This has bugged me for a while, and I'm hoping one of you geeks knows the answer. How come in the original Star Trek the klingons look like communist (i.e. blokes with funny beards) BUT in TNG onwards they have horrible bump-ridden faces and nasty ridges.
I'm told there is an 'official' Trek universe explanation, but I've never heard it. Anyone able to clear this up for me?

I heard that the official explanation was hat there were two races of Klingon. One was Worf-like, and the other was General Chang-like.

Come on. The reason is because the original Trek did not have a budget for elaborate makeup. Once they got a budget with the Star Trek I, they changed the appearance of the Klingons (remember they are in the initial scene). It remained the same since.

In one DS9 comedy-based episode, Worf and some of the modern cast were transported back in time, and right into the middle of the original Trouble With Tribbles episode of the first series. Some really fun stuff, done with lots of Gump-style digital effects.

The cast points to the old-style Klingons -- which look like standard bad guys, with goatees -- and asks Worf to explain. He just looks mortified and says "I don't want to talk about it."

That's the only reference in any of the TV shows.

Perhaps in the books there's some pseudo-serious explanation, but really, isn't it better just to laugh at it?

If you think the Klingon inconsistency is silly now, just wait:

According to the current rumors, the next Trek series is going to take place in the era just before Kirk, Spock and company. So, which Klingons should they use for a new show about the past??

In the "real world," the budgetary reason is of course correct.

Production-wise, the stupidest thing they ever did was take Klingon characters who had appeared smooth-headed on the original series (Kor, Koloth, and Kang) and put them on Deep Space Nine WITH bumpy heads!! That totally blows the whole "two races" theory, which made some sense. Why couldn't they have just left them alone? The original Klingons were much cooler, anyway.

We can't theorize that Klingons heads get bumpier as they age, because Worf's son always had ridges.

On Next Generation, they cloned the Emperor Kahless, founder of the Klingon Empire, and he was bumpy-headed. Presumably, all ancient Klingons were bumpy.

So we are left with smooth-headed Klingons during the Kirk-era, who later become bumpy-headed. The only explanation that makes the slightest bit of sense is that, for reasons undisclosed, the Klingons chose to alter their appearance (perhaps as an entire race!) during the early years of contact with other space-going civilizations. But even this doesn't make much sense. How and why would they do such a thing? Or...Maybe it was just a bad fashion thing, like the leisure suit and wide lapels. Eventually, they just came to their senses and restored the "old fashion." This might explain Worf's mortified look.

All in all, I agree with Worf--it's probably best not to talk about it!

It is so funny how Trek fans try to reconcile everything.

The simple answer is that between the budgetary changes and general passage of time, the Trek-makers changed the look. However, Trek fans always nitpick every detail to death, completely forgetting the fact that it is a fantasy show that has been through so many different eras and writers that it is impossible to keep any coherant narrative when it comes to some fatcs. Therefore, explanations abound, none of which can ever really be right, because some geek will always blast it. What everyone should do, is accept the fact that its slightly lopsided fiction, enjoy it regardless, and move on.

Actually, you two, I don't see why trying to maintain a consistent backstory can't be part of the fun.

I tend to do this with any series I enjoy, and I don't see much evidence that -- stereotypes aside -- the majority of Trek fans have any difficulty seperating reality from fiction, thank you...

Yes, it's all a joke. What is it again that makes you think WE don't know that as well?

I loved it when Worf said (in Trials and Tribble-ations):

"We don't discuss it with outsiders."

A hilarious explanation!

What about how in the the Next Generation episode (The Host)the Trill had these ugly facial ridges, but on DS9 Terry Farrell, a Trill, had these beautiful spots along her face.

Apparently the producers thought Terry was too pretty to cover up with ugly make-up. I would tend to agree. I love those spots!

So -- what did you think of your successor, Ezri?

I liked her, but she was no Jadzia

Jadzia was my hero.

As much as I love the original series, considering how it was the United Federation of Planets, I always found it weird that except for Mr Spock, the Enterprise seemed to be manned by only Earthlings. The same went for any other Federation vessels they encountered. Of course, I realize that the budget is the reason, but I wonder what the Trekkie explanation is for this.

Yeah, i wasnt saying that Trekfans dont know the difference between reality and fantasy. What i'm getting at is that i find it useless to endlessly argue over such points in a fantasy show that has endless lapses in narrative and so forth. Since there is nothing other than speculative answers, and there will never be a satisfying concrete answer, i find it a senseless waste of time to bicker over it, like i see most Trek fans doing.

[Edited by iaido on 03-13-01 at 01:23 PM]

Come on now. I thought everyone knew about the Klingon Plastic Surgery Fiasco. When the Federation first met up with Klingons, they were horrified that any alien race could grow coconuts on their foreheads. Back then, Klingons were kind of wimpy and didn't like the constant taunting and finger pointing by a bunch of puny humans like Cap'n Kirk and his ilk. So rather that deal with all the nasty teasing, Klingons simply had an expensive plastic surgeon come to the planet and make them all look more human.

As a result, there was a lot of resentment toward humans for all that painful and unnecessary plastic surgery. After al while, some of the tougher Klingons decided to kill the original plastic surgeon and hired a new one to restore their lovely ridges and nasty teeth.

But something went horribly awry. The plastic surgeon was a completist and decided to add ridges where there weren't ridges before, and this caused Klingons much discomfort. And Klingons being the pissy race they are, killed that plastic surgeon, and never bothered to hire a third to remove all the extra ridges. Thus they are REALLY mad now, but since the last plastic surgeon was a disgruntled Klingon to begin with (probably from the House of K'AnG), they could no longer blame humans for their appearance and simply gave up and started killing everyone, including other Klingons.

Years later, the Klingons grudgingly joined the Federation. They're still pissed, but at least now they are able to infiltrate human society and bring it down from the inside. Plus they get all the hot spotted chicks.

As for the inconsistencies with later Klingons showing up with flat ridges in one movie, and bigger ridges in other movies, work it out. They obviously went to the plastic surgeon for the Stars to be made MORE Klingon.

This is why they don't like to talk about it.

Marianne

Dude or dudette...whatever you may be....

You don't ask a question by calling them "Geeks"

It all started when Stone Cold Steve Austin XXXIV was visiting Kligon for a match, and somewhere in the battle he opened a really big can of whoop-a*s!

Can you say 'irony'!?! Notice nobody else complained?
If you're still confused, let me explain: someone posting a thread about Klingons is not going to use the term 'geek' as an insult. Political Correctness and humour are obviously mutually exclusive. (Unless you were being ironic too, in which case I salute you, sir!)

ease up sweetheart.

Didn't you my tongue icon? It was meant to be a tongue and cheek post.....

((KISS))

"Enterprise" will have ridged klingons. official reason is that they didn't have the budget for cool make up originally

mikehunt, the "make-up expense" explanation was mentioned in the third post.

I think what is intriguing people is whether they'll work in an "explanation" i.e. as someone says it could be two races, it could be some weird genetic tampering to obscure their origins etc.

As adamblast says, in the crossover episode all Worf said, when the later-era ST humans were confused was that this was an aspect of their past that Klingons didn't discuss. (Why no humans had read of the original Kang-type Klingons, for example, in famous Captain Kirk's old logs, I have no idea!)

The more you think about it, the more an explanation seems called for. If they fluff this aspect of continuity I would expect there to be considerable criticism, fwiw.

what's really funny, is that Kang, Kor and Koloth all came back with ridges. All three were in a DS9 episode together. Kor had a few more DS9 episodes and I think Kang was in a Voyager episode where tuvok has a flashback to his time on teh excelsior under capt sulu.
One explanantion I heard that I like was that the organians made humans think klingons were ridgeless in an effort to help the peace process as teh klingons would look more human and that would help there to be less prejudice

The 2-hr Enterprise pilot script contains a scene in the Klingon High Council, where Klingons of both "types" are seen in the background with no explanation. I don't know if they actually filmed it that way-- we'll see in a few weeks...

I figured they'd just use ridged Klingons and ignore the issue, but if they do show both Klingon types, they have to explain it officially at some point...

I always saw Worf's "I don't wanna talk about it..." answer as more of a joke than anything...

While I think the whole plastic surgery/trying to look Human excuse is pretty lame, it's probably the safest route for the the show to go if they decide to address it...

How many actual Klingons did we actually see in the original series? Ten? Twelve? Less? Couldn't the ridgelessness been confined to only those few, thanks perhaps to rampant inbreeding, leaking plasma coils, and/or improper application of government issued exfoliants?

Of course, due to the constant emasculating they were bound to endure, some of them (such as Kor, Koloth and Kang) had a few bumps glued on (no, too wussy for a Klingon, more like screwed on, sans anesthesia) just to fit in?

The real question is..how come Worf's head is so much bigger and uglier during the first couple of seasons of ST:TNG than later?

Yeah, and what's with that pageboy haircut?



Ok, here's how I remember it:

Season 1: Weird Big Head Worf
Seasons 2-4: Pageboy Worf
Seasons 5-7, DS9, Movies: Cool Ponytail Worf