Star Trek: The Next Generation - Ranking Every Major Character Worst To Best

Why Reginald Barclay is secretly better than Jean Luc Picard...

Star Trek The Next Generation Season 1
Paramount

When Star Trek: The Next Generation hit the airwaves back in 1987 it had some pretty big shoes to fill. Although the original Star Trek had a short run, by the 1980s it had become a cultural phenomenon.

Star Trek introduced us to some of the most iconic characters to ever hit the small screen. You had the cool, and logical Mr. Spock. Then there was the swashbuckling, devil-may-care Captain Kirk. And, who can forget the crotchety Dr. McCoy?

This original cast reunited for three successful movies, adding to their fan appeal. And, as Star Trek conventions became popular many fans felt connected to the cast on a personal level.

So, when CBS announced that Star Trek would be returning to tv audiences rejoiced. They couldn't wait to catch up with these classic characters. However, hopes were dashed when fans learned this new show would come with a new crew as well.

Luckily, for fans, the new characters proved to be dynamic and interesting in their own right. Which makes ranking the TNG characters, from worst to best, all the harder.

We're not ranking based on fan popularity, or actor's performance. We’re judging each character on their story arcs, and how well they're written.

So, some of your fan favorites may not even crack the top ten! Let's get started with the worst character from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

And no, it's not Wesley.

25. Mot

Star Trek The Next Generation Season 1
CBS

If you don’t remember, Mot is the blue-skinned, Bolian barber. He is also, without a doubt, the worst character on Star Trek: The Next Generation. If you do a little research into his species you’ll find that few Bolians have hair. It’s pretty suspicious that this guy would even be a barber. It’s like a human deciding they want to sharpen Ferengi teeth for a living.

Unsurprisingly, Mot is a terrible barber. If you don’t believe it just look at what he did to Worf. One of the fiercest Klingon warriors in the galaxy, and Mot gave him a freaking bob cut? It’s like he was trying to sabotage the poor man. Probably an effort to weaken Klingon-Federation relations.

Mot was also known to give unsolicited, strategic advice to both Commander Riker and Captain Picard. Much to their annoyance.

Was Mot an embedded Romulan agent posing as a civilian barber on Starfleet’s flagship? We’ll never know… but, probably right?

Contributor
Contributor

John is a teacher and writer living in Texas. He spends far too much time watching Star Trek. Check out more if his work at artofnarrative.com