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
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 29, 2026
The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you love a good storm.
Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that’s captured the public’s attention. The game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today’s Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications’ Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
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Here’s a hint for today’s Connections categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Here are today’s Connections categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections #1053 is…
What is the answer to Connections today
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Step in a process: LEVEL, PHASE, ROUND, STAGE
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Sound like thunder: BOOM, CLAP, ROLL, RUMBLE
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Kinds of puppets: HAND, SHADOW, SOCK, STRING
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Standing ___: JOKE, ORDERS, OVATION, ROOM
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections 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? Get all the Strands hints you need for today’s puzzle.
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 Connections.
Entertainment
NYT Strands hints, answers for April 29, 2026
Today’s NYT Strands hints are easy if you love a good catch.
Strands, the New York Times‘ elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There’s always a theme linking every solution, along with the “spangram,” a special, word or phrase that sums up that day’s theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you’re feeling stuck or just don’t have 10 or more minutes to figure out today’s puzzle, we’ve got all the NYT Strands hints for today’s puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Fish or cut bait
The words are related to the outdoors.
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Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained
These words describe going fishing.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?
Today’s NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.
NYT Strands spangram answer today
Today’s spangram is Tackle.
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NYT Strands word list for April 29
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Reel
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Hook
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Bobber
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Weight
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Tackle
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Lure
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Swivel
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Cooler
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Pliers
Looking for other daily online games? Mashable’s Games page has more hints, and 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 Strands.
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.
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 29, 2026
Celtics return home with chance to finish off reeling Sixers
