The New Klingons

[In Thy Image]

That's nice, now get Bryan Fuller to say that and I might actually believe it.

He doesn't mention bald Klingons explicitly, but I think it is pretty clear he supported and even proposed the changes (emphasis is mine):

One of the very cool things that we get to do on this show is – we get to re-imagine all of the alien species that we’ve seen before in the series, and do something a little unique with that.
We were looking at a specific species’ costume on Friday, and Jesse Alexander, who is one of the writers, was commenting on the cosplay aspects of it, and how [the design] has gone a kind of quantum leap forward – and what were the people who do cosplay going to do?

Another one of our writers was like, “They are going to rise to the occasion!” So for all of us who have fetishized the look of all of the various species over the years of watching ‘Star Trek,’ it’s fun for us to put a new spin on old favorites.
[Uniform design will be] something completely different [from ‘The Cage’]. I think when you see the design, it’s a little bit of this and a little bit of that. We were having a wardrobe test the other day and it was interesting to think, ‘Now we need to take these colors and put them up against the [ship set colors],’ to see what is going to be the best-looking aesthetic for the show, taking in the sets and wardrobe and lighting style.

Source: https://disqus.com/home/discussion/...r/bryan_fuller_star_trek_discovery_interview/

 

[NOVE9]

What about it is similar to Stargate Universe, exactly?

Actually I get a slight wraith vibe off these klingons, that plus the colour blue everywhere and I think it's safe to say STSC is ripping off Atlantis.


Seriously though I'm loving the look of Kol, he's my favourite Klingon so far. I also love the fact that there is going to be distinction between the houses and that the spikey suits is only one house of 24! Sounds like an actual empire to me.

 

[RAMA]

The conspiracy theories are hilarious. Continue

 

[Longinus]

Kol, Klingon commander

This costume looks much better than the uniforms with foam spikes we saw earlier. I like this.

Apart of the elongated skulls some of these Klingons seem to have, I like the basic shape of the make up, I just wish they'd at least give them bushy eyebrows and some mongoly beards, it would instantly make them fell more klingony to me, even if they were otherwise hairless. Another thing I don't like how all the skin tones seem to be very, cold, even pallid. I think Klingons should have warm skin tones. Combined with the baldness and gothic armour the other Klingons had, the lifeless skin makes them look like vampires.

 

[Tuskin38]

They all have elongated skulls. It isn't unique to certain Klingons.

The angle of Kol's image hides it.

 

[Longinus]

They all have elongated skulls. It isn't unique to certain Klingons.

The angle of Kol's image hides it.

Maybe a little bit, but on some (females?) it seems really pronounced, making them look like Talosians.

 

[Smoked Salmon]

This costume looks much better than the uniforms with foam spikes we saw earlier. I like this.

Apart of the elongated skulls some of these Klingons seem to have, I like the basic shape of the make up, I just wish they'd at least give them bushy eyebrows and some mongoly beards, it would instantly make them fell more klingony to me, even if they were otherwise hairless. Another thing I don't like how all the skin tones seem to be very, cold, even pallid. I think Klingons should have warm skin tones. Combined with the baldness and gothic armour the other Kilingons had, the lifeless skin makes them look like vampires.

The interesting thing is that if you gave them hair and beards they wouldn't look hugely different from the TMP/TNG Klingons (even if they are different colours) since most of the new design elements would be covered up. I think that's what bothers me slightly. I see no really benefit in the insistence that they be bald.

 

[STRenegade]

With some hair and a beard, they defiantly feel more like Klingons. It's almost taking a grisly biker, shaving their face and head and they look sixteen . Courtesy of someone on Facebook.

 

[Kor]

It looks like Photobucket messed up your photo.

Kor

 

[STRenegade]

It looks like Photobucket messed up your photo.

Kor

Actually people need to stop using Photobucket. They charge for you to host your pictures on other sites now, so all links end up getting broken.

 

[SPCTRE]

It looks like Photobucket messed up your photo.

Kor

it's fixed, thanks. my bad, forgot to reup before posting

 

[137th Gebirg]

... [the design] has gone a kind of quantum leap forward...

Never understood why people use the clichéd phrase "quantum leap". Such a thing is actually quite small, IIRC.

 

[Prax]

Doesn't quantum leap mean "minimal leap"? Or does it m

 

[Kor]

Because it sounds cool and buzzword-y.

Kor

 

[137th Gebirg]

Because it sounds cool and buzzword-y.

Kor

Most likely this, yes.

 

[Jesse1066]

I think the production reason that female Klingons seem to have longer skulls than the males could be that the actresses have more hair to hide under the head.

 

[Mirror Mirror]

On the skulls, I can see a reason. I mean klingons are built tough. If you look at those skulls, you can see the brain case a bit farther back than humans. And much more heavily shielded.

They also seem to have more sense in the skull. Which fits with how klingons have always been shown to move thier heads as if feeling the air

 

[Sci]

Actually it kind of destroys the entire Voyager series because of Belanna Torres.

Listen. This is ultimately a work of fiction, and that means that the fantasy elements can only ever be interpreted in the context of when they were produced. When we watch DS9's "Trials and Tribble-ations" and notice that their version of the USS Enterprise looks different from the USS Enterprise we saw in TOS's "The Trouble with Tribbles," that doesn't mean DS9 has ruined TOS. It means that we have to accept that what we are seeing is representational of a fantasy element, and that sometimes we have to engage with the text by using our imaginations to make it all fit together instead of treating the thing as holy writ and any artists who want to do something different as heretics.

You want an in-universe explanation? Fine, here are two possible explanations: B'Elanna has hair because her mom has hair; or, the Klingons in DSC are bald as a cultural practice, not because of biology. Pretty simple; nothing's ruined.

Also, seriously, VOY aired its series finale in May 2001. It's been 16 years and three presidents since then. That's almost an entire generation ago. Maybe maintaining perfect continuity with every little detail on a show that hasn't aired a new episode since George W. Bush's fourth month in office ought not to be a high priority.

But if you are happy with Stargate Universe, er sorry I mean Star Trek Discovery more power to you.

I'm not happy or unhappy with it. I am intrigued and cautiously optimistic. But I haven't seen the show yet, so I can't be happy or unhappy with it on the basis of just a couple of trailers and P.R. write-ups.

Personally, I like the new Klingon designs -- I just don't like them for Klingons. But the Klingons have had lots of design variations over the years -- my personal favorites being the ones Richard Snell designed for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country -- and I'm not gonna hold it against DSC that they chose to make an aesthetic choice I wouldn't have made. At the end of the day, the design of the Klingons is a really minor piece of ephemera compared to the quality of the writing, direction, and acting.

It's not the choice I would have made, but I want the producers of DSC to have the creative freedom to make their choices without worrying about 50 years' worth of trivia.

But don't for a moment thing I am going to give CBS and the shows producers a pass.

"Truth to power! The world must know that Klingons are not supposed to be bald!!"

 

[Fateor]

You want an in-universe explanation? Fine, here are two possible explanations: B'Elanna has hair because her mom has hair; or, the Klingons in DSC are bald as a cultural practice, not because of biology. Pretty simple; nothing's ruined.

B'elanna's mom was a Klingon...

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

"Truth to power! The world must know that Klingons are not supposed to be bald!!"

I dare anyone to tell Christopher Plummer that to his face.