10 Biggest Star Trek What Ifs

Denise Crosby had a problem in 1988, and it had to do with the fact that she was working on a show she didn't particularly care for. Hoping to springboard her film career, she asked to be "killed off," and the writers obliged in the ST:TNG episode, "Skin of Evil."

Yar was unceremoniously killed by an amorphous blob of gook, which was the sloughed off representation of the planet's former inhabitant's evil nature. It was strange but effective, and Crosby left to pursue other projects. What might have happened had she remained on the Starship Enterprise, and how would that have affected the other characters?

For starters, Data and Yar had fooled around, and as he was "fully functional," it's likely that would happen again. A relationship between the two characters would have been useful in the continuing evolution of Data's path towards humanity. Various stories would have played out featuring the pair's relationship.

When Yar was killed, Worf was made security chief, and he became one of the most important members of the crew. After taking a lead role in numerous adventures, he left the Enterprise to work at DS9 and commanded the Defiant. Had this not happened, there's no telling how the Dominion war might have progressed.