TrekRanks

Ranking my favorite Star Trek characters seems a little more personal than ranking episodes. At some level, someone is obviously going to have to finish in last place on this list and that sucks, because we love every Star Trek character in their own way.

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For instance, I actually really like Harry Kim. I know he's widely criticized within Trek fandom, but he had some great episodes and moments, but ultimately finishes way down at number 37 on this list. Doesn't mean I think he was a bad character.

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In terms of how this ranking was compiled, the only characters eligible for selection were characters listed as part of the opening credits or "series regulars." (And for the sake of argument, that includes the supporting cast from the original series, since they were obviously part of the ensemble and listed that way in the films.) It does not include great characters like Christine Chapel or Guinan, or even Dr. Pulaski or the great Klingon Chancellor L'Rell.

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The TrekRanks credo regarding the episode ranks found throughout this site is all about "re-watchability" and the mantra that "if I could only choose one episode to watch for the rest of my life, which one would it be."

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However, in ranking the 42 different characters that have been a part of Star Trek's official casts across it's five classic series, that particular rule wasn't really applicable. (Of course, that number is now exponentially higher when you add all the new series from Star Trek: Discovery to Starfleet Academy, where "regular cast" are cataloged in very different ways during this modern era of television.) While I could have based these ranks on who I would most want to hang out with, or who did the best job, or who had the biggest impact in the Trek verse, none of those elements seemed to fit unilaterally.

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So to rank the 42 "series regular" characters in Star Trek history, we came up with an actual formula based on the following three criteria (on a scale of 1 to 10): Impact (25 percent), Acting (25 percent) and Personal Enjoyment (50 percent; counts double). The actual formula is the total scores divided by four.

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Impact: What was the character's overall impact on the Star Trek universe? Original Series characters and Next Generation characters generally rated higher than Enterprise characters in this area because of their shows’ impact.

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Acting: Simple. Who knew and owned their character from the start? And who was (sorry to say, because there were a few) in over their heads?

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Personal Enjoyment: Weighted double in this formula as the characters I most enjoyed. Who when push came to shove, are the characters I would rather see featured prominently in an episode (for whatever reason).

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So without further ado, here is the official TrekRanks.com Star Trek Character Ranks.