Entertainment
The Iconic Star Trek Villains Inspired By Real-Life Criminals
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Star Trek is a franchise that has always been known for its colorful villains: from the Klingons to the Borg, episodes have always given us over-the-top bad guys like nothing the audience had ever seen before. However, the most iconic villains of a beloved spinoff were actually modeled after a type of real-life criminal that the audience is all too familiar with. In Star Trek: Voyager, the alien Kazons were originally modeled after the street gangs of Los Angeles, but it took over an entire season before one writer helped shape them into this very specific mold.
During the development of Voyager, producers Rick Berman, Michael Piller, and Jeri Taylor wanted to create a new kind of villain that nonetheless represented very contemporary concerns. As quoted in Captains’ Logs Supplemental – The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, Taylor said that “We felt with the Kazon we needed to address the tenor of our times and what…was happening in our cities and recognizing a source of danger and social unrest. We wanted to do that metaphorically.”
The Bloods, The Crips, And The Kazon
Piller (who almost singlehandedly transformed Star Trek: The Next Generation into must-see TV) liked the idea of villains who embraced anarchy and might fight among themselves as much as they fight with Captain Janeway. He and the other producers retained the LA gang metaphor, internally comparing the differing Kazon factions to the Bloods and the Crips. They were all in on these new bad guys, which is why the Voyager premiere episode and its first season presented various Kazon factions as an ongoing concern in our crew’s quest to navigate the Delta Quadrant and eventually make their way home.
Unfortunately, audiences kind of hated the Kazon in Season 1, and Michael Piller came to believe that the writers had failed to turn these aliens into something truly unique. After Ken Biller wrote an initial draft of the Season 2 episode “Initiations,” Piller called him and (as reported originally by Cinefantastique) expressed his concern that the audience saw the Kazon as “warmed over Klingons.” In order to get these villains back to their roots, Piller gave Biller a pretty wild homework assignment: to go talk to actual gang members and report on “what you find out from the street.”
Biller did not take this frankly dangerous advice, but he did go buy a copy of Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member, written (inside a jail cell, no less) by Sanyika “Monster” Shakur. Insights from the book helped the writer create a better Star Trek: Voyager episode, and Piller was quite pleased with the final draft of “Initiations.” But what pleased him even more was that Biller went on to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to breathe new life into the Kazons.
The Secret To Building A Better Villain
You see, Biller wrote a kind of mini-Kazon Bible that outlined their customs, history, and other major sociological factoids. This proved to be invaluable because Star Trek: Voyager had already planned to devote its second season to the Kazon, essentially giving itself a second chance to make a good impression on the audience. Whenever the writers had to craft a Kazon-heavy episode (like “Alliances”), they relied on Biller’s bible, one which finally made the Kazon feel like something other than Temu Klingons.
To this day, the Kazon aren’t necessarily fans’ favorite villains, but they are arguably the most iconic Star Trek: Voyager bad guys. In a show that would come to be dominated (or should that be assimilated?) by Borg episodes, the Kazon remain an original creation who helped shape Voyager into one of Trek’s most beloved spinoffs. But that never would have happened if Michael Piller and Ken Biller hadn’t teamed up to do the impossible: get these angsty aliens back to their inexplicable gangbanger roots.
Entertainment
Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 29, 2026
Today’s Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you’re not a fan of big cities.
If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
Where did Wordle come from?
Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once.
Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.
What’s the best Wordle starting word?
The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.
What happened to the Wordle archive?
The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website’s creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.
Is Wordle getting harder?
It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn’t any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle‘s Hard Mode if you’re after more of a challenge, though.
Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:
Countryside.
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Does today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?
The letter R appears twice.
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Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…
Today’s Wordle starts with the letter R.
The Wordle answer today is…
Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.
Drumroll please!
The solution to today’s Wordle is…
RURAL
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Wordle.
Entertainment
Hurdle hints and answers for April 29, 2026
If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.
There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it’ll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.
An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.
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If you find yourself stuck at any step of today’s Hurdle, don’t worry! We have you covered.
Hurdle Word 1 hint
To admire.
Hurdle Word 1 answer
ADORE
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Hurdle Word 2 hint
Heavy.
Hurdle Word 2 Answer
HEFTY
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Hurdle Word 3 hint
Two-legged.
Hurdle Word 3 answer
BIPED
Hurdle Word 4 hint
Hefty.
Hurdle Word 4 answer
HEAVY
Final Hurdle hint
Pointy.
Hurdle Word 5 answer
SHARP
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Entertainment
Moon phase today: What the Moon will look like on April 29
It may appear full, but the Moon isn’t actually at 100% illumination yet. In fact, we’re still a couple of days away. But it’s still big and bright enough to do some moon gazing, so keep reading to find out what features you might be able to see tonight.
What is today’s Moon phase?
As of Wednesday, April 29, the Moon phase is Waxing Gibbous. Tonight, 94% of the moon will be lit up, according to NASA’s Daily Moon Guide.
Without any visual aids, tonight you should be able to see the Mares Vaproum, Tranquillitatis, and Imbrium. With binoculars, you’ll see the Mare Frigoris, Clavius Crater, and the Alphonsus Crater. And, finally, with a telescope you’ll see all this plus the Apollo 17 landing spot, Rima Ariadaeus, and the Fra Mauro Highlands.
When is the next Full Moon?
The next Full Moon is predicted to take place on May 1, the first of two in May.
What are Moon phases?
According to NASA, the Moon takes roughly 29.5 days to circle Earth once, going through eight distinct phases in the process. Even though we always see the same side of the Moon, the amount of sunlight hitting it changes as it moves in its orbit. The shifting light creates the changing shapes we know as full, half, and crescent Moons. Altogether, there are eight main lunar phases.
New Moon – The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it’s invisible to the eye).
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Waxing Crescent – A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).
First Quarter – Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.
Waxing Gibbous – More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.
Full Moon – The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.
Waning Gibbous – The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)
Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) – Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.
Waning Crescent – A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.
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