Deep Space 9 Superior

[the Fifth Race]

It's fairly easy to create a villain, but it takes genius to create villain's that people truly hate. DS9 had quite a few all time great and memorable villains, including... Kain Winn, DuKat, Agent Sloan, Female Changeling, Weyoun, Brunt ...etc...

Very well said brother Weyoun. Don't forget about Gowron, early Damar, the Intendant (mirror Kira), and I know I'm forgetting a couple of the Vorta's who were rather deplorable.

When you look at that list of epic villains, it's no wonder that DS9 turned out so darn good.

[maneth]

Indeed. And the best of them were multi-dimensional, such as Dukat.

[Spimman]

Indeed. And the best of them were multi-dimensional, such as Dukat.

His depth of character makes him one of my top bad guys from any series I like of all time. It's rare to have such a rich history and backstory associated with a villain, and to see his character grow, evolve, and even demonstrate "good guy" emotions at times really sealed the deal.

[maneth]

Absolutely. Dukat's pretty much my favorite villain too. The only competition he's got in my book are the BSG skinjobs.

[Linda06]

One thing that DS9, B5, Farscape and Stargate all possess and share in common (on top of the given great story-lines) are incredibly brilliant and memorable characters.

SG-1 maybe, not so much the other two. I do like SGU but I wouldn't say they really had any truly memorable characters. And well lets say the less said about the storylines in SGA the better

It's a shame Crusade was canceled after only 13 episodes too. It had great potential.

I know, I loved that show

[Lieutenant Colonel Davis]

Hey brother Davis. Long time no see. I have checked out ST: Online a few times. It is quite good.

I enjoy it. I replay the DS9 missions quite a bit.

[USS Defiant]

Indeed. And the best of them were multi-dimensional, such as Dukat.

Gul DuKat is definitely one of the greatest all time villains from any show (scifi or otherwise). I have likened Dukat's meglomania to that of Scorpius from Farscape. To me, those are 2 of the greatest villains period.

I also find it hard to think of another character I hated more than Kai Winn. She is truly one the most annoying yet brilliant characters ever. I also found the female Changeling utterly detestable as well. It is definitely rare to find 3 characters that hated, yet to have them (and a few more memorable ones) all on one series speaks volume for said series.

[Cold Fuzz]

Gul DuKat is definitely one of the greatest all time villains from any show (scifi or otherwise). I have likened Dukat's meglomania to that of Scorpius from Farscape. To me, those are 2 of the greatest villains period.

I also find it hard to think of another character I hated more than Kai Winn. She is truly one the most annoying yet brilliant characters ever. I also found the female Changeling utterly detestable as well. It is definitely rare to find 3 characters that hated, yet to have them (and a few more memorable ones) all on one series speaks volume for said series.

I also found Winn and the Founder Leader to be deliciously evil at times, especially the imperious looks they would give the people who serve them. Weyoun was absolutely frightened of her, despite his incredible loyalty for her. And Winn, well Nurse Ratchet lives on in a Bajoran incarnation.

His depth of character makes him one of my top bad guys from any series I like of all time. It's rare to have such a rich history and backstory associated with a villain, and to see his character grow, evolve, and even demonstrate "good guy" emotions at times really sealed the deal.

Absolutely. Dukat's pretty much my favorite villain too. The only competition he's got in my book are the BSG skinjobs.

I think a big part of Dukat being such a successful villain was not just the writing but Marc Alaimo's performance throughout the series. Like Andrew Robinson's performance of Garak, Alaimo gave us a complex, nuanced portrayal episode after episode. Brother Spimman is quite correct that Alaimo brought across a lot of "good guy" emotions as well. We could see that he truly did love Ziyal, especially how her death utterly devastated him.

At the same time, the "love" he thought he had for the Bajoran people, styling himself as their "liberator" was disturbingly sickening as well. This brings about a question that I'd been thinking about for a while now: Was Dukat's personality and actions a product of the authoritarian nature and other flaws of Cardassian culture or did he always have some massive psychological issues lurking in the back-burner?

[jelgate]

At the same time, the "love" he thought he had for the Bajoran people, styling himself as their "liberator" was disturbingly sickening as well. This brings about a question that I'd been thinking about for a while now: Was Dukat's personality and actions a product of the authoritarian nature and other flaws of Cardassian culture or did he always have some massive psychological issues lurking in the back-burner?

Given the amount of "good" Cardassians we saw throughout DS9 Dukat sociopathic tendencies was more him then his society

[nx01a]

While he definitely had issues, he was successful as a Gul, and provided for and cared for his official family. If anything, I'd say it was the structure of Cardassian society that kept him from going over the deep end, as well as providing outlets for him to vent his darker urges [having rivals taken out, ruling over the Bajorans, etc.].

[maneth]

Yeah. Especially since once that societal structure was taken away from him, he did go and fall into the abyss, quite literally.

[Cold Fuzz]

While he definitely had issues, he was successful as a Gul, and provided for and cared for his official family. If anything, I'd say it was the structure of Cardassian society that kept him from going over the deep end, as well as providing outlets for him to vent his darker urges [having rivals taken out, ruling over the Bajorans, etc.].

Yeah. Especially since once that societal structure was taken away from him, he did go and fall into the abyss, quite literally.

While Cardassian society was flawed with the way it treated it citizens, I do agree that it inhibited Dukat from becoming completely unhinged. Before the Dominion came into the picture, I think that Dukat was less sociopathic, his treatment of the Bajorans not withstanding. But after they entered the Alpha Quadrant and installed Dukat as absolute ruler of Cardassia, things really started to slip for him sanity-wise. In regular Cardassian society, he wasn't in charge of everything and followed codes of conduct. But after he was in charge, I could tell that he didn't feel himself bound by those rules so much anymore and could do as he pleased.

This had significant positive and negative effects. If he weren't Cardassia's ruler, he wouldn't have been able to openly acknowledge Ziyal as his daughter and take care of her. This was a good thing. But then the power promised to him by the Dominion really fed that galactic-sized ego of his and brought out the really ugly tyrannical aspects of his personality. The way he treated Kira in "A Time to Stand" and "Rocks and Shoals" was... ugh. :s

[SaberBlade]

Dukat was, for me, was a perfect example of "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely".

Maybe it was how Marc Alaimo played the character, but he'd act like a bleeding heart when talking to Ziyal; "oh Ziyal, it wasn't my fault. the Occupation was so harsh because I had to follow orders and do what I was told" but we'd get flashbacks, or Orb time travel and you could see he loved being in charge.

I wouldn't be surprised if him trying to get Cardassia into the Dominion was just him being pissed off about his serious drop in stature. Once he became the leader of Cardassia, you know he was being a dick to everyone who was pissed off at his new position as leader of Cardassia by keeping his rank of Gul.

He even loved being back on DS9, because he got to lord it over the Bajorans but even when he had that breakdown, he still had to seek out power because he had to prove he was better than everyone else. Such a fantastic villain, well acted even if the character was a bit one sided with his quest for power.

[Starbase]

Maybe it was how Marc Alaimo played the character, but he'd act like a bleeding heart when talking to Ziyal; "oh Ziyal, it wasn't my fault. the Occupation was so harsh because I had to follow orders and do what I was told" but we'd get flashbacks, or Orb time travel and you could see he loved being in charge.

Dukat is such an enigma wrapped in a mystery, pure brilliance. He did go from being this loving and caring father figure to this complete murderous sociopath in a blink of an eye. Nightmarish.

I wouldn't be surprised if him trying to get Cardassia into the Dominion was just him being pissed off about his serious drop in stature. Once he became the leader of Cardassia, you know he was being a dick to everyone who was pissed off at his new position as leader of Cardassia by keeping his rank of Gul.

Good point, and I wouldn't be surprised as well.

[Saquist]

It's a shame Crusade was canceled after only 13 episodes too. It had great potential.

It had...some potential but it fell far shot of B5 first run. It had no direction.