What would Star Trek look like without Klingons? It would be much less interesting, far less violent, and probably a great deal quieter. As Quark once pointed out on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, things in his bar can get pretty loud when there are Klingons in the room.

From the original series on, every Trek show (and almost every film) has featured this Kahless-worshipping alien race. They are as pivotal to Star Trek as phasers and warp drive, with some specific Klingon characters stealing the show whenever they show up.

Though I’m a fan of almost all Klingons (except for you, Toral), I do tend to show favoritism towards a few in particular. Some have incredibly long arcs, spanning the course of multiple shows and films. Some only show up in a single film and are never seen (or mentioned) again. Some are relatively new, as Star Trek: Discovery has really added some spice to the gagh, and added a shipload of new Klingons to canon.

With all of this in mind, it’s time to break out a barrel of bloodwine (2309, of course) and rank the top ten best Klingons in all of Trek. I’m not only looking at how effective and dramatic these characters are — I’m looking at how endlessly entertaining some of the characters can be. You may think that a certain Klingon has a lock on the number one spot… I’ll tell you right now that he doesn’t.

Wish me Qapla, and remember — Tlhlngan maH taHjaj!