Summary
Actor Steve Rankin has portrayed four different characters (and species) in theStar Trekuniverse. Rankin first appeared inStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 3, episode 7, “The Enemy,” as an injured Romulan named Patahk.OnStar Trek: Deep Space Nine,Rankin first popped up as a Cardassian in the series premiere, “Emissary,“and later as a Klingon Mercenary named Yeto inDS9season 2, episode 4, “Invasive Procedures.” Rankin’s finalStar Trekappearance came inStar Trek: Enterpriseseason 4, episode 20, “Demons,” where he played a human militia leader from 21st-century Earth.
Steven Rankin began his acting career in 1981 and went on to appear in numerous television shows throughout the 1980s, includingThe Equalizer, Alien Nation,andMurphy Brown.Rankin can also be seen in episodes ofLaw & Order, NYPD Blue, The West Wing,The X-Files,andThe Practice.He had minor roles in the filmsApollo 13, L.A. Confidential, Men in Black,andPearl Harbor.Rankin continued to remain a staple on television throughout the 2000s, appearing in episodes ofBuffy the Vampire Slayer, JAG, 24, NCIS, Malcolm in the Middle, Veronica Mars, Criminal Minds,andTrue Blood.Here are Rankin’s4Star Trekcharacters and species explained.
Steve Rankin is also a member of the Enterprise Blues Band, alongside Vaughn Armstrong, Richard Herd, Casey Biggs, William Jones, and Ronald B. Moore. The band writes and performs various songs aboutStar Trek.
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4Patahk
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3, Episode 7 - “The Enemy”
InStar Trek: The Next Generation’s"The Enemy,“the USS Enterprise-D finds a Romulan survivor named Patahk on a storm-ravaged planet on the Federation side of the Neutral Zone. As Patahk fights for his life in sickbay, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) determines thatLt. Worf (Michael Dorn) is the only suitable donor for a blood transfusion that would save the Romulan’s life.Worf, however, refuses to save Patahk because Romulans killed his parents when he was a child.
Steve Rankin may not get many lines as the severely injured Patahk, but he does confront Worf, saying:“I would rather die than pollute my body with Klingon filth.“In a surprising turn, Worf doesn’t have a last-minute change of heart, and Patahk dies of his injuries, further complicating the discussionsCaptain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart)has been having with the Romulan Commander Tomalak (Andreas Katsulas).
“The Enemy” is also a stand-outTNGepisode for Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), who winds up trapped down on the planet and must rely on another Romulan solider to survive.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Cast
Star Trek: The Next Generation follows Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew aboard the USS Enterprise NCC-1701D as they embark on interstellar explorations, seeking out new worlds and civilizations.
3Unnamed Cardassian Officer
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2 - “Emissary”
Steve Rankin goes from one Federation enemy to another, as he takes on the role of a Cardassian inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine’s two-part series premiere, “Emissary.“Rankin’s Cardassian serves aboard the warship of Gul Jasad (Joel Swetow),who attacked Deep Space Nine, blaming them for the disappearance of the Cardassian vessel, the Prakesh. In reality, the Prakesh had traveled through the Bajoran wormhole, which the crew of DS9 had just discovered.
Rankin’s officer appeared to be a high-ranking Cardassian on Jasad’s ship,as he cautioned the Gul to wait for more Cardassian military ships before attacking the station. He also delivered scan results to Jasad, showing extensive weapons on DS9, but pointed out it could be a bluff. WhenGul Dukat (Marc Alaimo)and the Prakesh returned through the wormhole, he ordered Jasad and his men to stand down.
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2Yeto
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 2, Episode 4 - “Invasive Procedures”
With only a skeleton crew on Deep Space Nine due to a plasma storm, an unjoined Trill named Verad (John Glover) takes over the station.Steve Rankin plays Yeto, one of the Klingon mercenaries hired by Veradto overpower DS9’s crew and steal theTrill symbiont of Lt. Jadzia Dax(Terry Farrell). Verad had previously been denied a symbiont on Trill, and he forces Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) to transfer the Dax symbiont from Jadzia to him.
T’Kar, the other of the two Klingon mercenaries, is played by Tim Russ, who would of course go on to portray the Vulcan Tuvok in all seven seasons ofStar Trek: Voyager.
As Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and DS9’s other crew members work to stop Verad and his mercenaries, Yeto guards Dr. Bashir in the infirmary.With some help from Ferengi bartender Quark (Armin Shimerman), who pretends to be injured, Bashir is able to sedate Yeto.Bashir then frees the imprisoned Constable Odo (René Auberjonois), and they thwart Verad and save Jadzia.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.
1Colonel Phillip Green
Star Trek: Enterprise season 4, episode 20 - “Demons”
In his finalStar Trekappearance, Steve Rankin appeared as notorious 21st-century militia leader Colonel Phillip Green inStar Trek: Enterprise. First mentioned inStar Trek: The Original Seriesseason 3, episode 22, “The Savage Curtain,“Green led a group of eco-terrorists during World War III who were responsible for the deaths of millions.After the war, Green ordered the euthanasia of hundreds of thousands of humans who had been affected by radiation.
In “The Savage Curtain,” the technologically advanced Excalbians created an image of Colonel Green (Phillip Pine), as one of their representations of evil in a test for Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew.
Rankin’s Phillip Green appeared in a recording that John Frederick Paxton (Peter Weller) was watching.Paxton led the xenophobic movement known as Terra Prime,whose believers wanted to expel all non-humans from Earth and its solar system. Rather than viewing Green as a"genocidal madman"as most historians did, Paxton and his followers bought into his rhetoric about keeping humanity “pure.” Steve Rankin may have only appeared as Phillip Green in a recording but he brought to life one ofStar Trek’scruelest historical figures.
Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise acts as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, detailing the voyages of the original crew of the Starship Enterprise in the 22nd century, a hundred years before Captain Kirk commanded the ship. Enterprise was the sixth series in the Star Trek franchise overall, and the final series before a twelve-year hiatus until the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery in 2017. The series stars Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer, with an ensemble cast that includes John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock, Dominic Keating, Anthony Montgomery, Linda Park, and Connor Trinneer.
