Series: Star Trek: TNG
Episode: 3.17 Sins of the Father (03-19-1990)
Rating: 5/5
Redshirt Status: 0/.5/22
Notable Guest Stars:
Charles Cooper – K’mpec, Cooper previously acted on Star Trek as Klingon General Kord. They got to reuse some of the costume for this episode. He will return for another episode as K’mpec
Tony Todd – Kurn. Todd would return as Kurn for a couple episodes including on DS9, but he will also appear as an Adult Jake Sisko, and an Hirogen. He also did various voices for Star Trek video games. He also appeared in 1994’s The Crow
Patrick Massett – Duras. He will appear once more as Duras. He is also a script writer, having co-written the script for the 2001 version of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.
Review:
This episode has the Enterprise doing an officer exchange, this time with the ship getting a Klingon first officer named Kurn. Kurn is very by the letter and ruffles the easy comradery of the bridge crew. He also turns out to be Worf’s brother, seeking his elder brother out to have him challenge the charge that Mogh, their father, was a traitor.
And such begins the arc of the House of Duras, the Klingon family which is a pain the butt of Captains of the Enterprise since the NX-01. At this point, the Duras we are now meeting is the son of Ja’rod, the true traitor at Khitomer. His family is strong with the ruling houses so if he were to be called a traitor, his family and their allies would break the empire apart in a civil war. K’mpec, the current Chancellor, wishes to avoid this happening. Worf is forced to make a decision -challenge his father’s charge, or accept the discommendation for the sake of the Empire.
This episode is a great episode for those interested in the Klingon culture, as it is probably the first that really shows us the inner workings of the Klingon government. Till now its just been glimpses of their cultural practices. Its also an important episode because there is a later episode where Duras and K’mpec come back to the Enterprise for another political problem. And well, like I said before Duras is a pain in the butt for Captains ongoing.
I’ve read that this episode is often suggested for watching prior to watching Discovery, which deals with the first Klingon wars.
Interesting Notes:
- Written by Drew Deighan, Beth Woods, Ronald D. Moore, W. Reed Moran
- Directed by Les Landau
- This episode won an Emmy award for Best Art Direction.
- This episode is the first depiction of Qo’noS, the home world of the Klingon Empire. It was accomplished by a matte painting by Syd Dutton (Illusion Arts) (Later a digital painting by Max Gabl) and a refurbishment of the set used for a Matter of Perspective.
- This episode helped open up the structure of TNG to more ongoing story arcs.
Pros:
- Worf Backstory
- Klingon culture development
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Cons:
- The whole dishonor on your house for seven generations seems a bit much.
Screencap credited to CygnusX1.net
Sokorra Lewis 