Summary
Father’s Day is a time to celebrate great fathers, and there are many excellent paternal role models inStar Trek. A whole host of Starfleet dads were introduced inStar Trek: Picardas the crew ofStar Trek: The Next Generationgave way to their own next generation. However,Star Trek: Deep Space Ninepioneered the portrayal of parenthood inStar TrekTV showsvia Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and Chief Miles O’Brien (Colm Meaney).
There are also many bad dads in theStar Trekfranchise, from Q (John de Lancie) inStar Trek: Voyagerto The Diviner (John Noble) inStar Trek: Prodigy. By actor Michael Dorn’s own admission, Lt. Worf was a terrible father, putting pressure on his son Alexander to live up to his idealized image of a Klingon Warrior.Worf’s son Alexanderhad many clashes with his father over the years as a result of Worf’s questionable parenting skills. PerhapsStar Trek’s favorite Klingon could learn a thing or two from the franchise’s best father figures.
Kids On Star Trek: TNG? Here Are The 9 Best
The USS Enterprise-D had families aboard, and more kids pop up in Star Trek: The Next Generation than you might expect. Here ar the 9 best.
10Richard Bashir (Brian George)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
The father ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine’s Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) made mistakes, but Richard Bashir (Brian George) does the best for his son. InDS9season 5, episode 16, “Doctor Bashir, I Presume”, it was revealed that Richard and his wife Amsha (Fadwa El Guindi) had Julian genetically augmented, breaking Federation law. Dr. Bashir had always believed that his parents did this because they were ashamed of him, but in truth, it was because they were worried about his development being several steps behind the other kids in his school.
Cast
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.
Richard and Amsha Bashir wanted a better life for their son, and broke the law to provide it. When their crimes were unearthed, Richard Bashir made the ultimate sacrifice for his son, by giving up his freedom so that Julian could remain in Starfleet. At the end ofStar Trek: DS9season 5, episode 16, Richard Bashir was sentenced to two years in the New Zealand penal colony. Despite his sentence, there was a sense that the relationship between father and son had improved considerably as a result.
9Sarek (James Frain)
Star Trek: Discovery
Spock and Sarek(Mark Lenard) is one ofStar Trek’s worst father and son relationships, but the Vulcan diplomat has proved to be a positive paternal influence elsewhere. InStar Trek: Discovery,James Frain’s Ambassador Sarek was a good father to Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green). Sarek and his wife Amanda Grayson (Mia Kirshner) adopted Burnham after her parents were killed by Klingons. As a student at the Vulcan Science Academy, Michael was almost killed in a terrorist bombing, but a mind meld with Sarek revived her and also left her with part of Sarek’s katra.
Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.
Sarek was a lot more nurturing of Burnham’s humanity than he was Spock’s, which is an interesting distinction. Burnham was a human raised on Vulcan, whom Sarek advised to loosen up when he arranged for her to serve aboard the USS Shenzhou. Spock was half-Human, half-Vulcan, and Sarek was always determined that his son should follow in his footsteps, creating a huge gulf between them.Sarek’s close relationship with Burnham made him one of the best fathers inStar Trek, and it’s sad that he never applied the same level of care and attention to his relationship with Spock.
8Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart)
Star Trek: Picard
Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) never raised his son, Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) but in his defense, he never knew that he existed. InStar Trek: Picardseason 3, it was revealed that Jack was the son of Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) and Jean-Luc Picard. The two men struggled to connect at first, but ultimately, Picard’s love for his son saved the day, as it was enough to break the hold that theBorg Queenheld over him. Unlike some ofStar Trekkids, Jack did follow his father into Starfleet, taking advantage of the Academy’s fondness for nepotism.
Star Trek: Picard follows retired Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, played by Patrick Stewart, twenty years after the events of Star Trek Nemesis. The series delves into Picard’s life post-Starfleet, as he navigates a new chapter filled with unresolved past events and new challenges.
Jean-Luc had a positive influence on Jack, who had previously been a criminal, who felt disconnected from the wider world. By meeting his father and seeing him save the galaxy with his best friends, Jack was inspired to become a better man himself. WhileJean-Luc had never wanted to be a father due to anxieties from his own traumatic childhood, his relationship with Jack proved that his fears were unfounded.
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Jack Crusher could have become the most powerful Borg of all if his father, Jean-Luc Picard, didn’t save him in Star Trek: Picard season 3.
7Cleveland Booker (David Ajala)
Much like Admiral Picard, audiences only get to see the son of Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) when he’s an adult. In theStar Trek: Discoveryfinale’s epilogue, Admiral Burnham is collected for a top-secret mission by her son,Captain Leto Burnham. Book and Burnham’s son is shown to be the perfect combination of Michael’s drive and ambition, and Book’s swagger. Leto is also named after Book’s nephew, who was killed along with the rest of his people when the Dark Matter Anomaly destroyed Kwejian.
Book was gifted the last two remaining root cuttings from the Kwejian World Tree inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 5, episode 8, “Labyrinths”.
The devastating loss of Book’s home planet and fellow Kwejians would surely have made him a loving and protective father to the young Leto. The connection to his son, and the Kwejian World Tree growing near their home on Sanctuary 4 gives Book the home that he lost. Book also lived life to the full as a Courier, and had all manner of adventures with Michael since she arrived in the 32nd century. All of which would provide Book with some excellent bedtime stories and smart survival advice to impart to Leto while he was growing up.
6Captain William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes)
Captain William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) faced some huge challenges as a father in the time between the end ofStar Trek: The Next GenerationandStar Trek: Picard. Riker and his wife, Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) lost their son, Thaddeus Riker, due to the ban on synthetic technology that would have saved his life.Thad Riker was hugely importantto Will’s story inPicardseasons 1 and 3, as he struggled to cope with his son’s death. However, despite this, he struggled through his pain to be a good father to Kestra (Lulu Wilson).
Riker had to pretend to be the father of the de-aged Captain Jean-Luc Picard in theStar Trek: The Next Generationepisode, “Rascals”.
Riker and Troi set Kestra up with an idyllic home, surrounded by land to roam about in, and regular pizza nights. While the couple resolve to move back to the city at the end ofStar Trek: Picardseason 3, they’ll be doing so to give Kestra a better life.Riker never had the best relationship with his own father, so it was heartening to see that he never let that impact how he interacted with his own kids. Moving past his own paternal issues, and the grief over Thad, Captain Riker goes from strength to strength as a father inStar Trek.
Roddenberry’s “No Conflict” Rule Hurt Riker Father & Son Star Trek: TNG Episode
Roddenberry’s “no conflict” rule prevented Star Trek: The Next Generation from fully exploring Will Riker’s complicated relationship with his father.
5Dr. Joseph M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Dr. Joseph M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) did everything he could to save the life of his terminally ill daughter, Rukiya (Sage Arrindell). He stored his daughter in the transport pattern buffer while he struggled to find a cure for her condition, cygnokemia. M’Benga’s mission on the USS Enterprise inStar Trek: Strange New Worldsseason 1 was to meet new cultures and hopefully expand his medical knowledge enough to cure Rukiya. Tragically, he never found a cure, but was offered an alternative solution to Rukiya’s condition inSNWseason 1, episode 9, “The Elysian Kingdom”.
A non-corporeal life form that Rukiya dubbed “Debra” offered Dr. M’Benga the chance to cure his daughter’s cygnokemia, but at a heavy price. M’Benga had to agree to let Rukiya become a non-corporeal being like Debra. This would mean that Rukiya would no longer live on the Enterprise, but she would also live on, free from her illness. M’Benga therefore agreed to Debra’s offer, a painful sacrifice that saved his daughter’s life and proved that he’s one ofStar Trek’s best fathers.
4Commodore Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton)
Commodore Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) is a great father who raised two excellent Starfleet officers. While he may be over-protective over Ensign Sidney La Forge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut) and her potential relationship with Jack Crusher, he only wants what’s best for his daughters.Geordi’s daughters' Starfleet rolesreflected his own career inStar Trek: The Next Generation, asSidney was a pilot and Ensign Alandra La Forge (Mica Burton) was an engineer. It’s fun to see Geordi and Alandra working together to fix Data (Brent Spiner), and she presumably also aided his passion proejct; rebuilding the USS Enterprise-D.
Alandra La Forge is played by LeVar Burton’s real-life daughter, Mica Burton.
Geordi and Sidney had their disagreements, but crucially, he listened to his daughter’s criticisms and used them to grow as a person. That’s the mark of a truly great father, someone who learns as much from his children as he teaches them. Geordi’s daughters will hopefully be a part of any futureStar Trek: Picardspinoff series or movie, but while that remains up in the air, they more than lived up to the example of their father in their fight against the Borg and the Changelings.
Forget Jack Crusher, When Did Star Trek: TNG’s Geordi La Forge Start His Family?
Star Trek: Picard season 3 shows Commodore Geordi La Forge as a protective father to his adult daughters, Sidney and Alandra, so when were they born?
3Joseph Sisko (Brock Peters)
Joseph Sisko (Brock Peters) is a gourmet chef and the father of one of Starfleet’s greatest heroes, Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks). That makes him a pretty excellent father, given how well his son turned out. While Sisko’s upbringing is arguably a result of meddling by the Prophets, Joseph Sisko’s parenting left an indelible impression on Ben’s morality and his approach to command. Sisko would occasionally cook for his crew inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine, bringing his father’s creole recipes to the furthest reaches of Federation space.
Joseph Sisko regularly helped his son, providing an invaluable outside perspective on his struggles during thewar against the Dominion. Joseph Sisko was also a brilliant character for providing audiences with the perspective ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine’s non-Starfleet characters. For example, inDS9’s season 4 two-parter, “Homefront”/“Paradise Lost”, Joseph’s reactions to the Federation sliding into authoritarianism helps to sell the horror of the situation. A great father, and a terrific grandfather, Joseph Sisko’s positive impact onDS9cannot be overstated.
2Chief Miles O’Brien (Colm Meaney)
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Deep Space Nine
Chief Miles O’Brien (Colm Meaney) is one ofStar Trek’s greatest fathers because of his ability to balance the rigors of being Chief of Operations with raising two kids. Chief O’Brien had one daughter, Molly O’Brien (Hana Hatae) and a son, Kirayoshi O’Brien (Clara Bravo). Of all the times thatO’Brien was made to suffer inDS9,he very rarely took things out on his children. The one time that Miles snapped at Molly, was when he had endured unimaginable psychic torture in the episode “Hard Time”. However, O’Brien was so traumatized by how he treated Molly that he took decisive action to atone.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation follows Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew aboard the USS Enterprise NCC-1701D as they embark on interstellar explorations, seeking out new worlds and civilizations.
Chief O’Brien was forced to make the ultimate sacrifice for his daughter, too, in theStar Trek: Deep Space Nineepisode “Time’s Orphan”. When Molly fell through a time portal and became a primal and savage killer, Miles and Keiko O’Brien (Rosalind Chao) were preparedto send their daughter away, to protect her from scientific experiments and criminal charges. Though an extreme situation, “Time’s Orphan” demonstrated how prepared O’Brien was to make the tough calls to protect his family, the mark of a truly great father.
1Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks)
Captain Benjamin Sisko isStar Trek’s best father because, despite being a war hero, the Emissary to the prophets, and a demigod, he defines himself as a dad. From the very start ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine, Sisko’s clash with Picard isn’t just about Locutus, it’s about Jean-Luc’s inability to understand someone putting their duties as a father before their duties as a Starfleet officer. ThroughoutDS9, audiences watch Ben raise Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) to be a great writer and reporter. Unlike Sarek or Worf,Sisko doesn’t reject his son’s choice to follow a different path.He encourages Jake to find something that he loves as much as his father loves Starfleet.
Sisko’s prejudices are also regularly challenged by Jake throughoutStar Trek: Deep Space Nine, as he has his mind changed about the Ferengi, and about Dabo girls, due to Jake’s relationships with Nog (Aron Eisenberg) and Mardah (Jill Sayre). When Sisko learns that he’s about to become a father again, fate intervenes and takes him to the Celestial Temple before his child is born. However, once again, Sisko refuses to let anything get in the way of his paternal duties, assuring Kasidy Yates-Sisko (Penny Johnson Jerald) that he’ll be back to raise his child afterStar Trek: Deep Space Nineends.
