Trek Talk Tuesday #4: Alien Things - A Creator's Image (Intro)

Apologies for the delays. I've missed the last few weeks of #TrekTalkTuesday installments because I've been working on my own Star Trek inspired series, SpaceWard with the first "episode" now available on Kindle so, of course, I've had my hands full.

Today though, I want to introduce a mini-series within "Trek Talk Tuesday" on the various alien races in the Star Trek universe. For now, I'm limiting the discussion to the prominent humanoid species - Vulcans (and Romulans)/ Klingons, Ferengi, Andorians, Betazoids,  and possibly a post on the various "creature features" of TOS.

I'll be starting with the Vulcans (hopefully next Tuesday, but possibly the following week) over the course of two posts (because there is a lot to cover) and a third "spinoff" on the Romulans. Next, I'll spend a week on the TOS Klingons and a week on the TNG Klingons. The new Star Trek: Discovery Klingons don't matter because it's just CBS's terrible fanfiction.

In today's post, I simply want to establish some groundwork for the series and give an idea of where I'm coming from as a Christian who loves science fiction and fantasy.  Designing alien and other non-human races (e.g. Tolkien's Elves, Dwarves and Beorings) is an act of sub-creation, as Tolkien would call it. In a sense, a writer's alien species are made in his image and reflect his views on art and morality, either in a positive sense or a negative sense. Vulcans reveal something about the ideals which the minds that created Star Trek TOS admired, while the Ferengi of TNG paint a picture of what the creators loathed.

In exploring Vulcans, Klingons and the like, we can capture some of the artistic philosophy of their creators. In Star Trek, all the humanoid species are supposed to be variations of a similar life form after some unknown "mother race" seeded the various planets with their DNA, which is a clever way of allowing all the races to be essentially humans with random facial ridges and bumps to save on costume design. Unlike many Sci-Fi fans I have no problem with humanoid aliens. I find them more relatable and interesting than uninspiring blob heads and disembodied brains. But I think Trek drops the aesthetic ball on alien design, especially in comparison to Trek's rival - Star Wars.

Compare the Twi'liks of Star Wars to Vulcans or Wookiees to Klingons. Twi'liks have human biological forms - bipedal, two arms, two legs, opposable thumbs, mouth, nose, and eyes - but these commonalities are blended into the immediate differences. The first feature of a Twi'lik that jumps out at the viewer is not their hands or bipedal movement but the two "leeku" dangling from their head and various bright skin colors. Vulcans have a very subtle green-tint and pointed ears. That's it.

Wookiees are also humanoids under all that fur, but that fur brings an air of alienness to them. Klingons in TOS have a goldish-green skin tone (?), and in TNG they have ridge-riddled foreheads.
I find that Trek humanoid aliens fall into two distinct camps - either basically human with face ridges or basically human but also very ugly.

All of that to say, I will consider the creative designs of the aliens, their use in the world of Trek and what they say about the creators as I continue this series. I hope you all enjoy it, and please let me know your thoughts on Star Trek aliens in the comments below.



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