What happened to all the 'human' aliens?

[Shawnster]

And it was even cheaper to use footage of Klingon ships as Romulan!

I belive you are proceeding from a false assumption. The Klingon ship very first appearance was "The Enterprises Incident" where it was flown by Romulans. So, from a production expense standpoint it was a new build model and definitely not stock footage.

 

[The Salt Umpire]

I belive you are proceeding from a false assumption. The Klingon ship very first appearance was "The Enterprises Incident" where it was flown by Romulans. So, from a production expense standpoint it was a new build model and definitely not stock footage.

I'll just leave something from Friday's Child

[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/b/b3/Klingon_warship,_Fridays_Child_remastered.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20081218042704&path-prefix=en

And The Trouble With Tribbles

The Trouble with Tribbles (episode)

The Enterprise is overrun by furry creatures while tangling with Klingons and bureaucrats. The USS Enterprise is en route to Deep Space Station K-7 for assistance with an important assignment regarding a disputed planet. One parsec from the nearest Klingon outpost ("Close enough to smell them,"...

memory-alpha.fandom.com

 

[Christopher]

And it was even cheaper to use footage of Klingon ships as Romulan!

"The Enterprise Incident" featured newly filmed footage of the Klingon battlecruiser, not stock, but they used that miniature for two reasons. One, the Romulan ship miniature had been lost. Two, they'd made a deal with AMT to build the Klingon miniature for the show for free in exchange for the model kit rights, so they wanted to feature the ship in order to promote it. So there was money-saving involved, but not in the way you think.

The Klingon ship very first appearance was "The Enterprises Incident" where it was flown by Romulans.

Only in broadcast order. "Elaan of Troyius" was its first appearance in production order. Although given how long "Elaan" was delayed in the schedule, it's possible the FX shots from "Incident" were produced earlier.

 

[Shawnster]

I'll just leave something from Friday's Child

How does citing anything from the remastered episodes matter in this discussion?

 

[Christopher]

I'll just leave something from Friday's Child

[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/b/b3/Klingon_warship,_Fridays_Child_remastered.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20081218042704&path-prefix=en

And The Trouble With Tribbles

The Trouble with Tribbles (episode)

The Enterprise is overrun by furry creatures while tangling with Klingons and bureaucrats. The USS Enterprise is en route to Deep Space Station K-7 for assistance with an important assignment regarding a disputed planet. One parsec from the nearest Klingon outpost ("Close enough to smell them,"...

memory-alpha.fandom.com

Neither of which was in the original versions, as the Klingon ship miniature was not designed or built until season 3. The Klingon ship in "Friday's Child" was just an animated blob of light on the viewscreen, and only the Enterprise was seen outside K7 in "Tribbles."

The actual first appearance of the Klingon battlecruiser was in The Making of Star Trek, since the book came out between seasons 2 & 3. Its author Stephen E. Whitfield worked for AMT and was involved in the deal to build the miniature, so he put it into the book to promote model kit sales.

 

[The Salt Umpire]

How does citing anything from the remastered episodes matter in this discussion?

I've accepted the remastered episodes as how TOS would have looked if funding and a better sfx company were available. Consider the superlative sfx Kubrick used at around the same time. Some of the TOS eps sfx were terrible, with nacelle pylons winking in and out of existence and planets looking like the striped glass marbles you found in a bag as an example.

Yes, technically, you are correct. Thanks

 

[Christopher]

I've accepted the remastered episodes as how TOS would have looked if funding and a better sfx company were available. Consider the superlative sfx Kubrick used at around the same time.

I'd agree with that except the "better sfx company" part. TOS had, in total, six of the best visual effects companies in Hollywood working on the show, a far greater assemblage of VFX talent and innovation than any previous or contemporary television series. By the standards of the day, it was the most visually spectacular and groundbreaking TV series ever made. The talent or skill of the artists was never an issue, only the available time and budget, both of which a feature film would naturally have had in far greater abundance.

But you're right that the FX only represented the best approximation of the intent that they were able to manage, and they would've gladly done better given the time and resources. It's best to think of these things as artistic representations rather than literal depictions. Have a dozen artists paint the same model and every painting will look different. Different FX team's interpretations of the Enterprise, or different makeup artists' interpretations of Klingons or Andorians, are like different comic book artists' character designs for Clark Kent or Peter Parker. The character may look very different in different issues, but you accept that it's the same person and the difference is due to the artists expressing their individual styles.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Why might any aliens appear human on today's Trek shows?

* Consistency - the same species looked like humans on previous shows
* To avoid fans asking why they look different, which may or may not require devising a reason for it (e.g. augment virus)
* They can change form - human-like happens to be the one they usually/often default to
* To be mistaken for humans/go undercover with little to no alteration (time travel on Earth, etc.)
* Cheaper costuming
* Some other plot reason

* It would mar the appearance of good-looking performers
* Performer can't wear makeup/prosthetic for personal reasons (health, comfort, etc.)

 

[Christopher]

* Performer can't wear makeup/prosthetic for personal reasons (health, comfort, etc.)

That's less of an issue now when digital effects can be used instead of prosthetics, at least in some cases.

 

[The Salt Umpire]

I'd agree with that except the "better sfx company" part. TOS had, in total, six of the best visual effects companies in Hollywood working on the show, a far greater assemblage of VFX talent and innovation than any previous or contemporary television series. By the standards of the day, it was the most visually spectacular and groundbreaking TV series ever made. The talent or skill of the artists was never an issue, only the available time and budget, both of which a feature film would naturally have had in far greater abundance.

But you're right that the FX only represented the best approximation of the intent that they were able to manage, and they would've gladly done better given the time and resources. It's best to think of these things as artistic representations rather than literal depictions. Have a dozen artists paint the same model and every painting will look different. Different FX team's interpretations of the Enterprise, or different makeup artists' interpretations of Klingons or Andorians, are like different comic book artists' character designs for Clark Kent or Peter Parker. The character may look very different in different issues, but you accept that it's the same person and the difference is due to the artists expressing their individual styles.

Well put!!

 

[Ovation]

Different FX team's interpretations of the Enterprise, or different makeup artists' interpretations of Klingons or Andorians, are like different comic book artists' character designs for Clark Kent or Peter Parker. The character may look very different in different issues, but you accept that it's the same person and the difference is due to the artists expressing their individual styles.

Precisely why I’ve never been bothered by visual updates in various Trek productions as a general notion. I have preferences, of course, but no objection to the fact that visual design varies from artist to artist (whether comics or on screen).

 

[Set Harth]

Different FX team's interpretations of the Enterprise, or different makeup artists' interpretations of Klingons or Andorians, are like different comic book artists' character designs for Clark Kent or Peter Parker.

If Clark Kent or Peter Parker turned up with giant ridges on their heads that weren't there before, I think people would have questions

 

[Shawnster]

Precisely why I’ve never been bothered by visual updates in various Trek productions as a general notion.

I'm only bothered (for lack of a better word) when they feel the need to explain the visual updates. They want to update the look? Fine. I can readjust and believe that's what it always looked like.

Klingons are the prime example. I never batted an eye when TMP came out. I thought it was humorous when Roddenberry said the Klingons always looked like that and it was just the poor television reception quality of the 60s that made them look human.

Then they had to go and throw in that line in DS9 "Trials and Tribbilations". Ugh. I get it, they were trying to work Worf into the story and that was the idea they came up with. Yes, it was funny. It would also have been cool if they made Worf look like a 1960s Klingon, but nobody thought of that.

TNG gave us a Romulan update with a forehead ridge. Then they mixed in smooth and ridged Romulans. No explanation given and none necessary. Spock could still pass as a Romulan.

DISCO updated the Klingons, Ferengi, and the Tellarites with no explanation. That's fine, but own it. My beef is they went back to the 80s/90s Klingon look apparently because they didn't want Worf to look different. Part of me remembers or misremembers they took a step back with all Klingons, not just Worf. Why? Was it because of negative fan feedback? Tough! They want to make the change then they should own it. They don't care about negative fan reactions in respect to the Gorn, holodeck, or the amount of TOS/legacy characters showing up.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Ugh. I get it, they were trying to work Worf into the story and that was the idea they came up with. Yes, it was funny. It would also have been cool if they made Worf look like a 1960s Klingon, but nobody thought of that.

Were there any scenes in TOS where the Klingons talked alone? If there had been, it would have been interesting for him to infiltrate them, although how he would explain his presence if he wasn't on the crew list of their ship I don't know. Better to keep a low profile as a trader of unknown origin. His inclusion in the episode is that of Klingon specialist for the away team - he could have been left out, I suppose.

 

[Christopher]

TNG gave us a Romulan update with a forehead ridge. Then they mixed in smooth and ridged Romulans. No explanation given and none necessary. Spock could still pass as a Romulan.

I don't recall ever seeing a smooth-headed Romulan in TNG, besides the half-human Sela. As far as I know, the first production that mixed both variants was Picard.

DISCO updated the Klingons, Ferengi, and the Tellarites with no explanation. That's fine, but own it. My beef is they went back to the 80s/90s Klingon look apparently because they didn't want Worf to look different. Part of me remembers or misremembers they took a step back with all Klingons, not just Worf. Why? Was it because of negative fan feedback? Tough! They want to make the change then they should own it. They don't care about negative fan reactions in respect to the Gorn, holodeck, or the amount of TOS/legacy characters showing up.

Discovery went through multiple staff and showrunner changes in its first two seasons. The season 2 producers may simply not have liked the season 1 producers' choice of design for the Klingons. Yes, sometimes audience feedback can be a factor, but it's unwise to assume that every creative decision is exclusively a response to audience reaction. Different creators simply have their own preferences and tastes, so it's not uncommon for a show that goes through major staff changes to have significant onscreen changes as well.

For that matter, even the same creator can refine their ideas or change their mind. Michael Westmore replaced Worf's forehead with a completely new one at the start of season 2, and continued to make subtle refinements in Worf's makeup over the years. He also altered his original Ferengi design after the first season or two, adding more prominent "cheekbone" appliances. And he redesigned the Bajoran nose ridges after a while to make them easier to apply. And of course he (and the producers) changed the whole approach to Trill makeup when it went from a one-time guest makeup to a series-regular makeup.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Every third "human" you see in Starfleet is actually an alien.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Flip the script and have an alien-looking person who's actually human (not turned into a Tarchanne or Borg or other weird morphing)

 

[Greg Cox]

I used some "indistiguishable from human" aliens in a TOS novel recently, mostly because I wanted the (human) good guys and bad guys to be able to go undercover on a alien planet without lots of technobabble about prosthetics or cosmetic surgery, because that wasn't really a TOS thing and I was trying hard to capture the feel of a vintage 1960s TV episode.

Used old-school, non-ridged Klingons for the same reason.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

As long as they avoid getting cut or scanned, no problems.

 

[FormerLurker]

"Heartbeat's all wrong...Jim, this man is a Klingon!"