New or Old Klingons?

[Maurice]

Hispanic meaning Spanish or Latino looking actors! Tige Andrews maybe not so much or William Campbell but Kor, Krell and Kang most definitely so!
JB

As I said, the actors don't look "hispanic". Maybe to you with the makeup.

And just for fun...

• John Colicos (Kor) was of Greek descent.
• Tige Andrews (Kras) was the son of Syrian parents
• William Campbell (Koloth) was from New Jersey
• Michael Pataki (Korax) had a Hungarian father.
• Ned Romero (Krell) had an ancestry that was Chitimacha Native American, as well as Spanish and French.
• Michael Ansara (Kang, Day of the Dove) was born in Syria.
• Susan Howard (Mara, Day of the Dove) was born Jeri Lynn Mooney and blonde.
• Mark Tobin (Klingon, Day of the Dove)
• K.L. (Kenneth Lavelle) Smith (Klingon Captain, Elaan of Troyius) was from Oklahoma City.
• Robert Dwayne Herron (Kahless) parents were Glen and Mildred... not likely hispanic

 

[johnnybear]

No, but they looked it to me! I knew of Colicos and Ansara's descent already andlthough Romero was probably the only one of the group to actually have Spanish lineage it's better than the usual answer that they looked like brown skinned mongols!
Hey, Mau, you didn't include Mark Tobin's ancestry or Pete Kellet's or Jay Jones's!

 

[Leon]

I think that the way that Klingons looked after the Augment Virus has stricken them is the way they should have looked from the onset of the films in the late 1970's.

 

[johnnybear]

I've always thought they looked more scary in TOS than later series! The fact that they were similar looking to humans, and we know just how nasty humans are don't we, made them more unpredictable!
JB

 

[Maurice]

Because their background wasn't easily ascertained from their online bios.

 

[Melakon]

Have to wonder what Arne Darvin (Charlie Brill) looked like before being surgically altered to look human.

 

[Maurice]

Like Charles Brill with a Koloth makeup,

 

[Melakon]

So all he had to do was shave.

 

[Lieut. Arex]

I prefered the original New Soviet Man in space to the Space Vikings, for TNG while Moore and compnany were borrowing elements from Ford's portrayal of the Klingons they should have paid closer attention

 

[urbandefault]

Have to wonder what Arne Darvin (Charlie Brill) looked like before being surgically altered to look human.

Like Charles Brill with a Koloth makeup,

So all he had to do was shave.

Here's what he looked like before they shaved him down.

(Screengrab is actually from a game show sometime in the 70s.)

 

[Hypaspist]

I'd like it if the new movies try and find a way to merge the two extremes. They can keep the aesthetics of TNG Klingons and the more alien look of Into Darkness. Eliminate some of the more animalistic aspects and make them a more intelligent foe. Remember that one Klingon who confronts Uhura? He isn't manipulated by her mention of honor and frankly seems unimpressed. It seems like he doesn't even consider any of them a foe worth the effort and is going to dispatch them efficiently or maybe test their resolve, but it's not like he's going to drop his weapons just because someone dared him to or something like that.
I think that's the fundamental flaw with TNG Klingons: It doesn't seem like a society that would be able to beat anybody or get anything done. Repercussions all come down to honorable behavior and the actual mission or the Empire seems to not matter at all.

Heart of Glory did the Klingons pretty well in TNG. They are proud warriors and they are looking for glorious battle, but they have a purpose which isn't agreeable in the end. They want power and they aren't about to back down, but they aren't posturing and shouting like barbarians either.

 

[Tim Walker]

The newest ones have a great look. Kind of the best of both. Their armor/uniforms aren't too bulky and cheap looking, but they still look badass.

Kang is still my favorite of all time. He just had so much presence that I thought of him as a formidable commander, but also like he could beat anyone who tried to challenge him.

TOS Klingon uniforms were too bland for baddies. TNG/DS9/VOY Klingon uniforms were too over the top.

One thing I like about the JJ uniforms is the inclusion of the Klingon symbol.

 

[Tim Walker]

I honestly don't think Ron Moore or TNG ever improved on the very first modern series Klingon story, "Heart of Glory".

I would have to agree. There are interesting aspects to their culture afterwards, but it became more and more hard to believe as time went on.

Agreed. Abrams's crew was stupid to change the Romulan and Klingon makeup. Couldn't they have at least shown all styles next to each other?

I do like the newest Klingon designs. Their appearance conveys the idea that they have a completely different way of thinking and acting. That is the most important thing to me. It's not whether they act like brutal Soviet army types or honorable mystic ninja vikings, it's that they are alien to us. Them being completely opposite reflection of Starfleet is more interesting than any amount of backstory.

Agreed about the JJ style in terms of uniforms and accouterments. Somehow, these implied that the Klingons had their own, unique culture, rather than being space-Russians or space-Vikings or space-bikers, or space ninjas.

I think the TOS producers got it right when the Klingons appeared as a sort of darker skinned version of a Mongol. Bumpy foreheads are hard to take seriously.

Actually, I originally thought of the TOS Klingons being of human descent, because they didn't have bumpy foreheads or pointed ears.

 

[Anwar]

The original idea was that "Klingon" was a political term, like "Fed" was, and that the Klingon Empire was also a multi-species group. They'd have used other aliens representing the Klingons as well, but that was deemed too expensive.

Makes you wonder how the Klingons and Romulans are such threats to the Feds when they're both just one Alien species vs the Federation's multi-species.

And I don't see how the forehead thing is harder to take seriously than making the Vulcans a bunch of Space Elves.

 

[Hypaspist]

I always assumed the Klingon's subject races were the ones doing a lot of slave labor and manning lousy outposts in the middle of nowhere. It's sort of like how Nazi Germany had a lot of minor powers allied with it and a lot of slave laborers. The majority of the fighting was still done by German troops, with less reliable troops used only to hold ground at most. The British Empire had the biggest manpower source in the world under its control, but was unable or unwilling to use them to the extent they used their native population and non-ethnic colonials. I think an analogy can be made with the Federation doing the same thing. Plus the Klingon Empire would not want its subjects to start learning all of their technological secrets or being placed in sensitive areas.

Another advantage that both empires have is that they are probably willing to interfere with any developing civilization for their resources. The Cardassians weren't really that concerned with getting the Bajorans on their side nearly as much as they simply wanted to strip-mine the planet to fund their war effort.

 

[Anwar]

I liked the Cardassians actually. I thought they were a better extrapolation of what they were doing with the TOS Klingons.

 

[Hypaspist]

^ I agree completely.

 

[Maurice]

The original idea was that "Klingon" was a political term, like "Fed" was, and that the Klingon Empire was also a multi-species group. They'd have used other aliens representing the Klingons as well, but that was deemed too expensive.

Source for that assertion?

 

[Anwar]

It was in an issue of the Star Trek Magazine, but I can't remember off the top of my head which issue it was.

 

[Maurice]

It was in an issue of the Star Trek Magazine, but I can't remember off the top of my head which issue it was.

Mmmm. Without being able to consult the source, I remain dubious, of for no other reason than lots of what's been reported as the "original intent" has proven to be false.