star trek the horta

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The Horta were a sentient non-humanoid silicon cycle life form native to the planet Janus VI .

Horta anatomy was composed of a material similar to fibrous asbestos . Horta physiology was very different from the carbon-based lifeforms more commonly found in the galaxy . Horta were difficult to detect with tricorders , and were invulnerable to type 1 phasers , though they could be injured with an adjusted type 2 phaser . They fed on rock , and thus they were nourished just by tunneling. Horta tunneled through rock like most humanoids walked through air , moving with the aid of an extremely corrosive acid . They left perfectly round tunnels in their wake. This acid was so corrosive that it only left fragments of bone and teeth if used on a Human . Although Hortas did not evolve in an oxygen environment, they seemed able to exist in it for extended periods of time .

The Horta species possessed an unusually long life span . Every fifty thousand years , all of the Horta died out except for one, the so-called mother Horta , who then watched the eggs until they hatched , and mothered and protected them. Horta eggs were spherical in shape, and they seemed to mostly consist of silicon , aside from a few trace elements . These silicon nodules were stored in a hatchery / nursery inside the Vault of Tomorrow which was accessed through the Chamber of the Ages .

A Horta-created tunnel

It was in the midst of one of these temporary phases of extinction that the Federation colonized Janus VI in the 2210s . The mother Horta tolerated the Federation presence up until the miners established a new, lower level in 2267 , where they first encountered Horta eggs. Thinking them nothing more than balls of useless silicon, the miners' automated equipment destroyed thousands of them. The mother Horta defended her children by carrying out actions of sabotage and murder against the Janus VI colony .

It was only when Commander Spock of the USS Enterprise mind melded with the mother Horta that he was able to determine that the Horta was actually an intelligent lifeform. In fact, before the discovery of the Horta, silicon-based life had been thought a fantasy by Federation scientists .

The mother Horta reached an accord with the miners, who were distressed at the destruction they had caused. The miners would leave the Horta young alone on the lower levels once they began hatching, while the Horta would use their abilities to locate and construct access passages to choice mineral deposits for the miners. Vanderburg, himself, later decided that " The Horta aren't so bad... once you get used to their appearance. " likewise, the Mother Horta felt, according to Spock, " that our appearance is revolting, but she thought she could get used to it. " Spock further added that " The Horta is a remarkably sensitive and intelligent creature with impeccable taste, " after sensing that she found his ears to be " the most attractive Human characteristic of all. "

As the Enterprise departed the planet, the first baby Horta hatched and began tunneling rapidly. ( TOS : " The Devil in the Dark ")

A Horta (above, center)

In 2268 , when considering the possibility that the rocks on the planet they were investigating were alive, Sulu reminded Kirk of " Janus VI, [and] the silicon creatures. " McCoy then further reminded Sulu and Kirk that their instruments had registered the Horta as lifeforms, unlike the rocks they were surrounded by now. ( TOS : " That Which Survives ")

Information about the Horta was displayed by a computer , as an okudagram graphic depicting Comparative Xenobiology , in Keiko O'Brien 's schoolroom on Deep Space 9 . ( DS9 : " A Man Alone ", " The Nagus " okudagram )

Appendices [ ]

Background information [ ].

The German word "Hort" (male gender, der Hort) means "hoard" (as in hoard of treasure or supplies) derived from Latin "hortus", garden . Recently, the word's meaning is extended to include "all-day nursery" – a place where you "hoard" children (hence cognate to Kinder garten ), fitting after-the-fact the role the Horta had.

The Horta was played by Janos Prohaska . Aside from playing the creature, Prohaska also designed and created the "suit" for the creature as Producer Robert H. Justman clarified,

"We made a "spec" [note: industry idiom for an unsolicited pitch without any guarantees] deal with Janos. If he came up with a really great creature for a script Gene Coon was writing, we'd rent it and hire him to play the part. Janos was back within a week's time with his custom-designed creature. It was a large pancake-shaped glob of gook with a thickened raised center and fringe around its circumference. It sure didn't look like much. As Janos took the glob out of sight to put it on, Gene Coon raised an objection "Bob, why are wasting time with this?" Suddenly, the blob skittered around the corner, making straight for us. Then it stopped, curiously, backed away, and rotated in place. The blob gathered itself up, quivered, made a whimsical up-and-down movement, grunted, and skittered away again – leaving behind a large, round white "egg". Coon was dumbfounded. He watched the creature giving birth. And when the creature suddenly turned and scurried back to nuzzle its "child", Gene was sold. "Great!" he exclaimed, "It's perfect! Just what we need." Then he excitedly hastened back to his office to finish writing the script. "Gene Coon's "The Devil in the Dark" became one of Star Trek 's most famous episodes. And Janos Prohaska played his own creation, one of Star Trek 's most famous creatures, the highly imaginative and custom-designed mother Horta." ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , pp. 214-215)

What neither Justman nor Coon had realized at the time however, was that Prohaska had actually already created the creature previously for the original ABC series The Outer Limits , first appearing in the final episode, and that he had only slightly modified the rubber costume with veins and the "fringe" for its Star Trek appearance. ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 3, Issue 9 , p. 73) Titled "The Probe" (with Peter Mark Richman ), the Outer Limits episode's storyline was about survivors of a plane crash in the Pacific waking up to find themselves (and their life raft) on the floor of an alien spacecraft sent to collect terrestrial lifeforms . In this episode, broadcast in January 1965 , the future Mrs. Horta was performing yeoman service as a giant cold germ threatening the hapless Earth people. ( The World of Star Trek , 3rd ed., p. 74)

In an interview with John Ellis for the DVD commentary of the Steve Canyon episode "The Search" for the DVD collection Bob Hoy revealed to Ellis that he actually was in the Horta costume in the same episode (in certain shots as a "stunt performer") and that Janos Prohaska, who created and also wore the costume, was a long time friend and coworker. [1]

According to the audio commentary for " How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth ", David Wise mentions that for Kukulkan's zoo , " If you were to read the original script, we had animals, various life forms from earlier episodes of the live action Star Trek . There was a tribble , a couple of tribbles in one cage, there was a Horta from "Devil in the Dark" [sic] in another cage, they were supposed to be reference, the various menagerie of characters who had appeared in earlier Star Trek s. "

A Horta was referenced in the first-draft script for " In Thy Image " – the story that gradually developed into Star Trek: The Motion Picture – in which Kirk reminded Dr. McCoy, now a veterinarian , of the Horta having been "patched up" by McCoy using silicone cement. ( Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series , p. 125)

Two days before filming of the Federation Council scenes in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , it was requested that one of the aliens present in the setting be a Horta ambassador . As notice of the request was given so soon before the scenes were shot, however, the creation of a Horta in time for filming was an impossibility. Thus, the Horta failed to make an appearance in the film. ( text commentary , Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Special Edition) DVD )

Some new CGI visual effects were created for the Horta, in the remastered edition of "The Devil in the Dark", for the 40th anniversary of the original series. Notably, the Horta emerging/tunneling through a particular rock face, when Captain Kirk encountered the Horta mother on his own, was a combination of new and original footage.

Apocrypha [ ]

According to several novels and comic books by Diane Duane , there is a Horta crew member on the Enterprise , Ensign Naraht ( β ), one of the several thousand children of the Horta who appears in "The Devil in the Dark". In particular, Naraht plays a critical role in The Romulan Way . According to that novel, Horta who enlist in Starfleet must be regularly spray-coated with teflon, since oxygen -based atmospheres are highly caustic to silicon-based lifeforms . Devil's Bargain has them cooperating with the Federation mining colony Vesbius to de-stabilize an asteroid headed for the planet so the Enterprise can safely destroy what is left of it. Some of the Horta ask for Kirk's recommendation to Starfleet Academy . The book also suggests that Horta can live in the vacuum of space for a short period of time.

The novel Articles of the Federation , by Keith R.A. DeCandido , has the Horta as members of the Federation as of 2380 and are represented by one Councilor Sanaht ( β ). Further appearances include the Greg Cox and John Gregory Betancourt 's DS9 novel, Devil in the Sky . Hortas were also mentioned in The Lost Years .

In the Pocket TNG novel Dyson Sphere , it is revealed that Starfleet has starships crewed entirely by Horta. These ships are of standard design, with nearly all amenities removed, and are filled with solid stone, which the Horta can reshape as they see fit.

The series of Star Trek: Titan novels also has a male Horta character, Chwolkk ( β ), who serves as an engineer on the USS Titan .

In the MMORPG Star Trek Online , in the mission "Mine Enemy", a Horta kills Tal Shiar officers and burns the words "NO KILL I, NO KILL I" into a cave floor with acid. If the player observes this, he or she will get the accolade: NO KILL I. The mission reward is a Horta hatchling pet that follows the player when activated from the inventory. Horta are also seen being employed for mining operations, as a player's fleet dilithium mine has Horta miners working in environments hostile to humanoid lifeforms. There you can also purchase Horta duty officers for your ship. Also, during the numerous anniversary events, a Horta is one of many creatures that players could be temporarily turned into by the visiting Q should they annoy him, or just by asking if he really is that powerful.

The short story "Guardians" from the anthology book Strange New Worlds VII featured a number of Horta being relocated to the Guardian of Forever 's planet to protect it from races or beings who might seek to abuse its powers.

Devil's Bargain provides some insight into Horta culture. The mother Horta is referred to as the All Mother. In addition, Horta belong to clans based on their abilities and roles. Horta names are descriptive of the individual's strengths, abilities, or sometimes bestowed on them by others.

In the Pocket TOS novel The Latter Fire , the Horta's taxonomic name is given as Janus hominidae .

External link [ ]

• Horta at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• 1 Daniels (Crewman)
• 3 Calypso (episode)

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Native to Janus VI , Horta were a silicon -based species that fed on rock and secreted highly corrosive acid that allowed them to digest it as well as to easily travel through it. Their skin was once compared to asbestos . Each generation of Horta would hatch from a clutch of thousands of eggs , cared for by a single Mother Horta from the previous generation. At the end of their life span, they would all die off, save for a single Mother Horta that would care for the next generation. Gestation within the eggs took approximately fifty thousand years. The eggs were perfectly round and approximately 250-300 cm in diameter, and were initially mistaken as silicon nodules and a geological oddity when first discovered by the Federation mining colony that was established on Janus VI. Horta began tunneling immediately after hatching. [1]

Image Gallery

Horta eggs ( TOS   26 )

Notes and References

• ↑ Roddenberry, Gene ( Executive Producer ). "The Devil in the Dark." Star Trek , Season 1, Episode 25 (Production 26). Directed by Joseph Pevney . Written by Gene L. Coon . Desilu Productions , 9 March 1967 .
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Flashback | Recap | Star Trek: The Original Series S1E25: The Devil in the Dark

Season 1 – The Devil in the Dark

What happened?

The mining operations on Janus VI have been terrorized by something in the dark. It burrows “through solid rock as easily as we move through the air,” and it’s killed fifty people. So, the Enterprise must investigate what devilry hunts the miners of Janus VI.

Another Confession…

This is an episode I’ve been both excited and nervous to write about because I’m afraid I won’t be objective about it. I’m writing this paragraph here before rewatching. This is one of the episodes that I watched and rewatched endlessly as a child.

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve last seen it, but my memories of it are vivid. Spock crying out in pain as he mind melds with the creature. The Horta, even though it looks like Pizza the Hut from Spaceballs , was simultaneously terrifying and absolutely engrossing to me as a kid. I knew it was fake, but I also knew for a fact that it was real. Spock touches it, speaks for it, and it speaks for itself. Nimoy sells that scene more than anything else in his career – more than his final scene in The Wrath of Khan . It’s brilliant and has stayed with me my entire life.

There. Those are my unfiltered thoughts. Now, I’ll rewatch and comment accordingly.

Let’s Dig Deeper

If Star Trek dipped its toe in the waters of horror with “The Man Trap,” it jumps headlong into that genre with “The Devil in the Dark.” The trope I discussed there of the misunderstood monster is seen clearly here. And even knowing the ending – I never remember not knowing the ending – I still watch this episode with trepidation (and I’m a horror movie lover ! The first thing I wrote for Ready Steady Cut! was a Halloween retrospective!). But this episode still gets me, and its point is still as pungent as ever: just because they don’t look like us doesn’t mean they’re evil. Sometimes, we’re the ones that start the problems, and we reap the consequences.

This is what I’d like science fiction shows to do more often: really deal with otherworldly, non-humanoid creatures. I get why they don’t – budget, storytelling, to name a few. However, I’m going to assume that, if there were really aliens out there, they wouldn’t just look like humans with forehead bumps and funny makeup.

The miners didn’t mean to attack the creature, didn’t know that they were killing its offspring. This puts everyone in a quandary: whose life matters more? The humans or the creature killing them? It’s easy to just see the Horta as the Other, the object to be killed. However, it demonstrates intelligence and dexterity. It has built tunnels, stolen a reactor, hunted the people of the colony. Yet its consciousness is hidden from view by the danger it poses to the Enterprise crew.

I never noticed before that, in the mind meld, Spock speaks for the Horta and calls the colonists devils and monsters. Even more, he says cryptic, tragic things: “Murder. Of thousands. Devils! Eternity ends. The chamber of the ages. The altar of tomorrow! Murderers! Stop them. Kill! Strike back! Monsters!… The end of life. Murderers… It is the end of life. Eternity stops. Go out into the tunnel. To the chamber of the ages. Cry for the children. Walk carefully in the vault of tomorrow. Sorrow for the murdered children. The thing you search for is there. Go. Go. Sadness. Sadness for the end of things. Go into the tunnel. There is a passageway. Quickly, quickly.” This is the last creature of its species mourning the death of its future. There will be no more Horta if it dies.

What works best is that, finally, when presented with the creature’s intelligence, its conscious thought, and its desire not only for self-protection but for the preservation of its race, Kirk does the right thing. That’s to be expected: he’s our enlightened hero. What’s better is that Vanderberg ( Ken Lynch ) also chooses to make a deal with the Horta. It reminds us that not only is Kirk our idealistic, civilized hero, but the regular guys, the average joes, can make the right decisions, too.

What else stands out?

Leonard Nimoy is superb throughout, whether he’s debating with Kirk on the need to kill the Horta or when he’s in the mind-meld with it. I still get chills when he yells “Pain!”. Imagine what it must have been like to watch that scene actually be acted out. I know that it’s a dude in a carpet and another guy with fake pointy ears, but that doesn’t come through. The Horta is pulsating and vibrating and twitching, and Nimoy is so earnest and intense. The voice he uses when speaking through the Horta is so eerie; I can’t easily get it out of my mind.

Random Thoughts from The Devil in the Dark

If this thing is so dangerous, why are they only sending one man at a time to walk through the dark? Why not teams of two or three, at least if one person is attacked they could team up on it. I know that the type-1 phasers they’re using barely scratch it. But still. Bad planning, guys.

Memorable Quotes

Mccoy: “i’m a doctor, not a bricklayer” kirk: “you’re a healer. there’s a patient. that’s an order.”.

–McCoy, creating a cliche.

Venderberg: You know, the Horta aren’t so bad once you’re used to their appearance. …SPOCK: Curious. What Chief Vanderberg said about the Horta is exactly what the Mother Horta said to me. She found humanoid appearance revolting, but she thought she could get used to it. MCCOY: Oh, she did, did she? Now tell me, did she happen to make any comment about those ears? SPOCK: Not specifically, but I did get the distinct impression she found them the most attractive human characteristic of all. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that only I have KIRK: She really liked those ears? SPOCK: Captain, the Horta is a remarkably intelligent and sensitive creature, with impeccable taste.KIRK: Because she approved of you? SPOCK: Really, Captain, my modesty KIRK: Does not bear close examination, Mister Spock. I suspect you’re becoming more and more human all the time. SPOCK: Captain, I see no reason to stand here and be insulted.

–This is another  TOS motif that this episode really solidifies: the wrap up joking conversation. Remember, kids and families were watching this – they wanted to have a light ending, maybe even a moral or two. I love the interchange between our trio of heroes.

Coming up next…

After this brilliant, emotional episode, we’ve got a new iconic race on our hands. It’s the KLINGONS! These guys are the best. While The Original Series didn’t do the Klingons justice that later series and films would, the groundwork is all laid in “Errand of Mercy.”

Article by Tyler Howat

Tyler Howat joined Ready Steady Cut in November 2017, publishing over 100 articles for the website. Based out of Wenatchee City, Washington, Tyler has used his education and experience to become a highly skilled writer, critic, librarian, and teacher. He has a passion for Film, TV, and Books and a huge soft spot for Star Trek.

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Friday, April 3, 2009

• Creature Feature: The Horta

3 comments:

Great post! The Horta perfectly typifies the Trek approach to "monsters," which on Lost In Space would have been just that. I can see the Art Asylum figure now... the Horta comes with a pop-off section that reveals the phaser wound, and a flat rock under it with "no kill i" carved onto it which you can uncover... as well as eggs.

One of my favorite episodes, what am I saying I like them all, but this is one of the stand outs for me. I am going to look through the bins for that comic, not a borg fan, but the Horta will definitely be worth the trip. Oh and a side note, a long time ago I used to have a Star Trek Screen saver that had an appearance by the horta, among other characters. Have you seen this?ic, not a borg fan, but the Horta will definitly be worth the trip.

Frederick, Love your idea for the horta action figure features. It seems like such an obvious choice for a figure. It baffles me that neither Playmates nor Art Asylum have released it. Maybe the sculpting for a Horta might be too complex. Let's hope that with today's technology and the amazing action figures we have been seeing over the past few years a Horta is not as complicated a figure to produce anymore.

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Biology [ ]

They secrete a powerful, corrosive acid, which allows them to dig perfectly round tunnels and move through them while feeding on rocks and minerals. They do not breathe oxygen, but are not harmed by it either.

Despite their somewhat sluggish appearance, the Hortas have demonstrated great speed and flexibility, as well as resistance to phaser shots.

Life cycle [ ]

Hortas live for 50,000 years, and then they all die, except for their leader, the Mother Horta, which takes care of the eggs, making sure that the next generation of Hortas will be safe. Horta eggs are brown spheres composed almost entirely out of silicon.

History [ ]

Hortas were the first silicon-based lifeforms officially recognized by science. Before their discovery, it was believed that silicon-based life was pure imagination. They were discovered in 2267, when Human miners found the Horta eggs and destroyed them, believing them to be nothing but rock. In order to protect the remaining eggs, the Mother Horta attacked the miners' colony. At the end, it was decided that the Hortas and their eggs would be left alone, and the Hortas agreed to help the miners by creating access to the planet's large mineral deposits. Eventually they would join the Federation

Appearances [ ]

• Star Trek , s01e26, "The Devil in the Dark" (1967)
• 2 Asteromorph
• 3 Trisolaran

The Devil In The Dark Stardate: 3196.1 Original Airdate: 9 Mar, 1967

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List of Horta

• View history

List of Horta [ ]

• Dahai Iohor Naraht

Unnamed Horta [ ]

2267 newborns [ ].

In the year 2267 , many thousands of Horta were born from the egg cache guarded by the All Mother. ( TOS episode & novelization : The Devil in the Dark )

Den of Geek

Doctor Who vs Star Trek: Which Aliens are Better?

We like Doctor Who's aliens. We like Star Trek's aliens. But who's better? There's only one way to find out: FIGHT!

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Why are we fascinated by science fiction? Is it the opportunity to extrapolate technological and sociological trends beyond our current experience? Is it the way it helps us to appreciate our place in a vast and unknowable universe? Is it the way that it gives us a fresh perspective from which to examine the human condition?

No! It’s none of those things. It’s aliens. Aliens are the number one best thing about science fiction, which is why we can objectively and correctly rank large science fiction franchises according to which one has the best aliens.

And out of those franchises, the biggest ones with the most detailed alien cultures are Doctor Who and Star Trek (Please go to the comments and argue about Star Wars vs Farscape among yourselves, and try not to pick on that one person fighting for Babylon 5 ).

To decide, again, objectively and correctly which aliens are better, we must look at a complex lattice of interrelated criteria, scientifically judging each one to objectively determine the best.

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The Best-Looking Aliens?

This is, frankly, an easy win for the Doctor. Star Trek has a few standouts – the Horta, the Tholians, the Gorn, that Tardigrade on Discovery . But there is no getting around the fact that the vast majority of Star Trek ’s alien life, across all four quadrants of the galaxy, are obviously human-looking guys with prosthetics glued to their heads. At best.

At worst – and there’s no getting around this – you have blackface.

Of course, Doctor Who has had its fair share of species that just so happened to evolve to look exactly like humans (the Doctor themselves is one), and there are plenty of species behind that which deviate from humanity only insofar as they genetically have more eyeliner.

But those are not the aliens for which Doctor Who is remembered. Doctor Who is remembered for creatures like the Zygons , evil-looking shapeshifters made entirely of tentacles, the massive rhinoceros faces of the Judoon, the fish vampires of “The Vampires of Venice”, the giant green clawed babies of the Raxicoricophallapatorians, Bo’s giant face, carnivorous shadows, and last but not least, the hideous mutated cycloptipus you’ll find behind the steering wheel of a Dalek.

These are creatures that look properly alien. The Doctor’s TARDIS may have a mysterious fascination for Earth (in particular the South of England and some bits of Wales), but the creatures that wash up there from the rest of the galaxy are fascinating to behold.

But we shouldn’t judge an alien by its carapace, so…

The Most Fascinating Contact Stories?

We go to stories of alien lifeforms not just because they look weird, but because they think weird. One of the very best alien stories of recent years was Arrival , with its temporally non-linear aliens that communicate exclusively through coffee cup stains. Some of the best writing of alien thought processes in recent memory comes from Adrian Tchaikovsky’s “Children of” trilogy. Even if most of the aliens are uplifted spiders, octopuses and ravens, Tchaikovsky does a great job of showing how minds other than humans might think, and at the same time show us that the human way of viewing the world is only one subjective perspective.

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Star Trek does considerably better here. One of its most famous aliens is Spock, who (allegedly) has done away with emotion, giving us a perspective of pure logic (for a TV writer’s grasp of the word “logic”) that is often wildly different from his human crewmates, and yet just as valid.

Indeed, Spock formed something of a blueprint for Star Trek writers, and throughout the franchise, it has frequently reused the winning formula “Find an actor with perfect comic timing. Cast them as someone who doesn’t understand jokes”.

But beyond that, Star Trek gives us countless new perspectives. Years before Arrival , Benjamin Sisko was teaching the concept of linear time to the wormhole aliens, or the Binar, who work in hiveminds of two.

Yet while Star Trek undeniably has a wealth of cool ideas, its alien societies always seem to come in the same sort of shape. If you’re an alien civilization in Star Trek , there are good odds that you have warp drive and transporter beams, and shields something like phasers (you might call them disruptors for variety), and your ship-to-ship communication looks a lot like you’re calling them on Zoom. Even the ultra-alien species like the Borg pretty much fit this pattern.

Of course, there’s no denying that a lot of the Doctor’s interactions with aliens tend to follow a formula as well. While the Doctor visits a few alien planets, most aliens fall into one of two categories: An all-out invasion of planet Earth, or a clandestine invasion of the planet Earth.

But the actual methods and reason for the invasion vary wildly, as do the ways they interact with more humanoid characters. The Weeping Angels look like ordinary terrestrial statues, but the fact that they can only move when nobody is looking at them opens up all kinds of creative questions and implications. The Silence’s method of invasion by the power of being forgotten forces our heroes to come up with innovative ways to track them, as do the blind dream crabs that can only tell where you are if your eyes are open.

And the reason for that variety that all comes down to what these alien stories are actually about .

The Best Storytelling Subtext?

Can we blow your mind for a second? Believe it or not, a lot of science fiction actually has a metaphorical subtext. Sometimes even a political one.

In fact, if you don’t mind really having your mind blown, a lot of the stories in the original Star Trek series were actually a commentary on the Cold War (don’t worry if this shocks you, it was all extremely subtle).

That put a somewhat limited scope on how the Enterprise and her sister ships could interact with aliens. The Enterprise, after all, is a Starfleet ship on a military, diplomatic and scientific mission. It has orders and regulations and protocols and when it meets aliens it tends to be under specific circumstances.

You could meet diplomats for conferences (and by the way, is it weird that Starfleet’s most important flying conference centre was also its most devastatingly powerful battleship?), or you could meet up to rattle some sabres along an interstellar border, or you could beam down to an as-yet-uncontacted world and try really carefully not to do a colonialism.

The Doctor, meanwhile, is basically on a gap year, where the year is measured by the planet Neptune. The Doctor has no rules and will stumble, barge or be kidnapped and dragged into any number of situations. The aliens he encounters don’t represent nation-states, but everything from political ideologies , to childhood fears, to anxieties over technology, to weaponized playground games .

And admittedly, partly this is because Doctor Who dances around the fringes of what you might strictly call “science fiction”, into the territory of horror stories and fairytales. Its aliens are often not just “aliens”, they are monsters. Whereas Star Trek ’s aliens, with a few exceptions, are intended to be our equals and opposites, Doctor Who ’s aliens, when they aren’t outright invading, are lurking in the shadows or under our beds.

The Best Emotionless Cyborgs?

To see the contrast, we need to look no further than when both franchises hit upon the same idea (we will politely suggest that Star Trek arrived at the concept independently rather than outright nicking it). Cyborgs that remove all emotion and are connected via a hivemind. The Borg, and the Cybermen .

In both cases, there is never going to be more than the briefest of temporary peace treaties with these cyborgs (although Lower Decks does give us a glimpse of a future with Borg schoolchildren). In both cases, the cyborgs are a threat to our identity, our individuality, and use the threat of technology as a dehumanizing force.

Over time, both have evolved into, effectively, robo-vampires, force-infecting as many people as possible into becoming half-machine slaves with no identity. Often, irritatingly, they can be defeated with the old “destroy the head vampire” strategy, which defeats the entire point of a decentralized hive mind , but anyway, that’s another rant.

But also, both are ultimately less interesting versions of their original portrayal.

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The Borg would have been so much more interesting if they had stuck to the portrayal seen in “Q Who?”, a society that grew cyborg babies in drawers and was only interested in assimilating technology after wiping off all those pesky organics. Originally, they would have been even more alien – with budgetary concerns eventually leading to the insectoid premise being watered down into more humanoid cyborgs.

The Cybermen, meanwhile, are far more interesting in their original incarnation – a society that had taken mechanical prosthetics to their logical conclusion, Ship-of-Theseusing themselves into the monsters they became to survive. When these Cybermen said they had removed all emotion, you believed them, and no Cyber-voice has yet topped the speak’n’spell stylings of the ones in “The Tenth Planet”, who sounds genuinely puzzled Earth’s humans don’t want to “be like us”.

Far from being utterly alien, the Cybermen came from another Earth. They were humanity’s potential future. And the Cycloptopus mutants inside the Daleks ? Also started out looking exactly like humans. And the Toclafane from “The Sound of Drums” and “Last of the Time Lords”, and the Dregs from “Orphan 55”, and the Haemovores from “The Cure of Fenric” and the Futurekind from “Utopia” and seriously, you start to suspect the reason the Doctor is so protective of humanity is because they know that if we are left alone for five minutes we’ll just transform into genocidal monsters.

And before Trek starts getting all high and mighty about having actually alien aliens, it is worth pointing out that its own original show bible was based on the concept of “ Parallel Worlds ”, which is why the original run took us to the Nazi planet and the Gangster planet and the planet where the Roman Empire never fell and the planet that is exactly like Earth except all the grownups died and the children were immortal.

While we have been arguing about Doctor Who versus Star Trek , The Twilight Zone has snuck in with one of its trademark twists: the best aliens were humans all along.

Chris Farnell

Chris Farnell is a freelance writer and the author of a novel, an anthology, a Doctor Who themed joke book and some supplementary RPG material. He…

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Formation Armada Loot and New Primes!

By gabriel 19 May 2023

Commanders, As some of you may know, we recently introduced a variety of changes to the Artifact Gallery. For anyone that may have missed it, the following has been adjusted and is live now:

• Unlocking Artifacts is now based on Ops level, not the Artifact Gallery building level.
• All Artifacts available for Commander’s Ops level will be available in the new version Artifact Restoration bundle.
• The original Premium Artifact Restoration bundle will still be available until the end of update 54.
• A Bonus Artifact Restoration has been added until the end of update 54.

We’ve also heard that many of you would like to have a bit more information on Formation Armadas and if specific Artifact shards come from certain level Formation Armadas. We’ve seen some Commanders making charts and tables on the rewards they’ve seen, and we wanted to make things a bit easier for everyone! Below is a list of the possible rewards available for each level of the Formation Armadas:

Level 30: Possible Artifacts 

• Picard’s Ammonite Fossil 
• Orb of Prosperity
• Mudd’s Andorian Helmet 

Level 35: Possible Artifacts 

• Horta Acid 
• Uhura’s Vokaya Necklace
• Aamaarazan Breathing Mask 
• Horga’hn 

Level 40: Possible Artifacts 

• USS Discovery Scale Replica
• Kurlan Naiskos
• Mukull Time-piece 
• Spock’s Engagement Pendant

Level 45: Possible Artifacts 

• Shield of Pericles 
• Worf’s d’k tahg 
• Stamets’ Original Mycelium Sample
• McCoy’s Hypospray 
• Earth Science Institute Scanner 
• Quark’s Scanner 

Level 50: Possible Artifacts 

• Janeway’s Coffee Mug 
• Andorian Scanner 
• Chapel’s Hypospray 
• Crusher’s Hypospray 

Level 55: Possible Artifacts 

• D’Arsay Archive Scale Replica 

New Primes and Artifact Buffs

We’d also like to announce that two new prime nodes are available starting today! Over the past year, we’ve introduced a ton of new research to power up your fleet, saved time with the Ex-Borg faction, and provided new powerful officers that have fundamentally changed the game. One thing that has not received as much attention is ships and how to level them up. We want to provide an avenue for Commanders that focus on these ships and make it a bit easier to upgrade them.

Prime Efficient Ship Engineering

• Increases the base Cost Efficiency of Tritanium, Dilithium, Crystal, Gas, and Ore for Ship Components by 5 to 1000%

Prime Efficient Ship Parts

• Increases the base Cost Efficiency of Explorer, Interceptor, Battleship, and Surveyor Ship Parts for Ship Components by 5 to 700%

To go along with these prime nodes, we’re also adjusting four Artifacts to mirror some of these bonuses:  

Scepter of the Grand nagus

• Increases the base Cost Efficiency of Grade 3 Crystal, Gas, and Ore for all ship components by 50 to 500%

K’Tinga Scale Replica

• Increases the base Cost Efficiency of Grade 4 Crystal, Gas, and Ore for all ship components by 50 to 500%

Scotty’s Trident Scanner

• Increases the base Cost Efficiency of ship parts for ship components by 70 to 700%

Spock’s Engagement Pendant

• Increases the base Cost Efficiency of Tritanium and Dilithium for all ship components by 60 to 600%

As always, we’d like to thank everyone for your constant feedback so we can make changes similar to what we did with the Formation Armada timers. Good luck in the Delta Quadrant, and as always, live long and prosper.

• The STFC Team

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Patrick Stewart, Michelle Hurd, and Jonathan Frakes praise Sonequa Martin-Green's impact on Star Trek.

S onequa Martin-Green and Star Trek: Discovery showrunner Michelle Paradise joined Wil Wheaton, the host of The Ready Room after the finale of Discovery, and Martin-Green was brought to tears by the accolades from three Star Trek alums, all three of whom heaped high praises on the first African-American female captain on Star Trek. [ via Screenrant ]

Patrick Stewart acknowledged his own shortcomings in the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation while admiring Martin-Green's.

Sonequa has the qualities which I struggled to achieve during my first season of The Next Generation. She has authority and leadership, but there is also a human being behind that space captain.Patrick Stewart

Michelle Hurd pointed out Martin-Green's impact on future children of color who could, because of her, can see themselves as a captain one day.

Sonequa, playing Michael as the captain, the captain, what impact she has done for all these young Brown and Black little girls and boys, that she has given them the permission to be the captain.Michelle Hurd

Jonathan Frakes focused more on Martin-Green herself rather than her impact on Star Trek, speaking of her generosity, spirituality, and kindness.

She is, to me, one of my favorite humans; kind, spiritual, present, funny, generous. Sonequa Martin-Green is a gem.Jonathan Frakes

While there are fans who never liked Captain Michael Burnham or Discovery, both did have a major impact on Star Trek with Discovery opening the door to more Star Trek series like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as well as the upcoming Section 31 movie. Martin-Green, in her role as the captain, has been described as overly emotional, but she showed a softer side of a captain in Starfleet. While that wasn't entirely welcomed by some fans, others embraced a captain whose authority and leadership came with a kind and gentle spirit.

Though Discovery may never be completely accepted by all Star Trek fans, it did have its place in the franchise, and with Starfleet Academy set in the same timeline, it paved the way for the future officers of Starfleet.

This article was originally published on redshirtsalwaysdie.com as Patrick Stewart, Michelle Hurd, and Jonathan Frakes praise Sonequa Martin-Green's impact on Star Trek. .

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Published May 31, 2024

Robin Curtis Looks Back at Star Trek III: The Search for Spock For Its 40th Anniversary

Curtis on portraying Saavik, being directed by Leonard Nimoy, and more!

StarTrek.com

Forty years ago this weekend, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock inherited the monumental task of picking up the tale of Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the U.S.S. Enterprise crew following Spock's tragic death in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . Written by Harve Bennett and directed by Leonard Nimoy himself, the film dealt with the aftermath of the battle with Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban), the evolution of the newly-created Genesis Planet, and Kirk's unsanctioned jaunt to bring Spock's body and katra — a Vulcan’s living spirit — to be reunited on Mount Seleya.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Complete with Christopher Lloyd's portrayal of a ruthless Klingon commander named Kruge, the original Star Trek series' cast's signature camaraderie, and an adventurous spirit, the third Star Trek film welcomed Robin Curtis to the role of Lieutenant Saavik, the Vulcan officer who accompanied Kirk's son Doctor David Marcus (Merritt Butrick) during his expedition to the Genesis Planet. Curtis was kind enough to speak to StarTrek.com and help us celebrate The Search for Spock 's 40th anniversary by reflecting on her time as Saavik and the rare experience of playing a Vulcan while being directed by Leonard Nimoy.

Four decades later, and Robin Curtis recollects that her respect for Nimoy as a director and collaborator was established the instant they met. "Right out of the gate, I could express nothing but praise for working with him, and it's only gotten better over time. Like good wine, my experience with him has aged well," remarks Curtis. "I look back with such fondness at his sensitivity, his respect for other actors, his ability to orchestrate the existing cast — his fellow coworkers for so many years — and newcomers like myself and Christopher Lloyd."

During her audition for the role of Saavik, Curtis had the unique distinction of hearing Nimoy's insight into what an actor can do to truly become a Vulcan. "Mr. Nimoy took such a lovely, intuitive approach to directing. He said, 'Vulcans have 1,000 years of wisdom behind the eyes,'" says Curtis of Nimoy's early advice regarding the Vulcan nature. "When I was given the role, he told me I should look in the mirror [and practice] talking without using my face to express what I was saying. Being so still and so contained near about did me in, and I thought I was failing so miserably at it that I was going to be fired. I didn't feel the innate knack or confidence that I was nailing it."

The challenge of assuming a Vulcan disposition weighed even more heavily on Curtis' shoulders when placed in context with her desire to deliver an excellent performance. "I was as serious as a heart attack on the set! I didn't speak until I was spoken to, which is totally unlike my normally sociable self. I was very earnest, wanting to show and demonstrate that I was grateful for this part. I wanted to do a good job and hit it out of the park," adds Curtis, who sensed that Nimoy appreciated her devotion to the film and her role as Saavik, as well as her overall work ethic and approach to acting.

In spite of her doubts, Curtis had her morale boosted by a pact she made with the director. "I shook his hand on my very first day of filming, and I said, 'Mr. Nimoy, you seem to think I know what I'm doing. And I need to tell you I do not.' And he said, 'Robin, I will take you every step of the way. I will never take you out on the end of a limb and leave you there.' I said, 'Deal.' And we shook hands on it, and he fulfilled that promise in each and every scene," declares Curtis.

Curtis also attests that there were certain scenes which were easier to approach and more straightforward than others. Those involving Saavik and weighty emotions demanded more scrutiny and attention. For example, while holding Saavik, Kirk's son David Marcus, and a reborn Spock hostage on the Genesis Planet, Kruge ordered one of his soldiers to kill a prisoner in order to demonstrate his conviction toward acquiring the Genesis Device. The sentence was inflicted upon David, and Saavik was forced to report the death to the man's father. "That [moment] filled me with anxiety and dread. How could I possibly say that with the Vulcan demeanor?"

Those complexities also rang true on the other end of the emotional spectrum. With a rapidly aging Spock overwhelmed by the urges of the pon farr , or the Vulcan time of mating, Saavik guided him through the intimate process. This scene, with its close contact and affectionate hand gesture, represented another significant Vulcan hurdle to overcome. "The reverence and enormity and profundity of pon farr , and going into this cave with Spock," begins Curtis. "We came to the set with no sense of what that would look like. [Young Spock actor] Stephen Manley and I were both a little trepidatious about what Lenoard was going to have us do. What would a Vulcan love scene or Vulcan foreplay look like? In fact, I've only just learned recently that the simple gesture that Leonard introduced us to that day, the notion of [the characters] joining their fingers, was originally introduced by Spock's mother and Sarek in the television series."

Behind-the-scenes of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Of course, having pioneered the Vulcan temperament for nearly 20 years by the time The Search for Spock entered production, Nimoy was singularly suited to answer questions about such delicate matters. Whether dealing with Saavik's reaction to David's death, the intimacy of pon farr , or any of Curtis' other scenes, Curtis recalls Nimoy's valuable input. "He would take me aside before every scene, and we'd sit down at the edge of the set on the platform, and I'd say the lines. He would moderate me no differently than we do with our cars with the radio volume. I was so grateful for that," shares Curtis.

Shifting her focus to her overall impression of their professional association, Curtis conveys her appreciation for Nimoy's leadership on the film before admitting she does have one slight regret. "I absolutely love the man. Loved him as a person, loved him as a director, and I'm sorry that I was too shy to even hint or suggest that we would have a friendship outside the realm of the shoots themselves."

While their friendship was largely limited to the production itself, the director did leave an indelible impact on Curtis' personal life. "Leonard Nimoy was aware that my father was battling cancer at the time, and it wasn't looking good," notes Curtis. "The best thing I remember about Star Trek is that it was a colossally beautiful distraction from the agony we were feeling as a family. Leonard Nimoy reminds me of my dad, and they were the same age. And [Nimoy] was so sensitive and kind about the idea that Star Trek was such a gift and a bright light for my family in a time of suffering. Ultimately, my dad lived long enough to see the movie. I went home to be at the Riverside Mall in Utica, New York, with my neighbors and family, and my dad made it to the movie theatre. I will always be grateful for that."

Curtis' thankfulness extends to the many fans who regularly compliment her for her tenure as Saavik in The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home . "I'm flabbergasted at the multitude of ways that [Star Trek] has enriched my life. My heart explodes over the tenacity of the fans and how the franchise only gets better and richer. People are very generous and sentimental about [ The Search for Spock ]. They understood it was part of a triumvirate [of films]," observes Curtis. Referring to her final on-screen moments in The Voyage Home , in which Saavik and Amanda Grayson remain behind on Vulcan, Curtis jokes, "What did she and [Amanda Grayson actor] Jane Wyatt get up to? [ laughs ] What happened with the pon farr ? Did she end up being pregnant? I think the fans were just as curious as I was."

Perceiving her connection with the fans as a gift, Curtis contemplates an unexpected phone call she received from a medical facility in Cleveland, Ohio. A young man who she had once met at a convention had been taken off of dialysis and given only two weeks to live. The staff member contacting Curtis informed her that the man's last wish was to share a meal with her. "I had shown him some kindness at a convention in Ohio in the '90s, and he remembered," reveals Curtis, who didn't hesitate to make the five-hour drive to Cleveland that very same day. Before leaving, Curtis advised the caller, "You tell him I'll be there for dinner, and I wouldn't miss it for the world." Arriving Friday evening, Curtis spent every waking hour of that weekend with the fan. After departing on Sunday, they talked each day until he passed the following week. "That was a gift to me, and I like to think maybe a small gift to him," explains Curtis, noting that their connection has endured via her ongoing friendship with the fan's aunt.

The Search for Spock clearly meant a lot to those who watched it repeatedly, but Curtis' own perception of the movie has evolved since its release. "I saw the film at the time and then never saw it again for so many years. My memory of it was that it was depressing [ laughs ]," confesses Curtis. "The fact of the matter is, everything dies. Genesis dies, the ship dies, Kirk's son dies. Spock comes back to life, but he starts out dead [ laughs ]." As was the case for many of us, the pandemic changed everything for Curtis. "We were all in our houses and seeking connection. I felt like I needed to go back, so I rewatched [ The Next Generation two-parter] 'Gambit,' and I rewatched the movie. And I thought, 'This is funny!' There's a lot of good parts in this film that aren't depressing. I don't know why I had that impression stuck in my brain, but maybe it's because my involvement was very serious. Everything I had to do dealt with great disappointment and loss and tragedy."

Looking back, Curtis cites Sarek's mind meld with Admiral Kirk as her favorite scene, describing the sentiment behind the characters' interaction, the cinematography, and the close up of the actors' faces as "gorgeous." Though she felt the mood on the set of The Voyage Home was more joyful and playful — after all, she still has Polaroids of herself making funny faces with Walter Koenig, George Takei, Kirk Thatcher, and other cast and crew, Curtis maintains fond memories of working on The Search for Spock . "The cast were so generous and classy with me, and they understood the weight upon my shoulders as the newcomer. They were reassuring. I remember Walter Koenig told me to keep a journal. And of course, like a jackass, I didn't listen. [ laughs ]," jests Curtis. "Now, I wish I had kept one."

The Search for Spock 's conclusion exuded hope and wonder, as Spock's body and katra were reunited in a ceremony on Mount Seleya. Following his resurrection, Spock passes by each crew member in attendance, eventually finding himself embraced by the group. Although a glance between Spock and Saavik was fleeting, much preparation went into that moment. "[Nimoy] approached me before the scene and asked, 'How would you feel if you were to suddenly come upon somebody that you loved or were intimate with on a New York City street? How would you imagine that?' In the matter of a split second, so many thoughts went through my mind," says Curtis. "First, what a personal question to ask. Then I felt tenderness, embarrassment, sentimentality, nostalgia, and vulnerability all at once. I looked up at him, then looked down. He said, 'That’s it!' And I thought, ' Oh, okay, I love you! ' It is so lovely and simple when a director does that. No arm wrestling had to happen, he just asked me a simple question and I got [the scene]."

As for The Search for Spock 's ending, when Spock's friends crowd around him on Vulcan, Curtis recollects that she and the other cast members were given a general direction to "be encouraged by that moment and confident that his katra had been restored. Sometimes we don't work those moments out, and it's all on the fly. It was very much off-the-cuff." Whether meticulously planned or inspired by the moment, these scenes combined to create a film that has stood the test of time and established itself as a crucial installment in the pantheon of Star Trek stories.

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Jay Stobie (he/him) is a freelance writer, author, and consultant who has contributed articles to StarTrek.com, Star Trek Explorer, and Star Trek Magazine, as well as to Star Wars Insider and StarWars.com. Learn more about Jay by visiting JayStobie.com or finding him on Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms at @StobiesGalaxy.

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In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets. In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets. In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.

• Gene Roddenberry
• William Shatner
• Leonard Nimoy
• DeForest Kelley
• 277 User reviews
• 99 Critic reviews
• 16 wins & 31 nominations total

Episodes 80

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• Captain James Tiberius 'Jim' Kirk …

• Mister Spock …

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• Ensign Freeman …

• Yeoman Rand …

• Announcer …

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• Trivia In the hallways of the Enterprise there are tubes marked "GNDN." These initials stand for "goes nowhere does nothing."
• Goofs The deck locations for Kirk's Quarters, Sickbay and Transporter Room vary (usually between decks 4-7) throughout the series.

Dr. McCoy : "He's dead, Jim."

• Crazy credits On some episodes, the closing credits show a still that is actually from the Star Trek blooper reel. It is a close-up of stunt man Bill Blackburn who played an android in Return to Tomorrow (1968) , removing his latex make up. In the reel, He is shown taking it off, while an off-screen voice says "You wanted show business, you got it!"
• Alternate versions In 2006, CBS went back to the archives and created HD prints of every episode of the show. In addition to the new video transfer, they re-did all of the model shots and some matte paintings using CGI effects, and re-recorded the original theme song to clean it up. These "Enhanced" versions of the episodes aired on syndication and have been released on DVD and Blu-Ray.
• Connections Edited into Ben 10: Secrets (2006)
• Soundtracks Star Trek Music by Alexander Courage

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• September 8, 1966 (United States)
• United States
• Star Trek: The Original Series
• Backlot, Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
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• Runtime 50 minutes

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