Humanizing the bad guy isn’t easy, but some great writing, a stellar performance by Michael Dorn, and someStar Trekmagic made the Klingons likable. After decades of portraying Klingons as the foils to the benevolent Federation, the bane of Starfleet, and even inherently evil,Star Trekcame of age and started to take a more nuanced view of other races in the galaxy.
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Worf is one of the most distinctive characters inStar Trek,and most viewers can identify him no matter what show they’re watching. He appears in a few, withThe Next Generationas the first step in a long career that includes the classic movies with the cast fromThe Original Series,severalDeep Space 9episodes, and various other properties in theStar TrekIP.
6House Of Martok
One of Worf’s many titles was “Of The House of Martok,” but he wasn’t born into this house. The head of this house, Martok, was not of noble birth himself but had earned the title because of his distinguished military career. He used his position of power to elevate those that he deemed worthy of a similar honor, and that was the main motivation behind offering Worf a place in his house.
This was related to the period when Worf was serving as commander aboard the IKS Rotarranduring the Domnion Warat General Martok’s side. The General was impressed by Worf and his battle prowess and intelligent planning on several occasions.
Worf’s invitation to the House of Martok made perfect sense, but it had a domino effect that would lead to some drama later when the new addition to the family decided to marry Jazida Dax, a Trill. The matron of the House of Martok had some misgivings about the marriage, and theDeep Space Nineepisode “You Are Cordially Invited” explores the details of that particular story.
5Rokeg Blood Pie
It’s common knowledge that Worf was raised in two different cultures, first by his biological Klingon family and then by humans. The result has been a varied and often odd taste in cuisine, such as Worf’s affinity for prune juice and his favorite dish of all time, the Klingon delicacy Rokeg Blood Pie.
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Of course, a Klingon dish would contain blood, and for a human, it isn’t even that strange, but not for those of the vegetarian persuasion or just the squeamish in general. There are recipes on Earth for blood pudding in several Terran cultures. Worf’s human mother cooked up her own variation for her adoptive son.
There areseveral versions of Rokeg Blood Piepeople have and can make in real life, so there might be a non-animal-product version out there somewhere. They include ingredients like heavy cream, nutmeg, onions, and the main ingredient, which is often pig’s blood, stands in for the blood of a Targ.
4Sang Klingon Operas
Most people are surprised that Klingons even have something as romantic as operas in their stoic, warlike culture, but the fact is that this is a very demonstrative race when it comes to certain passions when it comes to both love and war. Opera is also a perfect medium for Klingon entertainment, especiallythe old-school ones about epicand often fantastic deaths and battles.
Worf was shy about his love of opera, especially since he liked to sing it, but he had some decent talent and did it anyway. He and Ezri Dax had a moment of connection when she tries to guess what opera he was singing while stranded in an escape pod during the events of theDS9episode, “Penumbra.”
3The Art Of Mok’bara
Mok’bara is a martial art as well as a form of meditation that is said to calm the nerves and clear the mind. This might seem contradictory to a non-Klingon mind but it makes perfect sense to Worf, which is why he was a master of the art and taught those who wanted to learn. His classes on the USS Enterprise included most of the command crew, including Deanna Troi, William Riker, and Beverly Crusher.
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Several moves in Mok’bara resemble Tai chi chuan, a martial art that originated in China. Riker demonstrated a few similar moves in theTNGepisode, “Second Chances.” There’s also a Vulcan martial art called Sha’mura that’s similar but has evolved to be less about combat and more about relaxation and exercise.
2Kindred Warriors
One of Worf’s first real friends aboard the USS EnterpriseinThe Next Generationwasthe head of security, Natasha Yar. After she passed away, the holographic message she left behind described him as a “kindred spirit” in the sense that they were both orphaned as children and grew up to be warriors.
The two of them had a few meaningful interactions before her absence compelled him to take over her job. It was a promotion, and one that integrated him more deeply into human society, but it was still apparent that Yar’s death had a profound effect on him.
1Has Allergies To Cats
Most of the characters on the Enterprise interacted with Data’s cat Spot a few times, either while they were visiting Data or babysitting the cat themselves. As is the way with felines, Spot was particular about the humans she liked. She adored Reginald Barclaybut despised Riker, just to give some arbitrary examples that cat owners will understand.
Worf had another, more unique distinction. He was one of the few that she didn’t seem to have strong feelings about either way, and he was also allergic to her. Spot was unlike other cats in the sense that she had always lived in space, but that didn’t stop her from having this common effect on Worf.
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