10 Most Hated Star Trek Characters

8. Shinzon

Star Trek Nemesis Picard Shinzon
Paramount

Back in 2002, Star Trek was about to enter its darkest period. The box office bomb that was Star Trek: Nemesis, combined with the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise, placed the franchise in a limbo bordering on death, as there were then no plans to bring it back in any way.

Shinzon is perhaps too easily written off, simply as he appeared in a less than stellar film. Tom Hardy's portrayal is earnest and sincere, doing his best to face off against Patrick Stewart, even if at the time the veteran actor's screen presence far exceeded his own.

However, even with this tremendous effort on Hardy's part, the writing simply wasn't strong enough to justify what was happening in the film. Added to this, the scenes of sexual assault brought his character from tragic villain to supremely unlikable, which stripped the plot of any kind of sympathy for this pitiful being.

Shinzon, unfortunately, succeeded in one of his plans. For almost eighteen years, he was responsible for killing the Next Generation - their stories at least! Thankfully, Star Trek: Picard (and Star Trek: Lower Decks) have been able to right some of those wrongs.

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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"