Klingon First Contact

[The Mighty Monkey of Mim]

Here is the full low-down with all the exact quotes...

According to our dearly departed @GSchnitzer, the first draft of the script for "Day Of The Dove" (TOS), dated 9 August 1968, contained this line that was subsequently cut:

MCCOY: [sour] Fifty years -- eyeball to eyeball with the Klingon Empire. They've spied -- raided our outposts -- pirated merchant lanes. A thousand provocations, and the Federation has always managed to avoid war. Now, this crazy business could pull the trigger!

He never specified in which subsequent draft it was dropped, but suggested that it must have been prior to filming, because in the scene as filmed there are no cutaways or other edit points in McCoy's dialogue during the scene in question. The line (or some close variation on it) was included in James Blish's novelization of the episode, however. The Okuda Chronology based its date of 2218 for first contact with the Klingons on this unfilmed and unaired reference.

Here is what Picard says about the event in "First Contact" (TNG), the first time it was mentioned onscreen:

PICARD: Chancellor, there is no starship mission more dangerous than that of first contact. We never know what we will face when we open the door on a new world, how we will be greeted, what exactly the dangers will be. Centuries ago, disastrous contact with the Klingon Empire led to decades of war, and it was decided then we would do surveillance before making contact. It...it was a controversial decision. I believe it prevented more problems than it created.

As often happens, there are minor differences between the delivery of the line (as above) and the way it was written in the final draft script, dated 28 November 1990:

PICARD: Chancellor, no starship mission is more dangerous than first contact. We never know what we face when we open the door to a new world. How will we be greeted? What are the dangers? Centuries ago, a disastrous first contact with the Klingon Empire led to decades of war. It was decided then that we must do surveillance before making contact. It was a controversial decision. But I believe it prevents more problems than it creates.

Here's what Spock says in The Undiscovered Country:

CARTWRIGHT: Negotiations for what?
SPOCK: The dismantling of our space stations and starbases along the Neutral Zone, an end to almost seventy years of unremitting hostility which the Klingons can no longer afford.

Note that it is "almost 70 years" and not simply "70 years" as in the script. Note also that in both, it's "hostility" and not "hostilities"; the former can persist unremittingly even through periods in which the latter (in the sense of direct contact and open fighting) are only sporadic and intermittent, and even when a nominal "peace" is "officially" in place. That's exactly what we saw during the period following Organia; the Klingons clearly remained hostile toward the Feds, and vice versa.

The one way it can work is if the years preceding the 2220s were even more peaceful, meaning the minimal contact after the Donatu V nastiness would still carry the torch of "hostility" to the 2250s and then to the 2260s, across the Organian Peace, and all the way to TUC.

It's not as if the Organian Peace was really peaceful, but it's not as if it was open warfare, either. So history writers could use it as support for two opposite interpretations: that Klingons barely lifted a finger against the Feds (because their attempt at a late 2260s war embarrassed everybody involved), or that Klingons never gave up their war even in face of divine opposition (because proxy wars raged for the rest of TOS at least).

So what the Klingons did between ENT and Donatu could go two ways, too. And as long as this activity or lack thereof didn't quite amount to a Donatu, Spock could choose Donatu as the sharp transition from "not very nasty" to "unremittingly hostile", even if it's a more or less arbitrary point event in the middle of fuzziness.

I'm with your general thrust, but Donatu V would definitely not be the turning point in question. That was only 23 years before "The Trouble With Tribbles" (TOS), so circa 2245. We need one just about two decades earlier. It could well be the "terror raid" on Doctari Alpha that led to Sarek adopting Michael in the first place. But that was only the "most recent" such incident from the point of view of young Burnham. Depending on what if any firm date becomes established for it as DSC continues, there could well have been (an)other(s) that preceded it, but no earlier than late 2223 or so, else we break the 70 year mark from TUC.

If nobody had heard a peep from the Klingons for around a century until the 2250s, then Spock's line about "almost seventy years of unremitting hostility" was off by quite a bit.

That is not what is said in "The Vulcan Hello" (DSC), though:

GEORGIOU: Michael, almost no one has seen a Klingon in a hundred years.

[...]

ANDERSON: Next time, you might try not disturbing the property of a warrior race we've hardly spoken to for a hundred years. Our only choice now is to navigate this situation with as much finesse as possible.
BURNHAM: Admiral, if I may, the ideal outcome for any Klingon interaction is battle. They're relentlessly hostile, Sir. It's in their nature.
ANDERSON: The Federation and the Klingon Empire have always been on the cold side of war. We've had only fleeting run-ins with them for a century, and now you presume to know their motivation, because it is in their nature?

Note all the qualifiers: "almost"; "hardly"; "only fleeting" etc.

First contact in Star Trek is another example of Earth centricity. On Voyager they celebrated First Contact day, the day humans made first contact with Vulcans. Really? Why not the day Vulcans made first contact with Tellar? Another example of the homo sapiens only club.

First Contact Day was the event that directly lead to the Human-Vulcan alliance, which directly lead to the founding of the Federation once the Andorians and Tellurites got on board.

Makes about as sense as Columbus Day in America.

Or more likely the Vulcan Ascendancy club. ENT put forward that the Vulcan (certainly for the first century) dominated the Humans and exercised control.

So, "First Contact Day" might have been the Vulcan's idea, which they recommended that Humans celebrate.

Doesn't really sound like it to me, in context of "Homestead" (VGR):

JANEWAY: You two have outdone yourselves. I've never seen First Contact Day celebrated quite like this. [to Naomi Wildman] When I was your age, all it meant was a day off from school.
NAOMI: Neelix and I thought we should make it more fun.
JANEWAY: Well, you certainly succeeded.
NAOMI: When is Commander Tuvok making his presentation?
NEELIX: Well, now's as good a time as any. Captain? [hands tray to Janeway] May I have everyone's attention, please? In honor of the 315th anniversary of his ancestors' arrival on Earth, I've asked Mister Tuvok to recite the first words spoken to humans by a Vulcan. Commander?
TUVOK: Is this really necessary?
NEELIX: You promised.
TUVOK: Very well. "Live long and prosper."
[applause]
NEELIX: And now, for some more of Zefram Cochrane's favourite music. [engages jukebox] Hey, come on, Mister Vulcan.
TUVOK: Vulcans do not dance.
NEELIX: But it's tradition!
TUVOK: There is no tradition, Mister Neelix. This ceremony is entirely your invention.

As far as Janeway and Tuvok's experience goes, it wasn't traditionally "celebrated" any more than Columbus Day is today. (And getting a day off school doesn't strike me as a very Vulcan suggestion, either.) As for why special significance is ascribed to that particular first contact, remember that while Vulcans were indeed playing nanny early on when it came to our foreign policy in space, Starfleet was initially an Earth-only initiative and organization. And it was that human presence, over the Vulcans' initial objections, which ultimately proved to be the catalyst that rallied and bound Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites together against the looming Romulan threat and led to the UFP. They had all met each other before we came on the scene, but they didn't like one another and didn't seem to have formed any alliances of significance. Rather, they seem to mostly have squabbled and skirmished before we came on the scene, and to some extent continued to, even into Kirk's time as seen in "Journey to Babel" (TOS). The Federation may not truly be a "homo sapiens only club" but I think the obvious element of terra-centrism (both spiritually and literally, with Earth being the capital even if the President isn't human) that is amply evident makes sense given the history. Still, we should note that they do also celebrate Federation Day per TNG, and it's not as if anything precludes the occasion of other important first contacts being marked as well. We just didn't happen to have an episode set on one of those other days.

-MMoM

 

[Kor]

Here is the full low-down with all the exact quotes...

According to our dearly departed @GSchnitzer, the first draft of the script for "The Day Of The Dove" (TOS), dated 9 August 1968, contained this line that was subsequently cut:

MCCOY: [sour] Fifty years -- eyeball to eyeball with the Klingon Empire. They've spied -- raided our outposts -- pirated merchant lanes. A thousand provocations, and the Federation has always managed to avoid war. Now, this crazy business could pull the trigger!

He never specified in which subsequent draft it was dropped, but suggested that it must have been prior to filming, because in the scene as filmed there are no cutaways or other edit points in McCoy's dialogue during the scene in question. The line (or some close variation on it) was included in James Blish's novelization of the episode, however. The Okuda Chronology based its date of 2218 for first contact with the Klingons on this unfilmed and unaired reference.

Here is what Picard says about the event in "First Contact" (TNG), the first time it was mentioned onscreen:

PICARD: Chancellor, there is no starship mission more dangerous than that of first contact. We never know what we will face when we open the door on a new world, how we will be greeted, what exactly the dangers will be. Centuries ago, disastrous contact with the Klingon Empire led to decades of war, and it was decided then we would do surveillance before making contact. It...it was a controversial decision. I believe it prevented more problems than it created.

As often happens, there are minor differences between the delivery of the line (as above) and the way it was written in the final draft script, dated 28 November 1990:

PICARD: Chancellor, no starship mission is more dangerous than first contact. We never know what we face when we open the door to a new world. How will we be greeted? What are the dangers? Centuries ago, a disastrous first contact with the Klingon Empire led to decades of war. It was decided then that we must do surveillance before making contact. It was a controversial decision. But I believe it prevents more problems than it creates.

Here's what Spock says in The Undiscovered Country:

CARTWRIGHT: Negotiations for what?
SPOCK: The dismantling of our space stations and starbases along the Neutral Zone, an end to almost seventy years of unremitting hostility which the Klingons can no longer afford.

Note that it is "almost 70 years" and not simply "70 years" as in the script. Note also that in both, it's "hostility" and not "hostilities"; the former can persist unremittingly even through periods in which the latter (in the sense of direct contact and open fighting) are only sporadic and intermittent, and even when a nominal "peace" is "officially" in place. That's exactly what we saw during the period following Organia; the Klingons clearly remained hostile toward the Feds, and vice versa.


I'm with your general thrust, but Donatu V would definitely not be the turning point in question. That was only 23 years before "The Trouble With Tribbles" (TOS), so circa 2245. We need one just about two decades earlier. It could well be the "terror raid" on Doctari Alpha that led to Sarek adopting Michael in the first place. But that was only the "most recent" such incident from the point of view of young Burnham. Depending on what if any firm date becomes established for it as DSC continues, there could well have been (an)other(s) that preceded it, but no earlier than late 2223 or so, else we break the 70 year mark from TUC.


That is not what is said in "The Vulcan Hello" (DSC), though:

GEORGIOU: Michael, almost no one has seen a Klingon in a hundred years.

[...]

ANDERSON: Next time, you might try not disturbing the property of a warrior race we've hardly spoken to for a hundred years. Our only choice now is to navigate this situation with as much finesse as possible.
BURNHAM: Admiral, if I may, the ideal outcome for any Klingon interaction is battle. They're relentlessly hostile, Sir. It's in their nature.
ANDERSON: The Federation and the Klingon Empire have always been on the cold side of war. We've had only fleeting run-ins with them for a century, and now you presume to know their motivation, because it is in their nature?

Note all the qualifiers: "almost"; "hardly"; "only fleeting" etc.




Doesn't really sound like it to me, in context of "Homestead" (VGR):

JANEWAY: You two have outdone yourselves. I've never seen First Contact Day celebrated quite like this. [to Naomi Wildman] When I was your age, all it meant was a day off from school.
NAOMI: Neelix and I thought we should make it more fun.
JANEWAY: Well, you certainly succeeded.
NAOMI: When is Commander Tuvok making his presentation?
NEELIX: Well, now's as good a time as any. Captain? [hands tray to Janeway] May I have everyone's attention, please? In honor of the 315th anniversary of his ancestors' arrival on Earth, I've asked Mister Tuvok to recite the first words spoken to humans by a Vulcan. Commander?
TUVOK: Is this really necessary?
NEELIX: You promised.
TUVOK: Very well. "Live long and prosper."
[applause]
NEELIX: And now, for some more of Zefram Cochrane's favourite music. [engages jukebox] Hey, come on, Mister Vulcan.
TUVOK: Vulcans do not dance.
NEELIX: But it's tradition!
TUVOK: There is no tradition, Mister Neelix. This ceremony is entirely your invention.

As far as Janeway and Tuvok's experience goes, it wasn't traditionally "celebrated" any more than Columbus Day is today. (And getting a day off school doesn't strike me as a very Vulcan suggestion, either.) As for why special significance is ascribed to that particular first contact, remember that while Vulcans were indeed playing nanny early on when it came to our foreign policy in space, Starfleet was initially an Earth-only initiative and organization. And it was that human presence, over the Vulcans' initial objections, which ultimately proved to be the catalyst that rallied and bound Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites together against the looming Romulan threat and led to the UFP. They had all met each other before we came on the scene, but they didn't like one another and didn't seem to have formed any alliances of significance. Rather, they seem to mostly have squabbled and skirmished before we came on the scene, and to some extent continued to, even into Kirk's time as seen in "Journey to Babel" (TOS). The Federation may not truly be a "homo sapiens only club" but I think the obvious element of terra-centrism (both spiritually and literally, with Earth being the capital even if the President isn't human) that is amply evident makes sense given the history. Still, we should note that they do also celebrate Federation Day per TNG, and it's not as if anything precludes the occasion of other important first contacts being marked as well. We just didn't happen to have an episode set on one of those other days.

-MMoM

Good points, MMoM. Very thorough, almost to a scary degree.

Kor

 

[C57D]

The novel The Final Reflection, it was interesting that the Klingons and the Humans had different years for first contact.

Because the Humans didn't realize for decades that the people they were interacting with and sometimes fighting were Klingons, while the Klingons knew right from the start they had met the Humans.

And in TFR it is stated that Klingons were capturing Fed Ships and their crews for a couple of decades before the Feds even knew about it. These unfortunates were put in the arena to provide Klingon cadets a chance to prove their ability to fight (and kill), or the Humans so captured had their DNA extracted to make the Human Fusion race Klingons (which is the explanation for TOS Klingons in TFR). In the spirit of send a barbarian to fight barbarians!

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

I really wish ENT had left the Klingons out of the show, they've become a little too over-saturated IMO.

Broken Bow could've worked just as well with an Andorian crashing on Earth, which could see the beginnings of a new relationship build between the two races despite the nah-saying from the Vulcans (the tensions between those sides would remain and could also add an interesting dynamic: are the Vulcan advisors on Earth telling Starfleet not to get involved in Andorian affairs due to their own political standing or because the similarities between the more passionate Andorians are similar to humans and could see Vulcan being pushed aside). We could've even had Shran from day one!

 

[Emperor Norton]

So, before ST: Enterprise threw the timeline for a loop, when was the assumed first contact with Klingons?

2218.

 

[The Mighty Monkey of Mim]

So, before ST: Enterprise threw the timeline for a loop, when was the assumed first contact with Klingons?

2218.

Except that wasn't based on anything canon—only on a cut line from an early draft of "Day Of The Dove" (TOS) that was probably never even filmed—and was contradicted by canon in "First Contact" (TNG). So, a very bad assumption. Not the only one made by the Star Trek Chronology, either. (It was still a really cool book, anyway, though.)

-MMoM

 

[Timo]

Part of the fan community was quite willing to go with 2218 or thereabouts, though, as it had already been an assumption in the Spaceflight Chronology, quite possibly on the basis of the same dropped line from the early draft...

As for First Contact Day, it seems natural for it to be an Earth-centric celebration. After all, we only see Earthmen and -women celebrate it. That Neelix wants to participate can be faulted to him alone, and that Tuvok gets dragged in is in turn rather natural. But the VOY mention would be wholly consistent with each UFP member having its own separate First Contact Day, at different dates, referring to different meetings, and taking drastically different forms. Earth would celebrate its meeting with Vulcans by giving kids a day off but, say, Andor might burn effigies of Tellarites on its respective remembrance of that disgraceful first meeting, while the folks of Tellar would celebrate on the same day by parading their historical loot around the capital city and chanting insulting songs about the antennaheads.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[The Mighty Monkey of Mim]

Part of the fan community was quite willing to go with 2218 or thereabouts, though, as it had already been an assumption in the Spaceflight Chronology, quite possibly on the basis of the same dropped line from the early draft...

Actually, the Spaceflight Chronology placed first contact with the Klingons in...wait for it...2151!

(But they were using a completely different timeline in which TOS took place in the first decade of the 23rd century. So yes, it probably was the same deleted "Day Of The Dove" reference that led them to place it as they did.)

-MMoM