Of all the exotic species that Star Trek created over their nearly 60-year history, the Klingons have been redefined most frequently. In the first appearance of the Klingons in Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1, Episode 26, “Errand of Mercy,” Klingon leader Kor (John Colicos) was a military strategist hungry for a “glorious“war and a narrative counterpoint to Captain James T. Kirk’s (William Shatner) more diplomatic approach. Colicos’ portrayal of Kor set the standard for Klingons in Star Trek: The Original Series as tyrannical adversaries and honorless warmongerscompared to the integrity of Starfleet officers.
Starfleet’s narrow view of its Klingon enemies seemed to contradict Star Trekmessage of inclusion and understanding of all life, especially those different from us, but Star Trek: The Original Series needed a permanent opponent. The Klingons’ simpler makeup (at the time) was more economical than equipping each Romulan with their own pair of pointy ears, so new Klingon appearances in Star Trek: The Original Series made the Klingons a franchise staple. As Star Trek evolved, just like the Klingonsas they gained their own look and a more developed culture.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Star Trek TOS Movies Hints at Future Klingon Changes
The first big change Star TrekThe Klingons have arrived Star Trek: the moviewhen Advanced makeup technology and a bigger budget gave the Klingons the alien look they were always supposed to have. Star Trek: The film it also gave us the first lines of dialogue spoken in the Klingon language, which would eventually evolve into the full-fledged constructed language it is today.
Starfleet’s ongoing encounters with Star Trek: The Original Series’ Klingons were a thinly veiled allegory of the United States’ Cold War with the Soviet Union. Nowhere was this more apparent than in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Countrylaunched in 1991, when Warming relations between the US and Russia were reflected in the Federation’s treaty with the Klingon Empire.
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994)
Michael Dorn’s Lieutenant Commander Worf offers an insider’s look at the Klingons
Star Trek: The Next Generation promised a different take on the Klingons from the start, with the simple addition of Lieutenant Worf (Michael Dorn) as the first Klingon in Starfleet. Through Worf’s eyes, audiences get their first glimpses of Klingon culture from an insider’s perspective.– with a caveat. Raised on Earth by human parents, Worf’s strict, academic approach to his own people sometimes failed to explain how subtle the complicated politics of the great Houses of the Klingon Empire can be.
Star Trek VIThe Khitomer Accords opened the door to Star Trek: The Next GenerationKlingons are portrayed as people with a different moral imperativerather than an inscrutable enemy to be feared. Writer Ronald D. Moore Star Trek episodes established important cornerstones of Klingon culture that led to modernity Star Trek shows, from the first glimpse of the Klingon homeworld of Qo’noS, to the realization of the concept of Klingons as honorable warriors, eager to die in battle and receive their rewards in Sto-vo-kor.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999)
Klingon culture is more than just war
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine maintained a critical lens on the new version of Klingon culture that Star Trek: The Next Generation established, with deep dives that reflected a Klingon society rich in legends, history and customs. Before Worf’s addition to the DS9In the Season 4 cast, the season’s link to Klingon culture was Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell), who inherited Curzon Dax’s interest in Klingon culture. Worf and Dax’s relationship revealed much more about Klingon romantic customs, from courtship to traditional Klingon marriage.
Star Trek: Deep Space NineKlingons had breadth and depthlike General Martok (JG Hertzler) rising from humble beginnings to become Chancellor of the Empire and evoking the heroes of legend while representing the best of Klingon ideals. Non-warrior Klingons appeared, such as the owner of the Promenade’s Klingon restaurant. Lawyer Ch’Pok (Ron Canada) approached his case as a battle in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 4, Episode 18, “Rules of Engagement,” and Grilka (Mary Kay Adams) revealed inequities in Klingon customs. Even John Colicos returned as Kor, a Terms of Service relic given surprising depth Star TrekIt’s the new era.
Star Trek: Enterprise (2001–2005)
First Contact and the Klingon Surge Virus
Star Trek: Enterprise established Earth’s disastrous first contact with the Klingons in its debut episode, “Broken Bow,” when the Klingon messenger Klaang (Tommy “Tiny” Lister Jr.) crash-landed on Earth. Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) volunteered the NX-01 Enterprise to deliver Klaang alive back to Qo’noS, not understanding that this dishonored Klaang and insulted the Empire, in accordance with Klingon custom. Misunderstandings that arose from cultural differences between Klingons and humans resulted in decades of warpreviously established in Star Trek: The Original Series.
The Klingon Augment Virus became an epidemic that resulted in smooth-headed Klingons.
In its later seasons, Star Trek: Enterprise sought to explain the discrepancies between Star Trek: The Original Series and everything that came after, including why the Klingons looked so different. Star Trek: Enterprise season 4, episode 15, “Affliction”, and episode 16, “Divergence”, explained that Klingon scientists attempted to create their own versions of genetically enhanced Augments based on the DNA of human Augments. When the Augment DNA fused with the Levodian flu, the Klingon Augment virus became an epidemic that resulted in smooth-headed Klingons.
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Baddest and nastiest Klingons
Taking place in an alternate timeline meant that Star TrekThe Kelvin Timeline films were necessarily different from the 23rd century that had previously been established. The most militant Federation in Star Trek in the Dark and the fact that the Klingons were still enemies of the Federation meant that the Klingons of the Kelvin Timeline were more reserved than those we know of in the Prime Timeline.
Like this Star Trek: the moviebetter budget and improved makeup Terms of Service‘Klingons, Star Trek in the Dark pushed the design of the Klingons even further than they were in the TNG was. The Kelvin Timeline Klingons’ sharper cranial crests, bulkier structures, and hairlessness would inspire the controversial Klingon redesign in Star Trek: Discovery.
Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2024)
Star Trek rewrites Klingon culture
With the dawn of a new era for Star Trek came another big change for the Klingons. Occurring at a time when hostilities erupted into total war, Star Trek: Discovery The first season’s Klingon stories focused on war and political machinations within a destroyed Klingon Empire.while Klingon priestess L’Rell (Mary Chieffo) sought to control and unite the Klingon Empire through the prophesied torchbearer Voq (Shazad Latif). Other castes of Klingon society, including non-warrior Houses, received representation on the council.
Of course, Star Trek: DiscoveryThe biggest change for the Klingons was the redesign. After countless hours with Worf and TNGKlingon style, fans were not satisfied with the direction that Discoverythe makeup team decided to reimagine the Klingons. Returning Klingon characters sported longer hairstyles in Star Trek: Discovery season 2, making them closer to the more familiar Klingons, but Star Trek: Discovery completely avoided Klingons after that.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022 – Present)
All three Klingon variants exist simultaneously
Without any explanation, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returned to the Star Trek: The Next Generation version of Klingon makeup, suggesting that these More familiar Klingons were a variant that existed alongside Star Trek: Discoveryof super-Klingons, as well as Star Trek: The Original Series‘ Raise Klingons. Strange new worlds season two, episode 8, “Under the Cloak of War”, shows how brutal the Federation’s Klingon War was and explains why anti-Klingon sentiment remained for so long among humans.
The Klingons are, without a doubt, one of the most memorable alien species in history. Star Trekand for good reason. The redefinition of Klingon characters and culture throughout Star TrekThe history of Brazil shows a society that becomes more understandable the more it is explored. Star TrekKlingons are not hateful by nature, but deeply passionate, with a rich culture that was deeply misunderstood in Star Trek: The Original Series because it was seen through a human lens. The evolution of the Klingons teaches that great Star Trek lesson, approach others with curiosity rather than hostility, in hopes of achieving understanding.