William Campbell memorably played Trelane, the Squire of Gothos, inStar Trek: The Original Seriesseason 1, and he returned as a different villain the next season.Star Trek: The Original Seriescontains several classic episodes, especially in its first two seasons.Star Trekseason 1’s “The Squire of Gothos” is a highlight, and season 2’s “Trials and Tribble-ations” is an all-time classic. Both feature William Campbell as distinctive villains.
InStar Trek: The Original Seriesseason 1’s “The Squire of Gothos,“Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner)and the Starship Enterprise are lured to the planet Gothos by Trelane. A being who possesses incredible powers, Trelane toys with Kirk and grows exceedingly dangerous. Trelene is eventually revealed to be a petulant child, and a member of an unidentified species, althoughmanyStar Trekfans speculate that Trelane may be part of the Q Continuumintroduced inStar Trek: The Next Generation.
William Campbell Played The Klingon Koloth Just 1 Star Trek Season After Playing Trelane
William Campbell returned toStar Trek: The Original Seriesin season 2 as Captain Koloth in the comedic romp, “The Trouble With Tribbles.“The Klingon Captain was a foil to Captain Kirkwhen he called for shore leave rights on Deep Space Station K-7. Although Koloth and the Klingons seemed to be the episode’s heavies, it was actually a differentKlingon spy disguised as a humannamed Arne Darvin (Charlie Brill) working to sabotage the United Federation of Planets' development of Sherman’s Planet.
Star Trek: Captain Kirk’s 5 Greatest Klingon Enemies, Ranked
Captain James T. Kirk went up against Klingons numerous times throughout his Star Trek career, but these five were particularly formidable.
Despite his goatee and Klingon attire,William Campbell is easily recognizable from his priorStar Trekouting as Trelane. No hair and costume can disguise Campbell’s distinctive voice. Even as a threatening Klingon, Campbell played Koloth as surprisingly polite and well-spoken, referring to his adversary as"My dear Captain Kirk.“There are clear hints of William’s performance as Trelane that carried over into how he played Koloth.
William Campbell’s Koloth Was Supposed To Be A Recurring Star Trek Villain
Koloth Was Planned To Be Captain Kirk’s Main Klingon Adversary
Trelane was a one-and-doneStar Trekvillain, but there were grander plans for the Klingon Captain Koloth.Star Trek’s executive producer Gene L. Coon originally wanted to introduce William Campbell as the Klingon inStar Trek: The Original Seriesseason 1’s “Errand of Mercy,” which was theKlingons' debut asStar Trekvillains. However,it hadn’t been long enough since Campbell portrayed Trelane for him to come back as a different character.
John Colicos portrayed the Klingon Commander Kor inStar Trek: The Original Series' “Errand of Mercy” instead.
William Campbell waited 18 months to return toStar Trekas Captain Koloth, and he was supposed to be Captain Kirk’s recurring main Klingon adversary. However, those plans were nixed when Gene L. Coon leftStar Trekand was replaced by Fred Freiberger as executive producer in season 3.William Campbell did return to voice Koloth in theStar Trek: The Animated Seriesepisode, “More Tribbles, More Troubles.”
William Campbell Returned As Koloth In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Koloth Was Now A Klingon Dahar Master
27 years after his debut as Captain Koloth inStar Trek: The Original Series, William Campbell returned as the aged Klingon warrior inStar Trek: Deep Space Nineseason 2’s “Blood Oath.” Now a Dahar Master, Koloth joined his fellow Klingons fromTOS,Kor and Kang (Michael Ansara) on a final mission against a Klingon Albino to fulfill a blood pact the trio made in the 2290s.Koloth and Kang died their glorious deaths in battle onDS9,ending both of theirStar Trekstories.
OnStar Trek; Deep Space Nine,Koloth, Kang, and Kor now resemble the redesigned Klingons that began inStar Trek: The Motion Picture.
However, William Campbell returned one more time as Captain Koloth inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine’s season 5 classic, “Trials and Tribble-ations.” Incorporating footage fromStar Trek: The Original Series, DS9inserted Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and his crew into the 1960sStar Trekepisode to witness Captain Kirk’s encounter with Koloth and the Tribbles. William Campbell’s 1967 performance as Koloth helpedStar Trek: Deep Space NinemarkStar Trek: The Original Series' 30th anniversary.
Star Trek: The Original Series
Cast
Star Trek follows the U.S.S. Enterprise on its five-year mission to explore the galaxy, led by Captain James T. Kirk and First Officer Mr. Spock. The crew confronts a variety of challenges, including Klingons, Romulans, and genetic supermen, as they search for new life and civilizations.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.
