3 of the Most Intriguing Star Trek:TNG Aliens We Never Saw

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Now and then the Star Trek universe gives us hints of truly alien "new life and new civilizations." Below are three exotic races from TNG mentioned only in dialogue. 

The Grizella

“Unfortunately, they are currently in their hibernation cycle, However, they will awaken in six months, at which time we can get this matter settled.”—Captain Picard

The Ensigns of Command: The episode that introduces us to the Sheliak (who we do see) also gave us the Grizella (who we only hear about). From Picard's dialogue we know that the Grizella have a hibernation cycle. It lasts at least 6 months, perhaps longer depending on how long they had already been in hibernation at the time of this episode. 

Just as the pon far cycle followed the Vulcans into space, this hibernation cycle persisted even as the Grizella became a warp-capable, space-faring race.

The fact that Picard requests them to serve as third-party arbiters suggests they are not members of the United Federation of Planets. Are they a completely independent world? If so, how have they protected their planet from invasion when the entire species enters into hibernation? 

Perhaps they have a symbiotic relationship or alliance with a second species? Imagine a planet tipped on its axis providing half a year of night and half a year of day. The Grizella occupy one side of the planet. A second species dominates the other. The two species have opposite hibernation cycles for their long dark winters. They alternate caring for their shared world half a year at a time.

Or maybe they originate on an M-class moon that spends 6 months or more in the shadow of a gas giant.

The name might be an allusion to the grizzly bear, but I prefer to imagine something even more exotic. Perhaps a species that wraps itself in a chrysalis and enters a long dormant phase.

Chandrans

“Beautiful creatures, the Chandrans. Their minds are glacial. They have a lovely three day ritual for saying hello. Peaceful, untroubled people.”—Tam Elbrun

Tin Man: Tam Elbrun, a Betazoid expert in communication with exotic alien races, joins the crew of the Enterprise on a mission to contact an enigmatic, space-faring creature nicknamed Tin Man. Dialogue establishes that Elbrun's previous post was Chandra V. Dr. Crusher says of him, “The more unusual a life form is, the better he likes it. His personnel file shows that he's gravitated toward assignments that isolate him from other humanoids.” 

Likewise, when Elbrun describes the Chandrans as a peaceful, untroubled people, Deanna replies, “Unlike humanoids?”

So we must imagine a non-humanoid race, with glacial minds, and a restfully slow pace of life. The term glacial suggests pace, but could it also indicate size?

• Gas Giant Dwellers: The fifth planet of our solar system is a gas giant. Could the Chandrans be huge, cloud dwelling beings similar to the creatures in Robert L. Forward's Saturn Rukh? Perhaps, but Deanna says she thought Tam was “on Chandra V” and later says “ You could have stayed on Chandra V.” Would you speak of being on a gas giant like Jupiter or Saturn? Perhaps not. Unless there is an orbiting station named Chandra V? Like being on McKinley Station or being on Deep Space Nine.
  
  
• Sea Dwellers: Maybe they are aquatic? Could they be huge, sea-dwelling life forms with a slow pace of life, singing their three day greetings to each other—something along the lines of Avatar's Tulkun? 
  
  
• Farther Afield: The Chandran's could be even more exotic: Sentient plants, fungus, or some kind of crystalline life form more akin to a geological formation.

Metaphorically the Chandran's are certainly a contrast to our humanoid preoccupation with speed and efficiency. I recently came across a description of a two to three hour Ethiopian coffee ceremony: a shared experience that includes the roasting, the grinding, and the drinking of three rounds of coffee. It's a reminder that even we humanoids can Just. Slow. Down.

Legarans

“What can I say? To us it's a slime pit, but to them it's home.”—Geordi LaForge

Sarek: The unseen Legarans are the backdrop to one of the most poignant episodes of TNG. They are intentionally kept off screen, but the conference room set and dialogue establish some of their more exotic characteristics.

What we know about them:

• The prefer rooms with no furniture and bare walls and minimal lighting.
• They sit in slime pits with an unpleasant smell to the human nose. (The script described it as “pink frothy gunk.”)
• The slime is heated to 150° Celsius (302° Fahrenheit).
• They are very sensitive to matters of protocol.

How could the slime remain in a liquid state at 302° F? Water can remain liquid at that temperature only under high pressure, which was clearly not the case in the conference room. Alternatively the slime could be a substance with a very high boiling point. But how could Geordi and Wesley interact with molten slime without any protective equipment? Wouldn't the whole room be an uncomfortably hot oven at that point?

The Autobiography of James T. Kirk suggests that the Legarns are lobster-like. The comic "Enter the Wolves" depicts that Legaran's as green, seal-like creatures.

Neither of these seems realistic body-types for temperatures of 300° F. Maybe if the lobster-like version had an exotic exoskeleton composed of carbon-fibers, crystaline structures, or some kind of biological ceramic plates?

True, we have thermophiles on Earth that survive in temperatures up to 252° F. These are generally single celled organisms such as bacteria or fungus. Could lager, sentient life develop and live in the equivalent of hydrothermal vents?

A simpler explanation is that there was an error in the script and the slime was actually meant to be 150° Fahrenheit. That would explain how Geordi and Wesley could be casually hanging over the edge of the tank.

Some Things Are Best Left to the Imagination

Unseen alien races have a benefit beyond cost-savings. Practical effects and CGI (especially of the TNG-era) could not aways live up to the power of the viewer's imagination. It's a technique that can create a sense of mystery around and alien race, which can be more intriguing than showing everything.

For example, did the unmasking of the Breen made them more more interesting? I'm not so sure.

For now, it's probably best that we haven't seen the Grizella, the Chandrans, or the Legaran stayed off screen, and in the imagination of the viewer.

How do you picture these species? Share your ideas in the comments section below.