An Arcturian on the air tram station walkway.
The Arcturians were a humanoid species that had been encountered by the Federation by latter half fof the 23rd century. By the 2270s, were serving in Starfleet.
An Arcturian Starfleet officer was speaking with two Rhaandarite at the air tram station in San Francisco on stardate 7410.2. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
- The three were seen on the lower platform in the background when James T. Kirk and Sonak parted ways at the top of the escalator.
Having an appreciation for Shakespeare, a popular version of Macbeth was re-envisioned by the Arcturians. Sponsored by the Galactic Cultural Exchange Project this rendition was notably performed by the Karidian Company of Players, a touring theatrical troupe headed by Anton Karidian, in 2266. (TOS: "The Conscience of the King")
A popular beverage on Arcturus IV was the Arcturian fizz. (TNG: "Ménage à Troi")
Background
Detail of facial design.
Detail of attire.
The Arcturians were designed by Fred Phillips and Robert Fletcher for The Motion Picture.
In an interview appearing in the March 1980 edition of Fantastic Films, entitled "The Star Trek Costumes", Fletcher revealed information about the Arcturians and the design of their costumes:
- "Only one society was militaristic in our sense of the word. That was the Arcturians, the cloned people who all looked alike. The only way to tell them apart was the coloring of their uniforms. For them we created costumes of leather and linen and originally I wanted woven metal tubes for metal rope decorations. Bob found this material in an obsolete plumbing/hardware store. It was to be silver-plated into a bandolier and also used for decorations on the shoulders and elbows denoting rank and regiment. It didn't quite work out so you'll see very little of it in the film, toned down quite a bit. Also, we even created a small briefcase made of plastic, something like the pilots carry today."
In 1980, Mego released a 3 3/4" Arcturian action figure as part of its second series. [1] There was also a 12" version.
In an article appearing in the January 2002 edition of Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 9, entitled "Who is that Alien?", the following information about the Arcturians was revealed:
- "A race of clones from the densely populated Arcturas [sic]. Fred Phillips and Robert Fletcher speculated that they provided the backbone of the Federation infantry – not least because, if needed, they could clone billions of new soldiers overnight."
Arcturians also occasionally appeared in the Star Trek newspaper comic strip.