Star Trek Articles
          Profile of Michael Dorn/Lieutenant Worf

               Taken from the Public Domain

If Deanna Troi is out of place when compared with the characters
of the original Star Trek series, Lieutenant Worf must certainly
be the odd-one-out in the 24th Century.  In this warm and cosy
vision of the future, the aggressive nature of a Klingon warrior -
only partly tamed by Federation training - makes a strangely
refreshing change.

Since the declaration of peace between the Klingon race and the
United Federation of Planets, the two cultures have maintained a
wary distance, with very little exchange of personnel.  Lieutenant
Worf is in fact the only Klingon currently serving on a Federation
vessel, and his background is hardly that of the archetypical
Klingon.

Born, we assume, on a Klingon homeworld, Worf's father (along with
his mother and brother) were required to move to a distant outpost
on the planet Khitomer.  During their stay there, it is now know
that a Klingon traitor betrayed the outpost to the Romulans, and
in the ensuing attack the entire population of the outpost was
wiped out - with the notable exception of the young Worf, who was
found and rescued by a Federation search party.

Since Klingon society makes little provision for the welfare of
orphans, he was adopted by a human family and after finishing his
schooling entered Star Fleet Academy - the nearest thing to an
honourable training ground for a Klingon warrior that the
Federation could offer.

Following his assignment to the Enterprise, Worf has proved an
invaluable and highly loyal member of the crew, quickly becoming
accepted as an important member of the bridge staff.  In fact,
later in the series there will be another promotion, this time to
a position in which his special talents can be used to the full...
but let's not give the game away just yet!

Despite his human upbringing, Worf is a Klingon warrior at heart,
even down to the wearing of his ceremonial family sash over his
Starfleet uniform.  On numerous occasions the differences between
the two societies are highlighted, and Worf makes an excellent
counterpoint to Picard's reserved and cautious approach to an
unknown situation.  You can guarantee that if Picard favours
talking to it, Worf will prefer to aim the largest, most powerful,
weapon currently at his disposal right between its eyes and pull
the trigger.

As with many Klingons, Worf is a person of few words.  Upon
beaming down to a world populated by large numbers of scantily
clad, nubile young maidens, two of whom immediately cling
provocatively to him (this is the enlightened 24th Century,
remember), he simply growls and comments "Nice planet..."

The make-up team have excelled themselves in the creation of the
Klingon Prosthetics, and although the application can be a little
uneven at the start of the series, the combination of Michael
Dorn's deep baritone voice and the make-up department's stunning
work have quickly made Worf a totally believable character.  Over
the past three years the number of quality scripts which deal with
Worf and his background seem to confirm his popularity with the
audience, too.














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