Anyone else out there who actually really loved Discovery's S1 style of Klingons?

I am the kind of person who enjoys “big weird” scifi like Stanisław Lem. Stories about trying to relate to and find common ground with something so alien that the prospect of even understanding is basically hopeless. Star Trek usually doesn’t do stories that, which makes sense as it often uses alien races as allegories or stand-ins for real-world human relations.

That said- I thought those early Klingons were super weird and scary because they were just so alien. It really made sense thinking about how it took a century before they could get to the events of Star Trek VI, and it made the Khittomer accords feel like so much more of an accomplishment. Like- you made a treaty with WHAT?

And just aesthetically their ships and armor looked like something out of HP Lovecraft or HR Geiger:

https://startrek.website/pictrs/image/3478a144-e970-4112-8a1b-08e62199bf63.jpeghttps://startrek.website/pictrs/image/857d3a73-8852-4c14-91ba-c82ceb626bad.pnghttps://startrek.website/pictrs/image/f3f7c7e3-2a65-4b4a-99f1-194cbe2350e7.jpeg

This is not to say I dislike how Klingons were portrayed previously, kinda like Mongols in TOS or Vikings in DS9, just that they never felt scary to me. They never felt like warriors. I was never afraid for the gallant crew of the Enterprise D (a science and exploration vessel) going into battle against Klingons. But I really enjoyed the alien-ness Disco tried to go with. Anyone else with me?

EDIT: PEOPLE I SAID WHO’S WITH ME NOT WHO ISN’T CM’ON Annoyed

Nmyownworld ,
@Nmyownworld@startrek.website avatar

I thoroughly enjoy most everything about DSC Klingons. With their appearance, I didn’t like or dislike their look when I first saw it so much as I was surprised. Klingons have a history of looking very different throughout Star Trek. I’ve rewatched DSC so many times, I’m used to how the Klingons look. However, I absolutely love the depiction of Klingon society. I still marvel at the Klingon armor and sets. The dichotomy of such a combative society and the intricate beauty of their ships, armor, everything. Their artistry goes beyond simple functionality. I think it adds depth to the Klingons.

startrekexplained ,

I liked the makeup, but it should have just been done to design a new alien race, not alter an existing race that had a beloved, established look for decades.

InverseParallax ,

I am with you, say what you like, these klingons were at least interesting.

That feeling died down for me over the season, when they became just another warlike race.

The whole arc got muddled, what they did to Tyler was really what broke it, it’s like they just wanted to stab you with a drama blade and twist, which was totally unnecessary.

Corgana OP ,
@Corgana@startrek.website avatar

Agreed. I have a lot of issues with Disco seasons 1-3 (I really liked 4 actually) but the Klingons weren’t one of 'em.

InverseParallax ,

I liked 1, mainly because of captain evil who was fun. The spore network thing was stupid, klingons started cool then went more silly.

2 was great where it was S0 SNW, but that wasn’t everywhere. The red angel was… I don’t know, OK but also contrived?

3 was better than it got credit for, till the last episode which infuriated me that discovery was larger inside than the largest starship ever.

4 was fine I think? Trying to remember, I was checked out by then honestly.

None of it compares to snw though, they really nailed it there. Anson mount seems to hold it all together effortlessly.

SeeJayEmm ,
@SeeJayEmm@lemmy.procrastinati.org avatar

till the last episode which infuriated me that discovery was larger inside than the largest starship ever.

I yelled at the screen. That was just stupid.

InverseParallax ,

No, but literally, what else can you do?!?!

We have this obviously cramped ass ship.

I know, we’ll cgi it so people understand there are actually massive spaces in between all the living areas people just don’t see!

passinglurker ,

I’m not really a fan of “it only looks overdesigned cause its supposed to be alien to you!” That they did with early Disco klingons and have done so far with SNW’s Gorn. That line of thinking works for one off antagonists like V’ger, but these aliens are effectively supposed to be recurring characters and and making them and thier ships big balls of (sometimes asymmetric) noise means they all just start looking uniformly chaotic on top of being hard to replicate and recognize outside watching the show.

GaiusGornicusCaesar ,
@GaiusGornicusCaesar@startrek.website avatar

The Bird of Prey design looks… imposing. The Armor, despite being very impractical, looks good. The Alien Race is well-designed, but it’s not what I would think Klingon would be. But yeah I kind of like how they’re portrayed, as a serious threat instead of some goofy alcohol-addicted space Vikings with a kind-of interesting way of life.

sambeastie ,

I’m going to be honest, Klingons in the TNG era always felt too goofy to me. They weren’t a proud warrior culture so much as borderline clownish space vikings who spent more time getting drunk than actually conquering anything. A redesign and change in how their culture(s) present on screen was welcome for me, and I think Discovery did a great job. I even liked the way they recontextualized the Klingon language, to make it sound more alien and more threataning than the staccato, oft-mispronounced mess that we got in the TNG era.

That said, I also think there was a missed opportunity with them. For a long time, I’ve had a head canon of the different looks of Klingons throughout all of the eras could be chalked up to these all being distinct peoples from within the Klingon Empire. It stands to reason that over a long enough time scale, an empier spanning multiple stars would start to consider people not originally from their homeworld “Klingon,” even if they might be genetically different. I always thought it would be cool if the TOS smooth forehead Klingons were actually just one species that were culturally Klingon, where the Worf-type were another, and the General Chang type was yet another. It would provide a way to smooth over the aeshetic differences with an in-universe explanation that doesn’t require any retconning except for a handful of episodes from ENT that die-hards didn’t like anyway.

But oh, well. One can dream.

SeeJayEmm ,
@SeeJayEmm@lemmy.procrastinati.org avatar

I didn’t like the Disco Klingons. It was too much of a change to an established race for me. But, I like your idea and I think I could have been more on board if they had done it that way.

Ori ,
@Ori@sacredori.net avatar

I feel like it was too much. It 💯 fits Klingon style, but they're almost too foreign.

USSBurritoTruck Mod ,
@USSBurritoTruck@startrek.website avatar

I very much enjoyed that in season one, each Klingon house had their own uniform, and customs. In the TNG era there is a uniformity to the Klingons, which flattens them to monoculture. Even the simple touches of having House Mo’Kai engage in facial scarification, or House Kor wear war paint implies an expansion to their culture that makes me far more interested in them.

Also, I’ve always enjoyed the scheming Klingons, like the ones we see in TOS, or the Duras Sisters, so Kol really appealed to me as an antagonist.

The new prosthetic seemed like a natural progression of what we saw from TOS, to TMP, to “The Search for Spock” and TNG. I do think the decision to make them all bald in season one was a miss, but it’s otherwise a good design that effectively communicates the ferocity the species is supposed to have.

I wonder if they wanted them to all be bald if it wouldn’t have made more sense to have T’Kuvma’s followers be bald, and the others that arrive after he lights the beacon engage in tonsure once T’Kuvma becomes a martyr.

Oh, and the elongated craniums on the women was also an odd choice that I’m glad was walked back for season two.

ValueSubtracted Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

I thought those early Klingons were super weird and scary because they were just so alien.

Absolutely. And the costuming choices they made, and the different aesthetic approaches to each Great House, show an amazing amount of thought and care. They’re one big, scary, alien, fractured family.

Corgana OP ,
@Corgana@startrek.website avatar

Yes! Was a bit bummed to see that walked back and the Klingons brought more in line with the TNG-era ones, though I was happy to see some “big weirdness” arise again in S4 with the Ten-C.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • [email protected]
  • random
  • All magazines
    •