On Star Trek: The Next Generation, Whoopi Goldberg’s Guinan introduced a new alien species called El-Aurians. Guinan joined TNG at the beginning of the show’s second season, after Whoopi Goldberg contacted producers requesting a role on the series. Guinan was an enigma when she was introduced, and TNG It took a while to reveal more about her, only giving teases and hints about her past. Guinan had known Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) for some time and she was one of the few people he trusted for honest advice.
After appearing in 29 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and two of TNG films, Guinan returned in Star Trek: Picard season 2. In two different timelines, Guinan (portrayed in the past by Ito Aghyere) helped Admiral Picard and his motley crew restore Star TrekThe Prime timeline proper after being altered by Q (John de Lancie). Guinan remains Star Trek better known El-Aurian, although much about the long-lived species is still a mystery. Only three other named El-Aurians have appeared on screen, including the main antagonist of Star Trek Generations, Dr. Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell).
Who are the El-Aurians in Star Trek?
The El-Aurians are a race of long-lived listeners
Since Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced the El-Aurians, the franchise slowly revealed more about the mysterious species. They were a race of listeners that spread across the galaxy. Because they seemed indistinguishable from humans, El-Aurians were able to blend in among humans, as Guinan did during Earth’s 19th century. El-Aurians aged extremely slowly by human standards and could live for several centuries. They also possessed a limited form of telepathy and could sense disturbances in space and time, such as when Guinan felt the universe shift. TNG’s “Yesterday’s company.”
Named El-Aurians seen on screen |
||
---|---|---|
Character |
Actor |
Appearances |
Guinan |
Whoopi Goldberg, Ito Aghayere |
Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: Nemesis, Star Trek: Picard |
Martus Mazur |
Chris Sarandon |
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 2, Episode 11 – “Rivals” |
Dr. |
Malcolm McDowell |
Star Trek Generations |
Commander Kassia Nox |
Nicole Byer |
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 5 – “Starbase 80?!” |
At some point in their history, the El-Aurians encountered conflict with the Q Continuum, resulting in a long cold war that eventually led to a truce. Despite this, Guinan and Q remained adversaries at least into the 24th century, although the exact nature of their negotiations remains unknown. During the 23rd century, the Borg attacked the El-Aurians, destroying many of their cities and decimating their population. Many of the surviving El-Aurians became refugees, and in Star Trek Generationsthe USS Enterprise-B rescued a group of these refugees that included Guinan and Dr.
How long do El-Aurians live?
El-Aurians have lived for several centuries
Star Trek has never expressly stated the average life expectancy of El-Aurians, but they have been known to live for several centuries. Node Star Trek: The Next Generation in the two-part “Time’s Arrow”, Captain Picard met Guinan on Earth in the late 19th century, making her at least 500 years old in the 24th century. TNG Season 6, Episode 7, “Rascals”, Guinan mentioned that his father was around 700 years old, establishing that El-Aurians could live at least that long.
Introduced in Star Trek: Lower Decks 5th season, Star Trek the most recent El-Aurian, Commander Kassia Nox, is also the youngest. When Lieutenant Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) questions whether Nox is “like, 400 years,” Nox responds that she is in her 30s. This leads Mariner to respond that “a young El-Aurian is just a normal person.” However, this may not be entirely true, as it is unclear whether age affects El-Aurians’ abilities to detect disturbances in the space-time continuum.
In Star Trek: Picard Season 2, Episode 1, “The Star Gazer”, Guinan suggested that El-Aurians had some choice about when and how they aged. Despite their longevity, El-Aurians reached adulthood at about the same time as humans, explaining why Commander Nox looks and acts like a human in his 30s despite being practically a child by El-Aurian standards. Aurians. Since the introduction of Guinan in Star Trek: The Next Generation, the El-Aurians became one of the Star Trek most fascinating and mysterious exotic species.
- Release date
-
September 28, 1987
- Seasons
-
7
- Presenter
-
Gene Roddenberry