Star Trek: 10 Ways The Klingons Have Developed Since The 1960s

9. Klingon Honor Originated In A Script For An Unrealized Star Trek Spin-Off

Klingons Star Trek
Paramount

As central as honor has become in modern depictions of Klingons, it wasn't originally part of their character. Klingon honor actually originated in Kitumba, a script for the unrealized Star Trek spin-off, Star Trek: Phase II.

Written by John Meredyth Lucas, Kitumba featured a Klingon Empire modeled on Feudal Japan with its emphasis on honor and bushido, or 'way of the warrior'. This version of the Klingon Empire would have been led by a head of state called the Kitumba, who would have been worshiped as a god-like, ceremonial figure much like the Emperor in Feudal Japan whilst real political power would have been held by the shogun-like Warlord.

The episode would have also revealed that 'Klingon' was not the name of their species but rather the name of the samurai-like warrior caste. The rest of the species would have been part of one of the two other castes. 'Technos' would have been the technicians and scientists whilst the 'subjects' would have been the ordinary citizens of the Empire.

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Frank Chavez is a freelance writer, playwright, and screenwriter from the San Francisco Bay Area. They live in the Census Designated Place outside the small city, outside of Oakland with their wife and numerous cats.