In 2269, this image of Colonel Green was created by the Excalbians in a plot devised to better understand the concepts of good and evil, with Green, Zora, Genghis Khan, and Kahless the Unforgettable representing "evil". It was Spock who later observed that these figures from history had been created, and registered on sensors as humanoid, despite being a product of matter-energy conversion, whereby other Excalbians themselves were used as the source matter.
During the conflict between the two sides, Green was killed by Kirk, before the others retreated. Upon viewing this, Yarnek, the Excalbian representative, observed that "The others have run off. It would seem that evil retreats when forcibly confronted." (TOS: "The Savage Curtain")
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Background information[]
Colonel Green was played by actor Phillip Pine.
Gene Roddenberry conceived of Green as "Mr. Green, who was something of a U.S. 'Hitler-racist' in the late 20th Century." Roddenberry described the character in this way in an initial story outline for "The Savage Curtain", which he wrote on 8 May 1968. (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Three [page number? • edit]) Imagining how Green might have been conceived, Manny Coto commented, "There's so much history that has been hit upon in the original series all the way through Next Gen, and touched on in characters that are mentioned, like Colonel Green, and things like that, that are just kind of dropped in. And you know they're just dropped in by writers on a weekend, [...] you know, who are just like, 'Ah...' Gene Coon is just like, 'Oh, Colonel... Okay, we'll call him Colonel Green.'" ("Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise, Part One: New Voices", ENT Season 4 Blu-ray special features)
A Star Trek fan himself, Phillip Pine was delighted to receive the role of Green, play the part, and be associated with it. "The character of Green was well written," he remarked. "There were little or no changes required by the director, Herschel Daugherty, or myself to highlight Green's Machiavellian mind. Adolf Hitler was discussed at one point and I was certainly influenced by that man's character in playing the role." (Starlog #130, p. 76) The tone in which he addressed Surak as "...Vulcan!" in the episode may have been some insight into Green's xenophobic attitude towards aliens.
Green proved extremely popular. Although Phillip Pine played many villains in television productions, he found Green to be the most often recognized. "I think Colonel Green is probably well-remembered because he was such an unmitigated bastard," Pine mused. "He had no redeeming qualities at all; none. The guy's smile was even sinister! He probably had bad teeth and they hurt. Everything about him was bad [....] My grandson told me that I should get a red jumpsuit [like he wears in 'The Savage Curtain']!" (Starburst Special #29, pp. 59 & 62)
The red jumpsuit worn by Phillip Pine as Green was later modified and used as Mork's Orkan spacesuit in Mork & Mindy.[1]
One fan of Green was Manny Coto. "For some reason, I have a fetish for Colonel Green," he laughed. "I can't describe it. I've always found him a fascinating character, because it's this dark... It was like a Hitler. You know, in the original series, when they mention Colonel Green, it was like, ooh, the Federation had a Hitler in it. That's fascinating." ("Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise, Part Two: Memorable Voyages", ENT Season 4 Blu-ray special features)
External link[]
- Phillip Green at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works