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Worf is the first Klingon main character to appear in Star Trek, and has appeared in more Star Trek episodes than any other character. He is one of the few characters to be a regular in more than one Star Trek series. Miles Edward O'Brien (Colm Meaney) is another.

Casting

Worf was at first not intended to be a regular character, since Roddenberry wanted to avoid "retreads of characters or races featured prominently in the original Star Trek series," and so the June 1, 1987 cast portrait did not include Worf.^[1] Several "tall, slim, black actors" auditioned for Worf before Michael Dorn came along, walking into the audition in character and not smiling.^[2]

Character story

Backstory

Worf is the son of Mogh. When Worf was a child, his parents and family were killed by the Romulan attack on the Khitomer outpost. Worf and his nanny Kahlest survived the attack. Worf was then adopted by a human couple, Sergey and Helena Rozhenko, who raised him on a small farm colony on the planet Gault, a world of about 20,000 inhabitants, almost all of them humans and later in Minsk (TNG episode "Heart of Glory" and DS9 episode "Let He Who is without Sin...") (need episode citation for minsk). Though the details are not given, during "What You Leave Behind" when Jake Sisko asks if Chief Miles O'Brien has decided where he wants to settle on Earth, Worf twice insists "Minsk!," suggesting that he spent considerably more time there than on Gault.

Worf did not take the Rozhenko's last name, preferring to be addressed by the Klingon designation "Worf, son of Mogh." (However, his son Alexander Rozhenko, who was raised for a brief time by the Rozhenkos, does use their surname.)

Worf's brother Kurn, barely a year old at the time of the Khitomer attack, was left behind on the Klingon homeworld Qo'nos. Lorg, a friend to House of Mogh (appearing only in dialog of "Sins of the Father"), was charged with the care of the younger son, expecting Mogh's stay at the Khitomer outpost to be short-term. Lorg adopted Kurn after the attack. Kurn was not revealed as being alive until both brothers were adults.

It was during his time on Gault that the 13-year-old Worf, captain of his school's soccer team, accidentally killed another boy during a championship game by throwing himself at the boy as the two children went after a ball that flew into the air, something for which Worf would feel guilty for the rest of his life.

In 2357, he went to Starfleet Academy, graduating in 2361 with the rank of Ensign, becoming the first Klingon officer in Starfleet.

The Next Generation

In 2364 Worf was assigned to the USS Enterprise-D as relief flight control and tactical officer with the rank of lieutenant junior grade (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint"). The next year he was promoted to lieutenant and made Chief Tactical Officer following the death of Natasha Yar. (TNG: "Skin of Evil"). His and K'Ehleyr's son, Alexander, was born in 2366, without his knowledge, the same year he brought the orphaned Jeremy Astor into the House of Mogh through the rite of R'uustai (TNG: "The Bonding") and the same year he learned that he has a brother, Kurn (TNG: "Sins of the Father").

After Worf accepts a ritual loss of honor from the Klingon High Council in order to protect the Empire from a scandal (TNG: "Sins of the Father"), K'Ehleyr informs him of their son's existence. (TNG: "Reunion"). K'Ehleyr is murdered by Duras, whom Worf then kills. (TNG: "Reunion") Later he resigned from Starfleet to fight on Chancellor Gowron's behalf in the Klingon Civil War. (TNG: "Redemption, Part I"). In appreciation, Gowron restores Worf's honor (TNG: "Redemption, Part I") and Worf regains his Starfleet commission. (TNG: "Redemption, Part II")

Worf avoided romantic attachments with non-Klingons during his first few years on board the Enterprise-D. As Worf explained to both Riker and Guinan, he felt that non-Klingon females would be too fragile, and that he would have to restrain himself too much. He eventually developed strong feelings for Counsellor Deanna Troi, and explored a relationship with her for a time, which at times strained his relationship with her former lover, Commander Riker. Worf and Troi ended their relationship following the destruction of the Enterprise-D at Veridian III and Worf's reassignment to Deep Space Nine.

In 2371 he was promoted to lieutenant commander (Star Trek Generations). After the destruction of the Enterprise-D, he was on detached leave (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior"). Eventually, Sisko asked for Worf to join the crew of Deep Space Nine, but Worf continued to appear on TNG films which is explained by various happenstances such as rescue (ST: First Contact), detached duty (ST: Insurrection) and leave (ST: Nemesis).

Worf is one of two officers under Captain Picard who have achieved captain's rank (temporary field promotions and Klingon Defense Force only). The only other officer to have done so under Picard is William T. Riker. Beverly Crusher and Geordi LaForge have also reached the rank of Captain, but only through alternate timelines.

Deep Space Nine

Worf soon falls in love with fellow officer Jadzia Dax, and the two marry. In the DS9 episode "Change of Heart", Worf prematurely ends a mission to contact a Cardassian informant inside the Dominion in order to save his nearly mortally injured wife. The informant is subsequently executed by the Dominion, causing Captain Benjamin Sisko, the commander of Deep Space Nine, to caution that Starfleet might not grant Worf his own command after this incident, but adds that had he been forced to choose between his duty and his wife, he would have done the same thing.

Worf and Jadzia are married less than a year when Jadzia is attacked by a Pah-Wraith-possessed Gul Dukat who comes aboard the station to destroy an Orb of the Prophet. Julian Bashir is able to save the Dax symbiont, who is sent back to the Trill homeworld to be rejoined with a new host, but Jadzia dies shortly afterward. The Dax symbiont is eventually implanted into a new host named Ezri Dax. Ezri is soon posted to Deep Space Nine, and this leads to a number of awkward moments between her and Worf. Eventually, the two settle into a comfortable friendship, and Ezri becomes romantically involved with Julian Bashir.

One of the emblems on Worf's baldric is the crest of the House of Mogh, which he continues to wear even after Klingon Chancellor Gowron strips the House of its title and properties in retaliation for Worf's refusal to take part in the Klingon invasion of Cardassia ("The Way of the Warrior"). During the buildup to the Dominion War, Worf develops a rapport with then-General Martok ("Soldiers of the Empire") after escaping together with Dr. Julian Bashir and Garak from a Dominion detention center. Martok later invites Worf to be a part of his House, resulting in Worf replacing the old crest with that of the House of Martok. From this point forward, Worf is regarded as Martok's brother.

During the Dominion War, Worf is assigned as first officer to the Rotarran, the Klingon Bird of Prey under the command of General Martok. Worf's son, Alexander, is also assigned to the Rotarran after joining the Klingon Defense Force. Though Worf is initially estranged by his now adult son, and skeptical of his son's desire to serve the Empire, he eventually reconciles with him.

Following his excommunication from the Klingon Empire by Chancellor Gowron (DS9 episode "The Way of the Warrior"), Worf's brother Kurn's memory is erased by consent, in order to provide Kurn with a new identity as a way to escape the dishonor and prescribed ritual suicide that would have resulted from this event. Kurn now has the identity of Rodek, believing he lost his memory after being hit by a plasma discharge (DS9 episode "Sons of Mogh").

Later, during the Dominion War (in the DS9 episode "Tacking Into the Wind"), Worf becomes concerned with the futile and dangerous assignments being given by Chancellor Gowron to General Martok, in an attempt by Gowron to counter Martok's growing prestige. Motivated by a conversation in which Ezri Dax asks Worf to name the last Klingon leader he could truly respect, Worf challenges Gowron to a duel and kills him. With this act, Worf becomes the rightful chancellor, but he declines the honor, and with his encouragement General Martok becomes Chancellor of the High Council.

After the conclusion of the Dominion War, Worf is made the Federation ambassador to Qo'nos (the Klingon homeworld), as depicted in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine series finale "What You Leave Behind". Continued in the Books, Worf comes back to Starfleet to join the Enterprise as its first officer, at the request of Captain Picard.

Critical and fan reception

Dorn's character is very popular^[3] and this is reflected by the many fans who wear Worf costumes to conventions^{[citation needed]}. The episode "Heart of Glory," which focuses on Worf and his relationship to other Klingons, is credited with planting "many seeds for successive Klingon storylines ... and new insights into Klingon culture."^[4]

In 1995, with TNG over, the writers of DS9 came up with the idea of adding Worf to the cast in response to pressure to boost ratings.^[5]

References

^ Adam Schrager, The Finest Crew in the Fleet: The Next Generation Cast On Screen and Off. New York: Wolf Valley Books (1997): 96 - 97
^ Schrager (1997): 97
^ Jeff Greenwald, "Worf Factors" Future Perfect: How Star Trek Conquered Planet Earth. New York: Viking (1998): 79. "Dorn plays the immensely popular Worf ... Worf may be the most complex and sympathetic character in the history of Star Trek.
^ Lincoln Geraghty, "A Network of Support: Coping with Trauma Through Star Trek Fan Letters" The Journal of Popular Culture Volume 39 Issue 6 Page 1002-1024, December 2006. "Fans of the aggressive but honorable aliens were delighted to see the Worf character given some screen time and that the Klingons were becoming an important part of the Star Trek universe once again."
^ Source: "Charting New Territory". DVD extra included with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Complete Fourth Season. Of Worf, writer/producer Robert Hewitt Wolfe said in an interview conducted on October 20, 2002 that the studio felt DS9's ratings were sagging at the end of the third season, and he and the other writers were asked to give viewers a new reason to watch. Their answer was to make Worf a part of the cast.

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Contents

Casting

Character story

Backstory

The Next Generation

Deep Space Nine

Critical and fan reception

References

External links