I was thinking of doing another one of my lists, the ones where I take a character from each series and list them in order. I tried to think of some criteria, but nothing seemed to work. I realized that not all the series had useless characters. So I just went with the ones that made me write this article in the first place. The is mainly one that did it for me but I will include the others just for fun.
(#3)Kes (ST: Voyager): Originally she was just a macguffin for the first episode. She and Neelix were going to be the aliens on board the ship, since we have seen some many klingons on Star Trek that they aren't really alien to us any more. That was it though. For 3 seasons she did nothing but try to look cute. She helped the Doctor, but I'm sure he would have become what he is through Janeway's influence if Kes wasn't there to do it. Later in her appearances she started to get this kind of sex kitten thing going on, since the producers realized that they needed eye candy. She was getting there in my opinion, something about those eyes. But by the time she would have got the viewers to start at her that way, we got 7 of 9. How the hell were they going to have Kes be sexy when 7 just had to stand there? So they got rid of the character. The reason she is on the bottom of the list is because she had some acheivements of note. This was the criterion I used to list them. Her acheivements: influenced the Doctor, her psychic abilites came in handy sometimes I can't remember. The major reason she is on the bottom is because she returned as a villain and that episode was pretty good. If they had keep her coming back like that she would have been a good character.
(#2)Neelix (ST: Voyager): He appeared the same time as Kes but stayed longer than her. He was the other alien amoung them. He was a local trader, so he was useful in giving them directions. That is it for him. His cooking skills could have come from another member of the crew, probably even Janeway. If all else fails, use a holographiv cook. I mean, their Doctor was Holographic! But that would defeat the purpose of stating that they were conserving energy. Anyway, Neelix's directions were only useful when in his area of space, after that he was just as lost as the rest of them. He wasn't a fighter or a scientist, he was a babysitter. I don't care about the kids, so why would I care about the babysitter? He eventually left the crew, and there wasn't any holes to fill or anything. He didn't even give us any character related stories, maybe one about his nephew or brother, whatever. If I can't remember the episode it must have been bad becasue I can remember details like nobody's business. His achievements included taking care of Naomi Wildman and cooking. Anytime he helped out were not important because he could have been replaced by someone else. That was another criterion I used: if I could see another member of the crew doiing the same thing, meaning that the action taken by the character was unique because of his/her skills alone. Neelix didn't do anything that Harry Kim couldn't do.
(#1)Counsellor/Lt. Cmdr. Deanna Troi (ST: TNG): I joke with Matt all the time about her. She was the reason that I did this article, her and the fact that as I write this I am waiting out my last couple days at work after giving my 2 weeks notice. She had empathic powers, which allow her to know how someone is feeling. BUt she only did it when the guy was on the view screen, and then even we could tell how he felt just by the mannerisms. She usually told us that the Ferengi or Romuluans were hiding somthing, "yeah, thanks Troi, couldn't tell myself". I can tell if someone is lying over the phone, and that is just an auditory medium, she has to wait for the viewscreen! I always imagine the other characters turning to Troi after she has said something and saying, "Shut Up Troi!". I mean, I have the 2 criteria for this list and she couldn't give evidence for either. She had no acheivements, unless being a victim is an acheivement. She could have been replaced very easily in all her appearances. I think there was one time when it was only she that could do the job. It was that episode were the ship was stuck for some reason and she keep having the scariest dreams. It turns out that the dreams were psychic messages from a ship on the other side of the phenomenon that was holding the ship. She was the only one that had any info on what to do. I still get the feeling that Wes, Data and Geodi could have figured it out if given more time. Or at least it could have been written that way. The only purpose I could get from her being on the ship was eye candy. She wasn't supposed to be but she was. I think a good way to tell useful a character is on Star Trek is by the clothes they wear. If they are not in uniform they are useless. The exception is if they are wearing something revealing or are somehow techonological (ie: Borg, android).