Post by Niemz on Nov 10, 2006 20:38:48 GMT -6
The Gorn had contact with the Orion Syndicate as early as 2154 (ENT: "Bound"). They made first contact with Starfleet at Cestus III in 2267 when a misunderstanding nearly led to war (TOS: "Arena"). Although the Gorn made territorial claims, the Federation had a settlement there in 2371, indicating tensions later softened (DS9: "Family Business").
Despite limitations in make-up technology which made it obvious the Gorn Captain in "Arena" was simply an actor (JANOS PROHOWSKI was the actual actor in the suit, even though others have claimed to prize such as Bobby Clark) in a lizard suit (see picture), the Gorn have nonetheless become one of the most popular aliens to ever appear on Star Trek due to the striking design of Wah Chang and the Gorn's memorable personality: a hissing, slow-moving beast, the Gorn is nonetheless quite devious, chuckling wickedly to himself as he sets a trap for Kirk and promising that if the captain gives himself up, the Gorn will make his death "merciful and quick." "Arena" is also considered one of the series' classic episodes and was the template for a similar, critically acclaimed episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation entitled "Darmok".
For years, "Arena" marked the only live action appearance of the Gorn, although the race was "name dropped" from time to time. In 2005, an episode of Star Trek Enterprise featured a Gorn (albeit in the Mirror Universe) in the episode "In a Mirror, Darkly Part II". In that episode, the Gorn was a leader of a group of slaves belonging to the mirror universe's Tholians in an attempt to steal technology from the USS Defiant (NCC-1764) which had been discovered in the alternate universe. The Gorn hid in the ship's corridors and killed several crewmembers until it was killed by Jonathan Archer. For this appearance, the Gorn was recreated using computer animation (and much to the chagrin of some fans, appeared radically different from the original Gorn). Since "In a Mirror, Darkly" takes place entirely within the Mirror Universe, the contact seen between Starfleet and the creature does not contradict the first contact seen in "Arena".
Despite limitations in make-up technology which made it obvious the Gorn Captain in "Arena" was simply an actor (JANOS PROHOWSKI was the actual actor in the suit, even though others have claimed to prize such as Bobby Clark) in a lizard suit (see picture), the Gorn have nonetheless become one of the most popular aliens to ever appear on Star Trek due to the striking design of Wah Chang and the Gorn's memorable personality: a hissing, slow-moving beast, the Gorn is nonetheless quite devious, chuckling wickedly to himself as he sets a trap for Kirk and promising that if the captain gives himself up, the Gorn will make his death "merciful and quick." "Arena" is also considered one of the series' classic episodes and was the template for a similar, critically acclaimed episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation entitled "Darmok".
For years, "Arena" marked the only live action appearance of the Gorn, although the race was "name dropped" from time to time. In 2005, an episode of Star Trek Enterprise featured a Gorn (albeit in the Mirror Universe) in the episode "In a Mirror, Darkly Part II". In that episode, the Gorn was a leader of a group of slaves belonging to the mirror universe's Tholians in an attempt to steal technology from the USS Defiant (NCC-1764) which had been discovered in the alternate universe. The Gorn hid in the ship's corridors and killed several crewmembers until it was killed by Jonathan Archer. For this appearance, the Gorn was recreated using computer animation (and much to the chagrin of some fans, appeared radically different from the original Gorn). Since "In a Mirror, Darkly" takes place entirely within the Mirror Universe, the contact seen between Starfleet and the creature does not contradict the first contact seen in "Arena".
