Worf

[Cpt. Chris Pike]

He always seemed like a bumbling buffoon. Always with the wrong answers and seldom called upon for anything but to carry out simple commands.

You would think a Klingon would be a bit more savvy, especially since they would beat the federation in a war.

Example: Yesterday's Enterprise.

Is it because he was raised by humans who lived in a farming community?

 

[indolover]

He was always one of my favourite TNG characters. If there is one criticism of him in the series, it's that he would opt to fight first and talk later. In staff meetings, he would often put forward a point that was belligerent and would escalate a situation if put forward. Then again, it's his Klingon nature, so it cannot be helped.

He was too grumpy and stolid in DS9 though, at least in TNG he was more quirky and written more comically.

 

[Rom's Sehlat]

If there is one criticism of him in the series, it's that he would opt to fight first and talk later.

Worf is a Klingon. That's what Klingons do. That's not his individual personality, that's how his people act as a whole.

 

[USS Kongo]

I always thought Worf's "shoot now, ask questions later" nature was better suited on DS9, anyway--especially since they eventually went to war with the Dominion.

On Next Gen, his warrior's nature was always being held back to the point where you almost felt sorry for the guy.

Sean

 

[Canadave]

I actually find that Worf often raises a good, logical point when it comes to his security concerns. It's not his fault they're always summarily ignored...

 

[Rom's Sehlat]

But he did suck at writing torpedo guidance code. Somebody revoke his CCNA!

 

[Captain Martin]

But he did suck at writing torpedo guidance code. Somebody revoke his CCNA!

LoL I had CCNA :P

 

[LitmusDragon]

I think Worf and the handling of the Klingons as a whole is one of the best things TNG did for the franchise (and continued on DS9). I like their warrior ethos. It's a nice contrast to the Federation, who can come off as stuffy at times.

 

[Sorak]

As the internet film reviewer Confused Matthew said: "Worf basically does two things: either pontificate, or be publicly humiliated"

Sadly, it's mostly true. Often Worf pontificates with a clear divide between Right&Wrong; or he's publicly humiliated, especially when Picard has to remind him that it's not time to open fire just yet. How many times, if Picard had listened to Worf, there would have been a slaughter/interstellar war/diplomatic incident? Makes you wonder if you would want to put him in command of a starship in times of peace.

Yet, in other episodes Worf is less of a big Viking thick oaf, and more of a complex, troubled character. I think his being divided between his Klingon nature and his loyalty to the Federation is a great theme. Also, in some episodes his self-taught, VERY biased knowledge of his homeworld is treated very cleverly: for example, he tells Guinan that Klingons don't laugh, which is soundly untrue as she herself tells him. Then he's a stickler for formality and the old Klingon ways, much more than his contemporary Klingons: this because he's very attached to his native world, and he wants to honour it as best he can. There's also his pride in being Klingon that leads him to admit only with great reluctance that the Empire is corrupted. Not to mention his great sacrifice in Sins of the Father, when he accepts an unfair discommendation in order to save a (corrupt) Empire. These are very complex themes, and they make him a great, deep, tridimensional character.

But when he wants to shoot phasers at everything that moves, he gets pretty annoying and dispensable...

 

[lurok]

But when he wants to shoot phasers at everything that moves, he gets pretty annoying and dispensable...

I agree with all your comments...and isn't your last line true of pretty much all the Klingons in Trek? I can't think of one episode - and I've seen all of TOS, VOY, DS9, ENT and up to season 4 of TNG - where Klingon crew demonstrate any tactical savvy. They do seem to have a 'shoot first, ask questions later/today is a good day to die' approach. Although will concede that the TOS Klingons seem more wiley (cowardly? - which creates the retcon issues) and Kruge and Chang are kind of sneaky.

 

[Sorak]

But when he wants to shoot phasers at everything that moves, he gets pretty annoying and dispensable...

I agree with all your comments...and isn't your last line true of pretty much all the Klingons in Trek? I can't think of one episode - and I've seen all of TOS, VOY, DS9, ENT and up to season 4 of TNG - where Klingon crew demonstrate any tactical savvy. They do seem to have a 'shoot first, ask questions later/today is a good day to die' approach. Although will concede that the TOS Klingons seem more wiley (cowardly? - which creates the retcon issues) and Kruge and Chang are kind of sneaky.

I've always had a problem with issues that are treated too stereotypically. Too often, races are one-dimensional: the Ferengi are greedy, the Klingons are warrior-like and so on. The best episodes in my opinion are those that allow you an insight into those races, showing they're not as you perceive them superficially: they're much more complex. Think of that episode in which Riker goes aboard the Klingon cruiser Pagh as an exchange officer: there you get to see that Klingons also laugh, have different opinions about things, and are just normal beings each one with his/her own personality and idyosincracies. Many races fortunately enjoyed their 'tridimensional episode': the Romulans with 'Unification'; the Ferengi with those DS9 episodes set on Ferenginar and so forth.

 

[Rom's Sehlat]

"Your Pagh is strong, but your XO is weak!"

 

[Anji]

If there is one criticism of him in the series, it's that he would opt to fight first and talk later.

Worf is a Klingon. That's what Klingons do. That's not his individual personality, that's how his people act as a whole.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's not stereotype here. Not all Klingons are violent. They were tough, they threatened a lot...an awful lot...but most only used violence when necessary.

And yeah, they did a lot of putting down of Worf in the early seasons, but at that time they only used him an expository character or a character that helped reveal exposition and/or move the plot forward. All stories have these types of minor characters and they are used for that purpose. I think it was only after they realized they had some good scripts and a good actor in Michael Dorn that they fully developed Worf.

I never found the Klingon people to be overly violent. I found them to be a proud people with a great respect for heritage and traditiion. Do they overreact? Maybe. But afterall we don't know how they came to be that way.

 

[indolover]

Wantonly violent, perhaps not. But certainly more aggressive on average than humans were.

 

[Joshonator]

The klingon race as a whole easily adds a lot better content to the series than the Betazoids or Romulans for example. It leads to many culture clashes, ethical questions, tense situations, etc. Having said that I think Worf was a mediocre character in TNG while having his moments, but became a great character in DS9. the Klingon honour system reminds me to a degree of the Japanese.