Following on from the seminal original series' diverse cast of characters and thought-provoking storylines, Star Trek: The Next Generation would up the ante in every aspect. On screen from 1987 to 1994, and the first live-action follow-up to Star Trek, Next Generation ran for the course of seven series and four feature-length films, helmed behind the scenes by the mind of the original series, Gene Roddenberry, and charismatically on screen by Patrick Stewart.

Trekkies and critics alike would appreciate the show in equal high measure too: Next Generation won 18 Emmy Awards throughout its run, and was ranked 37th on Empire Magazine's list of the "50 Greatest Television Shows." Fronted by the extraordinary Patrick Stewart, Next Generation gave fans incredible storylines based on unity, race, sex and war. It was a smart science fiction prime time series that refused to dumb itself down for the sake of a quick click.

Diana Troi's mother and Wesley Crusher thankfully do not appear anywhere on this list.

8 Worf, Son of Mogh (Played by Michael Dorn)

Worf in Star Trek Next Generation
Paramount

With Worf came all the background and religious elements of the Klingon empire. Formerly just deformed villains in the original series, Worf humanized the warrior race above simply savage antagonists (despite that Worf seemingly never won a fight). While acting as Chief of Security, he would bring his forceful approach and battle skills to the role, which he later applied to his own parenting skills. A popular character, fans have often expressed interest in a Worf spin-off TV series.

7 Guinan (Played by Whoopi Goldberg)

Guinan in Star Trek Next Generation
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Forget the Mos Eisley Cantina, Guinan is the definitive space bartender. The El-Aurian would stand in as a shoulder to cry on and dish out valuable advice to anyone who would seek it. When The Enterprise first encounters The Borg, Guinan is an invaluable resource for the crew when detailing that The Borg wiped out her entire race. Whoopi Goldberg's performance is excellent, and Guinan returns in the second season of Star Trek: Picard.

6 The Borg Queen (Played by Alice Krige)

Borg Queen and Data in Star Trek
Paramount

YAAS, BORG QUEEN! Featured as the main antagonist in First Contact, The Borg Queen is equal parts villainous as she is seductress. The Queen gave the homogeneous Borg a new voice. She is conniving and sexualized, willing to manipulate and use her male opposites for the good of Borg universal domination, as she did with Data. Her introduction, as her head and shoulders are lowered into a torso, remains tremendously creepy. Another Borg Queen recently featured in Series Two of Picard.

5 Q (Played by John de Lancie)

Q in The Next Generation
Paramount

A metaphysical trickster. A flim-flam artist. The boy with a magnifying glass. A god. With a self professed IQ of 2005, "Q" is an all-powerful being who lives to only cause mischief at the expense of The Enterprise and its forever frustrated captain. As a returning antagonist throughout the Next Generation, Q is one of the few characters on this list to appear in multiple Star Trek series: The Next Generation, Deep Space 9, and Voyager.

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Picard can only greet Q with a groan, as he appears at the most inopportune moments to mess with the team for his own curious desires. A fan of the theatrical and prone to multiple costume changes per episode, Q directly questions the human race while quoting Shakespeare with Picard. It's amazing that a character with unlimited power uses it to solely mess with people.

4 Geordi La Forge (Played by LeVar Burton)

Geordi La Forge as Star Trek The Next Generation
Paramount

Blind from birth, Geordi La Forge is forced to view the world through a futuristic visor covering his eyes. As another example of how diverse and forward-thinking the Next Generation (and Star Trek in general) was, Geordi La Forge showcases a young Black man excelling in his chosen field, and is forever likable while played by the overtly charismatic LeVar Burton. La Forge's almost brotherly relationship with Data really lets the series shine in the quieter moments.

3 Jean-Luc Picard (Played by Patrick Stewart)

Picard may have a new series but where does he rank vs the rest of his crew?
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Performed by high-profile English theater actor Patrick Stewart, who brought gravitas to this role, Picard had a cunning mind and a diplomacy with him, captaining his ship with an air of zero BS - and a penchant for earl grey tea. Picard is one of the enduring science fiction characters and the out-and-out leader of a crew of characters. His typical episodes would usually focus on games of wit, honor, and procedure, often showing that the Federation and its old guard have many cracks. Stewart's performance as Picard may have reached its zenith in the episodes "Chain of Command Pts I & II," when Picard is taken prisoner and tortured by a cardassian. Offered escape by giving in to the torturer's lie, an exhausted Picard refuses.

2 Data (Played by Brent Spiner)

Data in Star Trek Next Generation
Paramount

Data (played by a pitch perfect Brent Spiner) remains one of the best on-screen androids ever committed to screen in a playful take on Wizard of Oz's Tin Man. One of the best parts of Star Trek, over the course of the seven seasons, Data is seen to actually grow and learn.

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As a cutting edge piece of technology, with his distinctive chalk-white skin and yellow eyes, Data would learn and question the goings-on of the human race all while evolving himself. Sweet and childlike, while studious and imbued with otherworldly strength and speed, Data represents a future we can only aspire to achieve (when he hasn't malfunctioned and runs amok, that is).

1 William T. Riker (Played by Jonathan Frakes)

Riker playing a brass instrument in Star Trek Next Generation
Paramount

As a combination of the best and worst parts of both Picard and Kirk, Riker is a suave gentleman and lothario in equal measure. With his broad chest, and beard in season two, we as fans were robbed in never getting a Riker-exclusive iteration series of Star Trek. The will-they-or-won't-they push and pull of Riker and Diana (Miranda Sirtis) always kind of dragged, but when let loose, Riker is a backwards sitting, manspreading, trombone-tooting playboy. Captaining the ship when his captain was taken prisoner by The Borg, Riker's calmness in war would be needed to keep Earth safe. The best Number One a captain could ever ask for, he works hard, but plays harder.