AAUGH the spoiler tags next time pleeeze!!1! I haven’t seen the episode where they reveal that!
That’s a litrrally insane twist!
Spoilers Star Trek: Starfleet Academy 1x04 – “Vox in Excelso”
- Thread starter Commander Richard
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That’s a litrrally insane twist!
I spotted that, but I think we're at the point where Trek is so insanely, ridiculously big now that not every director or actor is going to know the pronunciation of every weird alien name.
Not like Shatner's Or-eee-ons
Why should there be any explanation for this at all? Looks like styles or personal choice.
It's like asking for an explanation of the fact that human characters don't wear their hair like William Shatner did in 1966.
Either that or the Krios from The Perfect Mate, also revisited in Precious Cargo. Given the Krios from The Mind's Eye was a Klingon occupied world, I'd say that's the safer bet.
It's really funny how Worf reset the view of all Klingons.
Michael Dorn was playing the first black Klingon, and I think it can be argued that they worked to de-racialize him to a certain extent, from giving him straight hair (which at times was even brown, rather than black) along with building up the bridge of his nose. We did see other black Klingons, like his brother and the Klingon lawyer from DS9, but these were in the distinct minority throughout the Berman era.
However, from the Kelvinverse onward, Klingons have primarily been played by black actors (with the exception of the first two seasons of Discovery, where they were mostly so made up that it didn't matter one way or another).
Michael Dorn was playing the first black Klingon, and I think it can be argued that they worked to de-racialize him to a certain extent, from giving him straight hair (which at times was even brown, rather than black) along with building up the bridge of his nose. We did see other black Klingons, like his brother and the Klingon lawyer from DS9, but these were in the distinct minority throughout the Berman era.
However, from the Kelvinverse onward, Klingons have primarily been played by black actors (with the exception of the first two seasons of Discovery, where they were mostly so made up that it didn't matter one way or another).
as mentioned upthread, they're using the Marc Okrand's intended pronunciations for Klingon words, which most productions before Discovery ignored. This is a positive for me.
And they still put Brian Bonsall, Alexander's actor on TNG, in makeup that made his skin darker.
This was a far better episode than last week.
The character work here was actually good. Nearly everyone came off better here than in all the episodes thus far. Ake was better here: she felt like a captain and leader, and we got to see a more fun side with her drinking with a Klingon. She actually exuded more seriousness and professionalism as a captain this week. Thok was at her best here: she was not the shouty persona that just turns me off, but she was a mentor to Jay-den. (More of this from her, please, because this is more what I was hoping for when I heard we were getting a Klingon/Jem'Hadar hybrid.) Even Reymi came across better here: offering himself to be hit, helping Jay-den with the breathing, and helping Caleb rebuild the recruitment ball. Caleb was still rather annoying here, and he was irritating at the debates. He did come across a bit better at the end, though.
The character that worked the best was Jay-den. I'm glad we got a focus on him, because he was one of the most interesting aspects of the pilot. His family being on Krios Pime was a nod to TNG's "The Mind's Eye". Interesting family dynamic he had, two fathers and one mother. Possibly necessary due to Klingons becoming nearly extinct? I liked his story and background. Everyone should have at least one person in their life that believes in them the way his brother believed in Jay-den. However, I do think the actor playing Jay-den was rather... stiff a lot. Whether that's by design or just how the actor is, I'm not sure as of yet.
I actually thought the Klingons were written pretty well here. Thok said it perfectly: the only thing that Klingons have a greater thirst for than death is a thirst for life. There is no race in the franchise that lives life to the max and squeezes everything out of every moment more than the Kingons, and that's one of the most admirable traits about them. I'm glad that was remembered here.
The plot mechanics of getting the Klingons to accept Faan Alpha was very weak to me. What I mean is that in over a thousand years of recorded history of dealing with Klingons, as well as having Captain Ake actually having hands on experience with them, AND having a half-Klingon Starfleet commander, the person who came up with the solution was... a brand new, first year cadet? A solution that was very, VERY plain to see from the minute Vance said they wouldn't take charity? This had a feel of "Wesley saves the day again". (Even though he didn't actually save the day nearly as often as people seem to think, there WERE times where he was elevated by making the adult officers look stupid, with "Datalore" being the best example of this.) The 'battle' was essentially "The Vulcan Hello" solution. This is a problem: it does make the officers look not very smart. I like that the cadets are getting to solve problems, but that level of a problem is not something that should be handled by cadets. It feels artificial, for lack of a better word. And the victory of the solution doesn't feel earned.
Speaking of the Klingons, I get why they are going for them being refugees. But honestly... again? The Romulans became refugees because their homeworld was destroyed by a nova, and now the Klingons suffer the same fate. Hell, the Vulcans in the Kelvinverse became refugees because Vulcan was blown up. I'm not saying he is actually doing this, but it feels like Kurtzman is trying to deconstruct STAR TREK bit by bit. It's rather jarring.
Of course Riker gets a ship named after him. Who wants to make a bet that Frakes will appear at least once in this show in some way? Not that I mind that at all. It's almost become a running gag with STAR TREK shows now, since he's appeared in every series since TNG except DISCO and PRODIGY. (And SNW so far, but there's still seasons 4 and 5 left to go).
The debates just... didn't work for me. Caleb won as much as he did because... he can spout facts? Debating is more than that. The 'wins' didn't feel earned at all.
Also, The Doctor clearly messed up when he was quoting Satie... he forgot to say 'chains' before 'us all irrevocably'. Whether that was a script error, Picardo messing up, or a bad edit, it was very jarring. Even without knowing the line from "The Drumhead", the way it was said was clearly wrong.
Overall, I liked the character work a lot (it's really the saving grace of this episode), and I would rate this higher... but the plot just didn't work for me and brings it down quite a bit.
I will give this a 6, which is the highest score I have given SFA thus far. I will also say it's the best episode of SFA so far, despite its flaws.
Edited to add: I forgot to mention the quick shot of a Lurian when Ake and Thok were sitting. Always like a DS9 nod.
The character work here was actually good. Nearly everyone came off better here than in all the episodes thus far. Ake was better here: she felt like a captain and leader, and we got to see a more fun side with her drinking with a Klingon. She actually exuded more seriousness and professionalism as a captain this week. Thok was at her best here: she was not the shouty persona that just turns me off, but she was a mentor to Jay-den. (More of this from her, please, because this is more what I was hoping for when I heard we were getting a Klingon/Jem'Hadar hybrid.) Even Reymi came across better here: offering himself to be hit, helping Jay-den with the breathing, and helping Caleb rebuild the recruitment ball. Caleb was still rather annoying here, and he was irritating at the debates. He did come across a bit better at the end, though.
The character that worked the best was Jay-den. I'm glad we got a focus on him, because he was one of the most interesting aspects of the pilot. His family being on Krios Pime was a nod to TNG's "The Mind's Eye". Interesting family dynamic he had, two fathers and one mother. Possibly necessary due to Klingons becoming nearly extinct? I liked his story and background. Everyone should have at least one person in their life that believes in them the way his brother believed in Jay-den. However, I do think the actor playing Jay-den was rather... stiff a lot. Whether that's by design or just how the actor is, I'm not sure as of yet.
I actually thought the Klingons were written pretty well here. Thok said it perfectly: the only thing that Klingons have a greater thirst for than death is a thirst for life. There is no race in the franchise that lives life to the max and squeezes everything out of every moment more than the Kingons, and that's one of the most admirable traits about them. I'm glad that was remembered here.
The plot mechanics of getting the Klingons to accept Faan Alpha was very weak to me. What I mean is that in over a thousand years of recorded history of dealing with Klingons, as well as having Captain Ake actually having hands on experience with them, AND having a half-Klingon Starfleet commander, the person who came up with the solution was... a brand new, first year cadet? A solution that was very, VERY plain to see from the minute Vance said they wouldn't take charity? This had a feel of "Wesley saves the day again". (Even though he didn't actually save the day nearly as often as people seem to think, there WERE times where he was elevated by making the adult officers look stupid, with "Datalore" being the best example of this.) The 'battle' was essentially "The Vulcan Hello" solution. This is a problem: it does make the officers look not very smart. I like that the cadets are getting to solve problems, but that level of a problem is not something that should be handled by cadets. It feels artificial, for lack of a better word. And the victory of the solution doesn't feel earned.
Speaking of the Klingons, I get why they are going for them being refugees. But honestly... again? The Romulans became refugees because their homeworld was destroyed by a nova, and now the Klingons suffer the same fate. Hell, the Vulcans in the Kelvinverse became refugees because Vulcan was blown up. I'm not saying he is actually doing this, but it feels like Kurtzman is trying to deconstruct STAR TREK bit by bit. It's rather jarring.
Of course Riker gets a ship named after him. Who wants to make a bet that Frakes will appear at least once in this show in some way? Not that I mind that at all. It's almost become a running gag with STAR TREK shows now, since he's appeared in every series since TNG except DISCO and PRODIGY. (And SNW so far, but there's still seasons 4 and 5 left to go).
The debates just... didn't work for me. Caleb won as much as he did because... he can spout facts? Debating is more than that. The 'wins' didn't feel earned at all.
Also, The Doctor clearly messed up when he was quoting Satie... he forgot to say 'chains' before 'us all irrevocably'. Whether that was a script error, Picardo messing up, or a bad edit, it was very jarring. Even without knowing the line from "The Drumhead", the way it was said was clearly wrong.
Overall, I liked the character work a lot (it's really the saving grace of this episode), and I would rate this higher... but the plot just didn't work for me and brings it down quite a bit.
I will give this a 6, which is the highest score I have given SFA thus far. I will also say it's the best episode of SFA so far, despite its flaws.
Edited to add: I forgot to mention the quick shot of a Lurian when Ake and Thok were sitting. Always like a DS9 nod.
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After watching Ep 4 last night, I turned to my wife (who could honestly care less about the intricacies of the Trek universe, but enjoys watching with me) and said, "Huh... I guess Klingons have last names now."
That prompted me to go on a diatribe about I've never seen this in previous series. Worf is "Worf". Duras is "Duras". The only Klingon that had a last name was Alexander, Worf's son, and he took the last name of Worf's human parents.
Now I'm cool with this... but that's one of those things that, if they're gonna do it, they gotta explain it. Did Klingons start using the names of their respective Houses as surnames post-Burn as a way to pay homage to their places in the last few Houses left? With Qo'nos apparently uninhabitable (would've liked to learn a little more about that... sounds like when the dilithium reactors blew they basically went Chernobyl on a global scale) the minor "Houses of Lorgh" were probably wiped out and it became more of a "thing" to identify with a remaining house through a surname.
Apparently, everything that Starfleet was saying would happen to Qo'nos in Star Trek VI finally happened because of The Burn? I remember the talk in VI about how the Klingon Empire was doomed because of the ecological damage that the destruction of Praxis caused to Qo'nos and there were talks about planetary evacuation at the Khitomer Conference.
I dunno...my wife thinks I'm an idiot. She's not wrong.
They did that with Jay-Den at the end,I think the intent was to make his arguments better than any other presented, but yes the debate arguments were a low for this episode.
Watch fans go, "No, TNG established that in Episode X, Y, Z that there's endless numbers of worlds to settle! Why did the Romulans take so long in Picard? They should have had the entire planet resettled in an hour."
Well Worf is a member of House Martok and is the House of Mogh. The noble Klingons are a bit different from the rank and file Klingons. House Martok is named for Martok because Martok is the founder of the house as he's an uplifted commoner. So the Klingon Houses are presumably houses named for their founders and members may be named after members.
Likewise, DISCO's first season villain was a member of Kor's house, even though Kor should have been the head of Kor's house because he was a member of House Kor. The head of House Kor, though, was Kol even though the Kor from TOS would be alive at the time of DISCO. So presumably the Kor we know wasn't the founder of House Kor but he was a Junior, Third, or whatever.
Kor would be Kor of House Kor.
And I have put way too much thought into that.
Screencaps gallery is now online:
www.cygnus-x1.net
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy ScreenCaps "Vox In Excelso" (S1:E4)
Cygnus-X1.Net: A Tribute to Star Trek
This isn't that odd - that was probably the way Klingon society worked then. The Dutch didnt have surnames until Napoleon invaded and implemented surnames, and the practice was never abandoned when the Kingdom of the Netherlands was established shortly after. Maybe something happened here, the Klingons join the Federation and their membership brings with it the complexities of mononyms, Worf, Son of Mogh becomes Worf Mogh or Worf Moghson.
I'm guessing its like Royal Houses where the senior male line uses the House Name and descendants of second or further sons establish Cadet Branches, a good example here is the French - again, the entire French monarcht from Hugh in 990 is the House of Capet, but as it moves through secondary and tertiary branches, we have the Valois, Valois-Orleans, Valois-Angouleme, Bourbon and Orleans
One small thing, but since I have often complained about newer Trek doing this in the past; there are no petrol bomb explosions on the shields in this episode, they flare up and there is the greenish plume like the color of the Klingon weapons. That is a marked difference from the premier episode where we did have petrol bombs.
Bro, do you even Star Trek? It's clear that you tech tech the tech and then things are fixed. Sum it up with a captain's log.
Fixed.
Considering it's now considered verboten to put white people in any level of brownface, it's probably much easier to cast dark-skinned actors as Klingons.
Given modern Trek films in Toronto, I'm surprised we've not seen South Asian actors playing Klingons, though.
Touche. Though he's biracial, and when he was playing a Klingon his natural (fairly pale) skin color was completely covered with a layer of silicone.
I mean, it's perfectly possible that the destruction of the Klingon Empire during the Burn forced the remaining Klingons to have to interact with other polities who simply expected surnames, e.g. if a Klingon showed up at a refugee camp and the intake form had a required "Surname" field in it, they'd have to put something there. So why not the house name?
We actually see plenty of examples of this on today's Earth. Plenty of non-Western cultures don't have the same "surname" idea as the West. For example, many people from the Middle East have a chain of patronyms "John son of Wesley son of Brian son of . . ." and when they immigrate to the West, they will often pick the first one as a surname, "John Wesley".
Most Turkish people didn't even have surnames until a 1934 law required it, in order to help them engage with other parts of the world (for example, all passports have "Surname" fields, so if they wanted to travel, they would have to put something there).
The opportunity to preserve and honor their heritage and home in history, to tell a story with a name (Groof son of Be'rek, Tasred from the mountain of jA-ch, Q'a-'ala, who laughs at his betrayers) would be irresistible.
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