Favorite Race in Star Trek (Other than Humans?)

[MolotovCocktail]

What is your favorite race?

Mine is the Borg. Did you know that the Ferrangi, not the Borg, were originally supposed to be the arch-enemy of the Federation in TNG? They decided othewise because the Ferrangi were not suited to the task, and thats how they came up with the Borg.

[Dave]

They wanted to make a clean break from the original series and stayed clear of using Klingons and Romulans for quite some time. But they needed a new race of Villains and came up with the Ferengi. In 'The Last Outpost' those Ferengi are very different to the comic foils that we see later, they are quite aggressive and have those electric whips never seen again.

The Borg are great villains, but I think they are not as original as one might think - lots of other scifi has had similar aliens - they owe much to Dr Who's Cybermen. They had a great introduction though. I think 'Best of both Worlds' is still one of the very best episodes, and TNG certainly moved up a notch after that aired.

Star Trek's great forte is it's wealth of alien species, and the great detail and mythos surrounding them. I find it hard to choose one. I role play a Klingon and Cardassian online and I am quite partial to those. The Vulcans are very original too though.

[HappyHippo]

I like the Borg for sheer evilness, the Ferengi because they are very 80's in their capitalism, and also becasue the scriptwriter obviously thought we'd hate them if they believed their women should be naked and pregnant...

I think, though, Q is my favourite. John De Lancie (sp?) plays Q with such a wonderful straight face, and any time he turns up in an episode he takes over. I always wanted a Q mini series!

[Delvo]

I'd have to go with the Romulans. Their intensity gives them great capacity for both villainhood and heroism, and they pretty much have the strengths of any other species but not their weaknesses.

[pyan]

Species 8472 for me - anything that the Borg can't assimilate is one tough species!

[Eleniel]

I like the Vulcans a lot, and the Klingons. Q is uterly briliant.

[Timewalker]

Serious answer: The Vulcans. Like many people, I found Spock and his logic to be an inspiration in helping me get through some of life's aggravations. The Vulcans have a rich cultural heritage, and any people who figure out how not to keep killing each other are definitely to be respected.

Frivolous answer: Tribbles and Hortas.

Tribbles, because they're soft and furry and they purr... and they inspired one of the funniest short stories I've ever read (in one of the anthologies) called "The Trouble With Borg Tribbles."

Also, in most surveys dealing with "Which Star Trek episode is your favorite?" or "Name your top 10 favorite Star Trek episodes", the Tribbles always make the list, usually behind "City on the Edge of Forever." There was a time when I could recite most of the whole "Tribbles" script... but although memory fades over time, I doubt I will ever forget the two conversations in the bar, between Scotty and Chekov (regarding the merits of scotch vs. vodka) and Scotty, Korax, and Kirk (regarding the fight and why Scotty started it).


Hortas, because in spite of their social order essentially being like that of hive creatures (one queen who dies after the offspring are ready to begin their lives), they're not mindless drones/workers. Diane Duane's "Rihannsu" series of Star Trek novels takes a look at how it might be for a Horta serving in Starfleet. The Romulan Commander refers to the Horta crewmember (whose name is Naraht) as "Ensign Rock."

Of course, there is always the question of what one should study if one wishes to cultivate any kind of fruit, vegetables, or other plants on Janus VI:

Horta-culture, of course.

[Kostmayer]

I'd say the Borg, but they lost a lot of their potency in later episodes.

Am gonna go with the Romulans. Big, albeit wholly impractical warships, and loosely based on the Roman empire, one of my fave historical periods.