TOS: Spock TNG: Data, Picard DS9: Garak, Quark Odo VOY: The Doctor, Janeway, Seven, Tuvok ENT: T'Pol, Phlox (JUST started watching though!)
Heresy ! It's got some great character development and, unique in Trek, a growing continuity/story arc. I think it's good. The first two seasons are standard Trek fare, and better if you ignore previous series, but the latter two are very good in my opinion. Some continuity in the third season, and an interesting take on story arcs in the fourth.
TOS: Spock TNG: Data, Picard. Everyone but Worf. DS9: Dukat, Garak, Weyoun. I like all the characters except Kai Winn. Dukat is my favorite ST character ever, though. VOY/ENT: none, because I haven't seen the entire series of either. I plan on going back and watching them all, but I get distracted sometimes and re-watch the other ones instead.
That´s really not easy to decide and most has been said here already, but here goes: TOS: Kirk, Spock, Bones - you just have to go with the triumvirate TNG: Picard - mainly because Patrick Stewart is such a damn fine actor DS9: Garak - I never really liked any of the main charakters much and the show lost me sometime during the fourth season VOY: I stopped watching it after the first season, so I really can´t say ENT: Archer - an explorer, an adventurer and a very moral man ... but still "human" enough so we can easily relate to him
TOS: Spock & Bones TNG: Riker & Picard DS9: Garak, Gul Dukat, Bashir in the later seasons, Kira VOY: The Doctor, Torres ENT: Reed, Trip
TOS: Kirk! (Spock, McCoy, Scotty) TNG: Data! (Picard, O'Brien, Barclay, Lwaxana) DS9: Odo! (Garak, O'Brien, Jadzia-Dax) {VOY and ENT are on the to-do list}
James Kirk(Star TREK), Picard and Data, Worf(TNG), Garak, Damar and Dukat and bit like Quark, (DS9), ARcher, Shran, T'Pol(ENT) thanks Martyn
The "growing continuity/story arc" is one of the reasons I have not cared for DS9. I have always preferred episodic television. Lately however, I find myself enjoying some story arcs. Perhaps, I should give it another chance. Same thing in the case of ENT. When Trek was on television, I had a very busy schedule. Missing an episode or two would be common. Unfortunately, when I came back I was completely lost and gave up. TOS: Spock (also McCoy and Scotty) TNG: Wesley Crusher and Dr. Pulaski (Yeah, I'm evil, but I like what I like.) DS9: Kai Winn, she was evil but I liked the way she was written... at least the episodes I saw. Never got into the series much, except for "Little Green Men" and "Trials and Tribble-a-tions" VOY: Tuvok, Harry Kim & Tom Paris ENT: Archer & Porthos, the Doctor nuTREK: Pike (hate what happened in STID), Kirk (like seeing early Kirk grow into what we know), McCoy & Scotty
I have to admit that, although when DS9 started, a long term story arc was exactly what I wanted, I think modern series have taken it a bit too far, and I find myself nostalgic for 60s-style capsule episodes. Maybe. Don't let yourself be fooled by the first season, though. It gets much better after, much like TNG.
I like it when there are ongoing story arcs, but I think it's a problem when they lose sight of making individual episodes interesting in order to just set up the ongoing story arc. When they do they pretty much force you to marathon the show to enjoy it. Fortunately, DS9 never did that. Toward the end Lost and Galactica both kind of did. Game of Thrones in a way does, because they try to do five or six different threads in every episode, so the only real way to watch it is to marathon it. I might prefer it if in each episode they focused on a smaller number of threads instead of trying to do every single active story thread in every episode. Parellel storytelling instead of strict chronological storytelling. (How do the books do it? Do they jump around like the show does or they focus each entire chapter on a different thread? The show should do it that way.)
TOS: Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty TNG: Picard, Data, Beverly, Worf, Troi DS9: O'Brien, Worf, Kira, Bashir, Odo VOY: The Doctor, Kes, Tuvok ENT: Trip, Archer, T'Pol
TOS: Spock TNG: Picard DS9: Odo.. or maybe Garak... or maybe Kira... or Dukat.... VOY: 7 of 9 ENT: Trip Love the entire DS9 cast, way too hard to pick.