The first officer is one of Star Trek’s most critical roles, not just for the various crews within the franchise, but also for us as entertainment. The original was dear old Spock, who served as science officer and first officer under Captain Kirk.
A shame that he won’t be making this list, as he really is quite excellent, despite the damage to his on-screen reputation in recent character appearances on Strange New Worlds. Sometimes it sounds like the writers are trying to turn him into Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory.
Other notable first officers, such as William T. Riker from The Next Generation and Voyager’s Chakotay, play significant roles throughout the vast Star Trek timeline.
First officers are key characters, often rivaling the captain in importance, as they embark on adventures and bring unique experiences that can shift the crew’s approach to a situation.
Beyond the iconic Spock, there are outstanding first officers who have surpassed the original in various ways, making them worth exploring.
T’Pol: The Overlooked Vulcan First Officer
T’Pol, the Vulcan first officer on Enterprise, joined Captain Archer’s crew on a key expedition into deep space, a character who, like others, has been overlooked.
Much like Chakotay and Kira who came before, T’Pol is a little antagonistic at the beginning, with the humans not entirely trusting her. Considering the Vulcans had kept interstellar travel secrets locked away from them, delaying this kind of exploration, you can kind of get it.
As the series progresses, T’Pol becomes more open and decides to remain on the Enterprise after its initial mission, disregarding the Vulcan call to return home.
Much like Spock, she was assigned a different role — science officer — but due to rank, she is actually also the first officer. Her inability to not be Vulcan is what makes her so interesting, with the series being a prequel to the entire franchise, showing how inexperienced these alien beings are with Vulcans at this point.
During the initial series, T’Pol’s character was not well-developed, and she was not taken seriously, with actress Jolene Blalock pushing for more substantial writing to flesh out the Vulcan character.
Jack Ransom: Comedy Gold in Lower Decks
The inclusion of a character from the new era of Star Trek, such as Lower Decks, may be surprising, but it clears the bar for a genuinely good comedy within the Star Trek universe.
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Jack Ransom is the show’s boisterous, overtly macho character, with an underlying deep understanding of what the Federation stands for. Despite being a complete goon, Ransom is regularly the highlight of whatever episode he appears in.
He does walk a fine line, as too much Ransom can be exhausting.
Ransom just highlights how well the Lower Decks writers understood and loved Star Trek. Every major ridiculous trope or fan in-joke about one of the other first officers makes some kind of appearance here, and it’s always played to great effect.
As with most other cartoons of its kind, there’s a deeper layer that the show inevitably begins to roll out as Lower Decks draws to a close, with Ransom’s time on screen tied up quite nicely, if a little too sickly sweet.
In fact, he has one of the last lines in the show, as he makes a workout joke.
Chakotay: Maquis Commander to Federation Leader
Ah, Chakotay, the Maquis commander turned makeshift Federation commander after his crew is forced to join forces with the now-stranded Voyager crew.
His time on Voyager is slightly hamstrung by the initial idea of two very different groups having to learn to work together and the struggles of being trapped in the Delta Quadrant.
His background is best on show during the first season, where on occasion he and the crew, including Captain Janeway, butt heads as the natural order begins to solidify — ordering engineers to do things without Janeway’s permission, or dealing with potential mutiny the “Maquis way” (a punch to the face).
While Chakotay never has his potential realized as other Voyager characters did, he does have his moments, such as traveling through time in Shattered, a fun, quick whiz through the show’s history, or confronting the Voth Minister in Distant Origin, when tradition begins to oppose the people’s progress.
Kira Nerys: The Indomitable Bajoran Freedom Fighter
A non-Federation first officer, Kira Nerys is a Bajoran ex-freedom fighter who fought against the Cardassian occupation, only to wind up with the Federation being “invited right in.”
Assigned to the Federation’s rechristened Deep Space Nine after Commander Sisko asked for a Bajoran first officer, Major Kira is brash and unshackled. Unlike other first officers, Kira isn’t part of the Federation and, at first, is rough with the crew aboard the space station.
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As with every character within this trope, she softens up as the show goes on. That said, Nerys always carries that indomitable spirit of the freedom fighter around with her.
Kira has many excellent moments throughout Deep Space Nine, but in Season 1, she confronts an apparent Cardassian war criminal disguised as a file clerk.
As the episode progresses, Kira lays everything out in the open, expressing regret, but never once flinching from her position. Her breaking points, where she rebounds back into the room to try to have the final word with the disguised villain, show that her and her cohorts’ actions impacted a lot more than just military personnel.
We all knew he’d be Number One, and as Picard’s Number One, Riker is maybe the ultimate first officer in Star Trek. The more inquisitive and playful of the more important staff aboard the Enterprise, Riker is a get-his-hands-dirty kind of guy.
Unlike Picard, Riker is more than happy to dive into the more unsightly bits of culture, but is also Picard’s connection to the rest of the crew.
For most of The Next Generation, it becomes clear that Picard keeps his crew at arm’s length out of a sense of professionalism, while Riker is the beating heart of the crew.
Some of the best moments come from his time exploring different cultures. Being assigned to be the first officer on a Klingon ship in an exchange program in A Matter of Honor, he shows his capabilities to establish himself as Number One amongst the more ferocious Klingon crew.
Even when the benevolent Q torments the crew, he simply shuts him down after conjuring women, with a simple “I don’t need your fantasy women.”
Another killer shutdown is when, while being tortured in a simulation of the Enterprise, he tells the fake Picard to “shut up.”
Instead, remember when Riker played the trumpet? These moments cement his ranking.
