Star Trek: Greatest Villain Race ever???

[EinBebop]

Just thought I'd do a fun poll to see who everyone's favorite villain race is, past or present!!

[Mynd Hed]

Hey, what about the Dominion? Those were some seriously scary baddies.

Personally, though, my vote is all over the Borg. I just went back and watched The Best of Both Worlds Pts. I and II today on my TNG Seasons 3 and 4 sets... good stuff.

[The Penguin]

I'm gonna have to vote for the Borg. There are a lot of good ones up there, but as far as I can tell, no one messes with or threatens a Trek crew quite like the Borg. With a lot of races, the crew is concerned and they have to work hard, but with the Borg some of them seem legitimately frightened. A Romulan will kill you, but a Borg takes your very soul and yet a part of you remains alive.

[EinBebop]

Ahhh.. my mistake. Didn't catch much of the later years of DS9; didn't realize the Dominion was a race. Probably would've knocked the Kazon off to put them up.

[Anthonynotes]

I went with that old-school favorite, the Klingons... though the Borg and Dominion were entertaining, too (thought the Kazon looked like second-rate Klingons... and how could they have kept trailing "Voyager" if they weren't as technologically advanced at warp-speed travel for those first few seasons?! And--- [calms down before going into his usual anti-Voyager spiel])...

-B.

[DarkAngel]

Originally posted by EinBebop
didn't realize the Dominion was a race.

Well, 3 races actually: Founders, Jem'Hadar, and Vorta. Being the fighting force, the Jem'Hadar should probably be the Dominion representative on the poll.

[Mynd Hed]

Hope I didn't step on any toes with the Entertainment Board mods or yourself, Mr. EinBebop, but I went ahead and made the change to the poll. The Dominion were just too big a part of DS9 (my second favorite Trek series) for me to resist. (-: If I've done bad, let me know and I'll change the poll back with my apologies. (-:

The Q are another interesting "villain" race, but as the actual Trek crews in TNG and Voyager dealt less with the race itself than with one individual (Q himself, played by the always-wonderful John deLancie) and as in many cases they don't really serve as "villains," I don't know how much they really belong in the poll. Fun bunch, though. (-:

[EinBebop]

Originally posted by DarkAngel
Well, 3 races actually: Founders, Jem'Hadar, and Vorta. Being the fighting force, the Jem'Hadar should probably be the Dominion representative on the poll. Ahh... see, that's what I was thinking, and why I didn't include them on the poll. I'm assuming the Jem'Hadar are the shapeshifters, then?

At any rate, I doubt there are any Kazon fans out there anyway, so the poll change is fine. :) Contemplated putting the Q on there, but as you said, it was really only one Q that was the problem. :)

Brainatra's not the first person I've heard call the Kazon second-rate Klingons. Perhaps the show might've been more interesting if there had been a full-blooded Klingon on the crew; would've been a chance to explore the characters of both.

[Jade_GL]

I voted Romulans. If I hadn't voted for them, it would have been the Klingons. Both have withstood the test of time, and have been feared races since the first series. However, I go with the ROmulans because they're so secretive and I find that to be very cool and scary.

Borg are awesome, but I am going with a race, or villain, group, that has been around longer. Not oly that, but I always just thought the Romulans, going back to the original series, were very cool.

[Mynd Hed]

Ahh... see, that's what I was thinking, and why I didn't include them on the poll. I'm assuming the Jem'Hadar are the shapeshifters, then?

The Founders are the shapeshifters and the "ruling" class, worshipped as gods by the other two. The Jem'Hadar are the "soldier" class, a short-lived warrior race kept in line with their addiction to "the White," a nutrient solution / highly addictive drug. The Vorta are the administrative class-- we mostly see them overseeing the Jem'Hadar and distributing the White, although presumably they have other functions as well.

[EinBebop]

Originally posted by Mynd Hed
The Founders are the shapeshifters and the "ruling" class, worshipped as gods by the other two. The Jem'Hadar are the "soldier" class, a short-lived warrior race kept in line with their addiction to "the White," a nutrient solution / highly addictive drug. The Vorta are the administrative class-- we mostly see them overseeing the Jem'Hadar and distributing the White, although presumably they have other functions as well. As intertwined as their cultures are, then, I'd say they could definitely be called one "race" for our purposes. :)

[Marc]

The Romulans were great villains because they were so patient and manipulating. Have we seen the last of Sela?

I never really cared for the Cardassians, although David Warner’s fantastic performance in Chain of Command showed me how sinister they could be.

- Cap

[Mattashell]

I voted the Cardassians. I agree with you all that the Borg were a greater threat to the federation, and the Dominion were damn cool, but Cardassians are just my favorite, thats all. My favorite make-up, my favorite culture, and my favorite characters. They are such a real villain race, because they have the power to convince themselves that they do right, no matter how ruthless.

[Glenn Leider]

I agree that the Borg (like one-time tennis great Bjorn - no wonder a "First Contact" character said they "sound Swedish" :D ) were a formidible foe - at least until Picard & Data put one cubeful to "sleep," and Janeway & Co. tamed Seven of Nine. But there's been no more brutal foe than DS9's Breen! I know, they were first mentioned in TNG (though not seen). But you couldn't even *understand* them unless you were a Founder! And when they sided with the Dominion, the Federation was *helpless!* It took Odo's accidentally infecting the Founders to the point of incapacitation, combined with Bashir and O'Brien finding a cure, for a cease-fire to take place. Without the cease-fire, the Breen might have been the ones taking over the Alpha Quadrant.

[Good Ol' Batmanuel!]

Originally posted by Glenn Leider
Without the cease-fire, the Breen might have been the ones taking over the Alpha Quadrant.
Yes, they were definitely the most dominant part of the Dominion, but once the Federation figured out how to counteract their weird ion cannon-like energy sapping weapon dealy, they didn't have quite the advantage they once did. Who knows, though? Those Boussh look-alikes were ruthless! "Never turn your back on a Breen." :D

It was an honor for me to vote for the Klingons. ;) Uh oh! Here comes Worf! "You say the word, but you have no idea what it means!"

Ooo...post number 600.

[Joker85]

I gotta go with The Dominion. The Borg were good there first few TNG appearances and in First Contact, however Voyager's overuse of them really ruined them for me. The Klingon's got to be more friendly/comic relief type characters. We haven't seen much of the Romulans...so yeah I'd have to go with the Dominion.

[Nightflower]

Originally posted by Joker85
I gotta go with The Dominion. The Borg were good there first few TNG appearances and in First Contact, however Voyager's overuse of them really ruined them for me. The Klingon's got to be more friendly/comic relief type characters. We haven't seen much of the Romulans...so yeah I'd have to go with the Dominion.
Yeah, I really have to agree. The Borg freaked the living daylights out of me when I first watched TNG- they were cold, mechanical, unstoppable, numerous. But in Voyager, they basically mostly interacted with the Queen- who was cool in First Contact, but after that.... frig, man, I'm not going to be afraid of one human-like chick with a large head, chock full of personality and individuality. Their series finale used the Borg as part of their plot device to get home, and that just did it for me.

I agree also about the Klingons. "Oh ho ho, those Klingons and their wacky honorable, grub-eating, blood-drinking ways." :D

[sKorpia]

Are you kidding?! It's all about the Ferengi!! :p :p

Seriously though, it's a hard decision. The Klingons are kinda out because we've gotten to know their culture so well that they became an actual race instead of just "the villains". The Dominion was scary as hell cuz you just didn't know when one of your friends turned out to be a Dominion spy. (And did anyone else cheer when they learned that no more Weyouns could be cloned? Man, I wanted to strangle him.) And the Borg are just plain scary. I definitely wouldn't want to meet a drone down a dark alley. It's the injection of nanoprobes that creeps me out. I'm gonna have to withhold judgment on the Romulans until after Nemesis comes out. Right now though, it'd have to be the Borg. When all else is said and done, individuality and independent thought take priority.

But the greatest villain/nemesis ever is Q. "You hit me! Picard never hit me!"

[Jedigreedo]

I would have to say the Dominion.

I would've said the Borg or Q but the Borg aren't really villians per se. They're just out to add to their collective, they don't really kill for no reason so it's the people they go after that usually make them out to be villians. True they don't really have to right to make people join them, but if you're not interesting to them or not a threat then they'll just ignore you. Well if you don't count the pre-Voyager Borg, who actually held grudges with their endless supply of Queen clones, which I only care about the pre-Voyager Borg.

The Q aren't really villians either, just highly mischevious.

The Dominion however, are definitely villians, all they care about is destroying.

[DarkAngel]

Originally posted by Jedigreedo
I would've said the Borg or Q but the Borg aren't really villians per se.

The Borg are definitely villians. Conquering and violating individuals on the scale that they do, they most certainly qualify as villians. Of course they have motivation or "reason" for their actions. Most groups do.

But I do agree about Q, though.

[Mynd Hed]

I gotta go with The Dominion. The Borg were good there first few TNG appearances and in First Contact, however Voyager's overuse of them really ruined them for me. The Klingon's got to be more friendly/comic relief type characters. We haven't seen much of the Romulans...so yeah I'd have to go with the Dominion.

That's true, Voyager pretty much ruined the Borg. When I voted for them, I was just following my standard procedure of pretending that neither Voyager nor Enterprise exist. (-: I felt that Voyager ruined the Q just as badly. Q does NOT have the hots for Janeway. That's not cool. (-:
As for the Klingons, as more of a TNG / DS9 fan than a TOS fan, I just have a hard time even thinking of them as villains-- I don't know that they got turned into comic relief, but TNG and DS9 definitely portrayed their culture in a much more sympathetic way, especially with the character of Worf.
I liked the Romulans because their cloaking technology gives them an edge over the Federation, they're always just one step ahead....
But the Borg, man, the Borg. ONE cube took out the entire Federation fleet. They're not after plunder or territory or women; they'll take your body and soul instead. You can't reason with them, you can't manipulate them, all you can do is try to find some way to get rid of them before they get rid of you.
The Ferengi I don't really consider a "villain" race. They tend to function as generic antagonists any time the Romulans won't do, but they're not really "villains," they're just looking out for their own interests-- unscrupulously, yes, but they're not out to get anybody. And in DS9, with the whole Quark / Moogie / Grand Nagus thing they became essentially comic relief, and then Quark's nephew joined Starfleet and became a sympathetic character a la Worf... I just plain can't see them as villains.

[Good Ol' Batmanuel!]

After so many incarnations of Borg, my favorite is still from their very first appearance. They just showed up and totally ignored everyone as they downloaded from the Enterprise's computers. I was amazed at the very concept. Their personal shields were awesome, too! :D It's incredible how much they changed...

[EinBebop]

Originally posted by sKorpia
Are you kidding?! It's all about the Ferengi!! :p :p
Don't laugh; Roddenberry probably thought they'd be the big bads way back in season 1. :p

[EinBebop]

Originally posted by Mynd Hed
That's true, Voyager pretty much ruined the Borg. When I voted for them, I was just following my standard procedure of pretending that neither Voyager nor Enterprise exist.

As for the Klingons, as more of a TNG / DS9 fan than a TOS fan, I just have a hard time even thinking of them as villains... Yeah, but apply the Borg line of thinking to the Klingons from the Trek series/movies, and their stock goes up!

[Jade_GL]

I would have voted Borg if this pole was before the total castration of the Borg in Voyager. It may not be something that most fans want to see happen, but the Borg were made to look silly by the end of this series. I know that they're really cool before this, but it just made me not vote for them in the end.

Besides, I have always had a thing for the Romulans. They're secretive and cunning. Very cool. Maybe not outrightly evil to people, but just below the surface they're planning to get you.

[Mynd Hed]

Yeah, but apply the Borg line of thinking to the Klingons from the Trek series/movies, and their stock goes up!

Oh, don't get me wrong, they were great villains in TOS, and I can totally understand why hardcore TOS fans would pick them over any other race.

[SilverKnight]

See, from what I've heard, the Borg's overuse in Voyager totally ruined them, but I refuse to believe that Voyager exists. I mean, it does, of course, and I'll have to accept that (they show Admiral Janeway in Nemesis...dammit) but I just didn't really pay attention to the whole destruction of the scary Borg image thing. Then again, I never really paid attention to the show that much at all. :D

(And, as far as Enterprise goes, I hope it gets better. It seems to me that the first season for ST shows are almost always the worst. >hopes<) Well, anyway, Borg's my answer.

[DarkAngel]

Originally posted by SilverKnight
See, from what I've heard, the Borg's overuse in Voyager totally ruined them, but I refuse to believe that Voyager exists.

Same here, actually. When I think of the Borg, I think of TNG, particularly BOBW and STFC.

[wonderfly]

I watched all of The Next Generation, but stopped watching DS9 around Season 5, and stopped watching Voyager aroudn Season 3. I moved away to go to finish college in another state, and just couldn't keep up with the plots anymore. But I loved the following races: The Dominion, the Cardassians, the Borg, the Klingons, and the Romulans. Everything else was just chopped liver, in my opinion.

Could someone post pics of the Breens? I've never heard of them. Also, what are Suliban's, and Vidians? Is this what I get for not following the Star Trek story in recent years?

[Good Ol' Batmanuel!]

Originally posted by wonderfly
I watched all of The Next Generation, but stopped watching DS9 around Season 5, and stopped watching Voyager aroudn Season 3.
Well, that's too bad about Voyager, but it's a crying shame about DS9! :( The last couple of seasons had some of the best Trek stories ever told!

Could someone post pics of the Breens? I've never heard of them. Also, what are Suliban's, and Vidians?
http://dominion.tvheaven.com/breenpic.jpg
The Breen. A very ruthless race with Boussh-like helmets. :p
This link (http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Zone/6151/breen/) goes to a website dedicated entirely to the Breen.
http://www.digitalelvis.com/trek5/images/Enterprise/sea_1_ep_images/111/ent111-01.jpg
A Suliban. The ones the Enterprise crew had to fight were genetically altered, allowing them to have better senses and to stretch their bodies in weird ways.
http://www.lifeforms.fsnet.co.uk/species/phage12.jpg
A Vidiian. The most disgusting looking aliens in the Star Trek universe. They are afflicted by a desease called the Phage and it forces them to harvest organs from others as their own organs die off. One Vidiian once put someone's entire face over his own. *barf* This link (http://www.lifeforms.fsnet.co.uk/species_vidiians.htm) features the Vidiians.
http://www.lifeforms3.fsnet.co.uk/species3/hirogen/prey901.jpg
A Hirogen without his helmet.
http://www.lifeforms3.fsnet.co.uk/species3/hirogen/hunters901.jpg
A Hirojen with his helmet.
The Hirogen are a very tall, extremely cool race of hunters. They've even hunted the Voyager crew. The crew once helped them out by giving them holographic technology so they could continue hunting after prey and tradition were on the decline, but this backfired and they had to hunt for the holographic prey together.
This link (http://webhome.idirect.com/~tk421/hirogen.htm) goes to a site showing a replica of a Hirogen helmet that someone made. Extremely cool! And this link (http://www.lifeforms3.fsnet.co.uk/species_hirogen1.htm) goes to the page I got the pictures from, which has a good picture for size comparison, a Hirogen trophy wall and also good pictures of their weapons.