Inspirational characters.

[Inactive-Shapeshifter]

As many of you know, i'm a younger trek fan, with 16 years.
It's safe to say Star Trek did and does a very big impact on my life, especially the characters, who inspire me in many ways.

Odo, inspired me so much, just for the fact that he was a shapeshifter living among people he doesn't understand (i'm sure many of us feel that sometime) and, all those episodes about him and Kira like Crossfire really helped me to go trough a similar problem myself. It was like if Quark was telling ME to focus on the essentials.
Same goes for Data.
Picard inspires me to be continually make myself (or try) a better human.
In professional way, Bashir and EMH made me interest in something i always hated. Medicine. I'm still unsure what to do, but those characters made medicine one of my top 5 choices.

So, i was just thinking if anyone else felt that way. Anyone had inspirations to become something? Or to take another look at life? Share toughs people!

 

[ThankYouGeneR]

What a wonderful opening post. And yes, I feel the same about some of the Trek characters.

In the beginning, September 1966, I bonded with the Spock character. I was a teenager with the strong shifting emotions that are part of moving from childhood into adulthood. He had strong emotions he controlled too so I watched him intently every week, using his self imposed calmness as a model during those tumultuous years.

Then came NextGen and Data, Picard, and Lwaxana. Data continued the model Spock had given me, with a twist of course. He, so calm, so curious, so good, so striving to be 'more'.

Picard modeled the wisdom and ethics I strove for.

Lwaxana modeled the unabashed joy of living Life on one's own terms I so admire.

In DeepSpace9 it was Jadzia. She speaks to me of the best of humanity; ethical, strong of spirit, love of Life, the embrace of and joy in diversity whatever the form.

But it is Voyager that keeps me always going back the roots of what Star Trek instilled in me; ethics, courage, acceptance, my role in society, the person I most strive to become.

The Doctor who like Data models for me the desire to become more, and the struggles, failures, and successes of the journey.

But it is Janeway who speaks to the soul of who I most want to be. Her character is a fictional type of mentor to my interaction with Life. The character models the flaws and weaknesses that is part of being a human. The character also models the strengths and insights that also can be developed as a human.

The Janeway character, as portrayed by Kate Mulgrew, is the fictional hero I hold up as my model, my mentor, my sense of normalcy, my standard to work toward. She models strength of character, a sense of conviction in her aim to be moral & ethical. She has deep compassion and abiding friendship. And she has the willingness to fail or get knocked down but not stay there. She models the strength to keep coming back again and again to the person she chooses to be, the person I want to be for myself and society.

From September 1966 through today StarTrek has impacted the way I think, my ethics, and who, when the time comes for my passing, I can look back on my life and say I worked to be.

Certainly I will never have fully become that person, but StarTrek, the characters, the stories, gave me the picture, the 'idea' of the person that is usually on my mind to be. And some the fine characters in stories who give me ideas how to reach for it.

 

[Inactive-Shapeshifter]

What a wonderful opening post. And yes, I feel the same about some of the Trek characters.

In the beginning, September 1966, I bonded with the Spock character. I was a teenager with the strong shifting emotions that are part of moving from childhood into adulthood. He had strong emotions he controlled too so I watched him intently every week, using his self imposed calmness as a model during those tumultuous years.

Then came NextGen and Data, Picard, and Lwaxana. Data continued the model Spock had given me, with a twist of course. He, so calm, so curious, so good, so striving to be 'more'.

Picard modeled the wisdom and ethics I strove for.

Lwaxana modeled the unabashed joy of living Life on one's own terms I so admire.

In DeepSpace9 it was Jadzia. She speaks to me of the best of of humanity; ethical, strong of spirit, love of Life, the embrace of and joy in diversity whatever the form.

But it is Voyager that keeps me always going back the roots of what Star Trek instilled in me; ethics, courage, acceptance, my role in society, the person I most strive to become.

The Doctor who like Data models for me the desire to become more, and the struggles, failures, and successes of the journey.

But it is Janeway who speaks to the soul of who I most want to be. Her character is a fictional type of mentor to my interaction with Life. The character models the flaws and weaknesses that is part of being a human. The character also models the strengths and insights that also can be developed as a human.

The Janeway character, as portrayed by Kate Mulgrew, is the fictional hero I hold up as my model, my mentor, my sense of normalcy, my standard to work toward. She models strength of character, a sense of conviction in her aim to be moral & ethical. She has deep compassion and abiding friendship. And she has the willingness to fail or get knocked down but not stay there. She models the strength to keep coming back again and again to the person she choose to be, the person I want to be for myself and society.

From September 1966 through today StarTrek has impacted the way I think, my ethics, and who, when the time comes for my passing, I can look back on my life and say I worked to be.

Certainly I will never have fully become that person, but StarTrek, the characters, the stories, gave me the picture, the 'idea' of the person that is usually on my mind to be. And some fine characters in stories who give me ideas how to reach for it.

What a wonderful reply!

The EMH was a model to me as well, in fact he got me into singing and Jazz, something that would later get even stronger with DS9.

Bashir made me less shy about woman. The way he makes advances on mostly anyone on the beginning of the series was really refreshing for me. Made me want to try the "adventure" type of talk. That really helped me a lot, that i can say. I was REALLY SHY. Almost like Barclay

 

[Melakon]

Not a character, but DeForest Kelley was an inspiration to me when I was a teenager in the 1960s. We were both sons of Baptist ministers, and drawn to theatre. I never went pro, but in the early 80s I did get to thank him for how his work was important to me.

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

Definitely Janeway. Her unwavering determination to get her crew home and even in the darkest of times she always has a plan. She never gives up. Her work ethic is admirable as well. She is also a good listener when anyone needs an ear.

The Doctor because he decides he wants to be more than what he was programmed for, showing that anyone can go beyond what they think they are capable of.

 

[sonak]

Reg Barclay is inspiring in that he overcomes his anxiety problems and frequent lack of confidence to still be a valuable member of the crew.

 

[Inactive-Shapeshifter]

Reg Barclay is inspiring in that he overcomes his anxiety problems and frequent lack of confidence to still be a valuable member of the crew.

I remember one time that i was really bad, then i made a Barclay marathon. All Barclay's episodes in one take. Made me feel really better. Especially the one where he overcomes he's fear on the 6 season of TNG.

 

[borgboy]

As a gay kid growing up in the 80s I definitely identified with the outside, which is one thing I always liked about Spock, his struggle to live in a universe where he doesn't completely belong to the world he was born into. Sarek's rejection of Spock for going outside of Sarek's rigid and demanding expectations were something I could identify with too, since I wasn't doing so well at meeting the expectations of my parents.

The novel Q in law has a scene where Lwaxana worries about Deanna never getting married, that she'll be alone - which is paralleled by Lwaxana's own unhappy single life. Deanna replies that even if she never married, she'd always have herself. That's something that stuck with me and something I've drawn strength from when my own relationships haven't worked out.

Those are the big two inspirational characters that immediately come to mind, but there are many Trek characters that still inspire me as well. Odo's search for his people, his isolation are something I could identify with. I strive to be as kind as Kes.

 

[2takesfrakes]

My vote goes for William T. Riker ...

 

[Push The Button]

Scotty was my main inspiration when I was growing up, and though I have only held the title of engineer for 2 1/2 years out of a 31 year career in tech (and not currently, unfortunately), he certainly deserves as much credit for making that possible as any of my college professors.

 

[sonak]

Reg Barclay is inspiring in that he overcomes his anxiety problems and frequent lack of confidence to still be a valuable member of the crew.

I remember one time that i was really bad, then i made a Barclay marathon. All Barclay's episodes in one take. Made me feel really better. Especially the one where he overcomes he's fear on the 6 season of TNG.

Yeah, "realm of fear" is a good one, a great example of how to use the character in an effective way with the story.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

This came relatively late in my life of course, but I was always inspired by Admiral Forrest on Enterprise. Not just because Vaughn Armstrong is my favorite actor of all time, but Forrest reminded me a lot of my dad.

This is why it hit me so hard when Forrest was killed off. Fortunately my dad is still very much alive but in "The Forge" when Forrest died, it was almost like...well, you know.

 

[Ziriath]

Spock, from the time I was 11 and TOS was first aired in Czech.
Later Odo, for the reasons already said before.
These two should've met.....

 

[Kilana2]

My vote goes for William T. Riker ...

My vote goes to William T. Riker, too. He is charming. He is demanding. And he is fair.

 

[borgboy]

My vote goes for William T. Riker ...

What do you think of Tom Riker?
At the very least he's good looking

 

[Kilana2]

I love it, that they both obviously can´t stand each other. But in the end of one of the TNG episodes William gives away his trombone to Thomas.
Regarding to Thomas: he is not inspirational.

 

[2takesfrakes]

My vote goes for William T. Riker ...

What do you think of Tom Riker?
At the very least he's good looking

Tom's darker, broodier and edgier, perhaps, than Will Riker, out of necessisty, because of how their paths diverged. And that's interesting, dramatically. Certainly his feelings for Deanna, to start with, at least, were even more passionate and filled with longing, perhaps, because of all of his years of loneliness ... and despair. But Tom's questionable choices, later on, disqualified him from being "inspirational." More's the pity. As to his looks, though, the hottest women of STAR TREK's 24th Century have no complaints - and that's an inspiration, sure! Why not?

 

[galleywest]

As a kid I was always drawn to anthropology, archaeology, and the social sciences. The whole crew on TNG was inspirational to me for the way they handled the difficult aspects of meeting and interacting with new cultures. Picard is my biggest Trek inspiration for his fairness, his ethics, and his all-around leadership. Even though I don't always consciously think about it, I do try to live up to the standard that he set.

 

[DS9forever]

Sisko. 'nuff said.

 

[Zek]

Well this is a very interesting topic I've never thought about before. At first I thought no one from Trek inspired but that's clearly not true. Now that I delve into my memories of the impact those characters have had on me there are certainly more than I would've imagined.

First and foremost, Worf. I always liked Klingons but when I really became acquainted with this character I felt an immediate connection with his intense beliefs in honor and devotion to Klingon culture. I have often struggled to formalize and enact my personal code of honor in everyday life. Watching Worf go through a similar struggled, but with certainly much more difficult situations, inspired me to really look at loyalty and honor in a new light.

Then there's Capt. Picard and his philosophical views on the greatness of humanity. I used to have a very negative view of the human race and modern civilization we have created. Though I kinda grew out of that before starting to watch TNG I remember the impact that the trial in "Encouter at Farpoint" had on me. At first I agreed with Q all the way. Then hearing Picards argument I was somewhat floored. At first I resisted and continued on my way watching the rest of season 1. Eventually I realized that Picard was wrong in the sense that humanity had developed beyond the savagery and violence Q put them on trial but he was right in that the belief in such a thing is what matters. In short, Jean-Luc inspired to simply think positively, especially in regards to questions like that which seem to have no definitive answer.

As was said earlier in this thread Mr. Spock, and Vulcans in general, taught me a great deal about the usefulness of logic in everyday life and the hindrances posed by simply 'following your heart' all the time. I guess I never truly realized how much emotion governed my life until watching Star Trek. Despite him not being my favorite character, or even a close second, I will always have a special place in my heart for Mr. Nimoy and his character.

Another character I just realized influenced my life is Nog. Though it sounds strange, even to me, his joining Starfleet inspired me not to live up to anyones expectations or assumptions regarding the path I ought to take in life.

Wow, I had a lot more to write on this topic than I thought and I'm still coming up with characters that inspire myself in various ways however I have to go to work shortly so I'm going to wrap this up now.