Summary
- It took nearly 24 years for Star Trek to visit the Klingon home world due to past political tensions and upholding the Empire's fierce reputation.
- Star Trek: The Next Generation finally introduced Qo'noS in "Sins of the Father", connecting old and new storylines with Klingon politics and culture.
- Previous attempts, like Star Trek: Phase II hinted at exploring the Klingon home world before it was finally realized in TNG.
There were several reasons why it took nearly 24 years for the Star Trek franchise to visit the Klingon home world, Qo'noS. The Klingons have been a major part of the franchise since their debut in Star Trek: The Original Series season 1, episode 27, "Errand of Mercy", which aired in 1967. Sworn enemies of Starfleet and the Federation, Star Trek's Klingons continued to clash with Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the USS Enterprise until Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
A year after it had been depicted on screen in Star Trek: The Next Generation, season 3, episode 17, "Sins of the Father", Undiscovered Country set Kirk and McCoy's trial on the Klingon home world. As the Star Trek timeline has been expanded with new TV shows and movies, previous visits to the Klingon home world have been revealed. For example, Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) held the Klingon Empire to ransom in Star Trek: Discovery season 1 by threatening to blow up the planet's core. It's unsurprising, therefore, that the Klingons didn't welcome Starfleet visitors until Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Why Star Trek Didn’t Visit The Klingon Home World For Almost 24 Years
There was an in-universe explanation provided for why Star Trek didn't visit the Klingon home world on-screen between 1966 and 1990, but fans could be forgiven for missing it. When the USS Enterprise-D finally visited Qo'noS in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 17, "Sins of the Father", writer Ronald D. Moore included a line of dialog that hinted at why it took so long. Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) observed that "There was a time when just being here would've meant a death sentence", referring to the Federation-Klingon War and the polticial tensions that followed it.
"Sins of the Father" won an Emmy Award for Best Art Direction for Star Trek: The Next Generation production designer Richard James for his work in realizing the Klingon Great Hall and other sets.
However, this scene was excised from the broadcast version of "Sins of the Father", meaning that Starfleet's avoidance of Qo'noS was never explained. The deleted scene was later restored by TrekCore, along with other interesting moments cut from "Sins of the Father". One of the other deleted scenes involves the Enterprise being barred from accessing Qo'noS' databases, proving that there was still a degree of tension between the Klingon Empire and the Federation.
Star Trek: Phase 2 Would Have Visited The Klingon Home World
The abandoned Star Trek: Phase II series had plans to send Captain Kirk and the USS Enterprise to the Klingon home world. In a two-part story entitled "Kitumba", Kirk and a Klingon defector travel to the home world to prevent a second Federation-Klingon War. In the unmade story, written by John Merydeth Lucas, the Klingon home world was called Ultar, and was the second of two worlds that orbited the Klingon Empire's home star. If it had been made, Kitumba would have revealed some other fascinating facts about the Klingon Empire.
In Star Trek: Phase II's alternate version of the Klingon Empire, there was no Chancellor, but a ceremonial head of state, a Kitumba. This is not unlike what would eventually happen with Kahless in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6, episode 23, "Rightful Heir". Most interesting of all was the revelation that the Klingon Empire had no planetary defenses because they believed that their reputation as fierce warriors was strong enough to repel potential invaders.
Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 17, "Sins of the Father" and the "Redemption" two-parter bear some similarities to "Kitumba" as they both involve a Starfleet captain taking an active role in Klingon politics.
Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek 2 Idea Featured The Klingon Home World
Gene Roddenberry wasn't a fan of Klingons, and yet he was considering a trip to their home world as the central concept for what would eventually become Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. In The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture by Susan Sackett and Gene Roddenberry, it was revealed that the Star Trek creator was considering story ideas for a sequel should TMP prove successful. Sackett outlines one of the stories that Roddenberry is drawn to in the quote below:
One he likes involves the Klingon Empire, an inside look at their home planet, their culture, and the reasons behind their love of battle.
Sackett doesn't reveal much more about this Klingon-centric version of Star Trek II, but it's possible that this would have been a feature-length treatment of John Merydeth Lucas' "Kitumba". Some of the elements, like characters, sets, and costumes from Star Trek: Phase II were carried over to Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It would make sense that Roddenberry would be looking at the various story ideas for the revival show as potential movie plots. It's therefore not a huge stretch to suggest that Roddenberry was considering "Kitumba" as a sequel to Star Trek: The Motion Picture, before it was abandoned in favor of The Wrath of Khan.
Star Trek: TNG Finally Visited The Klingon Home World Almost 24 Years After TOS Began
There was still a desire to send the starship Enterprise to the Klingon Home World after Star Trek: Phase II and the sequel to Star Trek: The Motion Picture had failed to do so. Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 17, "Sins of the Father" was the combination of two TNG scripts that featured the Klingon home world. "Our Brother's Keeper" by Beth Woods referenced the planet, while scenes from Drew Deighnan's "Brother to Dragons" featured scenes set on Qo'noS. TNG producer Michael Piller tasked Ronald D. Moore to combine both scripts into the episode that would become "Sins of the Father".
"Sins of the Father" aired on March 19th, 1990, almost 23 years to the day that the Klingons first appeared on-screen in "Errand of Mercy", which aired on NBC on March 23rd, 1967.
Ronald D. Moore is Star Trek's "Klingon guy", and it's easy to see why, given that he's the writer who introduced their home world. In a two-page memo about the Klingons that Moore distributed to the Star Trek: The Next Generation writing staff, he described Qo'noS in vivid detail. Read Moore's description of the Klingon home world below:
" The Klingon homeworld is a world of extremes. The tilt of the planet's axis results in wild seasonal changes and there is a great deal of volcanic activity. There's a single land mass and an enormous, turbulent ocean. The race we know as Klingon was born on this harsh and brutal planet. "
Building on Moore's vision were director Les Landau, who was honored to be given the task of realizing the Klingon home world, alongside production designer Richard James, and visual effects artists like Dan Curry and Syd Dutton. These creatives combined to give Star Trek fans their first glimpse of the Klingon home world, nearly 24 years after Star Trek: The Original Series began. Revealing political intrigue and familial conflicts taking place in dark halls under a murky green sky, Moore, Landau, Curry, and Dutton ensured that Star Trek's first-ever visit to the Klingon home world was worth the wait.
