Star Trek: 10 Dumb Decisions (That Characters Survived)

Gene Roddenberry's iconic sci fi franchise Star Trek has been through countless iterations by now, with everything from the original series to the recent Picard offering a new flavour of utopian sci-fi for longtime fans to delight in.

However, whether you prefer Discovery or The Next Generation, Sisko or Janeway, Wesley or Neelix (or neither, understandably), there's no denying that each series has seen a few instances where characters acted in wildly dangerous ways to advance the plot without the show ever justifying their temporary insanity.

Throughout the run of Star Trek, the show's characters have consistently made decisions at odds with their interests which could easily have cost them crew members lives, so this list is endeavouring to point out the most egregious instances of Enterprise endangering that the show expects viewers to buy into, and work out which iteration of the show is most guilty of upping the tension through crazy character calls (looking at you, Voyager...).

The Next Generation cast weren't the worst for flawed decisions when it comes to the Star Trek canon (Janeway and sometimes the original series' Kirk made sure of that).

But their encounter with The Pakleds did leave us wondering just how poor Geordi LaForge made it out of the episode alive, with the typically sharp crewman (along with Riker in Captain Picard's absence - while he was getting heart replacement surgery on Starbase 515) making the uncharacteristic decision to ignore the advice of some seasoned crew members.

The Pakleds seem like a pretty harmless, a goofy comic relief alien of the week set to frustrate and annoy Geordi no end, right?

Great, beam him down and ignore the ominous warnings of both Troi and Worf for no clear reason. No way will they turn out to be a real threat to poor LaForge. Right?