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

Moriarty is another concept that TNG introduced, but another show, Voyager, ran with. That’s the idea of a self-aware hologram. Moriarty creates an interesting moral dilemma for the Enterprise crew. He's also a character ripe for growth as he dealt with the limitations of his holographic nature. The character of the Doctor, from Voyager, explores these ideas to a greater extent.

TNG, however, relegated Moriarty to villain status. A baddie who appears every few seasons. Ultimately, the crew traps Moriarty in a false, holographic world. This is after convincing the hologram that they had freed him from his confines on the holodeck. This is one of the crew's few unethical schemes as it involves lying to, and falsely imprisoning, a sentient being.