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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_next_generation.png]]
[-[[caption-width-right:350:The crew of the USS ''Enterprise'', NCC-1701-D.[[note]]Top, from left to right: [[NumberTwo William Riker]], [[ArtificialHuman Data]], [[TheBartender Guinan]], [[BlackAndNerdy Geordi La Forge]], [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Worf]]. Bottom, left to right: [[TheEmpath Deanna Troi]], [[TheCaptain Picard]], [[DeterminedDoctor Dr. Beverly Crusher]]. [[TeenGenius Wesley]]'s holding the camera. Better than anyone else could, no doubt. Especially [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Tasha.]][[/note]]]]-]
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:The ''Enterprise''-D]]
!!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 only time the ''Enterprise'' served as the command ship of a fleet was during the Klingon Civil War, and even then, the Fleet Admiral which approved Picard's plan of blockading the Romulan border to keep them from interfering gave Picard broad discretion to command the fleet as he saw fit (which included transferring Riker, Data, and Geordi to other understaffed ships), rather than travel with the fleet.
** There was also an alternate universe where the ''Enterprise'' was leading a war against the Klingons, in which the ship was 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, while ''Galaxy''-class ships that served in the Dominion War were refitted to be used as TheHeavy of the Federation fleets, transporting ground troops and supplies instead of families, similar to how the alternate timeline ''Enterprise'' appeared in ''Yesterday's Enterprise''.
* BackFromTheDead: Thirty years after the destruction of the stardrive section and the crash of the saucer on Veridian III, the ''Enterprise''-D is eventually rebuilt to spec by Geordi La Forge in ''Series/StarTrekPicard'', originally to serve out the rest of its days as the centerpiece of the Starfleet Fleet Museum at Athan Prime. However, a crisis of unfathomable scale forces the old crew to BreakOutTheMuseumPiece as their last best hope against the renewed Borg threat to the Federation.
** For tropes pertaining to the ''Enterprise''-D as it appears in ''Picard'', [[Characters/StarTrekPicardTheFederation see the "PIC" character page]].
* 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]].
!!Hologram ''Enterprise''-D
A holographic representation of the ''Enterprise''-D appears as part of the Kobayashi Maru simulation on the holodeck of the ''U.S.S. Protostar''.
For tropes relating to her appearance there, along with the other holograms, see, ''Characters/StarTrekProdigy''.
[[/folder]]
!!Senior Staff
[[folder:Captain Jean-Luc Picard]]
-> See [[Characters/StarTrekTheNextGenerationJeanLucPicard Jean-Luc Picard]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Commander William Riker]]
!!Commander William T. Riker
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/riker_frakes_8603.jpg]]
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JonathanFrakes
!!!'''Dubbed in French by:''' Bernard Bollet (TNG), Sylvain Lemarié (Movies)
!!!'''Dubbed in Brazilian Portuguese by:''' Alfredo Martins (TNG, Season 1), José Augusto Sendim (TNG, Season 2 on)
->'''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, though 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.
For tropes related to his appearances on some of the other shows, see his entries on:
* ''[[Characters/StarTrekLowerDecksStarfleetShips Lower Decks]]''
* ''[[Characters/StarTrekPicardTheFederation Picard]]''
----
* TheAce: Riker is good at everything. He's an inspiring leader, an AcePilot, a badass fighter, a nice guy, a ladies' man, a skilled poker player, and a talented trombonist. Picard says that Riker's the best officer he's ''ever'' worked with.
* AcePilot: Riker is famed among Starfleet for his piloting prowess. He establishes his credentials in "Encounter at Farpoint" with a manual spaceport docking. In "Chains of Command," Geordi says that the only way to have 100% certainty on a dangerous mission's success is to have Riker take the driver's seat.
* AmbiguouslyBi: Riker is only shown onscreen in relationships with females, human or otherwise, except in an episode where he falls in love with an alien from a species without sexual differentiation. While the alien self-identifies as female (and is persecuted for this by her species), the given description of her species' method of procreation suggests that she has some sort of insertive sex organ. This implies that Riker is either attracted to that or capable of disregarding it. [[WordOfGod Frakes]] went on record saying Riker is "try-sexual" as in "he'll try anything once."
* 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, [[JerkassHasAPoint so there's that]].
* 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]].
** Frakes worked as a furniture mover before becoming an actor, and sustained a back injury that made certain actions painful for him (note his very unusual way of sitting in seats - that is, stepping ''over'' them!); the Captain Morgan Pose was Frakes' way of making standing around easier for him.
* 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."
* CharacterTics: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVIGhYMwRgs He has a very peculiar way of getting in and out of chairs.]] According to Frakes, 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 his first scene, Riker makes Geordi snap to attention when delivering a message. He never does anything like this again over the course of the series, and it comes across rather out of character.
** In early episodes he's portrayed as something of a ruthless careerist and it's stated that he and Troi broke up because he was too dedicated to his dream of commanding a starship. Later on, as listed below in LimitedAdvancementOpportunities, Riker became notorious for turning down ''multiple'' offers to command a starship of his own, preferring to be the XO of the flagship rather than the captain of a lesser vessel.
* CharacterizingSittingPose: He likes to sit on a chair leaning to a side in a way that looks like a slouch and he sits down by walking to the back of the chair and stepping over it, reflecting his occasional CowboyCop tactics. Also a case of RealLifeWritesThePlot because Jonathan Frakes has spinal problems and this was the most comfortable way he could sit on the chairs designed for the "Enterprise" sets.
* CharacterOverlap: William Thomas Riker is tied (with Spock) for most crossover appearances within the franchise, having appeared in five more shows beyond this one: ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine DS9]]'': "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS03E09Defiant Defiant]]"[[note]]This one requires a bit of LoopholeAbuse as Frakes is technically playing Riker's clone, Thomas, from "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E22SecondChances Second Chances]]," who himself is impersonating Will[[/note]], ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager VOY]]'': "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS2E18DeathWish Death Wish]]", ''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise ENT]]'': "[[Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS04E21TheseAreTheVoyages These Are The Voyages...]]" (whose FramingDevice is of Riker trying to figure out what to do during the events of ''TNG'': "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS7E11ThePegasus The Pegasus]]"), a couple episodes of ''[[WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks LWD]]'' and several more of ''[[Series/StarTrekPicard PIC]]''. Unlike Spock, who has been played by [[TheOtherDarrin three different actors]] over the course of 65 years, Riker is always portrayed by Jonathan Frakes.
* 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.
* DuplicateDivergence: Has a transporter accident clone who was left abandoned on an alien planet for years before anyone realized he existed. After he was rescued he started going by his middle name "Thomas" [[spoiler: and joined the Maquis.]]
* 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. He also stops one sexual interlude with a woman who acts as though she were a SexSlave instead of an equal partner.
* {{Expy}}: To Captain Kirk, with his way with [[BoldlyComing (alien)]] women and his reputation as TheAce.
* FamousForBeingFirst: Riker volunteers to be part of an Officer Exchange Program, becoming the First Officer of a Klingon battlecruiser, mostly because nobody's ever done it before. ("It" being OEP-ing on a Klingon ship, not OEP-ing in general.)
* 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.\\
'''Worf:''' 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.
* 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.
** Exaggerated 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.
* ManlyFacialHair: He has a SeadogBeard, a commanding presence on TheBridge, and a ''lot'' of appeal to the females.
* 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.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Riker is known for being a strong, commanding presence. He may be quietly grim in bad situations, but he does his best to keep it together for the crew. If he's ranting like a madman ("Frame of Mind", one alternate Riker in "Parallels"), you know things have ''really'' gone to hell.
* PhraseCatcher: "He's the best!" Said first by [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E22SkinOfEvil Tasha Yar]] and later echoed by [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E21PeakPerformance Picard]] himself when his exceptional talents are doubted. [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E10ChainOfCommand Geordie]] too, to Jellico no less, about the perfection he exudes. Not entirely accurate, he can't play [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E22SecondChances "Night Bird"]].
* 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.
* SignatureInstrument: His favorite instrument is the trombone, which goes nicely with his love of jazz. He once uses it to "talk" to Deanna, who then jokes that it's less confusing than how he normally talks.
* 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.
* TheWatson: Riker is the least scientifically knowledgeable of the command staff, so it usually falls to him to ask for clarifications and layman's translations of TechnoBabble.
* 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]]
!!Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/laforge_burton_2264.jpg]]
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/{{LeVar Burton}}
!!!'''Dubbed in French by:''' Gérard Malabat (TNG), Marc Bretonnière (Generations and Nemesis), Thierry Desroses (First Contact and Insurrection)
!!!'''Dubbed in Brazilian Portuguese by:''' Marco Ribeiro (TNG, Season 1), Jorge Jr (TNG, Season 2 to 6), Marcos Souza (TNG, Season 7)
-> "[...] ''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.
----
* 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: In one episode, he states that he can detect subtle shifts in people's bio-signs (at least, with humans) that let him tell if they're lying. This doesn't really come up again.
* 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.
* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Geordi was canonically born in UsefulNotes/{{Somalia}}, but [=LeVar=] Burton never made any attempt to disguise his American accent.
** This is likely because Geordi's a military (Starfleet) [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_brat_(U.S._subculture) 'brat']]. And like many military 'brats', he could've been born where his parents were stationed, but not lived there for any significant amount of time. Also, the fact that neither of Geordi's Starfleet parents showed any trace of Somali accent, culture, or background, strengthens the argument that his birthplace had little bearing on his upbringing.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: He’s the first one to get infected in “The Naked Now”, and shows it off by a bad-tempered joke. Riker mentions that he’s too nice for that to be in character for him.
* {{Technobabble}}: Far from the only source of it in the show, but he could well be the poster boy for this trope.
* TheProfessor
* RankUp: Twice; Geordi starts out as a junior lieutenant in Season 1, gets promoted to full lieutenant and made Chief Engineer by Season 2, and by Season 3, he's become a lieutenant commander.
* 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]]
!!Lieutenant Natasha "Tasha" Yar
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yar_crosby_4897.jpg]]
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/DeniseCrosby
!!!'''Dubbed in French by:''' Laurence Dourlens
!!!'''Dubbed in Brazilian Portuguese by:''' Marly Ribeiro (TNG, Season 1), Andrea Murucci (TNG, Season 7)
->'''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]].
----
* AmbiguouslyBi: In “The Naked Now”, she talks like she’s always had a crush on Deanna, and touches her hand for long enough that Deanna looks questioning.
* 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.
* BoyishShortHair: She always keeps her hair short, and she's the most tomboyish woman on the ''Enterprise''.
* 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.]]
* 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.
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: It gets her frozen for her troubles, but she still tells Q and his KangarooCourt to go to hell in a seriously ballsy PatrickStewartSpeech.
* DroppedABridgeOnHer: Infamously so, killed off by a random one-shot MonsterOfTheWeek in as abrupt a manner as would usually fit a RedShirt. Unlike most red shirts, however, Tasha is never forgotten.
* 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.
* FollowingInTheirRescuersFootsteps: It was Starfleet officers who rescued Tasha from the CrapsackWorld on which she grew up, and she went on to serve in the organization herself, even singing it's praises to Q's face.
* 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: Tasha is described as very attractive on several occasions. Geordi comments on her beauty, and multiple humanoid aliens - like the Ligonian ruler and a Romulan general - try to make her their concubine.
* 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. She wears her hair in a shorter, lower maintenance style (at least when compared to Deanna or Beverly). Subverted in the sense that she eschews the stereotypical affected crudity of many contemporary Ladettes and likes to relax into her femininity when off duty.
* MsFanservice: Drunk Tasha wandering the ship with a SupermodelStrut; her "blitzed" voice is very seductive. She later seduces Data, after changing into a revealing BedlahBabe outfit.
* TheOneWhoMadeItOut: Unlike her sister, who appears later to manipulate the crew when they visit her homeworld.
* RapeAsBackstory: Possibly implied. She mentions that she spent most of her childhood dodging Rape-Gangs, but doesn't explicitly say if they ever caught her. The fact that she first mentions this while hitting on Data before having sex with him, brings up another [[PromiscuityAfterRape trope]].
* {{Robosexual}}: While under the influence in "The Naked Now", Tasha hits on and has sex with Data.
* SexSlave: Tragically, her alternate timeline self 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. “The Naked Now” has her stealing Deanna’s clothes because she’s always loved how she dresses and does her hair.
* UndignifiedDeath:
** One of the worse examples in ''Star Trek'', casually murdered by Armus like a Red Shirt.
** Her fate in the altered timeline of "Yesterday's Enterprise" is ultimately little better; after her attempt at a HeroicSacrifice, she was taken as a concubine by a Romulan general, [[ChildByRape having a daughter]], and ultimately being unceremoniously shot when said daughter ruined Tasha's eventual escape attempt.
* 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]]
!!Lieutenant Worf (later Lieutenant Commander) aboard ''Enterprise-D''
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/worf_dorn_204.jpg]]
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/MichaelDorn
!!!'''Dubbed in French by:''' Michel Blin (TNG), Benoit Allemane (Movies)
!!!'''Dubbed in Brazilian Portuguese by:''' Creator/GuilhermeBriggs (TNG-Season One), José Santa Cruz (TNG-Season 2 on, First Contact, Insurrection), Antônio Moreno (Nemesis)
->"''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]]'' and became a series regular there, was promoted to Commander, got married again, and eventually cleared his name (finally) and became an ambassador to the Klingons, which was quietly ignored when the ''TNG'' films needed him back in uniform.
----
* AccidentalChildKillerBackstory: Worf is exceptionally rigid and uptight, rarely allowing himself to relax around others. It's eventually revealed that as a child he was much less self-controlled, until a collision with another boy during a soccer game. Klingons are physically much tougher than humans, and the other boy died, which made Worf realize he had to maintain strict control of himself to avoid hurting the humans around him.
* 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.
* 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. Unfortunately, this means that the MonsterOfTheWeek usually proves how dangerous it is by [[TheWorfEffect beating him up]]. If it can kick Worf's ass, then it must be serious!
* BigScrewedUpFamily: With the exception of his adoptive human parents, who are embarrassingly proud of him. Worf's Klingon parents are dead, with his father posthumously branded a traitor. His wives have died, and he has a [[IHaveNoSon complicated relationship with his son]] Alexander. He's also at odds with both his brothers: his long-lost brother Kurn tries to bait Worf into killing him [[HonorBeforeReason so he can die with honor]] after Worf's discommendation, and the Rozhenkos' biological son Nikolai is a Starfleet dropout who, during his one visit to the Enterprise, deliberately breaches the Prime Directive.
* 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 ForeignQueasine, Worf has a ''very'' strange palate 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. The trope is also given a twist when Worf discovers that he loves prune juice and sees it as "a warrior's drink." He was also the only one to enjoy the botched omelettes that Riker made in one episode, though whether that speaks more to his taste buds or Riker's cooking skills is up for debate.
* 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.
* {{Catchphrase}}: [[https://youtu.be/1h38CPiS4NQ He often says "Klingons do not [insert activity here]."]]. It's practically TNG's version of Dr. [=McCoy=]'s [[ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder "I'm a doctor, not a..."]].
* 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.
* CultureBlind: Worf occasionally expresses bafflement at human culture in the first few episodes, but then it's established that he was raised on Earth by human parents, so his culture blindness gets dropped thereafter.
* CultureClash: Worf's very conservative Klingon beliefs occasionally put him at odds with Starfleet values and the rest of the crew. Ironically, they also occasionally put him at odds with other Klingons, who grew up with a much less idealized impression of Klingon culture.
* 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 people?\\
'''Worf:''' ''[matter-of-factly]'' Die.
* DecompositeCharacter: Data, Worf, and Troi 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 aspect.
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Whenever his Klingon culture shows up, it's often at odds with standard human morality. Moreover, Worf's own idealized version of Klingon culture often clashes with the realities of life in the Empire, with most other Klingons regarding him as a hidebound traditionalist at best and a foolish naif at worst.
* DeliveryGuy: Delivered Keiko O'Brien's daughter Molly during a crisis that prevented her from getting to sickbay.
-->'''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 an alarmed "''Now?!''", followed by informing Bashir and O'Brien that he'll be on shore leave around the delivery date, which is still several months away.
* {{Determinator}}: Say what you will about Worf, but the man ''does not give up''. Best exemplified on ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''.
-->'''Jem'hadar First Ikat'ika:''' 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.
* DisappointingHeritageReveal: Worf grew up with an idealized image of the Klingon Empire and its culture due to being a Klingon raised by humans. He eventually has to confront the reality that the Klingon Empire is mired in realpolitik, corruption, and schemes concocted by Klingons who lack honor.
* DrinkBasedCharacterization: Despite the Klingons' preference for bloodwine, firewine, and other badass beverages, Worf's favorite drink is the very human prune juice. It shows just how much humans and the Federation have rubbed off on him.
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Worf isn't actually a bad guy, but he is an example of GoodIsNotNice. He is, however, softer around his adoptive parents.
* TheEeyore: To other Klingons; he doesn't even think Klingons ''laugh''. Worf doesn't realize this until he's in the company of other Klingons, and they treat him as a stuffy stick-in-the-mud. Guinan sets him straight, telling him that Klingons aren't honor-bound automotons.
-->'''Guinan:''' You know, I had a bet with the Captain that I could make you laugh before you became lieutenant commander.\\
'''Worf:''' Not a good bet today.\\
'''Guinan:''' I've seen you laugh. I like it.\\
'''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.
* FantasticRacism:
** Worf completely ''loathes'' the Romulans, chiefly because his parents died in the Khitomer Incident and his family was later discommendated thanks to their machinations with a Klingon traitor. He flatly refuses to give a dying Romulan a blood transfusion to save his life (in fairness to Worf, the Romulan in question said he'd rather die than take blood from a Klingon) 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. He manages to cooperate with two Romulans to escape a Dominion prison camp and by the last movie, he (begrudgingly) praised the Romulans who helped them for their honor.
** He's also frequently on the receiving end as a result of being a Klingon.
* 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).
* FollowingInTheirRescuersFootsteps: After the Khitomer massacre, Worf was rescued and adopted by then-Chief Petty Officer Sergei Rozhenko. Like his adopted father, Worf went on to join Starfleet; according to his adoptive mother Helena, Worf getting his commission was the proudest day of Sergei's life, and Sergei never misses a chance to express pride in his son becoming an officer.
* FreudianExcuse: Worf's FantasticRacism towards Romulans is born of them having murdered his parents when they attacked the Khitomer Outpost.
* 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.
* 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. When invited to tea, he hazards, 'Good tea. Nice house.' He always was a succinct one.
* 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.
* IAmXSonOfY: "I am Worf, son of Mogh!" (In Klingon, "Son of Mogh" translates as "mogh [=puqloD=]".)
* 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 an earnest but 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 in "Samaritan Snare" 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...
* InterracialAdoptionStruggles: Worf, a Klingon, was adopted and raised by the Rozhenko family, humans with Russian ethnicity. The Rozhenkos wanted Worf to have a loving family, but they didn't want him to be ignorant of his Klingon heritage, either, so they tried to accommodate him by learning to make traditional Klingon dishes like ''rokeg'' blood pie. It's often noted that Worf is more serious and stern than most other Klingons, and this comes from a combination of him having actually studied the texts and history and taking them seriously, as well as an unfortunate incident in his past where he accidentally killed a young man during a sporting event, because his Klingon physiology meant he was far too strong to be careless around human beings. When he starts meeting other Klingons as an adult, he experiences some culture clash as the idealized version of Klingon culture he formed in his mind does not reflect reality.
* 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 and is capable of being very kind and gentle when he's in a good mood.
* LargeAndInCharge: Commander of the Enterprise's security department, and at 6'3", is only surpassed by 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.
* LikeFatherLikeSon: 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.
** They started off fairly prickly towards each other, but eventually the stoic badass warrior develops a strong friendship, and later on a brief romance with the [[NonActionGuy gentle]] empath Deanna.
* 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.
* OnlyOneName: Worf names himself in the Klingon style, "Worf, son of Mogh," even though he was raised by human parents, the Rozhenkos.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: When [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Worf]] considers a fight lost, you know the situation is bad; in ''First Contact'', with the Borg having overrun most of the ''Enterprise'', it's Worf of all people who tries to drive home to Picard that the ship is lost and they should cut their losses and run, even arguing back when Picard tries to insist that they keep fighting.
* ParentheticalSwearing: He does this every few episodes, usually when speaking about something that offends his Klingon sensibilities, like diplomacy.
* PatriotInExile: Rather than bring down the Empire by revealing that Duras was the son of a traitor who colluded with Romulans to cause the Khitomer Massacre, Worf accepts discommendation, basically being declared an exile from Klingon society. He is later reinstated during a Klingon Civil War. He is then kicked out again by Gowron for siding with the Federation during the events of ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'', before being re-reinvited by being adopted by Martok. Worf has a complicated history with his Klingon heritage.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Worf's FantasticRacism towards Romulans stands out in a supposedly much more open and understanding future. In his defense, his FreudianExcuse gives him a good reason to dislike the Romulans, and most of the Romulans he encounters don't give Worf many reasons to change his attitude.
* 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.
* RankUp: The first ''Next Generation'' era scene in ''Generations'' has the crew holding an elaborate ceremony to celebrate Worf's promotion to lieutenant commander.
* 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 Dominion ''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 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 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.
* ShutUpHannibal: When Worf engages Duras in a duel to the death after he [[spoiler:murders K'Ehleyr]], Duras tries to talk him out of it by promising to clear Worf's name. Worf isn't having any of it.
--> '''Duras:''' I'm the only one, Worf - the only one who can prove your innocence! Kill me and you're a traitor forever.\\
'''Worf:''' Than that is how it shall be!
* SoreLoser: You gotta love his way of dealing with the toy model he is making in "Peak Performance": he smashes it and tosses it in the trash, 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 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 bloodwine. 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. According to his mother, he is also very fond of her ''rokeg'' blood pie.
* TranquilFury: Worf being angry and bellowing is just standard for him. It's when he gets angry and goes calm that you need to be afraid as seen when Picard calls him a coward in "First Contact" and Worf quietly tells him that were Picard any other man, Worf would kill him on the spot.
* 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.
* WorfHadTheFlu: The other TropeNamer, though oddly, Worf himself seldom encounters this trope, because otherwise it wouldn't be The Worf Effect if he was at half-speed.
* 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
!!!'''Dubbed in French by:''' Valérie Jeannet (TNG), Anne Rochant (Movies)
!!!'''Dubbed in Brazilian Portuguese by:''' Selma Lopes (TNG, Season 1), Juraciara Diácovo (TNG, Season 2 to 6), Rita Lopes (TNG, Season 7)
->"''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 redheaded 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, instead 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.''
* TheBusCameBack: After spending Season 2 away at Starfleet Medical, Crusher returns to the ''Enterprise'' in Season 3 and remains there for the rest of the series and the movies.
* 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. Crusher, ironically, isn't too keen on word of her talents getting around the ship, not wanting to be known as "[[EmbarrassingNickname the dancing doctor]]" [[NoodleIncident again]].
* 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.
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: Unlike the often grouchy Dr. [=McCoy=], Dr. Crusher is warm, friendly, and maternal.
* 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.
* DeterminedDoctor: Even when she’s infected with what is essentially horniness and is hot for Picard, she tries to push through to find the antidote in “The Naked Now”.
* 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'').
* 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.
* HiddenDepths: She's an accomplished dancer, and also shows an impressive aptitude for command [[YouAreInCommandNow when the situation calls for it]].
* ItNeverGetsAnyEasier: She complains in “Code Of Honor” that doctors are meant to grow calluses over their feelings, and it hasn’t happened yet for her.
* 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: She's the ship's head doctor and is almost always the one shown delivering medical aid.
* 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 goes back to Earth to teach medicine at Starfleet Academy for a season, but she returns in Season 3.
* 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!''.
* StepfordSmiler: She hasn’t actually gotten over feelings of her husband’s death, but pushes them down, claiming he died a long time ago.
* 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:are ex-lovers with a grown son (Jack), as of Series/StarTrekPicard, and are married with a son (Rene) in the non-cannonical novel timeline]].
* WomenAreWiser: Crusher is the one person on the ship who can give Picard an order, and she ''loves'' it.
!!Hologram Crusher
!!!'''Played by:''' Creator/GatesMcFadden
A holographic representation of Crusher appears as part of the Kobayashi Maru simulation on the holodeck of the ''U.S.S. Protostar''.
For tropes relating to his appearance there, along with the other holograms, see, ''Characters/StarTrekProdigy''.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Counselor (Lieutenant Commander, later Commander) Deanna Troi]]
!!Counselor (Lieutenant Commander, later Commander) Deanna Troi
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/troi_sirtis_4882.jpg]]
!!!'''Played By''': Creator/MarinaSirtis
!!!'''Dubbed in French by:''' Anne Plumet (TNG), Deborah Perret (Movies)
->''"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". They didn't start to get her hair under control until ''First Contact''.
* AnAlienNamedBob: Downplayed. Deanna is [[HalfHumanHybrid only half alien]].
* 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.
* CaptainCrash: Troi takes the helm twice during the movies, and both times, the ship ends up crashing into something. Despite the ribbing she gets from fans, both cases are justified; in ''Generations'', the saucer section is already crashing and Troi manages to keep it under control to minimize casualties, and in ''Nemesis'', Picard actually ordered her to ram the ''Enterprise'' into the ''Scimitar'' to disable the enemy ship.
* 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!"
* CharacterOverlap: After Riker, Troi is the second-most frequently seen ''Star Trek'' character, showing up in ''Voyager'', [[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS6E10Pathfinder Pathfinder]], [[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS6E24LifeLine Life Line]], [[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS7E6InsideMan Inside Man]]; ''Enterprise'' (''"[[Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS04E21TheseAreTheVoyages These Are The Voyages...]]"); ''Picard'' ("[[Recap/StarTrekPicardS1E07Nepenthe Nepenthe]]") and ''Lower Decks'' ("[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS1E10NoSmallParts No Small Parts]]").
* TheConfidant: Part of her job, even to Captain Picard.
* ComfortFood: Troi is well-established to enjoy eating chocolate when she's stressed. Presumably the stuff she gets from he replicator is healthier than the real thing.
* ConsistentClothingStyle: Deanna Troi tends to wear bodysuits (until she was made to wear a uniform in "Chain of Command"), and she wears sparkly hair bands.
* 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. (Sirtis noted that her character also seemed to start being portrayed as a great deal more competent after that, too.)
* 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 Pakleds. 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 Pakleds 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! [[spoiler:(And to Worf, who advised against sending ''anyone'' over to the Pakled ship, correctly guessing that the Pakleds could be laying a trap for the crew.)]]
* 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?
** During "The Price", the episode begins with Deanna returning to her quarters and seeming slightly irritable and stressed, but her asking (and failing) to get any real chocolate from the computer is interrupted by Picard asking her to come to the gathering to view the wormhole up for sale. While she initially refuses, he insists and she agrees, leaving her quarters with this lovely line:
--->'''Deanna:''' God forbid I miss my first look at the wormhole...!
* DecompositeCharacter: Data, Worf, and Troi share Spock's persona from TOS. Troi is the HalfHumanHybrid who often bickers with their same-sex/alien parent.
* 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 as a result of only being half-Betazoid, and the only person she can telepathically talk to is her Betazoid mother. She's also much more emotionally affected by the emotions she senses in the pilot than in later episodes, where she has much more control over her reactions.
* 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]].
* {{Expy}}: Of Spock. They are both the token half-humans amongst the crew, but strongly identify with their alien half (likely due to having been raised on their respective alien home worlds), and frequently voice low opinions about humans (Spock moreso). However, Spock's issue with humans appear to stem from the blatant xenophobia he recieved from them, owing to being the product of two visibly different species. Troi, on the other hand, is of two species that are almost visibly indistinguishable from each other, and so can pass for either one of them at any time (she did not need to surgically alter her appearance when visiting 19th century Earth in one episode). Her neglect for her human side is likely due to their more irrational nature compared to the more peaceful Betazoids. And maybe their lack of psychic powers.
* 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.
** 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.
* TheHeart: 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.
* 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 quite short in stature even for a woman, yet gets paired with both Riker and Worf, who are both well over six feet tall.
* 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.
* 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, socially 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 frequently plays the victim role when a member of the crew needs to be imperiled, partly due to the fact that her psychic abilities provide an additional way to mess with her and sometimes require her to be out of the picture to avoid screwing over the plot. As a result, her contributions are often limited to making CaptainObvious statements about a character's mood. Even her role as the ship's counselor gets sabotaged. In the early seasons, Roddenberry insisted that future people were extremely well-adjusted and therefore rarely needed counseling. In later seasons, Guinan overlaps her role by providing mentoring and guidance to crew members in crisis.
* LongHairIsFeminine: She typically wears her hair long, and is more overtly feminine than either Dr. Crusher or Tasha.
* MaleGaze: Her ample breasts and cleavage are more than often on screen.
* MilitaryBrat: Troi's late father Andrew also served in Starfleet.
* 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 Ugly Duckling growing up, but she also said that she was very happy to "get her brains back" when the character was made to wear a uniform.[[/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!'''''
* PowerLossDepression: In "The Loss", Troi suffers brain damage that cuses her to lose empath abilities. She becomes frightened, depressed, angry and even decides to resign as Ship's Counselor because she feels she can no longer perform her duties.
* RankUp: In Season 7, Troi takes the Bridge Officer's Exam, and after passing, she receives a promotion to commander and is shown taking shifts in the Captain's chair afterward.
* RunawayBride: Troi believed she would never be bonded to an arranged marriage because she joined the ''Enterprise'' to get as far away from Betazed 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."
* StoryBreakerPower: A character who is able to sense the emotions and intentions of others sounded like a good idea on ''paper'', but in practice it meant that Deanna should logically be able to clear up any misunderstandings or call out almost any deceptions that make up the plot of every other episode, meaning there were many early episodes where she was functionally useless because other characters didn't listen to her, or because the writers just forgot or chose to ignore how her powers worked in the first place. In later stories, Troi was frequently either made part of the B-plot or just written out of the episode entirely, purely because of how ''useful'' the character should have been to the main story.
* SweetTooth: By her own admission, Troi never met a chocolate she didn't like.
* 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.
* TookALevelInKindness: You wouldn't think it given how she's seemingly one of the gentlest and sweetest of the main bridge crew...but "The Loss" reveals that she's somewhat arrogant and, as Riker himself puts it, aristocratic in her opinion of herself in comparison to regular people. Despite this, when her empathic senses return at the end of the episode, she begins mellowing out more.
* 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.
* WhatTheHellHero: Gets something of a mix of this and a VERY tame {{The Reason You Suck Speech}} from Riker during "The Loss", when the (temporary) loss of her empathic powers causes an episode-long panic attack where her arrogance and somewhat condescending view of humans and their more limited abilities in comparison to her comes to the forefront, leading to Riker calling her out as acting with an "aristocratic" snootiness and telling her that her real problem is she can't stand being an equal to everyone else. Thankfully, she starts easing out of this over time and regrets how horrible she had been.
* 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 Betazoids, showed up, it became increasingly clear that no one else was 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 the accent[[note]]he speaks with a General Amercian accent and his actor Amick Byram is from Central Texas[[/note]] either (much to Sirtis's exasperation). So her accent dialect continues to remain unexplained on-screen.
* YouAreInCommandNow: Troi's rank of lieutenant commander rarely comes up, but in "Disaster", she finds herself the ranking officer on the bridge during a crisis and is totally out of her element. The experience is part of why she later undergoes the Bridge Officer's Exam, wanting to be prepared should it ever happen again.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Lieutenant Commander Data]]
!!Lieutenant Commander Data
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/data_spiner_2846.jpg]]
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/BrentSpiner
!!!'''Dubbed in French by:''' Jean-Pol Brissart (TNG), Yves Beneyton (Movies)
->''"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.
* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: Pale goldish skin-tone.
* BecomeARealBoy: Data wishes to become more human. Riker {{lampshades}} it in the ''very first episode'', calling Data "Pinocchio".
* 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 and starts pulling the trigger, 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.
* BirdsOfAFeather: He and Worf have a surprising amount in common. Data's endlessly frank nature and Worf's sense of honor require them both to be honest and fair in whatever they do. They also don't have much of a sense of humor, or at least don't understand the humor of their crewmates.
* 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.
* BookSmart: Being an android, he has encyclopedic knowledge and can learn extremely quickly.
* 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.]]
* CharacterTics: 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 smirks occasionally 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.
** This anomaly is justified in a conversation in ''Literature/StarTrekTheLostEra: The Buried Age'', where Data notes that he is trying harder to imitate emotion to help people accept him, suggesting that he might adjust this approach once people are more comfortable with him.
* 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.
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: To Spock. They're both logical, stoic, and polite, but both men are essentially what the other strives to be. Spock is an emotional and compassionate man who tries to bury his feelings and be completely rational, where Data is emotionless and cerebral yet desperately longs to feel human emotions. The two lampshade it when the meet in "Unification".
* {{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. After installing the chip, he begins doing this deliberately.
-->'''Pulaski:''' What's the difference?\\
'''Data:''' One is my name. The other is not.
* DecompositeCharacter: Data, Worf, and Troi share Spock's persona from TOS. Data takes Spock's emotionless logician aspect and conflict between logic and emotion.
* {{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).[[invoked]]
* 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's body had more in common with organic life than was later established. He was infected with the Psi-2000 variant virus, though the crew remark that an android getting an infection ''should'' be impossible. He also mentions eating something unpalatable to humans to maintain certain elements within his body. This was dropped quickly from the series.
* EatingMachine: Needs to occasionally ingest chemical compounds to keep his internal machinery lubricated. He mentions it a few times in the early seasons.
* EatingOptional: Data can eat food even though he does not have to so that he can 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 the man 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 ''The Questor Tapes'' 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: Data is often treated like a walking calculator, even by members of Starfleet. The most prominent examples are Maddox, who tried to classify Data as Federation property, and Dr. Pulaski, who eventually comes to accept him as a colleague.
* FirstTimeFeeling: Downside of the emotion chip is all the feelings Data has no real preparation for; humor renders him a giggling idiot, because he's unable to stop laughing, fear stops him from doing anything to help Geordi, and the resulting guilt and anger distract him. By the time of ''First Contact'', he's still not got the best handle on fear, but now has a solution: Turn the chip off.
* {{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.
* FollowingInTheirRescuersFootsteps: Starfleet officers found Data after the Crystalline Entity destroyed the Omicron Theta colony, and once he was reactivated, Data chose to join Starfleet himself.
* 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 can knock a Klingon on his ass without even flinching, but at the same time can 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, Data 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.
* ImmuneToBullets: Taking rounds from a submachine gun doesn't bother him in the slightest. They don't even penetrate his super-tough skin.
* InformedAttribute: Even apart from the EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, Data's frequently asserted emotionlessness is not born out by his behavior. We frequently see Data exhibiting desire, hesitation, confusion, awkwardness, fascination, regret, enthusiasm, and other states of mind that are generally considered emotional reactions. A genuinely emotionless character would be a lot less engaging. If you define an emotional state as considering one outcome preferrable to another, then Data certainly does have emotions, just relatively mild ones. What he truly lacks is a frame of reference to compare them to.
* 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.
* IntriguedByHumanity: Data is, by any measure, physically, intellectually, and (barring outside influence) more often than not, morally superior to humans, yet he himself is deeply fascinated by humanity, seeing becoming human as the highest of aspirations.
* {{Irony}}: As pointed out by more than one character, Data is what a lot of people would consider the pinnacle of existence short of godhood; super-strong, super-smart, ageless, functionally immortal with proper care. And yet he would give it all up in a heartbeat to be human.
* KindheartedCatLover: Data comes to adopt a pet cat, Spot, in an attempt to be more human. In "All Good Things," Data is shown in his Oxford quarters, which is full of cats. In the sequel series, ''Series/StarTrekPicard'', he considers Spot his most cherished memory.
* 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. Picard's advice to him on how to be an effective leader seems to suggest that, in Picard's mind at least, the opportunity is still available to him. At least some of this can be attributed to Data's lack of emotion leading to a lack of ambition; the novel "The Buried Age" observed that Picard had to encourage him to express an interest in certain roles rather than just doing the job he had been assigned.
* LockedIntoStrangeness: 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".
* 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 (although it should be noted that he was also experiencing negative emotions due to said brother, who was preventing him experiencing anything positive).
* 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 Creator/HennyYoungman 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 Creator/JerryLewis voices, proving that all jokes have a shelf life.
-->"Take my Worf -- please!"
* NiceGuy: For a supposedly emotionless android, Data is ''tremendously'' likable, polite, earnest, and well-meaning, making a lot of friends who deeply value him, and whom Data, [[TinMan although he technically shouldn't be able to return the sentiment]], values equally deeply. Even when he has to lay into Worf for questioning him in front of the crew while they are acting as Captain and First Officer, Data takes a moment to note that he's sorry if the rebuke has damaged their friendship (it hasn't; Worf apologizes and says that if anyone risked their friendship, it was him for being insubordinate).
* NoSenseOfHumor: Not for lack of trying, though. The guy named his striped 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 episode [[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]].
* PapaWolf: He was only a father to Lal for a single episode, but when a Starfleet admiral insisted that she be removed from Data's care, Data, in his own fashion, was ready to fight tooth and nail to keep his daughter safe. As Lal's neural net began to fail, Data's all but moved heaven and Earth to try (in vain) to save her, leaving that same admiral in absolute awe.
* 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.
* PhlebotinumProofRobot: Being an android, he's immune to many things that would be dangerous for the rest of the crew, and is occasionally required to handle such situations.
* PhraseCatcher: "''Thank you,'' Mr. Data" after Data's explanations get gratuitous.
* 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: [[invoked]] {{Justified|Trope}}. His creator was far more interested in the [[ForScience puzzle]] of creating fully-sentient mechanical life than any commercial applications. As a result, Dr. Soong equipped him with a slew of traits that imitates those of biological lifeforms. Many of these serve both a practical purpose in maintaining his body, but also make him appear more life-like in an aesthetic sense, very likely in an attempt to steer him away from the UncannyValley. Data has to occasionally eat a semi-organic nutrient to lubricate his biofunctions, and he breathes (as a way of regulating the temperature of his inner systems) and has a pulse (as a way of transporting biochemical lubricants around his body). He also has a built-in system dedicated to make him blink and make it appear somewhat random, as well as an aging program designed to simulate the external effects of aging in his physical appearance.
* 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.
** He is also very smart in contrast to the simple-minded B-4.
* TheSmartGuy: Given that he's an android, with a supercomputer in his head, he can usually come up with solutions that would be at best impractical if they didn't have an android on the crew.
* 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 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.
** While handing Spot over to Worf's temporary care, Data briefly starts saying that Spot needs to be told that he is "a pretty cat, and a ''good'' cat", showing a definite emotional attachment to his pet.
** 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. Hell, even the ''computer'' tells him to shut up once.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Ensign Wesley Crusher]]
!!Ensign Wesley Crusher
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wesley_wheaton_98.jpg]]
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/WilWheaton
!!!'''Dubbed in French by:''' Nicolas Grossetête
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.
----
* AlwaysSecondBest: He was beaten into the Academy by his Benzite colleague Mordock, though the episode never actually shows why Mordock was judged superior.
* 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!
* BookSmart: He is exceptionally smart even by the higher standards of the 24th century, but by the third season it's pretty clear he also feels a lot of pressure to always be an overachiever.
* 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''.
** And he turns up briefly in a second season episode of ''Series/StarTrekPicard'', [[spoiler: as a Traveller.]]
* 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.
* ImpossibleGenius: Wesley accomplishes things in his teens that surprises the best engineers in Starfleet didn't think of.
* 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: He's the son of a Starfleet doctor and command officer.
* PluckyMiddie: InSpace. He's a teenage officer in Starfleet who often saves the day.
* PutOnABus: He eventually leaves to join Starfleet Academy, something the show had been putting off for several seasons.
* 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.
[[/folder]]
!!Junior Staff
[[folder:Lieutenant Reginald Barclay]]
!!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.
----
* 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: Several including his introductory episode "Hollow Pursuits". Also "The Nth Degree" and "Realm Of Fear". This even continued when he crossed shows, notably the ''Voyager'' episode "Pathfinder" 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, [[ImNotAHeroIm 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.
* ShoutOut: Barclay's middle name is Endicott, a nod to the character of Clayton Endicott III on ''Series/{{Benson}}'', played by Creator/ReneAuberjonois, who would later play Odo on ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''.
* 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:Keiko Ishikawa O'Brien]]
!!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]].
* PutOnABus: To [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]] along with her husband Miles.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Transporter Chief Miles O'Brien]]
!!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!
* ChekhovsSkill: In "The Wounded," it's mentioned that he was tactical officer aboard the ''Rutledge''. When Worf resigns in "Redemption," he mans the tactical station in his absence.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: It took a while for the writers and costumers to settle on O'Brien's rank; although later episodes establish that O'Brien is a non-commissioned officer, early episodes see him wearing the uniform of an ensign or lieutenant.
* FantasticRacism: Towards Cardassians, due to them being responsible for the first time he took a life.
* GoodOldWays: Mother O'Brien still held on to the old-fashioned way of cooking with her hands, an oddity in a time when most people use the replicator for their food needs. Miles himself occasionally does the same, much to Keiko's alarm.
* 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=]. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] by the fact that, unlike just about anyone else on the Enterprise aside from the dedicated security officers in Worf and Tasha, O'Brien is an actual combat veteran.
** He has no qualms about getting involved in putting down those who make ruckus in the Transporter room, as Roga Danar can attest.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: During his time on the ''Rutledge'', Miles was present at the Setlik III Massacre. While there, he grabbed a phaser to defend himself from a Cardassian officer, not knowing the phaser had been set to "disintegrate". The man vaporised in front of his eyes.
* 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:Nurse (Ensign, later Lieutenant) Alyssa Ogawa]]
!!Nurse (Ensign, later Lieutenant Alyssa Ogawa)
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ogawa_tng_5849.jpg]]
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/PattiYasutake
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]]
!!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.
* CorruptedCharacterCopy: An example where the "corruption" was accidental. Dr. Pulaski was intended to be an Expy of Dr. Leonard [=McCoy=], and her jabs at Data were designed to recreate the Spock/Bones dynamic. However, Spock did have human emotions, he just repressed them, and was very vocal about how superior he believed himself to be to his human crewmates. By contrast Data was not capable of emotions but desperately wanted to be. Despite technically lacking things like compassion, he was also a wide-eyed NiceGuy as opposed to Spock's somewhat frosty JerkWithAHeartOfGold personality. So where Bones came across as an everyman taking an insufferably smug person down a peg, Pulaski came across as a fantastic racist bullying the sweetest person in the galaxy.
* 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: In "Where Silence Has Lease", the cosmic entity Nagilum has selected 50% of the crew for Mengele-like experimentation on death. Her response? "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.
** Though, this occurred in "Contagion" when the Enterprise was experiencing widespread computer failures affecting systems across the ship. In this instance, the bone knitter the subordinate was using was not working so Pulaski suggested a splint, to which he scoffed as "not practicing medicine." Her lecture was partly a rebuke and partly an encouragement.
* 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 two different roles) with the Original Series.
* 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 have 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]]
!!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.
* BackForTheDead: [[spoiler: Commander Ro returns in the Picard episode "Imposters", 29 years after her last appearance in TNG: "Preemptive Strike". Sadly, she doesn't survive the episode.]]
* 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.
* DeathByIrony: [[spoiler: A variation with Ro. She survived the Dominion's purge of the Maquis, only to still end up getting killed by the Dominion (albeit rogue Founders) decades later. Adding to the irony, Ro — a Starfleet officer who infiltrated the Maquis (i.e. a Federation Renegade Splinter Faction) and ended up defecting — is killed by another Renegade Splinter Faction that's infiltrated Starfleet.]]
* 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]].
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Ro rams her shuttle into an opposing ship in order to give Picard time to escape.]]
* 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.]]
* NeverMyFault: Ro still feels that she made the right choice defecting to the Maquis thirty years ago — though deep down, and despite her anger and resentments towards Picard, she does still regret betraying him.
* 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: Depending on the source, but whether you chose the Literature/StarTrekNovelVerse, or Series/StarTrekPicard she will eventually find her way back into Starfleet.
* RankUp: After returning to Starfleet, Ro Laren has now advanced to the rank of Commander.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: While Ro still firmly believes her decision to join the Maquis was the right one, she does reconcile with Picard. Just before her death, he tells her he finally sees that she never betrayed him as a person or her beliefs in doing the right thing. Her final act is to save his life and everyone else on the 'Titan'.]]
* 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.
* 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: Series/StarTrekPicard will reveal that after some time with the Maquis, Ro turned herself in to Starfleet authorities and was imprisoned. Due to her experience with terrorist activities, Ro was recruited by Starfleet Intelligence, who subjected her to an intensive rehabilitation program. By 2401, she had advanced to the rank of commander.]]
* WhatTheHellHero
[[/folder]]
!!Others
[[folder:Guinan]]
!!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 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'' who can tell that the timeline is out of sorts.
* 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 has some sort of hidden power that could let her go one on one with Q of all people.
* 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.
* BerserkButton: For as patient and calm as she is, dealing with the Borg truly upsets her, to the point where she refuses to even listen to any positive comments about them, despite coming from a race of "listeners." It's [[FreudianExcuse justified]] in that the Borg decimated the El-Aurians through assimilation, leaving Guinan and the few surviving others in her race scattered and alone throughout the galaxy.
* 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 has some way of actually harming him. Or at the very least being able to counter his power.
* {{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.
* ConsistentClothingStyle: Guinan changes her clothes, but she'll usually be wearing a long-sleeved dress, round hat, and baggy pants that are all the same colour.
* 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'' your name 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.
* MySignificanceSenseIsTingling: As described above, Guinan occasionally gets vague feelings that things are wrong. For example, when Picard starts dealing with Q again, she's uneasy throughout the day, and when they materialize in Ten Forward, she immediately rushes at the trickster and snaps "I ''knew'' it was you." The most common fan interpretation is that her time in the Nexus has given her some form of limited precognitive power.
* 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]]''.
* NoodleIncident: Both Guinan and Picard make references to the fact their relationship is (in Guinan's words) "beyond friendship, beyond family", but what happened that led to such a relationship is never explained. The "Times Arrow" two parter shows how Guinan first met Picard due to [[TimeyWimeyBall time travel shenanigans]] but it's pretty clear this isn't the inciting incident. We're never shown how they each earned the intense trust of the other, and they don't seem inclined to tell us.
* PlatonicLifePartners: Guinan's bond with Picard can only be described as one of pure love, but it's not sexual or romantic in any way.
* 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 ''Film/TheColorPurple1985''. She was also known for her stand-up comedy, and would go on to make funny films, including ''Film/Ghost1990'' and ''Film/SisterAct'', during her tenure on the show. All told, it was rather surprising for such a rising star to be willing to relegate herself to the SciFiGhetto: when [=LeVar=] Burton, who was a friend of hers, relayed her desire to appear on the show, everyone thought he was joking. But Goldberg cited Creator/NichelleNichols, 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 knew right there and then I could be anything I wanted to be." As such, Goldberg went to Creator/GeneRoddenberry personally and asked for a role on ''TNG,'' offering to play a janitor in the background just to honor Nichols. Guinan was the result.
** Goldberg's busy film schedule often left her unable to be on set, so the writers scrambled to include her in plots whenever they knew she'd be available; as such, many Troi-centric episodes were hastily rewritten to give Guinan a starring role whenever possible. It wasn't until later in the series that episodes were written specifically for Goldberg.
* 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:Molly O'Brien]]
!!Molly O'Brien
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/molly_tng_6963.jpg]]
!!!'''Played By:''' Tadeski twins (1991-1992); Hana Hatae (1992-1998)
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.
* 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 during this show's sixth season and then all of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'''s run.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Alexander Rozhenko]]
!!Alexander Rozhenko
[[quoteright:205:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alexander_tng_6162.jpg]]
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JonSteuer (1990); Creator/BrianBonsall (1992-1994); Creator/JamesSloyan (1994, as "K'mtar"); Creator/MarcWorden (1997)
->''"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''.
----
* AnAlienNamedBob: Downplayed. Alexander is only three-quarters alien.
* 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]]
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%%Please do not replace or remove without starting a thread.
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_next_generation.png]]
[-[[caption-width-right:350:The crew of the USS ''Enterprise'', NCC-1701-D.[[note]]Top, from left to right: [[NumberTwo William Riker]], [[ArtificialHuman Data]], [[TheBartender Guinan]], [[BlackAndNerdy Geordi La Forge]], [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Worf]]. Bottom, left to right: [[TheEmpath Deanna Troi]], [[TheCaptain Picard]], [[DeterminedDoctor Dr. Beverly Crusher]]. [[TeenGenius Wesley]]'s holding the camera. Better than anyone else could, no doubt. Especially [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Tasha.]][[/note]]]]-]
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:The ''Enterprise''-D]]
!!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 only time the ''Enterprise'' served as the command ship of a fleet was during the Klingon Civil War, and even then, the Fleet Admiral which approved Picard's plan of blockading the Romulan border to keep them from interfering gave Picard broad discretion to command the fleet as he saw fit (which included transferring Riker, Data, and Geordi to other understaffed ships), rather than travel with the fleet.
** There was also an alternate universe where the ''Enterprise'' was leading a war against the Klingons, in which the ship was 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, while ''Galaxy''-class ships that served in the Dominion War were refitted to be used as TheHeavy of the Federation fleets, transporting ground troops and supplies instead of families, similar to how the alternate timeline ''Enterprise'' appeared in ''Yesterday's Enterprise''.
* BackFromTheDead: Thirty years after the destruction of the stardrive section and the crash of the saucer on Veridian III, the ''Enterprise''-D is eventually rebuilt to spec by Geordi La Forge in ''Series/StarTrekPicard'', originally to serve out the rest of its days as the centerpiece of the Starfleet Fleet Museum at Athan Prime. However, a crisis of unfathomable scale forces the old crew to BreakOutTheMuseumPiece as their last best hope against the renewed Borg threat to the Federation.
** For tropes pertaining to the ''Enterprise''-D as it appears in ''Picard'', [[Characters/StarTrekPicardTheFederation see the "PIC" character page]].
* 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]].
!!Hologram ''Enterprise''-D
A holographic representation of the ''Enterprise''-D appears as part of the Kobayashi Maru simulation on the holodeck of the ''U.S.S. Protostar''.
For tropes relating to her appearance there, along with the other holograms, see, ''Characters/StarTrekProdigy''.
[[/folder]]
!!Senior Staff
[[folder:Captain Jean-Luc Picard]]
-> See [[Characters/StarTrekTheNextGenerationJeanLucPicard Jean-Luc Picard]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Commander William Riker]]
!!Commander William T. Riker
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/riker_frakes_8603.jpg]]
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JonathanFrakes
!!!'''Dubbed in French by:''' Bernard Bollet (TNG), Sylvain Lemarié (Movies)
!!!'''Dubbed in Brazilian Portuguese by:''' Alfredo Martins (TNG, Season 1), José Augusto Sendim (TNG, Season 2 on)
->'''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, though 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.
For tropes related to his appearances on some of the other shows, see his entries on:
* ''[[Characters/StarTrekLowerDecksStarfleetShips Lower Decks]]''
* ''[[Characters/StarTrekPicardTheFederation Picard]]''
----
* TheAce: Riker is good at everything. He's an inspiring leader, an AcePilot, a badass fighter, a nice guy, a ladies' man, a skilled poker player, and a talented trombonist. Picard says that Riker's the best officer he's ''ever'' worked with.
* AcePilot: Riker is famed among Starfleet for his piloting prowess. He establishes his credentials in "Encounter at Farpoint" with a manual spaceport docking. In "Chains of Command," Geordi says that the only way to have 100% certainty on a dangerous mission's success is to have Riker take the driver's seat.
* AmbiguouslyBi: Riker is only shown onscreen in relationships with females, human or otherwise, except in an episode where he falls in love with an alien from a species without sexual differentiation. While the alien self-identifies as female (and is persecuted for this by her species), the given description of her species' method of procreation suggests that she has some sort of insertive sex organ. This implies that Riker is either attracted to that or capable of disregarding it. [[WordOfGod Frakes]] went on record saying Riker is "try-sexual" as in "he'll try anything once."
* 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, [[JerkassHasAPoint so there's that]].
* 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]].
** Frakes worked as a furniture mover before becoming an actor, and sustained a back injury that made certain actions painful for him (note his very unusual way of sitting in seats - that is, stepping ''over'' them!); the Captain Morgan Pose was Frakes' way of making standing around easier for him.
* 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."
* CharacterTics: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVIGhYMwRgs He has a very peculiar way of getting in and out of chairs.]] According to Frakes, 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 his first scene, Riker makes Geordi snap to attention when delivering a message. He never does anything like this again over the course of the series, and it comes across rather out of character.
** In early episodes he's portrayed as something of a ruthless careerist and it's stated that he and Troi broke up because he was too dedicated to his dream of commanding a starship. Later on, as listed below in LimitedAdvancementOpportunities, Riker became notorious for turning down ''multiple'' offers to command a starship of his own, preferring to be the XO of the flagship rather than the captain of a lesser vessel.
* CharacterizingSittingPose: He likes to sit on a chair leaning to a side in a way that looks like a slouch and he sits down by walking to the back of the chair and stepping over it, reflecting his occasional CowboyCop tactics. Also a case of RealLifeWritesThePlot because Jonathan Frakes has spinal problems and this was the most comfortable way he could sit on the chairs designed for the "Enterprise" sets.
* CharacterOverlap: William Thomas Riker is tied (with Spock) for most crossover appearances within the franchise, having appeared in five more shows beyond this one: ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine DS9]]'': "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS03E09Defiant Defiant]]"[[note]]This one requires a bit of LoopholeAbuse as Frakes is technically playing Riker's clone, Thomas, from "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E22SecondChances Second Chances]]," who himself is impersonating Will[[/note]], ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager VOY]]'': "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS2E18DeathWish Death Wish]]", ''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise ENT]]'': "[[Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS04E21TheseAreTheVoyages These Are The Voyages...]]" (whose FramingDevice is of Riker trying to figure out what to do during the events of ''TNG'': "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS7E11ThePegasus The Pegasus]]"), a couple episodes of ''[[WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks LWD]]'' and several more of ''[[Series/StarTrekPicard PIC]]''. Unlike Spock, who has been played by [[TheOtherDarrin three different actors]] over the course of 65 years, Riker is always portrayed by Jonathan Frakes.
* 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.
* DuplicateDivergence: Has a transporter accident clone who was left abandoned on an alien planet for years before anyone realized he existed. After he was rescued he started going by his middle name "Thomas" [[spoiler: and joined the Maquis.]]
* 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. He also stops one sexual interlude with a woman who acts as though she were a SexSlave instead of an equal partner.
* {{Expy}}: To Captain Kirk, with his way with [[BoldlyComing (alien)]] women and his reputation as TheAce.
* FamousForBeingFirst: Riker volunteers to be part of an Officer Exchange Program, becoming the First Officer of a Klingon battlecruiser, mostly because nobody's ever done it before. ("It" being OEP-ing on a Klingon ship, not OEP-ing in general.)
* 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.\\
'''Worf:''' 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.
* 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.
** Exaggerated 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.
* ManlyFacialHair: He has a SeadogBeard, a commanding presence on TheBridge, and a ''lot'' of appeal to the females.
* 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.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Riker is known for being a strong, commanding presence. He may be quietly grim in bad situations, but he does his best to keep it together for the crew. If he's ranting like a madman ("Frame of Mind", one alternate Riker in "Parallels"), you know things have ''really'' gone to hell.
* PhraseCatcher: "He's the best!" Said first by [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E22SkinOfEvil Tasha Yar]] and later echoed by [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E21PeakPerformance Picard]] himself when his exceptional talents are doubted. [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E10ChainOfCommand Geordie]] too, to Jellico no less, about the perfection he exudes. Not entirely accurate, he can't play [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E22SecondChances "Night Bird"]].
* 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.
* SignatureInstrument: His favorite instrument is the trombone, which goes nicely with his love of jazz. He once uses it to "talk" to Deanna, who then jokes that it's less confusing than how he normally talks.
* 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.
* TheWatson: Riker is the least scientifically knowledgeable of the command staff, so it usually falls to him to ask for clarifications and layman's translations of TechnoBabble.
* 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]]
!!Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/laforge_burton_2264.jpg]]
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/{{LeVar Burton}}
!!!'''Dubbed in French by:''' Gérard Malabat (TNG), Marc Bretonnière (Generations and Nemesis), Thierry Desroses (First Contact and Insurrection)
!!!'''Dubbed in Brazilian Portuguese by:''' Marco Ribeiro (TNG, Season 1), Jorge Jr (TNG, Season 2 to 6), Marcos Souza (TNG, Season 7)
-> "[...] ''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.
----
* 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: In one episode, he states that he can detect subtle shifts in people's bio-signs (at least, with humans) that let him tell if they're lying. This doesn't really come up again.
* 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.
* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Geordi was canonically born in UsefulNotes/{{Somalia}}, but [=LeVar=] Burton never made any attempt to disguise his American accent.
** This is likely because Geordi's a military (Starfleet) [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_brat_(U.S._subculture) 'brat']]. And like many military 'brats', he could've been born where his parents were stationed, but not lived there for any significant amount of time. Also, the fact that neither of Geordi's Starfleet parents showed any trace of Somali accent, culture, or background, strengthens the argument that his birthplace had little bearing on his upbringing.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: He’s the first one to get infected in “The Naked Now”, and shows it off by a bad-tempered joke. Riker mentions that he’s too nice for that to be in character for him.
* {{Technobabble}}: Far from the only source of it in the show, but he could well be the poster boy for this trope.
* TheProfessor
* RankUp: Twice; Geordi starts out as a junior lieutenant in Season 1, gets promoted to full lieutenant and made Chief Engineer by Season 2, and by Season 3, he's become a lieutenant commander.
* 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]]
!!Lieutenant Natasha "Tasha" Yar
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yar_crosby_4897.jpg]]
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/DeniseCrosby
!!!'''Dubbed in French by:''' Laurence Dourlens
!!!'''Dubbed in Brazilian Portuguese by:''' Marly Ribeiro (TNG, Season 1), Andrea Murucci (TNG, Season 7)
->'''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]].
----
* AmbiguouslyBi: In “The Naked Now”, she talks like she’s always had a crush on Deanna, and touches her hand for long enough that Deanna looks questioning.
* 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.
* BoyishShortHair: She always keeps her hair short, and she's the most tomboyish woman on the ''Enterprise''.
* 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.]]
* 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.
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: It gets her frozen for her troubles, but she still tells Q and his KangarooCourt to go to hell in a seriously ballsy PatrickStewartSpeech.
* DroppedABridgeOnHer: Infamously so, killed off by a random one-shot MonsterOfTheWeek in as abrupt a manner as would usually fit a RedShirt. Unlike most red shirts, however, Tasha is never forgotten.
* 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.
* FollowingInTheirRescuersFootsteps: It was Starfleet officers who rescued Tasha from the CrapsackWorld on which she grew up, and she went on to serve in the organization herself, even singing it's praises to Q's face.
* 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: Tasha is described as very attractive on several occasions. Geordi comments on her beauty, and multiple humanoid aliens - like the Ligonian ruler and a Romulan general - try to make her their concubine.
* 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. She wears her hair in a shorter, lower maintenance style (at least when compared to Deanna or Beverly). Subverted in the sense that she eschews the stereotypical affected crudity of many contemporary Ladettes and likes to relax into her femininity when off duty.
* MsFanservice: Drunk Tasha wandering the ship with a SupermodelStrut; her "blitzed" voice is very seductive. She later seduces Data, after changing into a revealing BedlahBabe outfit.
* TheOneWhoMadeItOut: Unlike her sister, who appears later to manipulate the crew when they visit her homeworld.
* RapeAsBackstory: Possibly implied. She mentions that she spent most of her childhood dodging Rape-Gangs, but doesn't explicitly say if they ever caught her. The fact that she first mentions this while hitting on Data before having sex with him, brings up another [[PromiscuityAfterRape trope]].
* {{Robosexual}}: While under the influence in "The Naked Now", Tasha hits on and has sex with Data.
* SexSlave: Tragically, her alternate timeline self 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. “The Naked Now” has her stealing Deanna’s clothes because she’s always loved how she dresses and does her hair.
* UndignifiedDeath:
** One of the worse examples in ''Star Trek'', casually murdered by Armus like a Red Shirt.
** Her fate in the altered timeline of "Yesterday's Enterprise" is ultimately little better; after her attempt at a HeroicSacrifice, she was taken as a concubine by a Romulan general, [[ChildByRape having a daughter]], and ultimately being unceremoniously shot when said daughter ruined Tasha's eventual escape attempt.
* 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]]
!!Lieutenant Worf (later Lieutenant Commander) aboard ''Enterprise-D''
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/worf_dorn_204.jpg]]
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/MichaelDorn
!!!'''Dubbed in French by:''' Michel Blin (TNG), Benoit Allemane (Movies)
!!!'''Dubbed in Brazilian Portuguese by:''' Creator/GuilhermeBriggs (TNG-Season One), José Santa Cruz (TNG-Season 2 on, First Contact, Insurrection), Antônio Moreno (Nemesis)
->"''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]]'' and became a series regular there, was promoted to Commander, got married again, and eventually cleared his name (finally) and became an ambassador to the Klingons, which was quietly ignored when the ''TNG'' films needed him back in uniform.
----
* AccidentalChildKillerBackstory: Worf is exceptionally rigid and uptight, rarely allowing himself to relax around others. It's eventually revealed that as a child he was much less self-controlled, until a collision with another boy during a soccer game. Klingons are physically much tougher than humans, and the other boy died, which made Worf realize he had to maintain strict control of himself to avoid hurting the humans around him.
* 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.
* 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. Unfortunately, this means that the MonsterOfTheWeek usually proves how dangerous it is by [[TheWorfEffect beating him up]]. If it can kick Worf's ass, then it must be serious!
* BigScrewedUpFamily: With the exception of his adoptive human parents, who are embarrassingly proud of him. Worf's Klingon parents are dead, with his father posthumously branded a traitor. His wives have died, and he has a [[IHaveNoSon complicated relationship with his son]] Alexander. He's also at odds with both his brothers: his long-lost brother Kurn tries to bait Worf into killing him [[HonorBeforeReason so he can die with honor]] after Worf's discommendation, and the Rozhenkos' biological son Nikolai is a Starfleet dropout who, during his one visit to the Enterprise, deliberately breaches the Prime Directive.
* 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 ForeignQueasine, Worf has a ''very'' strange palate 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. The trope is also given a twist when Worf discovers that he loves prune juice and sees it as "a warrior's drink." He was also the only one to enjoy the botched omelettes that Riker made in one episode, though whether that speaks more to his taste buds or Riker's cooking skills is up for debate.
* 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.
* {{Catchphrase}}: [[https://youtu.be/1h38CPiS4NQ He often says "Klingons do not [insert activity here]."]]. It's practically TNG's version of Dr. [=McCoy=]'s [[ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder "I'm a doctor, not a..."]].
* 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.
* CultureBlind: Worf occasionally expresses bafflement at human culture in the first few episodes, but then it's established that he was raised on Earth by human parents, so his culture blindness gets dropped thereafter.
* CultureClash: Worf's very conservative Klingon beliefs occasionally put him at odds with Starfleet values and the rest of the crew. Ironically, they also occasionally put him at odds with other Klingons, who grew up with a much less idealized impression of Klingon culture.
* 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 people?\\
'''Worf:''' ''[matter-of-factly]'' Die.
* DecompositeCharacter: Data, Worf, and Troi 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 aspect.
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Whenever his Klingon culture shows up, it's often at odds with standard human morality. Moreover, Worf's own idealized version of Klingon culture often clashes with the realities of life in the Empire, with most other Klingons regarding him as a hidebound traditionalist at best and a foolish naif at worst.
* DeliveryGuy: Delivered Keiko O'Brien's daughter Molly during a crisis that prevented her from getting to sickbay.
-->'''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 an alarmed "''Now?!''", followed by informing Bashir and O'Brien that he'll be on shore leave around the delivery date, which is still several months away.
* {{Determinator}}: Say what you will about Worf, but the man ''does not give up''. Best exemplified on ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''.
-->'''Jem'hadar First Ikat'ika:''' 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.
* DisappointingHeritageReveal: Worf grew up with an idealized image of the Klingon Empire and its culture due to being a Klingon raised by humans. He eventually has to confront the reality that the Klingon Empire is mired in realpolitik, corruption, and schemes concocted by Klingons who lack honor.
* DrinkBasedCharacterization: Despite the Klingons' preference for bloodwine, firewine, and other badass beverages, Worf's favorite drink is the very human prune juice. It shows just how much humans and the Federation have rubbed off on him.
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Worf isn't actually a bad guy, but he is an example of GoodIsNotNice. He is, however, softer around his adoptive parents.
* TheEeyore: To other Klingons; he doesn't even think Klingons ''laugh''. Worf doesn't realize this until he's in the company of other Klingons, and they treat him as a stuffy stick-in-the-mud. Guinan sets him straight, telling him that Klingons aren't honor-bound automotons.
-->'''Guinan:''' You know, I had a bet with the Captain that I could make you laugh before you became lieutenant commander.\\
'''Worf:''' Not a good bet today.\\
'''Guinan:''' I've seen you laugh. I like it.\\
'''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.
* FantasticRacism:
** Worf completely ''loathes'' the Romulans, chiefly because his parents died in the Khitomer Incident and his family was later discommendated thanks to their machinations with a Klingon traitor. He flatly refuses to give a dying Romulan a blood transfusion to save his life (in fairness to Worf, the Romulan in question said he'd rather die than take blood from a Klingon) 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. He manages to cooperate with two Romulans to escape a Dominion prison camp and by the last movie, he (begrudgingly) praised the Romulans who helped them for their honor.
** He's also frequently on the receiving end as a result of being a Klingon.
* 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).
* FollowingInTheirRescuersFootsteps: After the Khitomer massacre, Worf was rescued and adopted by then-Chief Petty Officer Sergei Rozhenko. Like his adopted father, Worf went on to join Starfleet; according to his adoptive mother Helena, Worf getting his commission was the proudest day of Sergei's life, and Sergei never misses a chance to express pride in his son becoming an officer.
* FreudianExcuse: Worf's FantasticRacism towards Romulans is born of them having murdered his parents when they attacked the Khitomer Outpost.
* 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.
* 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. When invited to tea, he hazards, 'Good tea. Nice house.' He always was a succinct one.
* 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.
* IAmXSonOfY: "I am Worf, son of Mogh!" (In Klingon, "Son of Mogh" translates as "mogh [=puqloD=]".)
* 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 an earnest but 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 in "Samaritan Snare" 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...
* InterracialAdoptionStruggles: Worf, a Klingon, was adopted and raised by the Rozhenko family, humans with Russian ethnicity. The Rozhenkos wanted Worf to have a loving family, but they didn't want him to be ignorant of his Klingon heritage, either, so they tried to accommodate him by learning to make traditional Klingon dishes like ''rokeg'' blood pie. It's often noted that Worf is more serious and stern than most other Klingons, and this comes from a combination of him having actually studied the texts and history and taking them seriously, as well as an unfortunate incident in his past where he accidentally killed a young man during a sporting event, because his Klingon physiology meant he was far too strong to be careless around human beings. When he starts meeting other Klingons as an adult, he experiences some culture clash as the idealized version of Klingon culture he formed in his mind does not reflect reality.
* 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 and is capable of being very kind and gentle when he's in a good mood.
* LargeAndInCharge: Commander of the Enterprise's security department, and at 6'3", is only surpassed by 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.
* LikeFatherLikeSon: 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.
** They started off fairly prickly towards each other, but eventually the stoic badass warrior develops a strong friendship, and later on a brief romance with the [[NonActionGuy gentle]] empath Deanna.
* 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.
* OnlyOneName: Worf names himself in the Klingon style, "Worf, son of Mogh," even though he was raised by human parents, the Rozhenkos.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: When [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Worf]] considers a fight lost, you know the situation is bad; in ''First Contact'', with the Borg having overrun most of the ''Enterprise'', it's Worf of all people who tries to drive home to Picard that the ship is lost and they should cut their losses and run, even arguing back when Picard tries to insist that they keep fighting.
* ParentheticalSwearing: He does this every few episodes, usually when speaking about something that offends his Klingon sensibilities, like diplomacy.
* PatriotInExile: Rather than bring down the Empire by revealing that Duras was the son of a traitor who colluded with Romulans to cause the Khitomer Massacre, Worf accepts discommendation, basically being declared an exile from Klingon society. He is later reinstated during a Klingon Civil War. He is then kicked out again by Gowron for siding with the Federation during the events of ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'', before being re-reinvited by being adopted by Martok. Worf has a complicated history with his Klingon heritage.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Worf's FantasticRacism towards Romulans stands out in a supposedly much more open and understanding future. In his defense, his FreudianExcuse gives him a good reason to dislike the Romulans, and most of the Romulans he encounters don't give Worf many reasons to change his attitude.
* 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.
* RankUp: The first ''Next Generation'' era scene in ''Generations'' has the crew holding an elaborate ceremony to celebrate Worf's promotion to lieutenant commander.
* 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 Dominion ''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 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 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.
* ShutUpHannibal: When Worf engages Duras in a duel to the death after he [[spoiler:murders K'Ehleyr]], Duras tries to talk him out of it by promising to clear Worf's name. Worf isn't having any of it.
--> '''Duras:''' I'm the only one, Worf - the only one who can prove your innocence! Kill me and you're a traitor forever.\\
'''Worf:''' Than that is how it shall be!
* SoreLoser: You gotta love his way of dealing with the toy model he is making in "Peak Performance": he smashes it and tosses it in the trash, 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 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 bloodwine. 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. According to his mother, he is also very fond of her ''rokeg'' blood pie.
* TranquilFury: Worf being angry and bellowing is just standard for him. It's when he gets angry and goes calm that you need to be afraid as seen when Picard calls him a coward in "First Contact" and Worf quietly tells him that were Picard any other man, Worf would kill him on the spot.
* 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.
* WorfHadTheFlu: The other TropeNamer, though oddly, Worf himself seldom encounters this trope, because otherwise it wouldn't be The Worf Effect if he was at half-speed.
* 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
!!!'''Dubbed in French by:''' Valérie Jeannet (TNG), Anne Rochant (Movies)
!!!'''Dubbed in Brazilian Portuguese by:''' Selma Lopes (TNG, Season 1), Juraciara Diácovo (TNG, Season 2 to 6), Rita Lopes (TNG, Season 7)
->"''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 redheaded 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, instead 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.''
* TheBusCameBack: After spending Season 2 away at Starfleet Medical, Crusher returns to the ''Enterprise'' in Season 3 and remains there for the rest of the series and the movies.
* 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. Crusher, ironically, isn't too keen on word of her talents getting around the ship, not wanting to be known as "[[EmbarrassingNickname the dancing doctor]]" [[NoodleIncident again]].
* 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.
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: Unlike the often grouchy Dr. [=McCoy=], Dr. Crusher is warm, friendly, and maternal.
* 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.
* DeterminedDoctor: Even when she’s infected with what is essentially horniness and is hot for Picard, she tries to push through to find the antidote in “The Naked Now”.
* 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'').
* 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.
* HiddenDepths: She's an accomplished dancer, and also shows an impressive aptitude for command [[YouAreInCommandNow when the situation calls for it]].
* ItNeverGetsAnyEasier: She complains in “Code Of Honor” that doctors are meant to grow calluses over their feelings, and it hasn’t happened yet for her.
* 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: She's the ship's head doctor and is almost always the one shown delivering medical aid.
* 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 goes back to Earth to teach medicine at Starfleet Academy for a season, but she returns in Season 3.
* 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!''.
* StepfordSmiler: She hasn’t actually gotten over feelings of her husband’s death, but pushes them down, claiming he died a long time ago.
* 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:are ex-lovers with a grown son (Jack), as of Series/StarTrekPicard, and are married with a son (Rene) in the non-cannonical novel timeline]].
* WomenAreWiser: Crusher is the one person on the ship who can give Picard an order, and she ''loves'' it.
!!Hologram Crusher
!!!'''Played by:''' Creator/GatesMcFadden
A holographic representation of Crusher appears as part of the Kobayashi Maru simulation on the holodeck of the ''U.S.S. Protostar''.
For tropes relating to his appearance there, along with the other holograms, see, ''Characters/StarTrekProdigy''.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Counselor (Lieutenant Commander, later Commander) Deanna Troi]]
!!Counselor (Lieutenant Commander, later Commander) Deanna Troi
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/troi_sirtis_4882.jpg]]
!!!'''Played By''': Creator/MarinaSirtis
!!!'''Dubbed in French by:''' Anne Plumet (TNG), Deborah Perret (Movies)
->''"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". They didn't start to get her hair under control until ''First Contact''.
* AnAlienNamedBob: Downplayed. Deanna is [[HalfHumanHybrid only half alien]].
* 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.
* CaptainCrash: Troi takes the helm twice during the movies, and both times, the ship ends up crashing into something. Despite the ribbing she gets from fans, both cases are justified; in ''Generations'', the saucer section is already crashing and Troi manages to keep it under control to minimize casualties, and in ''Nemesis'', Picard actually ordered her to ram the ''Enterprise'' into the ''Scimitar'' to disable the enemy ship.
* 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!"
* CharacterOverlap: After Riker, Troi is the second-most frequently seen ''Star Trek'' character, showing up in ''Voyager'', [[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS6E10Pathfinder Pathfinder]], [[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS6E24LifeLine Life Line]], [[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS7E6InsideMan Inside Man]]; ''Enterprise'' (''"[[Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS04E21TheseAreTheVoyages These Are The Voyages...]]"); ''Picard'' ("[[Recap/StarTrekPicardS1E07Nepenthe Nepenthe]]") and ''Lower Decks'' ("[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS1E10NoSmallParts No Small Parts]]").
* TheConfidant: Part of her job, even to Captain Picard.
* ComfortFood: Troi is well-established to enjoy eating chocolate when she's stressed. Presumably the stuff she gets from he replicator is healthier than the real thing.
* ConsistentClothingStyle: Deanna Troi tends to wear bodysuits (until she was made to wear a uniform in "Chain of Command"), and she wears sparkly hair bands.
* 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. (Sirtis noted that her character also seemed to start being portrayed as a great deal more competent after that, too.)
* 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 Pakleds. 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 Pakleds 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! [[spoiler:(And to Worf, who advised against sending ''anyone'' over to the Pakled ship, correctly guessing that the Pakleds could be laying a trap for the crew.)]]
* 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?
** During "The Price", the episode begins with Deanna returning to her quarters and seeming slightly irritable and stressed, but her asking (and failing) to get any real chocolate from the computer is interrupted by Picard asking her to come to the gathering to view the wormhole up for sale. While she initially refuses, he insists and she agrees, leaving her quarters with this lovely line:
--->'''Deanna:''' God forbid I miss my first look at the wormhole...!
* DecompositeCharacter: Data, Worf, and Troi share Spock's persona from TOS. Troi is the HalfHumanHybrid who often bickers with their same-sex/alien parent.
* 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 as a result of only being half-Betazoid, and the only person she can telepathically talk to is her Betazoid mother. She's also much more emotionally affected by the emotions she senses in the pilot than in later episodes, where she has much more control over her reactions.
* 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]].
* {{Expy}}: Of Spock. They are both the token half-humans amongst the crew, but strongly identify with their alien half (likely due to having been raised on their respective alien home worlds), and frequently voice low opinions about humans (Spock moreso). However, Spock's issue with humans appear to stem from the blatant xenophobia he recieved from them, owing to being the product of two visibly different species. Troi, on the other hand, is of two species that are almost visibly indistinguishable from each other, and so can pass for either one of them at any time (she did not need to surgically alter her appearance when visiting 19th century Earth in one episode). Her neglect for her human side is likely due to their more irrational nature compared to the more peaceful Betazoids. And maybe their lack of psychic powers.
* 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.
** 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.
* TheHeart: 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.
* 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 quite short in stature even for a woman, yet gets paired with both Riker and Worf, who are both well over six feet tall.
* 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.
* 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, socially 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 frequently plays the victim role when a member of the crew needs to be imperiled, partly due to the fact that her psychic abilities provide an additional way to mess with her and sometimes require her to be out of the picture to avoid screwing over the plot. As a result, her contributions are often limited to making CaptainObvious statements about a character's mood. Even her role as the ship's counselor gets sabotaged. In the early seasons, Roddenberry insisted that future people were extremely well-adjusted and therefore rarely needed counseling. In later seasons, Guinan overlaps her role by providing mentoring and guidance to crew members in crisis.
* LongHairIsFeminine: She typically wears her hair long, and is more overtly feminine than either Dr. Crusher or Tasha.
* MaleGaze: Her ample breasts and cleavage are more than often on screen.
* MilitaryBrat: Troi's late father Andrew also served in Starfleet.
* 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 Ugly Duckling growing up, but she also said that she was very happy to "get her brains back" when the character was made to wear a uniform.[[/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!'''''
* PowerLossDepression: In "The Loss", Troi suffers brain damage that cuses her to lose empath abilities. She becomes frightened, depressed, angry and even decides to resign as Ship's Counselor because she feels she can no longer perform her duties.
* RankUp: In Season 7, Troi takes the Bridge Officer's Exam, and after passing, she receives a promotion to commander and is shown taking shifts in the Captain's chair afterward.
* RunawayBride: Troi believed she would never be bonded to an arranged marriage because she joined the ''Enterprise'' to get as far away from Betazed 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."
* StoryBreakerPower: A character who is able to sense the emotions and intentions of others sounded like a good idea on ''paper'', but in practice it meant that Deanna should logically be able to clear up any misunderstandings or call out almost any deceptions that make up the plot of every other episode, meaning there were many early episodes where she was functionally useless because other characters didn't listen to her, or because the writers just forgot or chose to ignore how her powers worked in the first place. In later stories, Troi was frequently either made part of the B-plot or just written out of the episode entirely, purely because of how ''useful'' the character should have been to the main story.
* SweetTooth: By her own admission, Troi never met a chocolate she didn't like.
* 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.
* TookALevelInKindness: You wouldn't think it given how she's seemingly one of the gentlest and sweetest of the main bridge crew...but "The Loss" reveals that she's somewhat arrogant and, as Riker himself puts it, aristocratic in her opinion of herself in comparison to regular people. Despite this, when her empathic senses return at the end of the episode, she begins mellowing out more.
* 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.
* WhatTheHellHero: Gets something of a mix of this and a VERY tame {{The Reason You Suck Speech}} from Riker during "The Loss", when the (temporary) loss of her empathic powers causes an episode-long panic attack where her arrogance and somewhat condescending view of humans and their more limited abilities in comparison to her comes to the forefront, leading to Riker calling her out as acting with an "aristocratic" snootiness and telling her that her real problem is she can't stand being an equal to everyone else. Thankfully, she starts easing out of this over time and regrets how horrible she had been.
* 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 Betazoids, showed up, it became increasingly clear that no one else was 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 the accent[[note]]he speaks with a General Amercian accent and his actor Amick Byram is from Central Texas[[/note]] either (much to Sirtis's exasperation). So her accent dialect continues to remain unexplained on-screen.
* YouAreInCommandNow: Troi's rank of lieutenant commander rarely comes up, but in "Disaster", she finds herself the ranking officer on the bridge during a crisis and is totally out of her element. The experience is part of why she later undergoes the Bridge Officer's Exam, wanting to be prepared should it ever happen again.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Lieutenant Commander Data]]
!!Lieutenant Commander Data
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/data_spiner_2846.jpg]]
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/BrentSpiner
!!!'''Dubbed in French by:''' Jean-Pol Brissart (TNG), Yves Beneyton (Movies)
->''"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.
* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: Pale goldish skin-tone.
* BecomeARealBoy: Data wishes to become more human. Riker {{lampshades}} it in the ''very first episode'', calling Data "Pinocchio".
* 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 and starts pulling the trigger, 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.
* BirdsOfAFeather: He and Worf have a surprising amount in common. Data's endlessly frank nature and Worf's sense of honor require them both to be honest and fair in whatever they do. They also don't have much of a sense of humor, or at least don't understand the humor of their crewmates.
* 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.
* BookSmart: Being an android, he has encyclopedic knowledge and can learn extremely quickly.
* 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.]]
* CharacterTics: 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 smirks occasionally 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.
** This anomaly is justified in a conversation in ''Literature/StarTrekTheLostEra: The Buried Age'', where Data notes that he is trying harder to imitate emotion to help people accept him, suggesting that he might adjust this approach once people are more comfortable with him.
* 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.
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: To Spock. They're both logical, stoic, and polite, but both men are essentially what the other strives to be. Spock is an emotional and compassionate man who tries to bury his feelings and be completely rational, where Data is emotionless and cerebral yet desperately longs to feel human emotions. The two lampshade it when the meet in "Unification".
* {{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. After installing the chip, he begins doing this deliberately.
-->'''Pulaski:''' What's the difference?\\
'''Data:''' One is my name. The other is not.
* DecompositeCharacter: Data, Worf, and Troi share Spock's persona from TOS. Data takes Spock's emotionless logician aspect and conflict between logic and emotion.
* {{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).[[invoked]]
* 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's body had more in common with organic life than was later established. He was infected with the Psi-2000 variant virus, though the crew remark that an android getting an infection ''should'' be impossible. He also mentions eating something unpalatable to humans to maintain certain elements within his body. This was dropped quickly from the series.
* EatingMachine: Needs to occasionally ingest chemical compounds to keep his internal machinery lubricated. He mentions it a few times in the early seasons.
* EatingOptional: Data can eat food even though he does not have to so that he can 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 the man 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 ''The Questor Tapes'' 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: Data is often treated like a walking calculator, even by members of Starfleet. The most prominent examples are Maddox, who tried to classify Data as Federation property, and Dr. Pulaski, who eventually comes to accept him as a colleague.
* FirstTimeFeeling: Downside of the emotion chip is all the feelings Data has no real preparation for; humor renders him a giggling idiot, because he's unable to stop laughing, fear stops him from doing anything to help Geordi, and the resulting guilt and anger distract him. By the time of ''First Contact'', he's still not got the best handle on fear, but now has a solution: Turn the chip off.
* {{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.
* FollowingInTheirRescuersFootsteps: Starfleet officers found Data after the Crystalline Entity destroyed the Omicron Theta colony, and once he was reactivated, Data chose to join Starfleet himself.
* 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 can knock a Klingon on his ass without even flinching, but at the same time can 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, Data 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.
* ImmuneToBullets: Taking rounds from a submachine gun doesn't bother him in the slightest. They don't even penetrate his super-tough skin.
* InformedAttribute: Even apart from the EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, Data's frequently asserted emotionlessness is not born out by his behavior. We frequently see Data exhibiting desire, hesitation, confusion, awkwardness, fascination, regret, enthusiasm, and other states of mind that are generally considered emotional reactions. A genuinely emotionless character would be a lot less engaging. If you define an emotional state as considering one outcome preferrable to another, then Data certainly does have emotions, just relatively mild ones. What he truly lacks is a frame of reference to compare them to.
* 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.
* IntriguedByHumanity: Data is, by any measure, physically, intellectually, and (barring outside influence) more often than not, morally superior to humans, yet he himself is deeply fascinated by humanity, seeing becoming human as the highest of aspirations.
* {{Irony}}: As pointed out by more than one character, Data is what a lot of people would consider the pinnacle of existence short of godhood; super-strong, super-smart, ageless, functionally immortal with proper care. And yet he would give it all up in a heartbeat to be human.
* KindheartedCatLover: Data comes to adopt a pet cat, Spot, in an attempt to be more human. In "All Good Things," Data is shown in his Oxford quarters, which is full of cats. In the sequel series, ''Series/StarTrekPicard'', he considers Spot his most cherished memory.
* 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. Picard's advice to him on how to be an effective leader seems to suggest that, in Picard's mind at least, the opportunity is still available to him. At least some of this can be attributed to Data's lack of emotion leading to a lack of ambition; the novel "The Buried Age" observed that Picard had to encourage him to express an interest in certain roles rather than just doing the job he had been assigned.
* LockedIntoStrangeness: 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".
* 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 (although it should be noted that he was also experiencing negative emotions due to said brother, who was preventing him experiencing anything positive).
* 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 Creator/HennyYoungman 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 Creator/JerryLewis voices, proving that all jokes have a shelf life.
-->"Take my Worf -- please!"
* NiceGuy: For a supposedly emotionless android, Data is ''tremendously'' likable, polite, earnest, and well-meaning, making a lot of friends who deeply value him, and whom Data, [[TinMan although he technically shouldn't be able to return the sentiment]], values equally deeply. Even when he has to lay into Worf for questioning him in front of the crew while they are acting as Captain and First Officer, Data takes a moment to note that he's sorry if the rebuke has damaged their friendship (it hasn't; Worf apologizes and says that if anyone risked their friendship, it was him for being insubordinate).
* NoSenseOfHumor: Not for lack of trying, though. The guy named his striped 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 episode [[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]].
* PapaWolf: He was only a father to Lal for a single episode, but when a Starfleet admiral insisted that she be removed from Data's care, Data, in his own fashion, was ready to fight tooth and nail to keep his daughter safe. As Lal's neural net began to fail, Data's all but moved heaven and Earth to try (in vain) to save her, leaving that same admiral in absolute awe.
* 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.
* PhlebotinumProofRobot: Being an android, he's immune to many things that would be dangerous for the rest of the crew, and is occasionally required to handle such situations.
* PhraseCatcher: "''Thank you,'' Mr. Data" after Data's explanations get gratuitous.
* 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: [[invoked]] {{Justified|Trope}}. His creator was far more interested in the [[ForScience puzzle]] of creating fully-sentient mechanical life than any commercial applications. As a result, Dr. Soong equipped him with a slew of traits that imitates those of biological lifeforms. Many of these serve both a practical purpose in maintaining his body, but also make him appear more life-like in an aesthetic sense, very likely in an attempt to steer him away from the UncannyValley. Data has to occasionally eat a semi-organic nutrient to lubricate his biofunctions, and he breathes (as a way of regulating the temperature of his inner systems) and has a pulse (as a way of transporting biochemical lubricants around his body). He also has a built-in system dedicated to make him blink and make it appear somewhat random, as well as an aging program designed to simulate the external effects of aging in his physical appearance.
* 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.
** He is also very smart in contrast to the simple-minded B-4.
* TheSmartGuy: Given that he's an android, with a supercomputer in his head, he can usually come up with solutions that would be at best impractical if they didn't have an android on the crew.
* 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 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.
** While handing Spot over to Worf's temporary care, Data briefly starts saying that Spot needs to be told that he is "a pretty cat, and a ''good'' cat", showing a definite emotional attachment to his pet.
** 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. Hell, even the ''computer'' tells him to shut up once.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Ensign Wesley Crusher]]
!!Ensign Wesley Crusher
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wesley_wheaton_98.jpg]]
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/WilWheaton
!!!'''Dubbed in French by:''' Nicolas Grossetête
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.
----
* AlwaysSecondBest: He was beaten into the Academy by his Benzite colleague Mordock, though the episode never actually shows why Mordock was judged superior.
* 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!
* BookSmart: He is exceptionally smart even by the higher standards of the 24th century, but by the third season it's pretty clear he also feels a lot of pressure to always be an overachiever.
* 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''.
** And he turns up briefly in a second season episode of ''Series/StarTrekPicard'', [[spoiler: as a Traveller.]]
* 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.
* ImpossibleGenius: Wesley accomplishes things in his teens that surprises the best engineers in Starfleet didn't think of.
* 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: He's the son of a Starfleet doctor and command officer.
* PluckyMiddie: InSpace. He's a teenage officer in Starfleet who often saves the day.
* PutOnABus: He eventually leaves to join Starfleet Academy, something the show had been putting off for several seasons.
* 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.
[[/folder]]
!!Junior Staff
[[folder:Lieutenant Reginald Barclay]]
!!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.
----
* 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: Several including his introductory episode "Hollow Pursuits". Also "The Nth Degree" and "Realm Of Fear". This even continued when he crossed shows, notably the ''Voyager'' episode "Pathfinder" 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, [[ImNotAHeroIm 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.
* ShoutOut: Barclay's middle name is Endicott, a nod to the character of Clayton Endicott III on ''Series/{{Benson}}'', played by Creator/ReneAuberjonois, who would later play Odo on ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''.
* 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:Keiko Ishikawa O'Brien]]
!!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]].
* PutOnABus: To [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]] along with her husband Miles.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Transporter Chief Miles O'Brien]]
!!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!
* ChekhovsSkill: In "The Wounded," it's mentioned that he was tactical officer aboard the ''Rutledge''. When Worf resigns in "Redemption," he mans the tactical station in his absence.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: It took a while for the writers and costumers to settle on O'Brien's rank; although later episodes establish that O'Brien is a non-commissioned officer, early episodes see him wearing the uniform of an ensign or lieutenant.
* FantasticRacism: Towards Cardassians, due to them being responsible for the first time he took a life.
* GoodOldWays: Mother O'Brien still held on to the old-fashioned way of cooking with her hands, an oddity in a time when most people use the replicator for their food needs. Miles himself occasionally does the same, much to Keiko's alarm.
* 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=]. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] by the fact that, unlike just about anyone else on the Enterprise aside from the dedicated security officers in Worf and Tasha, O'Brien is an actual combat veteran.
** He has no qualms about getting involved in putting down those who make ruckus in the Transporter room, as Roga Danar can attest.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: During his time on the ''Rutledge'', Miles was present at the Setlik III Massacre. While there, he grabbed a phaser to defend himself from a Cardassian officer, not knowing the phaser had been set to "disintegrate". The man vaporised in front of his eyes.
* 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:Nurse (Ensign, later Lieutenant) Alyssa Ogawa]]
!!Nurse (Ensign, later Lieutenant Alyssa Ogawa)
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ogawa_tng_5849.jpg]]
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/PattiYasutake
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]]
!!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.
* CorruptedCharacterCopy: An example where the "corruption" was accidental. Dr. Pulaski was intended to be an Expy of Dr. Leonard [=McCoy=], and her jabs at Data were designed to recreate the Spock/Bones dynamic. However, Spock did have human emotions, he just repressed them, and was very vocal about how superior he believed himself to be to his human crewmates. By contrast Data was not capable of emotions but desperately wanted to be. Despite technically lacking things like compassion, he was also a wide-eyed NiceGuy as opposed to Spock's somewhat frosty JerkWithAHeartOfGold personality. So where Bones came across as an everyman taking an insufferably smug person down a peg, Pulaski came across as a fantastic racist bullying the sweetest person in the galaxy.
* 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: In "Where Silence Has Lease", the cosmic entity Nagilum has selected 50% of the crew for Mengele-like experimentation on death. Her response? "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.
** Though, this occurred in "Contagion" when the Enterprise was experiencing widespread computer failures affecting systems across the ship. In this instance, the bone knitter the subordinate was using was not working so Pulaski suggested a splint, to which he scoffed as "not practicing medicine." Her lecture was partly a rebuke and partly an encouragement.
* 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 two different roles) with the Original Series.
* 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 have 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]]
!!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.
* BackForTheDead: [[spoiler: Commander Ro returns in the Picard episode "Imposters", 29 years after her last appearance in TNG: "Preemptive Strike". Sadly, she doesn't survive the episode.]]
* 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.
* DeathByIrony: [[spoiler: A variation with Ro. She survived the Dominion's purge of the Maquis, only to still end up getting killed by the Dominion (albeit rogue Founders) decades later. Adding to the irony, Ro — a Starfleet officer who infiltrated the Maquis (i.e. a Federation Renegade Splinter Faction) and ended up defecting — is killed by another Renegade Splinter Faction that's infiltrated Starfleet.]]
* 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]].
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Ro rams her shuttle into an opposing ship in order to give Picard time to escape.]]
* 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.]]
* NeverMyFault: Ro still feels that she made the right choice defecting to the Maquis thirty years ago — though deep down, and despite her anger and resentments towards Picard, she does still regret betraying him.
* 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: Depending on the source, but whether you chose the Literature/StarTrekNovelVerse, or Series/StarTrekPicard she will eventually find her way back into Starfleet.
* RankUp: After returning to Starfleet, Ro Laren has now advanced to the rank of Commander.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: While Ro still firmly believes her decision to join the Maquis was the right one, she does reconcile with Picard. Just before her death, he tells her he finally sees that she never betrayed him as a person or her beliefs in doing the right thing. Her final act is to save his life and everyone else on the 'Titan'.]]
* 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.
* 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: Series/StarTrekPicard will reveal that after some time with the Maquis, Ro turned herself in to Starfleet authorities and was imprisoned. Due to her experience with terrorist activities, Ro was recruited by Starfleet Intelligence, who subjected her to an intensive rehabilitation program. By 2401, she had advanced to the rank of commander.]]
* WhatTheHellHero
[[/folder]]
!!Others
[[folder:Guinan]]
!!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 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.
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* AlmightyJanitor: In "Yesterday's Enterprise," Picard sends 120 people to their deaths on the word of a ''bartender'' who can tell that the timeline is out of sorts.
* 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 has some sort of hidden power that could let her go one on one with Q of all people.
* 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.
* BerserkButton: For as patient and calm as she is, dealing with the Borg truly upsets her, to the point where she refuses to even listen to any positive comments about them, despite coming from a race of "listeners." It's [[FreudianExcuse justified]] in that the Borg decimated the El-Aurians through assimilation, leaving Guinan and the few surviving others in her race scattered and alone throughout the galaxy.
* 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 has some way of actually harming him. Or at the very least being able to counter his power.
* {{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.
* ConsistentClothingStyle: Guinan changes her clothes, but she'll usually be wearing a long-sleeved dress, round hat, and baggy pants that are all the same colour.
* 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'' your name 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.
* MySignificanceSenseIsTingling: As described above, Guinan occasionally gets vague feelings that things are wrong. For example, when Picard starts dealing with Q again, she's uneasy throughout the day, and when they materialize in Ten Forward, she immediately rushes at the trickster and snaps "I ''knew'' it was you." The most common fan interpretation is that her time in the Nexus has given her some form of limited precognitive power.
* 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]]''.
* NoodleIncident: Both Guinan and Picard make references to the fact their relationship is (in Guinan's words) "beyond friendship, beyond family", but what happened that led to such a relationship is never explained. The "Times Arrow" two parter shows how Guinan first met Picard due to [[TimeyWimeyBall time travel shenanigans]] but it's pretty clear this isn't the inciting incident. We're never shown how they each earned the intense trust of the other, and they don't seem inclined to tell us.
* PlatonicLifePartners: Guinan's bond with Picard can only be described as one of pure love, but it's not sexual or romantic in any way.
* 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 ''Film/TheColorPurple1985''. She was also known for her stand-up comedy, and would go on to make funny films, including ''Film/Ghost1990'' and ''Film/SisterAct'', during her tenure on the show. All told, it was rather surprising for such a rising star to be willing to relegate herself to the SciFiGhetto: when [=LeVar=] Burton, who was a friend of hers, relayed her desire to appear on the show, everyone thought he was joking. But Goldberg cited Creator/NichelleNichols, 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 knew right there and then I could be anything I wanted to be." As such, Goldberg went to Creator/GeneRoddenberry personally and asked for a role on ''TNG,'' offering to play a janitor in the background just to honor Nichols. Guinan was the result.
** Goldberg's busy film schedule often left her unable to be on set, so the writers scrambled to include her in plots whenever they knew she'd be available; as such, many Troi-centric episodes were hastily rewritten to give Guinan a starring role whenever possible. It wasn't until later in the series that episodes were written specifically for Goldberg.
* 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:Molly O'Brien]]
!!Molly O'Brien
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/molly_tng_6963.jpg]]
!!!'''Played By:''' Tadeski twins (1991-1992); Hana Hatae (1992-1998)
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.
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* PutOnABus: To [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]] along with her father Miles.
* 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 during this show's sixth season and then all of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'''s run.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Alexander Rozhenko]]
!!Alexander Rozhenko
[[quoteright:205:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alexander_tng_6162.jpg]]
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JonSteuer (1990); Creator/BrianBonsall (1992-1994); Creator/JamesSloyan (1994, as "K'mtar"); Creator/MarcWorden (1997)
->''"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''.
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* AnAlienNamedBob: Downplayed. Alexander is only three-quarters alien.
* 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]]
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