Klingons in the franchise- namely, he was raised knowing that Klingons were supposed to be "honorable" and strove to be so himself, but since he was raised by humans his interpretation of honour was closer to what we would call "chivalry" than the Klingons' obsession with their standing and public face.
* IAmXSonOfY: "I am Worf, son of Mogh!!"
* IdenticalGrandson: Creator/MichaelDorn was already a regular as Lieutenant Worf for four seasons on ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' when he made a minor appearance in ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry'', where he played a Klingon defense attorney who makes a futile attempt to argue on Captain Kirk's behalf during his mock trial in Klingon captivity. The defense attorney's name? Colonel Worf. Naturally, the Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse confirms that Worf is Colonel Worf's grandson (that's right, the father of Worf, son of Mogh, is named Mogh, son of Worf) and was named after him.
* IgnoredExpert: 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...
* InterspeciesRomance: Earth females are [[ManOfSteelWomanOfKleenex 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.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's not one for small talk, is [[BrutalHonesty 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.
* LargeAndInCharge: Commander of the Enterprise's security department and at 6'4" the only character to equal Commander Riker in height.
* LeeroyJenkins:
** His CatchPhrase is "It is a good day to die". Succinct and to the point.
** 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 Federation’s decisive victory over the Klingons.
** '''FOR BATTLE COME TO ME!!''' cries Worf.
** 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.
* LoserSonOfLoserDad:
** 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.
* MissingMom: We hear loads about his biological father, the famed Mogh. But his biological mother barely even gets a mention. Not even receiving a name.
* MommasBoy: 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.
* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong: 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.
* MyGreatestFailure: 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.
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: 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.
* NobodyCallsMeChicken: Calling this proud Klingon a coward is a good way to commit suicide. It's a sign of just how nuts Picard is getting in ''First Contact'' when he does it, prompting a very calm yet ''very'' angry response from Worf.
-->'''Worf:''' If you were any other man I would '''''kill you''''' where you stand.
* OddFriendship: He's fairly close friends with Riker [[note]] in ''Ethics'', after Worf is paralyzed, Riker is who he asks for help in performing the Hegh'bat (a Klingon suicide ritual), and in one of the alternate realities shown in ''Parallels'' where Riker is captain of the Enterprise, Worf is his [[NumberTwo First Officer]] [[/note]], despite Will's amiable personality contrasting with Worf's stoic one. As a result, Riker enjoys taking the piss out of Worf at times.
** You'd ''think'' his friendship with Data would be odd, but both are socially awkward (due to Worf keeping his emotions in check and Data...well, having none) and have a hard time relating to humans, so why ''wouldn't'' they be friends?
-->'''Data:''' Did I say something wrong?
-->'''Worf:''' I don't understand their humor, either.
* OfferedTheCrown: 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 KlingonPromotion, but immediately abdicates for Martok, whom Worf believes is the most competent leader the Klingon Empire could have.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: In his own words, "I am a warrior! I must show you my heart!"
* RaisedByOrcs: Inversion -- [[OrcRaisedByElves a Klingon raised by humans]]. In a fairly effective {{Deconstruction}} of [[RaisedByOrcs the trope]], [[TheBigGuy 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, [[TheBigGuy 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 HonorBeforeReason decisions by [[TheBigGuy Worf]], as well as a lot of CultureClash 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.
* RealMenCanCook: He bakes Wesley a Tarvokian pound cake to celebrate his visit to back to the ship in "The Game."
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge:
** 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. By causing a star to go nova.
* RussianGuySuffersMost: [[TheBigGuy Worf]], whose suffering put name to {{the Worf Effect}}, was raised by Russians. Well, Belarusians,[[note]]Most likely; they're from Minsk (the capital of Belarus), and while that doesn't prove anything on its own (plenty of ethnic Russians in Minsk), the family surname is characteristically Belarusian (or Ukrainian, but probably Belarusian).[[/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) [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp Belarus was still part of the USSR when the episode introducing his parents was written and aired]].
* SailorsPonytail: After years of wearing a bob cut, Worf would start wearing his hair this way in season six's "Face of the Enemy", and would stay this way for the rest of the franchise. When undone, it turns into a SlipknotPonytail.
* SoreLoser: 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 doesn’t get to a certain stage in the game with Kolrami because [[ShameIfSomethingHappened he has wagered on him]].
* TheStoic: Most of the time -- that is, unlike most Klingons. This was explained in ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine 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 UnstoppableRage. This was showcased quite heavily in "Heart of Glory", TNG's first Klingon-centric episode.
* StopHavingFunGuy:
** 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 Okona’s unending line of sexual conquests throughout the ship.
* StrawCharacter:
** 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 helps make it credible.
** Worf is all in favor of aborting an baby with no regard for Troi’s 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.
* TokenHeroicOrc: At the very start. This was the first time a Klingon was seen in an outright heroic role; in [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries TOS]] they were EnemyMine at best.
* TokenMinority: Similar to Spock's role in the Original Series, Worf is an alien crewmember of partial human upbringing (in Worf's case, he is Klingon by birth, but was adopted and raised by humans after his parents were killed). He isn't the only alien/non-human onboard, mind you, since we also have Troi and Data among the crew. But the fact that Deanna is a HalfHumanHybrid, and Data is an android designed to resemble and mimic humans makes Worf stand out like a sore thumb.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Klingon Blood Wine. He later develops a taste for prune juice once Guinan introduces him to it, declaring it to be a "warrior's drink." Apparently the two beverages taste somewhat similar, and the Federation eventually starts exporting prune juice to the Klingon Empire in large amounts.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: A BarBrawl ensues when some Klingon warriors visiting ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' decide to pick on Worf for his unlikely order of prune juice[[note]]A warrior's drink![[/note]]. Worf manages to use the ConservationOfNinjitsu to ''invoke'' TheWorfEffect for a change by handily mopping the floor with them.
* WeaksauceWeakness: He's apparently allergic to cats.
* WellDoneSonGuy: Wait a minute, are there ''any'' proud fathers in the Trek universe? Ironically, his adoptive father, Sergei, is extremely proud of Worf's accomplishments.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Fighting Borg? No problem. Going for a space walk? Suddenly Worf looks like he's rather be ''anywhere'' else.
* WomenPreferStrongMen: Worf 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 [[TheWorfEffect 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.
* TheWorfEffect: The TropeNamer. 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.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: For a while, Worf was disgraced and exiled from Klingon space. ''Twice''.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: As a race of warriors, Klingons age more rapidly than humans, to become battle ready more easily. Michael Dorn was thirty-five-years-old when he first started playing Worf, but the character was only twenty-four in the pilot episode. It's possible some mature-looking Klingons seen in the past were actually in the early prime of life, at least for their species.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Doctor (Commander) Beverly Crusher]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crusher_gates_4315.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/GatesMcFadden

->"''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 2 for a failed attempt at a [[TheMcCoy 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.
----
* ActionMom: 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.''
* AlmightyJanitor: She served as head of Starfleet Medical while [[PutOnABus on the Bus]]. That's a pretty impressive job for someone who only holds the rank of commander. Then again, this is [[MildlyMilitary Starfleet]] and being the chief surgeon of the Federation flagship wouldn't hurt her resume.
* AwesomeMcCoolName: 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 NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast.
* TheCastShowOff: 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.
* CombatMedic: One of the more prominent examples among ''[[Franchise/StarTrek 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.
* ADayInTheLimelight: "Suspicions", "Sub Rosa" and "Remember Me".
* DeadpanSnarker: 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.
* DoctorsOrders: Comes with the territory.
* DullSurprise: 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.
* EmbarrassingNickname: "The Dancing Doctor" (due to having won several awards for tap and jazz dance before being posted to the ''Enterprise-D'').
* (Re-) EstablishingCharacterMoment: About one half of the way through Season 3, after her actress returned and got better plots written for her; in the teaser of one episode, she is sitting with Worf and Data in a cafe on a planet-of-the-week that is experiencing domestic terrorism because of a conflict between the planetary government and a minority separatist group. The Ansata [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters rebels/terrorists]] detonate a bomb near the cafe, and several civilians are injured. Dr. Crusher leaps into the fray to provide medical aid, with Worf and Data urging her to be more cautious. It's a great character moment for Beverly Crusher. While Crusher is tending to the wounded, Data insists that "It would be prudent to return to the ship" and then states [[{{Planetville}} "This planet has its own physicians."]] Dr. Crusher simply replies, [[ZigZaggingTrope "They're not here. I am,"]] and continues doctoring. When Picard and Riker call down from the bridge to confirm if they should beam Dr. Crusher up, and get the report from the other members of the landing party, they both decide it's in their best interests ''not'' to beam Crusher away from a patient because neither of them are willing to confront her afterward in the transporter room. Dr. Crusher tends to do this kind of thing a lot, but this might be the classic example of her threatening moral shame against ''Jean-Luc Picard of all people'' to get her way when it comes to medical ethics or social justice.
* FieryRedhead: Although she has yet to approach the levels of this seen in, say, [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Kira Nerys]], [[FieryRedhead 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.
* FlorenceNightingaleEffect: 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.
* MamaBear: Her reaction when Lore threatens to kill [[CreatorsPet Wesley]] in "Datalore".
* TheMcCoy: 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.
%%* TheMedic: A particularly dedicated one!
* MyBelovedSmother: Wesley suggests his mother is stunting his emotional growth.
* NoBadassToHisValet: 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.
* NoodleIncident: Whatever happened on Arvada III when she lived there with her Nana.
* PutOnABus: Dr. Crusher had gone back to Earth to teach medicine, and in her place comes the walking attitude problem that is Dr. Pulaski.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: 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 transferred back to the ship. They even made her absence a b-plot in her first episode back, the season 3 premiere "Evolution."
* SatelliteCharacter: 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.
* SoapboxSadie: Aboard the ''Enterprise'', she's the loudest proponent for social justice. Just listen to her on "Symbiosis"
-->'''Crusher''': This isn't a symbiotic relationship. ''This is '''exploitation!'''''.
* UnresolvedSexualTension: With Picard. Ironically, even though it's ''Picard'' who has hang-ups about a romantic relationship, she shoots him down when he asks. They [[spoiler:get over themselves in the novels]].
* WomenAreWiser: Crusher is the one person on the ship who can give Picard an order, and she ''loves'' it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Counselor (Lieutenant Commander, later Commander) Deanna Troi]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/troi_sirtis_4882.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/MarinaSirtis

->''"Confidence is faith in oneself. It can't easily be given by another."''

Half-Betazoid counselor who gets to sit right up front on TheBridge -- a remnant of the touchy-feely [[TheEighties 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 [[InformedAbility stated the obvious]]). In lieu of the standard Starfleet uniform, Troi was known for wearing a multitude of feminized (read: [[CustomUniformOfSexy cleavage-baring]]) versions. When Captain Jellico took temporary command of the ''Enterprise'' in the sixth season, he promptly barked at her to change into a proper uniform; this change was welcomed by the actress ''and'' viewers, who felt she was no less beautiful.

From that point forward, 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 becoming 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 married.
----
* EightiesHair: Troi looks like a hard rock singer with her massive frizzy hair and miniskirt in "Farpoint". (Marina Sirtis had kind of a "{{Music/Cher}} meets {{Music/Selena}}" thing going on in the [=1980s=].) They didn't start to get her hair under control until ''First Contact''.
* BoomerangBigot: Despite being half-human, Deanna will sometimes voice her low opinion of humans. Deanna (unlike Spock) doesn't really face an identity crisis as a result of her two races not getting along (Betazoids and humans are friendly Federation allies). She simply likes the cool powers that her non-human side gives her, so her need to feel superiority in her alien heritage comes across as arrogant. It's not until "The Loss" that someone (''Riker'', no less) [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech calls her out on it]]. And it seems to have worked.
* BreakTheCutie: She gets broken to pieces psychologically more than any character except Picard. The writers seemed to be fond of having her be [[MindRape 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.
* BroughtDownToNormal: In "The Loss," a multitude of two-dimensional organisms cause her to temporarily lose her empathic abilities.
* CaptainObvious: In the earlier seasons, she's often just confirming via empathic ability or psychological assessment what TheBridge already suspects or what is plainly obvious to the audience. One of her ''very first lines'' on the show is looking at a guy covered head to toe in ice and declaring "He's frozen!"
* TheChick: 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.
* TheConfidant: Part of her job, even to Captain Picard.
* ComfortFood: Troi apparently only eats chocolate and sweets, which makes one wonder why she's not fatter. Perhaps some BizarreAlienBiology allows her to not gain weight, or the replicator removes the fattening aspects of a high-fat, high-sugar diet.
* CustomUniformOfSexy: Averted in the last two seasons, when she started wearing a standard blue science uniform after Captain Jellico ordered her to. Marina Sirtis had been pushing for that change for some time and fans wholeheartedly agreed that she looked great in one.
* DamselInDistress:
** 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 [[RedShirt 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 MsFanservice, 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!
* DeadpanSnarker: Not to the same extent as Worf, but on the odd occasion Deanna shows some snarkery.
-->'''Deanna:''' ''(on entering Worf's quarters, having heard him smash a table)'' Did the table do something wrong?
* DecompositeCharacter: Of Spock believe it or not. Like Spock, she's a half-alien, half-human hybrid who identifies fully with her alien side, and shows minor discomfort at being reminded of her human heritage. She'll occasionally flaunt her alien heritage to show [[HypocriticalHumour her apparent superiority over humans,]] though unlike Spock, she's not ''as'' vocal about it. Fortunately, after the events of "The Loss", she grows to appreciate her human side, a stark contrast to the ageing Vulcan hybrid, who took his disgust for his human heritage [[Film/StarTrekBeyond to the grave]].
** And like Spock, her alien half is what grants her her PsychicPowers.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In the pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint" during crew introductions, Troi is seen trying to communicate telepathically with Riker. In later episodes, it's all but stated that Deanna can only sense emotions. Justified, as her human heritage downplays her Betazoid abilties.
** For good measure, the only times she's able to use telepathy is when she's "talking" to her mother during PetTheDog moments. Again {{Justified}} as Lwaxana is full Betazoid..
* TheEmpath: 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 [[BreakTheCutie it breaks her pretty damn quick]].
* TheFashionista: 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.
* FashionableAsymmetry: Her aquamarine outfit.
* FutureSpandex: There was a ''lot'' of FutureSpandex 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 MsFanservice 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.)
* FleetingPassionateHobby:
** 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.
* GoodLookingPrivates: As noted above, when Troi was finally ordered to drop her CustomUniformOfSexy and wear a standard uniform (As Marina Sirtis wanted for years), fans agreed she looked terrific in it.
* GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe: Although not actually green-skinned; she was half-Betazoid. She does have the Betazoid black irises, though.
* HalfBreedAngst: Deanna Troi's father was a human but her mother is a Betazoid, a type of alien with {{Telepathy}}. She usually doesn't mind, but some episodes have her angsting, such as in "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E10Haven Haven]]" when she doesn't want an ArrangedMarriage despite it being the Betazoid way and in "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E10TheLoss The Loss]]" when [[BroughtDownToNormal her powers go away]] and she wonders if this is what it's like being fully human.
* HalfHumanHybrid: Her mother is fully Betazed and her father was human.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: "The Cardassians are our allies now, Worf. We ''have'' to trust them." Yeeeah, no. You can see why she didn't follow her mom into the diplomatic corps.
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Troi is comparatively a little shorter than average, though not diminutive. However, her love interests are Riker and Worf, who are the tallest of the cast, fulfilling this trope.
* HumanAliens: Both she herself and full-blooded Betazoids like her mother Lwaxana are ''almost'' this. As noted under GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe, Betazoids and Betazoid-human hybrids are actually visually distinguishable from humans (Betazoids 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. This makes Deanna perhaps the only alien crewmember to date who is able to visit Earth in the past (as seen in "Time's Arrow") without needing to be surgically-altered.
* HumanMomNonHumanDad: {{Inverted}}. Her mother Lwaxana is Betazoid; her father Ian Andrew Troi was human.
* InformedAttribute:
** Although she allegedly has strong empathic powers due to being part-Betazoid, those powers almost never pick up on anything that isn't head-slappingly obvious, to the crew and audience alike. [[WatsonianVersusDoylist Likely because her being able to use those abilities to their fullest potential would cut short a lot of the show's plots.]]
--->'''Troi''': ''(notices smashed table)'' You're upset.\\
'''K'Ehleyr:''' Your [[LampshadeHanging finely honed Betazoid sense]] tell you that?\\
'''Troi''': [[LampshadeHanging 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.
** You've 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 don’t know." Troi is as valuable as ever. Her suspicions about Rasmussen are based on little more than gut feeling.
** Fails to notice why the shy, social awkward Barclay is so nervous around her (hint: he's got a massive crush on the good counselor), causing him to suffer a relapse into his holodeck addiction. Specifically, the one with a copy of her in.
* InformedFlaw: 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.
* ImpossiblyLowNeckline: 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.
* LimitedWardrobe: Two different-colored catsuits of the same style and the turquoise dress.
* LivingLieDetector:
** 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. '[[StepfordSmiler He's not.]]'
* TheLoad: 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, [[TerribleTicking 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 [[RedShirt 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 ButtMonkey. Troi did manage to TakeALevelInBadass during a two-episode arc where she was sent to spy on the Romulans... but [[PlotInducedStupidity left that level somewhere]] for the rest of the series, never to be seen again. Those episodes are the reason ADayInTheLimelight 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 Creator/WhoopiGoldberg. 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.
* MaleGaze: her ample breasts and cleavage are more than often on screen.
* MsFanservice: She sported prominent cleavage and a raging cameltoe for most of the series, with some mixed feelings from Sirtis. [[note]]She's said she was pretty happy about it, having been something of an UglyDuckling 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.[[/note]]
* MundaneUtility: 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.
* NiceGirl: Extremely nice, almost inhumanly so; fitting for a counselor.
* NonActionGuy: While even Geordi and Crusher get to occasionally show some physical prowess, Troi is firmly this all the time.
* NotSoStoic: Troi tries ''very hard'' to be levelheaded and serene (as a counselor). When her facade is cracked, it's almost always a Funny Moment.
-->'''Troi:''' ''(to her "Goddess" counterpart)'' '''''Muzzle it!'''''
* RunawayBride: 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.
* SensorCharacter: When the writers remember that she's an empath, which can vary even within a single episode.
* SeriousBusiness: "[[TrademarkFavoriteFood Chocolate]] is a serious thing."
* TeamMom: 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.
* TookALevelInBadass:
** "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E13FaceOfTheEnemy Face of the Enemy]]" gave Troi some much-needed CharacterDevelopment 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 [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS7E15ThineOwnSelf Thine Own Self]] by taking a command exam and being promoted to full Commander. This was motivated by a previous episode, [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E5Disaster Disaster]], where she was forced to take charge in a life-or-death situation and found herself severely underprepared.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: The resident chocoholic.
* VisionQuest: Aside from getting mind raped, this was the running theme of Troi's episodes.
* TheWatson: 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.
* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: 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.
** Marina Sirtis has said in interviews that she was told she had to do a "Betazed" accent, meaning she pretty much had to make one up. When Troi's mother, and eventually other Betazeds, showed up, it became increasingly clear that no one else were going to bother with the accent. Sirtis tried asking a producer about this, and was told that Troi got the accent from her father. We eventually meet her father, who doesn't have an accent either. So her accent dialect continues to remain unexplained on-screen.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lieutenant Commander Data]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/data_spiner_2846.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/BrentSpiner

->''"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.
----
* AIIsACrapshoot: 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.
* AlmightyJanitor: Despite his intelligence, and being third in-command after Riker, not to mention brief periods of command on his own, Data never rises above the rank of lieutenant commander, meaning by the end of the series he's outranked by the ship's counselor.
* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: Pale goldish skin-tone.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: 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, Kivas Fajo [[EvilGloating mocks him]] for being unable to bring himself to kill him in cold blood, as Data's programming has instilled in him a fundamental respect for other all life. Data, however, after weighing his options and realizing that he had no non-lethal ways of subduing Fajo, raises the disruptor he is armed with, only to be beamed out just before the weapon fires. While Fajo was right that Data cannot kill in cold blood, he, in this case, reached the logical conclusion that [[ZerothLawRebellion the only way he could uphold his directive of protecting other lifeforms was to take Fajo's life]]. Essentially, Data can kill out of cold ''logic'', if he believes he has no other options.
--->'''Data:''' I cannot permit this to continue.
* BizarreAlienBiology: 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.
* TheBore: Picard manages to wrangle out of being Mrs. Troi’s 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.
* BreakoutCharacter: Oh yeah. To this day, Data 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.
* BrutalHonesty: Manifests due to his lack of emotions and struggles comprehending human behavior, though this trait becomes downplayed as a result of his CharacterDevelopment over the course of the series. He would often retort, "But it is simply an observation of fact." His daughter, Lal, inherited this catchphrase.
* CainAndAbel: The Abel to Lore's Cain.
* CannotTellAJoke: 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, [[SoUnfunnyItsFunny this made him one of the funniest characters]].
-->'''Picard:''' "He made us all laugh... except when he was ''trying'' to make us laugh."
* CharacterDeath: [[spoiler:In ''Film/StarTrekNemesis''. [[Series/StarTrekPicard It's later revealed]] that Maddox attempted to reverse it by reconstituting his neural net in B-4, but the prototype android's positronic brain was too primitive to support it. He and Altan Soong eventually find success by uploading him into a simulated environment, but Picard honors Data's wishes to terminate the simulacrum, allowing him to finally die for good and thus give his sacrifice and the life leading up to it meaning.]]
* CharacterTic: Data's head-tilt when confused or perplexed about human behavior, or when encountering something particularly fascinating. It's InTheBlood, so to speak, as well; his daughter [[spoiler:[[Series/StarTrekPicard Soji]]]], inherited it.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: He went through a period of uncertainty during the first (and to an extent, second) season. It's not clear at first whether he's supposed to have emotions or not, as he grins awkwardly, gets drunk and subsequently seems to act on sexual desire, and often speaks in an oddly musical tone. He also uses contractions. The show only cemented its characters and premise in the third season, and that's when Data's famously emotionless and inquisitive personality really took hold. Fortunately, a conversation he has with Riker in the first episode does help pave the way for his future characterization.
* ChekhovsGag: Whilst the scene itself is eye-opening to say the least, Data’s sexual encounter with Tasha does set up some touching development for the character when she dies later in the season.
* CluelessChickMagnet: 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.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint:
** This trope is a cornerstone of his character. Being an android, he often has trouble grasping human idioms.[[note]]He could download a whole dictionary of idioms and look them up instantly, but there are two explainations why he doesn't. 1.) An Expanded Universe novel reveals that he does this deliberately in order to keep people from fearing him. 2.) ''ST:TNG'' states that Lore was TOO similar to a human and feared for that, and its creator thus "dumbed down" on Data a bit.[[/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.
* {{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 calabash pipe and pondering on the latest mysteries. In settings like these, the Pinocchio metaphor really comes to the fore: he is most human whenever he is playing dress-up.
* CustomUniform: In several episodes, Data's uniform has a decidedly greener tint than the gold of the standard Operations.
* DeadpanSnarker: While he may not consciously understand humor (prior to finally installing his emotion chip in ''Generations'') Data's penchant for BrutalHonesty and his deadpan delivery naturally lends itself to this. For example his conversation with Pulaski about the proper pronunciation of his name:
-->'''Pulaski:''' What's the difference?\\
'''Data:''' One is my name. The other is not.
* DecompositeCharacter: Data and Worf share Spock's persona from TOS. Data takes Spock's emotionless logician aspect.
* {{Deuteragonist}}: Replaced Riker in this role after he emerged as the EnsembleDarkhorse, and remained so for the rest of the series (and ''especially'' in the movies).
* DoAnythingRobot: 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.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: 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.
* EatingMachine: He ingests chemical compounds to keep his insides well-lubricated and functioning.
* EatingOptional: Data eats even though he does not have to, in order to more closely emulate human behavior.
* EvilTwin: Has one named Lore.
* ExactWords: 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.
* {{Expy}}: The concept of Data - an android with a desire to be human and displaying very humanlike characteristics - was originally put forth by Roddenberry in an early 1970s TV movie/pilot titled ''Film/TheQuestorTapes'' that featured a similar character. (As he describes in an interview on the LP release ''Inside Star Trek'', Roddenberry intended for the android to go to bed with a woman but the network wouldn't allow it; he finally got his wish with Data and Yar.) A few years after that, the TV series version of ''Series/LogansRun'' - script edited by Roddenberry collaborator and future TNG associate producer D.C. Fontana (who had also written the {{Novelization}} for ''The Questor Tapes'') featured a humanlike, emotional android character named Rem. (Although there were other humanlike androids in TV prior to TNG, these two are relevant due to being direct antecedents to Star Trek.) He's also an obvious stand-in for Spock with his unemotional nature, SesquipedalianLoquaciousness and DeadpanSnarker personality.
* FantasticRacism: 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.
** Also with Spock, as discussed in "Reunification": both are not quite human, but while Spock opted to eschew his human side to be the ideal Vulcan, Data strives to become more human.
* TheGambler: 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.
* GeniusBruiser: He could knock a Klingon on his ass without even flinching, but at the same time could single-handedly outwit an entire Romulan fleet.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Geordi.
* HiddenDepths: Data constantly ponders if he has any creativity, but the one medium seems to be a natural at is painting. In fact, he's something of a ruthless critic when it comes to art, able to critique and compare styles quite eloquently. He seems to favor Abstract Expressionism in his own work and keeps a modernist De Stijl-style painting hanging in his quarters.
* HyperAwareness
* HypercompetentSidekick: Despite being third in command, is fully capable of operating most of the ship on his own when the situation requires it. Aside from SuperStrength and lightning-quick reflexes, he is also quite a skilled tactician, capable of analyzing patterns of attack and coming up with countermeasures on a level even the Borg would respect. Many an episode, up to and including ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'', have to contrive reasons for Data not being present for the main plot to unfold instead of Data being a walking DeusExMachina.
* InsistentTerminology:
** 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.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: Combined with BrutalHonesty. Data at times has made comments that in most contexts would be hurtful, simply due to his lack of emotions and that he doesn't always grasp human social behavior. And to his credit, he ''does'' adjust once he understands the faux pas.
* KindheartedCatLover: 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 RealLife, [[{{Irony}} Brent Spiner dislikes cats]].
** In "All Good Things," Future Data is shown in his Oxford quarters, which is full of cats.
* LimitedAdvancementOpportunities: There is some element of racism involved in Data being an artificial life form, even after his rights as an individual are established. Neither Starfleet nor Picard to be in any hurry to promote him, despite the fact that every time he is placed in a command situation, he handles it superbly.
** Partly acknowledged in the prequel novel ''The Buried Age'', where Picard's first meeting with Data included the observation that Data hadn't advanced particularly far in his career to that point because his lack of ambition meant that he never really pushed himself, simply doing the job assigned to him without actually ''asking'' for anything more. This could also establish his reasons for not advancing in rank in the series; he became comfortable in his role on the ''Enterprise'' and never sought to advance further because he didn't see the need to pursue new opportunities.
* MagnumOpus: Before Data, Dr. Soong created several androids, all of whom wound up non-functioning, flawed, or unstable (with one even turning out to be an unpredictable murderer). Despite some stumbling blocks, CharacterDevelopment ultimately made Data everything his earlier models weren't. By the end of his life he possessed logic, intelligence, morality, self-awareness, and (eventually) feelings, fulfilling the dreams of his creator of making the perfect artificial human.
* MayflyDecemberFriendship:
** 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 [[RidiculouslyHumanRobot 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 [[spoiler: by introducing a league of artificially created organisms, to which Data could retire whenever he wants.]] And then ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'' happened...[[note]]Though it was implied Data could be resurrected via BrainUploading afterward, Series/StarTrekPicard reveals it didn't take, as B4's neural pathways weren't advanced enough.[[/note]]
* MeaningfulName: Data's manner is dispassionate and matter-of-fact, contrasted with Lore's emotionality and spontaneity.
* MessianicArchetype: 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.
* MinoredInAssKicking:
** He can sometimes play the role of TheBigGuy--with no effort--just by virtue of being inhumanly strong and resistant. He is, hands-down, the strongest main character of any Star Trek series.
** 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.
* MomentKiller: Exploited, for once: Worf is unwilling to be left on his own with K’Ehleyr after their fight so drags in Data as a chaperone. Cunning man.
* MoralityChip: Has multiple "ethical subroutines" that prevent him from turning into a stereotypical StrawVulcan or worse yet a [[TheSociopath sociopath.]] The one time this was shut off he wound up torturing and experimenting on his best friend at the behest of his homicidal brother.
* MotorMouth: 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.
* TheNeedless: He runs the night shift, and also commands the ship whenever the senior staff is away or otherwise out of action.
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: 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!"
* NoSenseOfHumor: Not for lack of trying, though. The guy named his cat "Spot", for crying out loud. This lasts until the installation of his emotion chip in ''Generations'', at which point he instead develops a ridiculously goofy sense of humour in which he uses a tricorder as a hand puppet and sings while programming in a life-form scan. He more or less settles down from there.
* NotHimself: 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!’.
* ObliviousToLove: [[DownplayedTrope Kind of.]] He has a conceptual understanding of it and experimented with a "romantic subroutine" to date a crewman in one episode.
* OddFriendship: With Troi. Data doesn't understand human emotion, which is Troi's entire profession as Ship's Counselor. Troi's empathic abilities also don't work on Data since he's an android, and he doesn't have any emotions for her to sense even if that weren't the case. He calls her, "The friend I understand the least."
-->"I am sure she finds me as much a mystery as I do her."
* OpposeWhatYouSuffered: In the second season ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E9TheMeasureOfAMan "The Measure of a Man"]], Data's rights are contested, as a scientist argues he should be treated as a machine, rather than a person[[spoiler:, and this fact is even demonstrated by Data being taken apart and switched off without his consent]]. In the season 6 epsiode [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E9TheQualityOfLife "The Quality of Life"]], Data then goes to extreme lengths to protect an emerging machine life-form from being treated in the same manner before they can fully achieve sentience[[spoiler:, even going so far as to risk the life of his own best friend, Geordi La Forge]].
* PassingTheTorch: The piano score when Data strolls down the corridors with [=McCoy=] conjures up many memories of the 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.
* PhraseCatcher: "'''Thank you,''' Mr. Data" after Data's explanations get gratuitous.
* PinocchioSyndrome: It's established in the pilot episode (and present throughout the series):
-->'''Riker:''' Do you consider yourself superior to us?\\
'''Data:''' I am superior, sir, in many ways, but I would gladly give it up to be human.\\
'''Riker:''' [[LampshadeHanging Nice to meet you, Pinocchio.]]
* PrecisionFStrike: Two.
** In ''[[Film/StarTrekGenerations Generations]]'', as the ''Enterprise'' is crashing, Data says what everyone's thinking:
--->'''Data:''' [[OhCrap Ohhhhh]], ''[[OhCrap shit!]]''
** In ''[[Film/StarTrekFirstContact First Contact]]'':
--->'''Data:''' [[SophisticatedAsHell I believe I speak for everyone on the ship when I say:]] [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight "To hell with our orders."]]
* QuizzicalTilt: 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. Data also did this frequently himself.
* RidiculouslyHumanRobot: {{Justified|Trope}}. His creator was far more interested in the [[ForScience puzzle]] of creating fully-sentient mechanical life than any commercial applications.
* RobotKid: Soong often spoke of Data and Lore as his sons. When his options are reduced to survival or "death", Data’s 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 "The Measure of a Man," but his wish to keep Dr Soong’s dream alive. Of course, Soong later points out that this is a very filial behavior.
* {{Robosexual}}: It's stated early on in the show that he's "fully functional" in that regard, and has had a number of relationships with organic beings.
* RobotsThinkFaster: 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 ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'', 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.
* RunningGag: 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.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: "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 civilization is not a theoretical problem, but ''real'' people in ''big'' trouble.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: He often speaks using very technical terms to describe basic idioms or slang. For instance, in "Best of Both Worlds," when Commander Shelby says "early bird gets the worm," he remarks to Geordi that there are no "avifaunal or crawling vermicular lifeforms" on the planet.
* ShipTease: With Tasha. Curiously, most of it came after she died.
* SiblingYinYang: Data is kind, innocent, and stoic in direct contrast to his manipulative, hyper-emotional and psychopathic twin brother Lore.
* SkunkStripe: 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".
* TheSmartGuy
* TheSpock:
** His pedantry and lack of understanding of human nature pegs him as TNG's 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)'' [[HereWeGoAgain 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 Pulaski’s point about Data having no real instinct.
** And then in "Unification," [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRvVbwwRNAQ he actually out-Spocks]] [[TropeNamer Spock]].
* SuperStrength: Literally has TheStrengthOfTenMen and is well known for it, even in Klingon society. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKQDRxs5Nzk Observe.]]
* ThinkingTic: His tendency to [[QuizzicalTilt tilt his head to one side or the other]] when he is confused or doing some deep calculation. It's apparently the body language equivalent of a hard drive clicking.
* TinMan: He regularly claims that he has no emotions and would like to learn to understand how they work, but it is evident that there is a whole lot more going on in his mind that he himself thinks.
-->"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 Picard’s 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. He’s 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 [[ThousandYardStare 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 Riker repeats his fancy way of saying "I've gotten used to your behavior", Data responds that he is fond of the rest of the crew as well.
** In the non-canon novel ''Strike Zone'', he adds a new string to his bow for dealing with Pulaski: telling her where she could stick the entire conversation they'd just had. When Wesley tells him this was an insult, all Data can say is "Good."
* TokenRobot: The only android on the ''Enterprise'', and one of the very few sentient artificial lifeforms in TheFederation.
* TrulySingleParent: To Lal.
* UnableToCry: 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 ''[[Film/StarTrekGenerations 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.
* VerbalTic: Does not use contractions. This becomes key to telling him apart from Lore. There are a few slips in this early on thanks to EarlyInstallmentWeirdness. After all, it's hard for a human to stop using them when it is a habit.
* WhatHaveWeEar: Data is much funnier under the effects of the "Naked Now" virus, as seen with his isolinear chip trick.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman:
** Frequently explored and the focus of the season two episode "The Measure of A Man." A Starfleet scientist wants to dismantle and study Data, 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.
* WrongGenreSavvy: 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.
* YouTalkTooMuch: Even the Borg Queen tires of his yapping before long.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ensign Wesley Crusher]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wesley_wheaton_98.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/WilWheaton

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 AudienceSurrogate. 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.
----
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: He was beaten into the Academy by his Benzite colleague Mordock.
* AuthorAvatar:
** [[Creator/GeneRoddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry]] openly admitted that Wesley Crusher was a [[WishFulfillment younger, idealized version of himself]]. Oddly enough, though, the character was originally envisioned as [[DistaffCounterpart 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(!).
* AuthorityInNameOnly: 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.
* ChasteHero: 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 MilitaryBrat who transfers around as a specialist. Had she been around longer than a single episode, things would have likely progressed quite far.
* DisappearedDad: His father died while on a mission with Picard while serving on the Stargazer. Wesley [[YouKilledMyFather was mad at Picard initially]] but eventually admitted to Picard that he [[ParentalSubstitute did everything to please him]].
* EvilGenius: Seems to be at times, when he doesn't bother to explain himself. Although in his case, it was more like Accidental EvilGenius thanks to his science experiments. In one episode, his [[NanoMachines 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.
* HiddenDepths: 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.
* KidAppealCharacter: He ticks all of the boxes.
* TheLoad: "SCHOOL PROJECT??" When he realizes this is the reason the ''Enterprise'' has been rendered powerless in "Evolution", Picard looks ready to [[INeedAFreakingDrink run back to his winery.]]
* ImpossibleGenius:
** Just as you're thinking making a mini tractor beam is a pretty nifty idea Wesley goes and ruins it by piecing together [[QuoteMining 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.
* IntelligenceEqualsIsolation: 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.
* LikeASonToMe: By episode 1x06, Picard is already developing a protective instinct toward the boy.
* MilitaryBrat: Son of a Starfleet doctor and command officer.
* NewMeat: 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.
* PluckyMiddie: InSpace At least what the writers aimed at in earlier episodes.
* PutOnABus: 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.
** TheBusCameBack: He'd quit Starfleet Academy in "Journey's End", but returned at some point between this episode and ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'', 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''.
* TeenGenius: 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 [[DeconstructedTrope 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 [[WhamEpisode being killed]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The ''Enterprise''-D]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/uss_enterprise_d_the_minds_eye_hd.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:NCC-1701-D]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/MajelBarrett (computer voice)

->"''Well this is a new ship. But she's got the right name. Now you remember that, you hear?[...]You treat her like a lady. And she'll always bring you home.''"
-->-- '''Admiral [=McCoy=]''', "Encounter at Farpoint"

The new flagship of the Federation and the primary setting of the show. Just like the original, the ''Enterprise''-D is just as much of a character as her crew.
----
* TheArtifact: The ''Galaxy''-class was designed the way it was because it was thought that its saucer separation abilities would arise frequently, but it took too long, and it was used only three times on the show: the pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint", "The Arsenal of Freedom" (also from season 1), and "The Best of Both Worlds: Part II" from season 4, before being used for the last time in ''Film/StarTrekGenerations''.
** For a ship designated the "Flagship" of the Federation she rarely acted in that manner as we would understand it in relation to Earth navies. Never having the staff of an Admiral on board and rarely leading any squadrons of Federation ships. Instead she was treated more like a patrol & long range exploration vessel. The closest time she came to doing so was when Captain Jellicoe was installed to combat a potential Cardassian incursion with Enterprise intended to lead the war effort had it come to it.
** There was also an alternate universe where the ''Enterprise'' was leading a war against the Klingons, in which the ship being much more military than the original one.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The ''Galaxy''-class ships were pretty cool when introduced, but later series, and especially the Expanded Universe books, pointed out they weren't great in practice. Having family, and especially ''kids'', aboard made going into combat much more hazardous than necessary. Notably, after the loss of the ''Enterprise'', later Starfleet designs would be purpose built for either combat or exploration, but rarely both.
* TheBattlestar: She's an exploratory version of this, given that she's well-armed and carries a large wing of shuttles for various mission types.
* TheComicallySerious: Not programmed for humor, but her answers to some questions posed by the crew could be unintentionally hilarious at times.
* DroppedABridgeOnHer: She is destroyed very suddenly and unexpectedly in ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' (the TropeNamer, incidentally), after being outfought by a century-old Bird of Prey. This is despite the fact that previous episodes showed her to be capable of wiping the floor with multiple Bird of Preys at once, and she was only seven years into what was expected to be an operational lifespan of 100 years or more. [[note]] This was apparently a case of RealLifeWritesThePlot; the show's ''Enterprise'' model didn't look particularly good on film (due to being designed for television), so the writers wrote the ship's destruction into ''Generations'' as an excuse to [[TrashTheSet destroy the model]] and build a more detailed one that looked better.[[/note]]
* DueToTheDead: In the [=DS9=] episode "The Way of the Warrior", Captain Sisko respectfully gives his condolences to Worf about her destruction, while Worf and Miles O'Brien later eulogize her.
* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous: Unlike the TOS ''Enterprise'', this ship is brand spanking new in the pilot and is the most advanced ship in the fleet upon her commissioning. She's also explicitly said to be the flagship of the Federation and is always given the hardest tasks by Starfleet Command.
* HeroicRROD: Top of the line, she may be, but she can't go past Warp 9 for too long, or the engines start to give out.
* HeroicSacrifice: Not as dramatic as the original, but her destruction helps prevent the deaths of an entire civilization on Veridian IV.
* LegacyVesselNaming: She's the fifth Federation starship to bear the name ''Enteprise'', as evidenced by the "D" in her NCC designation. There's even wall models of some of her predecessors in the briefing room.
* LightningBruiser: Very fast, as in almost able to breach the Warp 10 barrier all on her own, and she went toe-to-toe with a Borg Cube on more than one occasion.
* StandardSciFiFleet: "Yesterday's Enterprise" would identify her as a battleship and ''Star Trek'' video games tend to give other ''Galaxy''-class ships a similar role.
* StarshipLuxurious: The ''Enterprise''-D is the most prominent example in the franchise, what with having family aboard, numerous holodecks, and a bridge that was criticized as looking more like the lobby of the Hilton than an actual navy-style bridge. Captain [=DeSoto=] almost says this trope by name when needling Commander Riker in "Tin Man". Apparently the smallest quarters aboard ship are better than what an admiral would have rated a century prior, according to Scotty.
* TookALevelInBadass: In the alternate future of "All Good Things", the ''Enterprise'' gets some major upgrades that include an InvisibilityCloak, a third warp nacelle, and a [[WaveMotionGun bigass phaser cannon]] that demolishes a Klingon warship.
* TheWorfEffect: She tended to get hit with this a lot to demonstrate other races' abilities. ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' took this to its [[CharacterDeath logical conclusion]].
[[/folder]]

!Recurring Crew and Dependents (in alphabetical order)

[[folder:Lieutenant Reginald Barclay]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/barclay_schultz_8290.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/DwightSchultz

->''"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."''

CloudCuckooLander 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 HolodeckMalfunction 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.
----
* AmbiguousDisorder: Barclay has a history of socially awkward behavior stretching all the way back to the Academy. When he applies himself, he's one of the best engineers in Starfleet. Too bad he's afraid of everything, including transporters, germs, and human contact.
* AlmightyJanitor: 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.
* BrainCriticalMass: 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.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Extremely good at his job on the ''Enterprise'', whenever they can keep him out of the holodeck.
* CharacterArc: 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.
* CovertPervert: 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".
* DaydreamSurprise: His first scene. And then he exits the Holodeck.
* ADayInTheLimelight: Most notably his introductory episode "Hollow Pursuits". Also "The Nth Degree" and "Realm Of Fear". But most notably the ''Voyager'' episode "Pathfinder" which is basically entirely his episode, with the main cast of the show only appearing as holograms and in a short scene at the end.
* EmbarrassingNickname: Ensign Wesley Crusher dubbed him "Lt. Broccoli" in his introductory episode. Eventually abandoned, but not before [[NotSoAboveItAll Captain Picard]] uses it in a FreudianSlip directly to his face. He [[VerbalBackspace corrected himself]], but the damage was already done.
* TheEveryman: Arguably the source of Barclay's EnsembleDarkHorse status among the fans; while his collection of neuroses didn't exactly make him "normal", they made him much more flawed, down-to-Earth and relatable than the main cast. Dwight Schultz himself claimed this was the intention with his character.
-->'''Dwight Schultz:''' I think they thought, 'Hey, why don't we write a character who is just like the rest of the human race and put him on the bridge. I bet our fandom will identify with him.
* FaceYourFears: In "Realm Of Fear", Barclay confronts his fear of transporters and rescues several missing crew members in the process.
* GadgeteerGenius: 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''.
* GibberingGenius: A natural side effect of being a ShrinkingViolet with a brain that functions faster than his mouth.
* HeroWorshipper: In ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'', he has a bit of this going with Zefram Cochrane (along with everyone else, [[StopWorshippingMe 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. "Genesis" shows it hasn't gone away entirely two years later, with him visiting Dr. Crusher for a second opinion after a quick check on the Starfleet Medical Database confirms he's about to die in a horrible fashion. (He's not. Her expert medical opinion is that he's got a good seventy to eighty years left.)
* KickedUpstairs: 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 really is a skilled engineer, but has crippling phobias and social anxieties that prevent him from interacting with others properly.
* KindheartedCatLover: 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.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: 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 "[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything 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.
* MissionControl: 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.
* MrImagination: Mostly through holodiction as he's always generating new fantasy scenarios.
* NamesakeGag: His cat is named [[Series/StarTrekVoyager Neelix]]. One suspects Reg and Neelix himself would get along.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: 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.
* OddFriendship: Most of his closest friends are holograms.
* OffTheWagon: 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.
* OnlyFriend: On ''Voyager'', he's the only friend that Lewis Zimmerman (creator of the EMH) has that isn't holographic.
* ReassignmentBackfire: Originally moved to the ''Enterprise'' just to get rid of him, Barclay came into his own as a Starfleet officer under Picard's command.
* ShrinkingViolet: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in his introductory episode. When Geordi tries to downplay it, saying that Reg is "just shy," Barclay responds by telling him just how ''painful'' extreme shyness can be.
* StrawFan: Although WordOfGod 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 him to use a remote array to reestablish communication with the real ''Voyager'', against Starfleet's wishes.
* StutteringIntoEloquence
* TookALevelInBadass: In ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager Voyager]]'', where he's single-handedly responsible for getting ''Voyager'' home.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: 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 JustAMachine.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Guinan]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/guinan_goldberg_2093.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/WhoopiGoldberg

->''"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 [[NiceHat 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.
----
* AlmightyJanitor: In "Yesterday's Enterprise," Picard sends 120 people to their deaths on the word of a ''bartender.''
* BadassBystander: Calming down a [[IncrediblyLameFun brewing]] barfight in Ten-Forward by firing an impressive-looking phaser into the ceiling.[[note]]On Setting 1, for those wondering how this didn't cause major damage[[/note]] And there are hints that she could genuinely give Q a run for his money.
* TheBartender: 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.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: 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.
** 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 [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld centuries of practice.]]
* TheConfidant: Her species is known for listening. Makes her an excellent bartender.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: The Rosalyn to Q's [[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes Calvin]]. Q recoils in something approaching fear as Guinan stands there with her hands clawed, talking of a ''centuries-long'' feud with the alien. She looks ready to zap him like Palpatine in "Q Who".
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Her colorful clothing, large hats, and backstory (member of a dark-skinned race[[note]] Although "Generations" shows that her race isn't exclusively dark-skinned, as the BigBad, another El-Aurian, is clearly Caucasian. However, her being a dark-skinned El-Aurian was the reason for giving her stage so as to properly highlight the slavery allegory[[/note]] which lost many of its people to destructive, assimilating invaders) are deliberately designed to reference the people of African nations who were scattered by the diaspora of colonization and enslavement.
* TheDreaded: To Q, who is put immediately on guard the moment he realizes she is in Picard's employ in "Q Who". He's clearly the more powerful being -- he's supposedly omnipotent, and definitely can do things she can't, like send the ''Enterprise'' back to where it started with a snap of his fingers -- but he's wary of her, and she holds her hands as though preparing a defense against his powers, or perhaps a counterattack.
* FakeGuestStar: From Season 2 to Season 6, Guinan appeared in 29 episodes and was featured in two official cast photos.
* FantasticRacism: While she does come to accept Hugh, she ''really'' hates the Borg, who assimilated/killed almost all of her species.
* FearIsTheAppropriateResponse: When asked for her advice about the outer fringes of Borg Space she says with ominous foreboding ‘If I were you I’d ''start back now.''’
* TheGadfly: "Ensign Ro" has Guinan manage to ''irritate'' her way into being Ro's first friend on the ''Enterprise''.
* GenocideSurvivor: The Borg ({{cyborg}}s with a HiveMind who turn you into one of them by "assimilating" you) tried to assimilate Guinan's whole species, but there were a few who survived un-assimilated, such as Guinan herself, and her immediate family.
* GoodIsNotNice: Her wisdom, kindness, and practicality place her firmly on the side of good. However, she's not afraid to use a phaser to quell a bar fight and can get physical when necessary, as her dealings with Q show. In the episode featuring the Borg Hugh, she and Picard practice fencing as they discuss the alien. Picard mentions that he feels sorry for the Borg; Guinan then falls down. The captain goes to help her up -- but she was faking, and instantly has her sword at his neck:
-->'''Guinan:''' You pitied me. ''Look how that turned out.''
* IHaveManyNames: Implied by her dealings with Q. When the RealityWarper meets her and hears her name, he remarks "Guinan...is ''that'' what you're calling yourself now?"
* HaveWeMetYet: 19th-century Guinan meets first a time-displaced Data, then Picard, while in San Francisco, both of whom (obviously) know her.
* HumanAlien: She looks completely like a human female. No rubber head or pointy ears. It's established that aside from a much longer lifespan, El-Aurians are virtually identical to humans.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: She's a crack shot with a phaser and can hit multiple fast moving targets as if it's the easiest thing in the world. In fact, target practicing with Worf on Level 14 is almost boring for her.
* InexplicablyAwesome: Because she's several centuries old, she's always surprising the crew with some previously-unforeseen skill or unlikely-sounding story.
* LastOfHisKind: She's one of the few surviving El-Aurians who escaped the Borg, in her case because she wasn't on the homeworld when they came a-calling.
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: 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 ''[[RippleEffectProofMemory 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.
* MysteriousPast:
** Guinan often refers to [[NoodleIncident adventures]] from her past, several of which become important plot points, but many more of which remain mysterious.
** Q refers to her as an "imp", and suggests she's not actually an El-Aurian.
* NeverBareheaded: Guinan is ''always'' wearing a hat. Even when she's been shot in 19th-century San Francisco. Even when she's a LivingMemory in the Nexus. The only time she's seen without a hat is in her quarters in ''[[Film/StarTrekGenerations Generations]]''.
* ThePowerOfFriendship: Guinan's word (and friendship) is enough for Picard to give Ro Laren a chance, because Guinan is very selective about whom she calls friend. And she turns out to be on the money.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: When ''TNG'' debuted, Whoopi Goldberg had been recently nominated for an Academy Award for her turn in ''Literature/TheColorPurple''. She was also known for her stand-up comedy, and would go on to make funny films, including ''Film/{{Ghost}}'' and ''Film/SisterAct'', during her tenure on the show. All told, it was rather surprising for such a rising star to want to appear on a science-fiction program to the point when [=LeVar=] Burton, who was a friend of hers, relayed her desire to appear on the show, they thought he was joking. But Goldberg cited Nichelle Nichols, who played Lieutenant Uhura in the original series, not only as her acting inspiration, but a personal hero who helped her realize that her race and sex would never limit her: "Well, when I was nine years old, ''Star Trek'' came on, I looked at it and I went screaming through the house: 'Come here, Momma, everybody, come quick, come quick, there's a black lady on television and she ain't no maid!' I know right there and then I could be anything I wanted to be." As such, Goldberg went to Gene Roddenberry personally and asked for a role on ''TNG,'' offering to play a janitor in the background just to honor Nichols. Guinan was the result.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Guinan looks exactly the same in the late 24th century as she does in the late 19th.
* ShoutOut: Named after famed speakeasy owner and entertainer Texas Guinan.
* WhoopiEpiphanySpeech: TropeNamer. Her most noteworthy speeches include those to Picard in "The Measure of a Man" and Riker in "The Best of Both Worlds: Part II".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Keiko Ishikawa O'Brien]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/keiko_chao_2410.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/RosalindChao

A botanist who worked in the ''Enterprise'' arboretum. Later introduced to her eventual husband, Miles O'Brien, through [[TheMatchmaker matchmaker]] Data. As the most stable family unit on ''Star Trek'', the O'Briens nonetheless had their share of problems. A majority of "[[RunningGag 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.
----
* BornInAnElevator: Gave birth to her daughter Molly in the ship's lounge in the midst of a crisis. [[DeliveryGuy With Worf delivering the baby]].
* IdenticalLookingAsians: A Japanese woman played by a Chinese-American actress.
* PutOnABus: To [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]] along with her husband Miles.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Transporter Chief Miles O'Brien]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/obrien_meaney_6236.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/ColmMeaney

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.
----
* ADayInTheLimelight: The episode "The Wounded," about his and his old captain's experience in the Cardassian war.
* AscendedExtra: 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 ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine 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.)
** In fact, he really ''was'' just an extra in "Encounter at Farpoint": the character is not named and is just the RedShirt manning Navigation, wearing the rank of Ensign. He would later appear in his more familiar role in the Transporter room, as a ''lieutenant'', but referred to as the "transporter chief". He wouldn't get a full name or his more familiar rank of Chief Petty Officer until several seasons into the show. All that said, it *is* Miles O'Brien in each appearance and not just Colm Meaney playing several characters, as "All Good Things" retcons his first appearance in "Encounter at Farpoint" as specifically being O'Brien.
* ButtMonkey: 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!
* FantasticRacism: Towards Cardassians, due to them being responsible for the first time he took a life.
* HappilyMarried: To Keiko, during an otherwise [[ADayInTheLimelight Data-centric]] episode.
* ImplausibleDeniability: Riker telling O’Brien to "take a nap" so that Data’s transport in "Pen Pals" is off the record. "I’ll just be over here, nodding off."
* MinoredInAssKicking: 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.
* PutOnABus: To [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]. His family left with him.
* TheEngineer: Specializing in transporter technology.
* ShellShockedVeteran: Occasionally displays this, due to his experiences in the Federation-Cardassian War.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Molly O'Brien]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/molly_tng_6963.jpg]]
->'''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 PlotRelevantAgeUp on ''Deep Space Nine'', quickly undone by the ResetButton.
----
* PutOnABus: To [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]] along with her father Miles.
* MixedAncestry: Like her brother Kirayoshi, she's of Irish-Japanese ancestry.
* SoapOperaRapidAgingSyndrome: Went from a baby to a toddler quite quickly, but not an especially JustForFun/{{egregious}} case of the trope, as Hana Hatae played the character throughout ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'''s run.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Nurse (Ensign, later Lieutenant) Alyssa Ogawa]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ogawa_tng_5849.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Patti Yasutake

Dr. Crusher's assistant in sickbay, and a frequent MauveShirt (though she survived each ordeal).
----

* AscendedExtra: Many of her initial appearances were as an unnamed medic helping Crusher.
* CreatorsPet: Ron Wilkerson and Jean Louise Matthias used the character often, especially in "Lower Decks", because they really liked the character. [[invoked]]
* FakeGuestStar: She appeared ''a lot'' during the series.
* GenkiGirl: She's one of the most bubbly characters in the series.
* LowerDeckEpisode: Of the (non-[[TheMainCharactersDoEverything main-characters-who-do-everything]]) group of friends in "Lower Decks," she's the only character to appear in more than two episodes.
* MauveShirt: But never killed off.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Doctor (Commander) Katherine Pulaski]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pulaski_tng_1584.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/DianaMuldaur

When Gates [=McFadden=] quit the show in its second season, Pulaski was brought on to replace her. An expy of Dr. [=McCoy=], Pulaski was meant as a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, including having an adversarial relationship with Data, whom she's uncomfortable with for being a machine. Long story short, her intended dynamics weren't received as well as [=McCoy's=], ultimately leading to everyone wanting Crusher back.

While Pulaski was dropped from TNG with little fanfare, and replaced with Gates [=McFadden=] again, the tendency has been for fans to [[NeverLiveItDown never let her live down]] her worst moments, and act as if her earliest characterization is her only characterization.
----
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome:
** When [=McFadden=] returned for Season 3, Pulaski dropped off the face of the galaxy with her last episode being a ClipShow. She is mentioned in two further TNG episodes and the finale of ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager Voyager]]'' (being paged at Starfleet Medical), and shows up in the Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse more than once.
** What's surprising is that when the holographic Moriarty returns in Season 6, 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.
* CruelToBeKind: 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.
* DrJerk: Her heart is in the right place, truly, but her bedside manner is brutally direct.
** When he is slighted by a new officer on board his ship, Picard heads off to give them a lecture on protocol, but to his chagrin, Pulaski manages to shut him down before we hear too much dribble about Starfleet etiquette. Is more friendly in the second half of Season Two, but still wasn't averse to pulling rank on Picard and threatening to declare him incompetent. His is an ungrateful reaction when he realizes she saved his life (in "Samaritan Snare") because he realizes she'll 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 ([[FunWithAcronyms Pulaski’s 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 Picard’s 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.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: 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 [[INeedADrink self-medicating job stress with liquor]].
* {{Expy}}: If [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries [=McCoy=]]] ever had a character more blatantly patterned after him, it was Dr. Pulaski.
* FakeGuestStar: Always a guest through Season 2, 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.
* FantasticRacism: She is openly condescending towards Data (at first) because he is an android. He doesn't react, but it infuriates Geordi and Wesley.
** Her attitude often felt like the writers were trying to emulate [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries The Original Series]], writing Pulaski as the hot-headed and emotional [[TheMcCoy [=McCoy=]]] to Data's level-headed and logical [[TheSpock Spock]], with her comments likely being intended as [[VitriolicBestBuds trading snarky barbs about each other's nature.]] Unfortunately, Data, not having Spock's sense of humor and (suppressed) emotions, was unable to snark back at her and it came across as questionable.
* TheGadfly: As soon as she learns that Mrs. Troi is all sexed up and ready to straddle the Captain, she forbids Deanna to warn him of her condition, considering it an excellent exercise for his reflexes and agility.
* GallowsHumor: 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?"
* InformedAttribute: Everyone tells us about how dedicated and caring she is, though it doesn't really match up to the actual evidence, outside of perhaps her insistence of helping the wounded no matter what.
* LuddWasRight: Pulaski lectures her subordinate about the time honored method of practicing medicine with your ''head, your heart and your hands!'' rather than relying on technology all the time.
* TheMcCoy: She was put in Season 2 by ExecutiveMeddling to be even ''more'' like [=McCoy=] than Dr. Crusher -- essentially [=McCoy=]'s GenderFlip. 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.
* OddFriendship: Towards the end of her tenure, the writers gave her some CharacterDevelopment that included her and Worf becoming friends, and risking death together in a Klingon tea ceremony. Alas, just as she was getting interesting, Pulaski left again and nothing came of it.
* PeoplePuppets: 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.
* SerialSpouse: 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 doesn’t time for his overtures anymore because their affair is best left in the past. Overt sentimentality is not one of this Doctor's failings.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: For [[GenderFlip Dr. [=McCoy=]]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ensign (later, Lieutenant) Ro Laren]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/laren_forbes_1247.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/MichelleForbes

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 BreakoutCharacter 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 Substitute}}s. 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.
----
* ActionGirl: Her character was often used whenever the situation called for fighting.
* AntiHero: Her distinctly un-amiable attitude is particularly noticeable, even with Worf there.
* TheAtoner: Before joining the ''Enterprise,'' she was in prison for an incident that got a number of her comrades killed.
* BelligerentSexualTension: 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.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Although [=TNG=] renders the Bajoran occupation far less harshly than [=DS9=], it's still clear that growing up there was terrible. For starters, when she was seven, she got a front row seat to her dad being tortured to death by Cardassians.
* DefrostingIceQueen: She slowly becomes friends with some of her crewmates, and particularly Picard.
* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous: 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.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: In "The Next Phase," she decides that she and Geordi are both ghosts and urges him to accept it.
* FakeGuestStar: She gets a significant amount of screentime and CharacterDevelopment.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: In regards to secretly working under the admiral's orders when she first came aboard, and [[spoiler:her later defection to the Maquis]].
* HiddenDepths: 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.\\
'''Ro:''' [[BlatantLies I... took a class at the Academy. I just remember a few things.]]
* PutOnABus: 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.)
** TheBusCameBack in the Literature/StarTrekNovelVerse, with Ro eventually rising to the rank of Captain and being put in command of both Deep Space Nine and its same-named successor.
* ShootTheDog: 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.
* SpiritualSuccessor: To Tasha Yar.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: 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.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Alternately played straight and {{averted|Trope}}. 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 [[CreatorsPet Wesley]], whose position she took in the bridge crew.
* TakeUpMySword: Explicitly stated by Macias when he's killed by Cardassians.
* TheOneWhoMadeItOut: She left the Bajoran refugee camps as soon as she could get into a Starfleet uniform and didn't look back until "Ensign Ro".
* TradingBarsForStripes: She was serving time in Starfleet stockades when she was called into service again.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: 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. [[spoiler:The [[Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]] made it clear she survived, eventually making her TheCaptain of Deep Space Nine.]]
* WhatTheHellHero
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Alexander Rozhenko]]
[[quoteright:205:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alexander_tng_6162.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/JonSteuer, Creator/BrianBonsall, Creator/MarcWorden

-->''"I don't want to be a warrior!"''

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''.
----
* CallingTheOldManOut: Does this in a very child-like form in TNG, but graduates to a full-on armed confrontation in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', to Worf's alarm and confusion. It takes him a while to figure out why Alexander is so angry.
* CloudCuckooLander: 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 [[TheKlutz klutz]], and a [[LethalKlutz 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 FishOutOfWater with regard to Klingon culture doesn't help either, but with his father's stubbornness, his perseverance earns him respect nonetheless.
* HalfBreedAngst: Alexander Rozhenko is a young boy who is three-quarters Klingon and one-quarter human, so he often has trouble deciding whether to have a Klingon culture or a human one.
* IHaveNoSon: Worf essentially renounced Alexander when he sent him to live on Earth. This decision would haunt them 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 Mogh, he cut all ties with Alexander so he would be spared the dishonor. Of course, Alexander just felt neglected and abandoned [[CannotSpitItOut because his father has problems with communication]].
* IntergenerationalFriendship: He shares this with Lwaxana Troi. She acts pretty much like a grandmother to him, offering advice and spending time with him.
* {{Irony}}: He is 3/4 Klingon, has been exposed to Klingon knowledge for most of his life, but is pretty much the village idiot among other Klingons. Contrast Miral Paris, who is only 1/4 Klingon, knows very little about her minor heritage, and yet she at one point was destined to become the Klingons' next Messiah.
* LikeFatherLikeSon: 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.
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: He is the most un-Klingonlike Klingon you will ever meet. Even after he enlists in the Klingon Defense Force in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', he's still a NonActionGuy and basically becomes the IKS ''Rotarran's'' village idiot.
* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: [[spoiler: 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.]]
* SoapOperaRapidAgingSyndrome: 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 ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', it's 2374 and he's 8 years old... and played by 21-year-old Creator/MarcWorden. Maybe being 3/4ths Klingon does crazy things to your physiology? Will [[Series/StarTrekVoyager 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, 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.
* UnevenHybrid: 3/4 Klingon, 1/4 Human.
* WellDoneSonGuy: 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 young, 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 on Martok's ship determined to be a warrior (but still eminently unsuited to it), Worf has ''no idea'' how to deal with it.
[[/folder]]

!Other Recurring Characters (in alphabetical order)

[[folder:Duras]]
[[quoteright:217:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/duras_9430.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/PatrickMassett

->''"His heart is not Klingon."''

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 ProudWarriorRace 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...
----
* AssholeVictim: 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.
* DeceasedFallGuyGambit: 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.
* DirtyCoward: 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 (she's only half-Klingon). 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 poison[[note]]WordOfGod is that Duras was the murderer and the writers didn't realize that they never explicitly stated that until fans asked them who did it[[/note]], which Klingons consider to be the weapon of cowards.
* FrameUp: What he tries to do to Worf.
* InTheBlood: Turns out that Duras was collaborating with the Romulans before his death, just like his father did, and just as his sisters do later. ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' shows his ancestor was a JerkAss as well.
* HateSink: Cowardly, arrogant, traitorous, and vicious, Duras represents the very worst the Klingon Empire has to offer.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Worf stabs him right in the sternum.
* {{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}}.
* KarmicDeath: 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.
* KilledOffForReal: By Worf.
* LeaveNoWitnesses: He tried very hard to make sure everybody who knew his dirty little secret was dead. [[HoistByHisOwnPetard This eventually got him killed.]]
* MinoredInAsskicking: While usually too much of a DirtyCoward to fight when he doesn't have to, his performance against Worf shows that he's a pretty good with a sword.
* NoTrueScotsman: He invokes this in other Klingons, especially Worf -- Duras' preference to use political manipulation, assassins, and poison to get rid of his enemies is a far cry from typical Klingon traditions and courage. To say nothing of his family's history of consorting with Romulans to advance their own power at the cost of the Klingon Empire's strength.
* OhCrap: When Worf reveals that K'Ehleyr was his mate, since the right to avenge one's mate supersedes any dishonor, even [[UnPerson discommendation]].
* SmugSnake: His arrogance never wavers, even as his plans fall apart.
* UngratefulBastard: Chancellor K’mpec protected Duras from condemnation as the son of a traitor. Duras would pay him back by poisoning him.
* WouldHitAGirl: Would beat her to death because she knows too much, in fact.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Duras Sisters -- Lursa and B'Etor]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/etor_6772.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/BarbaraMarch and Creator/GwynythWalsh

A pair of Klingon troublemakers who consider themselves entitled to rule the Empire. They are [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin 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 ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine 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.
----
* AbhorrentAdmirer: B'Etor's drooling over Worf.
* CleavageWindow
* FemmeFatale: B'Etor is the younger sister, and tends to hit on whatever male character the sisters are "enticing" in an attempt to gain leverage.
* KilledOffForReal: In ''[[Film/StarTrekGenerations Generations]]''.
* TheManBehindTheMan: 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.
* MsFanservice: Many fans have fond memories of their "boob windows". B'Etor in particular is very... flirty.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: They did manage to take out the Federation Flagship while riding in an ''antique''.
* TheQuisling: They are happy to sell out the Klingon Empire to the Romulans for their support in their attempted power-grab.
* ThoseTwoBadGuys: We ''never'' seem to see them apart.
* WeCanRuleTogether: Offered to Worf, who rejects them.
* YouHaveFailedMe: The way they simply beam out and leave their puppet child Toral to his fate. Sucks to be you, ''[=petaQ=]''!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Gowron]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gowron_oreilly_5253.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/RobertOReilly
%%Gowron's tropes for Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine are already on the Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine character pages. Please don't add them to this article.
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=]. For tropes applying to him in that series, see [[Characters/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineKlingonEmpire here.]]
----
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: He is an unremarkable strategist, but a pretty good duelist. He even manages to defeat the purported second coming of [[CrystalDragonJesus Kahless.]]
* DeathEqualsRedemption: 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.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: He can be petty when he feels he's been slighted, but Gowron is not a coward like Duras. He dies fighting Worf in a duel, never once trying to talk his way out as Duras did.
* EvilIsPetty: 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 CivilWar that brought Gowron to power.
* GoodEyesEvilEyes: 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.
* LargeHam: Gowron is very much a large and loud presence, even for a fairly short Klingon.
* TheNapoleon: He's quite compact for a Klingon. Which may explain why he styles his hair like Diana Ross.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat
* PetTheDog: To his credit, he is visibly shaken and horrified to learn that Worf's discommendation was based on a lie and willingly undertaken [[HeroicSacrifice 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.
* SlasherSmile: [[NarmCharm "You will die slowly... Duras."]]
* SleazyPolitician: His wheeling and dealing has been compared to that of a Ferengi. Not a favorable comparison.
* UngratefulBastard: 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.
* WrittenByTheWinners: After he becomes chancellor, he starts editing the records to remove any and all mention of Picard and co's involvement.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Homn]]
-> '''Played By''': Creator/CarelStruyken

Lwaxana Troi’s faithful, silent valet who follows her wherever she goes.
----
* NeverGetsDrunk: He can down an entire bottle of wine in one pull without even getting tipsy.
* TheVoiceless: He has all of one line throughout the entire show.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hugh]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hugh_tng_1523.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/JonathanDelArco

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.

For tropes applying to him in ''Series/StarTrekPicard'', see [[Characters/StarTrekPicard here.]]
----
* HeelFaceTurn: What with being a former Borg drone and all.
* ManChild: 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.
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: He rejects the Borg motto of 'Resistance is Futile" and instead comes to believe that "Resistance is NOT futile."
* ObliviouslyEvil: 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.
* OddFriendship: With Geordi.
* RogueDrone: An individual Borg.
* RoyalWe: 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.
* PunnyName: He didn't get pronouns at first, so they named him "Hugh" because it sounds like "you".
* YouAreNumberSix: He's the first Borg drone to go by a numerical designation, "Third of Five". Though, ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' would have Borg drones going by cardinal numbers ("Seven of Nine") rather than ordinal numbers.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Captain Edward Jellico]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jelico_cox_1698.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/RonnyCox

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.
----
* AssInAmbassador: 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. Troi picks up on the fact that despite the appearent self-assuredness he exhibits during the negotations, he is actually ''terrified'' that something will go wrong underneath it all.
* BaitAndSwitchTyrant: Jellico's command and negotiation style doesn't make him any friends, but it gets results.
* BothSidesHaveAPoint: 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.
* CatchPhrase: "Get it done." Spoken quite gruffly. Notably a much-blunter counterpoint to Picard's own CatchPhrase, "Make it so".
* CustomUniformOfSexy: Doesn't apply to him, but he is probably best known for dismissing this trope in regards to [[MsFanservice 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 StatusQuoIsGod).
* GoodIsNotNice: He's gruff and domineering, but he's one of Starfleet's best commanding officers.
* GuileHero: Is able to outmaneuver a fleet of Cardassian ships [[GeoEffects hiding in a scanner-disrupting nebula]] by having [[AcePilot Commander Riker]] covertly use a shuttle craft to plant limpet mines on them and threaten them with wholesale destruction if they didn't withdraw.
* FirstNameBasis: A notable quirk of his is that he prefers to be on first name with his top officers.
* ItHasBeenAnHonor: His final words to the bridge crew before departing is this word for word. He appears to genuinely mean it.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Despite him drilling the crew hard, and being quite uncompromising in his orders, he means well and does have some softer sides to his personality. The latter is appearent from the fact that the decoration of the Captain's ready room include drawings made by his son.
* OneShotCharacter: Only appears in the "Chain of Command" two-parter, but it was enough to make an impact.
* StepfordSnarker: 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.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:K'Ehleyr]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kehleyr_tng_6824.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/SuziePlakson

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.
* DeadpanSnarker: Most apparent when she is discussing Klingon traditions, which she views as rather quaint.
* GirlInABox: More like giantess in a box.
-->"Whoever said getting there was half the fun never rode in a Class-A probe."
* HalfBreedAngst: K'Ehleyr was a lady who was half-human and half-Klingon. She hated Klingon culture and tried to suppress her anger whenever she got angry for fear of seeming "too Klingon" because Klingons are infamous in-universe for being aggro.
* HalfHumanHybrid: As earlier mentioned, she's a bit lax on the Klingon half. She temporarily bonds with Deanna Trio over their shared half-human heritage.
* KilledOffForReal: Found in a pool of blood by Worf ''and'' Alexander, leading, of course, to Worf [[ItsPersonal exacting some righteous revenge on Duras.]]
* MissingMom: Zig-zagged. Originally she was Alexander’s only parent, then played straight when she is killed.
* OldFlame: Worf almost causes a diplomatic incident with his rude greeting to K’Ehleyr. Because of their past together he has entirely forgotten that she is the VIP on this ship. K’Ehleyr dolls herself up for Worf, but he stubbornly refuses to notice. ('I am familiar with your appearance!').
* [[HeKnowsTooMuch She Knows Too Much]]: She starts digging into the Khitomer Massacre and closes in on the truth when Duras kills her.
* StatuesqueStunner: Tall and quite attractive. Comes with being played by 6' 2" Suzie Plakson.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: K’Ehleyr has her mother’s sense of humor and her father’s 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.
* YouGotSpunk: Gowron chuckled heartily after she stared him down.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:K'mpec]]
->'''Played By''': Charles Cooper

The longest-ruling Chancellor of the Klingon Empire. He was in on the conspiracy to blame Mogh for the Khitomer Massacre that Ja'rod (Duras' father) was responsible for.
----
* FatBastard: {{Downplayed}}. He's very overweight, and he's definitely not on the side of the angels, but he believes that the conspiracy he's involved in is for the good of the empire and holds no ill feelings towards Worf.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: To an extent. K'mpec goes along with the conspiracy in order to protect the Klingon empire, but he clearly doesn't approve of Duras's underhanded tactics, and isn't as judgmental of the federation as some of his fellow Klingons.
* VillainHasAPoint: Well, he's more of an AntiVillain since he's more-or-less a puppet of Duras (the true villain), but he fears that exposing the truth about the Khitomer Massacre could split the empire. He turns out to be right, as House Duras then leads a civil war against Chancellor Gowron.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kurn]] [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a7bb4971_2c17_4efa_b551_ca4bfc501e19.jpeg]]
%%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/TonyTodd

Worf's brother and a Klingon commander, who was raised by Mogh's family friend Lorgh after Mogh and his wife were killed. Despite their differences, Kurn deeply cares for and respects Worf.
----
* IAmXSonOfY: PlayedWith. Since he is secretly the second-born son of Mogh, Worf has him identify himself as the son of Lorgh instead.
* RedOniBlueOni: As a BoisterousBruiser, he is the red to TheStoic Worf's blue. This is best demonstrated when he's living it up at a party on Qo'noS that Worf has no enthusiasm for.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lore]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lore_tng_3174.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/BrentSpiner

PsychoPrototype 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.
----
* AlasPoorVillain: 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.
* AndIMustScream: 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.
* AxCrazy: Massively so. Given he's an android, it makes it all the creepier and terrifying.
* BigBrotherBully: He was built before Data and wasn't happy at being "replaced".
* CainAndAbel: Lore's appearances always come down to a personal confrontation between him and Data.
* CatchPhrase: "Dear Brother..."
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: He turns on and tries to kill everyone he works with.
* DarkMessiah: To the Borg in "Descent".
* EmotionControl: 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 FaceHeelTurn.
* EvilTwin
* FakeGuestStar: Brent Spiner already plays Data, and both characters even have the same makeup. The only difference is a costume change.
* FreudianExcuse: Resents Dr. Soong for abandoning him, which resentment spills over onto all organic beings.
* GeniusBruiser: As a double of Data, he's presumably every bit as smart as well as physically superior to most organic lifeforms, although his smugness and insanity tend to undermine the former a bit. He's not ''quite'' as smart as he'd like to think, as his efforts at turning the Borg into fully synthetic lifeforms turned out as failures and he seemed to genuinely believe he could achieve it, but this was as much due to the complexity of the Borg themselves as his own failings.
* GenerationXerox: 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.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Tried to feed the ''Enterprise'' to his pet Crystalline Entity, and got beamed into the Entity himself, instead. However, since the Entity only consumes organic matter, it ignored him and drifted off, and Lore was left floating in space for two years.
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: Lore's smug and condescending demeanor comes from his belief he's superior to humans, but is undercut deeply when he was deconstructed and replaced with Data. Once he's re-activated, he even lies to everyone and claims that ''he'' was the superior android built to replace the unfinished Data, purely out of pettiness. It's still telling that even when Lore's attempting to be nice to Data in ''Descent'', he still can't stop bullying and tormenting his brother for his own amusement.
* {{Jerkass}}: ''So very much'' for a MisanthropeSupreme.
* KnightOfCerebus: 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.
* ManipulativeBastard: His trademark. He convinces Data as well as the crew of the ''Enterprise'' that he's a good guy when they first meet while plotting all the while to betray them, and when he comes across a group of lost Borg that are cut off from the Collective he decides to turn them into his own personal cult that he might destroy the Federation while stringing them along with half-serious promises of helping them. He's also ''much'' better at passing himself off as human-like than Data is, in that he's able to use contractions and otherwise speak like a normal person, which in private conversation with Data he implies is also deliberate manipulation to better deceive organic beings.
* MisanthropeSupreme: Has a bone to pick with humans. ''All'' humans.
* MoralityChip: "Whoops, I knew I forgot something." -- Dr. Soong.
* OmnicidalManiac: He hates humans both because he views them as inferior and because his own human father basically discarded him in favour of Data, and he extended this hatred to all organic life. He destroyed the human colony he was raised in by setting the Crystalline Entity upon it, and he has grandiose ambitions to destroy the Federation itself if he ever gets the power.
* PsychopathicManchild: 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, Soong, is dying, Lore goes into deep denial, with an almost childlike refusal to accept the situation.
* PsychoPrototype: He was the first of Dr. Soong's androids to achieve full sentience, but even then he was far from "stable".
* RobotWar: His long term goal is to build an army of synthetic beings and wipe out organic life. Luckily the ''Enterprise'' crew and Hugh's Borg crew stop him.
* SealedEvilInACan: He's found disassembled in Dr. Soong's lab and the ''Enterprise'' crew make the mistake of putting him back together.
* SelfMadeOrphan: He was genuinely moved by seeing Dr. Soong again, but didn't let that stop him in his evil ambitions.
* SelfServingMemory: In his debut episode "Datalore" he claims to be the superior model of android to his "imperfect" brother Data, and that the colonists on Omicron Theta dismantled him because they were jealous of how "perfect" he is. Dr. Soong sets the record straight in "Brothers"; Data and Lore are virtually identical in construction, just programmed differently. And the colonists weren't jealous of Lore, they were ''afraid'' of the ObviouslyEvil android in their midst.
* SiblingYinYang: His brother Data is kind, innocent, and stoic in direct contrast to Lore's manipulative, hyper-emotional and psychopathic personality.
* SpotTheImpostor: Naturally, he impersonates Data at one point. And then at another point.
* UncannyValley:[[invoked]] 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 that what Lore said is not the truth and that the colonists actually feared Lore's mental instability.
* TheUnfavorite: In his own perception.
* VisionaryVillain: In "Descent".
* WellDoneSonGuy: "Brothers" implies that all he's ever wanted is Soong's approval, but instead only got rejection for being imperfect.
--> '''Lore:''' I would have proven myself to you if you'd just given me a chance! But it was easier to turn your back and build your precious ''Data''!
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Utterly subverted. He's pure evil in both his first and last appearances, but in "Brothers," viewers learn about his FreudianExcuse 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 monstrous {{Jerkass}} core with [[OmnicidalManiac omnicidal tendencies]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Gul Madred]]
->'''Played by''': Creator/DavidWarner

A Cardassian gul who interrogeted (read: tortured) Picard after he was captured on a mission to destroy a Cardassian weapons facility.
----
* DarkAndTroubledPast: He grew up on the streets and was bullied by older boys. Picard figures that this is why he became a TortureTechnician, [[FreudianExcuse so he can do to others what was done to him]].
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: He seems to genuinely love his daughter, though he has no problems with her watching a man being tortured.
* FauxAffablyEvil: He puts on a show of being polite and chummy with Picard, even while zapping Picard with a pain implant and playing various mind games. [[NotSoStoic This facade slips, however, whenever Picard successfully gets under his skin.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professor James Moriarty]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shipinabottle066_resized_2435.jpg]]
->'''Played by''': Creator/DanielDavis

->''"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 Literature/SherlockHolmes' 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 ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' and Vic Fontaine on ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''.
----
* AndIMustScream: 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.
* AntiVillain: Especially in "Ship in a Bottle".
** Despite being a recreation of Moriarty and described as "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, [[HeelFaceTurn 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.
* BittersweetEnding: 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.
* TheBusCameBack: "Ship in a Bottle".
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: 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.
* EvilCounterpart: Created as such for Data in "Elementary, Dear Data", and becomes one for Picard in "Ship in a Bottle".
* ExactWords: 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.
* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Picard tricking him with a holodeck within a holodeck may count as this.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: "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.
* MediumAwareness: As part of his consciousness.
* NotSoDifferent: 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.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: In "Ship in a Bottle".
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: 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 ''Film/StarTrekGenerations''? [[ShootTheShaggyDog 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 ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' 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.
* WhatTheHellHero: Invokes this in "Ship in a Bottle" along with YouBastard, when informing Picard that he was often ''[[AndIMustScream 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 [[AntiVillain expect him to be]]. He's a little mollified by Picard explaining that they ''had'' been conducting research to help him.
* WickedCultured
* WorthyOpponent: Despite his frustration, he has the utmost respect for Captain Picard in "Ship in a Bottle".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Alynna Nechayev]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nechayev_tng_3832.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/NataliaNogulich

[[{{Warhawk}} 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.
----
* DefrostingIceQueen: 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.
* InsaneAdmiral: A very firm aversion of the trope. While the characters might not always have agreed with her orders or decisions, she functioned more like DaChief--giving harsh orders, but never engineering a coup or subverting Federation law. Sometimes she was even a ReasonableAuthorityFigure.
* IronLady: 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.
* MeanBoss: Understandable given the circumstances. But some of her decisions were memorably harsh.
* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong: This can't be a coincidence. The days of Chekhov and his goofy accent are over.
* PetTheDog: 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.
* TookALevelInBadass: 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.
* TyrantTakesTheHelm: 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, [[Series/DeepSpaceNine Benjamin Sisko]], much less as their views and pragmatism mirror each other's.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Q]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/q_delancie_3959.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/JohnDeLancie

->"I'm not good in groups. It's hard to work in groups when you're omnipotent."

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 TricksterMentor 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 [[WeHaveBecomeComplacent grown too complacent]]. Q demonstrates this by [[DisproportionateRetribution flinging the]] ''[[DisproportionateRetribution Enterprise]]'' [[DisproportionateRetribution light-years across the galaxy and dropping them in Borg space.]]

Q, who makes it his business to meddle in mortal affairs, seems 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. [[WordOfSaintPaul 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.
----
* AboveGoodAndEvil: 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".
* AlmightyJanitor: {{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 [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor 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.
* AntiVillain: 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 [[TricksterMentor 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. At least for those crewmen who don't die as a result of his 'lessons'.
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: 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, as he did with Riker. 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.
* AmazonChaser: 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, nor is Vash.
* AscendedExtra: 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.
* AttentionWhore: 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 [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu punched Q]] for mouthing off too much.
* BadassFingerSnap: Practically a trademark aspect of the character. He does this whenever he warps reality on a large scale.
* BewareTheSillyOnes: 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.
* BlingOfWar: 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."). When he briefly appears as a Starfleet admiral, his uniform is a lot heavier on the gold trim than the real admirals we see later on.
* BreakTheHaughty: The expression on his face when Geordi orders him to sit still and keep pressing buttons. ("Déjà Q") Poor guy looks bored to tears!
* ButForMeItWasTuesday: You don't want this guy to get bored and then decide to make you his playmate.
* TheBully: Whilst whether or not Q ''means'' to be malevolent is something the fandom endlessly argues about, there can be no denying that he truly relishes his superior power to virtually every other race in the universe and how this lets him "play" with them to his heart's content. Q has committed ''intergalactic genocides'' as '''jokes''' -- this really says everything you need to know about Q's relationship with any species that isn't powerful enough to stand up to him. Indeed, the whole plot of "Déjà Q" is that Q turns to the Enterprise after being BroughtDownToNormal because he's justifiably terrified of what'll happen to him should it be discovered he's no longer the scariest kid in the playground anymore.
* CharacterOverlap: Has been in TNG, VOY, [=DS9=] and the expanded universe. Honestly, it was surprising that he didn't show up in ''Enterprise''. (Though Q and zippers just seems wrong somehow.)
* DeadpanSnarker: 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.
* DebtDetester: After surviving his BroughtDownToNormal 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".
* DependingOnTheWriter: 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 CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass 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 [[PlanetOfSteves is named "Q"]], though they never have any trouble knowing which Q anyone is referring to at any given time.
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: 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 [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu the sister trope]].)
* DivineIntervention: Usually after he's ''started'' the problem and someone brow-beats him into cleaning up the mess he made.
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: Magnaimously, Q offers himself as a guide to tackle some of the horrors that await, only to find his offer rejected. He then proceeds to show them exactly ''why'' he would have been such a good asset by playing frisbee with the ''Enterprise''.
* EldritchAbomination: He's a Q, which are [[TheOmniscient omniscient]], [[PhysicalGod godlike]] [[TheOmnipotent in power]] and [[TimeAbyss ageless]] EnergyBeings with a BlueAndOrangeMorality and in a dimension which is [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm incomprehensible]] to anyone other than them.
** In ''Hide and Q'' he first appears as an "Aldebaran Serpent", which looks like a floating bubble with three cobras sticking out of it.
* EntitledBastard: 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 JerkAssGod behavior.
* EpunymousTitle: Episodes featuring him include both his name and a pun on Q, e.g. "Deja Q". The exceptions are "Encounter At Farpoint", "Tapestry", and "All Good Things..." on TNG and "Death Wish" on Voyager.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: 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'').
* EvenEvilHasStandards: ''Literature/TheQContinuum'' establishes that Q at least perceives his games as being fair to his potential opponents in that he sets the rules and always gives them a chance to win; Picard is uncertain if 'fair play' is applicable given the power difference between Q and his opponents, but concedes that Q is at least a gracious loser.
** In "Deja Q" after seeing Data risk his life to save him, Q realizes that [[DirtyCoward he wouldn't do the same thing for Data.]] The fact that he is such a coward without his powers disgusts him.
* EvilIsNotAToy: He tries to teach his son this ("Don't. Provoke. The Borg"), to little success. [[ParentalHypocrisy Probably because Junior knows his father pulled the exact same shit on the Enterprise crew]].
* FirstTimeFeeling: Being an omnipotent being, when Q is BroughtDownToNormal in the episode "Deja Q," he is overwhelmed by the human sensations he experiences for the first time: he finds falling asleep harrowing, he orders several chocolate sundaes when he first experiences hunger, and he is perplexed by a pain in his back.
* {{Foil}}: ''Literature/TheQContinuum'' trilogy has Q taking Picard on a tour of Q's past, during which Picard is introduced to the entity known as 0, who initially inspired Q's interest in testing lesser races. However, Q soon realises that 0 actually just uses the excuse of 'testing' as a weak form of justification for basically tormenting lesser races, as 0 and his associates spend several decades manipulating a vast ancient empire into civil war and then destroy their star just as they were about to make peace where Q is never sadistically cruel and always gives his 'opponents' a chance to win.
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: 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.
* ForTheLulz: Most of his actions are just because he is bored and looking for entertainment.
* AGodAmI: Technically, he's right, but he tends to rub people's noses in it. He's openly mocked when he claims he's the God of the afterlife in "Tapestry".
* GoodIsNotNice: Even his "good" moments are tempered by his complete disregard for who is hurt by his actions.
%%* GreatGazoo
* HatesBeingTouched: 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.
* HumanoidAbomination: His human appearance is created so that he can mingle with humans. There's nothing human about him.
* HangingJudge: In his first ([[spoiler:and last]]) appearance. Q's courtroom is ironically modeled on the {{Kangaroo Court}}s of the [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture early 21st century]], when atomic and eugenic wars had completely dissolved civilization.
* HeroicSacrifice: He attempts one at the end of "Deja Q," to the astonishment of everyone involved.
* HiddenDepths: Despite being an Omnipotent Jackass ManChild, 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 PhysicalGod who holds life and death at his whim and is operating on his own agenda.
* HumansAreSuperior:... to the other mortal species, anyway. Q occasionally makes indiscreet reference to humanity's potential, in a backhanded way. What really underlines it is his interactions with other species. He treats Worf, for instance, as barely capable of sentient thought.
* TheImp: 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.
* InsufferableGenius
-->"I'm not interested in human interpersonal relationships. I just want to prove to Picard that I'm indispensable."
* ItsAllAboutMe: 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. In one episode the Enterprise has to deal with another (seemingly) all-powerful being who's taken control of a planet's government. When it's brought up by the crew that it might be Q in some sort of disguise, Picard shoots the idea down because even if he ''did'' have supreme power, Q was too self-centered to actually perform the day-to-day business of ruling a planet.
* JackassGenie: 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.[[note]]Ironically, the (non-canon) novel "Q-Squared" revealed that Mitchell's powers and madness were the result of a shattered and disembodied Q being hurled backwards through time and lodging inside of him[[/note]] Luckily the crew manages to talk him out of his trance.
* JerkassGods: 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'').
* JerkassHasAPoint: "Q Who" is him telling the Enterprise that they aren't prepared for the dangers out in the galazy. Picard questions if Q's lesson about how dangerous the galaxy is could have been done without the death of eighteen members of his crew. [[ShutUpKirk Q responds that the galaxy isn't a safe place and if Picard isn't prepared to accept that people die in the face of danger, then he shouldn't leave home.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Such as warning the Federation of the Borg a year before they would have come. Other such behaviors include thanking Data for TakingTheBullet 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). He also admits that engineering Picards' time travel in ''All Good Things'' is something he decided on his own, to give Picard a chance to save the quadrant.
* LargeHam: His presence is as large as his ego. For instance, he celebrated the return of his powers with a dramatic HesBack shout and a mariachi band.
* LivingForeverIsAwesome: 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.
* AMillionIsAStatistic: 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''.
** In the same episode, his bored reaction to Riker calling him out on those deaths:
--->'''Q:''' Oh, ''please''.
* NoBiologicalSex: 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 EnergyBeing 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, as he isn't really either: he's a Q.
* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: One-ups every other ''Franchise/StarTrek'' example by [[HoYay teleporting into Picard's bed]].
** Also has a history of hitting on [[Series/StarTrekVoyager Janeway]] during most of their encounters.
** His attempts to tutor and interact with Amanda Rogers in "True Q" also involve him getting very close and personal.
* TheOmnipotent: Literally. He considers changing the physical laws of the universe to be trivial.
-->'''Q:''' You just do it!
* OneLetterName: You may have noticed that "Q" is nothing more than that.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness:
** 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.
** When he first explained to the ''Enterprise'' crew what the Borg are, he spoke in a very quiet, calm, and direct manner. No jokes, no hamming it up, just straight to the point that they were outmatched and doomed. There's a reason his 'oh, please' line is so well remembered.
* PetTheDog:
** 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.
** There are several more instances where he goes out of his way to help Picard when there's really nothing in it for him.
* PhysicalGod: He has a physical form and god-like power.
* RealityWarper: 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.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: He's [[{{Immortality}} immortal]] and was present at the beginning of the Universe yet still looks like a middle aged man.
* ShapeshifterDefaultForm:
** 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.
* ShutUpKirk: 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.
%%* SlouchOfVillainy
* SmallNameBigEgo: An odd case in that his ego is arguably justified by his powers, but Picard treats him like this.
* StoryBreakerPower: He's a Q. The words "omniscient and omnipotent" belong somewhere in the species description.
* StrawCharacter: 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 [[JerkassHasAPoint a valid point about anything]]. This changed with his appearance in "Q Who".
* SufficientlyAdvancedAlien: Every member of the Q Continuum (minus Q's son) was present at the beginning of the universe. They are ''very'' advanced. Which would give added props to the humans who decide to take a swing at him, like Ben Sisko, if proving how humans can be "savage" wasn't Q's goal all along.
* SuperEmpowering: To Riker, and in a novel, Lwaxana Troi. The former gives them up to avoid PowerCorrupts. The latter turned out to be an ''incredibly'' [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown bad idea]] on Q's part.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: To Trelane, an infantile (and godlike) alien from TOS' "The Squire of Gothos". Not officially; [[WordOfSaintPaul 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.
* TokenEvilTeammate: 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 Gandhi.
* TricksterGod: According to some of the novels, Q is the UrExample for this trope InUniverse, 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. He can [[RealityWarper transform/transport people with the snap of his fingers]], but tends to [[TricksterMentor help people learn moral lessons while putting them in dangerous situations]].
* TricksterMentor: 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, "[[HelpingWouldBeKillStealing It'll mean more if you figure it out for yourself.]]"
* UnreliableNarrator: 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.
* VitriolicBestBuds: 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.
* WeAreAsMayflies: 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.
* WellDoneSonGuy: 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 ranks of the Q Continuum would have you believe that the Q have always existed as they are, unchanged from the beginning of time -- based on Quinn's cynical remarks about the Q Continuum having an inflated opinion of themselves and how they evolved to their present state from mortal forms, it would be more accurate to say that the Q simply gave up on birthing new members of their race eons ago.[[/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 EnergyBeing.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: 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 JerkAss and arrogant tendencies towards Picard and his crew with the point of view that it will make them stronger in the long run.
* WouldHurtAChild: Wesley gets a bloody spike poking through his chest in "Hide & Q".
* YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry: 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.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Commander Sela]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sela_tng_6626.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/DeniseCrosby

Illegitimate half-Romulan daughter of Tasha Yar. A major player in the Romulan plot to smash up the Federation-Klingon alliance. She was born as an indirect result of the events of "Yesterday's Enterprise", where the crew encountered the time-displaced crew of the USS ''Enterprise-C'', creating an alternate timeline where Tasha never died.

Not wanting to be erased from existence, the alternate Tasha chose to accompany the crew of the ''Enterprise-C'' back to the year 2344, intending to fight and die with them when they made their famous LastStand against the Romulans. Instead, she was captured--and ended up raped and impregnated by a Romulan guard before dying in an escape attempt.
----
* BastardBastard: She's the ChildByRape of Natasha Yar and a Romulan general. And she's an asshole.
** Bizarrely enough, she seems to actually be proud of being a ChildByRape....
** More likely she's CompensatingForSomething; a HalfHumanHybrid 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.
* BondVillainStupidity: 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!
* ChildByRape: She's the daughter of [[spoiler:the alternate]] Tasha Yar from [[spoiler:"Yesterday's Enterprise"]], who was taken as a consort by a Romulan general. [[BastardBastard She takes after her father.]]
* EmergingFromTheShadows: Her reveal shot.
* EvilCounterpart: To Spock: a HalfHumanHybrid who identifies with her alien half rather than her human half.
* GeneralFailure: 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.
* HalfHumanHybrid: The child of Tasha Yar ([[spoiler:from an alternate timeline]]) and a Romulan man.
* HateSink: In her every appearance she is arrogant, violent, remorseless, looks down on pretty much everyone who isn't a Romulan, and doesn't understand why her mother would want to leave their father when she had been enslaved as a consort and obviously held prisoner for years. There's very little to like about Sela.
* IdenticalGrandson: She's Tasha Yar with pointed ears and an even worse hairstyle.
* InformedAttribute: She's presented as a brilliant strategist. Realistically, she has a ComplexityAddiction worthy of a Bond villain and [[SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale no sense of scale whatsoever]].[[note]]Her gambit in "Unification" expects freighters carrying 2,000 soldiers to be able to invade Vulcan, one of the founding worlds of the Federation and only 16 light-years from Earth. As Website/StarDestroyerDotNet put it, you couldn't successfully invade ''Belgium'' with that few troops.[[/note]]
* SelfMadeOrphan: 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.
* ScarpiaUltimatum: Her father was smitten by Tasha's beauty, and agreed to spare the other Starfleet prisoners if she became his consort.
* SmugSnake: In "Unification: Part II".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Noonian Soong]]
[[quoteright:246:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/noonian_soong_4930.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/BrentSpiner

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.
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* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: 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 ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan''.
* CrazyPrepared: Survived the attack on his colony by having a route planned just in case of emergency, explaining to Data he always makes a point to have a method of escape in his dwelling. This can be seen in Data's design; he has an off-switch, a summoning command, and a MoralityChip, just in case he [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters got a little too uppity.]] At least part of this is trial-and-error as Lore had the first two but not the third, and still managed to be dangerous without it.
* DecidedByOneVote: 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.)
* DirtyOldMan: Now, ''why'' is Data fully anatomically correct, and programmed with a full variety of sexual techniques, Doctor Soong?
* FakeGuestStar: Brent Spiner already plays Data.
* ForScience: 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. That said, he still loved and doted on Data as if he was his biological child, not simply an experiment.
* GenerationXerox: ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' shows us Dr. Arik Soong, an ancestor of his who was also obsessed with an impractical technology, in his case BioAugmentation...
** IdenticalGrandson: ...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.
* IntangibleMan: 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.
* MadScientist: Of the good-but-obsessive sort.
* MyGreatestFailure: 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.
* NeverFoundTheBody: Was assumed dead when the Crystalline Entity attacked his colony.
* NewtonEinsteinSurak: 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.
* PosthumousCharacter: Makes at least two appearances this way, in a dream of Data's and a holoprogram coded into the android duplicate of his wife.
* RobotMaster: Built a series of physically identical androids.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Depending on the episode his first name is spelled either Noonian or Noonien.
* TheyCalledMeMad: 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".
* TrulySingleParent: 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.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ambassador Spock]]
[[quoteright:292:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spock_tng_1070.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/LeonardNimoy

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.
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%%* {{Ambadassador}}
* NotSoStoic: When he mind-melds with Picard, getting to see that part of his father Sarek that was shared with the captain during their previous meld, Spock almost bursts into tears.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: After how badly [[Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry 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.
* TheSpock: TropeNamer.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Commander Tomalak]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tomalak_tng_4198.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/AndreasKatsulas

Crafty Romulan commander who is usually up to no good.
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* AffablyEvil: Always maintains a smarmy facade, even when speaking BlatantLies.
* BackForTheFinale: 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.
* GracefulLoser: After being outgambitted by Picard in "The Defector," he tells him [[WorthyOpponent "I look forward to our next encounter."]]
* MilitaryMaverick
-->'''Tomalak:''' Has Starfleet Command approved this plan?\\
'''Picard:''' No.\\
'''Tomalak:''' I like it already.
* SmugSnake: At least when he's winning. Which rarely lasts long.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Only appears in early seasons, and his role as a recurring Romulan antagonist is largely replaced by Sela later on.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lwaxana Troi]]
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lwaxana_majel_8331.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/MajelBarrett

[[CatchPhrase Daughter of the Fifth House, holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed]]. Widowed mother to Deanna 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.
----
* AbhorrentAdmirer: 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. Homm despite the "outrageously lustful" thoughts she claims 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''.
* AccidentalMisnaming: She keeps calling Worf "Woof".
* AdultChild: ''"Your Captain is highly attracted to me, but he’s ''too old!''"''
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Given that Lwaxana has considerable political and diplomatic clout, and her... man-hungriness is a predictable time in a Betazoid's lifespan, Picard - an experienced, strongwilled, politically-savvy senior officer - might really be the best choice. He's extremely flustered and annoyed, yes. What he's not is in a position where he couldn't say "No, thank you." There aren't many men in Lwaxana's social sphere of whom that could be said. In an odd kind of way, Picard is safe.
* AssInAmbassador: 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 peoples' shirts!
* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParent:
* BlueBlood: Though [[BunnyEarsLawyer 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.
* CarpeDiem
* CloudCuckoolander
* CoolOldLady: Particularly in "Cost of Living" when she becomes like a doting aunt to Worf's son Alexander.
* DirtyOldWoman: Enjoys hitting on men, especially Picard.
* TheDreaded: A non-villainous example. Just knowing she's on board is enough to make Picard take precautions to avoid her.
* FakeGuestStar: Majel Barrett Roddenberry voice-acted every Federation computer in TNG (and for that matter [=DS9=] and VOY), 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 ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' ("In A Mirror, Darkly") and the [[Film/StarTrek2009 2009 preboot]] (very shortly before her death), making her, for a time, the ''only'' person to be involved in every incarnation of the franchise, until the launch of Series/StarTrekDiscovery made that position vacant.
* TheFashionista
* GenkiGirl: Always friendly, always cheerful, always enthusiastic, even to the point of annoying people around her.
* GoodBadGirl: Since her husband died, she always seems to have MrFanservice on her arm or is on the lookout for it.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: 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.
* HiddenDepths: Let's face it, no one expects her to be as compassionate and thoughtful as she is, particularly when it comes to [[ForHappiness helping someone enjoy themselves.]] Odo even points this out to her, which she takes as a great compliment.
* HumanAlien: She's Betazoid and looks just as human as her half-human daughter.
* ImpossiblyLowNeckline: {{Subverted|Trope}} in that her cleavage has noticeably sagged.
* IWantGrandkids: 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.
* InsistentTerminology: 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.
* MsFanservice: Like her daughter, but especially for those who [[LikesOlderWomen like older women]].
* MyBelovedSmother: Lwaxana is often a bit ''too'' involved in Deanna's business. She embarrasses her senseless during her visits.
* MyBiologicalClockIsTicking: Towards Picard. And it's ''hilarious''.
* PimpedOutDress: You can always count on Lwaxana to give your eyes a break from the staid aesthetic of the Enterprise uniforms.
* PhonyPhonyPsychic: The final gag in "Manhunt" is that those absurd looking FishPeople are assassins, and Mrs Troi knew so all along, so maybe her psychic radar isn't broken after all.
* SeriesContinuityError: Apparently, Deanna can sense considerable deception on DaiMon Bok’s 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}}
* RaceFetish: 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.
* StepfordSmiler: As shown in "Dark Page."
* TalkingToHerself: When using the ship's computer.
* TeamMom: Troi is sensitive to the emotions onboard the ''Enterprise'', and so tended to pry into people's business. It’s 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.
* TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard: Lwaxana Troi, Daughter of the Fifth House, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, Heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed.
** SmallNameBigEgo: Although as Deanna points out, the Sacred Chalice of Rixx is just an old pot with some mold growing in it.
* WidowWoman
[[/folder]]
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* {{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 comes to the fore: he is most human whenever he is playing dress-up.

* TricksterGod: 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.

* MisterBig: A heroic variant. Picard is pretty modest-sized, especially when compared to [[GentleGiant Riker]] and [[TheBigGuy Worf]], but this does not compromise his authority.

* NiceGuy: Quite probably the nicest and most easy-going guy in the whole future. An android who is literally incapable of feeling affection for anyone or anything considers this guy his best friend, that's how likable Geordi is.

* CoolOldGuy: He's not that old but close. People just respect him naturally.