There are many reasons why I love Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and why it remains my favorite of the Star Trek franchise.
Reason #49: Kor
Originally introduced as the first Klingon to appear on-camera in the original Star Trek in the episode “Errand of Mercy,” Kor the Dahar Master (John Colicos) would be reintroduced along with Kang (Michael Ansara) and Koloth (William Campbell) as old friends of Curzon Daz in the Deep Space Nine episode “Blood Oath” in which the three Klingons and Dax’s new host Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) would unite to fulfill the blood oath taken to kill the murderous Albino (Bill Bolender).
The once-proud warrior turned into a boasting, alcoholic braggart (who could still back it up, mind you) would return to the series for two additional episodes to search along with Dax and Worf (Michael Dorn) for the mythical Sword of Kahless and for a final moment of glory in “One More Unto the Breach” as the once proud warrior proves he can still be useful in battle at his advanced age.
Most will remember Colicos for his role as Baltar on the original Battlestar Galactica but his role of Kor helped define Star Trek‘s preeminent alien race in such a way that his return to the role decades later saw him not miss a single beat.
One of the things I love about DS9 is how willingly, and lovingly, it embraced the original series. Kor is a perfect example of this as the show brought the bigger-than-life villain back into the universe and found ways to introduce far more dimensions and facets to the character than we saw in his initial appearances decades before. For that, and simply for being one of the show’s best recurring guest-stars throughout it’s seven seasons, Kor is yet another reason why I love Deep Space Nine.
I was sad to see them kill Kor off in the end but he went off in a blaze of glory just like any great Klingon should. He’s one of my favorites too.
Kor rules!