Least Favorite Character

I don't get why so much anger towards poor Wesley...
I love that little lad ! So cute and clever ! Everyone wants a son like him ! ...right ?

 

When I first saw the show as a teenager I didn't like Pulaski at all. Why had they replaced the lovely dr. Crusher for that mean, old hag ?

Now I appreciate Pulaski a good deal more. She's the only one not willing to sweeten things when speaking to Picard, and refuses to take nonsense from him- or anybody for that matter. In a way, she's the only one who dares to be (politically) incorrect on board of a very 'correct' ship, and in that sense she's one of the most 'real' characters.

As for the question, I think it would be either Troi or Wesley for me. Mostly as a result of how they were written and what their characters got to do on screen.

 

That's easy, Riker!

The character was completely pointless, TOS got it right by giving the XO a different job on the bridge. In real life a dedicated XO makes sense, for a tv show? Not so much. When Picard was on the bridge all Riker ever did was repeating orders and making suggestions and everyone else was probably better suited to lead away teams, Data on scientific explorations, Yar/Worf on high risk missions and Troi on diplomatic missions for example.

Arguments have been made for other characters but Riker is the one that could be plugged out of the show with not much changing, Data would double as XO, Troi would make suggestions (as an empath she would have a different perspective than Picard and everyone else), Geordie would have luck with the ladies (and would not write their evaluation reports afterwards)

 

I don't think Data should have started as XO. Starting him in command would have made it harder to explore the theme of people being uncomfortable being commanded by a machine, and we wouldn't have got that great scene in Redemption.

Worf as XO might have worked well, if you had to replace Riker. Then he could have tactical duties and Chief of Security could be its own role.

 

^^In the few few seasons, Riker's role was most clearly designated and it complemented Picard. Riker was supposed to be the swashbuckler of the show, the action hero, the more aggressive commander, while Picard was the father figure, philosopher, the explorer, and the more even tempered.

 

You're right, but I wouldn't want Worf as the XO.

Worf could have taken over the swashbuckler and action hero duties while Troi could have been the XO. It would have justified her being in the bridge often and would have given her more to do. Later in the show she was shown to evaluate crewmembers with Riker and she eventually became a bridge officer able to take command so that clearly doesn't interfere with her position as counselor. So why not have her be the XO from the start? With Worf being the assigned action hero she could have concentrated in duty rosters, evaluations, away missions (shared with Worf and Data depending in the mission profile) and keepimg Picard's seat warm.

 

Troi...
And mainly because the character just seems rather pointless so far. In one recent season 2 ep I watched there was someone (another crew member possibly, but the exact scene is eluding me) who was in a stae of mental distress due to some stressful/emotional event in the ep and Picard asks her how the individual is faring. Her response (paraphrased): He is in a state of emotional distress, likely brought on by recent events.

Yeah, really? I never would have guessed...

 

We never did get to see what happened after Worf read her that Klingon love poetry.

 

I think they could have done away with the Counselor role entirely. The show would have been just fine without it.

 

Troi - I never understood what she was doing on the bridge all the time. If she was needed for first contact situations, she could have been brought up to the bridge as and when. And her stupid costumes... arghh...

 

AGREED. The episodes that featured her were all 'meh' at best. Don't even get me started on sub-plots with her mom...

 

I didn't like Pulaski when I watched TNG in the 90:s.

I never liked the idea of her replacing Beverly Crusher and I did find her rather annoying. So I was happy when Crusher came back in the third season.

In recent years I've started to appreciate Pulaski more than I did back then but she's still my least favorite of the main characters. It would have been great to see her in some alter episode and learn what became of her.

Lwxana Troi and Worf's son Alexander were no favorites for me either. All episodes in which they had an important role were rather boring, although I did like "Haven". I can also stand "Dark Pages" because Kirsten Dunst is in it (although she's very young there).

Wes Crusher could be annoying in the first season, mostly because of his ability to save the day in some episodes. Too much "Boy Wonder" there. However, when I got an Internet connection some years later and read all the negative and hateful comments about the character, then I started to like him!

I really like both LaForge and Troi but sometimes LaForge could be rather bland and Troi's failed love affairs with real slimebags as Devinion Ral and Ambassador Alkar were quite annoying.

 

Deanna Troi.

I found her to be an irrelevant character using her superpower to say the obvious of what's going on in a scene. She had a rank I felt she never deserved and whatever issues Wesley and Pulaski had, there were not as bad in comparison to Troi. At least the writers made an effort to make Wesley less infallible as he grew up.

 

I actually like Troi, despite the things I mentioned in my earlier post. However, I can agree that she sometimes did just what you commented about, using her superpower to say the obvious of what's going on in a scene.

As for Wes Crusher, he did became less annoying later on in the series. But I didn't like how they actually ruined the character near the end of the series. OK, the events in "The First Duty" was OK. Crsuher screwed up but with the help or more likely, threats from Picard, he managed to do the right thing and save his career.

But it was terrible to see how they messed him up later on when he came back as an annoying brat, causing a lot of trouble, screw up his career and leavse with that sleazy Traveler.

It would have been great to see him end up as an officer on the Enterprise at the end of the series.

However, they didn't destroy the character in the same way they did with Kes.

 

I never liked Pulaski. Granted, Crusher's medical ethics were a bit questionable occasionally too, but nothing like Pulaski in Unnatural Selection, YMMV.
Loved Riker, but I think it would have been better if he'd taken that promotion in mid-show. Left him seeming rather useless when he was willing to play second fiddle to Picard for so long.

 

I don't think the character of Riker really added that much to the show. Picard was the Leader, Geordi the Tech, Data the Science, Crusher the Medic, Troi the Heart, Worf the Warrior, and Riker the... kinda backup leader? Kinda romantic-interest guy? Mr. Exposition?

At least Thomas would have shaken things up while still keeping Mr. Frakes in a leading role.

 

She wasn't always saying the obvious. Sometimes, sure, but far from always. Often, her insider knowledge was actually quite useful to Picard & co.

 

I’d say Yar. After she was gone, it felt like the show went from a bit crowded to just right.

I never minded Pulaski. Early Wesley grated on me a bit but I feel like they eventually found the right balance between wunderkind & budding teenager.

 

The character that I couldn't stand was Tasha Yar, and frankly I was kinda happy when she was killed off. I actually really liked the idea of a female chief of security, but her character was written so poorly. So instead of being just a normal person from a federation planet, she was from a anarchist colony and had been attacked by "rape gangs". This is very strange for a character in Star Trek, it goes against everything the federation stood for. She was also constantly having to prove herself, once in a while that's fine, but it felt like half her scenes were her trying to prove herself.