The Orions are a fictional extraterrestrial humanoid species in the American science fiction franchise Star Trek, making their first appearance in the initial pilot for Star Trek: The Original Series, "The Cage". Susan Oliver portrayed the first Orion seen on screen, when her human character Vina was transformed into one, although it was Majel Barrett who underwent the original makeup test. The footage was subsequently used in the two-part episode "The Menagerie". Yvonne Craig, who was considered for the role of Vina, later played an Orion in "Whom Gods Destroy". Male Orions made their first appearance in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "The Pirates of Orion" but did not appear in live action until the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Borderland", which also featured female Orions. Orion women have also been seen in the films Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness, The animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks depicted Orions' as a matriarchal society, and features D'Vana Tendi, an Orion as a main character. Females of the species have become known as Orion slave girls, who have become popular among fans as cosplay. The Orions' homeworld, Orion, is located in the Orionis system, in the Orion sector of the Alpha Quadrant. It is an M class world of hills, grassland and rocky coastlines. Orion society is a carefully balanced contradiction. While the nobility and ruling elements are entrenched in criminal activity, the planet itself seems mostly free of rampant crime thanks to the strict laws preventing inter-house conflict. There is a degree of respect and maintained civility on the planet that encourages outsiders to visit and trade in safety despite it being the seat of an interstellar criminal organization.
Development The first mention of the Orion was in Gene Roddenberry's first draft script for the initial pilot for Star Trek: The Original Series, "The Cage". At that stage, there was no further description given, except that they were to be alien in appearance. By the time that casting had been sought, it had been decided that the Orion character should be painted green, with the script stating that the character should be "Wild! Green skin, glistening as if oiled". Roddenberry had convinced the NBC executives to shoot in color to reduce scenery costs and so that the green skin of the character could be seen on screen. The costume for Vina was designed by William Ware Theiss, with Roddenberry pushing for it to be skimpier. Fred Phillips conducted makeup tests before the shooting began on the episode. As an actress had not yet been cast in the role of Vina, Majel Barrett instead stepped in. Several different shades of green greasepaint were applied to her, with different camera exposures and lighting settings tested. Those test shots were sent to be developed, and received back the following day. To the surprise of the production team, Barrett appeared normal flesh colored in all footage. They tried again, applying a much darker shade of green. Once again, when the results were received, she didn't appear green at all. They tried a third time and the same result was received. Roddenberry phoned the development lab out of frustration, only to hear their surprise that the character was supposed to be green. They had presumed that the cinematographer had set up the camera incorrectly and had spent a great deal of time correcting Barrett back to a normal color. A number of actresses were considered for the part, including Yvette Mimieux, Yvonne Craig, Barbara Eden and Anne Francis. Roddenberry's first choice was Susan Oliver, whose talent agency said she was an excellent dancer. She was convinced to take the role by Oscar Katz, an executive at Desilu Productions. He didn't attend the set in an effort to avoid Oliver, since he had undersold the difficulty of the makeup in the role. To prepare for the Orion scenes, Oliver took a week's worth of choreography instruction, later stating in an interview with Starlog magazine that she was not a skilled dancer. The shoot with Oliver in green paint took place on December 4, 1965, with the actress stating in a later interview that "Even before the dance began and I was standing demurely to the side, this feeling was in the air. Gene had touched on something dark in man's unconscious; one could imagine doing something with a green mate that he would never dare someone of his own color." Phillips required an assistant to keep reapplying the green Max Factor greasepaint between shots, as due to Oliver's perspiration due to the heat from the studio lights and the dancing, it would become blotchy in patches and dry out in others. Portions of Oliver's dancing was cut as it was deemed as too sexy, along with a scene where she is whipped. The episode was subsequently rejected by NBC as a pilot, but the footage was later used in the two-part episode "The Menagerie". Unlike the other actors from "The Cage", Oliver's contract did not contain a clause to cover re-use of the footage, and so was not paid any additional fees. The first appearance of a male Orion was shown in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "The Pirates of Orion". An organized crime ring known as the Orion Syndicate was mentioned in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but no actual Orions were seen, only members of other species.
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