By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Some think it’s a bit old school, but we’re still big fans of TV Tropes, the website that provides special terms to help us both understand and appreciate the media we’re consuming. It’s a surprisingly brilliant concept because great shows and films incorporate the themes and ideas from other works, so speaking the trope-y language of the entertainment landscape can help you better understand your favorite media. For example, I recently discovered a trope known as The Worf Effect, and this has completely changed how I view everybody’s favorite Klingon on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
What Is The Worf Effect?
If you need a quick primer, Worf is the only Klingon in Starfleet, and he serves as the Chief of Security on Captain Picard’s Enterprise-D after the death of Tasha Yar. Owing to his fierce Klingon heritage, Worf is one of the strongest characters on the show, but he regularly gets his butt kicked by the alien nemesis of the week. According to The Worf Effect trope, this is a deliberate tactic of the Star Trek: The Next Generation writers because it allows them to establish what a serious threat a new bad guy is when they kick the toughest good guy’s butt.
In theory, this is a good idea because it offers a storytelling shorthand for writers and viewers alike. Everybody knows that Worf is one tough hombre, so when you see someone hand his bony behind to him, you know they are correspondingly tougher and, therefore, a major threat to our heroes. In Worf’s case, though, the primary issue is that the writers ran this idea into the ground even quicker than Worf runs from spending any quality time with his son.
Michael Dorn Knew Of The Worf Effect Long Ago And Fixed It
Over time, that meant the overused writing trope had the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of making us see the new villain as tougher, it just made us see Worf as overly weak. Frankly, this writing trope is a quick way to ruin a great character, and nobody understands this better than Worf actor Michael Dorn.
Dorn was well aware of The Worf Effect before it had a proper name. Because of his annoyance about this overused trope, he required a special promise from the writers that his character wouldn’t get the same treatment once he came to Deep Space Nine. They honored this promise, and Worf is correspondingly as much of a dangerous warrior on that show as he was a ridge-headed punching bag on The Next Generation.
The Importance Of Tropes In Fiction
There are fans and critics alike who disdain the idea of TV tropes because they think our favorite media needs to be understood more through the lens of academic introspection and less through the lens of other media. However, The Worf Effect is a great example of how a tropes-based approach can help us better understand a show like Star Trek: The Next Generation, one whose overall brilliance often helps it avoid criticism. Understanding the tropes it used so frequently as a crutch can help you more honestly assess the series’ merits without the rose-colored glasses of fanboy memories.
Remember, kids: today, and every day, is a good day for nostalgia to die.
