Who Is Lycia Naff? Star Trek: TNG’s Sonya Gomez Explained

Lycia Naff appears as Ensign Sonya Gomez in two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation before her return to the franchise years later in Star Trek: Lower Decks. Introduced in TNG season 2, episode 16, “Q Who,” Ensign Gomez served on the USS Enterprise-D in Engineering under the direct command of Lt. Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton). She specializes in antimatter and Geordi requested her for the Enterprise after reading her graduating thesis. “Q Who” not only features the return of John de Lancie’s Q but also the introduction of the Borg, both of which overshadow the appearance of Ensign Gomez.

Gomez also plays a small role in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2, episode 17, “The Samaritan Snare,” in her last appearance on the show. Because of its animated format and place in the late 24th century of the Star Trek timeline, Lower Decks has had the opportunity to bring back several TNG characters, and Sonya Gomez gets this treatment in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2, episode 10, “First First Contact.” Although it’s unclear why Ensign Gomez transferred off the Enterprise-D, she apparently continued to climb the ranks elsewhere in Starfleet, eventually becoming captain of the USS Archimedes.

Lycia Naff’s Star Trek: TNG Ensign Sonya Gomez Explained

Most TNG fans likely remember Sonya Gomez as the ensign who spills her drink on Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). In her first scene, Sonya talks with Geordi in engineering before running out of the door to dispose of her drink. She collides with Captain Picard, spilling her hot chocolate all over herself and the captain. As Ensign Gomez is incredibly enthusiastic and prone to rambling, Geordi encourages her to relax and slow down. Despite her awkwardness, Gomez is an intelligent Starfleet officer who helps reactivate the shields in “Q Who” and helps rescue Geordi in “The Samaritan Snare.”

Lycia Naff’s two-episode stint on TNG actually became one of her most well-known roles, but she made appearances across many popular television shows and films throughout the 1980s and ’90s. Naff made her television debut on Fame as a dancer in 1982, before going on to appear in episodes of The Jeffersons, St. Elsewhere, The Equalizer, General Hospital, and Baywatch. She also appeared as Dixie in the 1987 film Lethal Weapon and as the three-breasted prostitute Mary in 1990’s Total Recall. Her last live-action television role was on an episode of Ghost Whisperer in 2008, and her appearance on Star Trek: Lower Decks is her only voice-acting credit. Naff has also worked as a journalist for publications such as The Miami Herald and People Magazine.

Lycia Naff Returned as Captain Sonya Gomez on Star Trek: Lower Decks

Sonya Gomez makes a surprising return in Star Trek: Lower Decks’ season 2’s finale as the captain of the USS Archimedes. At some point after her brief assignment on the Enterprise-D, Sonya transferred from the engineering department to command and rose through the ranks. In “First First Contact,” the USS Cerritos assists Captain Gomez with a mission of First Contact, and Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) reveals that the two are old friends.

When the Archimedes is damaged by a solar flare, the Cerritos crew members work together to help the other ship. On the Archimedes, Gomez puts her engineering knowledge to use, tirelessly working to find a solution to her ship’s predicament. The Cerritos makes it just in time to save the battered Archimedes, and Captain Freeman takes over the first contact mission from the injured Captain Gomez. Since her time on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Captain Gomez has learned how to remain calm in a crisis and has become an encouraging and competent Starfleet captain.

Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Lower Decks are available to stream on Paramount+.