Because ST was never just about individuals. Rate by combined charisma/acting as evidenced across time. (The dynamic, not a personal favourite actor; though that could be the same thing). Caveats: 1. NO movies allowed. A not so subtle attempt to exclude the Kelvin timeline (which I hate, but this is my post.) And Nemesis. 2. ONLY main/recurring characters. 3. Please keep adding to the list! This is just off the top of my head. These are my personal favorites, they may not be yours, so please add. I'm restricting myself to 10 of endless. 4. Which dynamic duo stirs you? I know. Tough. 5. Choose ONE: 1. Pike/Spock (TOS/SNW) 2. Kirk/Spock (TOS) 3. Picard/Q (TNG/PIC) 4. Burnham/Spock (DIS) 5. Philippa/Burnham (DIS) 6. Picard/Data (TNG/PIC) 7. Seven/Janeway (VOY) 8. Sisko/Kira (DS9) 9. Dukat/Sisko (DS9) 10. Garak/Bashir (DS9)
Btw, it broke my heart to have to pass on this scene from Garak/Bashir (even better than "Especially... the lies.") Easily one of the best scenes in all of Star Trek:
Seven and Janeway get my vote for the best (the actresses disliking each other at the time didn't show up on screen either), but there's that other part of me that thinks that the bees' knees in buttered bread is... ...insert corny drumroll here... Q'Card, absolutely. One of the lesser examples is this one: (Oh look, it's Jean-L'Archie Bunker: "Get out of my chair!" ) And, of course, for this: Why Q is one of the best characters in Trek.
This is not on the list, but frankly should be. Ben Sisko/Jake Sisko We have a man who showed himself to be a fantastic father and a son who is a good kid and finding his own path in life. And the love between these two actors always shines through. It was never a bad scene when these two were on screen together. A lot of fathers (and mothers, honestly, based on observations I've seen of other people) can learn a great deal from Benjamin Sisko.
Garak/Bashir for the pure chemistry, and O'Brien/Bashir for the true friendship, even if it took 3 seasons to get there. My favorite Captain/XO pairing is Picard/Riker, with Sisko/Kira a close second.
Argument for EMH x 7 or EMH x Kes (neither for me personally but I think should be in the conversation) I'm going to go for Quark and Odo though - there was a definite mutual respect behind all the arguing and back biting Can I also cheat and have Jeffrey Combs with whoever he is acting opposite - Weyoun v Sisko, Weyoun v Dukat, Brunt v Quark, Shran v Archer - that man just makes everything work and I'd argue that Weyoun was a main character from season 6 onwards, even if he wasn't in the main credits
My favorite is Weyoun v Brunt in The Dogs of War, even if they don't really interact much. It's been a while since I last saw that episode, but having one actor playing multiple roles in the same episode/movie is often memorable.
For me, O'Brien/Bashir comes to mind because it took 3 seasons to get there. I liked that their relationship wasn't just one-note, they had their ups and downs. The fact that they disliked each other at the start really helped make their relationship seem more authentic. I've made snap judgments about people, only to later realize my mistake. There were also low points in the friendship that added to it, such as "Hippocratic Oath" which saw them dramatically oppose the other's perspective. They also work so well because they are so different. O'Brien is the older, experienced guy, compared to Bashir's youthful, inexperience.
Geordi/Data is my classic Star Trek friendship and I always enjoy that Geordi is one of the few people that Data refers to by his first name. I love Kira/Bashir moments because they both can really get behind an issue for pragmatism and optimism etc. and I love there they refer to each other by first names. I guess most of the DS9 cast does though. I quite like Chakotay and I always liked when they put him on the opposite side of an argument with Janeway and even Seven. Archer/Silik moments weren't a lot but I prefer that time travel relationship to Archer/Daniels. Archer/T'Pol turned into a pretty sweet friendship. When I first saw this thread though the first thing I thought of was McCoy/Scotty in Star Trek IV. That was awesome.
Every classic Trek had a great bromance, sometimes more than one. TOS: Kirk/Spock TNG: Geordi/Data DS9: Miles/Bashir (or Garak/Bashir) VOY: Paris/Kim ENT: Archer/Trip (or Reed/Trip)