For over fifty years, viewers have been seeing the future of humanity —and the universe— by way of Star Trek. From the early days of Captain Kirk and his crew dealing with weekly problems to today's stories where the crew of the Discovery finds itself in an ongoing adventure through time and space, the world has been given thousands of hours filled with ethical dilemmas, operatic action, and wonderful characters.
Across Star Trek's eleven separate TV series and thirteen movies, some characters have never been given the full respect they deserve. These are the characters who became lost in the shuffle, overshadowed by the likes of Spock, Riker, and the myriad of amazing aliens, dysfunctional machines, and overconfident demi-gods that have made up the mythology of one of the longest-running stories in pop culture.
10 Miles O'Brien Really Went Through A Lot
Originally introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation, it wasn't until he joined the crew on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that Miles O'Brien was able to show off just how great of a character he was. Unlike almost every other character in Star Trek, Chief O'Brien didn't join Starfleet with dreams of captaining a ship —he was more than happy working in engineering.
O'Brien was a blue-collar working man who, time and time again, was forced to suffer more than any one person ever should. From being imprisoned inside his own mind for twenty years to watching an adult version of his daughter die, to watching himself die, O'Brien went through more horrors than almost anyone else, but it never stopped him from doing his job.
9 Scotty Kept It All Together
When Gene Roddenberry initially created his second version of Star Trek after the first pilot episode was rejected by the network, he saw no need for the show to feature an engineer and nearly fired actor James Doohan before shooting began. If not for director James Goldstone and Doohan's agent, the world never would have met Montgomery "Scotty" Scott.
Scotty is one of the best-known Star Trek characters, but most people know him for a line of dialog that is never actually spoken in the original series, "Beam me up, Scotty." In truth, Scotty is one of the more interesting pieces of Star Trek, a major part of the crew who was rarely the focus of a story.
8 Travis Mayweather Was Something New & Unused
It could be argued that none of the characters from Star Trek: Enterprise get the respect they deserve, but even from that list, Travis Mayweather would be at the tail end. But what makes Mayweather worthy of far more respect than he gets is how the character brought in something never before seen in Star Trek; Mayweather was a "space boomer," a human born and raised in space.
The character had no connection to Earth and was more comfortable in zero gravity settings than anywhere else. Sadly, Enterprise never took the time to really explore Mayweather's story.
7 Ezri Dax Never Had Time To Win Fans Over
While it went somewhat ignored during its seven-season run, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has found a growing fanbase thanks to Netflix and the show's writing was ahead of its time. Captain Benjamin Sisko, Kira Nerys, Dr. Bashir, and the crew of DS9 have started to gain the respect they deserve, but one character fans will always struggle with is Ezri Dax.
Brought in for the final season, Ezri was a Trill who became the host of the Dax symbiote after the death of Jadzia Dax. Jadzia was a fan favorite while the show was on and continues to be a beloved character, and sadly Ezri never had time to become a fully fleshed-out character. As such, Ezri is often overlooked.
6 Dr. Phlox Held The Starfleet Code Close To His Heart
Another character from Star Trek: Enterprise, Dr. Phlox never gets the attention of some of the other Star Trek doctors, most notably Bones and Dr. Beverly Crusher. But what Phlox brought to the mythology of Star Trek was something new and interesting. One of two aliens aboard the first Enterprise, Dr. Phlox greeted every moment with enthusiasm. He found great joy in trying new foods, meeting new species, and getting to know his crewmates.
But what truly makes Dr. Phlox special is that he lived by simple principles that, during the time that Enterprise was set, were not yet the principles that Starfleet would become known for. Phlox's personal beliefs helped shape what the United Federation would become.
5 Tuvok Was Lost In Logic
Vulcans play an integral role in Star Trek, and Mister Spock stands high above all the others for good reason. As the first Vulcan viewers met, Leonard Nimoy's take on the alien race set the standard for how every Vulcan must be portrayed. Over the decades, more and more Vulcans have come up, but none have been able to come close to Spock, and that includes Tuvok.
While Tuvok is a main character in Star Trek: Voyager, he tends to fall through the cracks when Vulcans are discussed. These days Tuvix, a character that existed for one episode when Tuvok and Neelix joined into one body, is talked about more than Tuvok.
4 Rom Wasn't Like The Others
Introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Ferengi are presented as a greedy race that will do anything to make a profit. The best known Ferengi, Quark, ran the bar on Deep Space Nine and fit into the basic description of a Ferengi perfectly, but his brother, Rom, was a little different.
Initially, Rom was like the other Ferengi, only a little goofier. But by the second season of DS9, Rom changed. He was still interested in profit, but he also wanted to enjoy his life and make sure his son Nog was getting an education. Rom truly showed himself as an outsider of Ferengi beliefs when he formed a union with the other workers at his brother's bar.
3 Janice Rand Was Lost To Controversy
Created to be Captain Kirk's Yeoman in the original series, Janice Rand was one of two women who regularly appeared in the first season of Star Trek: The Original Series. The character never went on missions, but she played a major role in a few episodes and was clearly someone Kirk respected and cared for.
Sadly, Grace Lee Whitney, who played Yeoman Rand, was fired eight episodes into the first season. According to Whitney, her firing came just days after a network executive sexually assaulted her, and she believed that the two things were connected.
2 Jake Sisko Was More Than A Wesley Clone
When Star Trek fans saw that Deep Space Nine would have a young boy in the cast, some got flashes of Wesley Crusher and quickly became concerned. But instead of getting another Wesley, what viewers got to see was a loving relationship between a widowed father and his son.
Jake Sisko started off as a young naive child and, across seven seasons, grew into a wonderful character that brought in much of what makes DS9 stand out from the other Star Trek shows. Sadly, some fans can't get past his younger days.
1 Barclay Was All Of Us
Star Trek is filled with amazingly skilled and determined people working to make the universe a better place and always know exactly what to do in any situation. The universe is a look at a version of humanity that has moved past jealousy, self-doubt, and all the other uncomfortable human parts that hold us back. And then there is Reginald Barclay.
A member of the Enterprise crew in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Barclay is much more like us than his fellow shipmates are. In his handful of appearances, he is often uncomfortable, unsure, and has trouble expressing himself. Barclay is, essentially, a stand-in for the rest of us as we wonder what it would be like to be in Starfleet.