Klingons, Vulcans And Trill ... Oh My!

The changing faces of favorite aliens are often a source of pique for fans, yet a constant within the franchise

Jun 20, 2023

So, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has launched its sophomore year with a blast: intriguing storylines and even more intriguing characters.

But what has the fans buzzing?

What the Klingons look like in the season opener, “The Broken Circle.”

The general sense seems to be relief that they have returned to a more-familiar appearance … sort of.

The unique look with which producers imbued our favorite warrior species at the launch of Star Trek: Discovery is gone … sort of.

The solace at what the Klingons look like seems strong enough to make even the faintest of heart reach for a large mug of the stoutest bloodwine.

Heck, the various Klingon countenances over the years spawned its own page on Memory Alpha.

The truth is that, while occasionally changing the faces of some of our beloved alien species in the Star Trek universe is often a source of vexation for many fans, the truth is that it happens with some regularity in the franchise.

And should we even care at all?

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Strange New Worlds co-showrunner Henry Alonso Myers was fairly diplomatic recently about those Discovery Klingons when he was asked about the Klingons we see in “The Broken Circle.”

“We are grateful to have many of the folks who work on Discovery also work on our show. We got to hear about all the things that worked really well for them, and all the things that were challenging,” he told Trekmovie.com. “We’re trying to find something that kind of met the ground in between our different series, but still felt like Klingons to people who are fans of the of the shows.

“A lot of this was, quite simply, about production. We were trying to make the Klingons something we could produce and actually do. But, it was also really important that were telling a story that that has the emotions and war and things that actually come out of Disco into our show and how that would affect the people in it,” Myers added. “We’re not trying to make them feel different. We’re trying to make them feel like if you had all the money in the world, and you were making shows in 2022, what would you do? You would try to do it again but try to make it look as good as possible in the manner that we do today.”

He further explained the changing faces of the Klingons in an interview with Inverse.

“I think we were probably a little more influenced specifically by the look of the movies,” Myers said there. “But the history that nobody talks about is that in almost every show, there has been a change in the way the Klingons look. And what Discovery did was really interesting and it was specific and it was challenging.

“This was our chance to say that we were not changing or ruining anything that anyone else has done, but to do something that felt like its own, but very much coming from the world of the other Klingons,” he added.

Of course, the “turtle-headed” Klingons, of course, were themselves a retcon from what they first looked like in the original series. (An original series look which, by the way, was incredibly racist.)

Believe me when I say that, if you were a fan when Star Trek creator and executive producer Gene Roddenberry suddenly dropped the “turtle heads” on us in the opening moments of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, you were about as mystified and confused as folks were with Discovery's portrayal.

(Fun fact: the Klingon commander in The Motion Picture was played by Mark Lenard, the same actor who played the Romulan commander in the original series episode, “Balance of Terror” as well as Spock's father, Sarek, throughout the TOS-era and Star Trek: The Next Generation eras.)

Reviewers assessing “The Broken Circle” were typically positive about the latest version of Klingon.

“Obviously, we get the original [post-TOS] Klingon instead of the remade Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 look which a lot of people did not like,” said YouTuber Jessie Gender. “I didn't love them but I also didn't hate them as vitriolically as others.

“But I do like these original Klingon looks, and I think they look very, very awesome,” she added.

The Klingons in “The Broken Circle” evoke a vibe from the later TOS movies for Star Trek writer, podcaster, and editor Larry Nemecek.

“Oh, and it was a long wait, but I love the Klingons in this show,” he said. “I mean, they've all been teased in the promos and the trailers, but you know what? They do look like they're right out of the late-TOS movies. The makeup style — the basic vibe of the costume and makeup working together — it feels very Star Trek VI-ish.”

Although fans seem to focus on the Klingons, several other species have also changed their appearances in the history of the franchise.

Think about the first Cardassian, or Trill, who we met watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, and they look very different than they'd later would during Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

The presentation of the Ferrengi would morph from the more-animalistic behavior we saw in TNG, to the more nuanced and mature portrayal we see with Quark and others during DS9.

Even the look of Vulcans have changed, when producers on Star Trek: Voyager gave us the first dark-skinned Vulcan when they cast Tim Russ in the role. (And I still find his portrayal of Tuvok to be one of the very best we've seen of a Vulcan throughout the franchise.)

Ultimately, how the aliens look in the Star Trek franchise shouldn't be so important, YouTuber Tyler Pilkinton, from OrangeRiver, said this week during a live stream.

“We need to not be so constrained by canon that it impedes the storytelling,” he said.

Retconning — or the act by producers of retroactively altering franchise canon — should not be feared, according to Tyler.

“There’s nothing wrong with retconning, frankly. You should welcome some retconning, I think,” he said. “Here’s the thing: It's completely and utterly normal.

“The fact that Star Trek is as consistent as it is, is a miracle, honestly,” he added.

Hailing frequencies open….

Here's the latest that we've been keeping up with…

MOMENT FOR TREK

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | What To Expect In Season 2 | Paramount+

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