Celebrate Father’s Day With Some of the Best (and Worst) Fathers in STAR TREK
Happy Fathers Day to all Dads around the quadrant! We wouldn’t be here without you! To celebrate Fathers day we here at DSTN have decided to take a look back at Dads within Star Trek and celebrate everything they brought to the franchise.
Though we can not mention every single Dad in Star Trek as that would turn this article into a novel we will go through some of the most memorable. Starting off with arguably the best dad in all of Starfleet: Ben Sisko.
Captain Sisko is truly the model father. He always makes time for his son and shows Jake that he is loved and safe while also setting boundaries and rules for his son. He encourages Jake’s interests and is always there for him. They play baseball and sail a Bajoran Lightship together. They always manage to make the other smile and though they may argue at times it is always clear how much they love one another. Their relationship throughout DS9 is a light in an otherwise fairly dark show. Everyone wants a Dad like Benjamin Sisko and I cannot blame them.
On the complete other side of the spectrum Worf is probably the worst Dad in Starfleet. While I could probably write a whole novel on Worf’s shortcomings as a father, we should probably just stick to a general overview for the sake of this article. In all honesty Worf isn’t all that bad. He did the best he could with a bad situation. Alexander came to Worf traumatized after having just lost his mother and Worf isn’t exactly the type of person to give people hugs and tell them everything will be ok. The best thing Worf could’ve done for Alexander was send him to live with his parents back on Earth, who are probably the sweetest and best parents a kid could ask for. (Sergey Rozhenko actually almost made it onto this list as I think he is just the sweetest man in all of Starfleet, however I do not think he gets enough screen time to fit in this article). So while Worf is probably the worst father on this list he tried his best.
Speaking of Fathers trying their best, Jean-Luc Picard had a fun romp into fatherhood during the final season of Picard. Though he didn’t actually raise Jack he still tried to form a bond with him later in life. Picard never liked children so it is probably for the best that he didn't have a hand in raising Jack, however Jack definitely does not see it that way when they first meet. He wants absolutely nothing to do with Picard when they first meet and given Picard’s track record with emotional honesty it’s no surprise he does nothing about it. He never wanted to be a Dad and is worried that he has passed on his worst traits to his son. So the two pretty much avoid each other. However, despite this distance, Picard still loves his son. He shows this love when he sacrifices himself to the Borg Queen and plugs himself into the collective in order to be with his son.
Picard was definitely not your traditional, run of the mill father; if you’re looking for that you should instead take a look at Miles O’Brien. Miles and Keiko have the traditional American nuclear family with their two kids. O’Brien is a father every dad can see themself in. He loves his family and knows he is lucky to have them (even though sometimes he’d rather be down at the bar playing darts). He is simply an average man and an average dad; no complaints here.
One dad who was anything but average was Data. Though his fatherhood was short, only spanning one episode, he still deserves to be mentioned. He was a wonderful father to Lal. Allowing her to grow and become her own person at her own pace. Though he didn’t understand her it was clear that he loved her, in his own special way. He loved her enough to be ok with eventually letting her go, knowing it was best for her. However, Lal isn’t Data’s only child. He is a wonderful Dad to his pet cat Spot. He writes poetry about him, has a very specific care regime that nobody else can seem to get right, and is always willing to pet him (even when Spot is being a little nuisance).
Probably one of the most infamous dads in Star Trek is Sarek. This man is almost entirely responsible for all of Spock’s insecurities around his human heritage and emotions. He expressed numerous times how disappointed he was in Spock for choosing Starfleet and despite Spock’s best efforts he cannot live up to his expectations. Interestingly enough my first ever Star Trek was Star Trek: Discovery in which Sarek is a great and loving adoptive father to Michael Burnham. So for the longest time I imagined Sarek as this sweet, loving, softy of a father. Though he is that to Michael he most certainly isn’t to Spock and most definitely isn’t to Sybok. Perhaps Discovery is the writers way of giving Sarek a much deserved redemption arc.
Another example of a father who has some truly quite impressive character development is Rom. At the beginning of DS9 he is this pathetic man who can barely stand up to his own brother, let alone parent his son. However as the show goes on he really grows and becomes a great father to Nog, supporting him throughout his Starfleet Journey. There’s a really heartbreaking line in an episode of DS9 where Nog says to Sisko something along the lines of “I need to join Starfleet so I don’t end up like my father.” He does end up joining Starfleet and in a way he inspires Rom to stand up for himself and show the world his true talents.
Last on this list and truly quite a tragic father is Dr. M’Benga. His daughter Rukiya had contracted a rare and fatal disease called cygnokemia for which there is no cure. However M’Benga is not only a doctor, but the doctor on Starfleet’s flagship and he believes he can cure his daughter of this disease. He risks his position in Starfleet by placing her in a pattern buffer, keeping her in stasis while he researches a cure. However, despite his best efforts there is no cure and eventually he lets her go, allowing Rukiya to become part of a sentient nebula and live out a happy life. It’s such a sad scene because while it’s clear it’s the best decision for Rukiya, we have to see M’Benga give up his daughter. His willingness to make that sacrifice, despite how much it pains him, shows just how great a father M’Benga really is.
I hope you enjoyed reminiscing about fatherhood with me. Once Again Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads out there! We love you!
Aster is a fresh face to Daily Star Trek News, joining the ranks as a contributing writer. Though he may be young, he self-describes as a hardcore nerd, lover of cheese sticks and niche internet discourse. Outside of his long-time obsession with Star Trek, Aster is an avid cosplayer, crocheter, and Catan enthusiast who is attending school for technical theater and design. He's very excited to debut in his "professional nerd career" and finally put all his obscure nerd facts to good use.
