Xindi in the TOS era

[MurphyCooper]

I am very interested in what people think the Xindi were like in the TOS era, roughly a century after Archer prevented the launch of the Weapon and what the legacy of those events is like. I also wonder how the Reptilians, and Insectoids might have changed, and how they would have been like in the TOS era if they were on screen.

 

[publiusr]

Tranya drinkers in giant spheres not withstanding, I had guessed they were the “first” Federation members of a sort, even if distantly related…a model emulated by Earth, Vulcan and others…even if renamed.

Or they may be considered one party, or independent…or—

 

[F. King Daniel]

I am very interested in what people think the Xindi were like in the TOS era, roughly a century after Archer prevented the launch of the Weapon and what the legacy of those events is like. I also wonder how the Reptilians, and Insectoids might have changed, and how they would have been like in the TOS era if they were on screen.

They definitely made Xindi insectoid and reptilian makeups for Discovery and Starfleet Academy, I am not sure if any were used in the pretty-much-TOS-era Strange New Worlds too but it is quite likely.

If you are talking 1960's TOS era... rubber monkey masks, lizard man masks etc.

 

[feek61]

I always felt they destroyed themselves or were otherwise extinct by the TOS time period.

 

[publiusr]

I could see that.

 

[Haunt Rod]

Xindi Reptilians were seen in both Prodigy and Section 31.

While heavily redesigned Xindi Insectoids were in Discovery.

 

[I am not Herbert]

If you are talking 1960's TOS era... rubber monkey masks, lizard man masks etc.

TOS didn't do full-fledged masks or really heavy prosthetics that much, and certainly not when the character had to speak or even nonverbally emote-- the Gorn in Arena, the Mugato in Private Little War, "Nancy" in the Man Trap are the ones that come to mind. The exception (Ambassador Gav) proves the rule-- he's in one scene (living at least), acts in an non-subtle, over-the-top manner largely relying upon his booming voice, and is mostly seen in medium or long shots. If the Xindi had been in TOS and had been anything but background attendees at a conference or something (i.e., were actually required to act to advance the plot and supply drama), they would look like humans with very slight makeup or wardrobe nuances to suggest insect, aquatic, reptile, etc.

TOS' general approach was likely dictated by cost/feasibility at the time, but personally I greatly prefer it. I immediately get bored watching a Berman era series with some guy barking exposition through latex and plastic fangs-- let alone CGI of that or later eras.

 

[SilvioDante]

The guy with a flesh bridge over his entire mouth in Voyager was the silliest.

 

[FredH]

The guy with a flesh bridge over his entire mouth in Voyager was the silliest.

That’s wasn’t DS9? But yeah, eating must have been a pain.

 

[Kor]

In practical terms, the insectoids might have appeared something like the Zanti in the original Outer Limits.

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Kor

 

[Rose Harper]

TOS didn't do full-fledged masks or really heavy prosthetics that much, and certainly not when the character had to speak or even nonverbally emote-- the Gorn in Arena, the Mugato in Private Little War, "Nancy" in the Man Trap are the ones that come to mind. The exception (Ambassador Gav) proves the rule-- he's in one scene (living at least), acts in an non-subtle, over-the-top manner largely relying upon his booming voice, and is mostly seen in medium or long shots. If the Xindi had been in TOS and had been anything but background attendees at a conference or something (i.e., were actually required to act to advance the plot and supply drama), they would look like humans with very slight makeup or wardrobe nuances to suggest insect, aquatic, reptile, etc.

TOS' general approach was likely dictated by cost/feasibility at the time, but personally I greatly prefer it. I immediately get bored watching a Berman era series with some guy barking exposition through latex and plastic fangs-- let alone CGI of that or later eras.

I assume the OP means in Universe and not in production

 

[I am not Herbert]

I assume the OP means in Universe and not in production

Perhaps, but I was responding to another poster's comment regarding production.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

I can't remember now, but I think the Xindi, or some dark, murky, depressing, all-consuming "story arc" that ate the show, was why I gave up on ENT during its first run. I'd never done that before with a Trek series. Maybe it was the "temporal cold war" that did me in. It was so long ago, I can't say.

 

[Mr. Spook]

The guy with a flesh bridge over his entire mouth in Voyager was the silliest.

That guy looked like he had a handle on his appearance.

***

I'll show myself out.

 

[Henoch]

I am very interested in what people think the Xindi were like in the TOS era, roughly a century after Archer prevented the launch of the Weapon and what the legacy of those events is like. I also wonder how the Reptilians, and Insectoids might have changed, and how they would have been like in the TOS era if they were on screen.

My thoughts: TOS existed in a timeline before the Time War changed the timeline in Enterprise (and recently again in SNW). The Xindi became extinct in the original TOS timeline. We have not seen the altered timeline for the new TOS period, yet (and probably never will). YMMV .

 

[LAFR]

In practical terms, the insectoids might have appeared something like the Zanti in the original Outer Limits.

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Kor

This episode scared the bejesus out of me when I was 7.

 

[MurphyCooper]

I can't remember now, but I think the Xindi, or some dark, murky, depressing, all-consuming "story arc" that ate the show, was why I gave up on ENT during its first run. I'd never done that before with a Trek series. Maybe it was the "temporal cold war" that did me in. It was so long ago, I can't say.

I prefer the "story arcs" to the episode by episode format. I like the dark, murkey, depressing all-consuming feeling of ENT. It feels more real, raw, and "human" to me.

 

[Ragitsu]

"Episodic with some continuity" is what I find works best.

 

[DonIago]

Given that decades later DS9 is still my favorite Trek, I guess whatever format it did is what works best for me.

I know that I don't feel the format of DISCO or PIC does Star Trek any favors. Having a seasonal "Big Bad" may have worked well for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but they had more episodes to work with to build the characters, and the seasons weren't exclusively about dealing with whatever the major threat of the season was. With short seasons, Trek doing that format leaves little room for anything else, and I don't think that's a positive.

ENT S3 worked alright, especially in its second half, but there were some things along the way that felt like missteps, especially considering the Crisis Situation our characters were in. I rather liked the S4 format with the mini-arcs, even if the stories themselves weren't always great.

 

[CovePhanTom]

Given that decades later DS9 is still my favorite Trek, I guess whatever format it did is what works best for me.

I know that I don't feel the format of DISCO or PIC does Star Trek any favors. Having a seasonal "Big Bad" may have worked well for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but they had more episodes to work with to build the characters, and the seasons weren't exclusively about dealing with whatever the major threat of the season was. With short seasons, Trek doing that format leaves little room for anything else, and I don't think that's a positive.

I know that, as is often the case, I am in the minority, but I think Trek was far better when it had 26 episode seasons that included "filler" episodes.