Thursday, September 27, 2012

Star Trek TNG Redemption (with Klingons)




'Lursa and B'Etor are feared. And fear is power.' Chancellor Gowron

Who are Lursa and B'Etor? Lursa and B'Etor are two seductive power hungry, Klingon females and a force to be reckoned within the Klingon Empire except for one little chink in their Klingon armor. Their brother Duras got swift justice at the receiving end of a curved bat'leth in 2367 for killing Worf's mate K'Ehleyr. Why I hear you ask? True warriors live by the Klingon Code of Honor which boils down to loyalty, honor and courage etc. The House of Duras apparently failed to appreciate that such a code even existed. That left Gowron next in line to succeed K'mpec as High Chancellor which didn't sit well with the sisters, at all. Lets have some fun with Star Trek TNG history.

In Star Trek's TNG 'Redemption' episode Barbara March's Lursa appears with her smaller foxy sister B'Etor played by Gwynyth Walsh for the first time. Its fair to say these two lovelies are united in their quest for power, conspiring with Romulans, hatching secretive plots to achieve only one thing. Control of the Klingon Empire! How trustworthy can they really be?

'Klingons do not surrender their weapons.'

The sisters are eventually exposed for Romulan double dealing but manage to escape and hook up with Dr Tolian Soran in Star Trek Generations. You remember him? He's the guy that snuffed Captain Kirk under that corny bridge scene bringing a dismal end to one of Science Fictions most iconic characters.

In 1991, when Redemption first aired on TV I recall being fascinated by the Duras sisters cunning treachery which added a crisp, wonderful tension between the characters in TNG's Redemption. These gutsy gals were determined to have a go at the Leadership by presenting their nephew and rightful 'male heir' Toral to the Klingon High Council.


When I saw that cocky kid strut his stuff into the Great Hall of the Klingon Home world, I was stumped and a little impressed by his sheer cheek. Not bad....but Toral gotta have some nerve. Alot of nerve going in their confronting those blood thirsty klingons! Gowron was enraged and leapt up from his council throne with his warriors d'k tahg in his hand.... (Go on Gowron, GET HIM!) A boy leader challenging the High Council with no love for duty or combat! You've got to be having a laugh......

In a flash Gowron's crazed eyes were alight with hatred but then a grin appears on his face. "Don't make me laugh" as he nearly busts a gut laughing. Toral is defiant but strangely unnerved for a boy that wanted to be chancellor. Murmurs of dissension echo the chamber.




Gowron continues. "What harlets lair did you find him in Lursa?" 

Humiliation is written all over Toral's face. Gowron rejects the defiant klingon and the council is split. Its not like the boy's true blood lines aren't suspect or a bitter pill to swallow. Still good ol' Captain Picard does his Arbiter of Succession bit by refusing Toral's leadership challenge plunging the Klingon Empire into civil war chaos, pitting Klingon against Klingon. Gowron eventually becomes chancellor of the Empire except its not over.



'Do you hear the cry of the warrior calling you to battle, calling you to glory?'

 I find it interesting Gowron's restoration of Worf's family honor came at a price. Discommendation was a heavy cross for Worf to shoulder alone. Sure, Worf no longer had to be the Fall Guy for Duras's treachery, (the guy who poisoned K'mpec) so now Gowron wants Worf's allegiance and its time to pay the piper. Worf is torn between Starfleet duty and his loyalty to the Klingon Empire. You'd think Picard would've given Worf some much deserved leeway here but instead Jean Luc plays hardball. The conclusion to Star Trek's TNG Redemption P1 ends with a real tear jerker when warrior Worf tells Picard:

'Then I resign my Starfleet commission as a Starfleet Officer.'



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AND OR CBS STUDIOS









Whats your favorite Star Trek Klingon episode? Were you delighted or stunned when Worf resigned from the the USS Enterprise NCC 1701-D? Have you ever had a crush on any science fiction characters? Who's side are you rooting for... Klingons, Romulans or Starfleet? Have you got a favorite sci fi warrior?

 Warrior long and Prosper, Trekinators

14 comments:

Tony Laplume said...

Klingon cleavage!

My favorite Klingon episode is "Blood Oath" from DS9, in which Dax reunites with Kor, Koloth, and Kang, played by the same actors who appeared in the original series. It defined a new kind of Klingon, who weren't simply motivated by the Empire, but by their own codes of honor.

SpacerGuy said...

Commander Kor has always been one of my favorite Klingons too, Tony. His bloodhounds nose for treachery is legendary. Captain Kirk's distrustful demeanour reassures Kor in Errand of Mercy because 'Barona' isn't grinning like everyone else. Kang, Kor and Koloth, these dudes have an awesome history together, fiersome, heroic warriors on the track of the albino who infected them.

Maurice Mitchell said...

Great stuff. Kah'less impressed me because he was short but powerful

The Armchair Squid said...

Great episode! Worf is my favorite TNG character. He only got better as the series went on, too.

Karen Lange said...

It was a sad day when Worf resigned. Don't watch much but he is one of my favorite characters.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog for Alex's post. It's great to meet you!

SpacerGuy said...

Hehe, Good ol' Kah'less the Unforgettable. The 12 days and 12 nights Kah'less and Morath story is a good one, Maurice

Worf is a great storyteller and warrior. The actor Michael Dorn really threw himself into the part even stating TNG was the best seven years of his life!

Worf got such an awesome send off by his Enterprise crewmates. I think even Picard was teary eyed. It was wonderful visiting your blog, Karen.

nutschell said...

Can't think of any favorite Sci Fi warriors...oh wait. Does Ender count?
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com

Ryan Carpentier said...

The Duras sisters were a hoot! TNG did a great job with their Klingon episodes, Redemption is up in with my favs.

SpacerGuy said...

Ender is one of Sci Fi greatest Nutschell

If only they'd known about the defective plasma coils! Ryan

James Pailly said...

I still remember when this episode originally aired. I was too young to understand about season finale's yet or cliffhangers, so I was very upset that Worf resigned and very confused when he was back the next week like nothing ever happened (they showed re-runs all summer--it was a strange summer for me).

But my favorite Klingon episode is "Rightful Heir," the one when Kahless returns from the dead.

SpacerGuy said...

Worf's the likable black sheep aboard Picard's flagship Enterprise. Whenever the writers need a wicked fix... Worfs the perfect fall guy. Rightful Heir was a great Klingon episode, James.

Anonymous said...

I love the episode where everything keeps changing around worf, and time/space is messed up. I forget the name of it, but it was a cool one, sort of Twilight-zone-ish.

www.facebook.com/ifinglovestartrek

M Pax said...

I always enjoyed the klingons and romulans. Gul du Kat [or however you spell his name] was one of my favorite alien troublemakers

Unknown said...

Live Long and prosper, to borrow the vulcan philosophy, I say that because I'm an original klingon from the very last Star Trek movie w/ the great William Shatner as Cap'tn Star Trek 6 "The Undiscovered Country" hello to all my Trekkie enthusiast it was an amazing experience to act in a movie that I watched practically my whole life ,meeting the whole cast and crew on the set (except for Mr.Nimoy he wrote and Directed ST6)but William Shatner there isn'nt a classier guy in movies today that could match his graciousness, humility and professionality. For any questions or comments you can email me at fchizm57@gmail.com

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