2 star trek alien races

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Star Trek: The 50 Best Alien Races

From Tribble to Andorians, we're ranking the 50 best alien life forms explored in the Star Trek universe...

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The crews of the various iterations of Star Trek boldly went where no one has gone before — and then boldly met a crap ton of alien species.

Star Trek may be the human adventure, but there have been countless non-human beings, critters, menaces, gods, and blobs that have been introduced in the Star Trek  universe. From The Original Series to The Animated Series , to The Next Generation , to Deep Space Nine , the Delta Quadrant and Voyager , to the early adventures of Enterprise , to the modern day films, Star Trek has gifted fans with unforgettable species after species as the five-year mission has turned into five decades of first contact.

There have been vile races bred for combat, omnipotent races that use humankind as puppets, and even a bunch of cute little furry things.  Star Trek just keeps on delivering the cool aliens show after show, film after film. Just imagine the species that will soon be coming to Star Trek: Discovery ! But now is the time to celebrate the past as we present the fifty coolest Star Trek aliens ever to appear in films or TV.

50. Arcturian

First appearance: star trek: the motion picture (1979).

The Arcturian didn’t have a great deal of Star Trek screen time, but this alien race that resembled melted wax (eww) makes our list because it stands as a prime example of the story richness of the Star Trek  galaxy. An Arcturian can briefly be seen in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and the Mego toy company even made two versions of this blink and you’ll miss him creature (one 3 ¾ inch one 12 inch). But what intrigues us the most is this melty guy’s backstory…

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Star Trek costume crafters extraordinaire Fred Phillips and Robert Fletcher came up with a rich history for the Arcturian. According to Philips and Fletcher, the Arcturians were actually a race of clones that made up the bulk of the Federation’s infantry. While never seen on screen, there are legions of these guys running around, just waiting to be sent to some hostile planet to go to war. The Federation has always been portrayed as peaceful and benevolent, but it has the potential to unleash billions of melty looking monsters at a moment’s notice. Yikes.

Arcturians also appeared in the Star Trek daily comic strip and their back story continues to stand as a great example of the vast richness of the Star Trek galaxy, a place where billions of stories exist at all times. Including one about a race of wax soldiers that can be replicated and sent to do the Federation’s will. Eeep.

49. Edosian

First appearance: star trek: the animated series “beyond the farthest star” (1973).

Edosians are a tripedal species and are skilled at using their three arms and three legs in navigation and piloting. Lieutenant Arex, the loyal Enterprise navigator that first appeared in Star Trek: The Animated Series , is a proud member of the Edosian species and was a recurring character during this era of animated Trek. Arex was voiced by Scotty himself James Doohan and was a standout character in the era between The Original Series and The Next Generation .

Arex popped up in comics and novels and took his place of honor among the original crew. Arex also was a character that fully utilized animation as the six limbs and distinct alien features of this character would have been impossible to pull off in live-action back in the day. But thanks to The Animated Series , the distinctive Edosians live on and prosper in Trek lore.

48. Excalbians

First appearance: star trek: the original series “the savage curtain” (1969).

Listen, any species responsible for bringing Abraham Lincoln into the Star Trek  universe has to make this list. The Excalbians are a silicon based life form that possessed the ability to shape shift. These rock beings, who honestly looked like something Steve Ditko would have designed for Doctor Strange, were fascinated by the human notion of good and evil.

So they did what anyone would do in the same situation: they made a recreation of Abraham Lincoln and teamed it with Kirk, Spock, and famous Vulcan goodie-good Surak and sent them up against four representatives of evil — Kahless the Unforgettable of Qo’noS, Genghis Khan, Colonel Green of Earth and Dr. Zora of Tiburon. How’s that for a traditional Survivor Series match?

For this wonderful bit of schlock and for making us believe that Ben Grimm could work in live action in 1969, we salute the ever curious Excalbians.

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47. Caitian

First appearance: star trek: the animated series “the survivor” (1973).

The cat-like Caitians were represented in Enterprise history by M’Ress, a feline female that served both as engineer and a communications officer during The Animated Series . M’Ress spoke in a purring voice and was a skilled operative that stood side by side with the more iconic members of the Enterprise.

Now, I would like to talk about how cool the Caitians were. I would like to talk about how M’Ress was the main character in the Power Records’ Star Trek book and record set Star Trek: Passage to Moauv (1975). I would also like to talk about how a Caitian also appeared in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home …

But I just can’t help but wonder if Captain Kirk did what he does and somehow at some point bed down with this cat woman. This would make Kirk’s TV sci-fi’s first furry and I’m sort of fascinated by this idea. I don’t want to focus on this idea because it kind of reduces M’ress as a character and the Caitian as a race… But then I read that the alien twins that Kirk hooked up with in the first Abramsverse film were confirmed to be Caitian and everything just stirs up again and I fell absolved of all responsibility.

Anyway, M‘Ress and the Caitians might be considered obscure now, but she was a pretty big deal to Trek lore during The Animated Series era. So this race is a purr-fect addition to our list. Did the Enterprise come equipped with a giant litter box? Okay, I need to stop now; this is going to some bad places.

46. Bolians

First appearance: star trek: the next generation (1988).

The Bolians have been a perennial background species since their first Trek appearance in 1988. The first Bolian fans witnesses aboard the Enterprise was an ambassador, but many other Bolians have appeared around the Trek verse since. They have been seen as barbers, manicurists, Federation troops, and high ranking officials.

Bolians are distinctive due to their blue skin and their ridge that bisects their anatomy. They are highly friendly individuals and compassionate. In fact, an episode of Voyager puts forth that Bolians were  supportive of assisted suicide. These deep seated beliefs make the Bolians an intriguing species ripe for future Trek exploration.

45. Lurian

First appearance: star trek: deep space nine “the emissary” (1993).

Lurians were a very rarely encountered species that possessed multiple hearts, lungs, and stomachs. Fans got to know this ellusive species through DS9 regular/bar fly Morn. Yes, Morn is an anagram for Norm, because, like the famed Cheers fat man, in Quark’s Bar, everyone knew Morn’s name.

Morn was a bombastic and talkative fellow who fans never got to actually hear speak. He was a former thief that barely moved away from his bar stool. Morn was also fiercely loyal to Quark and got his little Ferengi pal out of many a jam. But mostly, Morn just sat there and drank stoically.

Although we only ever met one Lurian, we will always remember his name because Morn was such a constant (and inebriated) presence on Deep Space Nine . He also once had a torrid love affair with Jadzia Dax but that is a tale for another time. Raise a glass to the Lurians!

First appearance: Star Trek (2009)

So far, the rebooted Trek films have not really given funs much by way of alien species. The only classic races to get good screen time in the reboots have been Romulans and Vulcans. But the films did give us Keenser the Roylan, Scotty’s diminutive engineering pal.

Keenser first appeared in the first Trek reboot film as Scotty’s ever present companion when Scotty was exiled on the Federation outpost on Delta Vega. When Scotty beamed to the Enterprise, he left Keenser behind which was kinda sad. JJ Abrams and company must have thought so too as Keenser was all of a sudden part of the Enterprise’s crew in Star Trek: Into Darkness .

Keensar is ever loyal to his pal Scotty as the two share one of the best bromances in the galaxy. The fourteenth issue of IDW Publishing’s Star Trek comic gifted fans with Keensar’s origin. It also revealed the name of his species — Roylan — for the first time.

In this issue, fans learned that Keensar was constantly mocked by his peers because he was so tall (heh). It also revealed that Keensar served with distinction aboard the USS Kelvin and was shipmates with none other than George Kirk.

Keensar the Roylan is a constant presence in the new Trek Universe and I’m sure this member of the Roylan species will have many adventures to come.

43. Mugato

First appearance: star trek: the original series “a private little war” (1968).

Because sometimes in space, there are giant, poisonous horned gorillas. What’s not to love about Mugato? He’s kind of cute, very fuzzy, and is as poisonous as the nastiest snake. Poisonous gorillas in space, this is why we love Trek. Sadly, Mugato only appeared briefly, attacking and poisoning Kirk before being disintegrated by Doctor McCoy.

But, remember: as you watch the hard sci-fi and techno jargon of Trek, as you witness the human adventure of Roddenberry’s galaxy, as you watch carbon-based life forms achieve full potential and enlightenment, remember , in this same world there are fuzzy, horned, albino gorillas that will poison the crap out of you.

42. Acamarians

First appearance: star trek: the next generation “the vengeance factor” (1989).

The Acamarians are an advanced race of humanoids that have found a peaceful existence very late in its history. For centuries, the tattooed Acamarians lived in rival clans and their planet was split apart by warfare. One of the clan wars lasted three centuries and wiped one of the combating sides out of existence. When Picard’s Enterprise encountered the Acamarians, the people finally almost found peace.

However, a splinter group known as the Gatherers could not overcome centuries of clan warfare and refused to negotiate, so Picard had to navigate the complex web of Acamarians politics and bitterness as well as the assassination of the Gatherer ambassador to finally forge a peace with the Acamarians.

Despite all these issues, the Acamarians have a rich culture and mirror many contemporary Earth societies that have been splintered by war. Sci-fi works best when it reflects reality, and through the Acamarians, Trek fans got to see some really effective social commentary about tribalism and societal bitterness.

41. Denobulans

First appearance: enterprise “broken bow” (2001).

A Denobulan served aboard the very first Enterprise as the ship’s doctor, thus making the species vital to the origins of the Federation. Our medic in question, Phlox by name, was one of the main protagonists in Enterprise and was a staunch example of the exemplary qualities of the Denobulan race.

Denobulans are loyal but quite hedonistic by human standards. Denobulan males can take up to three wives while the entire race embraces polyamory. As humanity headed off into space aboard the first Enterprise, Phlox served as a constant reminder of the varied belief systems and practices the people of Earth would encounter as space exploration began.

Phlox and the Denobulan held ethics in high regard as Phlox would never allow a sentient being to suffer. Even though the ridge faced Denobulans had fierce tempers, they also were gentle and kind, and valued knowledge and pleasure over confrontation and violence.

Denobulans also have the propensity to puff out their faces when they were threatened — so, yeah, there’s that. Plus, Denobulans have really long tongues. What was it that I said about hedonism and Denobulans? Anyway, these cunning linguists were great doctors as seen through Enterprise ’s first mayor of the sickbay: Doctor Phlox.

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40. Orions

First appearance: star trek: the original series “the cage” (1966).

The green Orion slave dancer that shimmied into the dreams of Trek fans has been an iconic bit of Star Trek lore since her Shakiraesque debut, but the history of the Orions did not stop there…

Although a cosplay staple, the slave girl was just one Orion. Others have appeared in The Animated Series , Enterprise , novels, comics, toys, and one even prominently appeared in the J.J. Abrams Star Trek timeline as Uhura’s roommate and an early romantic partner of one James T. Kirk.

Orions are a species with close ties to the Federation — ties that are explored in some of the better episodes of Enterprise . Although the Orions will long be remembered because of the grinding of the hips of a slave dancer, there is so much more to this green-skinned humanoid species that has been part of Star Trek lore since almost day one.

39. Ocampans

First appearance star trek: voyager “caretaker part ii” (1995).

The Ocampans carry an importance to the Star Trek  universe because Kes, a noted member of the Ocampan species, was a member of the lost Voyager crew for three years. Ocampans are a race with powerful telekinetic powers but, sadly, this race of elf-like humanoids only have a life span of nine years. (So… combine Jean Grey with a mayfly and you get the idea.) 

Ocampans are very accepting of their short life span and a rather enlightened species. Through Kes, the crew of Voyager learned a lust for life as the wide eyed Ocampan enjoyed every minute of her existance even though she was trapped with the Voyager crew. When Kes’ power grew out of control, she left Voyager and her friends, including her constant companion Neelix, and used her abilities to push the lost Voyager out of Borg space and a year closer to home. This sacrifice taught the crew of the Voyager and fans of the show the innate nobility of the Ocampan race.

38. Vidiians

First appearance star trek voyager “the phage” (1995).

While the Ocampans were a nice, little, Tinkerbell-like species that fluttered about Voyager , there were also these Wes Craven nightmares… The Vidiians suffered a disease known as the Phage. The Phage is kind of like a hardcore space Ebola that utterly destroys the infected’s body and organs. So, yeah, Bones McCoy was sort of right about space being a petri dish of death and pain.

The ravaged Phage would wander the galaxy and rob sentients of their organs and body parts. So there you are, doing warp three with caution around the Delta Quadrant, and, all of a sudden, a few Vidiians beam unto your ship and rip out your liver and intestines. Then, they use said liver and intestines to replace their own — whether you filled out your Federation organ donor cards or not.

The Vidiians were eventually cured by the crew of the Voyager, but you have to assume that in a galaxy so big there are still some Vidiians cruising around out there taking hearts and lungs from innocent travelers. Yeesh.

37. Breen

First appearance: star trek deep space nine “indiscretion” (1995).

First off, cool points for the Breen because the helmet that this species wears looks kind of like the helmet Princess Leia used to disguise herself as a bounty hunter in Return of the Jedi . But the space awesomeness of the Breen doesn’t end there…

The Breen’s fighting prowess and technology are so advanced that even the Romulons and Klingon talk about this mysterious species in hushed whispers. And, indeed, when the Breen made themselves known to the Federation during the Dominion War, things got intense. These mighty warriors allied themselves with the Cardassians and the Dominion to take on the combined might of the Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulons.

During this conflict, the Breen destroyed the USS Defiant, the flagship of the Deep Space Nine space station, and managed to attack the Earth city of San Francisco. The Federation managed to develop counter weaponry to defeat the Breen, but many will remember these armored badassess as race of military specialists to be reckoned with.

The alliance with the Dominion cost the Breen, though, and — after the War — it wasn’t easy being Breen.

36. Hunters

First appearance star trek deep space nine : “captive pursuit” (1993).

Imagine a Trek alien that is pretty much Boba Fett mixed with Kraven the Hunter and you have these big game-tracking motherfuckers. The Hunters popped out of the Bajoran Wormhole and had their first contact with the Federation in the DS9 episode “Captive Pursuit.” In this stirring installment of this reporter’s favorite Trek show, fans were introduced to the Hunters and their chosen prey: the genetically enhanced Tosk.

The Hunters (whether this was the species name is unknown) would alter their Tosk prey in order to make the hunt more difficult. The pursuing of the Tosk was an obsession with the Hunters that rubbed members of the freedom loving Federation the wrong way.

The Hunters even gave the Federation a run for its money as the race of killers had advanced tech to assist them in their eternal hunt for Tosk. Sadly, the Hunters only appeared in one episode of Deep Space Nine , but their fighting skills and bloodthirsty rituals will be burned into the minds of Trek fans for a long time.

35. The Salt Vampire

First appearance: star trek: the original series “the man trap” (1966).

Old Salty here, or creature M-113, is a reminder that space can be a really, really dangerous place because there are things out there called Salt Vampires. And, no, this thing doesn’t just hang around a Pringles factory, it freakin’ shape shifts and then kills innocent people and drains them of their salt. Kirk and his crew first encountered this thing as it took the form of a number of the Enterprise’s crew. It almost killed Sulu, Yeoman Rand, Spock, and Kirk before being shot and killed by Dr. McCoy who had no time for such foolishness.

I suppose Kirk could have kept the Salt Vampire alive and just fed it Wetzel’s Pretzels (those things are like licking the ocean), but I guess Kirk felt that a shape shifting thing that looks like it was spat out of the ninth plane of hell that brutally kills people and drains them of sodium probably needed to be deleted from the universe. One has to wonder what special M-114 might be: Cinnamon Vampire?

34. Cheron

First appearance star trek: the original series “let that be your last battlefield” (1969).

When we first met the Cheron, there was only two members of this species left: Bele (played by the Riddler himself, the great Frank Gorshin) and Lokai. Bele was hunting Lokai whom Bele deemed a traitor after the planet Cheron was wiped out due to centuries of racial wars.

Apparently, some Cheron were black on the left and white on the right while other members of this advanced species possessed the opposite skin alignment. Due to this difference, the entire population — save Lokai and Bele — were eradicated. Bele hijacked the Enterprise and used his vast array of mental capabilities to hunt for Lokai.

The whole opposite was a thinly veiled, but powerful allusion to the destructive potential and sheer idiocy of racism — a message as powerful today as it was in the ’60s. Of course, you know I’m going to say that Mego made a Cheron doll, a toy I treasured in my childhood and called Oreo Man.

We should all have an Oreo Man during our most innocent years. But who knew my beloved Oreo Man was actually a genocidal racist madman that used his vast power to almost destroy the Enterprise? Oh, Oreo Man…

33. Nausicaans

First appearance: star trek: the next generation “tapestry” (1993).

One of the surlier races in the galaxy, Nausicaans are big hairy warriors that hire themselves out as mercenaries throughout the galaxy. A Nausicaan had quite the impact on the life of Jean-Luc Picard. When the future captain of the Enterprise was an ensign, he played a stirring game of domjot with some Nausicaan thugs (as one does). Picard and his pals accused the Nausicaans of cheating and the bad-tempered badasses stabbed Picard through the heart. This required Picard to get an artificial heart. (The more you know!)

The Nausicaans gave the crew of Deep Space Nine a hard time as well. This hairy race of pirates even encountered Captain Archer and the original crew of the Enterprise back in the day, proving that big hairy thugs that cheat at domjot remain big hairy thugs that cheat at domjot.

All that aside, Nausicaan fighting prowess is equal to the fighting prowess of Klingons and the only thing that keeps the Nausicaans from being more of a threat is their mistrust and their inability to come together as a species. Instead of being intergalactic conquerors, the Nausicaans have remained bullies, raider, and cheaters. But they do have killer 80s rocker hair, don’t they?

32. Kazon

First appearance: star trek: voyager “caretaker” (1995).

The Kazon were the first race that the crew of the Voyager encountered when they arrived in the Delta Quadrant, and — as far as d-bag, aggressive alien species go — the Kazon take the space cake (because when you put the word space in front of something, it sounds like you are in the future).

The Kazon race was separated into rival sects, which made negotiating with them as a whole almost impossible. They were once a slave race that served the Trabe, but the Kazon were a fractured species before and during its enslavement. Despite their disloyalty to each other, the Kazon were fierce combatants who were unwilling to negotiate a peace treaty with the Trabe or Voyager.

The Kazon had advanced technology and a back-stabbing blood thirst that introduced the crew of the Voyager to the Delta Quadrant and caused Voyager to be trapped in what was going to be a very hostile place, if the battle-hardened Kazon were any indication.

31. Metrons

First appearance: star trek: the original series “arena” (1967).

We do so love the Gorn. And what alien species was responsible for Kirk’s immortal battle with the Gorn? Why that would be the shiny and nigh omnipotent Metrons.

The Metrons possess tremendous mental powers and can control matter and energy. These human like aliens fiercely guard their sector of space and regard even the most minor intrusion as a great trespass punishable by death. When the Enterprise and a Gorn vessel find themselves in Metron space, the Metrons mentally teleport both Captains to a remote planet and force them to fight.

The Metrons are intensely xenophobic and regard other races as barbaric, so when Kirk spares the Gorn, the aloof Metrons are impressed and free both vessels. You see, a simple act of kindness was all it took to free the Enterprise from the Metrons’ wrath and impress a race of people that do not impress easily. Also, the Metrons wear sparkly evening gowns so they have that going for them…

30. Horta

First appearance: star trek: the original series “devil in the dark” (1967).

The Horta may look like a pile of bile soaked dog puke, but, hey, it was featured in William Shatner’s favorite Star Trek episode, so we have to give this blob of silicon its props.

The Horta was first encountered by a group of miners. After a miner was killed, Kirk and company were called to see what was up. They encounter the Horta, an extremely alien-looking beastie. After the creature is injured, Spock attempts a mind meld but the creature is in too much pain for Spock to connect with it. Soon, the crew of the Enterprise learns that the creature is the lone survivor of its race charged with protecting the eggs of the next generation of Horta. So Kirk and his pals dedicate themselves to protecting the thing’s little vomit eggs from the angry miners.

All jokes aside, the Horta was classic Trek alien: a semi-cheesy-looking beastie that stars in an episode with a powerful theme. The Horta was a prime example that all life has merit and even something that looks like a half-digested taco only wants to survive and thrive. By saving the Horta, the crew of the Enterprise shows that their most important mission is to contact and understand all life, no matter what it looks like. Thank you for that valuable lesson, Mr. Horta.

29. Greek Gods

First appearance: star trek: the original series “who mourns for adonis” (1967).

Wait, what? Oh, by the bristling beard of Zeus, the Greek Gods exists in the Star Trek  universe. 

The legendary deities of ancient Greece were actually super-powered aliens that lived on Pollox IV. They would visit Earth back in ancient times and bask in the worship of primitive humans. Well, the humans of the Enterprise were no primitives, and — when the Pollox IV alien that called itself Apollo trapped Kirk and his crew on the planet and refused to allow them to leave — Kirk and Spock fought back, kicking a god’s ass in the process.

Sadly, we never saw the other Greek gods. (Because could you just imagine Kirk versus Zeus?) But, it was established the other gods existed — and that they wore togas and laurel leaves like they were going to a frat party. The fact that this all exists in the same galaxy as Klingons and Borg just makes me very happy.

28. Hirogen

First appearance: star trek: voyager “message in a bottle” (1998).

The Hirogen are a nasty Delta Quadrant species of reptilian hunters that view any other sentient beings as prey. When the Hirogen chose a victim, the religious ritual of the Hunt began and all aspect of Hirogen culture centered on this blood sport. After the Hirogen tracked and captured its prey, they would remove the victim’s skeletal system, muscles, internal organs, ligaments, and tendons and keep these parts as trophies.

The Hirogen ran afoul of the Starship Voyager a number of times and Captain Janeway and her elite crew always found ways to defeat these hunters. In one of the Hirogen’s more bone headed moves, they created advanced holograms that could feel fear and pain. These thinking holograms quickly became more advanced than the Hirogen and turned the hunters into the hunted.

Despite this addlepated move, the Hirogen were always a feared species for those that traveled through the Delta Quadrant because they were essentially Predators dropped into the middle of the Star Trek universe.

27. El-Aurians

First appearance: star trek: the next generation “the child” (1988).

El-Aurian were a race of wise and peaceful people that transverse the galaxy to listen to the stories of others. When the Borg wiped out the El-Aurian’s home world, the galaxy lost a race of wise listeners… Or it almost did, because the surviving members of this race spread out across the galaxy.

Fans met the El-Aurians when The Next Generation introduced Guinan, the proprietor of Ten Forward, the bar of choice for the crew of the Enterprise. When Guinan came aboard, the members of the Enterprise had a kind and quick-witted being to bounce their problems off of, and Guinan listened. It was a shame that so many people like Guinan were lost to the Borg as the El-Aurians long lived goodness was a boon to the galaxy.

But not all El-Aurians were benevolent. Tollan Soran was an El-Aurian survivor that was aboard a ship of refugees with Guinan when the ships ferrying the El-Aurians refugees was lost to the fiery Nexus ribbon. It seemed that the legendary Captain Kirk was killed in this rescue attempt, but it turns out Kirk was trapped within the Nexus.

Soran became obsessed with returning to the Nexus and his Ahab like need for knowledge led to the first and only meeting between James T. Kirk and Jean Luc Picard. Soran was an anomaly to the El-Aurians species as most of the race used their centuries of wisdom to spread enlightenment wherever they went.

26. Tellarites

First appearance: star trek: the original series “journey to babel” (1967).

Along with Andorians and Vulcans, Tellarites were one of the first species to join the United Federation of Planets. A Tellarite first appeared in The Original Series episode “Journey to Babel,” where Sarek, Spock’s father, was framed for the murder of a Tellarite ambassador.

Sarek was able to solve the crime, freeing his name and forging a long-lasting peace with the Tellarities. Early contact with the Tellarites was recounted in Enterprise , but members of the specials also popped up in The Next Generation and even in a couple of films. Tellarites, with their distinctive beards, hooves, and stubbornness, have long been one of the backbone species of the Federation.

25. Tamarians

First appearance star trek: the next generation “darmok” (1991).

“Temba, his arms wide. Shaka, when the walks fell.” Who can forget these poetic, yet somewhat ominous phrases spoken by Dathon the Tamarian to Captain Picard when the two were trapped on a hostile world together?

Trek lore has it that the Federation and the Tamarians only had seven encounters over the years because the Tamarian language was so hard to comprehend. Well, if he was to survive, Picard would have to understand it (and fast) because Dathon beamed Picard down to the planet in order to teach the human captain a language that was as complex as it was beautiful.

It turns out Tamarians only communicate in metaphors (I’ve had grad school professors like that), and in order for the Federation and the Tamarians to build an accord, Picard would need to understand those metaphors. “Shaka when the walls fell,” has become quite a famous little moment of Trek myth as the Tamarians stand as a metaphor themselves — for cultural understanding and empathy.

24. Species 8472

First appearance: “star trek: voyager” part 1 (1997).

Species 8472 are so deadly that they even make the Borg poop their cybernetic underroos. (Hey, do you think when the Borg poops they all go at once? Or does one go make while the rest of the Collective just snickers? This is now the most ever written about Borg poop on the internet. Or is it? I’m not googling that.)

Anyway, Species 8472 existed in an extra-dimensional bit of hell known as fluidic space. When the Borg discovered the fluidic dimension, the ever deadly race of cybernetic killers busted through the dimensions and attempted to assimilate Species 8472. 8472 was having none of that and fought back, creating weapons that could slay the Borg with ease. In fact, 8472 was able to destroy the Borg Cubes in seconds. (Man, that’s like taking down the Death Star with a single bullet.) Sadly, Species 8472 also took out many innocent Delta Quadrant planets, which forced the crew of Voyager to get involved.

The Borg and Voyager had to form an unlikely alliance to drive Species 8472 back to fluidic space. 8472 was one of the closet things Trek fans ever got to Lovecraft-like cosmic horrors, as even the Borg could not stand up to these waling nightmares. This species appeared a few more times on Voyager until Captain Janeway was able to broker a peace with these terrors that exist behind the fabric of time and space.

23. The Gorn

Oh, the Gorn. Who doesn’t love Gorn? Of course, this rubbery looking and cold blooded reptilian monstrosity first appeared in the classic TOS episode “Arena,” where Kirk had to go mano-e-lizardo with the captain of a captured Gorn vessel. What followed was one of the most classic fights in Trek history as Kirk had to fashion a makeshift cannon to defeat this alien monster.

Despite its primitive appearance, future novels established the Gorn as a technologically-advanced race and, you just have to admit, Trek lore has not even scratched the surface of the Gorn. Imagine the spin offs. The Gorn Identity. Gorn to be Wild. Gorn on the Fourth of July. Fans were able to witness the Gorn home world for the first time in DC Comics’ Star Trek the Next Generation: The Gorn Crisis .

The Gorn were also one of the aliens made by Mego in its second set of Trek dolls. Fun fact: Mego’s Gorn looks nothing like the TV Gorn, as Mego just reused Marvel’s Lizard mold, painted it brown and decked old Gorny in the outfit used for the Klingon doll. Despite this lack of toy respect, and despite one of the cheapest prosthetic heads ever seen on TV, the Gorn’s battle with Kirk is still forever burned into Trek lore.

22. Tholians

First appearance: star trek: the original series “the tholian web” (1968).

Get a load of these psychedelic xenophobes. Yeah, the Tholians might look like a funky black light album cover come to life, but, really, they are brutal, territorial, hateful, and will do anything to keep other species out of Tholian territory. But, hey, they are known for the punctuality, so take heart in the fact that, when they kill you, it’ll be done in a timely fashion.

The Tholians cruise around their sector of space in geometric rainbow ships, making the aesthetic of the race more Yes album cover and less cool space despots. The Tholians first encountered the crew of the Enterprise when the USS Defiant flew too close to Tholian space.

Always protective of their borders, the Tholians phased the Defiant out of real space and into an interspace dimension. Kirk himself was phased out of time and space (for Shatner, it wouldn’t be the first or last time this happened), but Spock and the Enterprise were able to get their captain back and pimp-slap the Tholians.

The Enterprise under Jonathan Archer also ran afoul of these crystalline killers. The Tholians are a great example that in space, threats can come in any shape and even rainbows can kill you.

21. Talaxians

First appearance: star trek: voyager “caretaker” (1995).

One of the friendlier species of the Delta Quadrant, the Talaxians — or more accurately, an individual member of the Talaxian species — was pivotal to Voyager’s survival during the years it spent trapped in the Delta Quadrant.

Talaxians became dispersed throughout the Delta Quadrant after a devastating war with the Haakonian Order. Talaxians had no real home world, but that did not break their spirits. Talaxians are a very spiritual, upbeat, and whimsical race that — when confronted with two unpleasant paths to take in life — will find a third, happier path to traverse. This spiritual ability to find light and hope in any circumstance made the Talaxian Neelix indispensable to the crew of the Voyager.

Neelix was the cook and morale officer aboard Voyager and helped his friends out of many spiritual and literal crises. Throughout its wanderings in the Delta Quadrant, Voyager encountered many Talaxians that were always willing to lend a hand. Sadly, many aggressive species like the Borg also targeted the peaceful Talaxians — but, like Neelix, the Talaxians always found that third path.

Keep going, because we’ve got more aliens for you!

20. Organians

First appearance: star trek: the original series “errand of mercy” (1967).

When Kirk, Spock, and the crew of the Enterprise first encounter the Organians, a non-distinct humanoid species, this new race appeared to be akin to an 18th century agrarian Earth society. Spock commented that his tricoder has more technology than the entirety of the Organians planet.

Sadly, the Organians home world became caught up in a war between the Federation and the Klingons. Kirk warned the Organians leaders that war was coming but the Organians were completely unconcerned… When the Klingons arrived and began to take Organians hostages, the Organians remained unconcerned — because, apparently, the Organians are millions of years more advanced than either Klingons or humans. The Organians mentally disabled the Klingon and Federation ships in orbit around their planet and calmly disarmed Kirk, Spock, and the Klingons.

The Organians have an advanced form of ESP and can predict future events. They also can possess the bodies of others. An Organian told Kirk that, one day, Klingons and humans would be friends — something ‘ol James T. couldn’t wrap his head around, but something Next Gen fans would know to be true. So here’s to the Organians, the Amish space gods of the galaxy.

19. The Traveler

First appearance: star trek: the next generation “where no one has gone before” (1987).

Now, let’s all be honest. Yeah, we love Wil Wheaton as he is truly nerd royalty and has done a great deal over the last few years as a sort of geek ambassador. But, real talk: no one really liked Wesley Crusher. We love Wesley’s mom, Dr. Beverly Crusher, but Wes was kind of the Jar Jar Binks of Star Trek . The Traveler freed us of all of that.

The Traveler is a member of a mysterious race of immensely powerful beings. The Traveler could transverse time, space, and heavenly bodies at will and could use his thoughts to manipulate nature and reality. The Traveler seemed to be second only to Q in terms of power and omnipotence.

When the Traveler first met ‘lil Wesley Crusher, he compared the lad to Mozart. This caused Captain Picard to promote Crusher to ensign. Later in his Starfleet career, Crusher began to have doubts about his lot in Starfleet. The Traveler convinced Crusher to leave Starfleet after Crusher began to develop powers similar to the Traveler.

As Crusher’s powers grew, the Traveler took him on as protégé, teaching the former ensign how to best use his vast powers to help the galaxy. Wesley left the Enterprise with the Traveler as his very own Yoda and, for this, Trek fans hold a great debt to the Traveler as he freed us from the oft times insipid Crusher.

You know, looking back, I wouldn’t mind a novel or two explaining what happened to Crusher later in life. So, I guess we can give the Traveler credit for not only freeing us from Wesley, but also for making Bev’s boy into an interesting part of the Star Trek universe.

18. Crystalline Entity

First appearance: star trek: the next generation: “datalore” (1988).

The Crystalline Entity is basically the Galactus of the Star Trek  universe. The Entity is a giant, electromagnetic engine of cosmic death that lives to consume organic matter. It goes from planet to planet, absorbing all organic matter and leaving dry husks of death behind. A Crystalline Entity destroyed the outpost where Commander Data was created, essentially making Data an intergalactic android orphan.

Despite its destructive power, the Crystalline Entity is a beautiful sight: huge and multi-faceted, colorful and shimmering — frankly, an artist’s dream. But, behind the beauty, lies a bite that can lay waste to entire species.

This giant snowflake of death was pivotal in the origins of Data and is one of the most feared species in the entire galaxy. There are other Crystalline Entities out there in the void of space, but, thankfully, encounters with them are very rare. As of yet, no Crystalline Entity has been seen hanging out with a silver guy on a surfboard… but we remain hopeful.

17. Betazoid

First appearance: star trek: the next generation “encounter at farpoint” (1987).

For seven seasons and a handful of films, Star Trek fans got to know a very special Betazoid: Counselor Deanna Troi. Troi was an exemplary member of the Betazoid race — a mostly peaceful people that possess empathic and telepathic powers.

Most Betazoids, including Troi, use their powers for the benefit of others. The Enterprise was saved many times thanks to Troi and her fantastic abilities as she served with honor and distinction about the Federation flagship. Betazoids are indistinguishable for humans except for their all black irises. It’s a very cool thought that there is a race of Charles Xaviers in the Star Trek  universe and, with more Star Trek coming our way soon, let us hope we have the honor to meet more Betazoids.

Fun fact: Gene Roddenberry wanted the Betazoid women to have four breasts. Can you imagine trying to take Troi seriously with four breasts? Thankfully, Roddenberry was talked out of this silliness and the Enterprise’s resident Betazoid counselor became the stuff of Trek legend.

16. Talosians

First appearance: star trek pilot “the cage” (1965).

You know we had to include the first aggressive alien species ever encountered in a Trek episode. And, yes, we’ll get this out of the way quickly: the Talosians’ heads look like asses. We know. ‘Ol fanny foreheads. Butt heads. Get it all out of your system. Okay, done? Good.

The Talosians were the sole survivors of a nuclear holocaust. The remaining Talosians manifested the power to create illusions. These beings grew addicted to the illusions and abandoned technology. Like the Lotus Eaters of old, their existence was now tied to their narcotic-like illusions. Soon, the Talosians grew bored. The buttheads lured alien races to their planet and fed off the psyche of their victims.

Captain Pike of the Enterprise and his science officer Spock were drawn to the Talosian home world. The Talosians tempted the Federation officers with everything they could desire, but — through the minds of both men — the Talosians learned that humans hated captivity. The Talosians showed compassion and let Pike and Spock go. Later, Spock would return to the Talosian planet after Pike was left paralyzed. The Talosians once again showed compassion as they allowed the broken Pike to live his life on the planet.

The Talosian story ends sweetly, but just remember that, somewhere in the galaxy, there are siren-like, androgynous aliens (the male Talosians were actually played by female actors), ready to lore victims into a life of captivity. The Talosians were Trek’s first encountered, named alien species and they are also some of the most memorable as these illusion-casting humanoids set the standard for all Trek species going forward. Not bad for a bunch of ass-heads.

15. Vorta

First appearance: star trek: deep space nine “the jem’hadar” (1994).

The Vorta were genetically bred by the Founders to be the perfect military commanders and strategists of the Dominion. Vorta are sly, cunning, and corrupt. Try to imagine an entire species of Littlefingers and you get the idea.

In addition to the strategic acumen baked into Vorta DNA by the Founders, Vorta are also programmed to believe that the Founders are gods — and the Vorta serve their gods in all things. The Vorta created the Jem’Hadar and could clone themselves so the Dominion would never be without its master strategists for long. Even after death.

But, like the Jem’Hadar, the Vorta were programmed to serve. Upon capture or defeat, a Vorta was programmed to commit suicide, and during the Dominion War, many Vorta pulled the trigger on their own demise. The Vorta was one of the most cunning and immoral races Starfleet ever faced, even if the immorality was inserted into their genetic makeup by another species.

14. Xindi

First appearance: star trek: enterprise “the expanse” (2003).

The Xindi are a collective of six subspecies — avian, arboreal, primate, reptilian, insect, and aquatic — that form a single race. As a whole, the Xindi posed a great threat to the early Federation.

The Xindi worship a race known as the Sphere Builders and, when this mysterious race warns the Xindi that they will be involved in a war with Earth, the Xindi preemptively strike, killing millions of humans. Jonathan Archer and his crew take the fight to the Xindi who provide the first crew of the Enterprise its greatest challenge.

The Xindi was one of the first warnings to humanity that not every race is benevolent as the six races of this advanced culture reined death upon an Earth that was still getting used to the idea of contact with alien life.

13. Trill

First appearance: star trek: the next generation “the host” (1991).

Trills are an advanced species of humanoid that are passionate and kind in most of their dealings. Some Trills are joined with wise Symbiotes that chose different member of the Trill species with which to share a mutual bond. The Symbiotes retain the personalities and memories of each host and pass these aspects on to the new hosts.

The first Trill Trek fans encountered was named Odan. Odan quickly struck up a romance with Dr. Beverly Crusher and, when Odan was tragically killed, the Symbiote was moved into the body of William Riker. Riker had long been friend-zoned by Crusher, so this began one of the most awkward romances in Trek history.

It also gave fans the legacy of the Trill, a legacy that continued into Deep Space Nine with the beloved Jadzia Dax. Through Dax, fans learned about almost every aspect of Trill life. It was a fascinating meditation of duality, sexuality, and identity and the character of Jadzia Dax was almost a dozen disparate characters in one. When Jadzia was lost, the Symbiote moved into Ezri Dax, a wonderful new character that continued the exploration into what it is like being many beings at once.

12. Tribbles

First appearance: star trek: the original series “the trouble with tribbles” (1967).

They’re fuzzy, they squeak, they can be deadly — who doesn’t love Tribbles? Ask any casual fan to name a Trek alien, and there’s a good chance Mr. Joe on the street guy will say Tribbles because these bundles of fur are just that darn famous.

“Trouble with Tribbles” — The Original Series  installment that first introduced these puff balls — allowed Shatner, Nimoy, and company to really flex their comedy chops. But, when you break down the threat the Tribbles represented, they actually are pretty terrifying… Imagine a species that reproduces so fast, a ship can be suffocating on the things in a matter of days. That’s a bit more Giger than Pokemon.

Despite the threat, the Tribbles also brought the laughs to generations of fans. Of course, the Tribbles were revisited in the classic DS9 episode “Trials and Tribble-ations” and also played a major role in the recent film Star Trek: Into Darkness . To quote a great man from a rival space franchise: “Not bad for a little fuzzball.”

11. Jem’Hadar

One of the greatest and most efficiently deadly militaries the galaxy have ever seen, the foot soldiers of the Dominion — the Jem’Hadar — are also one of the more tragic species that can be found in the Trekverse.

Jem’Hadar reach maturity in the span of about three days. They are genetically programmed to be the perfect galactic foot soldier by their masters, the Vorta. To insure control, the Vorta have withheld an essential enzyme from the Jem’Hadar genetic makeup. This enzyme is supplied to the Jem’Hadar in the form of The White, a liquid that the Jem’Hadar has filtered into their systems through a tube in their necks. Essentially, Jem’Hadar are drug-addicted soldiers unleashed upon the galaxy.

The Jem’Hadar were the main Dominion force that laid siege to Deep Space Nine during the Dominion War and were nearly unstoppable. The need for The White was a religion to the Jem’Hadar, who became one of the most feared species in any quadrant.

Jem’Hadar are incredibly resilient and possess keen minds that help them plan for battles. Despite all this, most Jem’Hadar die very young due to the fact that they are essentially cannon fodder for the Dominion. Yet, the Jem’Hadar value duty and loyalty above all else as they embrace their lot as pawns of the Dominion. All for The White.

The Top 10 Star Trek aliens await on the next page!

10. Changeling

First appearance: star trek: deep space nine “the emissary” (1993).

As we all know, life in the Trek universe can take many and varied forms. One of the most profoundly different races of the Trek galaxy are the Changelings, a race of intelligent liquid-based shape shifters that reshaped the political climate of the galaxy with the same ease that they reshape their bodies.

The Changelings were also known as The Founders and were the puppet masters behind the Dominion War. From their wormhole homeworld, the Changelings manipulated the universe. The Founders used entire races like chess pieces showing the Federation and its enemies that there are beings that exist within and behind the galaxy that are willing to go any lengths for power.

But not all Changelings were adversarial. Through Odo, Trek fans saw another side to this fascinating species. Odo was the constable aboard DS9 , a by-the-books cop who went to any lengths (literally) to solve crimes. He was a defender of his Federation friends, particularly Kira Nerys the woman he learned to love. When the Founders merged their liquid forms with Odo, they learned about humanity, and his love and bravery spread even to the hidden spaces of the galaxy.

Plus, The Changelings are an alien species that can easily disguise themselves as furniture. You can’t teach that!

9. Andorians

First appearance: star trek: the original series “journey to babel” (1968).

The Andorians are an aggressive yet advanced race that was one of the first alien races that formed the original Federation of Planets with humanity.

The Andorians have distinctive blue skin, white hair, and two protruding antennae. The blue skinned humanoids have an advanced armada and a long history of conflict with the Vulcans. This conflict was put aside as Andorians entered into the Federation and, with it, decades of peace. But peace wasn’t easy, as seen in Star Trek: Enterprise,  in which Federation Captain Archer and Andorian Captain Thy’lek Shran developed an adversarial relationship that, thankfully, culminated in a friendship based on mutual respect.

The Andorians are more than a bit xenophobic as they refer to humans and Vulcans as “pink skins” and have a long standing mistrust of everything not Andorian. In fact, the Andorians don’t even trust their offshoot race, the very rarely encountered, white-skinned, psychic Aenar.

Enterprise is a bit unfairly-maligned by some Trekkers, but it will always be the show that took the Andorians from background characters to a narratively-explored race with deep contradictions. Of course, I need to mention that the Andorian was also one of the final Trek dolls Mego produced. It is very sparkly.

8. Ferengi

First appearance: star trek: the next generation “the last outpost” (1987).

I would  tell you some facts about the Ferengi, but I’d have to charge you about ten bars of (snarl, drool) gold-pressed latinum first. Because that’s what drives the Ferengi race: cold, hard, glimmering, wonderful cash-money.

By the time fans met the crew of the Kirk’s Enterprise, most races in the galaxy had abandoned cash-based economies to focus on the improvement of science and technology for all beings. But not the Ferengi. These big-eared, fanged critters utilize science and technology to procure cash and heaven help any sentients that stand in their way.

Fans first me the Ferengi in Next Gen as the greedy race of miscreants became the first real adversaries Picard’s crew had to face. The Ferengi in Next Gen were vile and greedy, sort of like spacefaring Daffy Ducks. But, in Deep Space Nine , fans were introduced to Quark, Rom, Nog, and other Ferengi that had a streak of nobility. Oh, they were still as greedy as they come, but this Ferengi family, saved the DS9 space station more than once. Heck, Nog even became the first Ferengi to serve in Starfleet.

In DS9 , fans learned many of the finer points of Ferengi culture. For example, Ferengi women aren’t allowed to wear clothes. In addition to their odd dress codes, the Ferengi live by the Rules of Acquisition, an almost religious text that teaches the Ferengi the best ways to make money. Quark constantly had to choose between loyalty to his friends and his Ferengi impulses for cash and this often humorous double nature led to some fun dramas.

But, if you have a piece of latinum in your pocket, be warned that there are many Ferengi out there who would kill for it because that is the Ferengi way.

7. Romulans

First appearance: star trek: the original series “balance of terror” (1966).

All sentient races in the galaxy have a good, healthy fear of the Romulans — and with good reason. In many ways, the Romulans are like the anti-Vulcans. In fact, Romulans are an offshoot of the Vulcan race. Centuries ago, the Romulans rejected the Vulcan idea of repression of emotions and struck out on their own, finally settling on the twin planets Romulus and Remus and forging an empire.

Where Vulcans are cold, collected, and benevolent, Romulans are fiery, aggressive, and often power hungry. This passionate need to conquer led to the Earth/Romulan war, the first time humanity experienced total war on an intergalactic scale. Earth was eventually victorious and, during the conflict, no human ever actually saw a Romulan. Years later, it was the crew of the Enterprise that actually saw what Romulans looked like and it was Mr. Spock that postulated a common ancestry between Vulcans and Romulans.

The Romulans were based on the aggressiveness and culture of the Roman Empire, which is seen through the race’s military aggression and clothing. Despite years of ill will, the Romulans sided with the Federation in the Dominion War. A Romulan also changed reality, as fans of the new Trek films know…

A Romulan named Nero used a Red Matter device to destroy Romulus and punch a hole in time and space. Nero then went back in time and destroyed the USS Kelvin, causing a new reality to splinter off from the original Trek timeline — a reality Trek fans are currently enjoying in films.

Romulans have touched every part of Trek history and have even created a huge amount of it. They continue to serve as a counterpoint to the Vulcans and their name brings fear and respect throughout the Trek galaxy.

If you can imagine God in the Star Trek   universe, you understand Q. Q isn’t a kind god or an emotionally-distant god, hungry for worship. Q is a curious god that wants to test the intelligent races of the galaxy — particularly Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the Enterprise.

Q is a member of The Q, a race of omnipotent beings that observe the universe from afar and interfere in the lives of mortals when it suits their whims. The Q are a force of nature, appearing when and where they want to bring gifts or utter destruction to lesser beings. It all depends on a Q’s whims. Q became a sometimes-ally, sometimes-antagonist to the crew of the Enterprise and even popped up on DS9 and Voyager . (And, really, how awesome would it be to see Q pop into J.J. Abrams’ Kelvin Universe?)

Q is everywhere and everything. Wherever Q went, great storytelling followed — mostly because of the deeply complex and often comedic relationship between Q and Picard. Whether it was TV, comics, or novels (most notably the eminently readable Q Continuum trilogy by Greg Cox), The Q’s force of nature omnipotence have made them one of the most feared and gloriously divine species in the Trek universe. Yes, in Trek, Q definitely stood for quality.

5. Bajorans

First appearance: star trek: the next generation “ensign ro” (1991).

It is apropos that the Bajorans and Cardassians are so close on this list because the two races are forever linked in the mind of Trek fans. Trekkers first met the Bajoran through Enterprise Ensign Ro Laren, a fiery and ultra-capable young Starfleet cadet.

Ro had everything it took to get ahead in Starfleet. She was loyal, dedicated, brilliant, and strong willed. Yet, the past of her people, the Bajorans, was filled with so much tragedy. The loyalty to her race led Ro away from Starfleet and into the waiting arms of the Marquis, a group that abandoned Starfleet to form a renegade fleet of rebels dissatisfied with Federation doctrine.

Ro’s discontent was expanded upon by the inclusion of the Bajorans in Deep Space Nine . In DS9 , fans learnt of the suffering that the Bajorans were forced to endure at the hands of the Cardassians. Bajorans were a race of freedom fighters, a highly scientific and artistic race that had to embrace militarism and xenophobia in order to survive.

In DS9 , fans learned almost every aspect of the Bajoran race. What began with Ro continued the Kira Nerys, the second in command of the Deep Space Nine space station and a woman who would do anything to keep her people free and punish her former oppressors.

DS9 introduced many Bajoran notables in its many seasons, and not all of them were benevolent. Of all the races introduced in Star Trek , the Bajorans might be the most tragically human as they had to see their own darkness in order to survive the unthinkable in order to survive the Cardassians.

4. Cardassians

First appearance: star trek: the next generation “the wounded” (1991).

Nowhere in the Trek universe have there been a race more troubling, more complex, and more narratively-interesting race than the Cardassians. Fans first met the lizard like, leathery Cardassians in the Next Gen episode entitled “The Wounded,” in which the martial struggle between the Cardassians and the Bajoran was introduced.

The Cardassians were first seen as Nazi-like war criminals that committed a horrible genocide against the Bajoran people. The anger against the Cardassians, amongst other points of discontent, caused a large segment of Bjorn sympathizers to break off from the Federation and form the Marquis.

Cardassians warred with both the Federation and the Klingon Empire and took both fleets to the absolute limits. When the Cardassian/Bjorn conflict ended with the Bajoran victorious, it was up to the Federation to help the galaxy heal. The Federation set up the Deep Space Nine space station to oversee this transition of power as Cardassians began to be tried for war crimes that were simply unthinkable in such an enlightened galaxy. 

At this time, fans met Gul Dukat and Garak. Garak in particular demonstrated that there was more to the Cardassians than violence. He became a DS9 wildcard who, for the most part, was loyal to peace and harmony.

However, both Garak and former Cardassian military leader Gul Dukat had spilled their fair share of blood and the Cardassians began to stand-in for any race that committed genocide. Parallels were drawn not only to the Nazis but to Imperialistic Europe and to America’s treatment of indigenous peoples as well.

The Cardassians were a difficult mirror to look into because they exposed many societal flaws of the contemporary world. Through rich, powerfully crafted characters like Garak, Trek reminds viewers that in all species, there is the capacity for tremendous good and unthinkable evil.

3. Borg

First appearance: star trek: the next generation “q who” (1989).

Throughout Trek history, the wonderful men and women who have crafted stories for Star Trek have often reminded fans that space can be a cruel and terrible place — but no race has represented the horrors of the Final Frontier more than the Borg.

The Borg is a race of cyborg drones that share a hive mind. Their only aim is to assimilate the universe and make all Borg. Borg are mindless automatons that answer to the Borg Queen and the Collective. They are unstoppable and fiercely efficient. The Borg roam the galaxy in their distinctive Borg Cubes and, when they encounter any organic race, that race is forcibly assimilated into the Borg. All hopes, history, art, passion, and individuality become part of the Collective while the individual becomes a living weapon, a husk dedicated only to the Borg. Famously, Jean-Luc Picard fell to the Borg and was transformed into Locutus. As Locutus, Picard came an eyelash away from assimilating the Enterprise.

Later, through characters like Hugh Borg and Seven of Nine, some humanity was given to the Borg. Hugh was an injured Borg healed by Picard’s crew, while Seven of Nine broke her programming and served on Voyager. Through both characters, more and more history was revealed about the Borg. Fans even got to meet the Borg Queen in the film Star Trek: First Contact  — and what an H.R. Giger nightmare that was.

Throughout the decades, Star Trek has been the most hopeful of sci-fi franchises. Trek is infused with humankind’s potential for greatness and a hope for an enlightened future. The Borg serve as a reminder that technology can lead to paradise, yes, but it can also lead to a cold future of pure horror where individuality is worthless and resistance is futile.

2. Klingons

When we first met the Klingons, they were classically humanoid aliens that mirrored the worst of humanity. In the earliest Klingon appearances, Klingon society was portrayed as brutal and despotic. They were slave masters that would do anything to crush any opposition.

The Klingons were constant threats. At times, the Klingons seemed to be analogous to the Nazi Third Reich. In other instances, they resembled Communist Russia. But whatever real world nightmare the Klingons represented at any given moment, whenever a Klingon Bird of Prey warped into a confrontation with the Enterprise, fans know that intense action would follow.

When the Klingons returned in Star Trek: The Motion Picture , this brutal race’s appearance was altered. Suddenly, Klingons were shown to have deep forehead ridges and a more bestial appearance. The real reason this was done was because Trek now had a budget, but there has never been an in story reason for the Klingon alteration. This just adds to the mystique of the Klingon race.

Klingons take the next step of their story evolution in Star Trek: The Next Generation . Now, a Klingon served on the bridge of the Enterprise, and it could be argued that this Klingon — Mr. Worf — was the very model of what a Starfleet officer should be. Through Worf, Next Gen explored every aspect of Klingon culture and made it more like a race of honorable technologically-advanced Vikings or Mongols than an analogy to fascism. That exploration continued into Deep Space Nine and, through the half Klingon-half human engineer B’Elanna Torres, onto Voyager .

There is an actual a Klingon language that exists in the real world. A whole freakin’ language has been created inspired by these honorable and violent warriors of the cosmos. So, raise a glass of Klingon Warnog, grab your Bat’leth, and salute the Klingons — a race that started out as typical villains, but evolved into one of the most engaging and inspiring races in the galaxy.

1. Vulcans

Is there any race in genre fiction more beloved than the Vulcans? This race of logic-driven, emotionless, pointy-eared people have defined the Star Trek experience since day one.

In the Star Trek pilot, “The Cage,” the world was introduced to science officer Spock, a cold, calculating yet brave and benevolent alien who loyally assisted his captain. Fifty years later, Spock is still the strong right hand of the Enterprise. The Vulcan’s lack of emotion serves as a perfect narrative contrast to human nature, with the interactions and differences between Spock, McCoy, and Kirk as the beating heart of Trek since Roddenberry first put pen to paper.

But the wonder of the Vulcans don’t end with Spock. Over the decades — through countless books, films, TV episodes, and comics — many Vulcans have taken center stage and have, in the words of the most famous Vulcan of them all, fascinated fans for generations…

There has been Sarek, Spock’s father who dared to follow his emotions and take a human wife. There has been Tuvok, the brave and able Vulcan officer who served on Voyager. There has been T’Pol, the sometimes cold but always loyal commander that served as the first officer of the first Enterprise. By being so alien, all these characters and so many more have shown the world what it means to be human.

Trek lore has delved deeply into Vulcan history, creating one of most fully-functioning and detailed fictional worlds in all of sci-fi. Sadly, in the latest set of Trek films, Vulcan has fallen and this magnificent race is endangered. But take heart that Spock, Vulcan and Earth’s favorite son, is endeavoring to rebuild the race that has long made Star Trek so awesome.

Marc Buxton

Marc Buxton is an English teacher/private tutor by day,and a super-hyper-uber geek by night. Marc spent six years on the frontlines as a comic retailer before…

• View history

The Xindi (pronounced " ZIN-dee ") were six sentient species who evolved on the same planet in the Delphic Expanse , known as Xindus in the Milky Way Galaxy .

In the early 2150s , the Xindi Council committed an infamous attack on Earth and made repeated attempts to terminate Humans , which changed the course of history and initiated a series of events that helped establish United Earth as a major interstellar power. In at least one future timeline , from where Daniels originated, the Xindi state had, by the 26th century , become a member of the United Federation of Planets .

• 1 Xindi species
• 6 Related topics
• 7.1 Appearances
• 7.2.1 Origins
• 7.2.2 Visualizing Xindi
• 7.2.3 Costumes and sets
• 7.2.4 Performing as Xindi
• 7.2.5 Reception
• 7.3 Apocrypha
• 7.4 External links

Xindi species [ ]

Six different intelligent species developed on Xindus; one of them, the Xindi-Avians , was believed extinct by the 2150s, as the result of a brutal civil war between the six species that destroyed the planet. ( ENT : " The Shipment ") The surviving species were united under the governance of the Xindi Council , which contained two representatives from each species. ( ENT : " The Xindi ", et al. ) The five remaining species were:

• Xindi-Aquatics
• Xindi-Arboreals
• Xindi-Insectoids
• Xindi-Primates
• Xindi-Reptilians

Each of these five remaining species had their own distinct opinion about which was the dominant species, all separately favoring their own. ( ENT : " The Xindi ") There was, therefore, an enormous amount of conflict and distrust between the species. ( ENT : " Exile ") However, the Arboreals and Primates tended to quarrel the least, with most conflict centering on the aggressive Reptilians and Insectoids, or the indecisive Aquatics.

The different Xindi species were extremely similar in their functionally important DNA , sharing over 99.5% despite the apparent physical differences. ( ENT : " The Xindi ") All the Xindi species shared distinctive ridges on their cheekbones and foreheads. ( ENT : " The Xindi ", et al. )

History [ ]

• Main article: Xindi history

The Xindi had a long and turbulent history, characterized by interspecies conflict up until the destruction of their homeworld in the 2030s as the result of an Insectoid and Reptilian plot. ( ENT : " The Shipment ") In the 2150s, they attempted to destroy Earth with a massive weapon . ( ENT : " The Xindi ", et al. )

In the mirror universe , Xindi ships fought in a conflict with the Terran Empire sometime prior to 2155 . ( ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly ", " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II ")

In the 26th century of an alternate timeline , Xindi served on the USS Enterprise -J during the Battle of Procyon V against the Sphere-Builders . ( ENT : " Azati Prime ")

Culture [ ]

The Xindi practically worshipped the Guardians , considering them saviors. Children were taught to revere them and give thanks to them at the end of each day . It was a terrible offense to question a Guardian. ( ENT : " The Council ")

Xindi passed down " initiation medals " among the members of a family . ( ENT : " Azati Prime ")

Language [ ]

Xindi written script

The Primates, Arboreals, and Reptilians spoke a common language that was recognized by Starfleet universal translators . The Insectoids and Aquatics understood this language, but appeared to be physically incapable of speaking it. Consequently, the Primates, Arboreals, and Reptilians were forced to learn the Insectoid and Aquatic languages.

• List of all Xindi

Related topics [ ]

• Xindi incident
• Temporal Cold War
• Xindi planets
• Xindi starship classes
• Xindi technology

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

• " The Expanse " ( Season 2 )
• " The Xindi " ( Season 3 )
• " The Shipment "
• " Twilight "
• " Carpenter Street "
• " Proving Ground "
• " Stratagem "
• " Doctor's Orders "
• " Azati Prime "
• " The Forgotten "
• " The Council "
• " Countdown "
• " Zero Hour "
• " Home " ( Season 4 )
• DIS : " ...But to Connect " ( Season 4 )
• PRO : " Crossroads "

Background information [ ]

Origins [ ].

The Xindi were originally not as varied as they became. " At first, there was only going to be one particular race of Xindi, " reported Star Trek: Enterprise concept illustrator John Eaves . ( Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection , issue 24, p. 11) Executive Producer Brannon Braga spent a very long time mulling over the concept which was later to develop into the Xindi. His initial idea was speculating what it might be like if, on Earth, Humans had not been the only lifeforms to develop intelligence but species such as dolphins, insects and other primates had too. ( Uncharted Territory, Part 3: Course Correction , ENT Season 2 Blu-ray special features) Braga admitted, " I always wonder, 'What would Earth have been like if dinosaurs had evolved to become intelligent? And not only that but insects, birds.... What if it happened, there was simultaneous evolution into intelligent organisms and they all lived together?' " ( In a Time of War, Part Three: Final Conflict , ENT Season 3 Blu-ray special features) Braga added to these notions by imagining that such a collection of intelligent lifeforms, if alien, might have a grudge against Earth. " It just all kind of came together, " he noted. ( Uncharted Territory, Part 3: Course Correction , ENT Season 2 Blu-ray special features)

As a result of instructions on how to develop Star Trek: Enterprise – which came from Paramount Pictures , amid the second season – the opportunity to actualize the concept of an alien alliance comprising various related species finally arose. " I knew it was hard to pull off, " admitted Brannon Braga. " But we'd just been given kind of carte blanche to maybe spend a little more money and do something big. " ( Uncharted Territory, Part 3: Course Correction , ENT Season 2 Blu-ray special features)

Co-Executive Producer Chris Black was involved in early discussions about the multi-species facet of the Xindi. Even though it had been decided that only one sentient dominant species would be depicted per planet, the notion of five sentient species who shared a planet was welcomed by the writing staff of Enterprise . (" Countdown " audio commentary , ENT Season 3 Blu-ray special features)

The concept of the Xindi was additionally inspired by the attacks on 9/11 and those responsible for them. Director David Livingston mused, " The Xindi were [...] destroying parts of Earth, so it was reflective of what was going on at the time. " ( In a Time of War, Part One: Call to Arms , ENT Season 3 Blu-ray special features)

Although a badly incinerated Xindi corpse appears in the second season finale " The Expanse " (which was scripted to have "animalistic features"), this effectively hid the fact that, by that point, no design for the physical appearance of the Xindi had been created. (" The Xindi " text commentary , ENT Season 3 DVD ) Brannon Braga recollected, " In terms of who the Xindi were, that didn't come until after the break [between the second and third seasons ]. " ("The Xindi Saga Begins", ENT Season 3 DVD special features) Giving life to the Xindi, designing how they looked, took a total of about two months. ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 149 , p. 50) Commenting on the selection of the five specific species incorporated into the Xindi, Executive Producer Rick Berman stated, " They just were the ones that seemed right for us. It was just something Brannon and I developed; we knew that there was going to be the humanoids and the reptilians because we had touched on those, and then the other three came quite easy. " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 147 , p. 16) John Eaves offered, " By the time that the script came out we were going to do a multiple version [of the Xindi], kind of like people from different countries. Not necessarily different skin colors but completely different species of creatures, like insectoids, humanoids and so on. The insectoid and humanoid species were the first ones we started working on. " ( Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection , issue 24, p. 11) In the final draft script of ENT Season 3 premiere " The Xindi ", the five species were described thus; " All of these Xindi are intelligent beings that evolved on the same planet, and though they are very different in appearance, they all share a subtle, unifying facial characteristic that hints at their common ancestry. "

Because it obviously wasn't guaranteed that the Xindi would prove successful, Rick Berman expected the aliens might subsequently be eliminated from the series and he therefore came up with a contingency plan of devising numerous stand-alone episodes in which they were not involved. ( In a Time of War, Part Two: Front Lines , ENT Season 3 Blu-ray special features)

Visualizing Xindi [ ]

From the very beginning, Rick Berman and Brannon Braga knew they wanted to depict the Xindi-Insectoids and -Aquatics using CGI . ( Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection , issue 24, p. 14) This extensive use of visual effects technology, with both species typically being depicted entirely using computer-generated figures, tasked the VFX artists. " The challenge of the Xindi for the visual effects team, " explained Visual Effects Producer Dan Curry , " was that we would be creating a pretty high volume of CG characters in a very short period of time. " ( In a Time of War, Part Three: Final Conflict , ENT Season 3 Blu-ray special features) Curry credited the animators and the CG technology involved with making this possible. ( Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection , issue 65, p. 10) Curry recalled of the VFX artists, " We were very excited – we felt that now technology and what we've learned would enable us to do better quality work than we had done in the past with these [all-CGI characters]. " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 149 , p. 50) " A few years ago it would have been financially impossible to do, " reckoned Rick Berman, midway through the third season. " What has happened now is that we have the technology and the people who can give it to us. The problem is that with our two CG species, the Insectoids and Aquatics, we will probably not see as much as we would like because of the expense. " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 147 , p. 16)

Much research and development was invested in the character design for the Aquatics and Insectoids, at the start of the third season. [1] (X) The CG artists were well-prepared for the challenge of visually creating the characters. Digital Effects Supervisor John Teska recollected, " I'd already heard that there was gonna be this race of Xindi that, of course, were going to be multiple different kinds of aliens. You know, we had heard that the Insectoids and the Aquatics were going to be CG. " ("Visual Effects Magic", ENT Season 4 DVD special features) The task of designing these new beings went to Dan Curry. Although it's rare for a visual-effects producer instead of the art department to do any design work on Star Trek , Curry had proven he could deliver such work by having designed the Klingon bat'leth . He also had relevant experience of working with a full-CGI creature, in the form of Star Trek: Voyager 's Species 8472 . ( Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection , issue 24, pp. 14-15) Thus, the process of designing the Aquatics and Insectoids began, in both cases, with sketches by Curry, prior to the CG artists developing these designs. [2] (X) The appearance of both species had to seem particularly alien, owing to Berman and Braga's concept of the Xindi. It was made the responsibility of visual effects artists at CGI vendors Eden FX to proceed with the designs. ( Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection , issue 65, p. 10) Eden FX co-founder John Gross remembered, " We worked on [the Xindi insectoids and aquatics] together [with FX artists Dave Morton , Sean Scott , and John Teska], modelling them and rigging them and getting them working. It took a few weeks. " ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 118 , p. 30) Other Xindi species were occasionally represented with CGI, including Reptilians in some footage from " Countdown " ("Countdown" text commentary , ENT Season 3 DVD ) and Arboreals in " The Shipment ".

Costumes and sets [ ]

Virtually all the clothing worn by the Xindi was designed by Bob Blackman ; this even included ambassadorial robes worn by the Insectoids, though Insectoid armor (the only exception) was designed by Dan Curry. ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 149 , pp. 50 & 51)

Under the aegis of Production Designer Herman Zimmerman , the art department had to design the look of the sets for each Xindi species. " That was a good challenge, " said Zimmerman, " just because we had to make them different enough that you always knew where you were. " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 151 , p. 56)

The shipboard graphic layouts for the various Xindi species were designed to resemble each other (at least, in the case of the Xindi-Primates and Xindi-Reptilians). However, each species was given a different color scheme; the Reptilians had primarily blue control graphics, whereas the Primates had green ones, and the Insectoids' were colored red. (" The Xindi " text commentary , ENT Season 3 DVD ) Herman Zimmerman offered, " We did do a lot of very specific Xindi graphics and, within the larger framework of the Xindi, each Xindi species had their variation of those graphics. " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 151 , p. 56)

Performing as Xindi [ ]

Of all the guest stars and recurring actors who featured on Star Trek: Enterprise , former longtime Star Trek casting director Ron Surma cited the group of performers who played recurring Xindi as a highlight, enthusing, " I liked the Xindi guys [...] Those guys were a lot of fun. " Surma also pointed out that Randy Oglesby , Rick Worthy and Scott MacDonald had all made repeated guest appearances on Star Trek before portraying recurring Xindi. [3] The actors themselves were extremely grateful for the repeated opportunities to appear on the series. The fact that filming the Xindi Council scenes required full days, however, initially meant that the Xindi-playing performers did not meet any of the series' regular cast members (this remained the case until at least immediately after the production of " Rajiin "). [4]

With very little information available about the Xindi at the start of the third season (such as in the script for third season opener " The Xindi "), the actors cast to play the aliens "weren't sure how it would go," in Scott MacDonald's words. [5] " We were creating it as we went along which is both liberating and limiting, " offered Xindi-Primate actor Tucker Smallwood . " That sort of thing takes agreement. Our directors change each week. You don't necessarily have that continuity, as you go from episode to episode. " Therefore, some of the actors who played Xindi Council members (including Scott MacDonald, Rick Worthy, Randy Oglesby and Smallwood himself) devised much about the multiple species, at least for personal subtext. Continued Smallwood, " [We] would interact each time we worked together – not only try to find continuity but also create, so that we had someplace to go to and come from. " Much of this inventing was during the group's long hours in make-up. " We teased about our rituals and having to make stuff up, " Smallwood reminisced. One thing the performers decided was that, though the only Xindi species to be firmly established as including females were the Aquatics and Reptilians (with the Insectoids being an asexual race), other Xindi females do exist. ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 151 , pp. 51 & 52) Another element devised by the actors – specifically MacDonald and Oglesby, who played the leader of the Xindi-Reptilians and the leader of the Xindi-Primates respectively – was the hatred between the Reptilians and Primates, an idea the show's writers picked up on and began including in future scripts. [6]

The task of interacting with the imaginary Xindi-Insectoids and -Aquatics, later to be inserted into scenes with CGI , was fairly easy for the actors portraying Xindi-Primates, -Arboreals and -Reptilians. Related Tucker Smallwood, " Ultimately, it's not that different from naturalistic scenes, more often than not; on close shots, we're looking at a mark, rather than into the characters eyes. It's important to have an image in your mind's eye of the being to whom you're speaking. " [7]

Despite Xindi having appeared in multiple previous episodes, the final draft scripts for Star Trek: Enterprise didn't identify any of the Xindi-playing performers until the advent of " Azati Prime ". The final draft of that episode's teleplay described "a Xindi-Humanoid (Tucker Smallwood), an Arboreal (Rick Worthy) and a Reptilian commander (Scott MacDonald)." The same performers were also cited in the final draft script of follow-up installment " Damage ", whereas the final draft script of " E² " cited Worthy and Smallwood as appearing in that episode. The final draft scripts of " The Council " and " Countdown " named both of those actors as well as MacDonald.

Tucker Smallwood, Scott MacDonald, Randy Oglesby and Rick Worthy became so used to seeing one another in their Xindi makeup that, upon meeting years after portraying their respective Xindi characters, they hardly recognized one another at first. [8]

Reception [ ]

Early reactions to the Xindi among the writing staff of Star Trek: Enterprise were highly positive. Chris Black reflected, " This idea that there were five sentient species who shared one planet [...] we all felt, at the time, sounded really cool [...] It satisfied, in a lot of ways, what people wanted to see, which was something new, a new alien race or races. " (" Countdown " audio commentary , ENT Season 3 Blu-ray special features)

Rick Berman and Brannon Braga were highly proud of how the Xindi turned out. Braga remarked, " The whole Xindi species concept was really cool. That's a science fiction concept I'd never seen before. You had insects and aquatics with intelligence and culture. I thought that was a fascinating idea. " [9] He further commented, " The five-specied Xindi is an interesting science-fiction concept that I think really worked out well. Each species was featured at some point along the way. They had internal strife. They're betrayed just like... They betray each other. It's like a Shakespeare play or something, backstabbing and all sorts of stuff going on. " ("The Xindi Saga Begins", ENT Season 3 DVD special features) This duplicitous aspect of the Xindi's interrelationships was one of the group's many facets that Braga liked. " By the end the Xindi were a complicated, interesting and visually stimulating species, " he opined. " I liked the way we gave each of the Xindi species its day in the sun, and even a sixth, extinct species got explored in a way. " ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 117 , p. 62) Shortly after Berman viewed the first completed shots of the Aquatics and Insectoids, he enthused of the footage, " It's far more than I expected. Considering the budget that is available to us, it's just spectacular stuff. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 110 , p. 15) He later raved about the various Xindi species, " I think they all look great. " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 147 , p. 16)

Consulting Producer David A. Goodman believed the three Xindi species which were portrayed using make-up were examples of extraordinary and "really remarkable" artistry by Michael Westmore. Director David Livingston agreed, " They were real. " (" Impulse " audio commentary , ENT Season 3 Blu-ray special features) Goodman elaborated, " I think that it's interesting because, from a science fiction point of view, the idea of this one planet that had all these five different species who grew up into or evolved into intelligent species is a really cool idea but it's like the limits of science fiction [and CGI] on television [....] On the one hand, [the way the Xindi turned out was] kind of building on an audience's familiarity with these types of aliens. On the other hand, if you wandered into the show, for the first time, you'd be so confused [...] But it was sort of building on fans' comfortableness with these concepts. " (" The Forgotten " audio commentary , ENT Season 3 Blu-ray special features) Goodman had another criticism about the Xindi. " I had a big bump on the fact that they, the Xindi, just didn't blow the ship [i.e. Enterprise ] up. I felt like that was [obvious], " he laughed. ( In a Time of War, Part One: Call to Arms , ENT Season 3 Blu-ray special features) Goodman specifically criticized what he believed were inconsistencies in the Xindi's powers, such as being able to time travel in " Carpenter Street " but being unable to destroy Enterprise . (" The Forgotten " audio commentary , ENT Season 3 Blu-ray special features)

Chris Black believed that, in theory, the concept of introducing a race comprised of multiple species was one of numerous facets of the Xindi arc which sounded "great," though he had problems with the execution of the arc generally. ( In a Time of War, Part One: Call to Arms , ENT Season 3 Blu-ray special features) He remarked, " Love or hate the Xindi mythology and arc, there was some pretty nice makeup on those guys [...] The fact that they refer to each other by their species designation [...] – that they don't have names or self-identify in some way, that they just refer to each other as 'Humanoids' or 'Reptilians' or 'Insectoids' – is a little weird but maybe that's just the universal translator . " Executive Story Editor André Bormanis concurred with these statements. He said about the Xindi make-up, " That was pretty incredible, " and, after laughing at Black's observation regarding how the Xindi address one another, he admitted that these oddities "could be" due to the universal translator being faulty. Bormanis also liked the fact the Xindi involved five intelligent species, of which he said, " I always thought [it] was a very cool idea. " (" Countdown " audio commentary , ENT Season 3 Blu-ray special features) He also pointed out that this example of an alien race is more akin to the variety of intelligent lifeforms on Earth than the idea of each planet having merely one technological, intelligent species. ( In a Time of War, Part Three: Final Conflict , ENT Season 3 Blu-ray special features)

However, some writing staffers have voiced suggestions as to how the Xindi could have been portrayed differently. David A. Goodman thought they should have featured more visual effects than they actually did. He opined, " The better thing to do would have been to have, you know, you can't of course do it, but rather than four guys in prosthetics is one guy in prosthetics and three CGI guys. " (" The Forgotten " audio commentary , ENT Season 3 Blu-ray special features) Mike Sussman was frustrated that the Xindi were used in the way they were, preferring the Romulans to have been used instead. " No offense to the Xindi, wonderful people, they're not Romulans, " Sussman critiqued, with a chuckle. ( In a Time of War, Part One: Call to Arms , ENT Season 3 Blu-ray special features)

Those who approved of the Xindi included visual effects artists. Character Animator Sean Scott referred to the Xindi as having been "an exciting addition" to the series. [10] (X) John Eaves remarked, " The Xindi were a very fun race to draw for. " [11] Dan Curry was pleased with how realistic the CG Xindi turned out. ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 149 , p. 50)

Even several actors thought highly of the Xindi. At one time, Archer actor Scott Bakula remarked positively about the Aquatics, Reptilians, and Arboreals. He went on to say, " There's something wonderfully complex about the whole Xindi situation and the various species and their own in-fighting racial issues, that [...] is relevant and makes for great storytelling. " ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 113 , p. 7) Jannar actor Rick Worthy loved the Xindi. ( Star Trek Magazine Special 2016 , p. 109) He commented, " I loved that the Xindi all looked different [....] The Xindi were a great nemesis for Star Trek: Enterprise." [12] Worthy further explained that "what [he] found interesting" about the Xindi was that, whereas the Arboreals were established as having a fear of water, other Xindi resided in water, and yet others lived on the ground, even though they all belonged to the same race. [13] Trip actor Connor Trinneer opined that the Xindi were "clearly a [...] not too veiled reference to terrorists." ( In a Time of War, Part Two: Front Lines , ENT Season 3 Blu-ray special features) Phlox actor John Billingsley highly approved of the Xindi in concept but didn't think they, particularly the Insectoids, were made to look scary enough, due to how limited Star Trek: Enterprise 's budgets were. " For me, that was the problem with the Xindi arc, was, you know, was the Xindi, " he laughed. " I like the actors. It's not no slam on the actors. " ( In a Time of War, Part Three: Final Conflict , ENT Season 3 Blu-ray special features)

Despite proving relatively popular, the Xindi were – following their many appearances in the third season – intentionally excluded from appearing as regularly, thereafter. Between the airing of the third and fourth seasons , Brannon Braga declared, " At this particular instant, I never want to see another Xindi again. That's not to say they might not make a return. They're certainly a fun species to deal with. But at this point, I have to believe people will have had their fill. " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 151 , p. 35)

Apocrypha [ ]

While the Xindi have not appeared explicitly in the novels, the novel Armageddon's Arrow features the crew of the Enterprise -E comparing their current situation to the Xindi attack, as both feature an alien race attempting a pre-emptive attack on another race (although the Enterprise -E crew are unaware of the time travel element of the Xindi crisis, despite rumours that time travel was involved).

In Star Trek Online , by the year 2410, the Xindi have been a long-time member of the Federation, though rarely seen in Federation space due to a long period of self-exile in the Delphic Expanse. Following the discovery of the Solanae Dyson Sphere in the Delta Quadrant and the revelation of Iconian manipulation of galactic events, the Xindi emerged from their exile and contributed ships and personnel to various Alpha and Beta Quadrant powers, including Starfleet, the Klingon Defense Force and the Romulan Republic.

External links [ ]

• Xindi at StarTrek.com
• Xindi at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• 3 Ancient humanoid

• Entertainment
• Why Aliens Are So Important to <i>Star Trek</i>

Why Aliens Are So Important to Star Trek

Excerpted from TIME’s Star Trek: Inside the Most Influential Science-Fiction Series Ever . Available at retailers and at Amazon.com .

Since the time of the Greek philosopher Anaximander, humans have gazed up at the heavens and wondered: Is anyone else out there? For some, the idea that we might be the most advanced beings in all of creation offers a sense of supremacy. Others find it a lonely thought.

Reality has yet to offer a conclusive answer one way or the other, leaving our imaginations to run wild. If aliens do exist, what might they look like? How would they behave? And crucially: Would they be friend or foe? Thinkers no less great than the physicist Stephen Hawking have warned of the latter possibility. “If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans,” Hawking remarked in a 2010 documentary on the subject.

Thankfully for the curious among us, science-fiction writers have stepped up to fill our imaginations with myriad possibilities.

Their creations have extended far beyond the archetypical “little green men.” H.G. Wells’s 1898 War of the Worlds, widely hailed as an exemplar of the genre, gave us terrifying Martian invaders and their tripodal death machines. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) offered Klaatu, who visited Earth to urge humanity to end our warlike ways. And of course there was E.T., the disarmingly cute alien simply in need of a ride home.

But nothing in science fiction has contributed to the depth of the extraterrestrial encyclopedia like Star Trek. From the Bajorans (a proud people struggling to recover from another species’s hostile occupation of their world) to the Tamarians (a seemingly incomprehensible race that turns out to communicate through mythology and metaphor), Star Trek’s writers have dreamed up nearly 300 different alien species and counting, according to the fan website Memory Alpha. And that’s just the humanoids.

How can one franchise spawn so many aliens—and so many memorable ones, at that? Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention. Science fiction typically uses spaceships, death rays and time travel as devices to offer ominous warnings about the ways humanity can go awry. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry flipped that script, introducing to a 1960s audience a future in which an interated cast of humans (and, just to drive the point home, one actual alien) work together to better understand their universe.

That utopian vision was essential to Trek’s DNA, but it was also a tremendous challenge for one group of people: Star Trek writers, who faced the daunting task of writing stories in which the main characters all got along just fine.

“Gene was very big on not wanting to create conflict among the characters on the show,” says Rick Berman, who led the Star Trek franchise after Roddenberry died in 1991 until 2005 and produced several series and feature films. “He felt that humans, especially Starfleet humans, had evolved to a point where he didn’t want to see conflict between them.”

Yet conflict is at the core of all great storytelling. So if the Enterprise crew couldn’t squabble with one another, Star Trek writers had to find friction elsewhere. Aliens came to the rescue. “Often we were telling stories of how humans had progressed, or not, in the far reaches of space,” says longtime Star Trek writer D.C. Fontana. “But sometimes the theme of the tale was better told by demonstrating how aliens approached or solved problems, or how they failed.”

Things got off to a rocky start. Putting aside Spock—a full-fledged member of the Enterprise crew—the first extraterrestrial to appear on Star Trek was a C-list monster that could have been pulled from any bad ’50s sci-fi flick. A shape-shifter with a serious salt craving, the nameless creature killed off Enterprise crew members by sucking the sodium out of them. The so-called “salt vampire” wasn’t a big hit. Thankfully, matters improved from there.

Humans are complex creatures, capable of being logical, tactical, aggressive, greedy and lustful all in a single one-hour episode. But Star Trek aliens are typically guided by one prime mover. Often it is some trait shared by many people. A desire for conquest, perhaps, or the pursuit of wealth or the urge to protect one’s offspring. That made them a thinly veiled stand-in for whatever driving force they represented, giving the writers a way to craft stories that were less about aliens and more about us. Simply put, Star Trek aliens are a mirror in which we see the best and worst of ourselves—and one in which we see that we’re not as different from one another as we might think.

“The concept of having aliens on a week- to-week basis, sometimes new, sometimes ones that the audience was familiar with, gave the writers the ability to represent all the different qualities of humanity,” says Berman. “Whether it’s avarice or whether it’s a hive-like mentality or whether it’s emotions or whether it’s a desire to be more human, these were all qualities that the aliens allowed us to play with. We could not have done the show without that.”

Case in point: In the third-season Next Generation episode “The Survivors,” Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and his crew find a couple who appear to be the only survivors of an attack on a Federation colony. But when they are offered safe harbor aboard the Enterprise, they refuse, insisting they be left where they were found. It’s an odd request, given their situation. A series of other strange happenings, such as a warship appearing to drive the Enterprise away from the planet, convinces Picard that something is amiss with the pair, who are named Kevin and Rishon Uxbridge. Picard is eventually able to trick Kevin into revealing the truth: he’s not a human but a member of an all-powerful species called the Douwd. Kevin admits that he created a fictional version of Rishon after she was killed in an attack by a murderous race called the Husnock. What’s more, Kevin, who considers himself a pacifist, reveals that in his rage over losing his wife, he killed the Husnock. And not just the Husnock who attacked his world but all of them, everywhere in the universe.

Kevin’s reaction is perfectly “human.” Who hasn’t wished ill will on those who do us wrong? The difference, of course, is that Kevin has the power to satisfy his rage to a horrific extent. Picard, typically motivated by justice, admits that the Federation has “no law to fit” Kevin’s crime, instead letting him live in exile on the planet. The captain concludes, “We leave behind a being of extraordinary power and conscience. I am not certain if he should be praised or condemned. Only that he should be left alone.”

With the possible exception of Spock and the rest of the Vulcans, Star Trek’s best-known aliens are the Klingons. A ruthless warrior race obsessed with battle and honor, the Klingons originally served as a two-dimensional foil for Kirk and company. Many have viewed them as a bellicose stand-in for the great space-race enemy of the original series’ era, the Soviet Union. But so popu- lar have the Klingons become over the decades that theirs is the most widely spoken fictional language in the world, according to Guinness World Records. (Take that, Lord of the Rings fans.) There’s even an ongoing copyright battle over who owns the Klingon language, which has generated some of the more entertaining legal briefs of our time.

At least some of the credit for that popularity is due to actor Michael Dorn, who played the Klingon bridge officer Worf in The Next Generation. That series took the original, more-cartoonish Klingons and gave them depth and relatability. Klingons, as it turns out, are a lot like us. The Klingons are warmongers, like some humans. The Klingons are obsessed with rituals, like some humans. The Klingons are driven by a fierce dedication to their family, like some humans. One of Star Trek’s best Klingon stories came in “Sins of the Father,” a third-season Next Generation episode in which Worf’s late father is accused of treason. As much as it pains him to do so, Worf decides to shoulder the blame in accordance with Klingon custom, despite his father’s innocence, a move that will help preserve the Klingon Empire’s political status quo and keep the empire from spiraling into chaos that could ultimately harm millions. It’s a deeply human story, a meditation on family pride as much as it is a revealing look into the intricacies of Klingon politics.

If the Klingons were Star Trek’s original villains, the Borg were the show’s best. A technologically advanced race of cyborgs, the Borg are bound together into a hive mind called “the Collective.” Just looking at the Borg, a terrifying hodgepodge of man and machine, is enough to send shivers down your spine. But the real terror lies in their motivation: intergalactic racial purity. When the Borg encounter a new species, they either add it to the Collective through forced “assimilation” or simply kill it off.

It’s unclear which is the worse fate. In part, Star Trek is a celebration of humanity’s individuality. The Borg are everything Trek’s humans are not: obedient, robotic, conformist. So great is the fear of assimilation that in the Star Trek film First Contact, an Enterprise crew member who’s going through the horrific process begs Capt. Picard to kill him out of mercy. Picard—who had once been assimilated himself but was saved in a daring rescue by his crew—obliges. “The concept of being assimilated was terrifying, because it seemed like you had no control over it and no ability to combat it,” says Jonathan Frakes, who played Star Trek’s Cdr. William T. Riker and directed First Contact as well as Star Trek: Insurrection.

The Borg, who first appeared in a 1989 episode of The Next Generation, are typically considered a commentary on fascism and racial cleansing. But in a sense, they are aliens posing questions we didn’t even realize we would soon be facing. Can we real-world humans be addicted to constant connectivity through our smartphones, as the Borg are to the Collective? (Cut a Borg off from the hive mind, and the alien’s nonplussed reaction is not unlike that of a teenager stripped of an iPhone.) Does social media give us a platform on which to connect with others to enhance our common understanding, or does it create a hive mind that rejects unpopular opinions, as does the Collective? Should we enhance our physical and mental capabilities with technological implants, as the Borg do? Watch the Borg stories with these pressing questions in mind, and they only become more fascinating.

Given the prominence of races like the Klingons and the Borg, it might seem as if Star Trek’s aliens are almost always villains. That’s far from the case. The greedy Ferengi, introduced early in The Next Generation, were intended as such at first. But fans considered them too silly to be a serious threat. Instead, the Ferengi soon turned into walking, breathing commentaries on the advantages and flaws of unbridled capitalism. If Donald Trump were a Star Trek alien, he would be a Ferengi. They’re driven entirely by making money; they always want the better part of the deal. (They also happen to be some of the most sexist creatures in Trek: they outright ban women from business, though their society undergoes reforms as their story line progresses.) These characteristics put them in stark contrast with Star Trek’s humans, who work not for money but “to better ourselves and the rest of humanity,” as Capt. Picard once put it.

Star Trek’s quintessential Ferengi was Quark, a seedy intergalactic businessman and bartender who was brought to life by actor Armin Shimerman in Deep Space Nine, the franchise’s third television series. Quark often quoted from “the Rules of Acquisition,” a sort of Ferengi guidebook that could double as Gordon Gekko’s personal manifesto. Example rules include “Never place friendship above profit,” “Never allow family to stand in the way of opportunity” and “War is good for business.” But Deep Space Nine’s writers went beyond using Quark as a mere punching bag for Wall Street. In the season-three episode “The House of Quark,” for instance, we see him use his business-like cunning to escape certain death in a duel with a Klingon. The lesson? Sometimes greed is good.

Star Trek writers were skilled at constantly adding depth to the aliens who reappeared through the series. Just as the Klingons’ belligerence was leavened with stories about their love of honor, the warlike Romulans turned out to be literally related to the Vulcans—a glimpse at Trek’s most logical race with the worked only in pairs, providing a lesson about the power of cooperation. And Star Trek: Voyager’s “Year of Hell” offered the history-alerting Annorax, who aimed to use his time weapon to restore his people’s empire to its former glory but killed his own wife in the process, revealing the cost of stubborn pride.

On one level, Star Trek is a science-fiction show about a group of intellectually enlightened humans exploring the far reaches of the galaxy, all to better their understanding of their world. But the show is really about us, back here in the present day, and the common ties that bind us. What better way to show us we’re all alike than through the lens of outsiders? “Aliens are really important in science fiction because they give a little distance character-wise and story-wise so that you can actually have stories about beauty and youth and racism, and on and on and on,” says John de Lancie, who played Star Trek’s godlike character Q. “It puts it on the character of an alien to be able to say things that sometimes you can’t say straight out. I think the aliens in Star Trek and the aliens in most science fiction have a lot of value in that respect.”

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is upending canon for its new engineer

Carol Kane plays the the mysterious, hilarious chief engineer Pelia

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As season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds comes to Paramount Plus this week, most things about the show are the same. It’s still the Enterprise as helmed by Captain Pike , Kirk’s predecessor. It’s still a return to the episodic Trek formula of yesteryear. And it’s all the same cast — except for one.

With last season’s heartbreaking death of chief engineer Hemmer, there’s a space to fill on the Enterprise roster. And as it’s still a little too early for Montgomery “Scotty” Scott to show up, that role has fallen to an original character: chief engineer Pelia, played by legendary actor and comedian Carol Kane.

Given that she’s brand-new, there’s very little anybody knows about Pelia — but in the season premiere, “The Broken Circle,” she’s already upending everything we know about Star Trek’s alternate history of humanity.

[ Ed. note: This piece contains spoilers for the season premiere of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2.]

The usual sign that a character is human rather than one of Star Trek’s innumerable humanoid aliens is that they’re not wearing some kind of facial prosthetics. And you won’t find a pointed ear or ridged forehead anywhere in Kane’s show wardrobe. But, as “The Broken Circle” reveals, Pelia is definitely not human. The first hint we get is when she casually refers to being more than 100 years old. In the same scene, Uhura, the ship’s polyglot, takes note of Pelia’s accent and asks if she is “Lanthanite,” to which Pelia replies, “Guilty as charged.”

Which is very interesting, because there’s no analogous Star Trek species to that name. In the episode’s final scenes, Spock drops one more tantalizing, explosive line about Lanthanites in conversation with Pelia: “I’ve always been fascinated by your people. That you managed to live on Earth among other humans undetected until the 22nd century is remarkable.”

This is brand-new information for Star Trek canon, and it would mean that somewhere in the 2100s — a century that includes the founding of the Federation, the obsolescence of money, and the events of the Star Trek: Enterprise series — humanity discovered that there had been aliens living among them. And this is something that everybody in Star Trek has just... known this whole time, but not mentioned until now? Buck wild.

When Polygon spoke with Kane, the first thing we asked was how she’d reacted upon realizing her character was an alien who’d lived secretly among humans for potentially centuries.

“Just thrilled,” she replied, “because you can let your imagination run wild and it’ll work. Also, I like the fact that I get to be the one that knows the most — in my opinion. And I probably do,” she quipped, “because of the time I’ve been on the Earth and in space.”

Kane said she relishes playing an older character, not unlike the original series’ Dr. McCoy, who’s doing cool space stuff right alongside all the young folks. “I like that at my age, which is Pelia’s age, that I get to be on the ship and embraced by the other people, so I’m not solitary. I like that. I relate to that.”

Kane couldn’t tell us anything about Pelia or the Lanthanites that wasn’t already revealed in “The Broken Circle.” All we can say for now is that they appear to be a completely new addition to the galaxy of species that make up Star Trek canon, and that chief engineer Pelia has a friendly history with Spock’s mother, Amanda Grayson. There’s no telling when Strange New Worlds is planning to reveal more, but we, for one, eagerly await more answers about the aliens living among us.

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Saru And His ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Alien Race Explained

| July 19, 2017 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 114 comments so far

One of the new things about Star Trek: Discovery is the character of science officer Saru played by Doug Jones. We saw him in the trailer, including his memorable line about being able to sense the coming of death, but little is known about the character and his alien species. Today Entertainment Weekly provides a bit more detail.

On Saru’s planet, there’s a dominant predator species that constantly imperils another weaker species called Kelpiens. As part of the latter group, Saru has evolved with heightened survival instincts. Such prey species tend to have a cowardly reputation in the Federation, but Saru should not be underestimated.

Showrunner Aaron Harberts also notes that Saru is the first of his species to join Starfleet. Jones is also quoted in the article, saying:

“[Producers] said Saru is the Spock of the series, he’s the Data of the series — and those are beloved characters that I always connect with whenever I would watch the past incarnations of Star Trek,” said Jones, giving some details about his role for the first time. “On Falling Skies, I played an alien species who came to Earth to help the humans fight back the bad aliens who’d taken over, and I was intelligent, well-spoken, had a lot of answers and science-y smart. Saru is all of those things and then some.”

Doug Jones as Saru in Star Trek: Discovery (CBS)

Star Trek: Discovery premieres on September 24th on CBS with all subsequent episodes on CBS All Access in the US. See our Discovery info page for more details.

Keep up with all the Star Trek: Discovery news at TrekMovie .

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Sounds interesting.

Though, if two races live on the same planet and are technologically advanced to the point of being involved with Star Fleet, wouldnt the aggressor have been able to completely subjugate the weaker or the weaker able to stand on their own?

I don’t think the species being referenced were/are both technological/space faring. Given the references to evolution, I would assume they are referring to the distant past, and that Saru’s sense of impending death is a genetic legacy of his evolution. Saru’s people (the Kelpiens) probably developed tech and then either shot all the predators or left the dang planet.

Hmmm the descriptions reads “there IS a predator species”. But you’re right it, it refers to evolving but mentions Saru specifically. Might be more accurate to say his species evolved.

I guess well find out. It would be weird if he lives on a planet where his people are hunted constantly but are technologically advanced enough to join Star Fleet.

Exactly. Just like our ‘fight or flight’ response. Sabertoothed tigers are no longer hunting us, but we still have the instinctual wiring to respond to the threat.

Could have some fun with that concept – maybe the Klingons (or other advanced predator race) keep them subjugated on a planet to hunt for sport and he is the first to escape? Lots of story options to explain, can’t wait to see what they picked.

I am Tosk. And so is he… kind of.

That was my first thought! They could have done a lot worse. It’s the first brilliant episode of DS9 I remember.

I agree. Really good standalone episode for O’Brien.

He has very big shoes to fill. Spock and Data are such big characters, played brilliantly by Nimoy and Spiner. I though Jeri did a very good job with Seven though.

It sounds as if the actor is excited by the idea of trying to fill those shoes, which means the actor has guts, even if his character doesn’t. :-) I hope he’s successful; I’d LOVE to love another Trek character the way I love Spock.

At the risk of drawing the ire of some here, for continuity’s sake, I hope he is the last of his kind, maybe the last of the ‘weaker species,’ which would make sense. That would explain why we never see his race again in any incarnation of the prime-timeline future.

Anyway, seems like an interesting character.

To be honest, I agree to an extent. I got raked over the coals when I said I’d rather she previously seen aliens then “new” ones because I actually dont like the idea of a Star Wars-like galaxy of millions of species.

In TOS, what made Spock unique was, in fact, he was unique. Why would Spock being the first Vulcan in Star Fleet matter, especially the bigotry, when Star Fleet has been teeming with Aliens for years.

But saying that, Ill always give a pass to something that is good. So hopefully its good.

“I got raked over the coals when I said I’d rather she previously seen aliens then “new” ones because I actually dont like the idea of a Star Wars-like galaxy of millions of species.”

B. But that’s what Star Trek is! Has been since TOS, a galaxy with millions of species. McCoy made that clear in Balance of Terror: “In this galaxy, there’s a mathematical probability of three million Earth-type planets.”

And my guess is the show was originally based on the Drake Equation. I’m sure everyone here has heard of it but just in case it was an equation the astrophysicist Frank Drake who postulated in the 1960s the galaxy could currently have millions of planets where life has evolved high enough to have radio technology like we do. I can’t remember how high he estimated but it was 10s of millions. Of course it could all be wrong but the point is thats what Star Trek based its show around.

And frankly you have a show based on seeking out strange new worlds, it wouldn’t be much of a show if there was just sparse life, especially a TV show that literally finds a new species of life every week. Considering how big the galaxy is, to find so many species even with warp technology would have to imply that are millions of life forms out there.

3 million earth type planets would not create millions of intelligent species.

Okay, let’s not split hairs. The point he was making was that life could be on all those planets which is obviously true. And as I said, how much sense it would make to find SO MUCH life as they find on Star Trek, nearly on a weekly basis IF there wasn’t millions of planets with life forms on it?

If that wasn’t the case I doubt we would even HAVE a Federation because thats made up of 1-200 planets with WARP technology in our sector of space alone. And thats just the ones who decided to be part of it. How many more are out there with warp technology? Think of all the other planets within the Federation that is just at our level of technology or lower which until Voyager and DS9 was where they found most of the life they did. But think of all the species Voyager bumped into the Delta quadrant. They weren’t even looking for other species most of the time, others found them and again we are just talking about warp faring aliens.

Clearly it would have to be millions of species out there. How could it not be?

And you never answered my first question? Why? Its not an attack, I’m just curious why this would bother you? My entire life of watching Star Trek I always just assumed it would be millions of life forms out there for the reasons stated above.

Agreed. As the TV shows and movies showed us the galaxy is clearly teeming with life in the Star Trek universe.

It’s also reasonable to think that some of the alien civilizations with warp technology may not want to get tangled up in the affairs of other civilizations for various reasons.

Until TUP mentioned it it never occurred to me there WOULDN’T be millions of life in the galaxy. How can you have a show with so many civilizations with warp technology if that was the case?

I mean look at planet Earth? How many different species of life is on it? Now how many of them can build and drive cars lol.

I just imagine that’s how the universe is in general, at least in the world of Star Trek. For every one species that is intelligent enough to even get to space and explore it there must be thousands if not millions that are way less developed than that. And to have so many that has warp capable abilities in our area of the galaxy (to be fair the universe is really old ;)) must mean there are a lot of species out there still like us in the present day who is not close to that level yet, in my unscientific opinion of course.

But as I said, Roddenberry based Star Trek on the Drake Equation even if not the actual one, but the basic spirit of it that the universe is teeming with life in abundance.

But not all major players in Trek follow the Prime Directive. Klingons for example might take over a planet whose people could make their way into space via many avenues without ever inventing warp drive.

Wasnt that the general basis for the Kaazon? A stupid species that stole technology?

More importantly, it’s because this is a television series that started out using aliens as allegory for humans. This is why only the most out-there ones actually look alien.

There isnt life on all the planets in our solar system so there cant be life on every single planet. I get what you’re saying but the likelihood of millions of intelligent life is probably smaller than a lot of us hope for. At least *advanced* intelligent life.

No one said every single planet but the problem is we don’t even know how many planets are even out there. Just until 1995 we never even recorded a planet outside our solar system. Now they have recorded thousands but it tells you just how behind we are learning so much of our galaxy.

But of course we have no idea obviously how much life is out there but in the world of Trek there has to be millions of civilizations. And as stated, that’s how Roddenberry saw the show basing it around the Drake Equation which I have since learned he estimated 100 million worlds could support life in our level of technology in this galaxy alone. Again its all conjecture but its amazing that that level of civilizations could really could be out there.

And it also tells you just how big the galaxy truly is. 100 million worlds similar to our own. Imagine the possibility. I guess with Trek we don’t have to.

Watch TNG episode The Chase.

The show’s estimates on the probability of alien life in the galaxy were based on an “equation,” all right, but not the one popularized by Frank Drake (and later Carl Sagan). In Trek’s case, it was a fake one made-up on the fly by Gene Roddenberry to sell the series. It’s a pretty funny story told in The Making of Star Trek .

Well OK but according to Memory Alpha he did base it around the equation, he simply didn’t know the exact components of it (and who would lol) so yes made up his own (sadly no internet or database back then ;)). BUT the point being the idea came from Drake Equation and clearly had in mind the galaxy would have millions of life forms in his stories. Here is the page:

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Drake_equation

Agreed, I thought TOS UFP concept with five or six well developed and different races (Andorians, Vulcans, Tellerites, Caitians, Deltans) is more exciting than there are 100s of races in the Federation… especially when you think that the Klingon Empire is a threat (how can 1 race with equal tech possibly be a threat to 100s of races?). That being said I think the door is open for 2 or 3 more uh, “major Security Council” races or small “general assembly” planets or factions.

But I don’t think that’s true either. AFAIK the Federation was always made up of a lot of planets, it was just founded with a few of them. By Kirk’s time it was at least dozens of planets not just five or six. Why make such a big deal about it if its only a half dozen planets out of hundreds that had warp capability. It sounds more like NATO than it does the UN or EU.

I think the UFP in TOS was more NATO than UN… with Earth being the USA contributing most of the personnel (remember Spock was only the first Vulcan in Starfleet despite being one of the founding members, Vulcans eventually got their own Connie as opposed to being fully integrated). Looking at Journey to Babel you really only see the big four (humans, Vulcans, Andorians, Tellerites). The UFP looked like that it could indeed be overpowered just by the Klingons + conquests working with the Romulans. Ironically I see this as being more story friendly (like Lord of the Rings – humans, Elves, Dwarfts, limited races but well fleshed out) than aliens, aliens everywhere that all act like humans in costumes, Starfleet a couple of races *trying?*/working together each almost with almost their own separate navies (starships seemed to be dominated by a single race).

OK I get your point but to be honest I really like the Federation being more the UN/EU model. NATO is obviously important but it feels more militaristic than striving for a more progressive unified society like those and how I see the Federation in general but everyone sees this stuff differently.

And remember the Federation might have been stronger later but they were still nearly decimated by both the Borg and the Dominion so its not like they are all powerful. Thats what I love about DS9 actually it proved the Federation can’t work out everything diplomatically or militarily in fell swoop.

But I did like how divided the humans, Vulcans and Andorians were but yet still managed to come together to form the Federation in the first place. That is the spirit of trying to work together and succeeding, even if they all didn’t trust us pink skins. ;)

But in TNG the UFP consists of at least 100 planets and therefore dozends of species. There seem to be standard procedures how a species can apply to join the Federation.

The UFP won’t have developed that big just durinh TNG times. In 100 years only 4 species and in the last 10 years 80…there must have been at least 20 during TOS times already.

And looking at Worf and Nog you even can join Starfleet when you’re planet is not part of the UFP. ;)

I agree. It’s pretty obvious that in the original concept at least, the Enterprise crew (and later Starfleet) was mostly comprised of humans with Spock being the lone exception. Things got a lot more cosmopolitan after The Motion Picture , and reached the point of absurdity in the JJ films with seemingly every fourth extra sporting scales, fur, tentacles, or whatnot. Where did all these folks come from?

My understanding was the idea behind the original series (mainly needed because of the expensive cost of makeup/prosthetics in the 60s) was that Starfleet was composed of MANY different alien species, HOWEVER, the ships were segregated by species because of vast cultural differences between different members of the UFP. Spock was the lone exception because he was half-human and could understand human culture due to his human mother. It also explains why they mention a federation ship with an “all Vulcan crew” being destroyed during TOS. Starfleet later integrated their ships during the late 23rd, early 24th century.

Of course, Enterprise and Discovery seem to ignore that premise.

You’re talking about the realities of a limited 60s TV show vs the fictional canon that was built around it. As someone else said it was mostly just humans during that time because the show had more budget and make up limits compared to when TMP came around and they could just be more creative from the 80s on through later films and spin offs.

Look at The Animated Series as an example. Suddenly there were multiple aliens and recurring characters of the Enterprise like M’Ress and Arex. Why? Because it was animated so they could just have more than humans and more exotic aliens at that. My guess is if the show had more resources it would’ve been a lot more aliens on it from day one. Even Spock himself was suppose to be more alien than just a guy with pointy ears and eyebrows. But they had to simplify it as much as possible just to have ONE ‘alien’ as part of the crew.

Look at the majority of ‘aliens’ on TOS? Most of them were either just human looking or some with minor prosthetic at best. Even now, majority of aliens still look more human but at least there are some really exotic ones from the TOS films on you could never have on TOS.

Why have a show that is not only about exploring alien life but working directly with alien life but everyone either is or looks freaking human?

Its not just the limits of the 60’s show to create a more populous alien world. Their seeming creative intent was that Spock was unique and they showed us bigotry towards that.

The fact there were more aliens by TMP made sense with Spock being a trailblazer.

I do think it loses something when you retcon Star Trek to be teeming with aliens on a level of Star Wars.

Star Trek is about the human condition so the more rare aliens that dont understand us or struggle with their own humanity is what provides insight. if you have a million aliens, it becomes less about the human condition.

As TUC showed us, interestingly, when the human characters are matched by aliens, it starts to diminish the story as a “human” story since that is inherently bigoted.

But I get it. Im ok with it. I just dont want a cantina scene with a million aliens. Because you get too far removed from the present, which Star Trek is an analogy for.

But again we are talking about a show where almost every week they found a new civilization. I don’t get this argument, even in TOS the galaxy was teeming with life. Sure maybe in terms of Starfleet itself there weren’t many aliens in it but its not like life was perceived as ‘rare’ in the galaxy. Just the opposite. There is so much life that humans were going out and corrupting/influencing countless alien worlds and why there was even a need to have a prime directive in the first place.

That’s the difference between Star Trek and shows like Battlestar Galatica where you didn’t see many aliens outside a few here and there. We basically just saw humans vs the Cylons and little else. They didn’t stop off at countless alien worlds or lived in a galaxy that was so full of them they now have trade deals lol.

For *me* thats what made Star Trek so exciting, the fact that there was life everywhere and that we finally found something fast enough to take us there.

But all that said, I never looked at ST as SW in that sense. In SW, yeah its a lot of aliens but thats a galaxy where life really sucks lol. In ST, at least in the Federation life is pretty good, right? Sure obviously humans struggle to understand aliens here and there but by TOS period we learned to live peacefully among most of them. Why we never saw any big wars with anyone. Conflicts yes, but actually very few wars. We know between Enterprise and TOS there was a lot more conflict and then the Dominion in the 24th century but overall Star Trek ISN’T Star Wars because for the most part, the galaxy actually seems pretty peaceful given so many life forms living in it. Of course when you don’t count the Borg lol.

And by the time the events of the Motion Picture unfolded, many of those alien worlds had been digitized and swallowed up whole by V’Ger.

I’d say that Spock was the 1st half-bred Vulcan to do… ANYTHING.

It says that he is the first of his species to join Starfleet. So it doesn’t make much sense that he would also be the last of his kind. But you could imagine that not many of his kind follow in his footsteps especially if there is prejudice against his species in the Federation. Of course, one would hope that such prejudice doesn’t exist in the 23rd century anymore. It’s also possible that his species, having a history of being hunted, just doesn’t care much about getting out into space (where hostile aliens prey on the weak).

…and we’ve seem aliens like Benzites get into Starfleet without being a Fed member.

How did I forget about Nog?????

Sorry I just don’t buy this. Why do we have to have ‘seen’ him later? The galaxy is freaking big, I imagine there will be tons of aliens we never seen before in Starfleet. I have given this example before but look at the Deltans from TMP? AFAIK, Ilia was the only one we were ever introduced to via that film. We know more are part of Starfleet and yet after that movie we never saw them again. I don’t think they were ever mentioned even in passing on TNG, DS9 or Voyager which goes directly to the point. We have a series that set up an entire species but yet never mentioned or seen again in the 24th century. And yet they were created before those shows. So why is it so hard to grasp that just because we don’t hear about earlier species later on doesn’t mean they weren’t involved in Starfleet before?

And I hate prequels. But stuff like this is not a real argument. Starfleet is part of the Federation, we still don’t even know all the members that are part of it after all this time so why is it shocking that we wouldn’t know all the species that serve in Starfleet?

I love it when we get a new alien crew member. I remember falling in love with Dr. Phlox for Enterprise. Neelix from Voyager, not so much LOL

Why did you laugh out loud? And did you really?

Uh oh, someone doesn’t like text speak!

One of the people in my office does that, “lol” after every email or IM. “Really busy up here but will get back to you as soon as I can lol.” Drives me up a wall. LOL

Sorry… Could not resist.

So, he has evolved to sense death. How can that happen – scientifically speaking. What is the sensory input? Dogs can sense cancer in their owner through smell. Touch can reveal much as can sound and sight. How would such a sense work in the vacuum of space. Is Star Trek hard science fiction or just space adventure?

Hopefully Saru is speaking metaphorically in the trailer. He’s not really sensing death in their situation, but is inferring it from the evidence to hand.

Clutches desperately at straws…

I don’t think that’s a desperate straw-clutch at all, but something that actually makes a lot of sense. Why shouldn’t a mindset that’s acutely sensitized to death be especially capable of recognizing circumstances that might lead to lots of it?

“How would such a sense work in the vacuum of space.”

Obviously by detecting the Grim Reaper within 24 light-hours radius!

How does Troi sense people’s emotions? How does Spock meld minds? How do full betazoid read people’s thoughts? How does Q do what he does?

It’s science FICTION.

@Torchwood,

Most of that is based on extrasensory perception ESP, a well-known phenomenon in the human history. Sensing “the coming of death’ in entirely different matter & come off as science-fantasy.

Having a character that senses death is like having B-9 on the USS Discovery warning: Danger! Danger! Captain Lorca.

@Ahmed – you’re completely wrong. Firstly in the sense this is science fiction. Secondly in the sense of what other people have already stated about animals being able to sense death.

Not to mention the numerous examples of humans with unexplainable fore-knowledge.

I can buy this. Let’s see how the execution is.

I sure hope the character will bring something more to the show beside his cat-like death sense.

I imagine he will. Would be silly to pre judge the entirety of the character based on one line from the teaser. Data was kind of stupid in the first season of TNG and eventually became awesome. Im sure there will be bugs to work out.

You know that ESP is not a real thing, and at best, is theoretical? You know that a mind meld is entirely fictional/fantasy?

If you think telepathy, mind melds, and the Founder’s shape shifting abilities can somehow ne explained by modern-day scientific knowledge, you’re… well, I’m just going to say it… you’re a f%^&ing moron.

At least ESP and shapeshifting are common elements in Star Trek, not this nonsense about sensing the coming of death.

And I’m indeed a moron for feeding a troll like you, not going to happen again. Keep on trolling.

Ahmed… ummm, I think you are the troll in this case.

LOL have to agree with this. Its Star Trek, aliens do all kinds of nutty things…thats what makes them aliens. I mean how can Odo morph into any object he wants, even when the object in question has smaller mass than he does? Where does it all go?

Saru sensing death may sound stupid but no more stupid than what we seen throughout multiple alien characters. Not everything has to be explained, he just can.

Repeating my question from above: Why shouldn’t a mindset that’s acutely sensitized to death be especially capable of recognizing circumstances that might lead to lots of it? Doesn’t seem that farfetched to me.

@Michael Hall

But what if it’s more than that. What if it’s simply an extra sensory perception he gets when someone is close to death. Think of it the way Guinan “just knows” things. That totally works for me.

It’s Star Trek, not Boston Legal.

Okay, but Star Trek avoids ‘magic’ and employs scientific advisors.

Did these ‘scientific advisors’ explain Q, the wormhole aliens, Odo and the countless aliens who do bizarre stuff that no one can explain outside of fiction?

You guys have been watching Star Trek how long? And you are suggesting a guy that can sense death in the same universe as a guy who can literally kill an entire alien species millions of light years away with just his thoughts (TNG: THe Survivors) as ‘too weird’?

What show are you people watching?

Emotions and thoughts are actual things that exists through brain activities, hormones and such. So at least there is something to detect here even if Star Trek doesn’t explain how. There is nothing that let you could detect “death”.

Explain how Guinan has a perception that goes beyond linear time. Explain Q. I’m sure there’s fictional science to explain them (there is no such thing as magic in Trek) but there is NOTHING within our current science that can even theoretically explain much of what we’ve seen in Trek for decades.

People are just trying to find any excuse to hate everything about DSC.

Thank you! Star Trek has plenty of these examples, as if every alien and their abilities can be explained. They do a good job of trying to explain technology but for actual alien abilities it usually comes down to ‘because they can’. I would love to see the day someone explains Q beyond ‘well he’s like omnipotent.’

What about whataboutisms. The thing is it sounds implausible and stupid. The fact that there were other implausible and stupid things in Star Trek before doesn’t change that.

Agreed, perplex, to an extent. If you think all of those things like mind melds, telepathy, q and Guinean are stupid, fair enough.

But others are acting as if Trek doesn’t have a long history of far fetched concepts.

Here’s a plausible theoretic scientific explanation for Saru’s ability, using existing Trek knowledge and existing science fiction theory:

We know that there is an energy signature exhibited by all living things at the quantum level (see: TNG episode “Paralells”) and we as an audience of science fiction acknowledge that there are beings whose perceptions can be non linear and be perfectly scientifically plausible (see: Guinan, see: last years film, “The Arrival”). We have also established that living beings in Trek emit a detectable bio electric field of some sort (see: TNG episode “Heart of Glory.”)

We also know that the future can be predicted to some degree through statistical analysis and balance of probabilities (DS9’s “Statistical Probabilities).

I therefore theorize that this quantum energy signature and bio electrical field in some combination fluctuate through time, particularly at the quantum level, and that Saru’s people can detect fluctuations and ripples in these fields that occur close to the end of a living being’s life on some kind of sub conscious level. In combination perhaps with an innate sense of probability projections that can predict what a person will do with reasonably good odds, Saru can “sense” when a person is going to die.

He may not always be right of course, as even in the real world our senses can deceive us.

So, while some may not like this ability, or find it too fantastical for their tastes, let it not be said that some form of theoretical Trek science couldn’t explain it if you wanted it to.

You just don’t want it to because you don’t like it.

Saru just has a higher count of midichlorians than most people.

Yes Perplex but

A. You’re moaning about something you don’t even know fully about yet.

B. You seem to have gotten over 50 years of aliens doing crazy things without explanations, is a guy sensing death really breaking the camel’s back at this point?

I get it, this is the internet, moaning about stuff is what we all do best here, but if you been watching Star Trek for at least a few decades now, Saru really should be at the far end of the complaint list. But seeing all the complaints about Discovery so far he probably is lol.

Despite perfectly reasonable rationalizations and comparisons, there are just fans who will hate for the sake of hating, and use flimsy excuses to back up there arguments.

Now, Saru’s “ability” may turn out to be lame. But it’s hard to judge without seeing how they execute it. And that seems to be a common thread from these critics: hate and criticize on principle with no logical reason or case behind it.

You just answered your own question, because it’s not in the vacuum of space. Also some species on Trek have abilities that are theoretical at best, entirely fictional at worst.

So what’s the logical problem with this?

Actually dogs is a good example. Some dogs and cats in hospital can somehow sense when a patient is about to die and proceed to lay in bed with them, comforting them. If it can happen in animals there is no reason it can’t happen in aliens.

Wow I never knew any of this about cats and dogs. Man next time my dog lays with me, I’m going to get nervous lol.

Yes. They can literally smell death. Saru can’t smell through the vacuum of space.

How do you know???

This is Star Trek. Last time I check, people can’t just teleport themselves without a machine (or at all in the real world ;)) and yet we have Q who can teleport himself anytime and anywhere with the snap of a finger.

Look, I know as Trek fans we get nit picky, but yes it is always true how we seem to ignore the CONSTANT things out there that kind of disprove our point. If you already have aliens doing crazy things NO ONE can explain, what exactly is one more at this point?

Show me a scene where he’s in the vacuum of space. ALMOST EVERY EPISODE OF EVERY STAR TREK SHOW IS SET IN AN OXYGEN ENVIRONMENT.

Why do I bother responding to such stupid people? It’s like talking to a wall. About as intelligent as one. Dear lord.

From his character explanation it sounds more like he can sense danger but saying he can sense “death” just sounds more dramatic. It would be more along the lines of any number of animals being able to sense danger or a threatening predator that’s near by

You mean the coming of death…it doesn’t get anymore dramatic than that lol.

But yes I’m guessing end of the day thats what it will be, like Peter Parker’s Spider sense. And it would put the writers in a corner if he could sense it at any time so I have a feeling there will be LOTS of limitations to it.

We need a character that can sense bad writing.

We had them, CD. They were called “red shirts” and they died anytime there was bad writing in TOS. All the time!

Kelpiens… Did they evolve from seaweeds?

Well, he’s somewhat pink like Patrick Star from SpongeBob SquarePants…

Reminds me of Kryten from Red Dwarf

So this species defining trait is actually what? Being cautious? “Captain, I sense the coming of death!” – “I was about to boil some water for a cup of tea, Mr Saru!” – “It is extremely dangerous to do so unsupervised!”

Well, Saru does have pointy ears…..

I don’t really get why a new species is a bad thing for storytelling, as long as they’re interesting (I get the “so why didn’t we see them later, then?” argument but think, and no offense intended, that it’s a little pedantic). Heck, the smartest thing TNG did early on was not go back to the Andorians, Vulcans etc. because it opened up new storytelling possibilities.

And, TNG and after did show myriad different species – they just mostly looked like humans with latex foreheads.

That said, Phlox bugged me, at least at first, on Enterprise. But that was less about a previously-unseen species in a prequel and more annoyance about the actual character/tiredness of the overall Westmore/Blackman/Zimmerman look. Although, he grew on me.

And I really liked all the aliens in the Abrams movies – more non-humanoid aliens in a fictional universe teeming with civilizations makes sense. Plus, they’re just cool. My favourite thing about the Vonda McIntyre movie novelizations was the aliens she put in.

I don’t get why not seeing a species before ‘bugs’ people???? To me that makes the world of Star Trek too small. As if every species has to be seen in Starfleet….although we seem to ignore all the NEW alien species that are introduced to us on every show we learn is part of Starfleet. I guess the logic just confuses me but unless there is some list somewhere that says what species has served in Starfleet before or present why do people assume we have to have seen them before??? Just odd to me.

I agree, Jack, People just want to bitch and moan about every single thing about Discovery. It has annoyed the shit out of me for such a long time since the first announcement. We all knew the storm that was coming. Bring in as many species as you want. TOS certainly didn’t have as many species as the following series’. What’s the big deal?

I wish the internet didn’t exist at this time for this very reason. Sure, reasonable questions and discussions aside. The nitpicking shitfest and endless banging on about OMG they are killing this has not removed my enthusiasm for this show :) I know that many who are hating on it endlessly will watch it, enjoy it, but will then never show their hand in support after.

After all, if you decided after the very first glimpse that it sucks and is not for you, why would you continually come back and bleat on and on and on about it? There is no other reason to come to this site unless you want a bit of news about comics or interviews with past stars etc. Why even post in threads that contain information about a show that you quite vocally ‘don’t care about’?

“but will then never show their hand in support after.”

Meant to read as; will never show their hand after as one of the dissers.

If he’s a prey species, why does he have binocular vision? Shouldn’t his eyes be on each side like a rabbit or a deer?

Because the evolutionary process on his world have him the ability to sense death instead.

Because he wasn’t born on Earth maybe?

Geez, you guys really like to overthink things. Sensing death… did you ever think he maybe gets flashes of the near future. He can be sensitive to impending death that way. Animals can sense death. Vultures will circle around a dying animal. Other animals can sense death in their owners… no, not through smell. Animals can also sense if a person is good or bad. Why is this so far fetched for you people… it is a tv show. It is science FICTION, not science fact. Wow. The biggest threat to Star Trek is it’s “fans.”

“you guys really like to overthink things”. Star Trek fans overthinking things? Really? Overthinking things is half the point. >;>}

evidence please mr trekfan 67

Give me evidence against what he’s saying, James. That’s sort of the point: we haven’t seen the show yet. So over analyzing this sort of thing with such a critical eye is pointless.

Overthinking things is 1/4 of the fun.

So will we get an explanation of why they vanish from all things Star Trek by the time of Kirk?

Well, they wouldn’t know what to do around Kirk, since he’s never experienced death, at least not like this…

Who says they vanish? Why do people act like every alien race has been mentioned on every show? They don’t.

Huh? Have other Trek shows shown EVERY inch of the universe? We’ve only ever been given glimpses of very small corners in a very large universe.

When you saw Ferengi and every other TNG-era alien did you wonder where they had been all those years you never saw them?

Wow I see TM now has a graphic image of Discovery flying over the planet instead of Enterprise. Wow, its really beginning! :)

And I have to say I still abhor the ship but that image makes it look pretty cool!

..the ability to sense immediate mortal peril.

Hrm. That’s…not a thing. “Mortal peril” does not emit unique energy signatures that can be detected with a specialized sense. Having heightened senses beyond the human (or other alien) norm, the ability to detect some other portion of the electromagnetic spectrum or some other fundamental force such as gravity, even an instinctive ability to interpolate fragmentary data from the environment to gain an impression of danger – okay, sure, fine. But “sensing mortal peril” is not something a species in an ostensibly science fiction show should be able to do

He senses what, his own death? Or other people’s?

Other people are dying…like…all the time. So yeah, I can sense death too. Some’s dying right…now. And now. Big whoop. Great superpower. You’re Bono.

If he’s sensing his own death then presumably he’s going to be wrong in every episode except one. Again, that’s a stupid power.

Are you sure? Wouldnt an immediate peril create heightened panic, hormone release etc? And thats something a species could detect. Troi could detect just about anything. Whats the difference.

Unless you think Saru can detect random and surprising deaths. Such as a happy guy singing to himself, strolling down a side walk and Saru can sense he’s about to have a piano dropped on his head.

I dont think thats the intent.

But we’ll have to wait and see.

TUP – the hormone release, panic etc… is all good stuff that could maybe be detected. This presumes that the victim knows of his death though. Like you say, we’ll have to wait and see – Hopefully Saru is speaking metaphorically in the trailer. He’s not really sensing death in their situation, but is inferring it from the evidence to hand.

I’m not trying to put a downer on STD – I cant wait to see it, but like most Trekkies, I cant help but critically analyse what we’ve seen so far. It’s funny what bugs some people doesn’t bother me at all – like the look of the Klingons for example.

Perhaps a being’s quantum signature fluctuates or changes close to the end of its life because at the quantum level it is not bound by the linear constructs of time (before and after). This quantum field can be sensed on a subconscious level by Saru, and he can detect ripples in it, which tells him when a creature is soon to die.

I thought he was introduced as “Lieutenant” Saru, but in that first pic, his delta badge appears to show “lieutenant commander” rank.

I wonder if the Kelpien makeup design was modeled on a background alien we’ve seen before, from TMP onward (or in the Kelvin films). Would be cool if that were true … unless it turns out that Saru is the first and last of his species to join Starfleet. :(

Clearly Doug Jones did such a wonderful job during filming they promoted his character.

Has the makeup design evolved a bit since the first look?

I was beginning to think some laid-off Subaru designers had gotten to close to this. (Yes, you need to be a car geek to get the reference.)

Star Trek: Lower Decks - All the Classic Alien Races in Episode 2, Envoys

Star Trek: Lower Decks' latest episode, Envoys, brings back even more classic alien races to the iconic franchise. Here's all of them.

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for  Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 1, Episode 2 , "Envoys," now streaming on CBS All Access.

In its first two episodes,  Star Trek: Lower Decks has been packed with references to previous television series and films in the iconic sci-fi franchise. After introducing the new cast of characters in the series premiere , the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos has boldly gone where many of their counterparts have gone before, with familiar extraterrestrial faces appearing as they handle the most tedious, bureaucratic missions Starfleet has to offer.

With the main cast already featuring an Orion in Ensign D'Vana Tendi, a Bajoran in Chief Security Officer Shaxs and a Caitian in Doctor T'Ana, here are all the other alien species seen in the animated series' sophomore episode, "Envoys."

RELATED:  Star Trek: Lower Decks Makes First Episode Available for Free

Lower Decks ' second episode largely revolves around an escort mission as Ensigns Boimer and Mariner are assigned with transporting Klingon General K'orin to the United Federation of Planet's embassy on Tulgana IV for diplomatic talks. Along the way, hijinks ensue as K'orin proves himself to be the paradigm of Klingon culture, boisterously drinking, engaging in fights and even hijacking the shuttlecraft Boimer is piloting.

The Klingons have been a franchise mainstay since the original series , originally depicted as the most prominent antagonists of the Federation. By the start of Star Trek: The Next Generation , the two civilizations had achieved a tenuous peace, though they briefly descended back into war during Star Trek: Deep Space Nine due to the Dominion's machinations.

RELATED:  Star Trek: Lower Decks: Who Is Ensign Mariner?

The Andorians are another of the oldest alien races to appear in Star Trek , joining Earth, Vulcan and Tellar as the founding species of the Federation in 2161. Introduced in the original series, Star Trek: Enterprise  revealed how the Andorians helped co-found the Federation, with Captain Jonathan Archer helping defuse tensions between Andor and Vulcan.

Lower Decks has Boimer and Mariner continue their search for a drunken K'orin across Tulgana IV, arriving at a bar packed with Andorians. After breaking up an altercation, Boimer discovers he helped a thieving shapeshifter escape, resulting in a massive bar fight breaking out when the Andorians accost him and Mariner.

In many ways, the Borg are the definitive antagonists of The Next Generation , kidnapping and assimilating Captain Jean-Luc Picard and using him to decimate an entire Starfleet armada. While Picard was eventually freed, the trauma haunted him for the rest of his life. The Borg later resurfaced in the 1996 film Star Trek: First Contact , where they nearly subjugated Earth, and served as the primary antagonist in the second half of Star Trek: Voyager .

The Borg's appearance in Lower Decks is much more innocuous so far, only appearing as part of a training exercise. When Ensign Rutherford approaches Shaxs about the possibility of transferring from engineering to security, the Bajoran programs the Holodeck to confront Rutherford with a squad of Borg drones. Using his own cybernetic implants, Rutherford makes quick work of his opponents, visibly impressing Shaxs.

RELATED: Star Trek: Lower Decks Episode 2 Takes on Road Trips & Job Swaps

One of the most comically taciturn characters in Star Trek is Morn, part of the Lurian race introduced in Deep Space Nine . A constant presence at Quark's bar on the space station, Morn never utters a single word over the course of the series, usually nodding in agreement when he isn't looking for solace at the bottom of a glass.

The Lurians' appearance in Lower Decks is similarly silent and brief so far,. They're seen in the same bar as the Andorians that Boimer accidentally provokes. As the fight escalates, Lurians join in the fracas, still not speaking a single word as punches are thrown between the dive bar's various alien species.

RELATED: Star Trek: Lower Decks Gives Its Lead A Secret Mission

The last classic species in Lower Decks ' sophomore episode is a Ferengi who approaches Boimer and Mariner regarding the whereabouts of their missing shuttle. Regarded cautiously by Boimer, the young officer drives the Ferengi away when he pulls a knife on the duo, unaware that Mariner and the Ferengi secretly staged the incident to build up Boimer's flailing sense of self-confidence.

The Ferengi were among the first new antagonistic species encountered in The Next Generation , coveting material goods and wealth above all else, with their entire society built around mercantilism. The Ferengi's antagonistic tendencies were toned down in Deep Space Nine , as the race played a more prominent role through the main character Quark and his associates on the space station.

Star Trek: Lower Decks stars Tawny Newsome as Ensign Beckett Mariner, Eugene Cordero as Ensign Rutherford, Jack Quaid as Ensign Brad Boimer, Noël Wells as Ensign Tendi, Dawnn Lewis as Captain Carol Freeman, Jerry O'Connell as Commander Jack Ransom, Gillian Vigman as Doctor T'Ana and Fred Tatasciore as Lieutenant Shaxs. New episodes premiere Thursdays on CBS All Access.

KEEP READING:  Star Trek: Lower Decks Just Made a Ridiculous TNG Throwaway Line Canon

An Alien Race Just Returned To Star Trek For The First Time In Nearly 40 Years

Spoilers for "Star Trek: Lower Decks" follow .

Season 4 of "Star Trek: Lower Decks" has featured a mysterious ship destroying ships belonging to every alien race in the Alpha Quadrant, from Klingons to Romulans — or has it? The latest episode, "A Few Badgeys More," revealed the ships are actually being disabled and towed away ( while also clearing our suspect list ). However, the episode's cold opening gave us yet another scene of a ship ambush. This one belonged to an alien race we haven't seen in "Star Trek" since "The Next Generation" — the Bynars.

They're a demure, purple-skinned, and genderless race. Their name is also a reference to "binary code." The Bynars operate in pairs, finishing each others' sentences when they speak English. Their preferred mode of communication, though, is an unintelligible (to human ears) high-pitched cooing that sounds like words being filtered through a fast-forward button.

Why do the Bynars function this way? Technology, of course. The Bynars use neuro-computers (their parietal lobe is replaced with a processor shortly after birth) to process information at lightning-fast speeds while carrying "buffers" (think an external hard drive) to store that information. As a sign of their cyborg augmentation, small chips visibly protrude from the side of their hairless heads.

A quartet of Bynars are the antagonists of a "Next Generation" season 1 episode, "11001001." They're brought on board the Enterprise to upgrade the ship's computers, but turn around and hijack it. It turns out that a star recently went supernova near their homeworld, Bynaus. The Bynars' complete dependence on computers means that the resulting electromagnetic pulse (EMP) would be an extinction-level event for them. They wanted to use the Enterprise only to back up their planet's main computer and would've relinquished it once their crisis was over. The irony, of course, is that if the Bynars had asked for help, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) would've granted it.

The Bynars ultimately turned out to be a one-off alien race; they never showed up again on "TNG" and "11001001" (aired in 1987) was their last appearance before "A Few Badgeys More." However, "11001001" co-writer Maurice Hurley would go on to pen "Q Who" in season 2. That episode introduced a much more famous "Star Trek" race: the Borg . Were the Bynars on Hurley's mind when he wrote that episode? The Borg share a similar hive mind and cybernetic enhancements but to much more sinister ends than the Bynars. Indeed, in "Star Trek: Enterprise" episode "Regeneration," Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) compares the Bynar to the Borg.

In the context of "The Next Generation," the Bynars were an early experiment that didn't quite pan out ( see also: the Ferengi) . However, on "Lower Decks," there's no corner of "Star Trek" history too obscure to acknowledge.

"Star Trek: Lower Decks" is streaming on Paramount+.

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• Series & Movies

Published Apr 10, 2024

A Brief History of the Progenitors in Star Trek

They designed life itself!

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains story details and plot points for Star Trek: Discovery 's "Red Directive ."

StarTrek.com

Captain Burnham's top-secret mission in the final season of Star Trek: Discovery has finally been revealed. But this time, the Discovery crew isn’t stopping a future-destroying A.I., or a lethal, extra-galactic force. Instead, they’re investigating the basic mysteries of why most species in the Star Trek universe look vaguely human.

As revealed in " Red Directive ," the search for technology used by ancient "Progenitors" sets-up a massive treasure hunt for the season. But, who are the Progenitors? What did Jean-Luc Picard know about the secrets of inter-species alien DNA? And how does all of this fit in with Gene Roddenberry’s earliest ideas for Star Trek ?

Here’s a brief history of the Progenitors, from the early 1960s, to the 24th Century, all the way to 2024, and the 31st Century.

The Real World-Origins of the Progenitors

"The Cage"

When the U.S.S. Enterprise first set out to seek out "new life and new civilizations," a huge swath of those alien lifeforms turned out to look a lot like human beings. And the primary reason for that, at least behind-the-scenes, was two-fold.

First, human actors are more affordable, and second, Gene Roddenberry wanted the classic Star Trek to avoid the sci-fi trope of "Bug-Eyed Monsters." And so, in one of the original 1964 pitch documents for Star Trek , Roddenberry floated the idea of "The Parallel Worlds" concept . The idea was that the format of Star Trek — from a writing and production standpoint — would generally deal with "...plant and animal life, plus people, quite similar to Earth. Social evolution will also have interesting points of similarity with ours."

Unlike a huge swath of science fiction on TV at the time, the promise of strange, new worlds, that were, in fact, populated by people , is something that set Star Trek apart, and was the cornerstone of what gave the series its humanist angle. But, the side effect of course, was an in-universe question — why were so many aliens humanoid?

The Old Ones, Sargon, and The Preservers

"The Paradise Syndrome"

The first two seasons of The Original Series are sprinkled with hints that, in the distant past, the galaxy was visited by super-powered aliens with technology far more advanced than anything in the Federation.

In " What Are Little Girls Made Of? ," we meet Ruk, an android built by "The Old Ones," an alien race capable of creating humanoid androids that were basically immortal. In " Return to Tomorrow ," the disembodied soul of Sargon, refers to humanity as "my children." While Dr. Muhuall says this idea flies in the face of evolutionary theory, Spock mentions the idea that aliens seeded life would "explain certain elements of Vulcan pre-history."

Then in Season 3, in " The Paradise Syndrome ," Bones and Spock tackle the question head-on. When they realize an ancient race of "Preservers" helped various humanoid species throughout the galaxy, the idea of an ancient alien race guiding and "seeding" a ton of humanoid species became less of a myth and more of a working theory. "I’ve always wondered why there were so many humanoids scattered through the galaxy," Bones says. To which Spock replies, "So have I. Apparently, the Preservers account for a number of them."

And then, the questions about an ancient humanoid species went answered. At least, until The Next Generation . 

"The Chase"

Directed by Jonathan Frakes and written by Ronald D. Moore and Joe Menosky, " The Chase " was a sixth-season episode of The Next Generation , which, according to The Next Generation Companion , was considered in the writers' room the most "Roddenberryesque" episode of TNG at that time. The story itself took cues from Carl Sagan's novel Contact , and posited that yes, ancient aliens not only seeded most of the humanoid species, but also hid a message in the DNA of all those species.

Captain Picard's interest in archeology comes in handy during the quest to locate all the DNA strands and reveal the message, which was also represented metaphorically by the ancient artifact known as the Kurlan naiskos .

At the end of the episode, representatives from the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Empire, the Cardassian Union, and the Federation, all witness the truth — an ancient Progenitor (played by Salome Jens) makes it clear that all the humanoid species in the galaxy don’t exist out of pure hubris, but instead, out of a kind of desire for legacy. "You are a monument, not to our greatness, but to our existence…. Remember us."

Ronald D. Moore pointed out that there's no reason to believe that the Progenitors from "The Chase" and the Preservers from TOS aren't one in the same. Though not explicitly stated in the script, he said, "But this could be them, and be internally consistent."

Discovery Brings It All Home

"Red Directive"

While The Next Generation established a canonical fact that TOS only danced around, that only answered the question of why . With Discovery Season 5, a stranger, and more complex question is getting broached — how ?

"The Chase" told us why there are so many humanoid species in the galaxy, but we had no idea how the Progenitors specifically pushed life to evolve on various planets toward the exact form of life we’re all so familiar with. As the crew of Discovery — and other forces — are in pursuit of this ancient tech, Star Trek is boldly speculating on one of the biggest questions of all time.

If there was a supreme intelligence behind the creation of life, what was their method? While these kinds of questions are somewhat mind-boggling in real life, what Discovery is doing now is what Star Trek has done all along: Ask provocative questions that are beyond what we know now, so that maybe, in the future, we’ll be better prepared.

We don’t know that the Progenitors exist in real science, but the "panspermia hypothesis," is a very real scientific concept. A friendly alien may not have consciously sparked life on Earth eons ago, but, in reality, it is possible that some building blocks for life itself may have come from the stars.

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Ryan Britt is the author of the nonfiction books Phasers on Stun! How the Making and Remaking of Star Trek Changed the World (2022), The Spice Must Flow: The Journey of Dune from Cult Novels to Visionary Sci-Fi Movies (2023), and the essay collection Luke Skywalker Can’t Read (2015). He is a longtime contributor to Star Trek.com and his writing regularly appears with Inverse, Den of Geek!, Esquire and elsewhere. He lives in Portland, Maine with his family.

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 are streaming exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the UK, Canada, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and Austria. Seasons 2 and 3 also are available on the Pluto TV “Star Trek” channel in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The series streams on Super Drama in Japan, TVNZ in New Zealand, and SkyShowtime in Spain, Portugal, Poland, The Nordics, The Netherlands, and Central and Eastern Europe and also airs on Cosmote TV in Greece. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

• Star Trek 101

Star Trek: Scariest Alien Races, Ranked

Over the centuries, Starfleet has met with a variety of hostile, terrifying alien species.

Star Trek made its name by having Starfleet seek out new life. However, not all of that new life was friendly. During their many space explorations, the Federation ran into some scary alien races. Whether they were humanoid, reptilian or aquatic, some of these alien races turned out to be downright deadly.

But besides being deadly, what made these alien races introduced in Star Trek scary? Members of these notorious species could strike fear into the heart of the most experienced Starfleet officer. With eight live action and three animated Star Trek series from which to choose, these are the scariest alien races.

10 Cardassians

The big bads of Deep Space Nine , the Cardassians are a race of high-minded and cultured individuals. However, a need to survive forced them to become brutal and materialistic. The Cardassians are thought to be more dangerous than the Romulans, and the Dominion War proves it.

The Cardassians are clever, crafty and scary. They are prejudiced and totalitarian especially in their quests to conquer Bajor. While not all Cardassians are frightening, as a race, their actions reverberate through the franchise.

The Romulans were presented as the main antagonist of The Original Series , much like the Borg or Cardassians would be in later series. Appearing in the first season of the original Star Trek back in 1966, the Romulans have been a thorn in the side of almost every captain in the franchise.

Star Trek: Unluckiest Characters

A cousin to the Vulcans, the Romulans chose the exact opposite path of the species that loves logic. The Romulans are short-tempered, wrathful and militaristic. Their thirst for conquering every opponent in their way is frightening, and their dedication to secrecy makes them a hard enemy to strategize against.

These may be the most famous Star Trek villains of all time. The Klingons are a warrior race whose empire was often at odds with Starfleet. Even though tensions cooled, and the Klingons would eventually join the Federation, the Klingon Empire remains antagonistic throughout a large part of the Star Trek timeline.

Depending on when the Klingons are presented, they are visually frightening. During The Next Generation, Klingons had ridged foreheads and looked kind of like lions. In other times, their foreheads weren't as ridged, but their lust for battle and blood make them just as scary. Even when they're allies of the Federation, they are not to be crossed.

7 Jem'Hadar

The Jem'Hadar are a race of genetically engineered warriors used by the Dominion in Deep Space Nine . The Jem'Hadar's growth cycle is accelerated, allowing them to go from birth to warrior on the front line in very little time.

The Jem'Hadar possess incredible strength and are fierce combatants who adhere to strict rituals. This race is scary because they have on interest in comfort or personal liberty, only combat.

What happens when the Romulans turn into even bigger monsters? The result is the Remans, a distant cousin to the Vulcans and Romulans. The Remans are basically the monsters that Romulans see in their nightmares.

Star Trek: Deep Space 9 Characters Who Appear On Other Series

Some Romulans hire Remans as bodyguards, because Remans are believed to be better warriors than Romulans. Many Remans are designed to look like vampires, making them visually frightening on top of their menacing presence.

The Borg are the most recognizable villain of 1990s Star Trek . The villains instantly became iconic when they made their debut in The Next Generation . The Borg's quest for assimilation and their success in assimilating Captain Picard as Locutus is one of the most unsettling attacks in Star Trek.

The Borg became such iconic and still scary villains that they were brought in as a villain in the film, Star Trek: First Contact , as well as appearances in Voyager and Picard . These robotic creatures are some of the most horrifying in the franchise.

4 Species 8472

This is the only alien race that has ever struck fear into the heart of the Borg. That fear was so palpable the Borg struck a temporary alliance with Starfleet to combat Species 8472. These creatures have a genetic makeup that makes it impossible for the Borg to assimilate them.

The biotech for Species 8472 stretches far beyond the imaginations of the Borg or Starfleet. It's not clear why this species is so destructive, but any species that can scare the Borg and is hell-bent on destruction is truly terrifying.

3 Salt Creatures

These are some of the ugliest and grossest aliens introduced in The Original Series . While its official name is M-113, the aliens have been dubbed the Salt Creatures, because they remove the salt from its victims' bodies.

Star Trek: Best Episodes From Each Series

It's essentially a space vampire that uses suction cups to feed on its prey. Salt Creatures possess a strong grip and an oblong mouth that can send chills down the spine. Visually, they look like the stuff of nightmares.

While irritating for Captain Picard, Q remains one of the most popular aliens in the history of the franchise. Q is a member an unknown race that is able to travel through time and toys with Starfleet crews. He appears as a humanoid when addressing Starfleet, but his true form remains unknown.

Q's motives are often unclear, but it seems like he is looking for a true nemesis he can respect from Starfleet, especially in Captain Picard. Q is one of the most powerful beings in Star Trek and one that can alter the fabric of reality, making him and his race very frightening.

The Vidiians represent the worst of all alien races. They are basically organ harvesters. Afflicted with a disease that eats away at their body and organs, the Vidiians butcher other alien races to use the other aliens' skin and internal organs to stave off death.

The Vidiians are cold and unrelenting. They justify their actions about having the right to live, while impeding on that same right for others. In an episode of Voyager , a Vidiian separates B'Elanna Torres into a human and a Klingon, and then tries to persuade the Klingon to be with him by killing a member of the Voyager crew.

MORE: Star Trek: Characters Who Returned From The Dead

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds goes back to the beginning with this ferocious alien race

Captain Pike must confront the aliens that caused one of his greatest defeats.

Season two of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has called back to different parts of the Star Trek Universe in different ways. Sometimes, the show does so with fun Easter eggs like Spock's Vulcan Lute or the reappearance of the Department of Temporal Investigations . Other times callbacks to the past can drive the narrative like with La'an Noonien-Singh wrestling with the history of her ancestor, Khan . This week, we go back to the very beginning of the Star Trek franchise as the show revisits a fearsome alien race.

The real problem begins five years prior to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, when Captain Pike and a landing party embarked on a routine expedition on the Class M planet Rigel VII. The local inhabitants consisting of primitive humanoids ambushed them, and during the hasty retreat of Pike and his crew, the crew may have left their equipment behind. This is an issue because it could be a breach of the Prime Directive, Starfleet's principle of not interfering with the natural development of alien civilizations.

Now, when aerial imagery of the planet detects structures resembling the Starfleet delta insignia, the Enterprise is sent back to clean up their mess and assess the level of cultural contamination they may have caused. As for Pike, he has reservations about returning to Rigel VII because of his experience with the formidable indigenous people known as the Kalar.

What happened during Captain Pike's first encounter with the Kalar?

The behind the scenes lore regarding Pike's first encounter with the Kalar is pretty interesting. The events of that encounter are first recounted in the very first pilot of Star Trek the original series (TOS) entitled 'The Cage.' After the initial viewing, the executives at NBC were not satisfied and reordered a second pilot, which would be the one to air and become the Star Trek that we know today. However, footage from 'The Cage' would be incorporated into the two-part 'The Menagerie,' which are episodes 11 and 12 from season 1 of TOS.

We actually never see what happens on Rigel VII, but hear the story from Pike as he opens up to his chief medical officer, Dr. Boyce, in the unaired pilot. On the planet, Pike led his landing party into a trap set by the Kalar. The failed mission resulted in the death of three of his crew and seven more injured, including Spock.

The traumatic event has a significant impact on the captain. He wrestles with guilt and feels responsible for the loss of his crewmen. In the episode, Pike even considers resigning from Starfleet, though the good doctor talks him out of the rash decision.

Who are the Kalar of TOS?

The Kalar are a primitive humanoid species native of Rigel VII. These people are slightly larger than a human and are fierce warriors, but they are not as advanced and often fight using antiquated equipment such as swords, spears, shields, and armor. Despite their inferior technology, they are still able to catch the Starfleet members off guard and inflict great damage.

Though the story of Kalar encounter is only verbalized, we do catch a glimpse of one in 'The Cage.' In the unaired episode, Pike is manipulated by telepathic aliens called Talosians to make him fall in love with a woman named Vina. One illusion involves Pike saving Vina, under the guise of a Rigellian princess, from a Kalaran warrior.

Who are the Kalar in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds?

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds expands on the alien race first seen in TOS. The Kalar are described as a bronze age society organized in a caste system. They contain a formidable warrior class hardened by the planet's harsh conditions called the field Kalar and a secretive ruling class called the palace Kalar. According to the ancient stories, the former are unable to retail their memories (and are used as forced laborers), while the latter retain their memories and are responsible for planning the future and recording the past.

The field Kalar are organized based on their particular job set. They are able to keep their implicit memory such as walking and talking while their explicit memories including who they are and where they live go away each day. Yet they do find ways to guide themselves in their regular activities. They are a close-knit community and help each other manage the memory loss. The field Kalar use the oils of their fruit of the gods to tattoo themselves with their important personal information. In addition, they keep a totem of their people's story inside their homes.

Why are the Kalar so underdeveloped?

Thousands of years ago, an asteroid landed on Rigel VII. It contained a form of radiation that causes synaptic degradation of the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes. As a result, the Kalar experience explicit memory loss while their implicit memories such as instinct and emotion are left intact. This neurological condition stunted the development as a people, hence their primitive existence in comparison to Starfleet. The palace Kalar are able to reduce their exposure due to the castle's structural materials and their natural properties that can shield the radiation.

What is the fate of the Kalar in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds?

The Kalar are introduced to modern technology by their leader High Lord Zacharias. This High Lord turns out to be Pike's yeoman, Zack Nguyen, long believed to be dead. Zack survived the initial ambush years ago, and gathered the Starfleet gear left behind including phaser rifles to help fuel his rise in power. With the superior arsenal, it wasn't too long until he became ruler. As a sign of reverence, the Kalar erected the structures bearing the symbol on his uniform, the Starfleet delta insignia.

Eventually, Pike and the rest of the Enterprise crew are able to overcome and negate the effects of the radiation. They also able retrieve all of their old tech to clean up their previous cultural contamination, and take Yeoman Nguyen into custody. As a parting gift for the meddling in Kalar affairs, the Enterprise removes the asteroid from the planet allowing the natives to develop unhindered by its effects; an act which some might say disobeys the Prime Directive.

For more on Star Trek and how to understand it all, we have a comprehensive Star Trek watch guide

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Who is callum keith rennie star trek: discovery’s captain rayner actor explained.

Renowned science fiction actor Callum Keith Rennie leads the USS Antares as Captain Rayner in Star Trek: Discovery's fifth and final season.

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5

• Callum Keith Rennie debuts in Star Trek: Discovery as the Kellerun Captain Rayner.
• Known for his role as Leoben Conoy in Battlestar Galactica, Callum Keith Rennie brings depth and experience to Star Trek: Discovery's final season.
• Rennie's role as Captain Rayner adds connection and nostalgia to Star Trek: Discovery, overlapping with Battlestar Galactica

Accomplished actor Callum Keith Rennie joins the fifth and final season of Star Trek: Discovery . Star Trek: Discovery season 5 sends Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the USS Discovery on a hunt for an ancient technology with the power to create life itself. Introducing Callum Keith Rennie as Captain Rayner, a strait-laced and commanding character of alien origin , Discovery season 5 sets the stage for a gripping showdown and sends Burnham and the USS Discovery and the USS Antares commander on an epic quest for an ancient treasure.

Perhaps best recognized for his standout roles in Battlestar Galactica and Californication , Callum Keith Rennie joins the Star Trek: Discovery cast for their last adventure, delivering a wealth of experience from earlier genre-defining roles. Rennie’s portrayal of Captain Rayner reportedly promises an intriguing counterpoint to Burnham underscoring Rayner's great potential with a mysterious backstory set to unfold over the course of the show’s fifth season. With the revelatory Captain of the USS Antares looking very much to be a vital – perhaps pivotal – addition to Starfleet’s impressive body of commanding officers, here’s a look at the award-winning Callum Keith Rennie.

Every Upcoming Star Trek Movie & TV Show

Callum keith rennie plays captain rayner in star trek: discovery, captain rayer is callum keith rennie's first appearance in the star trek franchise.

Callum Keith Rennie joins Star Trek: Discovery season 5 as Captain Rayner, the fierce commander of the USS Antares . Driven and dedicated to his mission, Rayner draws distinction between himself and his crew. A member of a little-known species first introduced in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Captain Rayner is a Kellerun , and his backstory is crucial to his mission and character. Described as gruff, tough, and intelligent, Rayner is a war hero struggling to acclimate to peace post-Burn, but dedicated to serving the greater good. In search of a hidden, ancient power source, Rayner's challenging and somewhat antagonistic relationship with Captain Burnham echoes a brash, if benevolent, professional demeanor.

Callum Keith Rennie is a UK-born Canadian veteran actor with an impressive 25-year career history in movies and television.

Best known for his roles as Leoben Conoy in Battlestar Galactica and Lew Ashby in Californication , Callum Keith Rennie is a UK-born Canadian veteran actor with an impressive 25-year career history in movies and television. Regularly cast in antagonistic roles, Callum Keith Rennie’s first international recognition came from his casting as Detective Stanley Raymond Kowalski in Due South . Rennie’s varied roles and character portrayals reflect his artistic interests, with the actor also starring in The Umbrella Academy, Marvel's Jessica Jones, The X-Files, Impulse, The Firm, 24, The Butterfly Effect, Jigsaw, Case 39, Memento, Fifty Shades of Grey, and Fifty Shades Freed.

Kelleruns first appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , season 2, episode 13 - "Armageddon Game."

Callum Keith Rennie In Star Trek: Discovery Is A Battlestar Galactica Crossover

A battlestar galactica miniseries, 4 seasons & a television movie aired between 2003-2009.

Callum Keith Rennie’s casting in Star Trek: Discovery follows his success as the ambiguous, obsessive Leoben Conoy in Syfy's Battlestar Galactica created by Ronald D. Moore. Introduced in the 2003 miniseries as an arms dealer, Rennie’s Conoy was initially a guest character in the show’s first two seasons, graduating to a series regular in the third and fourth. Adeptly portraying multiple iterations of the Cylon model Number Two , Rennie brought a philosophical complexity to the manipulative and important character , in turn posing a significant risk to the Cylon and Human factions. Rennie’s rich performance played with themes of identity and morality, adding layers of exploratory character depth and enigmatic ambiguity to the series.

There is a degree of overlap with Callum Keith Rennie’s compelling casting in both high-profile science fiction shows, echoing multiple crossovers between Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica . Many actors appear across the franchises, inspiring characters, reflecting the longstanding history of similarities originally stemming from showrunner Ronald D. Moore. Recognized for his compelling portrayal of the Cylon model Number Two, Callum Keith Rennie brought nuance and intensity to Battlestar Galactica – traits that also resonate with Star Trek: Discovery 's Captain Rayner. The characters’ similarities underscore the enduring join between the two series , with Rennie’s inclusion in both lending familiarity, nostalgia, and a sense of connection.

Star Trek: Discovery is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

Battlestar galactica.

'Star Trek: Discovery' season 5 episode 2 sows the seeds of seasonal plot threads (Under the Twin Moons recap)

Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Star Trek: Discovery" season 5, episode 2

So, as you will have gathered from watching Star Trek: Discovery's episode 1 of season 5 ,  it would appear that the primary plot is based on a past episode of "The Next Generation" (TNG). Yes indeed, no new "Star Trek" show is safe from nostalgia — and very specifically — TNG-era nostalgia. Any storyline, from any previous incarnation of " Star Trek " could've been used, but it cannot denied that it feels like we're being given what Terry Matalas and the other executive producers who are still obsessed with living in the past want, which is to relive their teens. 

The thing is, there's nothing wrong with TNG and if you watch the episode that all of this seems to be stemming from, "The Chase" (S06, E20) it's actually a pretty good installment. And in fact, it has a " Babylon 5 " quality and uses dialogue and straightforward set pieces to tell an interesting, nuanced story. (Aside from at least from one significant plot hole that is not explained.) But that was then — April 1993, to be precise — and this is now. And while it might have been fun to revisit this in a TNG-era movie for example, this ship really has passed. If you're need a refresher on how to watch Star Trek: Discovery, you can check out our Star Trek streaming guide for Paramount Plus .

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The episode "The Chase" is a fun explainer as to why all the humanoid aliens look the same. Obviously, it's all to do with budget in the real world, but in the Star Trek universe it's because a super-advanced race of aliens — unofficially referred to as Progenitors — opted to scatter different parts of our DNA across the galaxy, which when fully evolved over millions of years time, came to form humans, Klingons, Cardassians, Romulans and the rest. When DNA strands from all of these races are combined, it unlocked a ancient holographic message. 

Related: 5 things Star Trek: Discovery season 5 needs to fix

"Life evolved on my planet before all others in this part of the galaxy. We left our world, explored the stars, and found none like ourselves. Our civilization thrived for ages, but what is the life of one race, compared to the vast stretches of cosmic time?" the unnamed humanoid alien said. "We knew that one day we would be gone, that nothing of us would survive. So, we left you. Our scientists seeded the primordial oceans of many worlds, where life was in its infancy ... The seed codes also contained this message, which we scattered in fragments on many different worlds. It was our hope that you would have to come together in fellowship and companionship to hear this message."

The potential of this was pretty big, but it was never followed up. It was rumored there might even be a connection to the Changling race and it was talked about in chat groups ... 15 years ago . And while this was a certainly an opportunity left open-ended, ready to be revisited after having been found by writers scrambling for ideas, it's also interesting to note that "The Chase" was directed by Jonathan Frakes, who as we know, is still very much involved with Nu-Trek.

Back to "Discovery" season 5, episode 2 and possibly the biggest single, burning question is, will Captain Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) met a death as utterly pointless as Captain Shaw, Huw and Cristóbal Rios? And now with Captain Saru (Doug Jones) leaving the USS Discovery and Raynor taking his place as first officer, Captain Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) now at least has an antagonist close by for this adventure.

This second episode feels a little less lost than the season premiere, although it relies rather heavily on the classic bureaucracy trope, something, you'd have to believe we'd really been able to get past in the 32nd century. Guess not. Staying with Rayner though, if his appointment to become the new First Officer of the USS Discovery just turns out to be another underused, Tarka-style antagonist, it will be a spectacular missed opportunity. But, "Discovery" does keep us guessing, that much is certain. Who'd have thought an socially awkward alien would cause all the dilithium in the galaxy to explode ? 

There are some interesting set pieces in this episode, but let's hope we don't dwell on the whole breadcrumb-trail to alien artifacts theme too long. Also, where the blazes does the energy and the matter come from to instantly form replacement phasers? Just wonderin' like. But, on the plus side, Grudge is back and so is Zora.  

In other "Star Trek" news, production on the new "Star Trek: Section 31" television movie starring Michelle Yeoh has started principal photography. Paramount Plus posted a pic on Instagram and Variety released a still. In addition to Yeoh, the cast includes Omari Hardwick ("Powers"), Kacey Rohl ("Hannibal"), Emmy Award winner Sam Richardson ("Ted Lasso"), Sven Ruygrok ("One Piece"), Robert Kazinsky ("Pacific Rim"), Humberly Gonzalez ("Ginny & Georgia") and James Hiroyuki Liao ("Barry").

However, the most interesting news is that the story appears to be set in the "lost era" of "Star Trek" — between the events of the Kirk-era movie, "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" and the TV series TNG. Arguably the most underused and interesting field of opportunity within the "Star Trek" franchise...and Kacey Rohl ("Arrow") has also joined the project as a young Rachel Garrett, the future captain of the USS Enterprise-C, from the epic TNG episode "Yesterday's Enterprise" (S03, E15) where the character was previously portrayed by Tricia O’Neil.

The fifth and final season of "Star Trek: Discovery" and every episode of every "Star Trek" show — with the exception of "Star Trek: Prodigy" — currently streams exclusively on Paramount Plus in the US while "Prodigy" has found a new home o n Netflix.  

Internationally, the shows are available on Paramount Plus in Australia, Latin America, the UK and South Korea, as well as on Pluto TV in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland on the Pluto TV Sci-Fi channel. They also stream on Paramount Plus in Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In Canada, they air on Bell Media's CTV Sci-Fi Channel and stream on Crave.