Best Star Trek: The Next Generation Antagonists

[Vigilance]

The borg were fantastic villains at first, but they were eventually horribly over-used.

I agree with this but I do think the way they were used on TNG was awesome. Three of the best TNG episodes, along with THE best TNG (maybe the only actually good TNG movie).

I also felt the episode where the crew struggled internally over whether or not to commit genocide on the Borg was a great character episode and showed how the Federation put their lives at risk for their ideals, a perfect episode for TNG's touchy-feely Federation (Sisko, by contrast would have dusted those slimy cyborgs).

Another character episode that ranks as one of Trek's finest moments was Family (I think that's the title), the episode after Best of Both Worls part II where Picard has a nervous breakdown over what happened. That's another great moment that I can't see happening without the Borg.

 

[Dark Psion]

Of all of those only one was a true threat, a threat that always returened, a threat so insidioius that they never recognized it, even though it has been there since the 1st season.


The Holodeck!

 

[Lord Pendragon]

I voted for the Borg. Ignoring the ruination of the concept on later series as well as the TNG "Hugh" story arc, they were a fantastically threatening nemesis. As originally portrayed, they were more an unstoppable force of nature than a foe that could be fought. And when they finally did appear to be fought, they were responsible for some of the best Trek in the series, IMO. (Indeed, one of the best episodes, IMO, took place immediately after the Borg were defeated, when Picard returns to Earth to visit his brother.)

Close second for Q. He only lost this one because I'm not sure that he's really an antagonist, at least not all the time. (I recall a fantastic episode where Picard is dying because his artificial heart has failed, and wishes he'd been more cautious as a youth. Q shows him how things would have been if he had indeed been less reckless. It was a fascinating appearance by Q, left delightfully unexplained.)

If the question were merely "best recurring character" he'd win hands-down.

 

[Lorgrom]

Best Antagonists in my option were the writers of the series.

 

[Ambrus]

The Holodeck!

I second that! Welcome to the next generation in which our starships have built in death-machines. Now that's progress!

 

[Mycanid]

I voted for the Borg....

 

[Knightfall]

I'll have to agree with that.

Me too.

 

[Odhanan]

And people call me crazy and biased.

But you are.

 

[Dingleberry]

I voted Roumlans, but really just for Tomalok, who should've been singled out. Kastulas ruled.

 

[Orius]

Definitely Q. While he showed up on DS9 and Voyager as well, his best moments by far were on TNG. Heck, my favorite Q episode is Tapestry, and in that one, he's not really an antagonist at all.

Sorry, no votes for the Borg. They're ok, but I'm not a big fan of them.

And of course, another vote for Romulans. They really came into their own as Trek villians in TNG.