I love Neelix.

[PatB1974]

There. I said it. He is kind hearted and loyal to the end, and takes his role as Naomi's godfather very seriously.
I think Voyager was lucky to have him.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Godfather or stepfather?

 

[Makarov]

He definitely compliments Tuvok well. You might say they make an excellent combo.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Wasn't my favourite, though not the worst on Voyager. When they had stories that explored his past, where you actually got to see how damaged he was, it gave me a whole new appreciation for him.

 

[Michael]

I love Neelix, too. I found that when it comes to Neelix-centric episodes, it's basically the opposite of what happened on Deep Space Nine whenever they did one of their Ferengi episodes. Quark was an awesome character in every episode where he wasn't the focus, because they let him comment on humanity and basically held up a mirror to our own societal behavior. The infamous Ferengi episodes on the other hand – with a few exceptions – were just not funny enough to be good comedies. With Neelix it was exactly the opposite: in most regular episodes he was mostly used as comic relief (even though the Doctor became the more natural comic relief character) or just plain got on my nerves. But usually when they did an episode centered around him it worked out pretty well. “Jetrel”, “Mortail Coil” and “Fair Trade” were wonderfully deep character episodes and Ethan Phillips was luckily up to the task as an actor.

 

[Angry Fanboy]

I wouldn't go so far as to say I love Neelix - I certainly don't have the profound hatred for him that others do.

 

[at Quark's]

Neither do I. He was essentially a kindhearted man that had to forget who he could be because he had to survive.

Grating, yes, especially in the early years, but if you look at his backstory and his reason for being on USS Voyager (desperately trying to find a niche for himself, not trusting these aliens to stay kind to him if he didn't turn out to be of some use in the end), even that becomes understandable.

But usually when they did an episode centered around him it worked out pretty well. “Jetrel”, “Mortail Coil” and “Fair Trade” were wonderfully deep character episodes and Ethan Phillips was luckily up to the task as an actor.

Yes. I wish we'd had gotten more of those and a little less of his 'comic relief' stuff.

 

[Relayer1]

Wasn't my favourite, though not the worst on Voyager. When they had stories that explored his past, where you actually got to see how damaged he was, it gave me a whole new appreciation for him.

Very badly written, very well portrayed.

Kudos to Ethan Phillips, up yours to everyone else concerned...

 

[Captain pl1ngpl0ng]

Neelix is fine, it's the high-pitch screams of Kes' that i cant stand...

 

[Akiraprise]

Neelix was always my least favorite character. Especially the jealous and annoying Seasons 1-2 Neelix. He did get better as the show went on.

 

[Makarov]

Neelix gave better advice than Guinan in TNG I'd take him as bartender

 

[at Quark's]

^Well, Neelix wore silly clothing anyway, he could just as well have taken over those Guinan hats, too.

 

[Orphalesion]

You are allowed to love Neelix.

He wasn't too terrible really, by Voyager standards. He has some peisodes that are quite good (such as Mortal Coil). And from what I gather the actor is quite a nice person who showed dedication to the role (including the grueling makeup job it took each day to make him look like an irradiated hedgehog) And there's definitely characters who contributed less to the series on Voyager (looking at you, Harry...) And really, the actor did as best as he could with the material he was given.

I stand by the opinion that Neelix is possibly the most ill-conceived character in the history of Star Trek, but I think with a bit of tweaking he could have been a lot better received. There was quite a bit of potential there (like with a lot of characters and aspects on Voyager) but the pieces just didn't fit together (to me)

 

[Oddish]

Any character who isn't bland is going to have people who dislike him.

Neelix was cheerful, enthusiastic, and energetic. Yes, he could be obnoxious. Yes, he was clueless sometimes. But he had character. And because of his flaws, he was one of the most "human" characters on Voyager.