Chang (Star Trek)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications.
Primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of the article are generally not sufficient for a Wikipedia article. Please include more appropriate citations from reliable sources, or discuss the issue on the talk page.
This article has been tagged since November 2007.

This article may not meet the notability guideline for fiction. If you are familiar with the subject matter, please expand or rewrite the article to establish its notability. The best way to address this concern is to reference published, third-party sources about the subject. If notability cannot be established, the article is more likely to be considered for redirection, merge or ultimately deletion, per Wikipedia:Guide to deletion.
This article has been tagged since November 2007.

Chang
Species	Klingon
Gender	Male
Home planet	Qo'nos
Affiliation	Klingon Empire
Position	Chief of staff to Chancellor Gorkon
Rank	General
Portrayed by	Christopher Plummer
This box: view • talk • edit

General Chang is a fictional character from the Star Trek fictional universe who was portrayed by Christopher Plummer in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Chang is Chancellor Gorkon's chief of staff, and subsequently serves Chancellor Azetbur. He is an avid fan of William Shakespeare, whom he frequently quotes. He is almost completely bald, a trait not seen among Klingons prior to Star Trek VI's release.

[edit] Overview

Chang is aboard the chancellor's ship, Kronos One, when it enters Federation space to travel to Earth, and he is part of the dinner party aboard its escort, the USS Enterprise-A. The general is behind the assassination of Chancellor Gorkon, made possible by the use of an experimental bird of prey that can fire while cloaked to disable Kronos One's gravitational field and carried out by two Starfleet officers who subsequently board the chancellor's ship. The Enterprise's commanding officer, Captain James T. Kirk, surrenders rather than foment further conflict by responding to Chang's threat to attack the Federation starship. Kirk and his medical chief, Dr. Leonard McCoy, transport to Kronos One, where they learn of Gorkon's assassination. After McCoy's failed attempt to save the chancellor's life, Chang invokes interstellar law to arrest Kirk and McCoy. Chang serves as prosecutor at the officers' trial.

Chang participates in a second assassination attempt, this time against the Federation president while he attends a conference at Khitomer. The Enterprise-A and USS Excelsior travel to Khitomer and destroy Chang's bird of prey, killing the general, although not before the Klingon ship does considerable damage to the Enterprise. Chang's last words are a form of "To be, or not to be" from Shakespeare's Hamlet, just prior to death, he watches a modified photon torpedo which is homing in on his ship, muttering the line "to be... or not... to be..." Also, in one of the more memorable lines from the movie, while in battle aboard his ship, he spins in his captain's chair, and quotes, "Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war!"

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

While questioning Kirk and McCoy during the trial, Chang says "Don't wait for the translation! Answer me now!" This is a reference to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, when Adlai Stevenson made a similar demand of Soviet ambassador Valerian Zorin.
The Chang makeup originally included a wig appliance. However, Christopher Plummer felt removing the wig made the character more distinct; he also asked that Chang's Klingon makeup be made less severe (Chang appears to be a QuchHa', or a human-appearing Klingon as seen in the original Star Trek series - he has little or no forehead ridges).
The three rivets of Chang's eye patch have the Klingon crest painted on them.
Christopher Plummer also portrayed Chang for the cutscene videos in the Interplay game Star Trek: Klingon Academy.