10 Star Trek Characters That Just VANISHED

Across the 60 year history of Star Trek, there have been hundreds of characters who have arrived

disappeared, reappeared and seared their place in the universe's story. Many of them have stuck around for years at a time, like the crew of the original series or Worf

Seriously, Worf is just everywhere in this franchise. Hey, what's that behind you

I'm just kidding, it's Worf. There are, however, those characters who may be here for some time

but then, like Kaiser Soze himself, vanish into a puff of smoke

Some may have received a bit of an explanation in the years that have passed

while others were simply gone, baby, gone. This list will include those examples of people who have never been heard from again

or people whose absences were never truly explained. There will be humans, there will be Romulans, there may even be a love interest or two

Who's to say, really, when there are so many faces on the missing posters in Star Trek

I'm Sean Ferrick for Trek Culture, and here are 10 Star Trek characters that just vanished

Number 10. Selah Yes, yes, we know it's a Trek culture list, therefore it must have an entry on Selah

However, there's a simple reason why she keeps popping up here. Her story is incomplete, and the opportunity to explore more of the half-human, half-Romulan

commander is rapidly passing us by. Unification Part 2 saw Silas' plan to invade Vulcan thwarted by Ambassador Spock, Lieutenant Commander Data and Captain Picard

Let us not forget this was done with the full knowledge of the then Praetor Neral

It seems highly unlikely that her career survived that setback. Inter Arma Enum Silent Legis established that Neral was still in charge of the Romulan Senate

This would not last. Which means a scapegoat almost definitely took the blame for the invasion plot

It takes little reasoning to imagine this was Selah herself. What happened to her

Was she executed? Was she sent to a Romulan penal colony to toil alongside some Remans

Romulans don't have a reputation as the most forgiving of people. So barring execution, there was still little chance at a career bounce back for her

Star Trek Online has suggested that she was at least partly responsible for the supernova that destroyed much of the Romulan Star Empire

That being the case, is Selah still out there? Does she still hold a grudge against Spock, Data and Picard

Technically, all three have died since she last saw them. Would that settle the debt? Were she to return? Can she return? We need to know

Number nine, Janice Rand. For Commander Janice Rand, we're looking at the absence that saw her

leave the Enterprise for several years. This is particularly egregious as she was included in the

original marketing for Star Trek once it went to series. Grace Lee Whitney was clearly being touted

as one of the leads for the series, only to then appear in a handful of episodes in the show's

first season. The truth behind this disappearance is a sad tale that is too common in Hollywood

Rand was written out of the show halfway through the debut year, with Leigh Whitney describing an

encounter with a producer years later in her autobiography. Though she refused to name the man

she alleged that he made an unwanted sexual pass at her. When she spurned this advance

she quickly found herself out of a job. While the incident may have been unrelated

it's unlikely that in the 60s they had nothing to do with each other. The result was that Rand

who was the captain's yeoman and had featured in several high-profile stories, was simply gone

Years later, Grace Lee Whitney was discovered by DeForest Kelly once again

who informed her that the then-recently-begun Star Trek conventions featured many fans who wondered where she was

This eventually led to her casting in Star Trek The Motion Picture

which in turn led to appearances in The Search for Spock, The Voyage Home and The Undiscovered Country

along with the Voyager episode Flashback. No explanation has ever been given for her on-screen vanishing, so one can simply assume

it was a case of reassignment. To be fair, after the events of Charlie X, Miri and The Enemy Within

the Enterprise wasn't exactly that much fun to be stationed on. Number 8. To Rule

Martha Hackett did not make her debut in Star Trek as the love spy Cesca in Voyager Though she had appeared in a deleted scene in All Good Things her true debut came in the third season of Deep Space Nine in the series opener The Search

Here, she played sub-commander Terul, a Romulan officer assigned to operate the cloaking device aboard the USS Defiant

She was gruff, she had no interest in making friends, and she was everything we would have assumed a Romulan officer to be. In short, she was great

A holographic version of her was killed by the Jem'Hadar, but her real self was captured along

with much of the Defiant's crew and placed in a kind of neural stasis. Once released

she presumably took up her post on the Defiant again, only she was never seen or heard from

after that point. There may simply have been a case of too many new characters

as The Search also introduced Michael Eddington to the mix. But the disappearance of Tarul was a true shame

The fact that she didn't get along with everyone suited the tone of Deep Space Nine

especially with the gradual softening of Odo, who effectively created the mould that she was poured into

For Martha Hackett fans, of course, all was not lost as Seska would debut in Voyager shortly thereafter

Perhaps that is our answer. Seska is Tarul, and the spy-ception goes further than any of us ever assumed

Number seven, Argyle. The first season of The Next Generation featured a revolving door of chief engineers

so this really could apply to most of them. Leland T. Lynch managed to stand out by the inexplicable use of his full name

first, middle and last, when hailed by the bridge. Argyle, however, is a bit of a different story

The rumour goes that, far from just disappearing like the others, this particular engineer was informed he would not be returning, regardless of a series of letters received by the studio to keep him on

Argyle's actor, Biff Yeager, was part of an initiative to send those letters to the studio, encouraging them to keep the character around

Perhaps he had seen what happens to engineers on the Enterprise D and wanted to get ahead of the curve

Or perhaps he wanted that one thing that eludes so many of us

Job security. Unlike B. Joe and John Trimble's successful letter-writing campaign of the 1960s, this one didn't pan out

He was not asked back, though he does hold the distinction of being the only engineer in the first season to appear twice

That may have to be the win for this Grease Monkey. And who could begrudge the great Geordie LaForge the post as the show went into its second season

Not me, that's for sure. Number six, Kelsing. I want to share a little bit of guilt here

as some of the comments made on the Ups and Downs episode for Wedding Bell Blues

may have played a role in losing someone's job. Okay, that's very unlikely, as the third season of Strange New Worlds

had been produced long before it began airing, so the rants about those pints of Guinness

probably had nothing to do with her disappearance. In saying that, disappear, Kelsing did

She was stationed on Starbase 1, serving drinks with all three arms

for the wedding reception, centenary celebration, that had been hijacked by Trillane

There, she impressed Captain Pike and Number 1 so much that they both felt she'd be perfect for a posting on the Enterprise

The ship was equipped with several galleys and bars, which, by the way, has been one of the best inclusions in this version of the ship

So there was clearly the space for her to do her thing. We can only assume that she was always doing her thing in the other room

for wherever we were, as she was never seen again. There is, of course, the possibility that she simply didn't take Pike up on the offer

and she is still slinging drinks on Starbase One, hopefully Klingon free these days

If she did take them up on the post, perhaps she took a quick break and may return in the show's fourth season

We are talking about an alien with three arms and a dazzling smile. Anything is possible here

Number five, Savik. Savik only appeared in three Star Trek films and one incredible O-Toy short

with one quick name check along the way. However, the canon of the O-Toy short is open to debate

so technically Savik just vanished once that Klingon bird of prey took off into the sky

bringing Spock and the others back to Earth. Kirstie Alley originated the role in Star Trek

to the Wrath of Khan introducing a young officer who was determined to impress on her first mission Ali Savik was young and inexperienced clearly established as a protege to Spock and looked set to become one of the main cast members in any future sequels

She also portrayed with more open emotions than Robin Curtis's version, who would appear in the

subsequent sequels. This was due to an initial plotline that would have revealed Savick as half

Romulan. This was abandoned in The Search for Spock. The Voyage Home sees Savick departing the

crew, staying behind on Vulcan when the rest of the crew head home. In the original script, Savick

would have been revealed to be pregnant as a result of her assistance during the reborn Spock's

Ponfar. This was never filmed, but was incorporated into her appearance in Otoi's Unification short

film. Outside of this on-screen appearance, Savick was never given a proper goodbye. This was

however, a bit of a blessing. When Nicholas Meyer returned to direct The Undiscovered Country

he initially sought to bring Savick back, filling the role that would of course become Valerius

This led to a big blow-up with Gene Roddenberry, who hated the idea of Savick turning traitorous

As it happened, Savick didn't return. Expanded canon establishes Savick as a starship captain

of the USS Titan, which is commemorated in Star Trek Picard's third season. The shuttle that

Picard and Riker take over to the SS Elias 12 is, in fact, named the Savick

Number 4. Carol Marcus, Kelvin. Star Trek Into Darkness continues the story of the Kelvin

universe versions of Kirk, Spock and the crew of the Enterprise. When Into Darkness was released

J.J. Abrams decided to up the ante by introducing Khan Noonien Singh, this time played by Benedict

Cumberbatch. Though the film has aged well over the years, there was a less than subtle attempt

to evoke memories of Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan, and speaking of that film, Alice Eve was

cast as Dr. Carol Marcus. In the Prime timeline, B.B. Besh originated the role of the brilliant

physicist who invented the Genesis device. She was also a one-time paramour of James T. Kirk

and the mother of his son, David. In the Kelvin universe, she is introduced as an infiltrator

aboard the Enterprise, though for very good reason. Her father, Admiral Marcus, had smuggled

a large number of Khan's people aboard, hidden in torpedoes that were destined to be detonated

killing them all. The film concludes with Admiral Marcus's death, the defeat of Khan

and the seeming assignment of Carol to the Enterprise. Then, in Star Trek Beyond

she's simply nowhere to be found. Co-writer of that film, Simon Pegg, revealed that as they

were breaking the story, they simply couldn't find a place for the character without shoehorning

her in somehow. Considering the importance she played in that previous movie it seems a shame

Add to that the importance of the character over in the Prime Universe and it seems like there are

some fairly direct reasons she might well be served by another outing. Alas for now it's not

to be. Let us hope she's merely on assignment somewhere and wasn't one of the dozens of crew

members who seem to be killed on the Enterprise every time it goes outside. Number three, Pulaski

Dr. Catherine Pulaski was the chief medical officer aboard the Enterprise D for a whole year

yet when the third season of The Next Generation aired, she was nowhere to be found. The previous

year saw Dr. Crusher exit with her absence being explained away as a promotion to Starfleet Medical

Pulaski received no such explanation when she vanished in year three, replaced by the returning crusher again

By now, it's largely well known that Diana Muldauer was, or did not have as positive a time working on The Next Generation

that she had experienced on the original series. She found the cast quite close-knit, which itself was not a negative

but she found it difficult to become a part of the team. Add to this her special guest star status throughout the season

rather than a starring credit and Pulaski never quite felt as though she was one of the crew

Had she returned after this departure like Crusher this could easily have been remedied

Since that time Pulaski has only been referred to by name once or twice or by obscure reference

Indeed only Professor James Moriarty ever inquired as to her whereabouts which is a pretty raw deal

once one considers it. She was the chief medical officer aboard the flagship of the Federation

and she was quietly ignored from that point on. Yes, Crusher did use her expertise in Who Watches

the Watchers but that was one time She did not return for Picard third season reunions nor was she brought in for the first season diagnosis of Picard either An urban myth abounded that she was working at the medical

facility Tuvok was located in for one possible future, but that has since been debunked. As it

stands, she is a doctor who worked hard for a year only to be forgotten almost immediately by the crew

she had to save on more than one occasion. Tough break, Doc. Number two, Kestra. Kestra Riker

named for her aunt who died as a child, lived on Nepenthe with her parents, Will and Diana

She was a confident, outspoken young woman, one with boundless imagination and energy

She is directly responsible for helping Soji, who had recently discovered her android status

understand herself better, while also helping to find Soji and Picard a destination when it came to

the former's planet. Simply put, she was a damn good kid. While the Riker Troys weren't the main

focus of Star Trek Picard, the third season sees both Will and Deanna return to the show

They both enjoy plenty of screen time, but their young daughter is nowhere to be found

Her absence was semi-explained with her attending the Academy, though she was also nowhere to be seen nor apparently thought of during the Borg plot of Frontier Day 2401

Starfleet's younger officers and cadets, all of those under 26 that is, who had passed through a transporter had effectively been quietly assimilated

and if Kestra was indeed at the Academy, that probably put her in the crosshairs there too

Showrunner Terry Metallus has jokingly suggested that she and Elnor were on Earth

leading the ground war against the Borg. This would probably suit her well, as her forestry skills would surely aid her in evading capture

However, while her parents were busy trying to save Jack Crusher, Alandra and Sydney LaForge

they never seemed to spare a thought for their own daughter. Perhaps they were simply so confident in her skills, they knew that they had nothing to worry about

There are worse things, to be fair. Number 1. Rollins. Rollins appeared in the pilot episode of Star Trek Voyager

Caretaker. He served as the chief tactical officer while Tuvok was on his spy mission

then moved to the con position once Tuvok returned. He would quickly lose this position

to Lieutenant Parris, though he was promoted for his troubles. Apparently the producers weren't

content to allow him that happy ending as he ended up in a physical fight with Parris

From Rollins' point of view, this was over sloppy reporting. From Paris' point of view, it was part of a plot to out the mole on board the ship

and Rollins' jaw just got in the way. This fight was hardly life-threatening, so Rollins' disappearance is all the more surprising

The USS Voyager was a finite space with no star bases or space docks on the way home to Starfleet

Was he reassigned to holodeck maintenance? Was he one of the many officers lost along the way home

Or did he simply find a temporal transporter, hop across the galaxy and don some zindi makeup

Actor Scott MacDonald may be the only one who can properly answer that one

but for now, Rollins remains one of the great mysteries of the Delta Quadrant

Hi, I'm Duncan Relic, your relation, and I collect relics from before the burn

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Thank you so much for watching along. Who else disappeared without a trace or a mention

Let us know in the comments below. Until I see you again, make sure that you live long and prosper and look after yourselves

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Until I see you again, stay awesome, stay wonderful, look after yourselves, lead with peace, lead with love

And I'll see you soon, thanks very much