For a series that often deals with divisive philosophical topics and galaxy-ending events, Star Trek has just as often grounded those themes and concepts with a set of down to Earth and ironically human characters. Starting with the empathetic Spock, Star Trek has always made the case that even the most bizarre characters can be endlessly endearing and understandable.
These characters can be as diverse as synthetic beings to regular flesh and blood humanoids. While they might not all bleed the same, many have become wholesome icons of science fiction storytelling that to this day are beloved by fans around the world.
***SPOILERS AHEAD FOR MOST STAR TREK SERIES AND FILMS***
10 Doctor Phlox And His Love For Food
Star Trek: Enterprise was a show that never quite clicked with its audience. While many Star Trek series started with a shaky first few seasons, by the time the voyages of Captain Archer and crew really hit their groove the show was already slated for cancellation.
Despite the rampant male gaze fanservice and the continued refusal to allow queer members of the crew, Enterprise maintains a cult following which, among other things, laud its characters, especially the ever-adorable Doctor Phlox. One of the more chipper members of the diverse crew of the NX-01, Phlox became a fast favorite after fears that he was a “second Neelix” were quickly assuaged.
9 The Earnest And Socially Awkward Tilly
Star Trek: Discovery, like every single series since The Original Series, took a few seasons to really “grow its beard” as cultured Riker fans like to say. However, despite the initial bumps in the road, a quick standout character was Sylvia Tilly. A nervous and socially awkward cadet and later ensign who helped add levity to the dark and gloomy life of her bunkmate, Michael Burnham.
To this day, Tilly continues to be a fan favorite as Discovery wraps its 4th season. Like Data before her, Tilly was never intended to represent the autistic community but her mannerisms and character arc became inspirational for many who continue to be underserved in science fiction.
8 Scotty’s Love For The Enterprise
Montgomery Scott was, outside of the rural-natured Leonard McCoy, easily one of the most down to Earth characters in the initial space-faring series. Unlike the good doctor, Scotty was a very laid-back sort who outside of his love for a good drink was the crew member with the closest relationship to the Enterprise herself.
Scotty largely plays comedic relief through much of his appearances in both TOS as well as its feature film continuations. However, Scotty’s shining moment is easily The Next Generation episode “Relics” which sees the legendary engineer come to grips with his age and purposelessness.
7 O’Brien And His Down To Earth Antics
Miles O’Brien has gone from an obscure background character to being one of the most beloved crew members in Star Trek history. Starting in minor roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Miles would quickly gain enough popularity to move on to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
There O’Brien’s blue-collar style and unfortunate role as the series punching bag made him so endearing to the audience that Star Trek: Lower Decks declared him the most important Starfleet officer of all time. He would also become fast friends with local doctor Bashir and even have multiple episodes detailing his relatable family life.
6 Saru’s Growth As A Commander
Saru may not be human, but his endearing battle with fear and institution has made him arguably the single best new character to be added to the Star Trek canon since the recent resurgence in Trek TV.
Saru starts Star Trek: Discovery afraid and ineffectual but eventually becomes a brilliant leader and braver than most of his peers. Normally such an arc causes the character to be received poorly early on but Saru managed to grip audiences with his understandable anxieties about the dangers faced in the great unknown.
5 Jadzia Dax, A Trans Icon
Jadzia Dax was a fan-favorite character and a trans icon for many queer science fiction fans that rarely if ever received any kind of healthy representation. Unfortunately, her time on Deep Space Nine would be cut short due to the sexist acts of Rick Berman and other studio heads.
Despite her time being severely truncated, Jadzia and her positive portrayal of concepts like gender-bending and dead names was the closest thing to representation the genderqueer community received until Star Trek: Discovery. This was helped immensely by her swooning romance with Worf and endearing personality, which was a sharp counter to the “othering” LGBTQ+ characters often received in Star Trek.
4 Anton Yelchin’s Humble Portrayal of Chekov
The untimely loss of Anton Yelchin was a terrible tragedy. By all accounts, he was an incredibly intelligent and kind man who was welcomed into the Star Trek pantheon of actors with his lovable portrayal of Chekov. Originally played by Walter Koenig, Pavel Chekov was the young upstart “boy” of the crew in TOS who spent much of his time either getting into trouble or lusting after the scantily clad aliens Kirk and friends encountered.
Anton’s Chekov was much less unprofessional but maintained and doubled down on the boyish charm of the character. Star Trek: Beyond was dedicated to Anton Yelchin, along with the then-recently deceased Leonard Nimoy, and he continues to receive nods in Star Trek media.
3 Nog’s Rise To Become A Starfleet Officer
Anton Yelchin was unfortunately not the only Star Trek actor to be taken far too soon. Aron Eisenberg, Nog’s actor, was only 50 when he passed away in 2019 due to heart failure. Nog was the first of the often adversarial Ferengi to join Starfleet and was often shown bucking the ultra-capitalistic nature of his friends and family to aspire to the ideals of the Federation.
Nog was most recently given a nod in Star Trek: Discovery whereupon reaching the Starfleet of the far future the crew comes across a U.S.S. Nog. Aron Eisenberg made one last appearance as Nog in Star Trek Online where he, along with Anton Yelchin, and many Star Trek actors who have passed away are honored by commemorative plaques for all players to see.
2 Data And His Quest For Humanity
When Data first appeared he was often interpreted to be a representation of the Autistic community. While it was never intentional, the character has remained a favorite of many fans who find themselves on the spectrum. Data’s child-like curiosity and endless quest to be human made him the heart of The Next Generation.
Unfortunately, Data would receive a critically panned death in Star Trek: Nemesis which attempted to mimic the iconic sacrifice of Spock in The Wrath of Khan. Data would return via dream sequences in Star Trek: Picard and finally be given an emotionally powerful send-off in the show’s first season finale. The scene where Data learns the last lesson of being human is easily one of the greatest Star Trek scenes of all time.
1 The Queer Found Family From Discovery
The queer found family in Star Trek: Discovery has become one of the most important bits of representation in franchise history, as only a scant few decades ago any display of queerness was actively disallowed in the series by men like Rick Berman.
It flatly should never have taken the franchise this long to portray a healthy and critically acclaimed LGBTQIA+ character, but the expert execution and heartwarming messages still hit just as hard. Adira, Gray, Culber, and Stamets have had quite the load to carry being the representatives of so many firsts for the franchise, but they, and especially their actors have pulled it off with flying colors.
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