The book reveals that initially there were plans for Plakson’s character, the Vulcan Dr. Selar from Tormé’s episode “The Schizoid Man,” to become entangled romantically with everyone’s favorite grumpy Klingon. Unfortunately, there were already plans in place for the episode “The Emissary,” which introduces the half-Klingon ambassador K’Ehleyr, a strong-willed woman who refuses to let Klingon culture dictate anything about her life. Tormé felt that the idea behind “The Emissary” was “obvious,” and he declared that “had it been a Vulcan, it would have been a lot more interesting.” A Vulcan would have made the potential for Worf’s son, Alexander, much less likely, however, and getting to see Worf be the worst dad in the galaxy is an integral part of his character.
Bole, who directed the episode, had his own thoughts on Plakson’s role:
“I think I let [Suzie Plakson] get overboard a little bit. She was a little too broad, but she’s a talented lady. I think the Klingon shows are fun to do, because you can go a little broad with them. Who the hell knows what a Klingon is anyway? Who knows how Klingons make love? In ‘The Emissary’ I came up with that thing where she digs into his hand and there’s all the blood. I did that on set. I was wondering what these people do, and I had the image of bones breaking and felt that’s what they do when they get it on.”
Excuse me, Mr. Bole, but is there really any other way to play a Klingon? After playing an extremely restrained Vulcan, who can blame her for going big and bold as a half-Klingon?
