Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek may have a reputation for being somewhat dry and serious, with its countless courtroom episodes and endless speechifying. However, the sheer number of episodes produced results in a range of styles and tones, from extended gritty war sagas to standalone comedic adventures. The voyages of the Starship Enterprise(s) are as likely to take the ship and crew on a madcap cartoony adventure as they are to tackle a science dilemma.
These more lighthearted Star Trek storylines have served not only to deflate the pomposity that the franchise has sometimes been accused of but also to develop its characters. Cheerful episodes can also work to provide a breather during the darker times of the franchise, giving viewers a chance to take a breather before the drama ratchets back up.
10 Vash, Picard, And Q
Jean-Luc Picard is passionate about archeology. As such, it's unsurprising that he'd also display a passion for Vash (Jennifer Hetrick), a glamorous archeologist. In the Risa-based "Captain's Holiday", sparks fly as Picard and Vash race to uncover a futuristic treasure before a gang of Ferengi.
Vash would return in the next season's "Qpid", where the godlike Q (John de Lancie) transports Picard and his crew to Sherwood Forest. Picard, playing the role of Robin Hood, encounters Vash as a damsel in distress. "Qpid" may be a far cry from TNG's usual weighty subject matter, but it does have some iconic moments, including Worf's protestation that he is not "a merry man". However, the Vash/Picard romance is not to be, as Vash chooses to leave with Q.
9 Pleasure Planets
Even Starfleet's best and brightest sometimes need a rest. Some, like Captain Picard, fight tooth and nail to avoid vacations, while others, like Worf, view the licentiousness of some of Star Trek's holiday destinations as a threat to the Federation's moral compass. However, those who are capable of relaxing have many options open to them.
Risa is perhaps the most famous of Star Trek's pleasure worlds, having appeared throughout the franchise. This climate-controlled paradise offers everything from pottery making to risqué entertainment. Other relaxation centers include The Original Series' amusement park planet from "Shore Leave", as well as the Dove, a Federation spa outpost in Lower Decks.
8 Harry Mudd's Shenanigans
Harcourt Fenton Mudd (or Harry Mudd, as he's usually known) is, in his own words, an entrepreneur. Others, such as Captain Kirk, hold a less favorable view, branding Mudd as a con man, liar, and rogue. Since his first encounter with the Enterprise crew in 1966's "Mudd's Women", the charismatic scoundrel has ruled over androids, clashed with Kirk, and tried to sell a romance potion to a love-struck Christine Chapel.
Mudd (now played by The Office's Rainn Wilson) even appeared in early episodes of Star Trek: Discovery, bringing some much-needed levity to the series. Given that no prison cell seems to hold him for long, it's likely that the rascal will one day return to further menace the Federation.
7 Enterprise Computer Trouble
Considering that the Enterprise is the flagship of the Federation fleet, it has its fair share of technical issues. Many of these seem to affect the starship's computer, often with a range of bizarre and humorous consequences.
In TNG's "Emergence", the Enterprise-D's computer achieves sentience after processing the logs of the ship's numerous missions. However, it is only able to express itself by creating odd holodeck scenarios. The computer of Kirk's Enterprise also malfunctions, with more comedic results, in "The Practical Joker" (TAS). It proceeds to prank the crew in various ways, including throwing a pie at Scotty and creating an inflatable balloon version of the Enterprise.
6 Lwaxana Troi
Love her or hate her, Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett) is a major source of comedy/thorn in the side of the Enterprise crew (opinions vary) throughout The Next Generation. Lwaxana makes frequent appearances aboard the Enterprise-D, often with the aim of marrying off her daughter, Deanna, seducing Captain Picard, or playing fairy godmother to Worf's son, Alexander.
Despite her comedic manner, Lwaxana is a character with some depth. TNG's "Dark Page" investigated how the death of one of her children shaped her personality, while her friendship with Deep Space Nine's Odo showed a vulnerable side to the Betazoid diva.
5 The Pakleds
It's unlikely that viewers of "Samaritan Snare", the Pakled's first appearance, would have predicted the species becoming a major franchise villain. After all, the apparently silly, lumbering aliens seem no match for the Federation.
However, the Pakleds have undergone something of a renaissance in Star Trek: Lower Decks. This makes sense—a comedy show needs a comedy villain. Unable to produce technology of their own, the Pakleds seem to mimic the Borg (albeit ineptly), assimilating various technologies together to build their massive "clumpships". The Pakleds may be comedy villains—nonetheless, they pose a threat.
4 Quark's Holosuites
As well as being home to the taciturn Morn, Quark's Bar provides vital R&R facilities aboard the distant Deep Space Nine. From grudgingly selling root beer for his customers to providing a dart board for their enjoyment, Quark does what he can, morals be damned, to boost both station morale and his own profits.
However, special attention must be paid to the holosuites in Quark's Bar. The only such facilities aboard Deep Space Nine, they provide a backdrop for mirth and mishaps. The various holodeck adventures of Doctor Bashir and Chief O'Brien, from the Alamo to the Battle of Britain, touchingly showed the men's deepening friendship, while Kira Nerys and Jadzia Dax used the suites to have a spa day. Even Captain Sisko indulged occasionally, including in a baseball game and a casino heist.
3 The EMH
The medical officer role is such a part of the Star Trek formula that even non-fans are likely to know of Doctor McCoy's "I'm a doctor, not a..." grumbling. When Star Trek: Voyager first beamed onto screens in 1995, it examined the stock character from a new angle with the holographic EMH.
Characters trying to become more human is a common franchise trope, but Robert Picardo's prissy EMH (Emergency Medical Hologram) was able to mine the seam of comedy built into this idea. Much of this is due to Picardo's comedic chops, demonstrated in episodes like "Author, Author", in which he produces a best-selling holonovel that parodies his shipmates, or "Virtuoso", where the EMH becomes an opera singer celebrity to an alien species.
2 The Enterprise-D Poker Night
Star Trek's heroes tend to be consummate professionals, so fans usually see them hard at work. As such, scenes showing the rest and relaxation of the franchise's various crews can shed new light on the characters. From Star Trek: Enterprise's shipboard movie nights to Voyager's various holodeck scenarios, these activities offer a space for the bridge crew to decompress and let their hair down (and even consider dying it brown, as Beverley Crusher offers to do if she loses at poker).
Possibly the most well-known of these extracurricular activities are the poker nights frequented by most of the Enterprise-D's crew. As well as fleshing out the senior staff, these poker nights formed a poignant conclusion for not one but two Star Trek shows: The Next Generation in 1994 and Star Trek: Picard nearly 30 years later.
1 The Tribbles
Small, hairy, and unassuming, it seems improbable that the promiscuous Tribbles, first seen in "The Trouble with Tribbles", would form the basis for some of Star Trek's most iconic storytelling. Indeed, they may seem cute and harmless to humans, but these chattering furballs are, in fact, among the Klingons' deadliest enemies.
From "More Tribbles, More Troubles" (TAS) to the nostalgia-infused "Trials and Tribble-ations" (DS9), the Tribbles remain a popular if slightly silly feature of the franchise. The origin of the species was explored in the Short Treks episode "The Trouble with Edward", where the titular scientist is responsible for genetically altering the creatures in an attempt to solve a food crisis, thus inducing their rapid reproduction.