9 Things To Know About "Blood Oath"

[Vic 17]

Kor, Kang and Koloth together again... for the very first time. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine had its share of great episodes, but for pure entertainment, pretty much nothing beat "Blood Oath," an hour filled with humor, drama and honor as it brought together new-look versions of the legendary Klingons embodied by Jon Colicos, Michael Ansara and William Campbell. Hard as it may be to believe, "Blood Oath" aired on March 27, 1994, or 23 years ago today. In the episode, Jadzia Dax risks her life and her future with Starfleet in order to fulfill a blood oath that Curzon Dax made with the trio of ancient Klingons.

Here are 9 facts and anecdotes about "Blood Oath"

DS9 Minus Three

A trio of DS9 regulars did not appear in "Blood Oath," specifically Siddig El Fadil, Cirroc Lofton and Colm Meaney.

Seven Samurai Meets the Magnificent Seven

The script—inspired by Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven—at first did not feature the Klingons, but rather new characters. It was (writer-producer) Robert Hewitt Wolfe who suggested using Kor, Kang and Koloth.

Music to Their Ears

Director Winrich "Rick" Kolbe had Wagner's "Gotterdammerung" played on set to heighten the mood.

More Kor

Kor, unlike Kang and Koloth, survived the events of "Blood Oath," enabling Colicos to return as Kor in the DS9 episodes "The Sword of Kahless" and "Once More Unto the Breach." Ansara actually reprised Kang in the Voyager hour "Flashback" and played Jeyal in the DS9 episode "The Muse."

Even More on Kor

Speaking to Ian Spelling of the New York Times Syndicate in 1995, Colicos said that he received the "Blood Oath" script in acts as they were completed, but that he nearly turned down the gig because Kor was depicted as an overweight, drunk, rather Falstaff-ian buffoon. "(Executive producer) Michael Piller told me Kor, Koloth and Kang become heroic in the end, and that one of us might be kept alive," Colicos recalled. "I said, 'I'm Ishmael, who lives to tell the story, otherwise I ain't interested.'"

Klingon Kompadres

Campbell had a great time working with Colicos and Ansara. "I'd always known John's work as an actor, but I didn't know him personally before this. He's a terrific guy," Campbell told the Philadelphia Daily News back in 1994. "I knew Mike and he looked superb. We really had a lot of fun working together. We traded a few Trek stories, but we all have bodies of work that have nothing to do with Star Trek. So we found ourselves talking more about all the other things we'd done."

Really, Frank Lloyd Wright?

Exteriors shots for the Albino's fortress were shot at the Millard House in Pasadena. The textile block house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Prequel…

The novel Forged in Fire, penned by Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin, is a prequel that fills in details about the Albino and Curzon Dax's bond with Kang, Kor and Koloth.

A Party in Sto-Vo-Kor

All three Klingon actors sadly have passed away. Colicos died in 2000, followed by Campbell in 2011 and Ansara in 2013.

 

View the full article