Best DS9 characters

[kythe]

I think DS9 had some of the most well-developed characters of all of Star Trek. They were such a great ensemble cast that I have a hard time choosing between them.

That said, I'm surprised no one has mentioned Kai Winn yet. She was such a great "villain", if you could call her that. She was someone I loved to hate.

[teacake]

This is for BEST. List not in any order.

1. Kai Winn. Great actor, great character.. every time I watch it I get the chills when she has the opportunity with Kira to change her direction and she does not. Seeing her with the disguised Dukat was beyond creepy, Trek's best train wreck you couldn't tear your eyes away from.

2. Gul Dukat. Unlike most people I loved his descent into cultish madness. He had a great character arc and a great ending. And more great--the acting again.

3. Quark. Fantastic, funny.. not a one schtick trick but a very developed character who had unique relationships with the other characters. Love interests, hate interests (Odo), family interests.. this guy has more going on than most Trek folk.

4. Odo. Quite unique, he could have ended up the Spock/7/Data character of DS9 but thankfully finding his humanity was only an adolescent phase. What we did get was the very interesting story of someone trying to find who he was with little to no reference points. A unique and original character who was able to surprise us.

5. Weyoun. I love this quote from Jeffery Combs about playing the character:

"So when the process started, I began to see how sort of royal and regal he was, and there was something kind of Japanese, but also he was the courtier in the court, he was the foppish, coiffed, graceful diplomat who would go from one party to another and make them all run smoothly. And he would do anything he could, with a smile, to make it look as easy as possible, and get exactly what he wanted. So I took a little spice from the French court as well."

I think Comb's character was a work of art, his best Trek role. And so much humor! Damar's hatred of him is fabulous.


Those would all be in my favorites list as well other than Odo who I never really liked. I'd have to replace him with Ezri in favorites

[CorporalCaptain]

1. Garak
2. Kira
3. Julian
4. Ezri
5. Nog

[Captaindemotion]

I like all of the Trek series and each had at least a few memorable characters. But the thing with DS9 is, partly due to their fixed location and the fact that this meant guest characters could credibly reappear, but mostly to the writing, even their recurring characters were more memorable than many regulars in the other shows.

Characters like Damar, Kai Winn, Nog and Eddington and Martok got more character development than the likes of Harry Kim or Travis Mayweather ever got.

[MacLeod]

DSN's static location allowed them to bring back recurring villians, all shows were capable of having recurring characters and some did have recurring characters not that they had much development


VOY had a great opportunity to build a cast of recurring characters, it's just a shame they didn't aside from a few characters who appeared every now and then they seemed to have a lot of one shot crew members.

[Lt_Rowy]

1. Gul Dukat - such a monster and those eyes of his which are totally devoid of any soul whatsoever... and especially when he was announcing that he was joining the Dominion and not fighting against them.
2. Kai Winn - so annoying! and so patronising...however Louise Fletcher does a magnificent job of playing her.
3. Odo - From being a shape shifter to being a solid back to being a shape shifter again....I just love his gruff exterior yet he has a heart of gold
4. Julian Bashir - Just the way that he puts up with Garak is funny enough...but his life has been pretty interesting especially finding out that he was genetically altered when he was a child.
5. Kira Nerys - Love her character and what her character has been through, losing Vedek Baral, falling in love with Shakaar, having Miles and Keiko's baby just to name a few!

[heavylids]

1. Quark
2. Garak
3. Ben Sisko
4. Odo
5. Kira

If Quark isn't #1 on your list, you're wrong.

[Use of Time]

1. Garek
2. Jadzia Dax
3. Julian Bashir
4. Gul Dukat
5. Benjamin Sisko

[Xhiandra]

1. Quark.
Come on, it's Quark! The guy made the show!
Better written than most other DS9 characters, more complex, able to shine in both lighter/comedic episodes ("The Magnificent Ferengi" still stands as probably the funniest Trek episode) or more dramatic episodes.
Armin Shimmerman also delivers one of the best performances of the DS9 cast, so it helps.

2. Garak.
Garak is a paradox: strong and dangerous (be it through cunning as in "In the Pale Moonlight" or sheer ruthlessness as in "Empok Nor"), yet weak, powerless and isolated, exiled to a life he secretely despises and always looking over his shoulder.
More articulate than most, cunning and playful yet scheming and sometimes treacherous.

3. Ezri.
I hate bouncy, over-enthusiastic quirky characters. Hate, hate, hate them.
Ezri is a bouncy, over-enthusiastic quirky character. What's not to love?

I don't know why I like Ezri. She's exactly the kind of characters I've grown to hate, yet remains an exception.
Maybe is it Nicole de Boer's cuteness?

4. Weyoun.
Jeffrey Combs' description is better than any I could manage, so just refer to a few posts up.

5. Early Dukat.
Pre-S5ish Dukat was just the archetype of the magnificent bastard, a kind of character whose success depends entirely on whether they are sufficiently charismatic to pull it off... and Dukat oozes charisma early on (which only serves to make his late treatment more egregious).

Honorable mention: Martok.

On the other hand, I hated Kira/Visitor and, to a lesser extent, Sisko/Brooks.

[Bry_Sinclair]

This is a very tough list to come up with, as I liked the vast majority of the main and recurring cast and have been going through a mammoth rewatch of DS9. As it stands, my top five would be (for now):

1. Kira Nerys - A tough and feisty female character. She had a different perspective on things that the average Starfleeter, separate drives and ambitions that set her apart from Sisko--someone she was always willing to stand up too. She went from being an angry and violent kid to a more mature and seasoned woman, with her opinions to Starfleet and the Cardassians changed over time by the people she met, whilst also making peace with what she needed to do during her time in the Resistance.

2. Elim Garak - An enigma, wrapped up in a mystery, disguised in a lie. He was a genius bit of character creation, with an excellent actor under the makeup, who had a great arc over the series, ending with him only getting home to a planet that was battered and beaten. He was a character that could have been very standoffish and unlikeable, but he was charming and multi-faceted, which always made him a joy to watch.

3. Miles O'Brien - Yes he was thought up for TNG, but he didn't come into his own until DS9. He was the everyman, someone who was faithful and loyal, dedicated to his family every bit as much as he was his duty. He and Bashir formed the best friendship of any series. Whenever the writers put him through hell (and they did, a lot), you felt for him because he is the kind of nice guy you hate seeing bad things happen too.

4. Winn Adami - I dare someone to find a better antagonist in a series (Dukat is a close second mind you), and all without ever coming to blows with Sisko, Kira or the others. Smart and shrewd, with a cunning mind and a powerful faith that saw her through almost until the end. Another great bit of casting brought her to the forefront, and her frequent clashes with Sisko and Kira showed that she wasn't a woman to be intimidated and that she would give as good as she got.

5. Ezri Dax - A great new addition to the final season, a risky thing to do when you think about it. She had to be introduced and developed, not just plopped in as a Jadzia 2.0, whilst also continuing the war and ensuring all the other characters still got their time to shine. They got the balance just right (VOY should have taken notes when introducing Seven). Here was a young woman, given a burden and responsibility she had never wanted and left to deal with it. She grew into her role as host, embracing all the knowledge, experience and skills offered to her and by the end came to own them.

Honourable Mentions:
Benjamin Sisko - The man who took a broken down station and made it a command post for an entire tactical wing. He was strong and fierce (you won't like him when he's angry ), but also a loving father, husband and son. He grew to accept his role as Emissary and place he played in Bajor.
Kai Opaka - She was only in three episodes, but that is just a testament to the impact she had on me. A character that was "killed off" far too early, her conviction and compassion made me instantly like her.
Quark - A character with a totally different view on things, as far from Starfleet as you can get, but an all round interesting and well-developed character--but still always a Ferengi.
Julian Bashir - Here was a character I hated when I first watched DS9. But over time, as you got to find out more about him and he really came into his own, I found myself liking him more and more.

[teacake]

Xhiandra wrote:

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3. Ezri.
I hate bouncy, over-enthusiastic quirky characters. Hate, hate, hate them.
Ezri is a bouncy, over-enthusiastic quirky character. What's not to love?

I don't know why I like Ezri. She's exactly the kind of characters I've grown to hate, yet remains an exception.
Maybe is it Nicole de Boer's cuteness?

Could have written that myself. My first DS9 watch I remember thinking, "this is exactly the sort of character I don't like. I LOVE HER."

[Kooz]

Spock/Uhura Fan wrote:

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Looking at other people's lists really reminds me that this series had some really great characters.

Agreed! The show was much better than i remembered it being!

[Kooz]

I would argue that Combs' best work was on Enterprise. He was phenomenal. Probably my favorite secondary character in all of Trek.

[Bry_Sinclair]

Kooz wrote:

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I would argue that Combs' best work was on Enterprise. He was phenomenal. Probably my favorite secondary character in all of Trek.

Combs was great in DS9 as Weyoun and Brunt, but I do have to admit I prefered him as Shran in ENT--he was one of the few things that made it watchable.

[teacake]

My personal favorite Combs character is Weyoun.

But the guy is a banquet.