The magazine of Star Trek: The Club returns again, to entertain and inform, with the "Look at the Klingons" issue.
Disclaimer (or, an admission of guilt)
Since I got some interesting mail about that Gene Roddenberry quote on religion last issue, let me make a quick note to protect the innocent. Note: any opinions on life, the universe, and anything found herein are strictly my own, unless specifically attributed to someone else.
Editorial: An urgent appeal
The Classic Star Trek video collection is to be rereleased next year, as part of the 25th anniversary celebration. A group known as Caption Action has started a campaign to have the videos closed-captioned for the deaf and hearing-impaired with this new release.
While some of the Star Trek movies and Star Trek: The Next Generation broadcasts are closed-captioned, the Classic series never has received this treatment.
Caption Action has successfully worked with various Hollywood studios to have video releases closed-captioned. But they need some help convincing Paramount Pictures this time around.
According to Jamie Berke, a spokesperson for Caption Action, the costs involved in captioning a title are recovered with only 500 extra copies sold of that title. And Paramount is reportedly willing to add closed-captioning, but they want to see a demand for it from consumers.
So, a traditional letter campaign is called for. Just write to Paramount and express your support for closed-captioning. Express it as a consumer who is waiting to buy those Star Trek videos when the rerelease starts. If Paramount believes that the audience is out there, waiting to buy, they'll be willing to take on that extra cost.
As you might guess, I'm all for this idea. It seems appropriate that our "infinite diversity" be expanded to the deaf and hearing-impaired, don't you think?
The address to write to is: Joseph Craig
Paramount Home Video 5555 Melrose Avenue Bluhdorn #324 Hollywood, CA 90038-3197
Heard over the hailing frequencies....
Important Wesley information: Wil Wheaton will only be doing six or eight episodes of TNG this season. He is in the first few shows, which he will have finished filming by the time you see this. Then he is either attending classes at UCLA, or going to make a movie, depending on who you talk to. He returns later in the season. Reportedly, he was considering leaving TNG for good, but was talked out of it.
Wesley's spot may possibly be taken by O'Brien, or by a new character. No decision has been made yet. Meanwhile, O'Brien may have gotten some scenes as a temporary Chief Engineer when LeVar Burton was out sick; we'll find out when the season begins. Also in the works for O'Brien this year: the man finally gets a first name, and we meet his wife as well!
Speaking of the season, here are the working title of the first four episodes, as of the end of August. They are "The Best of Both Worlds Part II," "Brothers" (Captain Picard travels to Paris to see his brother), "Family" (which, believe it or not, has Brent Spiner playing three parts: Data, Lore, and Dr. Noonian Soong), and "Suddenly Human" (sorry, no plot details). This may or may not be the order that they are aired in, although obviously the cliffhanger resolution comes first.
If you want to know what I've discovered about the cliffhanger resolution, absolute truth here, read "P.S. Cliffhanger Notes" at the end of this issue. If you don't, avoid this section. I've marked it so you can't miss it.
Also coming up this season: the Traveler reportedly returns....K'Ehleyr comes back with most of the cast of "Sins of the Father," and she has a surprise for Worf. That one is to be directed by Jonathan Frakes....The Enterprise travels to Tasha's home world, and we meet her sister....Jack Crusher makes his first appearance, in someone's dream sequence.
Star Trek: The Next Generation continues to hold at third in the syndicated ratings, behind "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!"
Kirstie Alley came in sixth in a "TV Guide" Most Beautiful Woman on TV poll.
A LOOK AT THE KLINGONS
Where are they? The Classic Klingons
Of the alien races seen on Star Trek, none has shown as much diversity as the Klingons. They changed from the Human-like aliens of Classic Trek to the more alien-appearing beings of the movies and the Next Generation.
The Classic Klingons were the first seen on Star Trek, naturally. They appeared to be Human, but there were internal differences. McCoy noted some of them when he checked out Darvin in "The Trouble with Tribbles."
"Star Trek: The Motion Picture" debuted a new kind of Klingon, which was obviously more alien. These have been the only Klingons we've seen since then, in Star Trek III, IV, V, and the Next Generation. What happened to the Classic Klingon race? One theory is that, simply, the Classic Klingon race, presumably a natural evolutionary offshoot of the Klingon species, has been suppressed politically and socially within the Empire. But one wonders if the Federation would ally itself with a government that was guilty of such practices?
Another theory is that the Classic Klingons were deliberately created by the natural Klingon race (the TNG/movie type Klingon) for use against the Federation. The ST role-playing game suggests that the Classic Klingons were created as an entire race within the Empire, but I personally think that the Empire is too proud to do all that just to deal with the Federation. Especially when the natural Klingon race is physically superior to the Classic one (in strength and pain tolerance at least, if Worf is any indication).
I believe that the Classic race was, in a sense, a military program. The Classics were created by the Klingon fleet for use within the fleet in dealings and military actions with the Federation. An entire race was not truly created; the Classics were small in numbers compared to the rest of the Empire, and did not interact with Empire society, but were instead restricted to the fleet.
When this idea proved not too helpful in dealing with Starfleet, the remaining Classics (perhaps numbering in the thousands; enough to crew ships and bases along the Federation border) were retired and are extinct by the time of TNG. Or maybe they were immediately exterminated? That is more the Klingon style. An entire race wiped out, because they were dropped from the military budget that year. And you thought the Stealth bomber debates were bad....
Ah, but K'Ehleyr from "The Emissary" was a Klingon/Human crossbreed, and she's not dead. She, however, was a naturally occurring crossbreed, as opposed to a genetically engineered Classic Klingon. Fortunately, at least in K'Ehleyr's case, the Klingon genotype was dominant. If she looked too Human, perhaps she would have went the way of the Classics.
So there are my theories on the Classic Klingon race. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing a Classic Klingon appear in TNG and prove me wrong. That would at least kill the other theory, that the movie/TNG Klingons were the Klingons all along, but we didn't have a $42 million budget in Classic Trek for the makeup. A salute to the Klingons, old
and new! They're a great bunch of bad guys. And make pretty good good guys, for that matter....
Here they are! A list of Klingon appearances
"Errand of Mercy"--the Classic Klingons' first appearance; Kirk vs. Kor over the planet Organia
"The Trouble with Tribbles"--Kirk, Koloth, and 1,771,561 guest stars....
"A Private Little War"--the Federation and Klingon Empire get into their own version of Vietnam
"Friday's Child"--Capella is the planet in dispute between the two superpowers this time
"Elaan of Troyius"--the first appearance of a Klingon battle cruiser
"Day of the Dove"--featuring the first Klingon woman ever seen, Mara
"More Tribbles, More Troubles"--animated sequel to "The Trouble with Tribbles"; the return of Koloth and Korax
"Time Trap"--Kor's return to Star Trek, again in animation; the last appearance of the Classic Klingons
"Star Trek: The Motion Picture"--the first appearance of the new Klingons; Mark Lenard's Klingon role
"Star Trek III: The Search for Spock"--Christopher Lloyd and John Larroquette as Klingons Kruge and Maltz, who'd have thought?
"Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home"--Klingon ambassador Kamarag (no, a Klingon diplomat is not a contradiction in terms!)
"Star Trek V: The Final Frontier"--now Vixis and Klaa were two Klingons I didn't want to mess with....
"Encounter at Farpoint"--and all the other Worf appearances on TNG
"Heart of Glory"--two Klingon renegades try to enlist Worf to their cause
"A Matter of Honor"--Riker joins a Klingon ship, and only comes back with a few bruises
"The Icarus Factor"--holodeck Klingons, but an interesting (and painful) Klingon ritual
"The Emissary"--featuring Worf's girlfriend K'Ehleyr; this actress, Suzi Plakson, is the other person besides Mark Lenard to play a Klingon and a Vulcan (she was Dr. Selar in "The Schizoid Man") "The Defector"--a trio of Klingon Birds of Prey save the day
"Yesterday's Enterprise"--the Federation/Klingon war everyone seemed to want to see....
"Sins of the Father"--our first look at a Klingon planet
What's HE doing here?
I've seen some of the simulation role-playing done here on PC-Link. I used to role-play in a few campaigns myself: D&D, Star Trek, Marvel Super Heroes.
One day I sketched out this character for my Marvel Super Heroes campaign, but never did use him. Ah, the possibilities....
Worf
Physical Form: Humanoid Race
Real Name: Worf
Occupation: Security Chief, USS Enterprise
Identity: Publicly known
Legal Status: Citizen of the United Federation of Planets with no criminal record
Place of Birth: Klingon Empire
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Morg (father, deceased), Kearn (brother)
Past Group Affiliation: member of the line of Morg
Present Group Affiliation: Starfleet
Base of Operations: USS Enterprise
Fighting Incredible (40)
Agility Excellent (20) Health: 100
Strength Good (10) Karma: 56
Endurance Remarkable (30) Resources: Good (10)
Reason Incredible (40) Popularity: Good (10)
Intuition Typical (6)
Psyche Good (10)
Powers:
Phaser--Range 10 areas
Damage: can be set for Typical/Good/Excellent stunning, or Typical/Good/Excellent/Remarkable/Incredible Energy
damage
Rate: 1 shot/round
Shots: 20
Material: Typical
Communicator: Worf's Starfleet communicator has the ability of Radio Wave Generation with Class 3000 range.
Talents:
Guns (phasers etc.), Weapons Master, Martial Arts B, Pilot (of starships), Military, Languages (Klingonese), First Aid, Trivia (model ship building)
Contacts:
Military (Starfleet)
Happy Birthday!
...to me, October 9th :>
...to Mark Lenard, October 15th
Coming soon, to a solar system near you
The big "coming soon," of course, is the season premiere of TNG. It's coming the last week of September; the weekend of the 29th/30th in most areas. Exact day and time depends on your local schedule, so stay alert!
DC Comics: the Worthy family of explorers finds that their legend is hard to live up to, in Star Trek #14, while shore leave for Enterprise-D is interrupted by the Ferengi in Next Generation #14.
Convention appearances: Walter Koenig, Mark Lenard, and Gates McFadden will be at Starcon '90 in Denver, on September 28th through the 30th.
Majel Barrett, Colm Meaney, Mark Lenard, and Grace Lee Whitney will be at Erie Trek I in Erie PA September 29th and 30th. Hmm, looks like Mark Lenard is really getting around! This is the published information I have; kill the convention people if there's been changes, not me!
DeForest Kelley, Gates McFadden, Marc Okrand (creator of the Klingon language and author of "The Klingon Dictionary"), and ST novelists Carmen Carter and Howard Weinstein will be at Oktobertrek in Cockeysville MD on October 12th through the 14th.
Coming on video October 3rd: "Syngenor," short for SYNthesized GENetic ORganism. Another ugly monster kills all movie, it looks like. I'm only mentioning it since Melanie Shatner is in the credits for it (way down them, so she must be the first victim). Anyone know if Melanie's done any other acting, besides playing the Yeoman with the brok
en Captain's Log in Star Trek V?
Out now on video is "Homer and Eddie," a movie with Whoopi Goldberg and James Belushi, and "Planet Earth," a TV project of Gene Roddenberry's from 1974.
Coming to theaters soon is Leonard Nimoy's latest directing effort, "Funny About Love." The comedy stars Gene Wilder.
Personal Logs, stardate Today
"The very moment we stepped out of the viewing room, Star Trek's Sulu, George Takei, asked me whom I voted for. I told him. An Academy governor reminded us of the rule we were violating. Takei apologized. 'And who'd you vote for?' I asked him as soon as the governor was out of earshot, and of course he told me without hesitation."
[from "Confessions of an Emmy Voter," in September 15th's "TV Guide"]
"A tiny Canadian town about 90 miles southeast of Calgary has come up with a new way to live long and prosper. It's turning itself into a Star Trek theme park. Over the next several months Vulcan, Alberta (pop. 1,400), will try to revive its failing farm economy by becoming a facsimile of Mr. Spock's home planet. 'Whenever we tell people we
're from Vulcan, they always snigger and ask us why our ears aren't pointed," explains Greg Deitz, co-chairman of the 'Star Trek for the Town of Vulcan Committee.' 'We decided this would be a good way to help boost the local economy. We like to think of this as rural diversification.' Vulcan's plans include a Star Trek museum, annual Star Trek conventions, and a giant statue of the starship Enterprise on the highway to lure passersby. Already merchants are donning Star Trek uniforms and pointed ears during special town events like hockey games, carnivals, and business conventions. 'Everybody's getting into the spirit,' Deitz says. 'Spock would be proud.'" [from the August 24th edition of "Entertainment Weekly"]
I'd like to thank...
...Asimov SF for starting that folder on TNG races/species that got me to thinking about the Classic Klingons, Maryann2 for the "town of Vulcan" story, and Prodigy member Jamie Berke (MSWH08C) for the Caption Action information.
If you've got comments, questions, suggestions, or something you've written that you'd like to see in a "Dateline," E-Mail them to Data1701D
See you around the galaxy!
Next issue will be out mid-October; look for an announcement on the Star Trek/Next Generation boards.
DO NOT LOOK FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT THE SEASON PREMIERE! CEASE AND DESIST READING IMMEDIATELY! DELETE THE FOLLOWING LINES TO AVOID TEMPTATION, SINCE THEY WON'T SELF-DESTRUCT IN TEN SECONDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, this is absolute fact. The deflector weapon that the crew's been trying to throw together in a hurry is going to work. That is, it does fire; no misfires, malfunctions, or anything like that. Whether it impresses the Borg ship any remains to be seen.
Also, Riker does not get his own ship. The vessel he was offered is destroyed in the course of the story.
I know, these are unexciting details. Sorry, but this is all I have that I can confirm. I've got a lead on the main plot details, something besides all those Guinan/Q/Nanites/etc. guesses, but I can't verify it. And I'm not going to put it out as "fact" and look really dumb in two weeks. :)
