How can Worf not be on this list? First of all, most appearances in Star Trek so the most time to develop the character. And he changed from act first warrior to dishonored Klingon to full man of honor to being worthy of Dax’s love to losing Dax to being a diplomat to captaining the Enterprise to becoming a Shaolin Monk type spy with Section 31! He wins!
Nog's journey is certainly one of my favorite: from a young derailed adolescent coming from an incomplete family and an understimated species subject to discrimination, to becoming the first Ferengi in Star Fleet (not even genius Wesley could complete that) and presumably a legend (having a starship given his name is certainly an important feat). He wasn't the brightest individual, he wasn't a physically strong person, nor extremely capable officer. However he had the WILL to become a better himself, against all odds. I think that that could be the reason for so many people admiring and appreciating him. Humble yet strong willed Nog... A truly inspiring character.
I love Dr Crusher. She was one of my favorite TNG characters and would have been even better with more development and things to do over the series and movies.
Heck, his development alone in "Emissary" was tremendous. He went from basically barely seething at the sight of Picard for killing his wife and hating the assignment to Bajor to all smiles and actually seeming like a new man.
@@lovipoekimo176 After rewatching "Emissary" following Picard season 3, new nuance can be seen in Avery Brook's performance. If given the chance, he wouldn't be as polite as drugged up Shaw was.
Damar. He went from Gul Dukat's lackey, to a political puppet, to a true leader who shook off his puppeteers and inspired his people to greatness. His ingrained beliefs were challenged and changed, he came to regret his past decision, and he fought against tyranny and the oppression of his people. Damar was the hero that Cardassia needed. And he delivered one of the greatest lines in Trek history: "Maybe you should go talk to Worf again!"
You missed Odo. Although his sense of justice and law & order didn't ever go away, he grew from a surly security officer who was entirely dismissive of solids and longed to be reconnected to his people to someone who connected with his people and found how they controlled others to be wanting and violative of his sense of morality. He also became more willing to reveal parts of himself that he had formerly considered so intensely private because they were so unusual (eg, see returning to gelatinous form in the folds of Lwaxana Troi's dress after she revealed she wasn't all she appeared to be either) and eventually to allow himself to give into feels of love and tenderness in a romantic relation with Kira Nerys. He also found the ability to let go of all that he loved so that he could not only save his people from a deadly plague for which he was the cure but also as an opportunity to share himself so completely with his people in the Great Link that he could help them see that not all solids are evil and that they can (more or less) be trusted and did not need to be seen merely as objects of subjugation. He also developed a wicked sense of sarcastic humor.
To be fair, about the only two DS9 characters to NOT have a massive growth in development were O'Brien and Quark. Even then, they showed strong growth from beginning to end. Even Ezri, with 1 season, had hefty growth. It just goes to show how well developed both the story and characters were in DS9.
And let's not forget Commander Sisko, who starts out a grim but pragmatic starfleet officer and winds up a mystic. But then DS9 was an amazing series for character development for everyone!
@@thecunninlynguist There's a way to bring Odo back. Let Nana Visitor play him. What if Odo gives up on imitating the man who first discovered him, where his love/hate entanglements get in the way of him ever doing a proper job of it, and opts instead to for another model: the "solid" he most loves and knows most intimately? I think Ms. Visitor could pull it off handsomely!
I see Jeri Ryan as now the biggest star of the franchise, a wonderful successor to Leonard Nimoy. Seven is one of the most interesting and complex characters in all of Star Trek and that's due in no small part to Ryan's skill and talent as an actor.
What about Chief O'Brien? Sure he didn't move far in rank but from the time we meet him in TNG to when we leave him on DS9 his character had two children, became a veteran in two wars, and spent a lifetime in prison only to find out it was fake. He was very affected by all this.
I think the interesting thing about Miles is that he *doesn't* change - despite his growing family, relationships with Julian, Nog and Kira,his increased responsibilities and all the terrible, terrible things that happen to him, he remains largely the same no-nonsense highly-skilled hard-working veteran as served on the Rutledge and the Enterprise. Except of course that he *isn't*, since that Miles died in 'Visionary".
Skipping Odo and Kira is an absolute traveshamockery. Other people have mentioned Odo here, but Kira had the most EXTREME development. She went from a recovering Bajoran terrorist/Freedom fighter who fought with everyone from her own government to Cmdr. Sisko at the beginning to actually helping Cardassians retake their homeworld. If you had told me in season one that Kira would HELP Cardassia, I would have laughed in your face. But not only that, she bonded with her Cardassian "father", fell in love with a Changling, spent time in the Holosuite with Dax, felt ashamed that she never went to a baseball game with Sisko, learned to play baseball to defend the honor of her captain (who she hated in the pilot) ... the list goes on and on. How could you NOT include this?
Agreed. Kira probably had the most extreme and in-depth development. Compare season 1 Kira with that scene in Season 7 with Damar and Garak, 'yeah Damar, what sort of people would give those orders'
You forgot that scene in Duet where she wept over a murdered Cardassian; a Cardassian she released from the brig because he wasn't guilty of war crimes.
Rom is good but he's no Nog. Him going nowhere in life is what inspired his son to join Starfleet so that he wouldn't become his dad but Nog joining Starfleet inspired Rom to join the Bajoran service.
Nog is pretty important, yes, but Data should have been on this list. From an android to essentially being a new lifeform is... quite important. Especially when you die for your captain and come back.
Thanks for showing some love to The Doctor. I loved Robert Picardo’s depiction of him and how much he grew throughout Voyager’s run! I hope we see him again soon!
Nearly the entire DS9 crew and ancillary characters could be counted on this list. Several of them had far greater growth than anyone we experienced in Trek to that point. Maybe we can have a Part 2 of this list?
Well... everybody except Keiko and Molly. They got screen time, but not development - significant distinction. Even Morn got some love, and he never said a word in seven seasons.
There is a big Worf shaped hole in this list. Just for the sheer number of appearances throughout the various series, he has been developed more than almost any other character. He went from token alien on the crew to snoozing on the bridge. He went through being disgraced for the good of the empire to killing the very man he helped put in power. He helped start then end a war. He befriended a couple of legends. He overcame his absolute direct approach to become a spy and later a mentor. An entire video could be done to cover Worf's development.
This is a fantastic list. I cannot argue against any of the inclusions. Though someone excluded was Worf. He started off as a jr grade lieutenant and grew into a command role, Captain, and then whatever else he was up to after the Dominion War was over, then his exploits as an intelligence "contractor". One of my top 5 favorite characters in everything
So glad to see Dr. Crusher getting more love. She is my favorite character from TNG; a brilliant doctor, a capable bridge officer, a reasoned mind for the crew--she is such a light to me and Admiral Crusher is such a badass! We stan her too, Ellie!!
Deanna Troi really evolved. She went from pretty much sitting there giving her impressions of aliens they encountered to being a full commander. The transformation begins in Disaster where she finds herself in command. Though it’s often joked about, she did successfully crash-land the saucer section in Generations.
I definitely think that Seven was the most extreme, from childhood-assimilated Borg drone, reluctant to become "human" again, to now Captain of the next Enterprise, that's one hell of an arc...
Pulaski's change from being just a Mccoy expy who was disrespectful to Data to someone who genuinely respects Data and a tad warmer to the crew (especially Worf whom she shared poisonous tea with).
Can't beat Lore's development arc; he went from someone who didn't understand, and eventually to resent, why the colony were scared and hated him, feeling rejected by his father and becoming second fiddle to a younger brother, beamed and left drifting in space and becoming a cult leader to renegade Borg and from all that, and in the span of an episode, developed so much he essentially became Data!
Yes, lore had a good arc, but I got so tired of Data/Lore/Dr. Sungh stories I stopped watching the show. The reason I am angry is that at the end of the day we got to see our crew, but so little was spent on certain characters. It's over and nothing has really changed for certain beloved characters other than having their families and not getting divorced.
In 7 years, Nog only appeared 45 times. I learned that shortly after Aron Eisenberg passed. 45 times, out of 176 episodes. That's it. That's a hell of an impact for one character to make.
I was sorry to see Shelby come down. I hated/loved her in Best of Both Worlds, much like the character of Liam Shaw. She was acknowledge at least, but so briefly. RIP Admiral Shelby.
To be clear, Dr. Crusher was head of Starfleet Medial while Dr. Pulaski served as Chief Medical Officer of the Enterprise-D. So this is the second time Dr. Crusher held the position, though she retained the rank of Commander the first time around.
Ethan Peck is outstanding. He's taking full advantage of the shoulders of giants he's standing on. Zachary quinto was by far the element JJ got the most right. Like somebody read the same books that I read and figured out what situations to show Spock handling difficulties.
@@JohnnyWednesday Well they did. Remember the early episode where Voyager "timesplit" in 2 versions and the alternate Harry and Naomi came over from the other Voyager? In STO they made a poltline where original Harrys corpse was recovered by those guys that use corpses to inject there DNA and revive/transform them into a new member of there species. Giving us 2 Harrys. One Starfleet captain and one Alien Harry.
Erm, Benjamin Sisko? Starts the show as Commander Sisko, a bitter widower and single parent. Ends the show as Captain Sisko, a blissfully happy married father of two, and the son of a wormhole alien. To be honest, you could do an entire video on DS9 character development. But it's unlikely that DS9 would ever get that level of respect.
Worf and Data... and O'BRIEN for God sake! We watched O'Brien go from the dude in the transporter room to heartbreaking torturous self loathing in DS9 so much so that he put a phaser to his head! He was a spy and a husband and a father and a friend and a warrior. He dealt with hatred and racism, honor and morality, pride and ego, pain and loss... and kept both the enterprise and DS9 from blowing up in his spare time. O'BRIEN!
Yay the Doc..voyager did become the seven, Janeway, doctor show. Doc was Def my fave character on voyager. Picardo did great. Bashir's development was great too
I came to talk about Archer and his development especially through the Xindi arc, even more prominent though was his chat with Hernandez about what Columbia would need when she gets out. I don’t want to undercut this list because I agree with all ten, but judging by the comments I think we need another list haha!
I am so glad you guys made this video. This is a big problem that plagues a lot of ensemble shows today. From "The Flash" where the title character is all but completely overshadowed by the supporting cast to a shows Obi Wan where the supporting cast aren't developed much. I would say Picard, Succession, Superman and Lois and Andor are all shows that ride the line between main and supporting cast very effectively. This is why X-Men should be a TV show rather than a movie franchise, it needs the space to breathe life into all it's cast.
You know who else I would argue has had some extreme development? Q. In 'Encounter at Farpoint', he came off as little more than a sanctimonious alien judge with superpowers. But as TNG went on, he was developed in interesting ways, especially when the Q Continuum stripped away his powers and he had to rely on Picard's crew for his very survival. Then on Voyager, he was humbled and changed by the sacrifice of his fellow Q, eventually resulting in a civil war in the continuum with Q leading the charge for freedom and change. Having a son is a major development as well, although I do wonder why he never even mentioned him when he was supposedly dying. Speaking of which, I consider Q's involvement to be one of the few bright spots of Picard season 2. His desire to accomplish one final good deed for Picard -- perhaps the only person he's ever considered a friend -- was heartwarming. I'm a little dubious about him being brought back with little explanation after supposedly dying, but I would be very curious to see how he might be developed even further in a Picard spinoff series with Seven of Nine, Jack Crusher, and the rest.
I agree with the list. Great list btw…I definitely agree with the top 3 or 4 for sure. I kinda feel like Data had at least top 3 growth but I feel like he should at least be on the list 🤷♂️ (not a criticism btw I ❤you guys!)
It's good you didn't go with Burnham since there was virtually zero actual development for that character. For Discovery, such as it is, I'd have gone with Saru as a character that was vastly developed in his time on the show. A fearful coward to a competent Captain that changed the direction of his whole race.
I don't think that I would call Saru a "fearful coward" as much as someone who leveraged his innate sense of danger to provide prudent counsel when someone was about to make what was likely an imprudent decision. He was no coward when it came to informing peers or senior officers that what they were about to do was foolhardy, even knowing they would balance his counsel with their own determinations ... only to discover that they really should have listed to him in hte first place.
Pike seemed pretty comfortable with his Number One in "The Cage". At least it seems that way to me. He had every confidence in her being in command when he was off the ship, called her the most experienced officer to be in charge in case there was trouble.
The answer to this question is probably Spock, but I'd be curious to know which character in Star Trek has been played by the largest number of actors. For example, with Spock you've got child Spock, adult Spock from TOS/TNG, adult Spock from Kelvin, etc.. It would be fun to see a top 5 or top 10 list where we see different versions of these characters by the person who played them. There were, for example, at least 5 people who played Picard.
"Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine grew tremendously throughout the 7 years of Star Trek Voyager." The character of Seven of Nine didn't join Voyager until it's fourth season. Remember Kes?
You know what would be nice? If they gave Nog a proper ending in Picard or another show in canon. Like Worf mentions Nog along the lines of “I knew a great warrior once, he was captain of an Intrepid ship. Under impossible odds, he saved 5000 strangers in a pirate attack. He proved that warriors come in many sizes……… Even the size of Ferengi.”
Idk who i would have taken off this list so as to include him. But Ida liked to have seen Kim on this. He went from being little more than just green and inexperienced in Caretaker to outright grim and driven in Timeless.
USS Nog also was named on one of the Starfleet ships on Picard when they showed the list of ships on the display. Quite an achievement! First Ferengi to enter Starfleet.
I'm sure the TrekCulture writers are fully aware, but pretty much every character on DS9 qualifies for this. It'd be too easy to just focus on that series. Of the list presented, I'm glad 7 of 9 was given a chance to escape the catsuit and allow Jeri Ryan to shine. She was great in Voyager regardless, but it's nice to just let her be a great character without the obligatory eye candy nonsense. Fingers crossed for a series about her adventures as Enterprise captain!
There's no way you could fit every character deserving of a top 10 slot. Heck, you could do ten of these and still not cover it. Great selection! BTW, Rom's character development is one that directly influenced the course of my own life so he'll always be first in my list of character development. Seeing him open himself up to what's possible, going against Ferengi society's expectations of what it meant to be a Ferengi and defying everyone's expectations in his pursuit to just be himself and do the right thing, he's the TV character that convinced me to come out as a gay teenager. He lived his best life. He accepted himself for who he was and not who he thought the world wanted him to be. And he thrived. Rom literally saved me.
One thing you missed about Nog: by the 32nd century he had a ship named after him. This can only mean he eventually made admiral, since that's an honour typically reserved for flag officers exclusively.
I'm not sure if you'd say it was extreme development, but Reginald Barclay went from a reclusive neuro divergent character with a fear of transporters on TNG to a slightly more outspoken character in a few appearances on Voyager. On TNG he mostly tried to avoid counseling sessions with Troi to seeking her out for advice & help on Voyager. And in thinking about him, it's a bit disappointing that he wasn't at least shown briefly the way that Shelby was in one of the episodes of Picard's final season. And she only ever appeared in Best of Both Worlds 1 & 2, while he appeared in 5 episodes of TNG.
You should have made it 20 instead of 10, because there are as many omissions as inclusions, with compelling and/or silly arguments why (eg. Miles O'brian who went from crewman #6 to one of the most revered members of Starfleet with a monument in the far distant future) they should be included in the list. Worf, Kira, Garak, Sisko, Odo, Paris at least deserve mention.
Crusher was my favorite character in the Next Generation, so suffice to say that I was happy to see her evolve in Picard S3. I always saw her as a strong role model and sorta wish she had had more to do I. The past. This season was great for her. (And seeing Gates' hair now, is making me think about no longer dying my hair. 😂)
What about Miles O'Brien - from unnamed crew member in S1 of TNG to "the most important person in the history of Starfleet" according to Lower Decks. Also what about Worf?
Correction: Dr Crusher was not on ALL seven seasons of TNG. She was replaced in Season 2 with Dr. Pulaski and Dr Crusher was head of Starfleet Medical instead.
@@mmg8823 This inclusion surprised me too because I was like "huh? What about Season 2 of TNG"? but then I went back and she said "Every SEASON". Although..... I'd say that I have see every episode of TNG at least a dozen times and all I can remember was the explanation for her absence in the first episode of Season #2. I don't remember her actually appearing in that season though.....even in a flashback or audio-only appearance. I'll have to check it out but can anybody specify which EPISODE it was in TNG that Dr. Crusher made the appearance?
Beverly is head of Starfleet Medical _again_ ! That was the reason given for why she was gone from the Enterprise-D for season 2. :) PS. I still want to know what she's been trying to tell Picard for 35 years, lol
Some more info on Nog. He eventually rose to rank of captain. He did his job so well that they named a starship after him in the 32nd century. 0:03 . 0:03
Data. For crying out loud, how is Data not on this list?! Look, I love Spock as much as anyone, but Data’s journey makes Spock’s look like a walk in the park. He grew from emotionless naive Android, to be a competent commander, make friends, learn to dream, decipher emotions, battle between his loyalty and his family, gain rights as a sentient being, be tempted by the Borg, learn from a child, sacrifice himself, learn to die well, come back, merge with his near family, have a daughter and finally become HUMAN, his ultimate goal. That’s development people. Also Gul Dukat.
I think the actor that played Bashir had the most growth. He was wooden and annoying in the first season and by the end of the seventh, an important character and a great actor.
So, you tried to sneak in another video while I'm watching the WhoCukture one. I'm on to you. What's that? This one came out first? Oh.... Nevermind.... Anyway, there were a few entries I didn't know, having not yet watched their respective shows (there's SO much to watch, and I'm only half-way through my rewatch of TNG). But seeing this made me want to watch them, so nice job there. Also, if you (Ellie) hadn't come in to mention Seven's new post, I was going to, and in fact am now. Can we all say it together? Seven of Nine is CAPTAIN of the ENTERPRISE. I've been saying that a lot, and it doesn't get old. Good video. Now I gotta get back to work. P.S. For those saying "You missed so-and-so", no they didn't. It's a list of TEN. If you just make suggestions, there might be another list later. But "missed" sounds a tad aggressive.
i really hope they do another series following the enterprise g. people have been more vocal about this than captain pike and that got a series. they'd be fools not to follow the show since it's exactly what people were looking for.
Again, thank you for course correcting Admiral Crusher, Starfleet Medical; you gave the character the end point she deserved. Having said this, a Crusher Starfleet Medical spinoff is definitely a marketable product with a builtin audience. Please.
Rom as well had quite a development. He went from "My brother is an idiot" to help setting up a field of clocked self replicating mine field to protect the wormhole.