Alright, we’ve had best series, movie, film score, and captain. Now yet another, which is the best Star Trek crew?
For me, this goes to Kirk’s staff. They’ve saved the planet earth on several occasions (STI:TMP, STIV:TVH), defeated gods (Gary Mitchell, Apollo, Trelane, and god planet prisoner), and in the real world faced the racial tensions of the late sixties (a black woman, asian man, and a Monkee on the bridge – sure they all took orders from a white man…semantics, semantics).
I voted Picard & Co.
I actually debated between the TNG and the Voyager crew, and here’s why: exceptional people (I said people, not characters, we’ve already had that discussion). Unique individuals with exceptional abilities: from Voyager–the Doctor, Seven, Paris’ supposedly amazing piloting skills, and the conscience of the Maquis who left Starfleet to defend their principles. (I was always intrigued by that idea.) And from TNG there’s Data, Picard, Worf–the only Klingon in Starfleet, Wesley the Wunderkind, Geordi and his magic banana clip… well, okay–mostly Data and Picard. Damn.
Archer and the super friends, mostly cause they are the least popular show and every crew thats exploring a distant galaxy needs a little lovin’ from time to time. and they pissed off the vulcan’s and i just love that.
its like arguing with cat, nothing but hilarity can result.
Not from the cat’s POV, I’ll wager.
TNG crew is awesome. Picard is decisive, a good leader but not so set in his ways that he will not take the guidance of others.
Then there’s Data, who could win the best crew award by himself, he’s super intelligent, strong and fast but with a personality nice enough and charasmatic enough to pull it off. He’s not some annoying mary sue character out to always rescue the crew which for an android character is quite a rare thing.
Those are the main two, but add on Geordi a compassionate and brilliant engineer, the wunderkind, worf the amazing security officer, Deanna the empathetic and telepathetic councillor and finally the walking block of testosterone that is Will Riker who makes James Bond look coy and shy when it comes to women and you have one diverse and amazing crew.
Don’t forget the hot redhead down in sickbay! Plus Lt. Miles O’Brien (I’ve always wondered what happened to him that he got demoted into an enlisted man)
As much as Beverly Crusher has the smouldering intelligent sexy older woman thing going on (though Laura Roslin is the queen of that sexy older woman look) and she is also a good doctor I think Uhura or seven of nine are more attractive and the doctor is a more entertaining doctor.
However Miled O’Brien is the most interesting transporter operator we’ve seen in the series.
Please forgive what could be considered a slight topic drift here, but if we were to include the choices of Star Trek crews to include Trek novels, my favorite crew is that of the the USS Excalibur from the Star Trek: New Frontier series of novels. The series of ST:NF novels is long enough that you really do get to know the characters. And Peter David is great writer.
Captain Mackenzie Calhoun (rule breaker, authority bucker, warrior, purple eyes), Elizabeth Shelby (a crossover character from TNG from that Borg episode), Burgoyne 172 (a man/woman engineer), Dr. Selar (another crossover from TNG), Robin Lefler (crossover from TNG), Zak Kebron (he’s pretty much that rocklike guy in Fantastic Four), Mark McHenry (you find out his backstory late in the series, but it’s a doosey), Soleta (vulcan/romulan science officer), Si Cwan (royalty of a fallen empire–not part of the crew, but a key character), Night shift XO Kat Mueller, Morgan Primus (a triple crossover: she’s immortal, she’s Nurse Chappel, she’s Pike’s Number One and she’s Luxanna Troi). Oh, and even Arex and M’Ress from ST:Animated Series make an appearance.
I really recomend this series of Trek novels–entertainly–great character stuff, action and suspense and humor—and rich with references that trekkies will appreciate.
If I were just to consider the TV series crews, I guess I’d go with Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scotty–and I mention just those four intentionally. Even though Chekov, Sulu and Uhura are a part of the Trek mythos, I don’t feel they ever got their fair share of lines or scenes.
Hm. You make it sound interesting. I’ve stopped catching up with Star Trek novels around the mid- to late nineties… I loved Uhura’s Song and Fallen Heroes, those were the best.
Ah, I see it now, this thread is drifting and it’s all my fault.
Just one note about Star Novels: Read anything by Diane Duane. All the Trek novels she’s done have been awesome.
I agree. Doctor’s Orders was cool.
Yes, Doctor’s Ordor’s was great–some real unusual aliens–and a great first contact story. Diane Duane’s Rihansu series was enjoyable too: My Enemy My Ally, The Romulan Way, Sword Hunt, Honor Blade — and the conclusion which only came out a year ago, after a long, long wait: The Empty Chair.
OK I’m gonna stir up some controversy here since I need an explanation. Why is the Archer crew gettin’ so much love?
I didn’t vote for 'em but the Voyager crew had Seven. She alone could have defeated the Xindi. Heck, Data alone could have defeated the Xindi. And another thing, don’t come at me with, “They were the first crew.” Cuz they wasn’t! All five of y’all better step up. There is nobody on that crew that could hold a candle to Spock, Data, or Seven. Oh wait enter disclaimer here…eyes rollIMHO.
No controversy from me, FT. I’m as stumped as you. I recently saw the last few eps of Enterprise and was reminded how sadly unfulfilled its potential was on many levels, not the least of which was character development. I reminisced by rereading Television Without Pity’s hysterically hostile recap of the final two eps, nearly wetting myself at the following:
“Next hour: Bermaga pisses off fans everywhere. Even more than usual. What we really want to know is, what are they going to do about Riker’s bottom? I mean, everyone’s going to look at it and say, ‘That is clearly NOT a seventh season bottom. No, see, that there? That’s a Nemesis bottom.’”
haha, it’s a good thing that frakkintalos didn’t make this a public poll…^^
I read one of the first two of that series and it was actually pretty good, but it was one of the last Star Trek novels I’ve ever read, about 8 or nine years ago, I just stopped reading Trek novels because I hadn’t read anything but Trek novels for years and years and I finally realized that there was so much other cool stuff to read. Plus, I have the feeling that the heydays of Trek novels were in the early to mid nineties, that they stopped intruiging me after the, gosh, I forget the name of that series, the one that one book for all four Trek series and they all faced the same enemy in different time frames, Invasion something?
Anyway, from time to time I checked what new Trek novels were coming out and the descriptions didn’t entice me, I heard about the novels by Shatner and so on…
Still, the best Trek novel that I would recommend to anyone is FALLEN HEROES, I loved it, read it three times.
I found the Trek series you were talking about at Barnes and Noble. It was called Star Trek: Invasion. At first I thought you were talking about the Section 31 series. As you mentioned GR, I used to read Star Trek novels all the time especially when there was no Star Trek, prior to TNG. The last three Star Trek novels I really enjoyed were: Star Trek: The Lost Years, Star Trek: Prime Directive, and Spock’s World. By the time Fallen Heroes came out I was out of the game. Recently I heard that the Eugenics Wars series about Khan were also good. I just never got around to reading 'em.
Looks like I’m gonna have to grab the ebooks and put them on me blackberry for the train ride.
Hm, if Lost Years (good), Prime Directive (also good) and Spock’s World (haven’t read it) were the last ones you’ve read, you’ve probably missed out on a couple really cool newer ones.
For TNG: Masks
For DS9: Fallen Heroes
For Voyager: Mosaic
Definitely. As a team, the TNG crew was the best overall unit and they also had the most interesting personal dynamics between them. From the poker games to the group holodeck adventures, they were much more than just crew-mates, but not in such a way as that it interfered with their jobs. Plus, like GR says…
Word. Any crew with Beverly Crusher has got to be the best.
I have loved ALL the Star Trek- Capt Kirk et al, Picard (to me, the best CAPT), DS9 (Sisko, Kira, Dax -wow, great!), Voyager. I love them all, except Enterprise. I tried, but it was painful to watch. I got through Season 1 and some of Season 2, but I’ve had better root canal experiences. Too bad.