Easy, he would have been TNG first 'Tos' style Klingon!!
Why did Data never change his appearance?
- Thread starter JarodRussell
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Easy, he would have been TNG first 'Tos' style Klingon!!
You know, I always thought it might have made a neat story (wouldn't work with Worf obviously), probably a B plot, for an alien to go for a cosmetic procedure (so cheap and easy in the 24thC it can be done on a walk-in basis) to look more human because of some artificial aesthetic of beauty, as an allegory for some non-Westerners to attempt to look more white, like the horribly caustic hair straightening products some black women use*, and especially epicanthal fold surgery some Asians undergo that's becoming a significant specialization in cosmetic surgery circles not just in the States but in Asia as well.
*Personal note--don't let this stuff touch your skin for more than a few moments. Burns and itches like a son of a bitch.
Was there ever an explanation given for why Klingons within a generation suddenly developed prominent head ripples? Or are we supposed to just ignore that kind of thing? I seem to remember an episode of DS9 where they went back to the time of the old series, possibly encountering a contemporary Klingon along the way and having to account for the difference in their appearance.
(Sorry for digressing from the topic a little here)
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I don't have ready access to episodes of Enterprise, can you explain how they got there? And did the episodes in question explain why they didn't have them in TOS?
I haven't actually seen any episodes of Enterprise, to my eternal shame, do Klingons in it look like TOS Klingons or more like TNG?
Yeah, it's an interesting idea about other species wanting to be human. Although I have wondered in the past why Data wanted to be human, rather than Klingon or Vulcan. I'd actually say that in temperment he's already quite close to a vulcan.
I don't have ready access to episodes of Enterprise, can you explain how they got there? And did the episodes in question explain why they didn't have them in TOS?
I haven't actually seen any episodes of Enterprise, to my eternal shame, do Klingons in it look like TOS Klingons or more like TNG?
Essentially, Augments that had been bred in the 22nd Century (which the Enterprise crew eventually delt with) had managed to capture a Klingon vessel with very little effort (2 Augments vs 25 Klingons). Natually, this made the Klingons at the time piss their pants. They manage to get a hold of some Augment DNA and start trying to engineer it to work on themselves, so they could combat a threat they saw from Earth of human super soldiers.
A muck up in the genetic engineering (can't remember if a virus was indirectly affected by the engineering, or was the delivery method that got out of hand) of the process started a disease that started spreading throughout the Empire, one of the effect being a smoothing of the forehead. A cure is eventually devised, but those infected are stuck with the foreheads even though they aren't killed by the virus. Think a doctor says something to the effect that it would take a few generations for the visible effects of the virus to be wiped out.
So, Klingons have always been ridged forehead, just from the 22nd Century some ended up passing down smooth foreheads. One could presume that those with very little ridges (such as Chang) are the visible result of bloodlines who were infected, but are slowly returning to normal
A muck up in the genetic engineering (can't remember if a virus was indirectly affected by the engineering, or was the delivery method that got out of hand) of the process started a disease that started spreading throughout the Empire, one of the effect being a smoothing of the forehead. A cure is eventually devised, but those infected are stuck with the foreheads even though they aren't killed by the virus. Think a doctor says something to the effect that it would take a few generations for the visible effects of the virus to be wiped out.
So, Klingons have always been ridged forehead, just from the 22nd Century some ended up passing down smooth foreheads. One could presume that those with very little ridges (such as Chang) are the visible result of bloodlines who were infected, but are slowly returning to normal
Edit: Spoiler tags added
Yep. I think Spock mentioned something to this effect in one of the better lines from Unification--something like, "It's ironic that you [Data] are what I always sought to be, but would yourself prefer to be more like me."
He did,
In the last film Nemesis he changed into Billions and Billions on tiny particles of dust!
Though that was seven years ago, I'm so sure there are some fans who'll say "Too soon, too soon."
I don't have ready access to episodes of Enterprise, can you explain how they got there? And did the episodes in question explain why they didn't have them in TOS?
I haven't actually seen any episodes of Enterprise, to my eternal shame, do Klingons in it look like TOS Klingons or more like TNG?
.Essentially, Augments that had been bred in the 22nd Century (which the Enterprise crew eventually delt with) had managed to capture a Klingon vessel with very little effort (2 Augments vs 25 Klingons). Natually, this made the Klingons at the time piss their pants. They manage to get a hold of some Augment DNA and start trying to engineer it to work on themselves, so they could combat a threat they saw from Earth of human super soldiers.
A muck up in the genetic engineering (can't remember if a virus was indirectly affected by the engineering, or was the delivery method that got out of hand) of the process started a disease that started spreading throughout the Empire, one of the effect being a smoothing of the forehead. A cure is eventually devised, but those infected are stuck with the foreheads even though they aren't killed by the virus. Think a doctor says something to the effect that it would take a few generations for the visible effects of the virus to be wiped out.
So, Klingons have always been ridged forehead, just from the 22nd Century some ended up passing down smooth foreheads. One could presume that those with very little ridges (such as Chang) are the visible result of bloodlines who were infected, but are slowly returning to normal
Edit: Spoiler tags added
But in DS9's "Blood Oath" Kor,Kang and Koloth all had their ridges back.
When I read the first post on this thread I said, "Yeah why didn't Data ever change his appearance apart from 'All Good Things', he could have grown facial hair too?" Than I asked myself what would have been comfortable for the viewers to accept, imagine Data with dreadlocks, or with long flowing hair and it just doesn't work for Data or for someone in starfleet. I also asked the question about skin color, why not allow Brent Spiner to come in naturall without the yellow pigment, it could easily have been explained by Data deciding to be more human by imitating human skin color, but as I thought I came some conclusions, including that Data is an Android and for new viewers they wouldn't understand Data's character without the synthetic look, he would seem cold, aloof, and: "OMG did they just open his head up!" would naturally be a problem.
Cured or cosmetic surgery.I don't have ready access to episodes of Enterprise, can you explain how they got there? And did the episodes in question explain why they didn't have them in TOS?
I haven't actually seen any episodes of Enterprise, to my eternal shame, do Klingons in it look like TOS Klingons or more like TNG?
.Essentially, Augments that had been bred in the 22nd Century (which the Enterprise crew eventually delt with) had managed to capture a Klingon vessel with very little effort (2 Augments vs 25 Klingons). Natually, this made the Klingons at the time piss their pants. They manage to get a hold of some Augment DNA and start trying to engineer it to work on themselves, so they could combat a threat they saw from Earth of human super soldiers.
A muck up in the genetic engineering (can't remember if a virus was indirectly affected by the engineering, or was the delivery method that got out of hand) of the process started a disease that started spreading throughout the Empire, one of the effect being a smoothing of the forehead. A cure is eventually devised, but those infected are stuck with the foreheads even though they aren't killed by the virus. Think a doctor says something to the effect that it would take a few generations for the visible effects of the virus to be wiped out.
So, Klingons have always been ridged forehead, just from the 22nd Century some ended up passing down smooth foreheads. One could presume that those with very little ridges (such as Chang) are the visible result of bloodlines who were infected, but are slowly returning to normal
Edit: Spoiler tags added
But in DS9's "Blood Oath" Kor,Kang and Koloth all had their ridges back.
LOL, regular people watching TV must be pretty stupid, I guess. I wonder how they recognize him as an android, and not only as an albino alien.
Not that there haven't been human-looking androids in other shows before or since, but you have to admit, Data's appearance is still unique to this day (even in the Robot Hall of Fame). Even with all the superior human-looking androids in fiction, Data is still arguably the best known. I would add that Brent Spiner went a long way towards convincing audiences that he was an android, as opposed to a Vulcanesque alien.
The other options are to rely on stiff acting (and Spiner is definitely not a stiff actor) to reinforce the robot side, or to employ expensive makeup/cgi/sfx like the T-800 and T-1000.
Indeed. If you look at other TV "androids" of the late '80s and '90s, the actors portraying them are usually doing very Data-like characterizations (Yancy Butler on Mann & Machine, for example).
Didn't they remind the veiwers pretty much every episode? "Well as an android...."
As I understand it, there was always the intention to change Delenn's appearance. Initially Delenn looked somewhat male (in the pilot, now called "The Gathering"), and that appearance was to be maintained, which was to make the change to a human/Minbari female all the more drastic.
For some reason, tho', one of the changes made between the pilot and the first weekly episode was that even in her initial Minbari form, Delenn looked fairly female. Apparently the change to a human hybrid was always planned, tho'.
