6. Guinan - Lost Potential
Hands down one of the most underused characters in the whole of the Star Trek universe. We dont know much about Guinans race but we do know she has powers. Powers that make Q stop in his tracks and call her dangerous. Quite frankly I am STILL bitter about that one scene in which she raises her hands to Q, as if about to strike with some special power only to do nothing! So you wait week after week for her to do something, anything out of the ordinary and it never happens. She just continues to putter around the Ten-Forward, waiting tables, and dispensing advice better than the actual ship's counselor. There is a hint that Picard and Guinan share this special bond but again that is never explored to satisfaction. By the end of the show I just thought why is she here? Bottom Line: This is a good example of why writers should not give characters powers if they are not going to use them. Once powers are introduced and then effectively and on purpose never used or seen, the character just becomes a let-down every episode afterwards.