Key Takeaways
- Lower Decks explores Orion culture, social structures, and customs for the first time.
- Blue Orions, originally from TAS, reappear in Lower Decks as adversaries of Green Orions.
- Blue Orions are explained as natural skin-tone variations and found in a patriarchal society.
As a long-time Trekkie who has spent countless hours delving into the intricacies of Star Trek lore, I find the distinction between Green Orions and Blue Orions to be an utterly fascinating aspect of this expansive universe. The way these two factions have evolved over time, each with their unique characteristics, is a testament to the richness of the Star Trek storytelling.
The animated series, Star Trek: Lower Decks, has shared a wealth of insights about the Orions that no other Star Trek show has, so far. While Star Trek: Discovery’s third season did introduce the Emerald Chain, an Orion crime syndicate from the 32nd century, it didn’t delve deeply into the Orion culture beyond what fans have long assumed: they are green-skinned, operate as pirates, and seem to enjoy a life of criminal activities.
When the creators of Lower Decks daringly chose to feature an Orion as one of the main characters, they opened up the chance for a deep dive into Orion culture. Initially, D’Vana Tendi kept her home planet and early life hidden in the initial three seasons of the series. However, during the fourth season, Tendi frequently visited Orion, offering Trek enthusiasts their first extensive glimpse into the social framework, traditions, and ceremonies of this world. By the end of the fourth season, a bargain with her sister led to Tendi stepping away from Starfleet temporarily to rejoin her family’s business: piracy.
The first two episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks’ fifth season, released on October 24th on Paramount+, find Tendi’s team encountering foes from Orion whose visages are known only to the most ardent Trek enthusiasts: Blue Orions. Who exactly are these individuals hailing from the conventionally green-skinned race, and what is their background within the Star Trek universe?
Orions in ‘Star Trek: The Animated Series’
Seven years following the termination of “Star Trek: The Original Series,” the premiere episode of “Star Trek: The Animated Series” was broadcast. This unique, quirky portrayal of the “Star Trek” universe ran for just two seasons and continues to be a subject of debate in terms of its standing within the “Star Trek” continuity. Known for its abundance of contradictions to the established “Trek” canon and deviations from previously set norms of the “Trekverse,” the show gained notoriety for these inconsistencies.
One of the well-known contradictions in the Star Trek universe was the blue Orions introduced in Season 2’s episode “The Pirates of Orion”. Prior to this episode, all Orions across the Star Trek universe were green, with different shades but always green. However, these Orions were a light shade of blue, similar to another Star Trek species, the Andorians. Moreover, they pronounced their species name as “OR-ee-un”, unlike the previous pronunciation of “oh-RYE-on”.
As a devoted Star Trek gamer, I remember the first time I crossed paths with the Orions on the Enterprise. They were males, just like me, and they happened to be blue. This sparked quite a buzz among fans, leading many to believe that all male Orions were blue. But looking back now, it turns out that wasn’t entirely accurate according to Star Trek lore. You see, years later when the TOS prequel, Enterprise, was released, we saw male Orions who were clearly green. So, while those initial blue Orions were part of our early Star Trek journey, it seems their coloration wasn’t a strict rule for all male Orions in the universe.
Just as numerous discrepancies in the Star Trek universe often go unresolved, the presence of Blue Orions was never mentioned again – that is, until the fifth season of Lower Decks. When Tendi and her team cross paths with the Blue Orions, she discloses that “the Blues” are a faction of Orions who are at odds with the Green Orions.
Why Are There Blue and Green Orions?
In the Star Trek universe, whenever the question about why something is a certain way comes up, there’s an explanation given within the story and one from behind the scenes. The animated series Lower Decks has now offered the in-universe response to this query: blue and green are naturally occurring variations of Orion skin tones. Contrary to popular belief, this skin coloration isn’t related to an individual’s sex or gender at birth.
Additionally, there’s a less apparent cause: it’s the fact that frequent director Hal Sutherland, who worked on Star Trek, had color blindness. This meant he didn’t notice the color inconsistencies in TAS because to him, all alien species appeared as shades of gray. Dorothy Fontana, one of Star Trek’s prominent writers, shared this information with Phase II E-Magazine.
In “Star Trek: The Official Guide to the Animated Series,” it was revealed that one character designer, Bob Kline, attributed many of the coloring inconsistencies in the series to the role of the color director, Irvin Kaplan.
“Irv Kaplan was responsible for the ink and paint department, meticulously coloring the different characters and props throughout the production… He earned the nickname ‘the purple and green man’ by many due to his frequent use of these colors in various scenes. Essentially, all decisions regarding color selection were made by Irv himself, as he operated independently without taking suggestions from others.”
Although Kline didn’t directly implicate Kaplan for the Blue Orions incident, his nickname as “the green and purple guy” suggests there might be a connection since the Blue Orions’ uniforms feature the same unique combination of colors that are synonymous with Kaplan.
A lesser-known fan hypothesis about Star Trek: The Animated Series suggests that the designers might have mixed up Orions with Andorians due to the Star Trek Original Series episode “Journey to Babel.” In this episode, an Orion operative disguised himself as an Andorian. It’s speculated that the designers may have thought the Orion was also blue and colored their animated Orions accordingly, leading to the confusion.
In much the same way as various minor details in the Star Trek series have left fans questioning, the peculiarity of the Orions turning blue in a specific The Animated Series episode might remain unexplained forever. However, with Lower Decks now on the scene, it’s been established that Blue Orions are indeed part of the Star Trek universe’s official lore.
What’s With the Pronunciation of Orion?
Despite the mystery surrounding how the Orions turned blue, there’s a widely accepted account for their peculiar way of saying their species name. In the podcast “Enterprise Incidents with Scott & Steve,” Trek aficionado Scott Mantz shared that William Shatner, known for mispronouncing Star Trek terms often, pronounced Orion as “OR-ee-un” during recording for an episode. The rest of the cast then adopted this pronunciation. This theory aligns well because scripts for the animated series did not provide pronunciation guides.
In the fictional universe of Lower Decks, the reason behind the Blue Orions and Green Orions pronouncing their species name differently remains unexplained. However, it’s clear that this distinction is recognized within their society, as evidenced by Tendi and her crew jokingly commenting on the Blue Orions’ pronunciation.
Green vs. Blue in ‘Lower Decks’
In the initial two episodes of the season, Lower Decks doesn’t explicitly describe the dispute between the Green Orions and Blue Orions. However, keen viewers can infer a great deal from the conversations and storyline. The shared appearance of both factions before the Orion Pirate Queen suggests they belong to the same societal hierarchy or at least are part of the Syndicate, which is governed by a Green Orion. Yet, it’s clear that the Blue Orions don’t get along well with their Green counterparts.
A one-off comment from one of Tendi’s crew members, calling the Blue Orions “patriarchal doofuses,” is revealing as well. Previous Star Trek shows have confirmed that Orion is a matriarchal society, with women in control of politics, commerce, and men’s lives in general. Knowing that, this comment suggests that the Blues are a patriarchy that split from the Green Orions at some point in the planet’s history.
After Tendi’s arrival back on the U.S.S. Cerritos at the conclusion of the second episode in season 5, viewers might not get to witness the Blue Orions again. However, given the zany nature of Lower Decks, who knows what twists and turns could be in store?
Drawing upon information from the Phase II E-Magazine, Star Trek: The Official Guide to the Animated Series, and Enterprise Incidents with Scott & Steve, we can gain a comprehensive understanding of various aspects related to these sources.
Read More
- ENA PREDICTION. ENA cryptocurrency
- SOL PREDICTION. SOL cryptocurrency
- BTC PREDICTION. BTC cryptocurrency
- USD PHP PREDICTION
- USD ZAR PREDICTION
- LUNC PREDICTION. LUNC cryptocurrency
- WIF PREDICTION. WIF cryptocurrency
- TARA PREDICTION. TARA cryptocurrency
- EUR CLP PREDICTION
- BETA PREDICTION. BETA cryptocurrency
2024-10-29 01:07