I just finished rewatching all of TNG, and while there were a few stinkers, I was happy with most of the episodes (and miss it now that it's done). I previously struggled through Ent. and Voy., and came to enjoy DS9, but I think the quality of the acting in TNG makes it better than the others. Here's my take on the top 5 characters from TNG. What do you guys think?
That's a pretty good list. Picard and Data are obviously the most developed and well-rounded characters. Worf probably had more character centered episodes than any of the others, but I don't think you can say we was as developed and well rounded. With the probable exception of Data, Riker had the most character growth throughout the series' run. As for minor/guest cast no one really stands out other than Guinan and Q. I guess Ro could be thrown in there. It would have been fun to see how Yar developed.
I liked Ro Laren way more than Guinan, & just about every other featured character that isn't on your list
Subject to opinion, ask ten different people, you'll probably get eleven different answers. TNG's main weakness is that it didn't have a strong guest cast at all. So with the exception of Q, Guinian, Ro and O'brien(and even they weren't around that much), there were really no reoccurring characters. Oh Gowron, Kurn, Tomalak and a few others appeared more than once, but yeah.
I was close to putting Ro on there, but felt the others were better. How great would it have been to have Shran on TNG instead of Enterprise? I didn't put Work because, though there were a lot of Worf-centric episodes, they generally weren't all that great. I didn't like work that much until I rewatched DS9 and came to appreciate him as he came into his own. I wasn't a Tasha Yar fan. The episode where she was crying on the bridge and had to be comforted by Picard was embarrassing. Sure, she has emotions, but that was so badly acted it was comical. I'm going to do a top 5 worst characters from TNG in the future. It'll be interesting to see who people think should be in or out. There are a few obvious choices, but then it gets murky.
The Chief appeared in some 50 odd episodes of TNG. So well over 25%, and since he left in S6 it might be closer to 40% of episodes prior to his transfer.
Honestly Q is also a good character since he appears in numerous episodes like "Q, Who?" But we all have out distinctive mind, and our own opinions.
Ensign Ro was always my favorite character in TNG. I'll follow her up with Lwaxana. Unfortunately I was always meh about the main cast.
I would have liked to have seen more of Mister Mot, the blue barber. A short scene every few episodes, giving members of the crew unwanted personal and professional advice. His somehow trimming Picard's almost non-existent hair is fantastic.
There was a Bolian co-husband mentioned in DS9. And then there was the digestive jokes. Note to JJ: Bolians please.