Star Trek: Why Do All Of The Alien Races Look Humanoid?

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In the wonderful and diverse universe present within the Star Trek franchise there are nearly 300 different alien species, including the mighty Klingons, terrifying Borg, and the boisterous humans that dominate the federation. Each of these species is different, but each has a unique culture, history, personality, and arguably most importantly, design.

While the designs of some races are questionable, especially during the Original Series, they all vary enough to distinguish themselves from the others. They can look fairly similar, such as with the Romulans and the Vulcans, but the most important similarity that connects them is that most of them, especially in the early days, look humanoid in one way or another. The definition of Humanoid is to «resemble a human, or the shape of a human,» so the question arises: why, in a universe so vast and varied as the one present within the Star Trek franchise, do so many of the alien races, including humans, look the same?

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The answer comes in two parts, one within the universe itself, and one outside. The short answer for the non-fictional explanation is that budget, CGI, and special effects were simply not good enough to create truly alien aliens in the Original Series. At the end of the day, adding an extra nose, ridged foreheads, or some funky-looking eyebrows were a lot simpler and cheaper than fashioning a completely different, non-humanoid figure. This is not to say the series never did this, but on the occasions they did, it often fell short or looked ridiculous. Two of the best examples were the Tribble, a vibrating fur ball, and Alfa 177 canine — which was literally a small dog with a horn fastened unceremoniously to its head. In the