Good explanation, Bryan!
I don’t watch Enterprise, but it’s my understanding that alot of Trekkies consider Enterprise to be an alternate timeline, and that nothing that happens there effects the “normal” Star Trek universe.
As for the Klingons, the different races theory makes some sense. The old Fu Manchu Klingons were evil creeps who didn’t seem to care a bit about honor, so it’s possible that they were overthrown and driven out of power. Still, it’s odd that we haven’t seen even one of the old Klingons in the more recent series.
The only other explanation that I’ve heard that’s even vaguely plausible is that the Klingons used genetic engineering to make themselves tougher. Still, it seems that the lobster-heads replaced the Fu Manchu guys awfully quickly.
I won’t even address the “change in viewscreen technology” theory. It’s impossible to imagine a more pathetic explanation than that one.
And I have to agree that the new Klingons seem to be much stupider than the old ones.
I simulposted with Bryan Ekers. His explanation is pretty good. Better than the genetic engineering theory, IMHO, and not incompatible with the different races theory.
Maybe the “communist” Klingons were from the no-bumps race, and when they took power alot of bumpy Klingons altered themselves to look like non-bumpy Klingons. Then, when the non-bumpies were driven out of power, the pseudo-non-bumpies put their bumps back on, and lot of non-bumpies added fake bumps, or just drifted off into the periphery and are given crap jobs like supervisor of a mining colony.
Thank you.
Actually, Diceman, some of the TOS Klingons showed up all bumpy in an episode of DS9. They hooked up with Dax extract vengance against someone.