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"Star Trek" has a villain problem. Since the original series went to air in the fall of 1966, the galaxy-spanning franchise is at its best when sticking to its thoughtful exploration of humanity through an alien lens. What we remember is a series about hope, even when "Deep Space Nine" is brave enough to ask hard questions about colonialism and the lies of utopia. Yet a show with no conflict is a show that isn't going to stay on the air, and occasionally the bridge crew of the Enterprise finds themselves up against someone or something else that isn't going to budge from a militant point of view.

Many of these conflicts give rise to terrific enemies that leave their mark on the franchise, like the cybernetic hivemind of the Borg, or Khan Noonien Singh, who put eugenics and genetic tampering in the spotlight for stories throughout the franchise. But some...

While "Star Trek," across its growing number of shows and movies, depicts a hopeful vision of the future, it's not without its formidable enemies. From opposing interstellar empires to shadowy figures within Starfleet, there are plenty of nefarious villains littered throughout the franchise's history. The best kinds of enemies aren't just villain-of-the-week adversaries for the various "Star Trek" stories, but present menace to the main characters. And in a future full of hyper-competent heroes, it stands to reason that their antagonists must be equally cunning, with the more memorable ones causing a costly victory.

With over 60 years of television and film history, there is quite the catalog of "Star Trek" villains to choose from. With that in mind, there are only a handful that rise above the rest as the definitive antagonists that each gave Starfleet's bravest and boldest the fight of their lives. Here are the best "Star Trek" villains of all time,...

Several years after their introduction on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Klingon sisters Lursa (Barbara March) and B'Etor (Gwynyth Walsh) Duras accomplished something no other Star Trek villain has managed. Duras (Patrick Massett) himself first appeared in Tng season 3, episode 17, "Sins of the Father," immediately establishing himself as an enemy of Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn). The Duras sisters did not make their debut until the end of Tng season 4 after Worf had killed their brother. In Tng's "Redemption" two-parter, Lursa and B'Etor worked with the Romulans to install Duras's son as the Klingon Chancellor, leading to the Klingon Civil War.

After the Duras sisters' plan failed, they sought other ways to gain funds and rebuild their forces. With their over-the-top Klingon personalities and attempts to seduce every male they came into conflict with, Lursa and B'Etor may not have seemed like particularly formidable enemies, especially when compared with the Federation's greatest foes.

Introduced on Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Duras sisters became a thorn in the side of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the United Federation of Planets. Lursa (Barbara March) and B'Etor (Gwynyth Walsh) Duras made their debut in Tng's "Redemption" two-parter that bridged seasons 4 and 5. Their brother, Duras (Patrick Massett), had already appeared as an enemy of Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) in a couple of Tng episodes. Although the House of Duras held sway within the Klingon Empire, they gained notoriety for their dishonorable tactics.

Ja'rod, the father of Duras, Lursa, and B'Etor, betrayed the Klingons by providing the Romulans with the means to attack the Klingon colony on Khitomer. This resulted in the Khitomer Massacre and the deaths of 4,000 Klingon colonists. Although the Klingon High Council learned of Ja'rod's duplicity, they allowed Worf's father Mogh to take the blame to avoid a Klingon civil war. The Duras...

Alan Scarfe, the classically trained British Canadian actor known for his turns as bad guys in Double Impact and Lethal Weapon III and as Dr. Bradley Talmadge on the Upn sci-fi series Seven Days, has died. He was 77.

Scarfe died April 28 of colon cancer at his home in Longueuil, Quebec, his family announced.

Survivors include his son, actor Jonathan Scarfe (ER, Raising the Bar, Hell on Wheels, Van Helsing).

Born in England and raised in Vancouver, Scarfe portrayed the Romulans Tokath and Admiral Mendak on episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1991 and 1993 and was another alien, the powerful Magistrate Augris, on a 1995 installment of Star Trek: Voyager.

“Science fiction on film and television, especially if you are playing some kind of alien character with fantastic make-up, is great for actors with a strong stage background,” he said in a 2007 interview. “The productions need that kind of size and intensity of performance.

The inclusion of the Klingon sisters Lursa and B'Etor in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's "Past Prologue" was a distraction from the main story and undermined the show's attempt to establish its own tone. The desire to attract The Next Generation fans led to the decision to include the Duras Sisters, but this choice did not contribute to the complex and compelling stories being told in DS9. The use of established Tng characters like the Duras Sisters highlights the challenge the DS9 writers faced in balancing their own unique storytelling with the need to tie the show into the wider Star Trek universe.

The return of Star Trek: The Next Generation's Klingon sisters Lursa (Barbara March) and B'Etor (Gwynyth Walsh) in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was a mistake that distracted from the great story being told in "Past Prologue". The Duras Sisters play an integral role in...

Dr. Bashir's fascination with espionage and spy stories is a recurring theme in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, starting from the second episode "Past Prologue." Bashir's initial attraction to Garak is based on the Cardassian's reputation as a spy, and he eagerly seeks out opportunities to learn more about him. While Bashir enjoys playing the role of a spy, he ultimately rejects Section 31's job offer due to their methods and the grim realities of espionage, preferring to keep his spy fantasies confined to the holosuites.

The storyline involving Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) and the shadowy Starfleet organization Section 31 was set up from the beginning of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. During the Dominion War, Bashir was offered a role with Section 31 because his genetic enhancements and love of spy stories made him an ideal candidate for the intelligence organization. Bashir's love of spy stories is well documented...

In the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Sins of the Father," Worf (Michael Dorn) learned that he had a brother named Kurn (Tony Todd) who arrived on the Enterprise to recruit Worf for a special mission. It seems that their deceased father, Mogh, had been posthumously accused of treason by the Klingon High Council. Worf and Kurn needed to go back to the Klingon homeworld to make an appeal and clear their father's name; in Klingon society, the crimes of one generation implicate the next. Worf and Kurn, if they are unsuccessful, will be excommunicated from Klingon society — a grievous shame indeed — and executed in their father's staid.

At the end of the episode, it was revealed that Mogh had been framed ... by the father of Duras (Patrick Massett), a Klingon nobleman and heir to the throne. It seems that everyone knows how dirty Duras was, but to expose...

The 1990s were a golden age for Star Trek as the popularity of Star Trek: The Next Generation spawned two spinoff series which regularly crossed over, creating an interconnected fictional universe that was ahead of its time. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was the first of these spinoffs, premiering in 1993 with an episode that featured Patrick Stewart and established Colm Meaney's Chief O'Brien. The DS9 pilot continued a tradition established by the Tng premiere, which featured a cameo by DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, a touching way of passing on the torch to the next generation.

When Star Trek: Voyager premiered in 1995, its first mission launched from Deep Space Nine, meaning that characters from both shows briefly interacted. There were occasionally attempts made at more ambitious crossovers, like a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season finale that would feature the USS Enterprise-d defending the station from invading Cardassians.

Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) received new bionic eyes in Star Trek: First Contact, which ensured the tragedy that occurred in Star Trek Generations would never repeat itself. Star Trek: The Next Generation's Chief Engineer played a pivotal role in Star Trek Generations, but not necessarily in a positive way through no fault of his own. Geordi was victimized by the Klingon Duras sisters, Lursa (Barbara March) and B'Etor (Gwynyth Walsh), and the villainous Dr. Tolan Soran (Malcolm McDowell), which led to the demise of the USS Enterprise-d.

Star Trek Generations saw Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge kidnapped by Soran and the Klingon sisters. Soran's master plan was to destroy the Veridian star, which would divert the course of the extra-dimensional energy ribbon called the Nexus to Veridian III. There, Soran would be waiting and intended to fulfill his desire to return to the artificial reality of the Nexus. However,...

Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) is forever linked to the USS Enterprise, but his prior ship, the USS Farragut, has also had an important Star Trek legacy. Kirk became Captain of the Enterprise in 2265, inheriting the United Federation of Planets' flagship from Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). Just as various versions of the Enterprise have played vital roles in the Federation's history, the USS Farragut has also made an impact, albeit often in supporting or background roles.

The USS Farragut's history spans Star Trek's 23rd and 24th centuries as well as the Prime and Kelvin timeline of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies. There have been at least 4 starships named Farragut of various classes. Different versions of the Farragut have crossed paths with various versions of the Starship Enterprise, and like the Enterprise, the Farragut has also been destroyed by Starfleet's enemies. Here are the major moments and...

Starfleet's first ever Klingon officer, Captain Worf (Michael Dorn) has killed around 27 Klingons during his history in Star Trek. While commanding the USS Defiant, Worf was even accused of killing 441 Klingon civilians, but this was revealed to be an elaborate deception on the part of the Klingon Empire to discredit Starfleet's highest-profile Klingon officer. For a society that is defined by both combat and honor, it's hardly surprising that Worf racked up some such a high kill count when it came to his fellow Klingons.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Worf's service record earned a black mark from Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), who objected to Worf killing a fellow Klingon while in Starfleet uniform, regardless of the shared traditions. With one or two notable exceptions, the killings committed by Worf after this admonishment were done so in the line of duty. Here are the estimated 22 Klingons that Worf...

2019 was a rough year for those who worked on the Star Trek franchise and its fans.

Many people who were part of Star Trek's mission to "explore strange new worlds ..." passed away.

In their honor, let's take a look back at some of their finest TV adventures.

D.C. Fontana

Star Trek wouldn't be the Star Trek we know and love without D.C. Fontana. She wrote many of Star Trek's best episodes and shaped its most iconic character, Spock. She also wrote for Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

The Fontana penned Star Trek Season 2 Episode 15 is great as a standalone story. It may also be the franchise’s most influential episode. Star Trek: Discovery drew a lot of inspiration from the Spock family dynamic Fontana created in that episode.

Robert Walker Jr.

Trek characters encountering creepy adolescents happened a lot.