The truth of the matter was simply that decades had passed in the real world between the two series. Special effects and television makeup had advanced considerably and Gene Roddenberry and the Star Trek: The Next Generation decided to use the opportunity to make the Klingons look more like Roddenberry had imagined them in the first place but couldn't afford to make into a reality on The Original Series.
Some Klingons are also visiting the station and the Deep Space Nine crew is shocked by their appearance. They turn Worf for an explanation. That was the first time that Star Trek cannon acknowledged the change. Though it wasn't a full explanation, it did suggest that some event transpired to cause the Klingon change, and it was something that Klingons remembered well while others had forgotten or never known.
In Enterprise , it was revealed that the Klingons were always meant to look the way they did in Star Trek: The Next Generation and beyond. The change in their appearance, as well as their behavior, was the result of Klingon scientists attempting to augment their own physiques with enhanced human DNA left over from a Eugenics war on Earth.
Sure, there's an embrace of isolationism and a rejection of any sort of intergalactic alliance, and the declaration of "Remain Klingon" may be a bit close to "America First" and "Make America Great Again" "Make Kronos Great Again?
But there's more to these "new" Klingons, as religious extremism both Islamic and Christian, certainly is brought to the fore in a dangerous intersection of faith and politics within the House of T'Kuvma. Their leader wants to be viewed as a messiah, and by the conclusion of the second episode, he at least achieves martyrdom. They're not cardboard stand-ins for a single Other, as in the original Star Trek. They're something much more complicated, and utterly fascinating -- more so than any incarnation of the Klingons previously depicted in the franchise.
Star Trek: Enterprise was the first series to offer an in-universe explanation for the differences of the Klingons from The Original Series. The Klingons in Enterprise started out looking similar to the now well-established Klingons, with long hair, full beards, and forehead ridges.
Their culture and relationship with the Federation were both much different of course because of Enterprise's prequel status. Producers Rick Berman and Micahel Piller were interested in the opportunity to present a more primitive version of the Klingons and took full advantage of it, even introducing the idea of a caste system in Klingon society.
Additionally, Enterprise also sought to finally answer the question of why the TOS Klingons had no forehead ridges. They did this by introducing a storyline about a virus that almost wiped out the Klingon population. The Augment virus, as it was known, was accidentally developed by Klingon scientists when they tried to use genetically modified human DNA to create a Klingon-Human hybrid with super strength and stamina.
DNA incompatibility ultimately led to death for those who were infected, but before that, one symptom of the virus was the loss of the Klingon's characteristic forehead ridges. A cure was developed by Doctor Phlox and the Klingon scientist Antaak that stopped the spread of the virus, but any physical changes that had happened before the cure was administered were permanent.
This led to many Klingons who had been infected not possessing ridges. The concept of the Augment virus as a way to explain the original Klingons was met with mixed reviews. Some fans accepted the explanation, while others found it dubious or were uninterested in any explanation in the first place.
Indeed, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry himself stated before his passing that he didn't think there needed to be an in-universe explanation for the lack of forehead ridges in TOS. Still, the story of the Augment virus provided Star Trek: Enterprise with a couple of engaging episodes, and added another interesting layer to Klingon history.
Star Trek: Discovery kicked off a new era of Star Trek shows in , and Discovery's 1st season heavily featured the Klingons. However, the species underwent another dramatic redesign like they had in the TOS movies. The new design made the Klingons look even more alien, taking away their hair and giving them a larger head and more pronounced forehead ridges that extended up the entirety of their scalp.
Discovery's Klingons also wore more elaborate armor and seemed more primitive and much more religiously devout. TOS Klingons are often said to look just like humans, only with beards and thick brown make-up.
Actually it seems to be correct that the TOS Klingons who were clearly visible were all played by white actors. But looking at Kras, Krell, Kor, Koloth, Kang and the others see below for more examples , only half of them seem to wear dark make-up like Krell, Kang and most of Kang's crew. It is also noteworthy that most Klingons are racially indifferent, while some others like Kor and the commander in "Elaan of Troyius" were given a distinct Asian appearance.
So at some point between and they must have undergone a surgery or genetic therapy to restore their foreheads.
We have never seen the actual historical Kahless. On the other hand, both may be explained with crude records the Excalbians may have drawn from the Enterprise database about the Klingons. The picture of Kahless at the Boreth Monastery shows him with ridges, anticipating the look of the Klingons that would be established for the 22nd century in Enterprise.
It is remarkable that the forehead of the cloned TNG Kahless is jagged like hardly any other, especially if we consider that the clone was created to be not very old young enough to lead the Empire. Moreover Kortar, another Klingon mythological figure, sports a very similar forehead as Kahless. We may understand this as a sign that, irrespective of the ultimate solution shown in ENT: "Divergence", the average height of the ridges has already decreased since the ancient times of Kahless.
It is noteworthy that all of the first ridged Klingons who briefly appeared in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" had very narrow and tall ridges with some sort of a spine structure, like the battlecruiser commander played by Mark Lenard. In the later movies the foreheads were conceded more variety. While there are make-up variations between all of the TOS movies, several Klingons in "Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country" stand out because they have comparably low ridges.
The actual reason was that some actors like Christopher Plummer Chang did not want to wear thick make-up. In the light of the new development in "Affliction" and "Divergence" these Klingons could be the missing link.
Curiously Colonel Worf, who defended Kirk and McCoy on the trial, had one of the least pronounced foreheads of all. He is quite obviously supposed to be Worf's grandfather or great-grandfather. So Worf may have a personal motive to remain silent about the Klingon metamorphosis, knowing that his own family was affected too.
Some foreheads seem to reappear, which may have to do with masks being re-used. Only very few Klingons really stand out like K'mpec with his very unusual pattern. Her look complies with that of the Klingon men of the time. The actress is wearing dark make-up like at least some of the men and like her husband Kang. Only her eye make-up that is clearly not meant to be a natural adornment is remarkable in retrospect.
We certainly would not expect "modern" Klingon women to wear such a make-up. Her father Gorkon has a more pronounced crest, which may have to do with his age, but also with the fact that women generally have subtler ridges. This subtlety is what all Klingon women have in common so far. The sisters Lursa and B'etor are the most noticeable examples for this new "ugliness". Their ridges are also similar to those of their brother Duras and nephew Toral below.
Although it is a standard Klingon forehead appliance, she looks a bit like a Kobliad or a Karemma. In the holodeck simulation of TNG: "Future Imperfect" there is one extra with what looks like a rather cheap Klingon mask with a large ridge.
From the dialogue we can safely conclude that she is meant to be Klingon, and the costumer's notes for the episode confirm that.
K'Ehleyr looks much like we would imagine a half human, half Klingon woman. Her forehead ridges are very pronounced. The central ridge has an unusual spine pattern like that of her fully Klingon mother Gi'ral.
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