No comic relief character

[JesterFace]

DS9 has Quark, VGR has Neelix.

Are you happy or sad that there isn't this comical character in TNG? There are some funny lines sometimes but fortunately there isn't a character on the series that is ”supposed to be funny”.

It is kind of fun when Odo shouts ”QUUAAAAARK” on the promenade in DS9. Still, somehow I feel that it's better that TNG doesn't have that joking thing going on. One could say that not having that joke character makes the series feel less scripted.

Before someone says ”what about broccoli, I mean Barclay”.... he was only in few episodes, not a regular character.

 

[birdieee]

Very happy indeed. TNG loses nothing by not having a designated "comedy" character

 

[gakelly]

In order to have a comic relief character there probably needs to be some kind of connection or two characters playing off each other.
In season 1, they kind of tried to make jokes about Data, and then Barclay came on a episodes. Q was also comic relief. But eventually the show focused more on Stewart.
Odo and Quark worked because of the chemistry between those two characters. It made the show.
Neelix...yikes....the whole Voyager series was a disaster. There was no connection between any of the characters on the show.

 

[The Wormhole]

Data and Worf certainly provided their share of comic relief throughout the series.

 

[Mojochi]

Data was the comic relief character from the onset. That's why they cast a comedic actor. To be sure, the execution went beyond that, thank god, but didn't those other show's examples do so also?

 

[Winterwind]

In order to have a comic relief character there probably needs to be some kind of connection or two characters playing off each other.
In season 1, they kind of tried to make jokes about Data, and then Barclay came on a episodes. Q was also comic relief. But eventually the show focused more on Stewart.
Odo and Quark worked because of the chemistry between those two characters. It made the show.
Neelix...yikes....the whole Voyager series was a disaster. There was no connection between any of the characters on the show.

I have to disagree with you on Voyager. I find the show infinitely more watchable than TNG. The characters are better and more relatable, the acting light years beyond what the majority of the TNG cast were capable of and yes, great connections between the characters.

My wife, for example, had seen some scattered epiosdes of the various shows over the years but I've turned her into a full blown Trekkie and TNG is the only series she couldn't make it through. She never lost interest in TOS, DS9, VOY or ENT, only TNG.

And on my most recent rewatch of VOY, I came to realise what a good character Neelix is. I'd forgotten over the years how much pain his cheery disposition masked.

 

[NCC-73515]

No character should have only a comedy purpose. That's what I didn't like about Kelvin Scotty.

 

[Orphalesion]

I have to disagree with you on Voyager. I find the show infinitely more watchable than TNG. The characters are better and more relatable, the acting light years beyond what the majority of the TNG cast were capable of and yes, great connections between the characters.

I disagree strongly with that. A lot of the characters of TNG aren't stellar, but I find them a lot more watchable than the Voyager crew, whom I find very bland and boring and/or rehashes of older Star Trek archetypes.
The only except, imho, is Seven. Once she showed up it pretty much became the "Seven of Nine Show", probably because the rest of the characters were "fifty shades of beige"

 

[Kilana2]

I disagree strongly with that. A lot of the characters of TNG aren't stellar, but I find them a lot more watchable than the Voyager crew, whom I find very bland and boring and/or rehashes of older Star Trek archetypes.
The only except, imho, is Seven. Once she showed up it pretty much became the "Seven of Nine Show", probably because the rest of the characters were "fifty shades of beige"

Like the running gag Harry Kim. He was so boring that he had to remain the eternal Ensign. Even Paris wanted to toughen (K)him up! Nothing against Harry, he would have needed a lot more character development. Characters like Chakotay and Kim are not the best developed characters.

As to TNG: there is still Mr. Mot. But he is not more than Morn is for DS9.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I'm glad they mostly drew comic relief from Data and Worf, naturally drawing humor from serious characters instead of forcing it with characters whose personality is based on annoying people.

 

[amp]

He only appeared in a few episodes, but let's not forget about Barclay. He was certainly comic relief.

 

[Qonundrum]

Q was - used sparingly, the humor can be very effective. At least for those who want it.

Quark/Odo was definitely used for humor, which works great in tandem with the seriousness of the material.

Neelix works against Tuvok as both are extremes of personality tropes... But I was laughing at the scene and feeling sorry for Tuvok, not unlike feeling sorry for Willy Tanner every time ALF did something stupid. But that's where the humor was for those shows.

But TNG's more stout seriousness, adding in conflict such as speaks-her-mind Ro and shy-but-worthy Barclay still worked better for me. Especially as TOS forced the jokiness way too often. (But on the flip side, a lot of early-TNG felt like a joke, and some episodes still do. Worse is knowing what some of those episodes could have been, before they were rewritten... "Justice" was not originally about "planet of the blue-eyed blondes having oily orgies"...)

 

[Orphalesion]

Q was supposed to be humour?
Truth be told I never understood the character very well, to me his episodes are kinda just....there, for the most part and I assumed it was one of those things they did to stretch their budget over 26 episodes.
Like "We need another Bottle Episode, let's call in John de Lancie and get some props/costumes from the archives"

 

[Qonundrum]

Q was supposed to be humour?
Truth be told I never understood the character very well, to me his episodes are kinda just....there, for the most part and I assumed it was one of those things they did to stretch their budget over 26 episodes.
Like "We need another Bottle Episode, let's call in John de Lancie and get some props/costumes from the archives"

Dark humor? Or at least from Q's perspective? He is a form of comic relief but not the typical "pie in your face" with typical slapstick jokey dialogue. It's different than a sitcom. Q being 1987's take on the Norse got Loki, a god that would play tricks... combined with Trelane... True, some people hated Q. I thought he was hysterical; John DeLancie taking what's on paper and adding a new dimension to it - so to speak. Depends on what one is looking for and from in a character. I've gravitated toward the offbeat varieties. Maybe that's why I tend to like Ro, Barclay, Data, and Geordi the best...

 

[Relayer1]

Very happy indeed. TNG loses nothing by not having a designated "comedy" character

I agree, but they did have Wesley, who provided the annoyance.

I've always hated the funny pet/robot/alien thing and feel that role is best served by a character that isn't so blatantly childish nor slapstick.

Both Quark and the EMH for instance, carried some lighter material without being throwaway or pathetic, and comfortably carried some dramatic stuff too.

 

[amp]

Q was supposed to be humour?

I couldn't find the GIF where he turns Crusher into a dog. But let's go with this one:

 

[Orphalesion]

Dark humor? Or at least from Q's perspective? He is a form of comic relief but not the typical "pie in your face" with typical slapstick jokey dialogue. It's different than a sitcom. Q being 1987's take on the Norse got Loki, a god that would play tricks... combined with Trelane... True, some people hated Q. I thought he was hysterical; John DeLancie taking what's on paper and adding a new dimension to it - so to speak. Depends on what one is looking for and from in a character. I've gravitated toward the offbeat varieties. Maybe that's why I tend to like Ro, Barclay, Data, and Geordi the best...

I mean I like off-beat humour as well, but Q just shows up and does random things most of the time. Like summoning a mariachi band.
It's just....eh?

I like the Barclay episodes and think they have some nice humour in them (especially Hollow Pursuits) and yeah, but Q? He's just..."eh" to me.

 

[NCC-73515]

He was more humorous on VOY, when he tried to seduce Janeway, who got compared to a dog, and then dumped his son in her care XD

 

[JesterFace]

Q was many things, sometimes very serious and sometimes very funny.

John de Lancie can play all those parts.

 

[The Wormhole]

Q was supposed to be humour?

Maybe not at first, but he did sort of evolve into that, mostly because the writers admitted they had no idea how to write the character. Also, John de Lancie admitted he intentionally played Q as a humorous character to contrast how serious TNG usually was.