It’s an exciting time to be a Star Trek fan, thanks to shows like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Picard. While Strange New Worlds explores the original crew of the starship Enterprise in the past, Picard takes a look at the future of the former captain and his old crew of the Enterprise-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Picard featured the return of the omnipotent being known as Q. He was one of the most powerful enemies the Enterprise-D encountered over their seven-year journey. Their continuing mission to explore the galaxy uncovered incredibly powerful aliens and other-dimensional entities that could have killed them with a snap of their fingers just like Q.
10 Parasitic Aliens Controlled High-Ranking Starfleet Officers In A Dark Conspiracy
The first season of Star Trek: TNG set up the deadly hidden threat of a dark conspiracy at Starfleet. The Enterprise fell under the scrutiny of a Starfleet admiral and inspector looking for issues on the ship. This led to a warning from another captain about a possible conspiracy who was killed shortly after delivering his message.
The crew of the Enterprise-D then discovered that a race of parasitic aliens had managed to take control of high-ranking members of Starfleet Command. The parasitic slugs took control of the brain stem, giving them complete control of their host body. Picard and Riker were able to destroy the parasitic queen, though a message was still sent out to deep space.
9 The Echo Papa 607 Weapon System Continually Upgraded To Deal With Threats
When the Enterprise was called to the planet of Minos to investigate a missing ship and its crew, they found themselves attacked by a powerful automated weapons system known as the Echo Papa 607. It had the ability to create deadly drones that could repair themselves and adapt to any attack. The Enterprise also had to deal with a starship drone above the planet as well.
This ultimately led to the eradication of their creators, the Minosians. Star Trek: TNG's best away team was unable to escape the rapid production of the increasingly dangerous drones. However, they eventually realized that the weapon was attacking merely as a demonstration. Once Picard agreed to purchase the weapons system, the demonstration ended.
8 The Crew Of The Enterprise Was Abducted By Subspace Solanogen-Based Lifeform
The Enterprise encountered quite a few different alien species during The Next Generation. One of the most frightening also explored the real-world phenomenon of alien abductions. In the sixth season episode “Schisms,” members of the crew like Riker, La Forge and Worf find themselves with troubling memories after they experienced incidents of loss-time.
The crew soon finds that they are being abducted against their will by aliens. The aliens were revealed as Solanogen-based lifeforms from subspace. They were conducting ghastly experiments on the crew. Riker’s arm was cut off and reattached while another member died after his blood was replaced. They were able to close off the subspace portal, but the alien threat still exists.
7 Professor Moriarty Was An Advanced Holographic Creation of The Literary Villain
The holodeck allowed the crew of the Enterprise-D to explore distant planets, live out their most secret fantasies, or play a part in their favorite novel or story. Data was particularly fond of Sherlock Holmes and enjoyed playing him on the holodeck. Geordi La Forge attempted to give Data a real challenge and asked the computer to create a villain that could defeat Data.
An advanced version of Professor Moriarty was created who became one of the greatest Star Trek villains. He developed into a new sentient being who learned how to use the ship's computer. He threatened to destroy the ship unless they found a way to free him from the holodeck. Moriarty would return to threaten the ship more than once in his effort to find life outside the holodeck.
6 The Douwd Was An Immortal Energy Being Who Could Wipe Out Entire Civilizations
When the Enterprise-D investigated an attack on a human colony, they found lone survivor Kevin Uxbridge and his wife. Uxbridge attempted to warn the Enterprise away from the planet by creating threats that disappeared as soon as they left. They soon discovered that Uxbridge was a near-omnipotent energy being known as the Douwd.
He lived as a human alongside his wife, though she died in the attack on the colony. Uxbridge annihilated over fifty million invaders and then recreated his home and wife. He eventually returned to his planet to live his life in isolation as repentance for the powerful destruction of his enemies.
5 Armus Was The Discarded Skin Of Evil From An Ancient Race With Powerful Abilities
Star Trek: The Next Generation made history in the first season episode “Skin of Evil” when one of their officers was killed on an away mission. After Counselor Troi’s shuttlecraft crashed on an abandoned planet, she found herself trapped by a mysterious creature known only as Armus. Lt. Tasha Yar attempted to reach the shuttle, but she was killed as a display of his power.
Armus had been created when an ancient race of Titans collected their negative thoughts and emotions together like an evil second skin. They then abandoned him alone on a deserted planet. Armus had psychokinetic powers that could severely damage a human’s synaptic impulses. Captain Picard's best quotes managed to outsmart Armus, but Yar was already lost to them.
4 Nagilum Was A Curious Being From Outside Reality Who Performed Fatal Experiments
The crew of the Enterprise found themselves trapped in an odd anomaly that resembled a hole in space. Inside, they discovered that a powerful presence was testing the ship and its crew with various stimuli. They were able to establish contact with the entity, which created a human-like visage to communicate with Picard and the bridge crew.
The extradimensional being known as Nagilum was curious about humanity. However, his detached curiosity posed serious threats to the crew. He decided he wanted to learn more about mortality. After he killed Ensign Haskell with just a thought, the Enterprise was forced to bluff to avoid losing most of the crew to his dark experiments.
3 Lore Was An Evil Prototype Of Data Who Manipulated The Powerful Crystalline Entity
For years, Lt. Cmdr. Data assumed he was the only Soong-type android that was created. However, that all changed when he discovered his creator’s laboratory. He found another android named Lore. He was Noonien Soong’s first attempt at creating Data, though he made Lore to human-like. Lore grew bitter, angry and evil and turned on the humans he was built to emulate.
Lore worked with other powerful beings as well, beginning with his manipulation of the devastating Crystalline Entity. He also took control of a group of Borg who had found individualism. He performed terrible experiments on them before using his emotion chip to bring Data under his control. Lore was eventually permanently deactivated by his brother Data.
2 The Borg Were A Biomechanical Race Of Beings Who Tried To Assimilate The Galaxy
One of the most dangerous threats to the Federation first appeared in one of the best episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, “Q Who." The Borg was a race of biomechanical beings who merged organic components with technology. They shared a collective consciousness and operated with a machine’s detachment in their mission.
The Borg’s goal was to assimilate other living beings into their collective, whether they wanted to join or not. The Borg believed that resistance was futile, though there were a few who split from the collective. Picard was even briefly transformed into a Borg named Locutus. The Borg’s advanced technology and their attack on Picard made them one of the Enterprise’s greatest enemies.
1 Q Was An Omnipotent Being Who Developed A Unique Interest In Captain Picard
Star Trek: The Next Generation’s first episode was called “Encounter at Farpoint” and was also one of the best Q episodes of the series. Q was a member of an other-dimensional continuum of omnipotent beings who could alter reality with a snap of their fingers.
Q put the race of humanity on trial and tasked Captain Picard with defending his people. This led to a curious obsession with Picard that made Q a recurring thorn in the Enterprise’s side for years. Q would even continue toying with other characters from Deep Space Nine and Voyager. He even recently returned to Picard so he could reconnect with his old friend.