Memory Alpha
Advertisement
Memory Alpha
For the novel, please see Rogue (novel).
Rascal redirects here; for the TNG episode, please see Rascals.
"Mister Worf, villains who twirl their mustaches are easy to spot. Those who clothe themselves in good deeds are well camouflaged."
Jean-Luc Picard, 2367 ("The Drumhead")

Rogue was a slang term for a rebellious person, often one with malevolence or ill will. According to Data, "additional meanings included: cad, knave, rake, rascal, scamp, villain, and wild element." (TNG: "The Outrageous Okona")

The stereotypical image of a villain, mostly drawing from 19th and 20th century Earth imagery, was that of a male figure with a thin mustache. The term "villainous" was also a phrase for an evil agenda. In response to a legal witch hunt organized by Norah Satie, Jean-Luc Picard once stated that "villains who twirl their mustaches are easy to spot" but also remarked that those who hid their true intentions behind good deeds were far more dangerous. (TNG: "The Drumhead")

The most recognizable "villain with mustache" to television audiences is generally credited as the cartoon character Snidely Whiplash who spent his career abducting young women and tying them to railroad tracks. The Whiplash character was itself based upon stock characters found in silent movies and earlier stage dramas, who often wore black clothing, a top hat, and handlebar mustache.

In space terminology, various celestial objects not fitting the norm of their nature may be identified as "rogue", such as rogue comets, star clusters, planets or planetoids.

James T. Kirk described Harcourt Fenton Mudd as both a "liar and rogue." (TOS: "I, Mudd")

After witnessing young Jean-Luc Picard's 2327 treatment of Corlina (dating her and Penny at the same time), Q remarked that he didn't know Picard had been such a cad, particularly a male who misused a woman, a fact that impressed him. (TNG: "Tapestry")

In 2365, rascal was one of the terms Data supplied as a synonym for rogue when defining the type of person Thadiun Okona was. Deanna Troi, however, pointed out that unlike the terms he described, Okona had "no malevolence or ill will." (TNG: "The Outrageous Okona")

In 2367, Jean-Luc Picard referred to his friend Louis as "you old rascal". (TNG: "Family")

The Tal Shiar and Obsidian Order's attempt to destroy the Founders' homeworld was painted by Romulan Senate and the Cardassian Union as "a rogue operation." (DS9: "The Die is Cast")

External link[]

Advertisement