Trek characters who could have carried a series?

[eschaton]

Thinking about Discovery and its unusual format for Trek - where the focus (of at least the first season) was entirely on a protagonist, had me thinking about what it would have been like if this format had been used in the past. Imagine hypothetical Trek series which were done largely from the POV of a single character on any of the series - likely a main cast member, but perhaps some recurring guest character. Which characters had the depth to pull this of, if not for a full seven seasons, then at least for a multi-season run?

 

[Nyotarules]

Spot the cat

Seriously based on popularity
TOS Spock
TNG Data
DS9 - Garak
VOY - Seven of Nine
ENT - Porthos (OK....no idea)
DISC - the jury is still out

 

[Riker'sMailbox]

TOS- never watched
TNG- Worf could have been interesting as the first Klingon to serve. Would have been a unique persepctive
DS9- so many interesting ones to choose from, Dukat, Kai Winn, Quark
VOY- Seven of Nine
ENT-ummm...chef? I am not into the characters that much. Maybe Travis. I know, I know, but maybe it could make the Space Boomer thing interesting.
DIS- never watched

 

[Spaceship Jo]

Worf, Data, Spock, and Seven work and became so popular (in part) specifically because they were not leads. This became painfully obvious when the TNG movies tried to elevate Data to Picard's (story-level) equal. Sure, it was fun, but their journeys seem much more interesting as part of a tapestry, and the magic gets thinner when you can see their limited threads in isolation.

Obviously not the way it was written or played out, but Chakotay could have carried a series (a series quite different from how VOY turned out). Balancing his duties to Voyager as a whole with his obligations to the Maquis and how the two merged crews work together. Becoming a trusted advisor to a dedicated yet quixotic, capricious captain.

 

[TribbleFeeder]

TOS - Spock
TNG - Data (honestly he has more depth than Picard IMO)
DS9 - Nog (I would have loved a series or even a few episode span about his experience in SFA)
VOY - The Doctor
ENT - Phlox (I had trouble with this one. Enterprise was not my favorite of all the series, and given that it didn’t have the full 7 seasons that most of the other series had, you don’t see as much character development.)

 

[2takesfrakes]

TOS - Scotty
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Riker
DS9 - Jadzia
VOY - Chakotay
ENT - T'Pol

 

[Kilana2]

TOS - Spock
TNG - Data
DS9 - Odo
ENT - Phlox
VOY - Seska (he he, with the show having a different conclusion)

 

[Makarov]

TNG - Miles O'Brien
DS9 - Miles O'Brien
VOY - Miles O'Brien
TOS - Miles O'Brien

 

[Kilana2]

TNG - Miles O'Brien
DS9 - Miles O'Brien
VOY - Miles O'Brien
TOS - Miles O'Brien

I can see O'Brien in three of the shows pulling something off. Could you explain his performance aboard Voyager? I'm not sure about that.

 

[Vger23]

Spock
Worf
Riker
Kira
Dax
Lorca
7 of 9 (in fact, after her introduction, she really became hugely focal to VOY)

 

[Makarov]

I would rewrite Threshold so they all turn into Miles O'Brien instead of lizard people when they exceed warp 10

One of the redshirts can remain as Miles so he can carry the rest of the series

 

[F. King Daniel]

Lon Suder

 

[Terok Nor]

I like Star Trek better as an ensemble but with that said TOS was pretty much all about Kirk, Spock and to a lesser degree Bones. All the captains lead their shows even if the spin offs aren't based solely around them so I'd say Picard, Sisko, Janeway and, less successfully, Archer have had their "own" shows.

I think Spock, Data, Riker, Worf, Quark (a comedy Trek!), Seven, The Doctor and Trip were strong enough characters to carry off their own show but they all lose something without the ensemble.

 

[Farscape One]

Garak, hands down. He could very easily have been the center of an entire series himself, with others playing off him.

A good scenario for this might be a tv version of the STAR TREK Worlds books. (I don't remember the titles, as I haven't read them, but I hear they center on a single world... a book on Cardassia, one on Trill, one on Andoria, one on Ferenginar, etc.)

And this really could have been a new series, with a planet per season. Sort of like AMERICAN HORROR STORY, but with STAR TREK planets. And given Andrew Robinson's incredible talent, he can be a different race every season. Maybe even tie all the planets/seasons together with an arc that is more in the background... something not too big, but enough that it is noticeable.

Definitely bring in Jeffrey Combs, Vaughn Armstrong, Tony Todd... all the various actors we know can pull off prosthetics.

 

[Tim Thomason]

TNG - Miles O'Brien
DS9 - Miles O'Brien
VOY - Miles O'Brien
TOS - Miles O'Brien

VOY - Janeway asks Chief O'Brien to assist their mission in Caretaker. He survives the journey into the Delta Quadrant and takes over Engineering.
TOS - O'Brien is placed in the brig during Trials and Tribble-ations and the Defiant crew is forced to leave him behind. Spock and Kirk discover he's from the future, but allow him to remain until they can get him to a stasis center. He promises not to interfere with the timeline, but insists to be moved outside of the Operations Department.

 

[mos6507]

I would have been down with a Sulu Excelsior show. He would have needed some strong supporting cast, though.

Also would have watched a Riker/Troi show set immediately after Nemesis.

 

[at Quark's]

Hmmm... perhaps Captain Archer could have carried the Enterprise series ....

 

[Greg Cox]

Gary Seven.

 

[Kilana2]

Q and q.

 

[SilentBen]

TOS: Uhura. TOS as a series was so top-heavy with the Big Three that a Uhura-led "Below Decks" version of TOS could have been amazing.
TNG: I'd say Worf, but there were so many Klingon episodes I feel like we already got a miniseries version of that story. So I'll go with Wesley. If done correctly - i.e., less annoyingly - the Wesley character could have provided a great "outsider-who-wants-to-be-an-insider" POV of TNG. Knowledgeable and talented enough to serve on the Bridge, but never really part of the group.
DS9: So tempted to say Garak, but I love that he's sort of in the shadows, popping in to shine but never giving the audience too much. So I'll slot in O'Brien. I love Colm Meaney and as much as I love O'Brien on DS9, I feel he never really grew or developed as much as many of the other Niners.
VOY: I haven't seen enough episodes to make a choice.
ENT: Malcolm. He's a barely under-control sociopath, with family issues, and a disturbing love of weaponry. Think of the possibilities!!