When Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered in 1987, Trek fans weren't sure that it could live up to the swashbuckling jubilation of Star Trek: The Original Series. Set 78 years after the adventures of Captain Kirk and Co., it featured a more mature captain and a crew of humans and aliens that favored diplomacy over duking it out with Klingons. Though it sometimes seemed more serious, its miniature morality plays every episode didn't prevent fans from getting to fall in love with the new crew of the Enterprise-D.
Characters like Commander Data, who exhibited no emotion and failed to understand basic human behaviors, became the heart of the series, while fresh-faced space cadets like Wesley Crusher became reviled from the Alpha to the Delta Quadrant. Love them or hate them, these characters defined Star Trek for a generation. Even the immortal trickster Q went from being a minor annoyance to a welcome surprise, a tangible testament to fans' ability to embrace every new incarnation of the franchise.
MOST LIKABLE: DATA
The "Spock" of the series, Data's primary role was to represent the non-human perspective to viewers and facilitate understanding of situations and problems external to their own line of thinking. Outside of the purpose of this narrative device, he was a first-rate bridge officer, friend, and pioneer in Starfleet.
As the only android aboard a Starfleet vessel, Data faced prejudice and scrutiny, both of which he weathered with typical taciturn grace. No one could doubt his heroism or self-sacrifice, however, which only served to progress him further in his paramount pursuit; to be as human as possible.
CAN'T STAND: WESLEY
Ordinarily, a boy Wesley's age receiving a post on the bridge of a Starfleet ship -much less its flagship vessel- would have been preposterous, but his mother had an amicable relationship with Captain Picard and the executives of Star Trek: The Next Generation wanted to appeal to a younger–primarily female–demographic.
Unfortunately, because of both the nepotism and the shameless marketing ploy, Wesley's character development suffered. He got storylines that either depicted him as a know-it-all boy genius, or a completely self-absorbed and whiny teenager, neither of which viewers were much interested in.
MOST LIKABLE: CAPTAIN PICARD
Though he didn't begin as viewers' favorite captain, Captain Jean-Luc Picard soon became one of the most famous in all of the Star Trek franchise. Not as daring or as gregarious as his predecessor Captain Kirk, his captaincy nevertheless gained favor because of its reliance on diplomacy, democracy, and humanity.
Picard was a private man, but he made his convictions public, and no one could doubt his loyalty to Starfleet but more importantly, to citizens of the Federation. The life lessons he taught viewers every episode of the series stayed with them a lifetime, and he remains the only captain to have been given his own stand-alone series Star Trek: Picard.
CAN'T STAND: BARCLAY
Lieutenant Barclay may have been a competent engineer, but as a crew member of the Enterprise he failed to show the same level of commitment and dedication. An introvert, he often declined social invitations in favor of interacting in environments he could control, like on the holo-deck.
The problem wasn't that Barclay was socially awkward, or even that he preferred the company of people who didn't take quite so much energy to be around - it was that he made others suffer for his own feelings of perceived inadequacy. His constant whinging -as well as nearly killing everyone aboard the ship- made him few fans.
MOST LIKABLE: GEORDIE
For an engineer who spent most of his day focused on dilithium crystals and warp cores, Geordie was a hopeless romantic who loved cooking and listening to music almost as much as solving the Enterprise's many technical problems.
Viewers took a shine to Geordie because, despite his critical skepticism, he always found a solution under pressure, and saved the lives of his fellow crewmembers and friends countless times. His friendship with Data, and pursuit of helping him find his humanity, was a highlight of the series.
CAN'T STAND: LWAXANA TROI
Lwaxana Troi, or as she's known in august circles as the Daughter of the Fifth House, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, and Heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed, never missed an opportunity to transport herself and her entourage to the Enterprise and stir up a little trouble.
To the mortification of Counselor Troi, her daughter and a respected member of the crew, Lwaxana went after both her boyfriend Commander Riker and Captain Jean-Luc Picard with the cavalier attitude that "consent" must be the name of a perfume, not a social contract.
MOST LIKABLE: RIKER
Though some fans were quick to dismiss him as a Kirk clone, William T. Riker was allowed a little more complexity than being distilled to "galactic cowboy". With his beard came discipline and responsibilities, but with his rakish smile came the promise of romantic fun and a trombone solo.
Riker shined the best when he worked alongside Captain Picard, who was dissimilar to his Number One in almost every way, save their unwavering commitment to Starfleet and protocol. Their friendship is one of the most earnest and meaningful bonds of mutual respect in Trek canon.
CAN'T STAND: TASHA YAR
The Enterprise's first chief of security, Tasha Yar was a stoic figure who never managed to bring the gravitas and intensity necessary to command the status. She didn't need to have the ferocity of Worf, but her reserved personality came across as dull to viewers.
Yar was killed off at the end of Season 1, and while other attempts later in the series to bring her back did develop her character in a more thoughtful and purposeful way, she still lacked the sort of depth that even TNG's reoccurring characters conveyed.
MOST LIKABLE: Q
A beloved reoccurring character beginning with the first episode and ending with the last episode, Q's presence wasn't always seen but certainly always felt. He brought the sort of spontaneity that longtime Trek fans loved in Star Trek: The Original Series to remind the self-serious characters on TNG that life could never be planned.
Q taught many life lessons to the crew of the Enterprise, most of all to its wary captain, with whom he enjoyed a hostile but begrudging friendship. Fans learned to expect the unexpected with Q, and the difference between when to marshal their own agency, and when to go with the flow.
CAN'T STAND: DEANNA TROI
Counselor Troi, like Lieutenant Nyota Uhura before her, served as eye candy and fodder for fans, with one notable exception - unlike Uhura, her fan service was at the expense of any meaningful storylines for herself. She wasn't even given a real uniform until halfway through the series, and only ever given command in one feature film.
That Troi's exceptionalism seemed more to do with thinly-veiled "women's intuition" than an actual alien telepathic power meant that episodes featuring her often began with "I sense..." and ended with her shrieking hysterically and fainting into Riker's arms.