Star Trek timeline doesn't begin with Enterprise, but it does boast the most detailed look at the franchise's 22nd century. As a result of its premise, the show is burdened with upholding years of painstaking worldbuilding while also making worthwhile contributions to the canon.
The Star Trek: Enterprise cast was led by Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathon Archer. As the commanding officer of Starfleet's first ship to fly under the name of Enterprise, Archer was retroactively installed as one of the most pivotal figures in Star Trek history. Although the show had its critics, there were also those who praised Enterprise's efforts to flesh out neglected pieces of lore and under-addressed plot holes in the larger saga. It generally tried to avoid retcons at every turn, but the show simply couldn't resist providing a canonical explanation for one of the franchise's biggest changes.
Star Trek: Enterprise's "Affliction" Two-Parter Adds Too Much Context To Worf's Klingon Non-Explanation In DS9
Worf offers very little information about his smooth-headed counterparts
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 5, episode 6, "Trials and Tribble-ations" pays tribute to an iconic episode of Star Trek: The Original Series called "The Trouble with Tribbles." While it's great to see the Deep Space Nine cast travel back in time to such a legendary era, the presence of Michael Dorn's Klingon character, Worf, complicates things. The physical appearance of Klingons had changed drastically since The Original Series, so the of the alien race that appeared in the episode's archive footage basically just look human, lacking the prominent cranial ridges and flowing locks.
Star Trek: Enterprise season 4's "Affliction" two-parter undercuts the joke by essentially canonizing the seemingly wild theories put forward by Worf's colleagues.
Worf is left to explain the behind-the-scenes quirk to his 24th-century colleagues when they all turn to him in confusion aboard the ship of William Shatner's Captain James T. Kirk. Amusingly, Worf simply says it is a "long story," and that Klingons don't "discuss it with outsiders." It's a fun and meta moment that taps quite aggressively on the fourth wall, but Star Trek: Enterprise season 4's "Affliction" two-parter undercuts the joke by essentially canonizing the seemingly wild theories put forward by Worf's colleagues.
Possibilities put forward in "Trials and Tribble-ations" are "genetic engineering" and a "viral mutation," neither of which is confirmed or denied by Worf's character. Enterprise ultimately proves a blend of both answers to be true. After a group of Klingons try to augment themselves with human DNA, the experiment goes horribly wrong and causes deaths. It also becomes viral among Klingons, and Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) formulates a cure based on the original virus. As a side effect, it removes the recipient's distinctive cranial ridges at the genetic level.
The Alternatives For Star Trek: Enterprise's Klingons Weren't Ideal
Enterprise had limited options if it wanted to use Klingons
Star Trek: Enterprise didn't necessarily need to include Klingons. That being said, the race's popularity among Trekkies meant it would have been a huge shame if the warrior race had been omitted from the Star Trek prequel show. So, the decision was made to include them, and as a direct result, Enterprise had to address the disparity in how Klingons look in The Original Series and later spinoffs. The show chose the sci-fi route and provided a detailed canonical explanation. There were those who disliked it, but other options wouldn't have worked.
If the change happened before the events of Enterprise, fans may have been left equally in the dark as if the Klingons hadn't been included at all.
The main alternative would have been for Star Trek: Enterprise-era Klingons to have smooth foreheads like their Original Series counterparts. The issue with this is that it would mean whatever caused the change happened either before Enterprise or after. So, an explanation wouldn't have been provided. Plus, the change happening after Enterprise would have raised the possibility of Klingons' cranial ridges not being part of the race's natural form. If the change happened before the events of Enterprise, fans may have been left equally in the dark as if the Klingons hadn't been included at all.
Why Star Trek: Enterprise's Klingon Explanation In "Affliction" Still Works
The franchise's 22nd century provided a much-needed (& brilliant) Star Trek explanation
"Affliction" isn't a perfect way to rectify Star Trek's Klingon canon, but it's still probably the best avenue Enterprise could have explored. Instead of just ignoring the design change, Star Trek: Enterprise directly confronts the matter and even builds an entire story around the introduction to franchise lore. Plus, it's a thoroughly interesting and creative way to solve an unusual problem. If "Affliction" hadn't answered the big Klingon question, it would have made the Klingons' role in The Original Series a bit too weird.
The nature of the cure means the loss of the recipient's ridges becomes genetic and is ed on to the next generation of affected Klingons - which explains the human-looking Klingons in Star Trek: The Original Series.
Additionally, "Affliction" provides an explanation that sits very comfortably and respectfully within Star Trek continuity. The episodes never state that every single Klingon loses their cranial ridges. Instead, it's a group of "millions" who are given Phlox's cure after being exposed to the Klingon Augments' virus. The nature of the cure means the loss of the recipient's ridges becomes genetic and is ed on to the next generation of affected Klingons - which explains the human-looking Klingons in Star Trek: The Original Series. In other words, there were still ridged Klingons during Kirk's era, they just never appeared onscreen.
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Furthermore, "Affliction" raises the issue of ridge-less Klingons being looked down upon by those unaffected by the virus. This provides an interesting insight into Klingon society. Plus, the implied introduction of "cranial reconstruction" surgery goes a long way to explaining how the race was able to seemingly bounce back so quickly from such a widespread event. In short, some of the Klingons who have appeared in their more recognizable form may have received such a procedure to correct their appearance.
Star Trek: Discovery's Klingon Design Change Was Way Worse Than Enterprise's
The Klingons became one of the biggest talking points at the start of Star Trek's modern era
Star Trek: Discovery brought the franchise back to TV screens 12 years after Star Trek: Enterprise ended. When the space opera's modern era began, it came with a fresh new aesthetic and overhauled practical and special effects. One of the design choices made for Discovery was revisiting the physical appearance of the Klingon race. Although the changes were arguably in keeping with the rest of Discovery's new style, huge portions of the Star Trek fan base onished the Klingons' new look. While "Affliction" was straddling two pre-established Klingon designs, Discovery rebuilt them completely.
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After Star Trek: The Original Series, the franchise settled on the Klingons' appearance, and Discovery ignored that. The new versions of the aliens almost looked like a completely different species. They also acted more intensely, but that was a result of writing choices and the show's newfound grittiness. Eventually, the show did kind of return the Klingons to their original form, but offscreen. It was revealed the bald Klingons had started to regrow their hair, which would have returned them closer to the appearance of the Klingons in classic shows like Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Enterprise.
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Star Trek: Enterprise
6/10- Release Date
- 2005 - 2005-00-00
- Showrunner
- Brannon Braga
- Directors
- Brannon Braga
Cast
John Billingsley
WHERE TO WATCH
StreamingBUYStar Trek: Enterprise acts as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, detailing the voyages of the original crew of the Starship Enterprise in the 22nd century, a hundred years before Captain Kirk commanded the ship. Enterprise was the sixth series in the Star Trek franchise overall, and the final series before a twelve-year hiatus until the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery in 2017. The series stars Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer, with an ensemble cast that includes John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock, Dominic Keating, Anthony Montgomery, Linda Park, and Connor Trinneer.
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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
8/10- Release Date
- 1993 - 1999-00-00
- Network
- CBS
- Showrunner
- Michael Piller, Ira Steven Behr
WHERE TO WATCH
StreamingBUYStar Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.
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