When we Star Trek fans get together, one topic that comes up often is which characters from our favorite shows helped make it so popular and which are the most iconic of all time. While most Trekkies have strong opinions about what makes a character relatable or memorable, these three from Star Trek: The Original Series continue to live in our hearts and minds, even nearly 60 years later.
And with only three slots to fill, this is going to be tough.
3. Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu
It would be simple to list Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy as the best characters of The Original Series and move on, but while their triad of friendship and loyalty definitely gives the show much of the feel that made it so beloved, others represented diversity, quiet strength, and humor, such as Lt. Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise.
Sulu was one of the first Asian-American characters to appear in a prime time show who wasn't the comedy relief in a Western or a domestic servant for the main character and spoke in broken English. Sulu was intelligent, kind, a devoted member of Kirk's crew, and liked by everyone ship wide. His presence on the bridge as helmsman proves his steady hand and calming presence.
In season 2, when Mr. Chekov came on board, Sulu befriended the inexperienced young Russian when he made his way to the bridge and the navigation station. Despite Sulu's higher rank, he didn't lord the position over him like that insufferable Assistant Chief Engineer DeSalle, who thought he had the gold key to Enterprise's facilities. Rather, Sulu soothed the navigator's anxiety with jokes and ship's gossip.
After all, how did Sulu know Chekov was an only child in "Day of the Dove?" Those are details friends know about each other during long, quiet bridge shifts. I love how in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier they even went on shore leave together!
2. Chief Engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott
Scotty was more than Captain Kirk's "miracle worker" on board the Enterprise, he was also the kind of man who'd sit and have a drink with you as you talked about your problems. Stubborn and often foolishly brave, Kirk could usually count on Scotty for fisticuffs, whether or not he started the fight (which he often did).
While Scotty wasn't known for having an even temper, the crew loved him for his gregarious nature, especially when the Enterprise was the main topic. He was faithful to her, and Kirk was just the boss (as I'm sure Kirk figured out after "The Trouble With Tribbles"), and he could count on Scotty to take command and hold Enterprise together, making him indispensable yet fallible, a truly relatable character.
1. Mr. Spock
Most readers probably guessed this, but there's no one else it could be, really. Mr. Spock is the face of Star Trek, the silhouette instantly recognizable in media, and he's likely the most-quoted character as well.
When Gene Roddenberry first pitched Star Trek, NBC executives turned it down. They told him it was too cerebral and that the Spock character looked much too satanic to appear on prime time television. Won't someone please think of the children? Fortunately, Roddenberry stood his ground, and one of the first alien-humans to ever appear on TV would become a legend.
For many people, Spock was their mirror. Viewers who felt alien, outcast, or different related to him and his struggle with duality. He became someone to look up to, and young people learned many different lessons from him about loyalty ("The Menagerie") using logic to solve problems ("The Galileo Seven") and that it's possible to build a family who doesn't care what color your skin or blood is ("Amok Time").
It's simple to binge watch a few (or a dozen) episodes of Star Trek: TOS and feel confident about loving our show and its legacy, but in a time before the internet, San Diego Comic Con, and social media, Star Trek aired once a week and NBC shuffled its timeslot around as it tried to find an audience.
The show wasn't a smash hit in its time and the fandom would grow due to syndication of the series; still, people found it, and they found Spock, too. While we lost Leonard Nimoy, who gave Spock so much of his character, in 2015, the venerable Vulcan's legacy lives on.
Are you happy with our list? Who would you have excluded and included with only three slots to fill? It's not an easy task, is it? Share your thoughts and comments with us on the Redshirts Always Die X and Facebook pages.