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ScreenRant ranked Star Trek’s Chief Engineers and we have questions

By Chad Porto

Nov. 2, 2015 – CBS Television Studios announced today it will launch a totally new “Star Trek” television series in January 2017. The brand-new “Star Trek” will introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966. The new series will blast off with a special preview broadcast on the CBS Television Network. The premiere episode and all subsequent first-run episodes will then be available exclusively in the United States on CBS All Access, the Network’s digital subscription video on demand and live streaming service.Pictured: LeVar Burton as Lt. Commander Geordi LaForge and Jonathan Del Arco as Hugh / Third of Five in STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATIONScreen grab: ©1992 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved
Nov. 2, 2015 – CBS Television Studios announced today it will launch a totally new “Star Trek” television series in January 2017. The brand-new “Star Trek” will introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966. The new series will blast off with a special preview broadcast on the CBS Television Network. The premiere episode and all subsequent first-run episodes will then be available exclusively in the United States on CBS All Access, the Network’s digital subscription video on demand and live streaming service.Pictured: LeVar Burton as Lt. Commander Geordi LaForge and Jonathan Del Arco as Hugh / Third of Five in STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATIONScreen grab: ©1992 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved /
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Who is the best Chief Engineer in Star Trek?

The Chief Engineer is one of the most important parts of Starfleet and is routinely the person that holds together whatever ship or space station the show is centered around. Each series has featured a strong Chief Engineer, one that is usually the more “salt of the Earth” type.

The original series had Montgomery “Scotty” Scott, as did the Kelvin remake series of films. The Next Generation had Geordi La Forge, while Deep Space Nine had Miles O’Brien. Voyager had B’Elanna Torres. Enterprise featured Charles “Trip” Tucker, arguably the most popular character on the show.

In the Nu Trek Era, we’ve gotten Jett Reno on Discovery, Hemmer on Strange New Worlds, and Jankmon Pog on Prodigy. Lower Decks doesn’t feature their Chief Engineer as a main character, but technically it’s Andy Billups. While Picard doesn’t feature one at all, at least not in an official capacity.

When talking about ranking the Chief Engineers, it’s hard, because what’s the qualification? If it’s based on likability, then Tucker or La Forge win. If it’s based on skill, Torres kept Voyager going through enemy space, using alien tech to Frankenstein the ship back to Alpha Quadrant.

Well, ScreenRant ranked the Chief Engineers based on likeability and we still have some serious questions.

ScreenRant disrespects Star Trek: Voyager

Frankly, the fact that Torres is ranked No. 10 on ScreenRant’s top 10 is sad. Especially over side characters like Jett Reno and Andy Phillips. She’s higher than both of them just for the simple fact she’s an actual main character and not just comedic relief. She’s also higher than Pog, as nothing is more annoying than referring to yourself in the third person.

At worse, Torres is 6th, but I’d argue she should be over Simon Peg’s Scotty, as he’s only in parts of three films, and it’s far easier to write likable characters over three short films, as opposed to seven seasons and 172 episodes. So how would I rank them?

  1. Trip Tucker
  2. Geordi La Forge
  3. Miles O’Brien
  4. TOS  Scotty
  5. B’Ellanna Torres
  6. Kelvin Scotty
  7. Hemmer
  8. Jet Reno
  9. Jankmon Pog
  10. Andy Phillips

Next. The Top 100 episodes in Star Trek franchise history according to metrics. dark

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