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Gene Coon primarily modeled the Klingons, metaphorically, on contemporary Russians, making the standoff between the species and the Federation representative of that between the Russians and the Americans during the then-ongoing Cold War. (Star Trek: The Original Series 365, p. 139) This view of the Klingons had their sociology theoretically aimed at "the collective good" rather than "individuality," as pointed out by Kor actor John Colicos. (The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine issue 15, pp. 16-17) The Klingon Empire was also a metaphor for Communist China and its allies in the Vietnam War, namely North Vietnam and North Korea. (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One) David A. McIntee explained, "There is some suggestion that the Klingons represent a Cold Warrior's view of Chin

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  • Depicting Klingons
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  • Gene Coon primarily modeled the Klingons, metaphorically, on contemporary Russians, making the standoff between the species and the Federation representative of that between the Russians and the Americans during the then-ongoing Cold War. (Star Trek: The Original Series 365, p. 139) This view of the Klingons had their sociology theoretically aimed at "the collective good" rather than "individuality," as pointed out by Kor actor John Colicos. (The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine issue 15, pp. 16-17) The Klingon Empire was also a metaphor for Communist China and its allies in the Vietnam War, namely North Vietnam and North Korea. (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One) David A. McIntee explained, "There is some suggestion that the Klingons represent a Cold Warrior's view of Chin
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  • Gene Coon primarily modeled the Klingons, metaphorically, on contemporary Russians, making the standoff between the species and the Federation representative of that between the Russians and the Americans during the then-ongoing Cold War. (Star Trek: The Original Series 365, p. 139) This view of the Klingons had their sociology theoretically aimed at "the collective good" rather than "individuality," as pointed out by Kor actor John Colicos. (The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine issue 15, pp. 16-17) The Klingon Empire was also a metaphor for Communist China and its allies in the Vietnam War, namely North Vietnam and North Korea. (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One) David A. McIntee explained, "There is some suggestion that the Klingons represent a Cold Warrior's view of China in the 1960s – swarthy, brutally repressive." (Star Trek Magazine issue 153, pp. 66) Dave Rossi agreed, "In many ways, the Klingons were born out of our fear, as Americans, of [...] the Communists." ("Errand of Mercy" Starfleet Access, TOS Season 1 Blu-ray) According to D.C. Fontana, there were a range of other real-world sources that additionally gave rise to Coon's creation of the Klingons. "What did he want to accomplish? I think he just wanted a good, tough villain... for Kirk," Fontana speculated. "And I think he was basing a lot of it on the kind of attitude of the Japanese in World War II, the Nazis in World War II, because Gene was a World War II veteran marine and he really took all this to heart. And as a result, he modeled them on the worst villains he knew." ("Errand of Mercy" Starfleet Access, TOS Season 1 Blu-ray) McIntee concurred, "The Klingons with their conquests and military structure echo the Axis forces of World War Two as much as the Communist powers in Vietnam." (Star Trek Magazine issue 153, pp. 66) Chekov actor Walter Koenig specified, "They [the Klingons] were evil and nationalistic. But Star Trek did not address the baser things in man. There was no imperialism or colonialism. We addressed this obliquely, hoping that someone would pick up our message out there." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 27, No. 11/12, p. 61) After Gene Coon conceived the Klingons, a name for the species did not immediately come to mind. He took inspiration from a name which came into earshot, that of Lieutenant Wilbur Clingan – a friend of Gene Roddenberry who served with him in the Los Angeles Police Department. (Star Trek: The Original Series 365, p. 141; Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry, p. 131) Even when retired years later, Clingan was still proud to introduce himself as the first Klingon. Commented Robert Justman, "The question remains whether Gene named these creatures out of homage or revenge. I've heard it both ways." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 114, pp. 22-23) Also under dispute is the nature of the production staff's reception to the name. According to the book Star Trek: The Original Series 365 (p. 141), the series' production staff liked how the moniker sounded, which led to Coon altering the spelling and using it for the fictional species. However, D.C. Fontana stated, "We never liked the name. We said, 'Gene, can't you come up with a different name than Klingon? We hate it.' It was odd-sounding. You know, Kling-on – as in clinging." (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One) The detractors of the name were apparently unable to devise a more preferred alternative and there wasn't enough time to settle on something else, so they left the name as it was. (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 40; These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One) The script of "Errand of Mercy" introduces the Klingon look by saying, "We see the Klingons are Orientals," thereafter repeatedly describing them as "hard-faced, uniformed, heavily armed, wearing what looks like vests of mail (see the material used as mail by the Romulans.)" Indeed, the Klingons originally appeared as fairly ordinary Humans with heavy makeup as well as emboldened eyebrows, with some of the males having mustaches and goatees. The reason the Klingons were accepted as looking so Human-like, delineated from Humans mainly by their mannerisms and characters, was that the series had neither the materials, budget nor time necessary to create elaborate makeup for the Klingons. ("Errand of Mercy" Starfleet Access, TOS Season 1 Blu-ray) The introduction of the Klingons in "Errand of Mercy" caused the casting of that episode to become a longer and more involved process than normal. This was because the production staff had little idea what a Klingon should look like. "I had never heard of a Klingon before," related Makeup Designer Fred Phillips. "And nothing in the script that I read told me what it was." (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One) Because John Colicos had likewise never previously heard of Klingons, he was also initially uncertain how they should be. "My first thought was 'What the hell is a Klingon? What does a Klingon look like? Well, they'll know what it's all about.'" ("The Sword of Colicos", Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Official Poster Magazine, No. 8) Colicos assumed the Star Trek makeup department, in particular, would know precisely how a Klingon should look. "When I arrived at Paramount," the actor continued, "the make-up man said to me, 'What in the hell does a Klingon look like?'" (Star Trek: Communicator issue 104, pp. 19) Recalling his own response, Colicos related, "I said, 'You don't know either?'" (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 59) John Colicos and the relevant makeup artist sat down and began to devise how the Klingons should look. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 59) That makeup worker, Fred Phillips, started the process of designing the species by directly asking Colicos how he wanted to look. Despite thinking of the Klingons as the futuristic Russians they were intended to be, Colicos took inspiration from Genghis Khan, as Kor was likewise an ambitious military commander. (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 40) "He thought that was a hell of a good idea," Colicos said, regarding Phillips' reaction. (Star Trek: Communicator issue 104, pp. 19) Colicos' hair happened to be very short and combed forward. He asked for it to be sprayed and slightly "kinked up." Due to the Genghis Khan influence, Colicos then proposed "a vaguely Asian, Tartar appearance," with an alien-looking "brown-green makeup." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 40) Colicos also took inspiration from Fu Manchu as an influence on his look as Kor. He instructed the makeup department, "Spray my hair black, give me a kind of swamp creature green olivey mud reptilian make-up, and we'll borrow some stuff from Fu Manchu, and put a long moustache and eyebrows on me." ("The Sword of Colicos", Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Official Poster Magazine, No. 8) The makeup scheme was therefore actually a combination of a wide variety of sources, Colicos advising the makeup team, "Make me a little touch of Fu Man Chu [sic], and a little touch of Slavic Russian, and a little touch of everything." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 59) He later remembered, "Within two hours, this thing emerged and that was it." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 40) John Colicos was pleased with how he had influenced the layout of the Klingon makeup. "I thought I was pretty crafty [...] because it only took 20 minutes to put on," he said. (Star Trek: Communicator issue 104, pp. 19) Thus, Colicos set a precedent for all other members of the species. He concluded, "Everybody else after me took that as the prototype of the Klingons." ("The Sword of Colicos", Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Official Poster Magazine, No. 8) Even the early conception of Klingons as ferocious conquerors was cemented largely by the initial portrayal of Kor. (The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine issue 15, pp. 16) The swarthy appearance of the Klingon faces was actually created with a dark brown cream base, which was applied to the actors' faces. (Star Trek: Aliens & Artifacts, p. 42) Rick Stratton, who was part of a small team of young makeup artists enlisted by Fred Phillips to work with him on Star Trek: The Motion Picture, uncertainly recollected, "I think the makeup was called 'Mexican #1 or #2.' That was the name of the original makeup foundation – they actually had kind of racist names at the time, like 'Negro #1' and 'Mexican #2' – which was the basis for the original Star Trek makeups." (Star Trek Magazine issue 172, pp. 59) The males' facial hair appliances were lace, glued on using spirit gum, and their eyebrows were made to look bushy. (Star Trek: Aliens & Artifacts, p. 42) Noted Michael Westmore, "They actually shaped and penciled in the eyebrows with pencil." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 110, pp. 59) Due to the minimalism of the makeup used, the Klingons were easy to create, from a makeup standpoint, and were therefore able to be shown in groups. (Star Trek: Aliens & Artifacts, p. 42) The first time any Klingons were filmed was on Friday 27 January 1967 . (Star Trek Magazine issue 164, pp. 70) However, several minor changes were made between how the Klingons were initially planned to be portrayed in "Errand of Mercy" and how they ended up being shown in that installment. For example, a pair of Klingons guarding a munitions dump were scripted to have a couple lines of dialogue, though they don't speak in the episode's final version. [1] Also, two mere moments which acted as the set-up and payoff of a "stare-off" gag were shot but deleted from "Errand of Mercy". The gag involved, at one point, a Klingon shooting a hard stare at Kirk in a courtyard on Organia and – on another occasion, at the doors to Kor's office on the planet – another Klingon soldier receiving the same kind of look from Kirk. (Star Trek Magazine issue 164, pp. 70) As the makeup procedures for the Romulans were too costly for that species to be featured on a regular basis (despite the Romulans having been meant as an ongoing villain), the Klingons – much cheaper to create – replaced them as the show's chief antagonists. (Star Trek: Aliens & Artifacts, p. 42) "In the original series, all they wore was a dark face and their black hair," Michael Westmore observed. "Also, they didn't have the degree of facial hair that we had on them." ("Michael Westmore's Aliens: Season Two", DS9 Season 2 DVD special features) Although the creative staff hadn't intended for the Klingons to be recurring villains and never thought they would be as successful as they were, these expectations were changed by the fact they were considerably easy to do, basically requiring merely facial hair and slightly darkened skin. ("Errand of Mercy" Starfleet Access, TOS Season 1 Blu-ray; These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One) "Once we figured that out," reflected D.C. Fontana, "the Klingons became regulars." ("Errand of Mercy" Starfleet Access, TOS Season 1 Blu-ray) "It didn't happen at first, but they were good villains," offered Robert Justman. "A lot of these things didn't enter my consciousness at the time, but looking back on it now, I can see how unerring Gene [Coon]'s instincts were." (Star Trek Magazine issue 125, pp. 37) In agreement, Fontana described the ease at which the Klingons could be done as "the beauty of them." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 114, pp. 22) She said further, "They became a very good adversary, because once you established them, you had to find out ways to explore them." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 40) The first installment in which the Klingons reappeared, the season 2 outing "Friday's Child" , at first hardly involved the species. Although D.C. Fontana wrote multiple drafts of the episode (between January 1967 and April of the same year), her version of the story featured no Klingons on Capella IV, where most of the episode's events take place. In fact, other than a subplot featuring a Klingon ship – which Fontana added at Gene Roddenberry's request – the Klingons were discussed but not seen in Fontana's form of the plot. It wasn't until Roddenberry did a rewrite of the episode's script (in May 1967) that the Klingons factored more heavily into the installment. Even though Gene Coon had created the species, Robert Justman included – among comments he sent Coon about the changes Roddenberry had made – the reminder, "We are not at war with the Klingon Empire in this show." (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two) David Gerrold proposed reusing Klingons in the second season episode "The Trouble with Tribbles" , which was at that time a story entitled "A Fuzzy Thing Happened To Me...". The suggestion, later described by Gerrold as "almost accidental," was inspired by a statement made by Gene Coon, while he and Gerrold were seeking a villain for the installment. Gerrold recounted, "'The threat has to come from outside the Federation.' And when he said that, something went twang in my mind, something I'd seen on a first-season rerun – I opened my mouth, wondering what I was going to say, and said, 'Klingons!' [....] Perhaps the fact that I had just seen the episode the week before had something to do with it." Gerrold believed the Klingons fit perfectly into the story. (The Trouble with Tribbles, pp. 80-82) He subsequently asked Coon if he could reuse them as the alien menace required for the episode. ("The Trouble with Tribbles" audio commentary & Starfleet Access, TOS Season 2 Blu-ray) "He said, 'You know, we've been talking about having a continuing threat, a continuing nemesis for Kirk, and the Klingons are probably the best way to go,'" recalled Gerrold. ("The Trouble with Tribbles" audio commentary, TOS Season 2 Blu-ray) Despite Coon revealing that the producers had been discussing the option to have the Klingons become a recurring nemesis, he also mentioned that there hadn't been a suitable story form to feature their return, so he gave Gerrold the go-ahead to write them into "The Trouble with Tribbles". ("The Trouble with Tribbles" Starfleet Access, TOS Season 2 Blu-ray) Coon approved of this course of action in agreement with Gerrold's belief that the Klingons were a good fit for the story. Gerrold commented, "This would fit in nicely with his overall plans for the series." (The Trouble with Tribbles, p. 81) Concluded Gerrold, "So, the tribble episode was where we made the decision to have the Klingons be the continuing nemesis for the Enterprise." ("The Trouble with Tribbles" audio commentary, TOS Season 2 Blu-ray) Klingon Psychology was one of several topics which David Gerrold thereafter found himself having to hurriedly research before writing the episode's teleplay. Even so, while scripting the installment, Gerrold temporarily had some slight difficulty with making the Klingons as nasty as Gene Coon wanted them to be. Coon thoroughly approved of another element of the episode's Klingons, though, Gerrold later recalling, "Gene Coon thought the names I used for the Klingons were deliciously evil-sounding." (The Trouble with Tribbles, pp. 121, 135 & 186) In the script for "The Trouble with Tribbles", David Gerrold described both Koloth and "the last Klingon commander that we saw" as "an evil-looking S.O.B." The last Klingon commander featured on Star Trek before that episode was Kras in "Friday's Child", though Gerrold's comment was most likely aimed at the highly influential character of Kor from "Errand of Mercy". (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two) David Gerrold thought up the idea of Klingons hating tribbles (and vice versa) as a way of determining, in the story, the true identity of Arne Darvin as a Klingon spy. Gerrold later recalled this story point having come to him "almost at the last moment" and said, "It just came to me on the spur of the moment." (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two) The overbearing nature of the Klingons in "Errand of Mercy" influenced Charlie Brill's depiction of Arne Darvin in "The Trouble with Tribbles". Brill was pleased that, because Darvin was a Klingon disguised as a Human, he didn't have to wear the Klingon makeup. [2] William Campbell approved of how the Klingons are portrayed in "The Trouble with Tribbles", with the character of Korax being what Campbell perceived as "the nasty one," as opposed to his own character of Koloth. Said Campbell, "I thought that was a good idea; it gave them depth." (The World of Star Trek, 1994 UK ed., p. 121) Comic book writer Scott Tipton, who co-wrote the mini-series Klingons: Blood Will Tell, characterized the Klingons in "The Trouble with Tribbles" as generally "very different" from those in "Errand of Mercy". He noticed that they are not only less like Mongol warriors by having less of a swarthy appearance but also by being slightly not as fierce, allowing them to be shown aboard Deep Space Station K-7. "These are kind of more like suburban Klingons," he said. "You know, they're a little laid back, you know, it's like they've been working in an office, they just wanna come in, you know, get some R&R, maybe use a snack room [....] It's enough of a keystone back to what we've seen before that it still feels familiar but it works well because you couldn't put the 'Errand of Mercy' Klingons in this episode, 'cause you wouldn't let those guys onto your space station so they can come have a drink at the bar! So, by the nature of the story, you have to kind of make them a little more refined." ("The Trouble with Tribbles" Starfleet Access, TOS Season 2 Blu-ray) Regarding the fact that the episode "The Trouble with Tribbles" concludes with many tribbles having been beamed aboard a Klingon ship, David Gerrold supposed about the Klingons, "I'll bet that they didn't let any thoughts of inhumanity trouble them....." (The Trouble with Tribbles, p. 116) When William Campbell was questioned about what the Klingons did with all the tribbles, he responded, "We ate them." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 27, No. 11/12, p. 98) Dave Rossi imagined that the Klingons were "shoveling these things into the engines" at the end of the episode. ("The Trouble with Tribbles" Starfleet Access, TOS Season 2 Blu-ray) "A Private Little War" continued the analogous use of the Klingons. In that outing, they were meant to represent the Communist foes of the United States specifically during the Vietnam War, which was being controversially fought at that time. (Star Trek: The Original Series 365, p. 222) The species was metaphorically used, in this way, since the very first story outline for "A Private Little War" was submitted. Therein, the Klingons were established as having familiarized some of the inhabitants of planet Neural with rifles. Upon criticizing the story outline, Robert Justman wondered, "Why have the Klingons introduced rifles to this civilization instead of their own particular weapons, which we have previously established in another show? I think I know why, but perhaps we ought to spell it out, so that the audience understands that the Klingons still wish to retain absolute control and don't want this civilization to get too advanced, or to be difficult to handle eventually." Gene Roddenberry was interested in increasing the degree to which the Klingons allegorically resembled North Vietnam, politically. He wrote to Coon, "I think it is terribly important that the Klingons are operating in complete secrecy. It is vital to this story, to the whole logic of it that the Klingons attempt to preserve the illusion that all this is 'normal' planet development; that the people with their guns developed gun powder themselves. Thus, if Earth people interfere, the Klingons can argue that it is Earth people who are upsetting the delicate balance of a world here.… In other words, the situation is even closer to the Viet Nam situation. North Viet Nam tries to preserve the illusion, or at least tried to preserve it for some time, that they were not sending men and materials to South Viet Nam. And that way they insisted it was the United States which was the meddler and the aggressor." Coon thereafter stressed to Ingalls the importance of the Klingons being defeated by Starfleet due to secret instructions to counterbalance them, stating, "If we do not play it this way and it is admittedly the hard way, the Klingons will take over and threaten the Federation, even as the situation is in Vietnam, which is, as I remember, if Vietnam falls all Southeast Asia falls." (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two) While the story for "A Private Little War" underwent development, D.C. Fontana suggested substituting the Klingons with the Romulans, as a way of differentiating the episode from "Friday's Child". Gene Coon was determined to keep making the Klingons recurring villains, though. On the other hand, Robert Justman feared, in common with Fontana, that another "nose-to-nose confrontation between Captain Kirk and his Klingon adversary" was one of numerous factors which made the installment too similar to "Friday's Child". (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two) An undeveloped, untitled story which Alan Dean Foster proposed for a two-parter in the third season of TOS involved a Klingon named Kumara. Foster was told to resubmit the idea for the show's fourth season, though the series was ultimately cancelled at the end of its third season. [3] At first, no Klingon ships were intended to be shown on The Original Series. "We had no need for a Klingon ship," stated Designer Matt Jefferies, "nor did we have a budget to do one, or the time to design it or build it." Taking advantage of a merchandising opportunity with Aluminum Metal Toys (AMT), however, the Star Trek creative team eventually designed and built the D7 class model of Klingon ship, which ended up appearing in only one episode. That installment, "Elaan of Troyius" , was far from a major Klingon story and the Klingons played only a peripheral role in it. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 9, pp. 66) However, the Klingons' physical conflict with the Enterprise in the episode's genesis, a story springboard called "Helen of Troyius" and written by Gene Roddenberry, was a major factor in attracting John Meredyth Lucas to write the episode. (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Three) The Klingon species was well known to the production staff by this time. Stated Fred Phillips, "We had already established the essential character of the Klingons [....] The Klingon character was [...] clearly defined in several scripts [...] [as] cold and, in a sense, vicious." (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Three, "Embarking on Season Three: Additions & Changes") In Jerome Bixby's TOS story "For They Shall Inherit", a colony of Klingons residing on a farming world near the Federation border was endangered by the planet's sun being about to go nova, so the Enterprise was sent to rescue them. As discovered by a landing party from the Enterprise, though, the Klingon colonists were now dead, all seeming to have been tortured; they had been subjugated by a malevolent race called the Dorn and all the weak Klingons had been killed by them, sparing only the strongest warriors. The Klingon survivors were forced by their oppressors into fighting against larger, stronger Dorns, in gladiatorial games which the Klingons always lost. A small group of hate-filled Klingons were pitted against the Starfleet landing party, as part of the Dorn's sadistic contests. At one point, Kirk asked the Klingon leader, Tarnok, "Why didn’t you warn us?!" Tarnok replied, "Humans can't find out such things for themselves?" Kirk retorted, "We came to help you!" Tarnok concluded, "And you failed." Discovering that the Dorn fed on hatred and violence explained why only the strongest Klingons were being kept alive, as "food" the Dorn required. The Klingon survivors thus made a concentrated effort, along with the group from the Enterprise, to contain their anger and hatred, instead displaying merriment and conviviality. This behavior weakened the Dorn, who met their doom in the supernova while the remaining Klingons escaped aboard the Enterprise. Paraphrasing Biblical scripture, Dr. McCoy told Tarnok, "Blessed be the meek – for you shall inherit another planet. Hopefully without any Dorns on it." This story outline, the first draft of which was delivered on 28 March 1968 , gradually evolved into third season's "Day of the Dove" . (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Three, [4], [5]) In a second revised outline Jerome Bixby submitted on 7 May 1968 (by which time the episode had been retitled "Day of the Dove"), the colony that was on the edge of Klingon and Federation space and needed to be saved by the Enterprise was changed from being Klingon, replaced instead with an Earth colony. In a third revised outline by Bixby and dated 28 May 1968, the Klingons no longer faced the Dorn, who had been replaced by an entity which could alter the thinking and memories of the Klingons as well as their Federation foes. Also, the Klingons, assumed responsible for destroying the Earth colony, were now brought aboard the Enterprise as prisoners, with the ship providing the battleground between them and the Starfleet officers. (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Three) At one point while "Day of the Dove" was in development, Robert Justman wrote to Fred Freiberger, "I venture to state that we would be better off with the Klingon Empire as a running antagonist in this series if we did not establish that there might be some Klingons who can determine that in this particular instance, discretion would be the better part of valor -- but let us never set up a situation whereby those adversaries of ours give any indication of ever being anything but highly aggressive and self-seeking opponents." (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Three) In an early story outline for "Day of the Dove" (dated 3 June 1968), Uhura was to have made a remark, while sitting at her communications station early in the installment, which smacked of "hard-core racism against the Klingons," entirely unsure why she made such a comment. At the end of the episode, Captain Kirk was to have mused that the Klingons might become more like the Humans by developing a love of peace, the captain pondering, "Perhaps someday the Klingons will learn the truth of it." Neither of these moments were included in the episode. Similarly, the group of Klingons who, in both the outline and the outing's final version, beam aboard the Enterprise was originally to have included numerous women as well as the female Mara, all of whom (except for Mara) were implied as being a "harem" for the service of the Klingon warriors. [6] During "Day of the Dove"'s post-production, a scene featuring the leader of the Klingons, renamed Kang, and Mara was deleted. The scene, which took place on the Enterprise's bridge, made it clear the Klingon troop was being dropped from the Enterprise on a neutral planet near the Klingon/Federation border. Cautioning the Klingons against warring, Kirk referred to the idea that, without cooperation, fighting "uselessly, for all eternity" is the result as "a universal rule you Klingons had better learn." (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Three) The first draft script for "The Enterprise Incident" (dated 7 June 1968) established that the Klingon Empire had been trading with the Romulan Empire. Also, Spock referred to the Klingons, in duplicitous conversation with the Romulan Commander, as "known to have little honor." [7] In fact, D.C. Fontana included, in the same first draft teleplay, a couple sections of dialogue where the Klingons' alliance with the Romulans was spoken of with concern by Kirk and his crew. Fred Freiberger and Arthur Singer removed these references. Consequently, an account of the Klingons' treaty with the Romulans – explaining why the Romulans were now using formerly Klingon ships – had to be provided for the fans afterwards, in Ruth Berman's column of the official Star Trek newsletter, Inside Star Trek. (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Three) The Klingons were not always portrayed allegorically. Years after playing Kang in "Day of the Dove", Michael Ansara declared, "We weren't playing them to resemble any earthly nationality or race. We were from Outer Space." (Star Trek Magazine issue 175, pp. 46) No specific rules were ever stipulated for writing about Klingons. "They had a certain culture and a certain kind of way of thinking that we didn't really line out in the bible or anything like that but we knew from past experience on other scripts how we had developed them," D.C. Fontana reflected. "So, if a writer was going to use them, we just let them read those other scripts or watch the episodes, so they could get a handle on it." [8] D.C. Fontana was highly approving of several of the actors who played Klingons, enthusing, "We had some really good ones." [9] Klingon-playing performers John Colicos and William Campbell, who featured as Kor and Koloth in "Errand of Mercy" and "The Trouble with Tribbles" respectively, were veteran television actors. (Star Trek: Communicator issue 114, pp. 23) Although no Klingons ultimately made any more than one appearance in the original series, Gene Roddenberry believed the series could benefit from a regular Klingon character, a counterpart of Kirk's with whom he would frequently clash. As such, both John Colicos and William Campbell were intended to return as their respective characters of Kor and Koloth. Campbell played Koloth in the knowledge that he might subsequently be hired for as many as thirteen episodes per season. Though Colicos was asked to reprise his role as Kor in both "The Trouble with Tribbles" and "Day of the Dove" whereas Campbell was invited for the first of what was meant to be multiple reappearances as Koloth, other commitments kept both actors from returning. (The World of Star Trek, 1994 UK ed., pp. 120 & 121; Cinefantastique, Vol. 27, No. 11/12, p. 61; "The Trouble with Tribbles" Starfleet Access, TOS Season 2 Blu-ray) The Klingons' appearance changed within the original Star Trek series; although dark makeup and heavy eyebrows were the norm, the Klingons of "The Trouble with Tribbles" were much lighter-skinned and more Human-like in appearance. Regarding this change, William Campbell remarked, "Mike Ansara had a certain gypsy look to him, and John Colicos actually used the name Genghis when describing his character and the kind of make-up. My character in 'The Trouble with Tribbles' was just a guy with a widow's peak and a beard, so basically, we looked like they [the actors playing Humans] looked." (Star Trek Monthly issue 11, pp. 53) Explained Robert Justman, "The second time [the Klingons appeared], something went wrong. I didn't see them in their makeup before they were photographed, as I usually did. The first time I saw the Klingons revisited, I was horrified. They were much paler and didn't match what we'd done before. I blew a gasket, but in television, unless it's a total disaster, you can't afford to reshoot. The third outing, we went back to them being darker." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 114, pp. 24) Trying to account for these makeup differences, Ruth Berman stated they were "Because there are different races of Klingons, just as there are different races of Earthmen. Also, because, when Fred Phillips looked up information on Klingons for 'The Trouble with Tribbles', the photos he found were poorly lit and gave the appearance of light skin and ordinary eyebrows. Since then, he has followed the 'Errand of Mercy' style of Klingon." (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two) Another changing element was the depiction of Klingon females. A line by Koloth in "The Trouble with Tribbles" was meant to suggest that females ("non-essentials," as Koloth puts it) don't serve on Klingon vessels. (The Trouble with Tribbles, p. 187) In "Day of the Dove", however, two women (including Mara) are shown as crew members from Kang's battle cruiser. "Day of the Dove" marks the only appearance of any female Klingons in the original series. It was Fred Phillips who created the female variant of the Klingon makeup. (The Star Trek Compendium, p. 119) Gene Roddenberry always wanted the TOS Klingons to look more alien than they did, but this desire was stumped by TV budgets of the era. (Star Trek Monthly issue 93, pp. 37) Additionally, Roddenberry was unsettled by the way Klingons were portrayed on the original series, coming to realize that they were at loggerheads with the ethos of Star Trek by being shown as entirely villainous. (Star Trek Monthly issue 10, pp. 50; The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, pp. 215-216) In 1980 , Susan Sackett relayed about this opinion of Roddenberry's, "He believes that the Klingons emerged as too simply the epitome of evil – the bad guys who always wear black – whereas one of Star Trek's philosophical cornerstones was that there are many forms of truth, and other life forms (or other humans, for that matter) should not be branded good or evil solely on the basis of our own customs." (The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, pp. 215-216) During a SeaTrek convention a decade later in 1990 , Majel Barrett agreed, "Gene [Roddenberry] never did like the Klingons because they were represented as being 'all bad.' Gene said, 'There is no such thing as a whole race that is all bad.' He really hated that." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 22, No. 3, p. 20) D.C. Fontana personally found the Klingons less interesting than the Romulans. [10] Comparing the two groups, she stated, "[The Klingons] were interesting villains with an agenda, not quite as mysterious as the Romulans. The Romulans were a keepout group. The Klingons were operating in our territory which could lead to more direct contact–and conflict–with the Federation." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 114, pp. 22-23) David Gerrold wrote, "All of the Klingon episodes were, in one way or another, restatements of the original: Klingons and Earthmen must not fight." He also approved of the Klingons, if they were to be shown on a regular basis, as not engaging in all-out conflict with the Federation, saying, "Not only does this provide a good background for a wide variety of stories, both humorous and dramatic, but it is a lot more optimistic and (hopefully) believable than a space war. After all, a race that can achieve space travel is going to have done so only through large scale programs of social cooperation, and it is hoped, in the process will have learned that there are better ways than aggression to accomplish one's goals." (The World of Star Trek, 1994 UK ed., p. 32) The portrayals of Klingons in TOS are largely consistent with one another, though new attitudes were attributed to them in later years. Whereas TOS Klingons were played with what Robert Justman once termed bravura, no one thought of them as honorable warriors yet. "When you got right down to it," said Justman, "they were worthy adversaries and they were killers. They were 100 per cent bad, evil, motivated by the need to be evil. They were thrilled to be evil." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 114, pp. 24) Mike Sussman pointed out, "They really seemed much more interested in glory and treachery than honor in those days. Maybe they found the whole 'honor' thing wasn't working for them." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 139, pp. 47) Quark actor Armin Shimerman noticed that the TOS Klingons are "sort of one dimensional bad guys." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 48) Richard Arnold pointed out they "were not very bright," either. (Star Trek: Communicator issue 114, pp. 27) Ronald D. Moore felt the original series included "very, very little" about Klingon culture. ("Sins of the Father" audio commentary, TNG Season 3 Blu-ray) He elaborated, "They were villains, it was built around conquest, and there were certain attributes you could identify, but there wasn't that much to go from." (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 19, pp. 64) While working on Remastered TOS, neither Dave Rossi nor Michael and Denise Okuda were ever tempted to add computer-generated wrinkles to the Klingon foreheads, matching the look of the species in later appearances. "Although, I gotta tell ya, the three of us talked about it for a while," recalled Mike Okuda, "and we thought, 'We should propose digitally retouching the foreheads just so we could see [Visual Effects Supervisor] Niel Wray's head explode,' because once he figured out the amount of time it would take to retouch every single frame with every single scene with every single Klingon, they'd still be working today." ("Errand of Mercy" Starfleet Access, TOS Season 1 Blu-ray) While Star Trek: The Animated Series was in early development during 1969 , one of three never-produced story outlines which were submitted by Don Christensen and were considered for production by Filmation was entitled "Klingon Attack". (Star Trek Magazine Souvenir Special, p. 55) Klingons subsequently represented one element which David Gerrold felt he undoubtedly had to "shoehorn" into the animated episode "More Tribbles, More Troubles" . (Star Trek Magazine issue 132, pp. 19) The installment's creative staff even copied the way the Klingons were used in "The Trouble with Tribbles", involving diplomatic relations between them and Captain Kirk. Gerrold felt a recap in the episode's dialogue was necessary to address the species' hatred of tribbles. ("More Tribbles, More Troubles" audio commentary, TAS DVD special features) However, Klingons turned out to be an aspect of the episode which amounted to it seeming "contrived" to him. (Star Trek Magazine issue 132, pp. 19) Only one other installment of the short-lived animated Star Trek series featured Klingons: "The Time Trap" . In "More Tribbles, More Troubles" and "The Time Trap", the same animated footage was evidently used for the Klingon characters of Koloth and Kuri respectively. Making both Klingons look identical was done as a money-saving exercise. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 17, pp. 71) In 1976 , the Klingons were planned to feature in the ultimately never-produced film Star Trek: Planet of the Titans. The Klingons would have fought with the Federation over a planet once owned by a technological super-race. According to the director, Philip Kaufman, one of the Klingons, hopefully played by Toshiro Mifune, would have battled with Spock while both characters were "tripping out in outer space." (The A-Z of Star Trek, Special SFX Edition, p. 106) During development of the unrealized TV series Star Trek: Phase II, John Meredyth Lucas wrote a two-part episode entitled "Kitumba" which, if filmed, would have established a radically different Klingon culture to the one developed in subsequent series and films. For a start, it would have been revealed only members of the Empire's warrior caste are called Klingons. The other castes are called the technos, who are the scientists and technicians, and the subjects. A relationship similar to the Emperor and Chancellor in later series would also be established, with the ceremonial Kitumba residing on the Sacred Planet that orbits closer to the sun, while the Warlord presides over political and military decisions on Ultar, the story's name for the Klingon homeworld. (Star Trek: Phase II - The Making of the Lost Series) In essence, the Klingon Empire of this story took major influence from Japan. (The A-Z of Star Trek, Special SFX Edition, p. 105) Lucas explained, "I wanted something that we had never seen before on the series, and that's a penetration deep into enemy space. I then began to think how the Klingons lived [....] The Japanese came to mind, so basically that's what it was. You know, the sacred Emperor, the Warlord and so on." (Starlog, issue 112, p. 34)
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