Editing Kazon (section)

== Background ==

=== Concept and creation ===
Prior to the announcement of a new ''Star Trek'' incarnation, ''Star Trek: Voyager''{{'s}} co-creators [[Rick Berman]], [[Michael Piller]], and [[Jeri Taylor]] conceived the basic concepts and characters during secret developmental meetings.<ref name="Intro1">[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 156</ref> The Kazon were originally created as a part of the show's basic premise of ''Voyager''{{'}}s crew being stranded in the Delta Quadrant. Berman, Piller, and Taylor reasoned that the characters would be traveling through an area of space controlled by a new alien race, serving as the show's primary antagonists, and created the Kazon to fill this role.<ref name="Intro2">[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 164</ref>

The Kazon were inspired by Los Angeles [[gang]]s, and were referenced in a "shorthand '[[Crips]]' and '[[Bloods]]' fashion".<ref name="Intro90">[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 187</ref> The idea for the Kazon as warrior sects, as opposed to a unified race, was introduced by Taylor, who drafted them as "three gangs, with constantly shifting relationships and allegiances. Just as we think we have sorted it out, the balance shifts again."<ref name="Intro3">[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 188</ref> While discussing the Kazon's original inspiration, Taylor viewed them as a way "to address the tenor of our times and what [...] was happening in our cities and recognizing a source of danger and social unrest".<ref name="GangFear">[[#grossaltman1996|Gross & Altman (1996)]]: p. 151</ref> Piller further described the premise for the Kazon as rooted in gang violence and warfare by clarifying: "Our intention was to create a sort of disorganized anarchy, them-against-them as much as them-against-us."<ref name="GangFear2">[[#grossaltman1996|Gross & Altman (1996)]]: p. 161</ref>

In a meeting dated August 17, 1993, Taylor wrote a story outline for the pilot episode "Caretaker" and established the Kazon (then identified as the Crips) as a "gang which, in conflict with two other gangs, competes for territory in this region of space".<ref name="Intro4">[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 190–191</ref> Taylor's notes suggest that the show's co-creators considered having the Crips reach a truce with the main characters, which would anger another one of the gangs (then titled the Blood) and lead to them being the primary antagonists.<ref name="Intro5">[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 191</ref> This idea was later dropped at a meeting on September 10 of the same year.<ref name="Intro6">[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 205</ref> In the first draft of the script for "Caretaker", Piller named the alien species the "Gazon" and wrote the following description of them:

{{quote|They are a lean, scrawny people who dress in an assortment of unkempt clothing. Some are in nothing more than rags. Their skin is parched and desiccated; the sun has produced blotches and sores on some. This appears to be a camp of people barely able to survive, bereft of creature comforts and living a harsh, hardscrabble life. They are the Gazon, whom we will come to know, over the course of the series, as a lethal, deadly sect who subject themselves to these dire circumstances in return for the possible acquisition of power.<ref name="Intro7">[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 232</ref>}}

During the summer of 1994, ''Gazon'' was changed to ''Kazon'', as it was feared that the name sounded too much like [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]].<ref name="Intro90"/><ref name="GazaStrip">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= The Best of All Worlds |magazine=Star Trek Monthly|location=New York |issue=4|publisher=[[Titan Magazines]]|page=55|date=June 1995}}</ref> The producers suggested this change to avoid stories involving the alien race being interpreted as political commentary on the conflicts in the [[Palestinian territories]].<ref name="GazaStrip" /> According to the [[List of Star Trek technical manuals|''Star Trek: Voyager Technical Manual'']], the Kazon were originally planned to be split into only two factions (the "Kazon-Sera" and the "Kazon-Ogla").<ref name="Manual1">{{cite web|url=http://leethomson.myzen.co.uk/Star_Trek/4_Voyager/Star_Trek_Voyager_-_Technical_Guide.pdf |title=Star Trek: Voyager Technical Manual |last1=Sternbach |first1=Rick |last2=Okuda |first2=Michael |date=September 1994 |publisher=[[Paramount Pictures Corporation]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170103175837/http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fleethomson.myzen.co.uk%2FStar_Trek%2F4_Voyager%2FStar_Trek_Voyager_-_Technical_Guide.pdf |archive-date=January 3, 2017 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>

=== Design and casting ===
[[File:Star Trek Voyager costume - Kazon.jpg|right|thumb|Michael Westmore was the principal make-up supervisor behind the Kazon's design  ''(pictured)''.|alt=An orange mannequin wearing a wig and heavy prosthetic make-up on its face.]]

The Kazon's design was formulated around the beginning of June 1994. The series' make-up supervisor [[Michael Westmore]] was heavily involved in the creation of the look for the Kazon.<ref name="Intro7" /> While describing the species' facial features, Westmore said he constructed a skin protrusion along the nose and front of the face to simulate "a soft [[cockscomb]], a rooster comb" rather than "the dinosaur bone-type of ridges". He said that there were very small visual differences between Kazon males and females, with the distinguishing characteristic being women having a more delicate physicality than the men.<ref name="Combs">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= The Best of All Worlds |magazine=Star Trek Monthly|location=New York |issue=4|publisher=[[Titan Magazines]]|page=11|date=June 1995}}</ref><ref name="Design1">[[#artifacts2000|Westmore, Sims, Look, & Birnes (2000)]]: p. 165–166</ref> According to Westmore, the prosthetic make-up for the forehead was structured in a shape reminiscent of the [[Devil]], while the ridges on the nose were inspired by a [[vulture]]'s neck. The nose designs were modified throughout the first two seasons with the addition of a nose tip and spikes protruding from the nostrils.<ref name="Design1" /> The Kazon's design was the subject of fan criticism following the series premiere, with one fan commenting: "They look like they're all having a bad hair day."<ref name="Makeup87">[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 283</ref> When Anthony De Longis first saw the headdress worn as a part of Culluh's costume, he joked that: "Culluh must be the leader because he has the biggest head of hair."<ref name="TheHigherTheHair">{{cite magazine|date=September 1998|title=Interviews: Anthony De Longis|magazine=The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine|location=New York|publisher=Starlog Press|issue=18|pages=66–67|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->}}</ref>

Westmore said that he faced several challenges involving the make-up and masks during the filming of "Caretaker". Because of the large number of Kazon present in the first episode, he hired additional make-up artists and mold makers to assist with getting all the actors into costume.<ref name="Makeup87" /> According to supervising producer [[David Livingston]], the process of applying the Kazon make-up took multiple hours. Since a majority of the scenes involving the Kazon were filmed at the [[El Mirage Lake]], Livingston and the filming crew were assigned to help the actors feel comfortable in the heavy make-up and prosthetics despite the high temperatures.<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Star Trek: Voyager - Inside the New Adventure|date=January 9, 1995|publisher=UPN|medium=TV special|location=United States}}</ref>

Piller originally envisioned only casting actors between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five to simulate the connection between the Kazon and contemporary street gangs. He said that he wanted the casting choices to convey the alien species as "young, angry people who never lived old enough to have the kind of experience and perspective on the world that, say, the Klingons and [[Romulan]]s might have". He wanted to emphasize that the Kazon were "much more emotional, short fused, and therefore had fewer expectations" through the actors' performances. The roles, however, were filled by actors outside this age range, with Piller explaining that the decision was reached on the grounds that the "older actors gave more polished performances".<ref name="GangFear2" /> He later regretted the choice of more mature actors, as he felt this conflicted with the writers' concept of the species, making them appear too much like Klingons.<ref name="GangFear2" /> The Kazon also received comparisons to the Cardassians and [[Wood Elves (Warhammer)|Wood Elves]] by [[Uproxx]]'s Donna Dickens.<ref name=":1fafafafaf">{{cite web |last1=Dickens |first1=Donna |date=March 4, 2017 |title='The Walking Dead' Star Andrew Lincoln Is Ready For His 'Star Trek' Cameo And We Have Suggestions |url=http://uproxx.com/hitfix/the-walking-dead-star-trek-andrew-lincoln/2/ |access-date=August 25, 2017 |publisher=[[Uproxx]]}}</ref>

=== Filming and development ===
[[File:Kenneth Biller Comic-Con.png|left|thumb|alt=A man wearing a black/brown shirt speaks into a microphone while looking to the right.|Kenneth Biller ''(pictured)'' wrote a majority of the background information relating to the Kazon during the development of the show's second season.]]

In the first season, the Kazon were introduced as one of three new alien species that could be used as recurring antagonists; the other two were the [[Vidiians]] and the [[Prime Factors (Star Trek: Voyager)|Sikarians.]] The Kazon and Vidiians would be featured in later episodes, while the appearance of the Sikarians was restricted to the episode "[[Prime Factors (Star Trek: Voyager)|Prime Factors]]".<ref name="Introduction1">[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 127</ref> Westmore found the Kazon to be the most demanding species to design for ''Voyager''{{'s}} first season, though, overall, he found the make-up and prosthetic work for ''Voyager'' easier than that required for ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]''. He explained this by comparing the relatively small number of Kazon who appeared in episodes outside of the pilot to the numerous aliens featured throughout ''Deep Space Nine''.<ref name="Pigs1">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= The Best of All Worlds |magazine=Star Trek Monthly|location=New York |issue=9|publisher=[[Titan Magazines]]|page=49|date=November 1995}}</ref>  The Kazon's design was modified during the filming of the first season. For example, for the second episode in which the Kazon appeared—"State of Flux"—Westmore removed the ear prosthetics, which had been created originally by hair designer Josée Normand to look like pigs' ears. The pig-ear prosthetics proved to be too cumbersome and heavy for the actors and stunt doubles, and its material was changed to a more light-weight sponge.<ref name="Combs" />

''Voyager''{{'}}s writing team devoted a larger amount of screen time in the show's second season to develop Kazon culture and society. Piller described the season as "a deep investigation of [the Kazon] that will turn them, I think, into perhaps one of the top five adversarial alien races in ''Star Trek''{{'}}s history".<ref name="GangFearMore">[[#grossaltman1996|Gross & Altman (1996)]]: p. 123</ref> Piller devised the Kazon's story arc in the second season from his experiences working on the 1995 [[science fiction Western]] television show [[Legend (TV series)|''Legend'']].<ref name="LegendIdeas">[[#grossaltman2016|Gross & Altman (2016)]]: p. 595</ref> Taylor was uncertain about the renewed focus on the Kazon, and questioned if they were compelling antagonists. She described them as entirely Piller's idea.<ref name="NotMyIdea">[[#grossaltman2016|Gross & Altman (2016)]]: p. 597</ref>

Executive story editor [[Kenneth Biller]] wrote a paper detailing the Kazon's history and societal behavior, as well as their adversarial relationship with the Trabe. Biller compiled all of his ideas on paper to help the various writers create a cohesive narrative for the Kazon across the individual episodes. Developed for one of his episodes—"[[Initiations (Star Trek: Voyager)|Initiations]]"—the notes were also used by Taylor for the creation of "[[Alliances (Star Trek: Voyager)|Alliances]]".<ref name="GangFearMoreAndMore">[[#grossaltman1996|Gross & Altman (1996)]]: p. 161–162</ref> Biller pointed to the character of Seska as a key narrative device for further exploring the alien species. For Biller, Seska "allowed us to go behind the scenes with the Kazon" and "helped to define the Kazon for us".<ref name="Seska1">[[#artifacts2000|Westmore, Sims, Look, & Birnes (2000)]]: p. 165</ref> Nonetheless, Hackett interpreted Seska as having little loyalty to the Kazon, saying: "I don't think she gives a hoot about [them]."<ref name="OwlSeska">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= Queen of the Delta Quadrant  |magazine=Star Trek Monthly|location=New York |issue=19|publisher=[[Titan Magazines]]|page=56|date=June 1995}}</ref>

When discussing his hopes for fan reaction to the second season's emphasis on the Kazon, Piller said: "I'll be curious to know what the audience's perception is, if our investing in the Kazon this season worked."<ref name="GangFear2" /> In response to fans' concerns that ''Voyager'' did not incorporate as many science fiction elements as previous ''Star Trek'' installments, he believed that the growing focus on the Kazon would serve as the solution. Piller believed the alien species accentuated the show's futuristic storylines, explaining: "There are a lot of people who don't consider a lot [of the season's episodes to be] science fiction." He followed this up by saying: "But certainly you can make a case that facing the Kazon in battle is futurist storytelling."<ref name="GangFearInSpace">[[#grossaltman1996|Gross & Altman (1996)]]: p. 150</ref> Taylor viewed the second season as focused on "character-driven, introspective" stories, with a majority of the "action-adventure" aspects being conducted through the appearances of the Kazon.<ref name="ActionAdventure">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= The Best of All Worlds |magazine=Star Trek Monthly|location=New York |issue=18|publisher=[[Titan Magazines]]|page=13|date=August 1996}}</ref>

=== Abandonment ===
Following the end of the second season, Taylor decided to remove the Kazon as the series' primary antagonists, having found the effort to develop the alien species to be unsuccessful. She felt that they never grew into a compelling adversary, despite their appearances in multiple episodes. Taylor argued that the Kazon limited the potential of the series, saying: "It created the curious implication that we are standing still in space, when our franchise is that we are going at incredible speeds toward the [[Alpha Quadrant]] – we keep running into the same people over and over again! It was just an oddity, and I don't think the Kazon have served us well." While discussing their role in the future episodes, she explained that it was her "intention to leave them behind and to find new and I hope more interesting aliens".<ref name="ActionAdventure" />

Even though Piller understood Taylor's disappointment with the Kazon, he felt that "it was important and valuable to create this adversary".<ref name="Seska1" /> Berman agreed with Taylor's assessment of the Kazon and noted that they would be removed in the beginning of the third season. He also admitted that the writers made several mistakes and introduced inconsistencies while developing the Kazon. Believing that the large amount of space under the Kazon's control was implausible, he argued that the number of times ''Voyager'' encountered the alien species would make their territory bigger than the United Federation of Planets and the [[Klingon Empire (Star Fleet Universe)|Klingon Empire]].<ref name="AmazingAmazing">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= 30th Anniversary Issue|magazine=Star Trek: Communicator|location=New York |issue=108|publisher=[[Titan Magazines]]|page=56|date=August–September 1996}}</ref> Producer [[Brannon Braga]] supported the Kazon's removal, criticizing the species as "half-baked Klingons" and their constant inclusion in episodes as making the series have "the feeling that we're traveling in a big circle".<ref name="BakingwiththeKazon">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= Hopes & Fears on the Final Frontier |magazine=Star Trek Monthly|location=New York |issue=20|publisher=[[Titan Magazines]]|page=20|date=October 1996 }}</ref>

Despite the decision to eliminate the Kazon from future episodes, the writing team was uncertain if the season two finale and season three premiere would focus on them. Piller said that it was suggested that the episodes could serve as an introduction to a new alien species, but he supported the possibility that they act as a farewell to the Kazon storylines. He explained his decision by saying he "felt we had built up this arc with them and it was a natural conclusion".<ref name="AdiosKazon">[[#grossaltman1996|Gross & Altman (1996)]]: p. 169</ref> The Kazon were replaced by storylines focusing on the Vidiians, the [[Borg]], and the [[Hirogen]].<ref name="Hirogen">[[#barrett1994|Barrett & Barrett (2001)]] p. 82</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/star-trek-voyager/25477/why-star-trek-voyagers-fourth-season-is-the-best |title=Why Star Trek: Voyager's fourth season is the best |date=May 10, 2013 |work=[[Den of Geek!]] |last1=Harris |first1=Juliette |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170105053142/http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/star-trek-voyager/25477/why-star-trek-voyagers-fourth-season-is-the-best |archive-date=January 5, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>