Characters that got most and least character development

[The Overlord]

What characters do think got the most character development in the Star trek franchise? Which characters got the least amount of character development?

It seems like most of the DS9 cast got a lot of character development, even seemingly minor characters like Damar and Nog got a lot of character development and were very much changed men by the end of the series.

Most of the Voyager crew did not get much character development, but special mention has to go to Harry Kim, who remained a green ensign through out the series, making the character seem a bit pathetic. He should have a character arc, where he became more confident and earned a promotion, instead of being the eternal green ensign. It would have made his inclusion in the staff meetings make more sense.

 

[Silvercrest]

The funny thing about Harry is that he had development — but it all went to establishing and cementing his pathetic status. There was no development beyond that. It may sound like a contradiction, but when it's so well-established that characters on the show actually start commenting on it, that is a form of development.

Travis Mayweather didn't even get that much. A character who was replaced with a dead body at one point (without even affecting the episode) definitely deserves special mention.

 

[bbjeg]

I agree that Nog is the most developed character and Travis the least.

 

[The Overlord]

The funny thing about Harry is that he had development — but it all went to establishing and cementing his pathetic status. There was no development beyond that. It may sound like a contradiction, but when it's so well-established that characters on the show actually start commenting on it, that is a form of development.

Travis Mayweather didn't even get that much. A character who was replaced with a dead body at one point (without even affecting the episode) definitely deserves special mention.

I guess, but that`s not really what I would consider good character development. He never really grew as a character, being pathetic is a place you should start off as, not end up, unless you have a good reason: Theon Greyjoy from GoT became a pathetic character, but he had a damn good reason, he went through real events that would break many people, what is Harry Kim`s excuse?

Characters should grow and Harry Kim never did. Harry Kim's pathetic nature made him seem stagnate as a character, rather then being a source for true character development. Harry Kim is like the alternate version of Picard from Tapestry and who would want to watch that guy as a character?

 

[2takesfrakes]

In The Next Generation, without a doubt, Data got the most development and Geordi had the least. Troi is kind of dismissed as being a weak character, because she was always reliable Eye Candy. But she had her crazy old mother and where Lwaxana went, Deanna went. And, of course she was Riker's Imzadi.

Despite being best friends, Data and Geordi did not get equal treatment. Data was the "gets" for the ratings, I suppose, whilst Geordi was more available to embarass the hell out of with his failure to score women. I guess because that's how it went for Scotty in TOS, they kept that "tradition." Outside of his X-Ray specs, Geordi didn't really have too much going on, except in Engineering. But Burton was always reliable. Always delivered a solid performance. A fine actor. Somehow, he just slipped through the cracks.

 

[MacLeod]

Out of all the shows, VOY and ENT I think had the most main credit characters who were developed least. At times it felt as if other shows had more developed secondary characters i.e O'Brien on TNG.

 

[bbjeg]

O'Brien is a well developed character. On TNG alone as a side character he flew the ship, assisted in engineering, operated the transporter of course, got married, had a kid, established that he served with Maxwell prior to the Enterprise gaining a prejudice against Cardassians, and then he gets even more development in DS9.

I'm still sticking with Nog as the most developed character though because he went from a (poor) lookout for a thief in the first episode to doing a loop-d-loop in the Defiant before taking out a Jem'hadar bug ship near the end. No one could have foresaw that.

 

[erastus25]

Worf has to be in consideration. His transformation from a snarling weirdo in TNG S1 to DS9 S7 is fairly remarkable.

 

[Silvercrest]

The funny thing about Harry is that he had development — but it all went to establishing and cementing his pathetic status. There was no development beyond that. It may sound like a contradiction, but when it's so well-established that characters on the show actually start commenting on it, that is a form of development.

I guess, but that`s not really what I would consider good character development.

Hey, I didn't say good....

Characters should grow and Harry Kim never did. Harry Kim's pathetic nature made him seem stagnate as a character, rather then being a source for true character development.

There's a distinction that didn't occur to me in the last post. Character development and character growth aren't the same thing. I wonder if that ever occurred to the writers?

Harry Kim is like the alternate version of Picard from Tapestry

That's perfect!!!

 

[eyeresist]

Of course, it depends what you mean by "development". A character can seem to have depth without necessarily experiencing life-changing moments on screen. And often "development" doesn't stick, i.e. we can talk about the various things that a character went through, but if ultimately the character is acting the same way they always have and pushing the same buttons, have they really developed? Or is it just in the fans' imagination?

Out of all the shows, VOY and ENT I think had the most main credit characters who were developed least. At times it felt as if other shows had more developed secondary characters i.e O'Brien on TNG.

I thought the ENT lead characters were pretty well rounded. Travis and Hoshi were exceptions, but that's more due to the acting than the writing.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

TOS: Spock (most); Uhura (least)

TNG: Data (most); Crusher (least)

DS9: Odo (most; regular cast); Nog (most; recurring cast); Dax (least)

VOY: The Doctor (most); Chakotay (least)

I had a hard time choosing between Nog and Damar among the recurring characters from DS9. Martok deserves an honorable mention as well (pardon the pun). I could also make an argument for Bashir, O'Brien, Kira or Sisko among DS9's regulars.

On Voyager, the Doctor was easily the character who underwent the most development, although Paris changed remarkably during the series seven seasons, making the transition from Starfleet pariah to arguably Janeway's best officer.

--Sran

 

[The Overlord]

Of course, it depends what you mean by "development". A character can seem to have depth without necessarily experiencing life-changing moments on screen. And often "development" doesn't stick, i.e. we can talk about the various things that a character went through, but if ultimately the character is acting the same way they always have and pushing the same buttons, have they really developed? Or is it just in the fans' imagination?
.

Except there have been characters who did change over the course of a series, most of the DS9 characters did experience character development over the course of the series.

The funny thing about Harry is that he had development — but it all went to establishing and cementing his pathetic status. There was no development beyond that. It may sound like a contradiction, but when it's so well-established that characters on the show actually start commenting on it, that is a form of development.

I guess, but that`s not really what I would consider good character development.

Hey, I didn't say good....

Characters should grow and Harry Kim never did. Harry Kim's pathetic nature made him seem stagnate as a character, rather then being a source for true character development.

There's a distinction that didn't occur to me in the last post. Character development and character growth aren't the same thing. I wonder if that ever occurred to the writers?

Harry Kim is like the alternate version of Picard from Tapestry

That's perfect!!!

I just don't think Harry Kim had a real character arc, I guess you learned a few things about him (his rather pathetic and petty nature) but I don't think he grew much beyond he was presented in his first episode, he never developed beyond being the green Ensign, a role he should have outgrown by season 2 or 3 by the latest. Also seemed like a rather bland character, a one dimensional or a best two dimensional character through out the series. Harry Kim had a character arc that seems to write itself, its a shame the writers never it gave to him.

 

[Silvercrest]

I may be hairsplitting by trying to differentiate between "character development" and
"character growth". This is a realization I've only just made, so I'm evolving it as I go.

However, it seems like a useful distinction. You can elaborate on a character's backstory, relationships, motivations, etc. That's development. That can continue through the whole series if they keep telling new stories about the character. Harry had all these things, therefore he was given development.

But the character only has growth if any of these things change. New backstory, relationships, and motivations due to events we see on the show which are followed up on. Harry had few or none of these, and as you say, no real character arc. Therefore he had development but not growth.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Any characters who took 25 and 43 years, respectively, to officially gain first names automatically win the "Least Developed Character" competition.

 

[Lance]

Yeah, original!Uhura and Mayweather are the two least developed characters in Star Trek.

Which is unfortunate.

Uhura has at least had the benefit of her nuTrek counterpart being able to redress the balance a little way.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Kira had the best character arc and development I think. Travis would be hands down the least--and what they did give him never matched up.

 

[Lance]

The trouble with Travis is that they set out in the series concept the idea that he was the most "space ready" of the entire crew. Which would in theory give them loads of chances to show his knowledge, as well as giving us an interesting situation where an Ensign is arguably more experienced than the Captain in a lot of areas. But they blew it.

 

[bbjeg]

TOS: Spock (most); Uhura (least)
...
--Sran

Uhura (TOS) is a good pick for the least development category. Didn't she get anti-development, what with the memory erase and all that?

 

[Lance]

The trouble with Uhura is that whenever she was given something to do, all her scenes ended up on the cutting room floor.

She actually had a pretty weighty role in the script of "Elaan Of Troyus" for example, where she acted as a kind of official liason to the visiting diplomats, a subplot which was filmed but cut before broadcast (the footage, sadly, no longer exists).

Mind you, George Takei (Sulu) complained about much the same thing in the movies.

I do have some empathy with William Shatner's position that TOS was not an ensemble, which is true, so the complaints of the lesser cast, while understandable, do ultimately stem from a misunderstanding about their place in the series. Captain Kirk is the star, Mister Spock is the co-star, and the others are essentially all satelitte's of Kirk and Spock.

 

[Nebusj]

Any characters who took 25 and 43 years, respectively, to officially gain first names automatically win the "Least Developed Character" competition.

And we've never learned Spock's full name!