From Wikipedia, “A practical effect is a special effect produced physically, without computer-generated imagery or other post-production techniques.”
Some of my favorite practical effect species are from TOS. There’s the Horta from TOS “The Devil in the Dark” s1e25. I was about 9 years old when I first saw the Horta episode. Old enough to know it wasn’t real, but young enough to be utterly fascinated by something that looked like an angry chunk of hot lava making its way around on the ground.
TOS’s the Salt Vampire’s look scared little kid me. Truth be told, the way it looks still gives me the creeps.
The Gorn (TOS “Arena” s1e18) didn’t scare me, but I thought it was intimidating. Sure, it looks like somebody in a lizard man suit. But, that Gorn had a knife! And, was trying to kill Kirk! Bonus points for the Gorn’s sparkly, stylish armor.
I think tribbles are just adorable.
I have to say that even as a schoolchild neither the TOS Gorn nor the Horta were truly frightening.
I was watching monster movies on after school television, so the costumes for the Gorn and Horta were obviously that. I loved the Horta anyway.
The Gorn just seemed so inferior as compared to the Creature of the Black Lagoon and other contemporary examples. Time has only made the rubber suit more silly. In my view, the creature in TNG Conspiracy is falling into the same category now - memeable but not really scary.
But the Salt Monster I can agree was very disturbing. The fact that it was only shown briefly and there was no option for playback likely magnified it’s impact.
In terms of my own favourite, Andorians in Enterprise for the animatronics.
I like the way the Andorian antennae reflected their mood.
I like the Jem Hadar from DS9
Oh, yeah. How could I forget about them. Perfect intimidation factor with their look.
Maybe a boring answer but Armus from TNG’s Skin of Evil creeps me out with his voice and the music. But i’ve watched only TNG
No such thing as boring for ones personal preferences. 'Cause they’re personal. Reading up on how the practical effects of Armus were done gives me goosebumps. “Hold your breath while we lower you into a large pool of goopy Metamucil dyed black.” Yikes.
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He was so angry that a ship with the mission to seek out new life dipped and left him all alone.
That roar at the end says it all. Picard got to him.
I agree! Armus’ tone and demeanor really build on his appearance, aswell as his real consequences with Tasha Yar make for a truly scary character
I always thought Enterprise really nailed Andorians. They weren’t the most extreme in terms of makeup and prosthetics, but they were convincingly alien and unique. I think the most impressive part was that the design made it believable that there were different Andorians who looked different. I suppose we quite literal saw this with the Aenar, which helps.
The use of animatronics for the antennae was a major factor in the impact of Enterprise’s Andorians.
While SNW is now experimenting with puppetry and animtronics, there really hasn’t been the same willingness to embrace the potential in other shows.
That was a good job at making the humanoid Andorians just different enough for me to easily suspend disbelief.
Tribbles are an excellent lesson in doing more with less. What an iconic creature that’s nothing more than a fistful of rabbit fur on a string.
The false Balok from The Corombite Maneuver deeply freaked me out as a child, but heart forever belongs to the Horta
“Tribbles are an excellent lesson in doing more with less.”
Yes they are. And those sweet little sounds they make.
@MikeyMongol @Nmyownworld Balok is still quite scary to me. I wish they would’ve stuck with it instead of the weird surprise finale.
Wah Ming Chang was a very talented artist of different disciplines, and was an important part of Star Trek. He was a designer on, maybe of, the false Balok and the Salt Vampire. As well as other contributions to TOS and more.
@Nmyownworld wow, we owe him so much of what made TOS a classic!
Thanks for sharing that. We should know more about his contributions.
Slightly off-topic, but speaking of practical effects, if you haven’t seen the SyFy reality game called Face Off, you really should look it up.
It’s a practical effects makeup competition. The host, McKenzie Westmore, is the daughter of famed Star Trek makeup effects designer Michael Westmore, who also is featured in the early seasons as a “mentor” offering critiques and advice halfway through each episode’s competition.
It’s fun, the producers actively discourage catty fighting stupidity, and you get frequently see the competing makeup artists helping one another when it’s crunch time.
Peripherally related
Well fuck, i read the question lol
I thought the vidiians were cool
Timeless.
Voyager crashes on the icy planet.
There is a video out there talking about how they did it
The Vidiians’ appearance as an amalgam of bits and pieces (literally) of other species is genius, and well done. Danara Pel (VOY s2e19 “Lifesigns”) is the Vidiian I remember as being nuanced and sympathetic. In “Faces” (VOY s1e14), the Sulan hearts Torres scene haunts me.
The Vidiians are the true body horror aliens of Star Trek.
I can’t say that I personally enjoyed them, but with the unsuccessful Kazon dominating the first two seasons, it was necessary to have genuinely alien and disturbing aliens to make the risks and threats of the Delta Quadrant convincing.
Borg are pretty cool looking. As a bonus their catchphrases have slightly sexual overtones. I bet a trip to Risa would clear up their complexion and mood.
that horny dog.
