In part one of TrekMovie’s new exclusive interview with Michael Dorn, we talked about his new movie Agent Revelation along with his time playing Worf from Star Trek: The Next Generation through to Deep Space Nine and the TNG movies. In this second part, we talk about Worf’s possible future, which included his concept for a Klingon-oriented “Captain Worf” show and what it would take for him to revive the character on Star Trek: Picard or Lower Decks.
Years ago you and I spoke – and this was before CBS All Access even existed – about your idea for a Captain Worf show. In the last five years or so, have you talked to the CBS All Access people about this project?
Yeah, I actually did. And, interestingly enough, it seems to rise and fall. There’s interest and then there’s not. Then there’s interest and then there’s not. And I guess it was two years ago I thought they would take it a little further. But that did not happen. So I don’t know if the whole idea is dead – not in my mind. [laughs] I believe that they are missing a great opportunity to insert something into Star Trek that’s always been part of the Star Trek lexicon, which is the Klingons.
Could you give us your latest elevator pitch?
Basically, the script I wrote was: Instead of looking at the Klingon Empire from Starfleet, we look at Starfleet from the Klingon Empire. And it has been going on for decades, the Klingon Empire just can’t go on. It’s the Russians, basically. And they decide that they have to either die with a sword in their hands and go extinct, or change with the times and become something different. And Worf is the guy that says, “We have to change with the times, that is the mark of a warrior.”
And so two things happen. They start letting other races into the Klingon world. And the only way they can do that is by letting in Starfleet officers. That’s sort of the way it’s done. ‘We’ll let in other people, but first Starfleet offers because we understand Starfleet. They’re soldiers, we’re soldiers.’ The second thing they have to do is their resources are limited and dwindling, because the Klingon universe is just like the Federation. They have planets and worlds and societies that they own, but they do it in a brutal way. And so they have to go out to every one of these worlds and either give them their freedom, or try to work with them, which is something that’s anathema to Klingons.
And since Worf opened his big mouth and said, “This is what we have to do,” then they say, “Okay, then you’re the guy that has to go out to all these worlds.” And every world is different. Some worlds are rebelling. Some worlds want to be part of the Klingon Empire. Some worlds want to be independent. And so every episode is that.
So Worf is no longer part of Starfleet, but a member of the Klingon Defense Force?
Exactly. This is the Klingon Empire. He’s a captain aboard a ship.
The IKS Something.
Yeah, I forgot what it is. It’s the Vortas or something. [laughs]
It probably has a random apostrophe in there.
[laughs] Exactly! The thing is, Worf is a character that has no fear. We have seen that over the years. I think Star Trek has always liked that about the Klingons. What I wrote, it’s claustrophobic. It’s Shakespearean in its scope. There’s assassinations and coups and behind-the-scenes politics going on. It’s such a great fit and it doesn’t feel like anything else that’s on All Access. It’s funny because it’s like they are looking for something and they’ve totally ignored this easy path. But we’ll see what happens. I don’t know if it’s dead or not. I have the script ready. [laughs] It’s on my computer and ready to be emailed to anybody that’s interested. But we’ll see. They have their own take on these things, and we’ll leave it at that.
Worf was name-checked in the first season of Star Trek: Picard. We recently spoke to Gates [McFadden], who said she is talking to them. LeVar [Burton] has said the same. So, have you had any discussions? Are you interested in doing what Jonathan [Frakes] and Marina [Sirtis] have already done?
Well, let me put it this way. I have not been contacted about that. But I don’t like to say yes or no. It really depends on quite a few things. It depends on the role. It depends on how they want to present it. The one thing you have to realize is that I have to get into makeup. You are talking about three hours. For me to do that, it really has to be kind of worth it, you know what I mean? I don’t want to get in makeup and just stand around and scowl at people.
Well, an easier way – which fits into a lot of the work you are already doing – which would be do add your voice to the new animated show, Lower Decks. They also brought in Marina and Jonathan, and you could do that one in your sweatpants.
They haven’t they have not contacted me at all. Not a peep. So I just assumed that it’s not gonna happen.
I think you may get a call from the Lower Decks showrunner Mike McMahan. I know he is a big fan of yours.
Okay, alright.
And animated would be an easier yes for you because of the makeup?
Of course.
So, I don’t want to take up your whole day, but always an honor to talk to the man who has been in more Star Trek than anyone else.
You would think that would mean something too, wouldn’t you? [laughs] It’s hilarious.
And since the days of doing 26 episodes each season are over, you will probably hold that record forever.
[laughs] I chuckle because sometimes I think that they are going, ‘You know, we need something on this CBS All Access.’ ‘We need somebody that’s done more Star Trek than anybody. God, who do you think?’ ‘What about Michael Dorn?’ ‘No, he’s not right.’ [laughs] I think that’s the conversation. At least I laugh about it.
See Michael Dorn in Agent Revelation – available now
Agent Revelation tells the story of Jim Yung, a rejected CIA analyst who has been exposed to an ancient ‘dust’ that transforms him into a super soldier that can communicate with aliens. When a secret organization works with him to discover why aliens have returned to Earth, the truth comes at a price. Dorn plays Alistair, a mysterious tech billionaire who works with Yung to unravel the alien mystery. Agent Revelation will be released on video on demand on Friday, January 22nd.
See more interviews at TrekMovie.com.
I know I may be in the minority, but I only want characters to return if it extends their story and/or brings it to a satisfying conclusion. Season 1 did that with Riker, Troi, and Data. I love Worf. He’s one of my favorite characters. But I’d hate to see him in just a cameo. Would it be great to see him as captain of the Enterprise or something along those lines? You bet. But only if it serves the story of the show and does the character justice.
With season 2 set to begin filming in a few weeks, I think we can take Dorn’s comments that he likely won’t be appearing in season two. Maybe season three.
Canon Novel Star Trek Picard The Last Best Hope revealed
The novels aren’t canon.
The Picard and Discovery novels are written in close collaboration with the show’s writers and can be assumed to be canon unless directly contradicted.
Any Trek novel can be considered canon unless directly contradicted by canon. Yes, there seems to be a closer collaboration between the studio and the publisher now but that’s mostly providing the novel writers with more information about what the studio is planning. The studio is still under no obligation to stick to anything established by the novels. So except for more information flow the conditions are the same as before.
“Unless directly contradicted” applies to ALL spinoff literature–which is why none of it is canon. That’s not how the concept of “canon” (an idiotic concept, by the way) works.
It does apply to any literature but the difference here is that they have seeded things in the Discovery novels that they’ve later introduced in the series. You’re right though they can and have contradicted the novels when they’ve not fit in with the latest direction that they’ve wanted to steer the shows but unlike the historic relationship between Trek productions and the tie-ins there is now a greater reward for those that follow the shows and read the literature. Now I’m not up to date on the latest novels nor am I trying to argue that they’re canon but I do feel that anything that has been introduced in the Discovery/Picard novels is a potential Easter egg and those that read the books can legitimately reference them when speculating on how the TV series might develop.
The difference is that future writers will try to avoid contradicting the canon TV shows. They won’t care about contradicting the novels, because they are not canon. Just look at Star Trek: Countdown. That comic was written in collaboration with the writers of Trek XI, and lots of fans said that it was canon, but then Star Trek: Picard completely contradicted it a few years later.
Exactly.
None of the novels are canon.
I agree. I thought the Klingon stories were the worst parts of DS9 and TNG, so I don’t think I’d watch a Captain Worf series. That said, good luck to him – I know he’s been trying for a long time.
Big disagreement here. It wasn’t universal but the bulk of the Worf stories on TNG were the best ones of the entire series. He was also the most interesting character in the cast and the ONE character I would be curious to see what happened to.
Love you, Dorn. Would love to see you back. But nobody likes a poopypants.
Can’t help believe some part of the issue with Dorn’s return has to do with what discovery did with the Klingons. Since there was a huge backlash from fans they seem to be avoiding showing them onscreen now. People would want to see the Worf we know but how does he fit into the Klingon redesign?
I suggest just going back to the TNG design and pretend what we saw in discovery never happened; I can get on board with that and I think a lot of the audience could too.
Alex Kurtzman already said publically if we see Worf again, he would look exactly like old Worf as before so that is not an issue. And they know if they made Worf look like one of the weird Klingons from season one of Discovery, fans would riot. ;)
Didn’t they even show archival footage of Worf in episode one of Picard?
Yep! I think they wanted to make it clear the Worf we know, in appearance anyway, is still very much in canon. I suspect any Klingons we see in Picard will look like the old Klingons in general. If so, thank Kahless!
It doesn’t require that much mental gymnastics to fit the apparent contradiction of the DSC Klingons with ENT, TOS, and Trials and Tribbleations:
The affected Klingon colony worlds were quarantined and the augment virus somewhat contained.
They became ostracized from the Klingon houses we saw in DSC season one and two. After L’Rell unifies the Empire, these “smooth heads” are brought back into the KDF and serve as frontline troops seen in TOS.
Sometime between the end of TOS and TMP, a treatment is developed.
No it doesn’t at all. But we also know that’s not what they were going for when they came up with them though, because it was never remotely hinted at Klingons had a wide variety of looks in Discovery. Or the fact no one in Starfleet was remotely shocked they all suddenly went bald for some reason even though they were seen with nothing but hair during early Starfleet era when Archer and company had their dealings with them. I think a lot of people would’ve loved this idea if that was actually the idea at the time.
Seem like they learned their lesson with Picard and made it canon why some Romulans had smooth foreheads and others didn’t. They can STILL do that with the Klingons too but so far they done nothing other than the augment explanation.
I’ve always thought it odd that the Federation has so many member worlds, yet the Klingon and Romulan “empires” are full of … well, Klingons and Romulans. Apparently all born on the same world (Kronos / Romulus). That’s not much of an empire.
Now, the easiest way of fitting it all together is to accept that every type of Klingon is a member of the Klingon Empire and therefore must call themselves Klingon. Only some are from Kronos; most likely the Worf-y ones. The other ones could all coexist and be accepted, if we assume they come from different home worlds within the empire.
Just my take on things.
I’ve always thought that the many aliens we saw on Rhura Penthe in TUC were from conquered worlds within the Klingon Empire. Hence why we never saw them before.
I loved Discovery’s Klingon look. I may be in the minority…but always thought klingons should look more alien. Discovery delivered on that before the whiny fans started complaining.
A. I always thought from TSFS on they DID look more alien.
B. People say this but then no one seems to be pushing for all the others from Vulcans to Bajorans to look more alien. Why only Klingons when you have so many aliens that just look basically human minus a forehead, ear or nose appendage?
C. I have no issue that they were changed so much as I thought how they were changed was pretty bad. And clearly a lot of people felt the same.
Then Berman and Co. reused all those 100yo foam heads and costumes during TNG and Klingons became much less realistic as a society. By the end of VOY, when Janeway consults a Klingon time travel genius, the Klingons on screen aren’t even plausible scientists. The whole scene is absurd.
I had no issues with how the Klingons were portrayed on TNG. But I never loved how they were in TOS. I didn’t have a big issue with it, just never loved them one or the other. And they just came off like one dimensional brutes on TOS. How were they more realistic pre-TNG? I just don’t see a huge difference but if you do that’s fine of course.
It was my understanding that there were some plans for the Klingons on TOS that just never materialized. First, I think they wanted them to be gold skinned. But that just cost too much in time and money when Errand of Mercy was shot. The other thing they planned was to make Kor a recurring foil for Kirk. But Calicos was not available the next time they needed him so the character was changed.
But yes, their intent was to be a the show’s “baddie”. And in the 60’s not much effort was made to go deeper with such characters. Especially on TV.
Myself, I don’t have an issue with tweaking or “updating” a look of a classic Trek alien. But it is possible to go too far. I think TNG pushed the envelope when they gave Romulans foreheads. But what Discovery did to the Klingons was more than a “tweak” or an “update”. They were nearly completely reimagined. Which is what pushed the fans over the edge. Yes, they were reimagined for TMP. But I think most accepted the reasons behind that change. At this point it’s pretty well established what a Klingon “look” is. Feel free to play with the ridges a bit or some small things. But don’t go nuts.
I am also in that minority which enjoyed the Klingon redesign.
I didn’t want you to feel lonely!
Having a different opinion doesn’t necessarily make somebody ‘whiny’, feeling the need to insult those that don’t share your view usually does though.
One would assume that the Klingons will show up at some point in Strange New Worlds, it’ll be interesting to see if they change the aesthetics at all like they did for S2 with the addition of the hair and the story that went along with it.
I would imagine that any Klingons in SNW would look like the Discovery season 2 Klingons. That would make it easier to bring back characters like L’Rell.
I hope if do bring them back, it will honour all visual canon – Discovery, TOS, and TNG era. They can make reference to the augment virus Klingons being on the front lines and gaining wider acceptance due to L’Rell. They can even say that if people question it, ‘we don’t discuss it with outsiders’ lol
Just like they did with the Romulans in TNG. A quick comment in Picard stating that northern Romulans have the forehead ridges and southern don’t neatly explained their conflicting looks.
I don’t think brown-face TOS klingons would fly in the current entertainment system so I believe TOS klingons are out of question.
They could just use actual actors of color, and have white actors without the brown face. The important thing would really be that they didn’t have cranial ridges.
Exactly. Enterprise did this to an extent
I want cheesy TOS Klingons in SNW. Only cheesy TOS Klingons.
My hope would be, if they want to keep the STD Klingon look, would be to show all three kinds of Klingons. There is not one kind of human. Why can’t there be different races of Klingons?
ML31
Please use the official shorthands for these shows like DSC, PIC, LDS. Terms like STD are too often used for trolling and we prefer them not used here.
Does that mean LDX is out, too? I’ve been using that as I find it more intuitive.
If the design update was good, we’d have an easier time with it. I’ll admit the 1979 Klingon look was already pretty dated by the time of DS9, and they did really need some better wigs and costumes. But what Discovery did was so over the top. Gaudy sets, Orc makeup, mouthpieces that made dialogue hard to hear, and apart from L’Rell, maybe, characters that don’t hold a candle to Kruge/Chang/Kor/Kang/Duras/Lursa/B’Etor/K’Heylar/Martok/Gowron/Kurn and especially Worf.
PIC did an awesome job showing the various Romulan designs side by side. They could do the same for the Klingons… There are many Klingon aesthetics. Even Worf’s looks have changed after Season 1. TOS / TMP / TUC / TNG-ENT / DSC… I wouldn’t mind seeing some DSC Klingons side by side with the other styles…
I wonder if hiding the Voq reveal was the biggest reason for the drastic, actor-obscuring design.
We already got 11 seasons of Worf, so there is no need for his own show.
But I would love for him to be a recurring character on Picard.
I really hope we see L’Rell on that show again! And I really liked her look in season 2, so I would be OK if they kept her that way.
You want to see L’Rell on Picard? That would make her what, more than 160 years old? Have Klingon lifespans been established? I guess most Klingons die in battle before getting this old ;-)
I guess there’s a much better chance they may bring her back in Strange New Worlds, or the Section 31 show depending on when that one actually takes place.
LOL I meant SNW! For some reason I thought that’s what the other poster said and not Picard. I wasn’t paying attention when I wrote this….clearly. Sorry for the confusion.
Dorn’s outline for the Worf series was actually very good. Would love to see something like that. Sounds much better than Picard and especially Discovery.
I, too, would love it! PLEASE ALEX! Beam Michael up!!!
…Yeah, that was actually a pretty compelling pitch. I would definitely be interested in watching that. While I think Kurtzman et al would be loathe to give Dorn the power (and dollars) that would come with accepting the pitch, I think it’s entirely possible that they’re holding back on bringing him onto other Trek shows because they *are* intrigued enough to want to keep the powder dry, so to speak, and avoid any need to retcon if they decided to do a Worf series (more likely limited series). They might also be thinking about how they could change the idea enough to justify not giving him his fair share of the credit and proceeds, too… (Which is very common practice in Hollywood, I think)
It sounds far more interesting that Picard or Discovery to me as well. In fact, it was something my friends and I half joked about back when TNG was on the air. All of us felt that TNG would be a ton better if it were set on board a Klingon ship!
Actually, I think Dorn delivered a great pitch. That sounds really good! Haha
I can’t say that I’m overly fond of the idea Mr. Dorn presents for a Worf show, but I’d check it out. What I think would be interesting to see is a guest starring role in Picard where Worf is captain of the Enterprise E. The guest starring role would essentially be a backdoor pilot for the continuing adventures of the flagship and its crew, boldly going and discovering in the 25th century. It may be redundant with Discovery and Strange New Worlds, but it’s a thought.
The producers have said that they want all their Trek shows to be distinct from each other. Having another show with “the continuing adventures of the flagship and its crew” would indeed feel kind of redundant as that’s what Strange New Worlds seems to be going for.
When will he stop trying to shoehorn himself into Star Trek again, me me me me.
You have had more than a fair share on Trek, it’s someone else’s turn. Worf has had many story arcs and doesn’t need any more.
I think he doesn’t get hired back because he’s trying to make himself front and centre for everything.
I could agree, and was leaning to your view until I heard the pitch.
It’s a great idea. And it completely complements the Secret Hideout concept that the Klingon Empire isn’t a single species.
The concept would fit in well with the realignments going on after the Romulan supernova, and internal preoccupations might explain why the old Neutral Zone and regions on the Klingon-Romulan border are in disarray.
I think they could start with a miniseries or limited series and see how it goes.
I also think that Dorn is correct that Kurtzman needs to be willing to let some others like him and Noah Hawley come in and play. As long as Kurtzman is keeping such close creative control over all the live-action series, it will not be possible to truly achieve the strategy of having a menu of offerings.
It’s his job to have creative control from a production standpoint, though. He’s this generations Rick Berman. It simply may be that there isn’t a huge market for Klingon-based show like this.
Yes, it’s Kurtzman’s job to have high-level, strategic creative control, but in interviews it’s clear that he’s involved at a really micro level.
If he controls all the choices about what scenes are in and out, edits everything in his own style and oversees all the vfx, the goal of having different series that appeals to different audience niches won’t be realized.
More, since he has so many series on the go at once (beyond Trek), exercising his veto power at the micro level is contributing to incoherence since he doesn’t recall in post why all the little decisions were made on the details that help things make sense, while subordinates are dropping in things that they know he likes (e.g. Dots) without really using them well.
Part of being a great senior executive is bringing in people who think differently than you do and delegating. This seems to be the step in development that he hasn’t fully taken yet, and it may be that the chaos with the showrunners on Discovery has made him keep tighter control, but it seems that it’s becoming a problem on the live-action series.
For example, he’s already said that he’s personally more comfortable as a writer writing strong female characters. This is great, since it helps rebalance the franchise.
However, having some strong male leads is also a plus. It was smart in that case to revive an established male character like Pike, but it doesn’t sound like it would have happened if Akiva Goldsman hadn’t championed bringing back Pike. We also hear rumours of talks to bring back Sisko, but again that probably wouldn’t have happened if Behr hadn’t made the DS9 documentary.
So, Dorn who is arguably the most popular black main character ever in the franchise, has pitched a series, and one that is both authentically fresh and one that fits in very well with the lat 24th early 25th century Prime Universe setting as Kurtzman has established it.
The only other thing holding it back could be the suits, who are still feeling burnt by the fan backlash against the Klingons in Discovery S1. Kurtzman has struggled to get the S31 series out of development. It may be that he needs to land the greenlighting of S31 before considering Dorn’s proposal.
That is why a made-for-streaming movie or a limited series to pilot this one makes a lot of sense.
“he’s already said that he’s personally more comfortable as a writer writing strong female characters. “
Does he? Well… Being comfortable doing it is obviously not the same as being able to do it well.
“As long as Kurtzman is keeping such close creative control over all the live-action series, it will not be possible to truly achieve the strategy of having a menu of offerings.”
That is a nice way of saying what I have been saying about Secret Hideout for a couple of years now. Kurtzman’s idea of different Trek shows is good, but they will not truly have their own voice if 2/3 of the BTS staff are the same people.
As much as I like both Worf and Dorn, I never been a huge lover of Klingons, at least compared to really devoted fans. It’s why the idea of a Klingon war in Discovery didn’t excite me. I had the opposite view (although still curious to see how they did it). The only times I really liked Klingon storylines was the first (and much better done) Klingon conflict in DS9, which was obviously created to bring Worf in and The Undiscovered Country. I liked other Klingon story lines in TNG and (sort of) TOS and a few of the other movies but never really had to see them.
So until now, I never liked the idea of a Worf show based solely around Klingons, did nothing for me. Would love to see Worf again, but not his own show. BUT, I have to say after reading his idea (finally) and what the premise would be, this actually sounds promising. I like the idea of seeing Klingons going around their empire trying to find a new way and dealing with various aliens and other societies. And I like that Starfleet would be involved so it wouldn’t just be solely about Klingons. It could even be interesting to have a Starfleet officer aboard Worf’s ship as an attache or something. Would be nice to see the flip side of a human Starfleet officer aboard an all Klingon ship the same way we saw Worf (and later B’Elanna) being the sole Klingons on a mostly human ship.
As far as the main idea, this was something I always envisioned on a post-Nemesis/Hobus star show and it would be a starfleet ship helping the Romulans forge a new way of dealing with all the colonies in their old empire trying to forge new alliances and so on. This idea came way before Discovery or Picard existed and when it was just the Kelvin movies. But to do it for the Klingons would still be interesting. I don’t think it will happen though, but a really strong concept if handled right.
So, basically you pitched the Klingon verson of The Undiscovered Country, fast forward one hundred years.
Pass…
Meh. With some polishing it could work.
No
Just no.
Unless he’s now wearing a red shirt and gets killed with in the first 4 minutes. Then OK.
Wow… Why the hate for Worf? I know he got beat in fights more often than he probably should have but still… He was easily the only interesting character on TNG.
“It’s such a great fit and it doesn’t feel like anything else that’s on All Access.” –Actually, Dorn’s pitch sounds a lot like where Discovery is going–traveling to all these federation worlds isolated by the burn and bringing them back into the fold. Also, klingons have been done to death, though the 32nd century version may have undergone a change like he described. This sounds like more of a subplot on a show set in the Picard era then an actual show itself.
“Klingons have been done to death” is such a weird thing to say. Surely, you wouldn’t suggest that “Humans have been done to death”, or that “Starfleet has been done to death”.
Maybe… Except in Worf’s case, it would probably be a ton more interesting with far better characters. That is IF Kurtzman doesn’t insist he and his regulars don’t start messing with it like they have every other SH show.
I like Dorn a lot, and Worf was a great character, but I’ve seen all the Klingons I want to see for the next five years or so.
not a bad idea, if they’re concerned about make up cost etc they could just make it animated.
It’s not the COST of the make-up; it’s the three hours sitting in the chair getting make-up applied that Dorn wants to avoid.
You bring up a valid point. It would be hard to justify why a Klingon-centered show taking place in the Klingon Empire should feature a lot of humans but having all characters be aliens (even if not all Klingons) would be really difficult from a production point of view.
It could be animated actually…and it does have possibility for some Game of Thrones vibes
The more I think of it, the more I think this could be made an animated series: Gorgeous designs and many new worlds and aliens, all at a much lower production cost with maximum creative possibilities, with Dorn doing the voice work. An animated series would also fit the niche idea of the skript well.
Could envision a gripping, graphic novel-like style
Oh, god, enough with the Captain Worf show, Mr. Dorn. It was never going to happen and it’s not going to happen now.
and thats Basicly what Dorn himself says
What a bunch ofself-serving garbage! Of COURSE Dorn’s pitching a Captain Worf show. You can only so many direct-to-DVD “films” before you miss being relevent. He’s prairie dogged up with this at every possible oppotunity for decades now….doesn’t mean any realistic number of viewers would support it.
The man did more Trek episodes than anyone alive, Frakes and Sirtis do a lovely episode of “PICARD” so he feels entitled to for 10 times as much. Feh!
It reminds me if Takai’s tri-annual bloviations about how whatbthe fans REALLY crave is a Captain Sulu series.
Yeah but here’s the thing – Dorn does Worf well. I’d agree if his performances were loaded with drivel. But how many times has Dorn served up garbage playing Worf? I think with a decent writing team in staff, they could polish his basic idea into something captivating.
And that is the speed bump here. A “DECENT” writing team. Something Secret Hideout has shown time and time again they do not have. For this show to work they would need a 100% different production crew producing and writing it.
Hey, the guy wrote a skript and that’s actual creative work. Why not assume he does not do it for the fame but because he had a creative idea that he wants to see realized? Plus acting is his job, so why shouldn’t he try to acquire new work. I really really don’t like it when people presume insidious motives about other people they don’t even know personally. “Feeling entitled” looks like your own assumption not a fact. I’d thank you for making accusations on this board only when they’re based on facts, after all Dorn’s a person too…Hope you don’t mind me saying this, Cheers!
I seriously doubt Frakes ad Sirtis’ appearances had anything to do with this. In fact, I find those two’s constant appearances to be tiresome and more self serving than Dorn speaking about a Worf centered show from time to time.
I can feel the frustration in Dorn’s comments and I agree. I mean I’d love to see him in either Picard or Lower Decks but his klingon series idea is also interesting and I get why he is frustrated with CBS for not fully understanding or caring about it.
It’s perhaps because he has had a hell of a lot of Trek airtime. His story has been told in detail.
And he doesn’t even seem keen on the animated show as it relegates him to supporting character and not on camera.
There hasn’t been many things “starring michael dorn” since DS9 for a reason…
The reasons may not be what you think. Here’s what’s in the public domain.
– Dorn made enough from his 3 television series (Chips, TNG, DS9) to be very comfortable, and has managed his money well.
– He’s a former military pilot and owned a trainer fighter jet for many years that he spent a large part of his time flying in the 90s. (Saw him at a con and he talked about this.)
– Once DS9 was over, he decided to focus on theatre, and didn’t put himself up for a lot of guest star roles in other series. (Patrick Stewart said that he expected Dorn to focus on Shakespeare back in the day.)
Last he’s a Black male actor from an earlier era when there weren’t many series that offered them leads. How many 00s series would have used his talents at the top of the call sheet?
Perhaps we shouldn’t throw shade without thinking it through.
Been asking for this for years! Or a Titan series.
At first glance, I rolled my eyes at the thought of a Captain Worf show. Dorn’s pitch is quite compelling. I definitely would watch it but I don’t think it has the legs to be a series. I’d love to see a 6 ep mini series. They can do it in between seasons of DSC and Picard.
Wow. I really like Michael Dorn’s pitch. I always wanted a Klingon show from their perspective.
Would they do it all in the Klingon language with subtitles? Klingons may speak Federation Standard (=English) when interacting with the Federation but why would they do it among themselves? Yet, if I remember correctly there was quite some backlash when Discovery had extended Klingon dialogue during season 1.
It seems fairly clear DIGINON that after Discovery S1 they’ve adopted the Hunt for Red October Approach: start in the other language with subtitles but then morph into English for understanding.
Probably. I may be used to reading subtitles because I watch shows in a multitude of languages but it would be really hard for the actors. And for whoever needs to translate all that dialogue from English to Klingon first.
I would think that they would be reading their lines in english unless there was a story reason not to. For example, The Hunt for Red October stared with the Russians speaking Russian. Soon we get a transition to English for the convenience of the viewers. Later in the film the change back to speaking Russian because the circumstance of the scene required it. And no one thought this to be odd. The language thing is a very easy fix.
Just put him on Picard; if it’s stale, it couldn’t be much worse than the inert character of Smahjj, or subplots about how the alcoholic’s son resents her, or Jeri Ryan kicking ass and kicking ass because she is a badass shooting two guns at once and that kicks ass.
It’s a decent idea. Seeing the show (like Disco) has problems developing new characters, it might be a good save.
Actually I sorta think the opposite. Discovery has a problem developing their MAIN characters. It’s the newer ones who seem to be better handled.
I am 100% for this. His basic concept has merit – just needs some polishing. Out of all of the characters from TNG, Worf had the most potential for development in the post-Nemesis universe. CBS – please dump the garbage Section 31 show and talk to Dorn.
The Klingon Empire TV Show sounds fantastic! I would love to explore the Star Trek universe all over again but from the Klingon perspective. How do they solve the problems; yes I assume with a bit more action, but that’ll make for some good scenes.
I would love to see the Klingon Empire join the Federation as a finale, just saying.
Dorn’s pitch is solid, and a good way to go for a series from the Klingon perspective. Unfortunately, I feel Klingon culture has already been explored to death. Plus, I don’t know if there would be a strong enough audience base for a entirely Klingon-centric show. I’d watch it though!
Interesting concept. Probably the best concept since Enterprise. I’d like to see it but it would be kinda expensive as most characters in the cast would require the prosthetics.
If we’re seeing a lot of different Klingon subject species, there could be many with no or lighter prosthetics.
Not this again. Give it up Michael.