The Klingon Good Book
One of pop culture's most enduring phenomena is the 1960s futuristic television show, "Star Trek". At a time when much of the civilized world was embroiled in a cold war of one kind or another, this cheaply budgeted show put the bad and good guys in minimal costumes and plunked them into deep space, where they flourished and grew.
While it wasn't exactly high drama, and often had moments of comic relief that were not intended, Star Trek touched a cord inside a generation that was looking for something good...about life, television, and even themselves. They found it in the fictional world of Captain Kirk and his motley crew of inter-racial/species officers, not to mention the bargain basement bad guys.
In the original series, the mandatory evil force was comprised of Klingons, big, dark, sometimes hairy creatures with no finesse and little in the way of language skills. But did they fade into history when the show was cancelled? No way! By that time, the show had spawned an entire cult that is carried on enthusiastically even now, by children of the original audiences.
In 1979, the concept was resurrected for a new show, "Star Trek: The Next Generation", with some modern adaptations. The Klingons had become not just Neanderthal villains, but a misunderstood warrior race, that with a little patience, could be quite civilized. Well, almost. The make-up and costuming became more sophisticated and before anyone knew it, Klingons were the hottest "new" thing in the fans' Star Trek universe.
Klingons were now feted as heroes at "Trekkie" conventions. A whole new language was invented for the characters. (You'll find the 50,000 word dictionary online.) And thanks to the character of General Chang, in the sixth Star Trek movie, "Hamlet" was translated in Klingon, joining portions of "Jabberwocky", and believe it or not...the Bible.