Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Season 1, Episode 20
Original Air Date: March 21, 1988
 |
| via Memory Alpha |
Our heroes rescue three Klingons from a damaged freighter. They befriend Worf, though they can't resist mocking him for his Starfleet loyalties. In time, we learn they are fugitives from justice and actually intend to hijack the Enterprise and bring Worf along with them as they seek a new and better life as "true Klingons."
Okay, so this is the sort of information I'd normally hang onto until the end of the series but we still have 6+ seasons to go and who knows if I'll even stick with the project that long? Worf is my favorite. By the end of TNG, all of the principals have decent character threads to follow. None is more satisfying than Worf's, not even Picard's. TNG is first and foremost Picard's show and all credit to Patrick Stewart for that. But if you want to follow a character who grows far beyond his original starting point, Worf is your guy. His struggle to come to terms with his Klingon identity is everything Spock's story could have and should have been, yet never quite became.
"Heart of Glory" features much of the clumsiness typical of TNG's first season. But this early glimpse into Worf's history and his self-identity conflicts sets the stage for rich, rewarding stories to come. Through Worf, we are privy to more intimate glimpses of an alien culture than we get with any other Star Trek society. In this tale, we see Klingon death rituals, witnessed by outsiders for the first time according to Data. We sit down to a Klingon dinner, the first meal we see prepared by the replicator at all, I believe. Through the renegades, we learn of the dissatisfaction among some Klingons with the Starfleet alliance. We learn of the moral conflict between traditional Klingon values and those which Worf learned away from that world. Best of all, we have a better understanding of TNG's most fascinating character and what is already the best backstory going.
Captain Picard puts it best in the episode's final line: "And Mister Worf, the Bridge wouldn't be the same without you."
Damn right.
Acting Notes
 |
| via Memory Alpha |
Vaughn Armstrong plays the role of Korris, the leader of the fugitive Klingon band. Armstrong was born July 7, 1950 in Sonora, California. While "Heart of Glory" is his only TNG appearance, he has appeared in various Trek series over the years in, count 'em, 12 different roles! His devotion to the franchise is total, even starting a band with other Trek actors called the Enterprise Blues Band which performs songs about the series at conventions. Armstrong is lead vocalist and also plays harmonica.
"The Enterprise Blues" song:
Sounds good! Have a lovely weekend ☺
ReplyDeleteYou, too!
DeleteI don't know that I ever developed a favorite character. :/
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid watching TOS, Spock was definitely my favorite. By far. I mean, it wasn't even a contest.
Then Star Wars happened...
Star Wars was the entire reason I didn't get more into Trek as a kid.
DeleteBut even then, Spock was always my favorite. I don't understand people who prefer Kirk.
Before Star Wars, we used to play Star Trek at school during recess. I was always Spock. And, yet, somehow also in charge.
Deleteheh
It would have been quite a different series with Spock as captain!
DeleteWho were you during the Star Wars games? I don't even remember myself. I know I liked Chewie best in the beginning but I don't remember how that worked out on the playground.
You know, honestly, we never played Star Wars in that way on the playground. Occasionally, a buddy of mine and I would be R2 and 3PO for everyone (because they thought it was a riot). I was R2 because I was the only one who could make the noises, and he was tall and slim, so, if I was on my knees, it was the right look.
DeleteAs it worked out, in games like that based on TV shows, we usually played Battle of the Planets. I was Mark.
Battle of the Planets... another show I don't know. I should really dig into anime at some point. It's a genre that brings so much of what I love together in one medium.
DeleteI wouldn't actually suggest Battle of the Planets. It hasn't aged well.
DeleteStarblazers, though, still stands up and is frequently credited as being the original anime.
That one I've seen and would not mind exploring more.
DeleteI watch and leave it. I hardly get to favorite a character.
ReplyDeleteMy affection for Worf was one that developed over time.
DeleteWorf was my favorite character as well. And how the developed the Klingon culture over the different seasons and series was remarkable.
ReplyDeleteMy one criticism is that while I love Discovery, I hate how that series redesigned Klingons.
This episode was one of my favorites for the first season of TNG. To me it seemed the most thought out and developed.
I totally agree with you re: the Klingons in Discovery! But then, maybe it just takes getting used to. After all, the TNG Klingons are already quite different from the originals.
DeleteI believe this was actually the first episode of the series I saw as a kid. The image (and audio) of the Klingon death howl stayed with me for years as a defining element of the Klingons, but this is almost its only appearance.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, Worf's development is so distinctive, The Orville, which is so clearly patterned on Next Generation, sort of splits it in half, with two different alien species representing him, both the antagonists and ones represented in the crew itself.
I suppose I should check out The Orville sometime...
Delete