star trek kirk romulans

Balance of Terror (episode)

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The Enterprise battles a Romulan ship suspected of destroying outposts near the Neutral Zone.

• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 2 Log entries
• 3 Memorable quotes
• 4.1 Production timeline
• 4.2 Story and script
• 4.3 Production
• 4.5 Costumes
• 4.6 Continuity
• 4.7 Preview
• 4.8 Reception
• 4.9 Apocrypha
• 4.10 Remastered information
• 4.11 Video and DVD releases
• 5.1 Starring
• 5.2 Also starring
• 5.3 Co-starring
• 5.4 Featuring
• 5.5 Uncredited co-stars
• 5.7 Stand-ins
• 5.8 References
• 5.9 Unreferenced material
• 5.10 External links

Summary [ ]

A wedding aboard the Enterprise

Captain James T. Kirk is officiating at a wedding between two crew members, Angela Martine and Robert Tomlinson , in the Enterprise 's chapel , with the ceremony being broadcast on video screens all over the ship.

The bride and groom are in their regular Starfleet uniforms , with Angela wearing a white flower crown. Montgomery Scott is also present to give Angela away, acting as father of the bride . Suddenly, a red alert klaxon interrupts the ceremony, followed by a request for Captain Kirk to report to the bridge . Kirk learns that Earth Outpost 4 is under attack as everyone runs to battle stations .

Act One [ ]

The USS Enterprise investigates in the vicinity of the Romulan Neutral Zone , where an unknown assailant is methodically destroying each of the Earth outposts bordering the Zone. Spock explains to the crew that the Neutral Zone was established after the Earth-Romulan War over a century ago . Neither race has had contact with the other since that time, and neither side knows what the other looks like. Kirk then tells the crew that while self-defense is permitted, they are forbidden by Starfleet Command 's orders to violate the Neutral Zone. The Enterprise and its crew are to be considered expendable.

Lieutenant Stiles assumes the attacking vessel is Romulan, but Kirk points out that after a century, no one would know what a Romulan ship looks like. Stiles shares his knowledge of Romulan ship markings, as a number of his relatives died in the Earth-Romulan war. " Their war, Mr. Stiles, " says Kirk. " Not yours. "

Earth Outposts 2 and 3 are found to be destroyed, and the Enterprise briefly contacts Outpost 4. The sole survivor of Outpost 4, Commander Hansen , describes a powerful blast of energy from a ship they couldn't track and the destruction of Outpost 8. He then reports that the ship has reappeared. A view relayed from the outpost's sensors shows the ship firing, and then the viewing screen goes blank.

Spock's sensors detect a moving object, but nothing is visible on the screen. He suggests that the Romulans have some sort of invisibility shield. Since the Romulan ship seems to be in no hurry, Kirk theorizes that it may not be aware of the Enterprise . Spock then reports that the ship is heading back towards the Neutral Zone.

Despite objections from Stiles, Kirk orders a parallel course instead of an intercept course. By matching the unknown ship's course and speed, he hopes to make the Enterprise seem like an echo . Under no circumstances is the Enterprise to enter the Romulan Neutral Zone without a direct order from Kirk. Stiles points out that there could be Romulan spies on board the Enterprise , and Sulu recommends maintaining a security alert .

Uhura picks up a communication signal, through which Spock is able obtain a view of the Romulan ship's interior, providing the Federation their first visuals of the Romulans. Stiles notices the Romulan captain's physical resemblance to Spock.

Act Two [ ]

As Uhura attempts to interpret the Romulan signals, Stiles sarcastically suggests giving the job to Spock. Kirk orders him to keep his bigotry to himself.

" Stay with him, helm. "

Meanwhile, on the bridge of the Romulan ship, the Romulan commander has noticed the Enterprise following them. He confers with one of his officers ( the centurion ) on the ethics of their mission. He then rebukes and demotes another officer, Decius , for dispatching a subspace message in violation of orders for radio silence . The centurion warns the commander that Decius has powerful friends. The commander quietly expresses distaste for the mission but assures the centurion of his devotion to his duty.

During a Romulan attack, Rand and Kirk brace for the impact of a plasma torpedo

In the Enterprise briefing room, the officers discuss their chances against the Romulan ship. Spock demonstrates the effect of the Romulan weapon on Outpost 4's protective shields, and Scott reports that the Romulan ship's power is "simple impulse". Stiles urges an attack, arguing from history that running would guarantee war. Spock agrees, pointing out that Vulcan had begun to colonize space before giving up its warlike ways, and that if the Romulans are indeed descended from ancient Vulcans, they are more dangerous than Kirk might realize. After a moment, Kirk gives the order to attack. The Enterprise heads into battle at red alert.

Act Three [ ]

Kirk orders the Enterprise crew to attack the Romulans

Following the Romulan ship's path towards a comet 's tail, Kirk orders the Enterprise to jump forward and attack the Romulan ship when its trail becomes visible. The Romulan commander hopes to double back to intercept the Enterprise , but, on learning that his target is no longer following, orders an evasive maneuver. Each commander, having failed in his plans, reflects on the other's intelligence.

A barrage of phaser fire damages the Romulan ship. The centurion pushes the Romulan commander out of the way of falling debris but is fatally injured himself. Meanwhile, the phaser circuits on the Enterprise burn out as the Romulan ship fires its primary weapon. Kirk orders full astern and as the Enterprise backs up, they find that the weapon has a range limit which causes the shot to partially dissipate, resulting in reduced impact.

Determined to prevent the Romulan ship from reentering the Neutral Zone, Kirk orders another barrage of phaser fire. Unable to stop the Romulan ship, and aware of the consequences, Kirk orders the Enterprise into the Neutral Zone. Displaying restrained emotion as his friend dies, the Romulan commander orders all debris and, sadly, the body of his friend into the escape chute as a decoy. The Enterprise picks up the debris on the sensors but in doing so, loses track of the Romulan ship.

Act Four [ ]

McCoy counsels Kirk

It has come down to a waiting game and both ships have powered down in the Neutral Zone to prevent detection. After the Enterprise has been powered down for 9 hours and 47 minutes, Kirk tries to rest in his quarters , when Yeoman Rand walks in and asks the captain if he would like something to eat from the galley . Kirk shakes his head and tells Rand to get him coffee and have it on the bridge, as he will be heading up there soon. Just then, Dr. McCoy arrives as Rand leaves. Kirk confesses that he wishes he were on a cruise somewhere with no responsibility. He admits to McCoy that when his crew looks to him to make the next move, he wonders, " What if I'm wrong? " McCoy struggles at first to come up with an answer to this and Kirk does not expect him to provide one. However, McCoy puts his hand on Kirk's shoulder and gently says, " In this galaxy , there's a mathematical probability of three million Earth-type planets . And in all the universe, three million million galaxies like this. And in all of that, and perhaps more, only one of each of us. Don't destroy the one named Kirk. "

Later on the bridge, Spock, while making repairs, accidentally activates a panel, and the Romulan ship detects the Enterprise and moves in to attack. Kirk anticipates this and manages to fire on the Romulan ship. Furious, the Romulan commander orders more debris into the disposal tubes, including a nuclear warhead .

Spock picks up the "metal-cased object" on his sensors and the Enterprise fires upon it. The massive explosion causes damage to the Enterprise but despite now having the upper hand, the Romulan commander decides to head for home.

Scott reports that while phasers are operational, only Tomlinson, the groom from the wedding, is manning the station. Stiles quotes his experience with phasers and Kirk sends him down to assist. In an attempt to lure the Romulan ship back, the Enterprise plays dead.

Despite his reservations, and the crippled status of his ship, the Romulan commander is reminded by Decius that it is the commander's duty to crush the enemy. The commander then reluctantly gives the order to attack.

Meanwhile, Spock checks on the phaser crew and Stiles coldly remarks that they " will handle things without your help, Vulcan ." After Spock leaves however, a phaser coolant leak erupts. As the Romulan ship moves in to attack, Kirk gives the order to fire phasers. But both Tomlinson and Stiles have been overcome by the coolant fumes. Realizing the danger, Spock runs back and manages to fire the phasers in time, severely damaging the Romulan ship.

After his defeat, the Commander of the Romulan flagship bestows his respect to the victor.

Visual contact between ships is somehow established as Kirk watches a severely wounded Romulan commander stagger to his feet. The Romulan commander turns and looks upon Kirk's face. Despite Kirk's offer to beam aboard any survivors, the Romulan commander informs him that it is not the Romulan way. He then says, with admiration, " I regret that we meet in this way. You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend, " and as the last part of his duty, he sets the Romulan ship to self-destruct . Kirk watches regretfully as the ship is destroyed.

Kirk goes to sickbay and discovers that not only did Spock fire the phasers, but he also rescued Stiles. Stiles is humbled and amazed that Spock saved his life after everything he had said to him. Unfortunately, Spock was unable to save Robert Tomlinson. Prior to Kirk leaving sickbay, Yeoman Rand enters and informs him that Starfleet has responded with an endorsement of his decision to enter the Neutral Zone based on the circumstances.

Kirk is then forced to console Tomlinson's grief-stricken fiancée , Angela Martine, while she stands alone in the chapel. " It never makes any sense. We both have to know that there was a reason, " Kirk says softly to Martine. She tearfully assures the captain that she will be fine and leaves. Kirk watches Angela go and then leaves the chapel too, striding purposefully down the ship's corridor.

Log entries [ ]

• Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), 2266

Memorable quotes [ ]

Stiles, Kirk, and Scott

" Since the days of the first wooden vessels, all ship masters have had one happy privilege: that of uniting two people in the bonds of matrimony. "

" I had no idea that history was your specialty. " " Family history. "

" Their war, Mr. Stiles. Not yours. "

" Happy wedding day, almost. " " You won't get off my hook this easily. I'm going to marry you, Mister. Battle or phaser weapons notwithstanding. "

On board the Romulan vessel

" Leave any bigotry in your quarters. There's no room for it on the bridge. "

" That Earth outpost sent word to an Earth vessel, now it follows. " " Which neither retreats nor grows near, which turns as we turn. Commander, it is our judgment that we run from a reflection. " " Perhaps so, but my judgment prevails. "

" He has friends. And friends of his kind mean power. And power is danger. " " Danger and I are old companions. "

" Not too soon for me to see the stars of home. "

" War is never imperative, Mr. Spock. " " It is for them , Doctor. Vulcan, like Earth, had its aggressive, colonizing period; savage, even by Earth standards. And if the Romulans retained this martial philosophy, then weakness is something we dare not show. "

" I wish I were on a long sea voyage somewhere. Not too much deck tennis, no frantic dancing. And no responsibility. "

While Kirk rests in his quarters, Rand enters to check up on him

" In this galaxy, there's a mathematical probability of three million earth-type planets… and in all the universe, three million million galaxies like this one. And in all of that, and perhaps more, only one of each of us. Don't destroy the one named Kirk. "

" He's a sorcerer, that one! He reads the thoughts in my brain! "

" You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend. "

Angela Martine in the ship's chapel

" We are creatures of duty, Captain. I have lived my life by it. Just one more duty to perform. "

" It never makes any sense. We both have to know that there was a reason. "

Background information [ ]

Production timeline [ ].

• Theatrical premiere of "The Enemy Below": 25 December 1957
• Theatrical premiere of "Run Silent, Run Deep": 27 March 1958
• Story outline by Paul Schneider : 14 April 1966
• Revised Story outline: 26 April 1966 , 29 April 1966
• First draft teleplay: 20 May 1966
• Second draft teleplay: 3 June 1966
• Revised teleplay by John D.F. Black : 21 June 1966
• Second revised teleplay by Black: 2 July 1966
• Final draft teleplay by Gene Roddenberry : 14 July 1966
• Revised final draft teleplay: 18 July 1966
• Additional revisions: 19 July 1966 , 20 July 1966 , 21 July 1966 , 22 July 1966 , 25 July 1966
• Day 1 – 20 July 1966 , Wednesday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Bridge
• Day 2 – 21 July 1966 , Thursday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Bridge
• Day 3 – 22 July 1966 , Friday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Bridge
• Day 4 – 25 July 1966 , Monday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Bridge , Chapel (redress of Transporter room ), Phaser control room (redress of Engineering )
• Day 5 – 26 July 1966 , Tuesday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Kirk's quarters , Briefing room , Sickbay , Corridors
• Day 6 – 27 July 1966 , Wednesday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. McCoy's office , Romulan bridge
• Day 7 – 28 July 1966 , Thursday (Half Day) – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Romulan bridge
• Original airdate: 15 December 1966
• Rerun date: 3 August 1967
• First UK airdate (on BBC1 ): 25 October 1969
• First UK airdate (on ITV ): 6 December 1981
• Remastered airdate: 16 September 2006

Story and script [ ]

• The plot of this episode is based on the 1957 film The Enemy Below , with the Enterprise taking the part of the American destroyer and the Bird-of-Prey with its cloaking device taking the part of the submarine. ( The Star Trek Compendium 4th ed., p. 40) Director Vincent McEveety had seen the film but only noticed the similarity later, when this was pointed out to him. He commented, " Obviously, it's the same story. " ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 34)
• Star Trek: The Original Series 365 (p. 063) suggests that Schneider may have also been inspired by another submarine film, Run Silent, Run Deep . The authors note that the film contains a similar plot thread of an officer longing for vengeance, as well as the tactic of releasing wreckage and bodies from a damaged vessel in order to mislead the opposing ship. The Star Trek Compendium (5th edition, p. 40) also mentions this film as the inspiration along with The Enemy Below .
• The "Revised Final Draft" of the script was disseminated on 18 July 1966. ( Cover )
• A portion (scene 46) with the doomed Commander Hansen was filmed but cut from the final episode. [1] In it, Hansen informed Kirk that the Romulan vessel is of "starship design" and that the Romulans had probably stolen Earth designs via espionage and traitors. This is the basis for Stiles' remarks in scene 52 about a vessel "remarkably similar to ours" and having Romulan spies aboard the Enterprise , which was aired and before he even knew what Romulans looked like. [2]
• A shot filmed for scene 171 but cut from the finished episode shows Kirk saluting the Romulan commander, which the latter acknowledges with a courteous nod, before destroying his ship. [3]

Production [ ]

• The music featured during the opening scenes of the wedding ceremony is the 19th century English tune " Long, Long Ago ."
• Although phasers are used throughout the episode, the visual effect seen is that which later was used for photon torpedo launches, probably because the term "photon torpedo" was not invented until later in the season, in " Arena ". Kirk orders the phasers to be "set for proximity blast "; each phaser blast acts like a Navy depth charge.
• This is the only time in the series that the Below decks Phaser weapons room is seen.
• The Making of Star Trek and The Star Trek Compendium (4th ed., p. 40) state that the ship's chapel was a redress of the transporter room. Inside Star Trek: The Real Story (pp. 170-171), states that it is, instead, a redress of the briefing room.
• The trailer includes footage of the Enterprise firing its phasers from " The Corbomite Maneuver " instead of the "blast-like" phaser effect seen in the actual episode.
• Regular first season extra Ron Veto gets his only close-up in TOS, when he replaces Stiles at the navigation console.
• Two of the actors playing Romulans in this episode later played Vulcan characters, namely Mark Lenard ( Sarek ) and Lawrence Montaigne ( Stonn ).

Costumes [ ]

• The Romulan helmets shown aboard the Romulan bridge were designed to cover the ears of the actors. This saved the additional cost of creating prosthetic ear-points for each of the supporting actors. They were reused in " Amok Time " (on Vulcans) and " The Enterprise Incident " for the same reason. ( Star Trek: The Original Series 365 , p. 173)
• The rarely seen command work utility jumpsuit is worn by several crew members in this episode.

Continuity [ ]

• This episode saw the introduction of the Romulan Star Empire in Star Trek . Paul Schneider is credited with creating the Romulans. Schneider remarked, " It was a matter of developing a good Romanesque set of admirable antagonists that were worthy of Kirk. I came up with the concept of the Romulans which was an extension of the Roman civilization to the point of space travel, and it turned out quite well. " ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 34) Schneider's next contribution was " The Squire of Gothos ".
• Associate producer / story editor John D.F. Black said about Schneider, " He was the father of the Romulans. Not Gene, not me, not anyone else – but Paul Schneider. And when he came up with the Romulan characters, they were so wonderful – I mean, they were full. I liked that script a lot. " ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One , p. 217)
• "Balance of Terror" introduces cloaking devices to the Star Trek universe. While this episode suggests that they are a new development in interstellar history, ENT : " Broken Bow " and DIS : " The Vulcan Hello " establish that Starfleet has encountered Suliban and Klingon cloaks in the past ( 2151 and 2256 , respectively).
• This is the only time in which the ship's weaponry is fired through a chain of commands (Kirk, to Stiles, to phaser room), although " The Corbomite Maneuver " comes close with Bailey 's phaser drills.
• When Kirk requests communication with the Romulan flagship , Uhura opens a hailing frequency from the navigation console , which seems unusual. However, when she left the communications station , Uhura had shut down most of the light indicators, which could indicate a transfer of functionality to the navigator's position. This is not the first time the navigation console has been used to open communications. In " The Cage " and " Where No Man Has Gone Before ", when Captain Christopher Pike and Captain Kirk, respectively, want to "address intercraft," the system is opened from the navigation console. This apparently is also true in the alternate reality , because in Star Trek , Pavel Chekov is able to address the crew of the USS Enterprise from his position at navigation.
• As an homage, Captain Picard 's wedding remarks in TNG : " Data's Day " are almost the same as those Kirk uses. ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion , 3rd ed., p.152)
• An alternate timeline version of the events of this episode is shown in SNW : " A Quality of Mercy ", in which Christopher Pike remains captain of the Enterprise , while Kirk is present as captain of the USS Farragut .
• This episode contains the first mention of Romulus ' neighboring planet Remus , which later appears prominently in Star Trek Nemesis .

Preview [ ]

• The preview contains a Captain's Log recorded solely for the preview: " Captain's log, stardate 1710.0. The starship Enterprise is under heavy attack by an enemy vessel. "

Reception [ ]

• McEveety recalled, " [Kirk and the Romulan commander] were very heroic characters pitted one against the other, and it dealt with the length to which people would go for their honor. It was a morality fantasy play, but terribly gripping. I thought that Mark Lenard's performance was brilliant, as was Bill Shatner's. It was a two-people show that I felt was real strong. " ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 34)
• Mark Lenard said, " The Romulan Commander was one of the best roles I ever had on TV. " Comparing the part with that of Sarek , Lenard elaborated, " In many ways, I did enjoy that role [Sarek], but I think the more demanding role and the better acting role was the Romulan Commander" . ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One , p. 217)
• Gene Roddenberry picked this as one of his ten favorite episodes for the franchise's 25th anniversary. ( TV Guide [ page number? • edit ] , August 31, 1991)
• According to the original showrunner of Star Trek: Discovery , Bryan Fuller , the events of "Balance of Terror" were to provide a "touchstone" for the series. [4] However, since Fuller left the series during its development, it is unclear what exactly this was supposed to entail. The Romulans have not been seen or mentioned on Discovery thus far, though Romulus was mentioned in " Context Is for Kings ".
• In 2017 , Ted Sullivan described the Discovery episode " Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum " as "'Balance of Terror' good". [5]

Apocrypha [ ]

• In the James Blish adaptation of this story, presumably based on an earlier draft of the script, Stiles dies. In addition, Robert Tomlinson and Angela Martine actually marry, in a second ceremony late in the story. When the Enterprise fires on the Romulan ship for the final time, the latter explodes immediately, with the conversation between Kirk and the Romulan commander being omitted.
• In the William Shatner novel The Return , where Kirk is resurrected by a Borg /Romulan alliance to kill Captain Jean-Luc Picard , the Romulan alliance is arranged by the granddaughter of the Romulan commander of this mission, convinced that Starfleet are brutal murderers and seeking revenge for her grandfather's death at Kirk's hands.
• The story of the events on Romulus leading up to this episode are told in the comic book " Alien Spotlight: Romulans ".
• A different background to this episode is told in the novella The First Peer and the novel Summon the Thunder , where Vrax is the Praetor who authorized the Neutral Zone incursion.
• In the novel Headlong Flight , an experiment in dimensional displacement results in the USS Enterprise -E of the "prime" universe – over a decade after Star Trek Nemesis – encountering both an alternate version of the USS Enterprise -D – from a year after the Battle of Wolf 359 , in a timeline which ended with the death of Picard/ Locutus of Borg – and a trio of Romulan ships from this era, in a timeline where the Romulan ship depicted here apparently destroyed Kirk's Enterprise in the final showdown.

Remastered information [ ]

• "Balance of Terror" was the first episode of the remastered version of The Original Series to air, though in some markets it was preceded by " Miri ". It premiered in syndication on the weekend 16 September 2006 and most notably featured new effects shots of the comet, Romulan plasma torpedo , and Bird-of-Prey, as well as of the Enterprise and Bird-of-Prey "adrift".

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• US CED VideoDisc release: 1 March 1983
• US LaserDisc release: July 1985
• Original US Betamax/VHS release: 28 February 1985
• Original UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 5 , catalog number VHR 2250, release date unknown
• Japan LaserDisc release: 10 November 1992
• US VHS release: 15 April 1994
• UK re-release (three-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 1.3, 8 July 1996
• As part of the US VHS collection Star Trek - The Greatest Battles : 3 April 1997
• As part of the UK VHS collection Star Trek - Greatest Battles : 16 November 1998
• Original US DVD release (single-disc): Volume 4, 19 October 1999
• As part of the TOS Season 1 DVD collection
• As part of the Star Trek: Fan Collective - Captain's Log DVD collection
• As part of the TOS Season 1 HD DVD collection
• As part of The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series DVD collection
• As part of the TOS Season 1 Blu-ray collection

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• William Shatner as Capt. Kirk

Also starring [ ]

• Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock
• Mark Lenard as a Romulan Commander

Co-starring [ ]

• Paul Comi as Stiles
• Lawrence Montaigne as Decius

Featuring [ ]

• DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy
• Grace Lee Whitney as Yeoman Rand
• George Takei as Sulu
• James Doohan as Scott
• Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
• Stephen Mines as Tomlinson
• Barbara Baldavin as Angela
• Garry Walberg as Hansen
• John Warburton as The Centurion

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• John Arndt as Fields
• William Blackburn as Hadley
• Robert Chadwick as a Romulan scope operator
• Frank da Vinci as Brent
• Walt Davis as Romulan crewman 1
• Vince Deadrick as Romulan crewman 2
• Jeannie Malone as a yeoman
• Sean Morgan as Brenner
• Eddie Paskey as Leslie
• Ron Veto as Harrison
• Command crewman
• Command crew woman 1
• Command crew woman 2
• Command lieutenant
• Medical technician
• Operations crewman
• Sciences lieutenant
• Wedding attendee 1
• Wedding attendee 2
• Wedding attendee 3
• Vince Deadrick ( double )
• Allen Jaffe (stunt)

Stand-ins [ ]

• William Blackburn as the stand-in for DeForest Kelley
• Frank da Vinci as the stand-in for Leonard Nimoy
• Jeannie Malone as the stand-in for Grace Lee Whitney
• Eddie Paskey as the stand-in for William Shatner

References [ ]

2156 ; 2160 ; ability ; Achilles' heel ; act of war ; adversary ; " all decks alert "; " all hands "; amen ; analysis ; answer ; area ; assignment ; assumption ; asteroid ; atomic weapon ; battle stations ; battle status ; bearing ; best man ; bigotry ; bird-of-prey ; blip ; body ; bonds of matrimony ; book ; " Bones "; brain ; briefing room ; campaign ; candelabra ; carelessness ; cast ; centurion ; century ; chance ; commander ; channel ; chapel ; cloaking system (aka cloak , invisibility screen ); code ; coffee ; command base ; Command base nearest to Neutral Zone ; comet ; comet tail ; command order ; composition ; comrade ; condition red ; conduit ; conscience ; contact ; control circuit ; couch ; Cryptography ; customer ; cycle ; damage report ; dancing ; danger ; death ; debris ; deck ; decode ; deflector shield ; disposal tube ; distance ; dust ; duty ; Earth ; Earth Outpost Station ; Earth-Romulan War ; emergency call ; emergency warp ; enemy ; error ; escape maneuver one ; estimate ( estimating ); evasive maneuvers (aka evasive action ); family history ; face-to-face ; feeling ; flagship ; friend ; fuel ; fuel reserve ; " full astern "; Galaxy Quadrant YX-12-114 ; galley ; green ; hardness ; hailing frequency ; heading (aka course ); " Here Comes the Bride " (aka " Bridal Chorus "); history ; homeland ; hour ; Human ; Icarus IV ; idea ; identification ; impact ; implosion ; impulse ; interception course ; intruder ; iron ; junior officer ; lab ; lateral power ; lectern ; light ; magnitude ; mass ; master ; match ; maximum warp ; memory ; metal ; meter ; mile ; minute ; Milky Way Galaxy ; million ; mission ; mistake ; mister ; motion sensor ; navigator ; Neutral Zone Incursion ; no quarter ; nuclear warhead ; obedience ; object ; " of course "; opinion ; order ; " out of reach "; outpost station ; Outpost 1 ; Outpost 2 ; Outpost 3 ; Outpost 4 ; Outpost 5 ; Outpost 6 ; Outpost 7 ; Outpost 8 ; overload ; parallel course ; patrol ; phaser control room (aka phaser room , phaser control ); phaser coolant ; phaser coolant seal ; phaser crew ; phaser weapon ; philosophy ; plasma ; plasma torpedo ; plastaform ; playing dead ; power consumption ; praetor ; Praetor's flagship ; probability ; proof ; protective shield ; proximity fuse ; question ; radiation burn ; range ; rank ; rank reduction ; reality ; Remus ; retreat ; risk ; rodinium ; Romii ; Romulan Star Empire ; Romulans ; Romulan Bird-of-Prey ; Romulan Neutral Zone ; Romulan praetor ; Romulus system ; Romulus ; rule of silence ; salute ; savage ; science ; sea ; second ; Sector Z-6 ; security alert ; sensor ( sensing device ); sensor probe ; sensor range ; services ; session ; shipmaster ; sighting ; signal for war ; sneak attack ; sorcerer ; space recorder ; Space Service ; space vessel ; specialist ; speaker ; spy ; " stand by "; standby alert ; standby crew ; starboard ; star sector ; Stiles (Captain); Stiles (Commander); Stiles (Commander); Stiles family ; subject ; subspace radio ; superior officer ; surrender ; survivor ; Table of Comets ; tactic ; tactical report ; tape ; telepathy ; television camera device ; tennis ; theory ; thing ; thought ; transfer coil ; Treaty of 2160 ; trick ; velocity ; victory ; viewing screen ; Visual communication ; Vulcans ; Vulcan (planet) ; Vulcan history ; weapons control ; weapons crew ; wedding day ; wooden vessel

Unreferenced material [ ]

bird ; bull ; chest pain ; creature ; hawk ; a medicine ; seat-harness ; terrier

External links [ ]

• "Balance of Terror" at StarTrek.com
• " Balance of Terror " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " Balance of Terror " at Wikipedia
• " Balance of Terror " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
• " Balance of Terror " at the Internet Movie Database

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

The Enterprise Incident

• Episode aired Sep 27, 1968

An apparently insane Capt. Kirk has the Enterprise deliberately enter the Romulan Neutral Zone where the ship is immediately captured by the enemy. An apparently insane Capt. Kirk has the Enterprise deliberately enter the Romulan Neutral Zone where the ship is immediately captured by the enemy. An apparently insane Capt. Kirk has the Enterprise deliberately enter the Romulan Neutral Zone where the ship is immediately captured by the enemy.

• John Meredyth Lucas
• Gene Roddenberry
• D.C. Fontana
• Arthur H. Singer
• William Shatner
• Leonard Nimoy
• DeForest Kelley
• 28 User reviews
• 11 Critic reviews

• Captain James Tiberius 'Jim' Kirk

• Mister Spock

• Romulan Commander

• Nurse Chapel
• Technical Officer
• Romulan Guard
• Romulan Soldier
• (uncredited)

• Lieutenant Leslie
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia This episode is the first to feature a female starship commander.
• Goofs The Enterprise crew are shocked to learn that their surprise capture may be due to a new cloaking technology possessed by the Romulans. Kirk and crew already encountered cloaked Romulans two years earlier in Balance of Terror (1966) . However, the cloaking technology in The Enterprise Incident is new because it is improved. The Enterprise was still able to track a Romulan ship, though not accurately, in 'Balance of Terror' and cannot detect them at all with this improved version.

Romulan Commander : We were not aware of Vulcans aboard the Enterprise.

Spock : Starfleet is not in the habit of informing Romulans of its ship's personnel.

• Alternate versions Special Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song
• Connections Featured in William Shatner's Star Trek Memories (1995)
• Soundtracks Theme Music credited to Alexander Courage Sung by Loulie Jean Norman

User reviews 28

• Sep 29, 2021
• September 27, 1968 (United States)
• United States
• Official Facebook
• Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
• Paramount Television
• Norway Corporation
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 51 minutes

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Since The Original Series, the Romulans have been one of Star Trek's most mysterious villains, but who are they and how do they relate to the Vulcans?

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The romulans were created to be star trek 'romans', the timeline of the romulan star empire, the romulan cold war and joining forces against the dominion, the destruction of romulus changed star trek timelines.

Some of the most mysterious villains in Star Trek are the Romulans, whose history with Earth dates back to before the time of Star Trek: The Original Series . The Romulans are depicted as an oppressive group with a militant culture and are arguably even less agreeable than the Klingons. Still, they have united in common cause with the Federation in some instances.

When Star Trek: Discovery advanced the timeline by 900-plus years, the Romulan Star Empire was no more. Their home planet, Romulus, was destroyed. Thanks to Spock's efforts to expose their culture to Vulcan logic, the Romulans found a new home on Ni'var, the renamed Vulcan homeworld. In fact, along with their distant, pointy-eared cousins, the Romulans are part of the Federation in the 32nd Century. Romulans went from unseen enemies in Star Trek 's history to cohabitating with humans' first alien friends, but have plenty of story left to tell.

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Before Star Trek returned for its second wave of stories, the creation of the Romulans was a point of contention. In a featurette on The Original Series Blu-ray, writer and franchise legend Dorothy Fontana said freelance writer Paul Schneider invented them by taking inspiration from the ancient Roman Empire. Schneider confirmed this in Captain's Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyagers by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman, calling his creation "an extension of the Roman civilization to the point of space travel." This is the impetus for their militaristic society, drive to conquer and fanatical loyalty to the unseen Emperor.

The Romulans appeared twice in Star Trek: The Original Series and weren't fully fleshed out as adversaries until the time of The Next Generation . Originally, they looked just like Vulcans, but makeup supervisor Michael Westmore added forehead ridges and a different hairstyle. The Romulans were considered to be the villains in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , but the production opted for the more popular Klingons. They would have taken the place of the S'ona in Star Trek: Insurrection . However, Patrick Stewart objected to their inclusion thinking fans wanted a fresh villain. Ironically, the opposite was true.

The Romulans also appeared as villains in Star Trek: Nemesis , Star Trek (2009) and in Season 1 of Star Trek: Picard . Because they were originally introduced as an "offshoot" of Vulcans, Leonard Nimoy appeared as Spock on The Next Generation to send the character to make peace with them. His final mission was to reintegrate the Vulcan and Romulan cultures as one society. Star Trek: Discovery revealed he succeeded indirectly by the 32nd Century. While there was an Earth-Romulan war, this story hasn't been told yet, likely because humans never saw their enemies in the flesh.

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In the Star Trek universe, it was discovered that most humanoid life could trace its genetic origins to a single star-faring species billions of years in the past. They traveled the universe colonizing many planets, and both Vulcans and Romulans share traces of this DNA. At some point in Vulcan's history, before the populace adopted the logic-based philosophy of Surak, a group of Vulcans went to the stars and eventually settled on Romulus. These beings became Romulans, and possibly Remans, the pale-skinned, scaled "slave caste" of the Romulan Star Empire, at least through the late 24th Century.

By the 22nd Century, the Romulan Star Empire was known by Vulcans, yet they had no contact with their long-distant cousins. In fact, this connection was lost to history among Vulcans, although Romulans retained that information. On Star Trek: Enterprise the NX-01 encountered a planet surrounded by cloaked mines. They briefly exchanged communications with this unknown race, but never identified them for certain. Later, the Romulans sent spies to Vulcan to attempt reunification, but when Captain Archer and T'Pring discovered Surak's teachings, the plans fell apart.

A long-distance Romulan plot also attempted to foster war in the galaxy via cloaked drones, controlled telepathically. This caused Captain Archer to form an alliance with founding members of the Federation , thereby starting the process of its creation. In 2156, Earth and Romulus went to war. The Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites united again to defeat them in 2160, whereby the neutral zone was established. The treaty was negotiated via long-distance communication. The Romulans were never seen until the USS Enterprise encountered a cloaked vessel attacking Earth colonies near the edge of the neutral zone.

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Two years after this encounter, Captain Kirk was ordered to violate the Neutral Zone to steal a cloaking device. He succeeded and captured a Romulan commander as well. Later, in Star Trek: The Animated Series , the Romulans tried to steal the Enterprise, but were defeated. By the late 23rd Century, the Romulan Star Empire had an ambassador at Federation headquarters. He was part of the conspiracy to prevent the Klingon Empire and the Federation from signing the Khitomer Peace Treaty. The Romulans remained isolated until the mid-24th Century.

There was a Cold War between the Empire and the Federation with many incidents amounting to 45 appearances in the second-wave series and films. Notable encounters included the attempted defection of Admiral Alidar Jarok. A Romulan spy impersonated the Vulcan ambassador T'Pel. After a test of a new cloaking device failed, the USS Enterprise-D helped the stranded Romulans. The Enterprise conducted two cover missions on Romulus. First, they were sent to retrieve Spock who had decided to preach Surak's teachings to Romulans. They then sent Deanna Troi to help Vice-Proconsul M'Ret defect to the Federation.

The Romulans still engaged in conflict with the Klingons periodically throughout the 24th Century. They also tried to steal an experimental starship, thwarted by the ship's Emergency Medical Hologram and the EMH from the USS Voyager. The Romulans stayed out of the Dominion War, until Captain Sisko aided Garak in framing the Dominion for the death of one of their ambassadors. They remained allies until the war ended.

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The film Star Trek: Nemesis took place in 2379, when the Remans rose up against the Romulan masters. A clone of Captain Picard named Shinzon became the new praetor. He brought the USS Enterprise-E to Romulus under the ruse of peace talks, but he needed Picard to heal a medical malady. His plan was to launch a war with the aim of destroying Earth. His defeat led to true diplomatic negotiations, aided by Ambassador Spock. In the 2380s, a cosmic accident destroyed Romulus. Spock and a mining vessel captained by Nero were sent to the past and created an alternate timeline, in which Vulcan was destroyed.

Back in the Prime Timeline, Admiral Picard tried to help refugees from the (now so named) Romulan Free State relocate. The Romulan secret order Zhat Vash used synthetic lifeforms to destroy the Utopia Planitia shipyards and the relocation fleet. Years later, the group attacked two synthetic lifeforms -- "children" of Data -- and a retired Picard helped save them and a planet full of their kind from destruction. A group of Romulans also captured a Borg cube, creating the Borg Reclamation project. The Artifact, as it was called, ended up landing on the planet of synthetics, where they presumably took over the effort.

By the 32nd Century, the Romulans and Vulcans successfully reunified. Vulcan was renamed Ni'var, and while there remained cultural tension, the two cultures lived in relative peace. When a cosmic accident caused all the dilithium crystals to explode, which prevented warp travel and killed countless people, Ni'Var retreated from the Federation. With the help of Captains Michael Burnham and Saru, they agreed to rejoin the union. This means the forthcoming series Starfleet Academy could introduce Romulan cadets.

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The Star Trek universe encompasses multiple series, each offering a unique lens through which to experience the wonders and perils of space travel. Join Captain Kirk and his crew on the Original Series' voyages of discovery, encounter the utopian vision of the Federation in The Next Generation, or delve into the darker corners of galactic politics in Deep Space Nine. No matter your preference, there's a Star Trek adventure waiting to ignite your imagination.

The Ending Of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Explained

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" launched in May 2022 and marked a return to the roots of the franchise. It featured self-contained stories for each episode, and classic, thought-provoking science fiction in true "Star Trek" tradition. The series was  upbeat, optimistic, and adventurous , with a new cast of intrepid Starfleet officers aboard the Enterprise. Though Season 1 was brief at just ten episodes, it dropped to acclaim from both audiences and critics, who praised the storytelling, the strong characters, and the concept.

Though each episode was a standalone story, the show managed to fit in several ongoing character arcs. Pike was tortured by a vision of his future, seeing himself get horribly deformed following a Starfleet training exercise in which he saves a number of lives. He struggled to come to terms with his fate, agonizing over whether or not he could avoid it.

In the finale, Pike came face to face with his fate in a story that may be the boldest that the franchise has ever attempted, essentially a remake of one of the greatest episodes of "Star Trek" ever made. How did it all go down? This is the ending of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" Season 1 explained. Spoilers ahead .

A visit to the Neutral Zone

The final episode of "Strange New Worlds" Season 1 opens with the U.S.S. Enterprise and the U.S.S. Cayuga meeting at the edge of the Neutral Zone, the demilitarized territory that separates the Federation from the Romulan Empire. In his personal log, Pike mentions that the region is a remnant of a treaty that ended a long war between the two sides more than a century earlier, a legendary conflict in "Star Trek" lore that has yet to be seen on the screen.

The Neutral Zone has been the center of several classic "Star Trek" episodes, but this was its first appearance in "Strange New Worlds." The two starships converge at Outpost 4, one of seven Starfleet installations along the border. Based on an asteroid, it's in desperate need of retrofitting and resupply.

Pike meets with his on-again off-again lover Captain Batel of the Cayuga, first seen in the opening moments of the series premiere. Over dinner, Batel shares concerns about rumors of the Romulans developing new and dangerous weapons, a concern that the Enterprise captain dismisses. The peace-loving Pike makes it clear that it may be time to put their prejudice against Romulans behind them. After all, nobody has ever seen a Romulan. They haven't even dealt with them in years, yet there are many who are quick to blame the Romulans for their problems.

Pike makes a decision on his future

In the briefing room, Captain Pike , Number One, and Mr. Spock meet with Hansen, the commander of Outpost 4. They promise the commander of the perilously located outpost that he'll be receiving all manner of impressive upgrades, for which he is grateful. But the arrival of Hansen's son Maat Al-Salah, who idolizes the Enterprise's captain, takes Pike off guard. All season long, Pike has been dealing with premonitions of a future event that will leave him crippled, an incident in which he will save the lives of several cadets. Maat is one of the cadets who will not survive the accident.

Shaken, Pike heads to his quarters. Finally being confronted with the reality that lives will be lost, he decides he is going to change the outcome. After a season of internal conflict, meeting the young boy has crystallized for Pike the need to chart his own future, instead of simply letting it play out. Unwilling to accept that his path is predetermined, Pike begins to write a series of letters — the first one addressed to Maat — that will warn the future cadets of the coming danger. He intends to ensure that none of them attend the training exercise that is still many years away, thereby altering his fate and his future.

Pike's future fights back

Out of nowhere, the finale gives us the season's biggest, most mind-blowing twist: The arrival of a future Pike who comes to warn his past self not to alter his fate. He's wearing a "Star Trek" movie-era style uniform with the rank of Admiral, a look that Pike never sported in our timeline, meaning that the future this version of Pike is from is very different indeed. But he's not just there to grab a cup of tea and have a chat — future Admiral Pike has arrived with a message and a dire warning. According to the Admiral, the letter that Captain Pike is about to write will wreck the future.

Admiral Pike claims that the letter his younger self is about to write will indeed accomplish its goal: The cadets won't attend the training exercise and no lives will be lost. Pike himself will avert the horrific accident and injuries that will leave him confined to a mobility device and render him disfigured and mute. The Admiral explains that it comes at a price, as his efforts to choose his own fate will have terrifying unforeseen consequences.

Pike is shown an alternate future

Pike understandably wants proof that this strange visitor is who he claims to be. Fortunately, Admiral Pike has a way to prove that his warning is gravely serious. He produces a relic that should help convince his younger self of his claims: a Klingon time crystal. According to the Admiral, the monks on the Klingon planet Boreth — the same ones who gave Pike his future vision in the first place — have given him the crystal and sent him back in time. With the relic, alternate timeline Pike will show his past self a vision of their potential future to warn him not to try to change his destiny.

Touching the crystal, Captain Pike is transported forward in time, though he doesn't realize that at first. Finding himself in the middle of a wedding ceremony aboard the Enterprise, Pike awkwardly attempts to improvise before the ship's red alert klaxons blare out and send the crew scattering. Pike is still aboard the Enterprise, and he appears to still be the captain, but something is very wrong. When he gets to the bridge, Mr. Spock is his first officer, Uhura is a full lieutenant, and reports are coming in that Outpost 4 has been attacked by an unknown vessel with a devastating new weapon of untold power. With other outposts going silent, it seems the Romulans may be trying to provoke a war.

A new balance

Departing from science fiction tradition, Captain Pike meets with Mr. Spock and tells him what has happened. The accident that took the lives of several cadets and left him mutilated apparently never occurred in this timeline, obviously due to the letters he sent to the cadets. Spock posits that Pike must have avoided the accident and created a new timeline where he remained captain and that the dark future he was warned of occurred because his presence altered a crucial moment in history.

With Outpost 4 under attack by an unknown vessel on the edge of the Neutral Zone, longtime fans will recognize the crucial moment in question: It appears that Captain Pike has been transported into the middle of the classic "Star Trek: The Original Series" episode "Balance of Terror." The episode saw the first appearance of the Romulans, with Captain Kirk narrowly avoiding an interstellar war.

At this point it seems like the "Strange New Worlds" Season 1 finale is going to take us back to one of the best "Star Trek" episodes ever made, but with a new twist as Captain Pike takes the place of the legendary Kirk. But don't expect it to be a simple remake, because, without Kirk at the helm of the Enterprise, events could play out very differently.

A deadly invisible enemy

Arriving at Outpost 4, the Enterprise is contacted by Commander Hansen Al-Salah, who tells them that a mysterious vessel attacked their installation, nearly destroying it with a horrifying new weapon. Despite being located deep beneath the asteroid's surface, the weapon has crippled them. And, upon firing, the ship somehow disappeared from sensors. According to Hansen, three other outposts have already been completely wiped out, and they may be next. Just as Hansen warns them that the ship is still out there, the mystery vessel re-emerges.

While the crew doesn't recognize it, Trekkies will no doubt know the unmistakable shape of the Romulan Bird of Prey, which takes aim for a second shot at the outpost. Still out of weapons range, Pike is helpless as the enemy ship obliterates what's left of the outpost with a powerful blast of red energy, killing Hansen in a fireball before disappearing once more. Realizing the ship has to uncloak to fire its weapon, Spock looks for a way to detect it before it can strike again. But if he and his crew are going to stop the Romulan ship, they may need some help.

Buying some time

As the Enterprise continues towards the Neutral Zone, they are hailed by a nearby Starfleet ship, the U.S.S. Farragut. Uhura notes that this is the ship upon which his former security chief La'An Noonien now serves. But it's not La'An who comes up on the screen when the Farragut hails the Enterprise — Captain James T. Kirk pops up. In this alternate timeline, Kirk was never given command of the Enterprise and was instead promoted to captain of the ship he'd previously served on as a young lieutenant.

With Kirk on the viewscreen, Spock announces that he has figured out how to imprecisely track the Romulan ship, prompting Ortegas to demand they strike. Once again reluctant to be the aggressor, Pike refuses, not wanting to spark a war, even if he doesn't want to let them get away with their deadly attack.

Thankfully, Kirk has his own plan — and it happens to be the same one he used in the original 1967 episode "Balance of Terror." He wants to match the Romulan ship's movements move for move, tracking and following the vessel in such a way that the Romulans might confuse them for a sensor echo, a reflection of their own energy signature. With this tactic, they can buy time while they wait for Starfleet orders.

Trust issues

Kirk beams aboard the Enterprise and Pike greets him warmly, but he is cautious. He doesn't know this hotshot young captain, and he fears his reckless attitude could lead them into a war with the Romulans, given the precariousness of the situation. His own officer Sam — who happens to be Captain Kirk's brother — acknowledges that Kirk may be a wild card who relies on luck and charm, but, whatever his faults, he's still one of the best captains the fleet has ever seen.

As Sam Kirk is assuring Pike that he can trust his brother's judgment, Uhura intercepts a coded visual transmission from the Romulan ship. Putting it up on the viewscreen, Pike and his crew become the first humans to ever see a Romulan — who just so happen to share Mr. Spock's pointed ears. The entire crew is suddenly unsure if they can trust their Vulcan first officer. Kirk defends Spock's allegiance and theorizes that while the two races may be connected, it's also possible that the Romulans intentionally allowed them to view the transmission to sow discord between humans and Vulcans.

Headed for war

Assembled in the briefing room, Pike, Kirk, Spock, M'Benga, and Ortegas debate their next move. They can't let the Romulans get away, but Pike insists they not cross into the Neutral Zone to get revenge, which would surely incite a full scale interstellar war that could cost untold lives. M'Benga is firmly on the side of peace, insisting that no matter who is the aggressor, they should not retaliate when it would mean the certain death of billions.

Ortegas takes the opposing view, believing that war may be inevitable at this point and that they should attack the Romulans now. Kirk tells Pike he agrees with Ortegas, but not because he wants war, or even revenge. He instead ponders the consequences of the Romulan ship returning home with the news that the Federation is weak and won't fight back when attacked. But the real surprise is that Spock also votes for attacking.

If the Romulans do indeed share blood with ancient Vulcans as Spock suspects, and they have retained the savage emotions of his ancestors, then they cannot afford to show weakness. Spock's stance — and even his specific dialogue — mirrors "Balance of Terror." Just as he's outvoted, Kirk comes up with a plan, a brilliant pincer maneuver to flank the Romulan vessel. He thinks they may be able to detect the enemy ship as it passes through the tail of a nearby comet. Pike, however, internally fears that Kirk's brash action may be the reason he was sent into the future — to prevent Kirk from starting a war.

Peace or war?

Despite executing their plan perfectly, the Romulans still get the drop on them. The three ships engage in a battle in the tail of the comet, with the Farragut fatally struck by Romulan phasers. After beaming aboard the survivors from the Farragut — including Kirk and La'An — the two captains have a bitter confrontation. Kirk calls out Pike for being too cautious and hesitating, saying that Pike should have attacked. This seems to confirm Pike's fears that Kirk is going to lead them into war.

On the bridge, Spock learns that the Romulan ship is damaged and slowly limping back to Romulan space. Telling Pike that they can now overtake the enemy, Kirk pushes for an all-out assault, but Pike has other ideas. The Enterprise captain wants to use this opportunity to extend an olive branch to the Romulans, much to Kirk's dismay. In an impassioned plea, Pike offers the Romulans a ceasefire. To their surprise, the Romulans accept.

Aboard the Bird of Prey, it's clear that not every Romulan agrees with the decision. While the commander of the enemy ship acknowledges being tired of conflict and looking for a way out, his sub-commander has a thirst for war. He sees Pike's actions as Federation weakness and pushes for an attack on the Enterprise. The Romulan commander tells his younger officer that while he must see this "peace game" to its conclusion, it may not work, and if it doesn't, he'll get the war that he's looking for.

A shocking revelation

Back aboard the Enterprise, Pike is curious about one missing member of his former crew. Uhura is a Lieutenant, and La'An is the first officer of the Farragut, but Number One is M.I.A. In his briefing room, he confronts Spock about his conspicuously absent former friend, and we make a stunning discovery — Number One was arrested and is being held in isolation by Federation authorities. It appears as if some time in the past (not long after the time Pike came from), Lt. Commander Una Chin-Riley was taken into custody after the truth of her Illyrian blood became known.

This was the focus of the earlier "Strange New Worlds" episode "Ghosts of Illyria," in which it was revealed that Number One was actually an Illyrian, a race of people who use genetic augmentation that is illegal in the Federation. At the close of that episode, it's made clear that if this information ever got out, she'd be kicked out of Starfleet or worse. Pike promised to keep the secret to himself, believing her good heart to be more than enough for her to earn her place among his crew. Now we're forced to wonder: who squealed?

Kirk has a backup plan

Amid the negotiated ceasefire, the Enterprise and the Romulan Bird of Prey both hurriedly work on getting their ships back up and running, with Spock personally seeing to the repair of the phasers. Meanwhile, Pike visits Kirk in his ready room. Kirk reminds him that while pushing for peace is a noble goal, there's been no evidence that the Romulans can actually be trusted to live up to their end of the bargain. But, knowing that Pike is not going to be receptive to attacking the Romulans, Kirk instead offers a bold backup plan.

Proposing that he leave the ship and gather reinforcements for a potential confrontation, Pike reminds him that they're weeks away from any Starfleet vessel. Kirk smiles and simply asks for the use of a shuttlecraft, with a knowing twinkle in his eye. It's a reminder of the Captain Kirk that fans of the franchise know and love — a clever tactician who always seems to have a trick up his sleeve.

An inspirational speech

As the agreed-upon two hour ceasefire comes to a close, Spock still hasn't gotten the phasers back online. "Conventional wisdom suggests that our next move is to resume hostilities," Pike tells the Romulan commander. "Our strength comes from our willingness to see a partner instead of an enemy. In our culture, that is an act of faith and strength." He then pointedly tests the Romulan, asking, "Do Romulans have that kind of strength?"

It's a powerful message, and a very Picard-like maneuver, but decidedly not how Kirk would have handled it. Just as the Romulan commander agrees that war is not an option, a fleet of enemy craft comes warping in, led by the Romulan Praetor. In a shocking twist, the younger Romulan officer betrayed his commander and contacted his superiors in the Romulan Empire, who immediately sent a fleet to engage the Enterprise.

Confronted about his betrayal, the younger officer says that their mission had been to test the will of the Federation, and that Pike's reluctance to fight showed weakness, and now it was their duty to destroy them. He knew that the commander agreeing to peace was not something the Empire would have tolerated, and now they were ready to blow the Enterprise out of the stars and declare war on the Federation.

Kirk takes a risk

With the Romulan fleet ready to open fire, the Romulan Praetor contacts Pike and demands his surrender. With no other option, the Enterprise's captain is ready to get tough. But, right before things get messy, an entire fleet of Federation vessels warps in, led by Captain Kirk. These are not heavily armored cruisers or advanced battle-tested starships. Instead, Kirk has scrambled dozens of remotely controlled robotic unmanned mining and hauling ships. Though not equipped for war, Kirk reasons that after a hundred years, the Romulans wouldn't know a real Starfleet armada if they actually saw one. While it's not enough to fight off a Romulan attack fleet, it might be just enough for Pike to bluff with.

Now it's up to Pike to sell it — he contacts the Praetor and calls Kirk's fleet an "armada of Delta Class attack ships." The Romulan leader is outraged by the aggressive maneuver, but Pike points out the recordings they have of their Bird of Prey attacking their outposts in a series of deadly, unprovoked attacks. The Praetor seems surprised by this revelation, not because she was unaware, but because the attacks had been recorded. Instead of firing on the Enterprise, the Praetor sends one of her ships out to destroy the Bird of Prey for having been caught. She calls it a "culling."

Star-crossed friends

In a final overture of friendship, Pike hails the commander of the Romulan Bird of Prey that he has matched wits with all episode. The commander is facing a death sentence from his own people, and Pike offers to beam him and his crew aboard the Enterprise to save them. But the Romulan is a proud warrior and accepts his fate as a loyal officer of the Romulan Empire. "I'm sorry we had to meet this way," he tells Pike. "You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend."

Though the circumstances were somewhat different, this echoes the same line spoken by the Romulan commander in the original "Star Trek" episode "Balance of Terror." In that episode, the Romulan was speaking to Kirk, just before his ship was destroyed after a heated battle between the two starships. Even with the Bird of Prey on the verge of destruction, William Shatner's Kirk had offered to save the Romulan crew. Here, in the "Strange New Worlds" finale, the Romulan commander accepts his fate and assures Pike it is simply a matter of duty.

A turning point for Pike

Despite the presence of an apparent armada, the Romulan Praetor decides to attack the Enterprise. As Pike attempts to out-maneuver the enemy fleet, Kirk uses the remote piloted mining ships as a distraction, putting them between the Enterprise and the Romulans. But it's not enough — the Enterprise is rocked by enemy fire, and severely damaged. After getting Kirk back aboard, Pike warps the Enterprise away to safety just in time. As they get away, a message comes across subspace on all channels: The Romulans have declared war on the Federation.

The dark future that Pike has been sent forward to witness is now clear. If he is to live and prevent the incident that takes the lives of two young Starfleet cadets, it will lead to a devastating war with the Romulan Empire. The incident at Outpost 4 was a crucial turning point in history, and the Enterprise needed Kirk as its captain to avert catastrophe. But that's not all — one of the casualties of the disaster aboard the Enterprise is Mr. Spock. Though he may survive, he's lost a leg, is severely disfigured, and may never be the same again.

Pike to Pike

Back in his quarters, Captain Pike meets with his older Admiral self again. "I traded my fate for Spock's," he tells him. Pike can save himself and even the young cadets, but he cannot avert disaster, and a war with the Romulans would undoubtedly cost millions of lives. Admiral Pike goes further: Spock is the key to peace with the Romulans, in this and any timeline. This directly references the events of the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Unification," the J.J. Abrams reboot film, the aftermath in "Star Trek: Picard," as well as the future seen in "Star Trek: Discovery," tying together a decades-long storyline. As revealed in the 32nd century, Spock plays a key role in peace between the Romulans and the Federation.

According to Admiral Pike, it's more than just this timeline — the monks on Boreth showed him that in every timeline where Pike tried to fix his future, Spock died. And that's something he cannot live with. Admiral Pike had finally realized that he was the result of a path that should have never been taken, and now he was here to convince his younger self not to take it.

A stunning cliffhanger

Upon his return to the present — seven years before the fateful encounter with the Romulans — Pike is a changed man. He has accepted his fate, and he is more appreciative of his science officer Mr. Spock. But one surprise is still in store, a cliffhanger that sets up a major storyline for "Strange New Worlds" Season 2.

As the Enterprise prepares to leave Outpost 4 after a resupply, they get a message from Starfleet Command. Pike's friend Captain Batel of the U.S.S. Cayuga is beaming aboard, and they want Pike and his first officer to meet them in the transporter room. When they arrive, they are taken aback by Batel's statement: Number One, Lt. Commander Una Chin-Riley, is to be taken into custody on charges of being an Illyrian, violating Starfleet's anti-genetic modifications directive.

Pike attempts to fight the order — physically — but Una stops him. "I've known this might happen for years," she says, accepting of her own fate. And with that, the final shot of Season 1 of "Strange New Worlds" is Number One being beamed away, with Pike powerless to stop it.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Finale Recap: The Enterprise Takes on a Classic Foe — Plus: Hello, [Spoiler]!

Keisha hatchett, staff editor.

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After learning of his horrific fate in the not-so-distant future, Captain Pike has struggled throughout Season 1 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds with the knowledge of that catastrophic explosion which leaves him severely disfigured.

The Enterprise captain is forced to confront that impending future in Wednesday’s season finale when he meets a young boy named Maat who is poised to die in the training accident that disfigures him.

With his mind set on altering their fates, Pike is visited by his future self, who warns of end-of-the-world results for attempting to change things. Using a time crystal, Pike is propelled seven years into the future where Spock is his Number One, since Una is somewhere out of reach.

The Enterprise has received a red alert about an unknown vessel attacking Federation outposts near the Neutral Zone, the area surrounding the Romulan Empire. Ortegas immediately suspects the Romulans, but Pike doesn’t want to make assumptions. One wrong step means a potential war, and that would be a disaster.

Pike tells Spock about his sudden trip to the future, and Spock’s first instinct is to assume command since his captain has been mentally compromised. That’s until Pike suggests a Vulcan mind meld, which proves he is of sound mind and telling the truth. In this timeline, it’s been six months since the explosion, but no one was hurt. Pike wants to know why he was sent to this moment in time, and Spock believes he’s been placed at a crucial moment where the future hangs in the balance. The only way to find out what this future holds is to act as he normally would.

We get an unexpected cameo from Paul Wesley’s James T. Kirk, captain of the U.S.S. Farragut , who offers to help. (Read our full interview with Wesley here .)

His ship also received a distress signal from the outpost. Cue a polite first meeting between Kirk and Spock, who don’t know each other in this timeline. All evidence points to the Romulans behind the attacks, but Pike notes that they can’t enter the Neutral Zone because that would be a declaration of war. Kirk has another idea: shadow the vessel — appearing as a reflection — to buy them more time.

In a private meeting with Pike, Kirk’s brother Sam gives more insight into the captain of the Farragut . Sam describes his younger sibling as a guy who “doesn’t like to take the path everyone else does” and who doesn’t like to lose. When Pike asks if he should be worried, Sam insists he’s a good captain — even if he likes to bend the rules.

The team eyes a comet with a trail reflecting a signal Spock has deciphered. It’s a feed from the Romulan ship’s bridge, finally revealing what the hostile aliens look like. Everyone is disturbed by how similar they are to Vulcans — except for Spock, who does his signature eyebrow raise out of curiosity.

Kirk beams aboard the Enterprise just in time for a meeting about how they should handle the situation. Lt. Ortegas is inclined to fire on the Romulan ship, but Dr. M’Benga thinks that will start a war. Kirk leans toward attack because allowing the attacks on Federation outposts to go unanswered runs the risk of war. Spock is also pro-attack, viewing that as their only option at this point. Here’s when Kirk kicks in with another idea to track the Romulans’ location at the tail end of a comet, where it will be temporarily revealed by the debris.

As the Enterprise and Farragut flank the Romulan ship on either side, they realize something is amiss. The Romulan ship surprise-attacks the Farragut , which is destroyed in the battle. (Their crew safely beams aboard the Enterprise first, though.) Pike then strikes up a deal with the Romulan commander for a two-hour ceasefire so that both species may talk for the first time in a century. Not everyone is happy, given what happened with the Farragut , least of all Ortegas.

For those wondering what happened to Una, we learn that she’s been serving out a sentence during the last seven years for concealing her identity as an Illyrian from the Federation.

Kirk isn’t so sure the Romulans can be trusted and believes they need a backup plan, like calling in reinforcements. However, they are weeks away from getting help, so they’re really in a bind. But as Kirk points out, the Romulans don’t know that. He asks to borrow a shuttle for yet another brilliant plan.  

When it’s time for discussions to continue, the Romulan commander leans towards peace. But his subordinate calls in a full fleet as backup, escalating the situation.  A leader from the Romulans’ flagship demands their surrender, and it looks like the Enterprise is seconds away from disaster. But Kirk shows up in the nick of time with his own fleet of unmanned mining ships — a fake-out to look like backup. When Pike refuses to surrender, the Romulans open fire and declare war on the Federation. The Enterprise warps away, but not before taking major damage, and Spock is severely disfigured in a radiation explosion, Pike’s fate having fallen on him.

But before returning to the present, he shares a drink with Kirk, who points out that sometimes one just can’t avoid a fight. Pike then tells Kirk that he’s a good captain and that the Enterprise would be lucky to have him.

Back in the present, Pike is relieved to see Spock alive and well. He also deletes his files on the future accident, fully accepting his fate. With that weight lifted from his shoulders, he walks to the bridge in a chipper mood and a pep in his step.

Unfortunately, the good vibes come to a screeching halt when Una is arrested for concealing her Illyrian heritage. This can’t be good. (Note: TVLine has confirmed that Rebecca Romijn will be back as a series regular for Season 2.)

What did you think of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ‘ Season 1 finale? How did you feel about that Kirk cameo? Grade the episode below, and then sound off in the comments. 

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And you forgot to mention the sneaky audio cameo of a Scottish engineer when Spock was working on repairing the tube. Great episode.

I was going to mention that as well. :)

Great episode! I’m ready for season 2!

Great episode. Besides Scotty’s voice, I was expecting Bones to come bursting in with his usual, “Dammit, Jim!”.

The only thing was Kirk. He just seemed like Jim Carrey doing his “Shatner-as-Kirk” impression.

I didn’t think that about Paul Wesley’s performance at all. I was actually very impressed.

I was discussing this on YouTube. In the altered reality, Kirk isn’t the captain of the Enterprise, the Federation’s flagship. He’s not the top dog, he has to defer to Pike. Maybe in the unaltered future, Kirk’s the captain of the Enterprise & he destroys the Romulans, which averts war., which would contribute to his confidence & cocky attitude. Maybe not being top dog dampens his attitude.

Just my two cents, but it could explain this Kirk’s demeanor.

There’s no ‘maybe’ about what Kirk would do in the ‘unaltered future’. This episode was literally the first season TOS Episode “Balance of Terror” but with Pike as captain instead. :)

I enjoyed the series too, and agree about Wesley’ performance. Also, I couldn’t get into Pike’s character as authentic. Maybe it’s his hair.

Interesting to see the TOS episode “Balance of Terror” play out in the “What if Pike were in command?” scenario. It’s a good way of showing the strengths of both Captains Pike and Kirk while also showing that you have to have the right one in the right moment. They both had great (albeit disparate) approaches, but only one was going to work out in this scenario.

I don’t buy that Pike was that tactically inept at those jey points. He’s already been shown this season to be crafty and willing to think outside if the box just as skillfully as Kirk. . Just sort of unfair to drop Pike in a situation removed from about a decades worth of personal growth and experience. . A good episode overall, but not near flawless.

Love hearing some of the same music in this episode as we hear in Balance of Terror, and is it just me or were they trying to recreate some of the lighting from TOS. Like when it was darkly lit, but you could see the band of light going across the top half of Pike’s face, like they’re lighting his eyes.

The lighting was mentioned on “Ready Room” recap of the show that did tons of side by sides and other Easter Eggs… No mention of Scotty on RR though which was odd… but we’ll probably see him in Season 2 since their Engineer was killed in Episode 9…

This was such a great finale! I laughed, I cried, I compared it to what I know of TOS and ENT. Can’t wait for season 2!

OK, my first comment was posted about halfway into my watching the episode. It’s over now and I have a couple thoughts. After using that green gemstone thingy from his future self and finding out that every change leads to Spocks demise, Pike then decides to look up Jim Kirk and, presumably, recruit him to the Enterprise. Thus making the future of Pike and Kirk meeting in seven years for the first time null and void, thus changing the future which could lead to Spocks demise.

Either way, this was a great season!

We don’t we really that. Pike probably recommend (quietly) that Kirk be given command after he left. Doesn’t mean he had to ‘meet” him “again”

Except that we already know Kirk will be in Season 2. A younger Lt. Kirk, of course. But it does seem to fly in the face of his assertation in “The Menagerie” That he met Pike when he was promoted to Fleet Captain, and that he took over the Enterprise from him. The inference being that these are the only 2 times they met (Or once, if it was the same occassion) and that he didn’t really know him that well.

I guess we’ll see how much Pike and Kirk actually interact next season.

I’m glad Pike finally told Ortegas to shut up. It has seemed strange to me that all season she’s been awfully mouthy to her superiors for someone in the military. It’s one thing when they are off duty but the writers have her doing it while on duty.

Strange New Worlds has quickly catapulted to becoming the best version of Trek since the original series and Next Generation. It is well done in every way save one.

For a show that was absolutely spot on fantastic in its casting of Anson Mount as Pike (from back in Discovery) and Ethan Peck as Spock, Paul Wesley is exceedingly miscast as Kirk. He’s a fine actor, and nothing against him, but rather the casting people made a poor choice. And, yes, I understand Kirk is younger and different here, but he literally bears zero resemblance saved a forced one.

The show is still aces, though. Definitely Trek at its best.

An excellent episode that brought out the strengths and weaknesses of ST:D. . There was a lot to appreciate at a dramatic level, and the writing wasn’t afraid to make things a bit nuanced. For example, Pike failed in this situation for a couple of reasons. One is that his greatest strength is his empathy and his willingness to listen. He’s someone who will avoid a violent solution if he can, and in general we’ve seen that to be a good approach. But no single strategy will work in all situations, and it was the wrong one here. It does influence the Romulan captain, but this was a case, like certain negotiations in the Peloponnesian war, or the run up to WWII, where you could actually bring on a conflict by showing a willingness to compromise. . But part of the reason he failed, from what we see, is that he was trying too hard to avoid the catastrophe that he had been told was coming, as in a Greek tragedy. And that brings up one of the show’s weaknesses. which is logic. Pike knows that things will go wrong only because Future Pike told them they would, but that hadn’t influenced Future Pike’s own actions. . But putting that aside, there’s the usual Trek muddle about time travel. Okay, Pike was the wrong captain in the wrong place. How do you avoid that? Well, obviously, by letting Pike go on to maim himself and let two cadets die! Er, couldn’t Pike, you know, just resign? I can’t help thinking there’s a more targeted workaround. . And maybe this will be explained, but in the Darkest Timeline, Una’s in prison, while you can’t imagine Pike won’t resolve the situation next season. If his finding a solution has nothing to do with how Pike was influenced in this episode, that’s a bit funny. And Future Pike just disappears because the Darkest Timeline will never happen, while Present Pike remembers the whole thing? Isn’t that sort of a paradox? . There’s a related issue with scientific plausibility. For example, people have talked about Boltzmann brains for a long time, and physicists such as Sean Carroll do sometimes worry about them, seeing it as worth asking why one line of reasoning predicts a lot of them while we don’t actually see any. In any case, it’s just weird as an explanation for the godlike being in the nebula in one of the episodes. So the only Boltzmann brain we’ve ever encountered is godlike, and we haven’t run into any BBs in between, say Moe, Larry, and Shemp? . And for that matter, how did Mickey Mouse lift that big, big piano? Right, time to shut up. . Personally, while it’s perfectly logical to bring in references to the original Star Trek, and it did work here, I hope the show will continue to be restrained about it. I watch ST:D despite, rather than because of, all that baggage, and enjoy the show a great deal when it goes its own way.

Spock performed the eyebrow drop perfectly.

Was I the only one that streamed “Balance of Terror” after watching this episode?

Definitely not the only one.

My son and I have been watching Star Trek together for almost 30 years, since he was six or seven. I watched TOS as a teenager. And of course we immediately revisited Balance of Terror.

Here’s hoping season 2 rectifies season 1’s baffling under-use of Rebecca Romijn. Her portrayal of Una should be one of the “big three” with Spock and Pike, so there should be much, much more of her.

I can’t believe no one pointed out Spock’s eyebrow surprise was due to seeing his Dad commanding the Romulan ship.

Fantastic episode and season. Can’t wait for Season 2.

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9 essential Romulan episodes to watch before Star Trek: Picard

Credit: CBS

If you want to talk about the politics of the Star Trek galaxy, you have to talk about the Romulans. And in order to really understand what's going on in Star Trek: Picard , it's a good time to brush up on your knowledge of the pointy-eared aliens who are not the friendly Vulcans.

Each of the trailers for Star Trek: Picard feature several Romulans, including the sword-wielding Elnor (Evan Evagora), a young member of Picard's new crew, and Narek (Harry Treadway), a bad guy who is clearly up to no good. Additionally, at several points in the trailer, we also see a retro Romulan Bird-of-Prey starship, straight out of the style from the original Star Trek . Notably, Picard also takes place in the aftermath of the future-events of the 2009 Star Trek reboot, in which we learned that the Romulan home planet — Romulus — was destroyed by a giant supernova. So, in theory, the Romulans in the Picard- era will be without a home planet.

Bottom line: The Romulans will be a big deal in the new series. Right now, a three-part IDW comic book series called Picard: Countdown is outlining how Picard tried to help evacuate several Romulan planets while he was still an Admiral in Starfleet. But, the overall history of the Romulans in Star Trek is worth taking a look at.

Here are nine essential Romulan-centric episodes and films to rewatch before Picard debuts.

**Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for The Next Generation , Deep Space Nine , and the movies. No spoilers ahead for Picard .**

Note: For episode numbers of individual Star Trek series, I'm using the Netflix order, which, in some cases, will differ from the way the episodes aired. However, this order is easiest if you want to stream these right now.

A Romulan commmander sympathizes with Kirk. (Credit: CBS)

01 . The Original Series: Season 1, Episode 15, "Balance of Terror"

The very first Romulan episode ever revealed the greatest bombshell ever: They look almost exactly like Vulcans! This revelation seems to shock Mr. Spock, even though, later in Star Trek canon, we learn that the Romulans did split away from the Vulcans in ancient history. Funnily enough, this very first Romulan is played by Mark Lenard, who, in Season 2 of the original Trek would play Sarek, Spock's dad . (Just try not to think about that.)

In any case, "Balance of Terror," is a stand-out episode of the original series, and when Bryan Fuller was in the process of creating Discovery , he listed this as one the most influential episodes ever. Romulan history starts here!

A Romulan Bird-of-Prey and two repurposed Klingon ships outflank the Enterprise in the remastered version of "The Enterprise Incident." Credit: CBS

02 . The Original Series: Season 3, Episode 2, "The Enterprise Incident"

Ever wonder why people talk about the "Vulcan death grip"? This episode will answer that question! It's also a great espionage episode for Star Trek , and gives us a deeper look at what Romulans are really like. Plus, you really have to wonder why Spock didn't decide to join the Romulans instead of staying on the Enterprise . They were giving him a pretty good deal, and, after this one, you realize that they're not half bad.

By making the Romulans so similar to the Vulcans, they become a complex enemy for the "good guys." Basically, the Romulans aren't doing anything wrong in this episode, and Kirk and Spock are sort of the aggressors.

La Forge teams up with a Romulan named Bochra in "The Enemy." (Credit: CBS)

03 . The Next Generation: Season 3, Episode 7, "The Enemy"

Although The Next Generation reintroduced the Romulans in the Season 1 finale, "The Neutral Zone," it's not really until Season 3 when TNG starts to really get deep into the political problems between the Federation and the Romulans.

"The Enemy" is a great episode because it really gives you a sense of not only how much Picard distrusts Romulans at this point, but also why Klingons like Worf hate them with a crazy burning passion. Like all good Star Trek , this is an episode about poking at prejudices and talking about the long road to peace.

Picard can't even with this Romulan defector. Credit: CBS

04 . The Next Generation: Season 3, Episode 10, "The Defector"

This episode rocks. When a Romulan claims he wants to defect to the Federation, Picard can't believe anything the guy is telling him. Following the events of "The Enemy," this episode doubles-down on the mistrust between the Federation and the Romulan Empire, while also giving us new insight into just how deceitful Romulans can be in order to get what they want. Just like with humans, there are good Romulans and bad ones. This fact will surely be a huge part of Picard .

(Also: Both "The Defector" and "The Enemy" feature Trek 's most famous — and arguably best — Romulan, Tomalak. This character appeared in four TNG episodes in total and was played by the late, great Andreas Katsulas, equally famous for his long role as G'Kar on Babylon 5 . )

Disguised as a Romulan (with hair!) Picard meets with Spock on a secret mission. Credit: CBS

05 . The Next Generation: Season 5, Episodes 7 and 8, "Unification Parts 1 and 2"

"Unification Parts 1 and 2" are the moments when Spock (Leonard Nimoy) famously crossed-over to The Next Generation . This was possible not through time travel, but simply because Vulcans live a lot longer than humans. But outside of the novelty and nostalgia of Spock, "Unification" is focused on secret peace-loving Romulans who want to be more like their Vulcan cousins.

Spock is trying to make this happen, but Sela — the half-human/half-Romulan daughter of Tasha Yar — is trying to sabotage them. We won't see Spock in Picard (unless it's a flashback, he went time-traveling before this show starts) but we could perhaps see Sela. And it's reasonable to assume that the pro-unification Romulans still remember that Picard tried to help them.

Picard finds some common ground with one Romulan in "The Chase." Credit: CBS

06 . The Next Generation: Season 6, Episode 20, "The Chase"

Though this episode isn't about the Romulans specifically, it does concern a larger mystery about why all the aliens in Star Trek essentially look humanoid. When the Romulans learn that they might have something in common not just with Vulcans, but with humans, too, there's an important moment where Picard realizes that maybe they won't all be enemies forever.

It's a faaaake! Credit: CBS

07 . Deep Space Nine: Season 6, Episode 19, "In the Pale Moonlight"

The Romulans are big players in the galactic politics of Deep Space Nine , and you could go on a huge binge on that series, too. But, the most relevant Romulan episode from that series is one in which Captain Sisko (Avery Brooks) has to try and outright lie to the Romulans in order to get them to do what Starfleet wants. Its a brilliant study in ethics, and is considered one of the finest moments of Deep Space Nine for a reason.

And, like "The Enterprise Incident," this episode is all about the good guys trying to out-fox the Romulans, which is a tricky game to play because the Romulan government is really good at espionage and lying.

The Enterprise prepares to ram Shinzon's ship. Credit: Paramount

08 . Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

In terms of the regular timeline, the last time we saw the Romulan homeworld, the planet Romulus, Tom Hardy was running the show! This is hard to believe, but in Nemesis , Hardy played Shinzon, a younger clone of Jean-Luc Picard, who was briefly running the Romulan Empire.

Interestingly, Nemesis is also the first time we had any details about the planet Remus, Romulus's sister planet. (Back in the episode "Balance of Terror," Spock mentioned that Remus existed, but we never saw it, or the Remans, until this movie.)

Nemesis is a flawed film and not everyone's cup of Earl Grey Tea. But, in terms of the timeline, this is the last time we saw Picard in action before the events of the new series. And, relevantly, Picard was very hopeful about peace with the Romulans at this point... even though his evil clone was trying to murder him and steal his blood.

Nero (Eric Bana) trying to kill Captain Kirk. Credit: Paramount

09 . Star Trek (2009)

The Romulans in the J.J. Abrams-directed Star Trek reboot may have tried to kill Captain Kirk, Captain Pike, and Spock, but these Romulans are actually from the 24th century, not the 23rd. In fact, chronologically speaking, the backstory of the Star Trek reboot is the closest thing to a direct prequel to Star Trek: Picard . (Other than "Children of Mars," of course.)

When Prime Universe Spock (Leonard Nimoy) mind-melds with Kirk (Chris Pine) in the Kelvin Universe, he reveals that the planet Romulus was destroyed by a supernova, which happened roughly in the year 2387. So, Nero (Eric Bana), the Romulan captain hell-bent on revenge in that movie, is actually from Picard's time, not Kirk's. And Nero's journey back in time will have happened about a decade before the events of Star Trek: Picard .

Now, it's not clear if Picard will reveal why some Romulans started shaving their heads during this time period, but the fact is, the most recent events in Romulan history are depicted in this movie, and because both Spock and Picard tried to help the Romulans at various points in time, you can bet the destruction of Romulus will be mentioned in the new show. A lot.

And, perhaps most relevantly, the co-screenwriter of this film was Alex Kurtzman, who not only is a co-creator of Picard , but also basically the current overseer of the entire Star Trek franchise.

• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
• Star Trek: Picard
• Star Trek: The Next Generation

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Who Is Doctor Vellek? TNG Romulan In Star Trek: Discovery Explained

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 1 - "Red Directive"

• Dr. Vellek's discovery of Progenitors' technology kicks off a galactic treasure hunt in Star Trek: Discovery season 5.
• The Romulan scientist kept the location secure with a paper diary hidden in a puzzle box on his 24th-century ship.
• The Progenitors' technology holds the power to create and destroy, potentially changing the galaxy forever.

In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 1, "Red Directive", the USS Discovery's mission takes Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) to an 800-year-old Romulan starship containing the belongings and the remains of a long-dead Romulan scientist named Doctor Vellek (Michael Copeman). Vellek has been entombed in his ship since the 24th century, when Star Trek: The Next Generation takes place. Dr. Vellek's notes contain key information on the galaxy's greatest treasure: a mysterious, ancient, and very powerful artifact that the United Federation of Planets' mysterious Dr. Kovich (David Cronenberg) prioritizes recovering before it falls into the hands of the villainous Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis).

In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6, episode 20, "The Chase", Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) follows in the footsteps of his recently-deceased archeology mentor, Professor Galen (Norman Lloyd), by picking up a trail that Galen had long been pursuing. Picard forms a tenuous alliance with Klingons and Cardassians pursuing the same mysterious goal , discovering clues that lead to the uninhabited planet Vilmor II. Upon arrival, however, Picard, Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn), and Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), along with Klingon and Cardassian representatives, beam down to find a crew of Romulans that have beaten them there. Star Trek: Discovery season 5's premiere reveals more about one of those Romulans, Dr. Vellek.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

Who was doctor vellek in star trek: tng’s “the chase”, star trek: discovery reveals the romulan doctor vellek's tng connection..

Doctor Vellek is a Romulan scientist with the crew that has already arrived at Vilmor II in Star Trek: The Next Generation's "The Chase" , establishing how Discovery season 5 connects to TNG . Instead of joining in the collaborative effort with the Federation as the Klingons and Cardassians did, the Romulans simply monitored communications as the USS Enterprise traveled from site to site, unveiling clues at each destination that led to the next. Everyone present is equally privy to the information revealed by a hologram of an Ancient Humanoid (Salome Jens) that their race seeded life throughout the galaxy, so all humanoid species share a common ancestor, which Star Trek: Discovery has dubbed the Progenitors.

Dr. Kovich already knows what's been "classified for centuries" when telling Captain Burnham about Vellek's own discovery of the Progenitors' technology.

The Klingons and Cardassians drop the spirit of cooperation that led them to this point, balking at the idea that they're related in any way. But the Romulans, who essentially copied the Federation's homework to arrive at Vilmor II, contact Captain Picard with hope of an alliance between the Romulans and the Federation. This implies Vellek had been in contact with the Federation while leading the search for the Progenitors' technology in the 24th century , because in Discovery 's 32nd century , Dr. Kovich already knows what's been "classified for centuries" when telling Captain Burnham about Vellek's own discovery of the Progenitors' technology.

Why The Progenitors Technology Is Star Trek: Discovery’s Greatest Treasure

"a few thousand years ago, we'd have called them gods.".

The Progenitors' technology is Star Trek: Discovery 's greatest treasure because it holds the answers to scientific and philosophical questions about the nature of life as we know it, and also has the power to create life essentially from scratch. The site of Progenitor technology could explain the ancient humanoids' motives beyond what was revealed in Star Trek: The Next Generation , fundamentally altering societies at their very core. With that kind of information and the power of creation, the user of Progenitor technology could become the most powerful force in the galaxy , especially if the power to create also holds within it the power to destroy.

The Romulan in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 1 , "Red Directive", Dr. Vellek, understood the importance of keeping information about the Progenitors and their technology as secure as possible. Vellek attempted to keep the location of Progenitor technology out of the wrong hands by keeping a paper diary, which can't be hacked, and hiding that book within a Romulan puzzle box, itself within a cloaked vault aboard his 24th-century Romulan ship. Even then, Dr. Vellek's diary isn't the treasure itself, but a clue that kicks off Star Trek: Discovery 's galactic treasure hunt, destined to change the galaxy irrevocably.

Star Trek Discovery season 5 streams Thursdays on Paramount+. Star Trek: The Next Generation is streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

Cast Blu del Barrio, Oded Fehr, Anthony Rapp, Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Wilson Cruz, Eve Harlow, Mary Wiseman, Callum Keith Rennie

Writers Alex Kurtzman

Where To Watch Paramount+

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Cast Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton, Brent Spiner, Wil Wheaton, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden

Writers Jeri Taylor, Michael Piller, Rick Berman, Brannon Braga, Ronald D. Moore

Screen Rant

3 ways star trek: discovery showed how dangerous temporal wars were.

Introduced in Star Trek: Enterprise, the Temporal Wars took place across Federation history. Here's what Discovery has revealed about the conflict.

• The Temporal Wars revealed in Star Trek: Discovery had lasting impacts on key events in the Star Trek universe.
• Time bugs like the Krenim chronophage from Voyager can trap starships in loops, impacting future conflicts.
• The Guardian of Forever was a key weapon in the Temporal Wars, with implications for characters like Georgiou.

Star Trek: Discovery has demonstrated how dangerous the Temporal Wars were, by revealing three things about its lasting impact on the Star Trek universe. Introduced in Star Trek: Enterprise , the Temporal Wars were a major conflict between various powers, including the Federation, that took place across the entire Star Trek timeline . In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4, "Face the Strange", written by Sean Cochran and directed by Lee Rose, Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the crew of the USS Discovery become victims of a Krenim chronophage, a deadly weapon left over from the Temporal Wars .

The " time bug " from Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4 isn't the first time that the modern franchise has explored the ramifications of the Temporal Wars. In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 3, "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow", Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) faced off against a Romulan time agent, Sera (Adelaide Kane). During their confrontation, Sera revealed that the Temporal Wars have changed the dates of key Star Trek events like the Eugenics Wars and World War 3 . Set roughly 200 years after the Temporal Wars ended, Star Trek: Discovery has revealed even more information about the dangers of this space-time conflict.

Star Trek: Discovery Reveals A Voyager Enemy Played A Big Role In The Temporal Wars

Crossing over between star trek universes is fatal.

In Star Trek: Discovery season 3, episode 9, "Terra Firma, Part 1", it was revealed that time soldiers fighting in the Temporal Wars had to contend with a horrific metaphysical affliction. When former Terran Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) began breaking down on a molecular level, Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) sought answers. Federation scientist Dr. Kovich (David Cronenberg) revealed that Georgiou wasn't the first person to experience this condition. During the Temporal Wars, a time soldier called Yorg from the Kelvin Timeline became trapped in the prime Star Trek universe after traveling forward from the 24th century .

Although it's just a hologram, Yor is currently the only character from the Kelvin Timeline's 24th century that's been seen on screen.

Yor and Georgiou were breaking down because the molecules in their body were fighting to return to the correct universe and time period . The only known cure was to return Yor to his own universe, but this was prohibited by the Interdimensional Displacement Restriction, a key tenet of the Temporal Accords. Starfleet fought the wars to uphold the Federation's Temporal Accords, and so refused to break them by returning Yor, and Georgiou to their own universes. Instead, other alternatives had to be pursued to cure Georgiou of her condition, so that she wasn't euthanized like the tragic Yor.

Temporal Wars Wanted To Use The Guardian Of Forever As A Weapon

To cure Georgiou of her condition, she and Burnham had to bargain with the Guardian of Forever, first seen in Star Trek: The Original Series . In "City on the Edge of Forever", Captain James T. KIrk (William Shatner) discovers the Guardian on a planet where the timelines of the Milky Way galaxy converge. The Guardian was a sentient time portal, constructed by an unknown alien race, but described itself as neither machine nor being . In Star Trek: The Animated Series season 1, episode 2, "Yesteryear", the Guardian allows Federation scientists to use it to observe their own history.

Scotty actor James Doohan voiced the Guardian of Forever in Star Trek: The Animated Series ' "Yesteryear"

By the 32nd century, however, the Guardian of Forever was forced to relocate due to the Temporal Wars. Given that it allowed access to the entire course of history, the various powers involved in the Temporal Wars wanted to weaponize the Guardian's abilities against their enemies. The Guardian therefore transported itself to the planet Dannus V, where it remained in hiding until it was discovered by Burnham and Georgiou in Star Trek: Discovery season 3. Now able to assume the humanoid form of Carl (Paul Guilfoyle), the Guardian of Forever was more reluctant to help visitors, forcing Georgiou to prove herself to him by returning to the Mirror Universe to show how much she'd changed .

Star Trek: Voyager’s Krenim Time Bugs Can Trap Starships In Loops

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4, "Face the Strange" confirmed that the Krenim Imperium, introduced in Star Trek: Voyager, played a role in the Temporal Wars. Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis) planted a Krenim chronophage aboard the USS Discovery by pinning it to the uniform of Ensign Adira Tal (Blu del Barrio). Once the chronophage was aboard, it burrowed itself into Discovery's engineering and trapped the ship in a random cycle of their own past and future . While the USS Discovery was trapped in a time loop, Moll and L'ak could get a head start on the next clue in the hunt for the Progenitors' technology.

Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) confirmed that this weapon was left over from the Temporal Wars, where it had been used against various enemy ships. Unable to break out of the loop, a starship could find itself in a completely changed battlefield once the time bug ran out of juice. In the case of the USS Discovery, their time bug nearly led to an inevitable conflict with Star Trek: DS9 's Breen . It's a typically tricksy time weapon from the masters of temporal technology, the Krenim, who once built a weapon that could remove entire species from the space-time continuum.

Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) destroyed the Krenim time ship, negating the timeline where it was built, however it's clear that this didn't stop the species from experimenting with temporal weaponry.

The confirmation that Star Trek: Voyager 's Krenim Imperium were involved in the Temporal Wars further heightens the stakes of a conflict that is technically still ongoing. While the Temporal Wars may be over in Star Trek: Discovery 's 32nd century, there are still battles taking place elsewhere in the Star Trek timeline. This means that starship crews from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to Star Trek: Lower Decks could find themselves embroiled in the devastating temporal conflict first started in Star Trek: Enterprise .

Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

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Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.

Star Trek: Enterprise

Star Trek: Enterprise acts as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, detailing the voyages of the original crew of the Starship Enterprise in the 22nd century, a hundred years before Captain Kirk commanded the ship. Enterprise was the sixth series in the Star Trek franchise overall, and the final series before a twelve-year hiatus until the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery in 2017. The series stars Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer, with an ensemble cast that includes John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock, Dominic Keating, Anthony Montgomery, Linda Park, and Connor Trinneer.

Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek: The Original Series follows the exploits of the crew of the USS Enterprise. On a five-year mission to explore uncharted space, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) must trust his crew - Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Forest DeKelley), Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (James Doohan), Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Sulu (George Takei) - with his life. Facing previously undiscovered life forms and civilizations and representing humanity among the stars on behalf of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets, the Enterprise regularly comes up against impossible odds and diplomatic dilemmas.

Star Trek: Voyager

The fifth entry in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Voyager, is a sci-fi series that sees the crew of the USS Voyager on a long journey back to their home after finding themselves stranded at the far ends of the Milky Way Galaxy. Led by Captain Kathryn Janeway, the series follows the crew as they embark through truly uncharted areas of space, with new species, friends, foes, and mysteries to solve as they wrestle with the politics of a crew in a situation they've never faced before. 

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Published Jun 5, 2016

Spock, Kirk, Romulans, Klingons in Action in Comic Book Finales

IDW Publishing will release the final chapters in not just one, but two, of their current Star Trek miniseries on Wednesday, and StarTrek.com has details and exclusive preview pages and First Looks at the covers. Up first is Star Trek: Manifest Destiny #4 (of 4) , written by Mike Johnson and Ryan Parrott, with Angel Hernandez tackling the art and cover. In it, the fate of two civilizations comes down to the ultimate face-off between Captain Kirk and the Klingons. Manifest Destiny #4 will run 32 pages and cost $3.99. Fans should also be on the lookout for a variant cover by Jen Bartel.

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Star Trek’s J.J. Abrams Advised Chris Pine to Be ‘Less Shatner’ While Portraying James T. Kirk

Chris Pine reflects on playing James T. Kirk in the latest Star Trek movies, and the actor acknowledges those wonderful "Shatnerisms."

• J.J. Abrams advised Chris Pine to embody "less Shatner" when portraying James T. Kirk in the big-screen reboot of Star Trek.
• Pine starred as Captain Kirk in all three reboot films; he says the franchise feels "cursed."
• A new Star Trek movie is part of Paramount's "intent," according to Roddenberry Entertainment's C.O.O.

“Less Shatner.” Those two little words encompassed the advice filmmaker J.J. Abrams had for Chris Pine when the two collaborated on the big-screen reboot of the Star Trek franchise, which began in 2009. Pine was tasked with picking up the enormous mantle of the iconic character, James T. Kirk, who was portrayed brilliantly by William Shatner from 1966 until 1994. Pine said in an interview during his appearance on the Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me podcast:

“I think the biggest correction that J.J. [Abrams] ever had for me was ‘less Shatner.’ Because it’s so deliciously fun. I mean, anything from how he sits in the chair to how he does a double take. There are many… the Shatnerisms are long and deep, and they’re beautiful. They’re beautifully crafted.”

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Pine starred as James T. Kirk in all three of the reboot films, which began with Star Trek (2009) and was followed up by the sequels Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond . Abrams directed the first two movies, but he turned the director’s chair over to Justin Lin for the third installment. And nearly eight years have passed since Star Trek Beyond , and Star Trek 4 has still yet to warp speed into movie theaters.

Chris Pine Believes the Star Trek Franchise Is 'Cursed'

While J.J Abrams’ 2009 reboot certainly isn’t the best of the Star Trek films, both critics and audiences alike enjoyed the U.S.S. Enterprise’s encounter with the rogue Romulan Nero (Eric Bana), which featured the return of Leonard Nimoy as the original Mr. Spock. Abrams’ new vision of the sci-fi phenomenon also made $385.7 million worldwide (per Box Office Mojo ). So, a sequel was inevitable. And in the summer of 2013, Kirk and crew faced off against Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch) in Star Trek Into Darkness .

Star Trek Into Darkness made even more money ($467.4 million) than Star Trek (2009) did globally, but 2016’s Star Trek Beyond didn’t fare as well as its predecessors ($343.5 million), and the reboot series has been in limbo ever since. Co-star Zoe Saldaña (Lt. Uhura) still has hope that Star Trek 4 will come to fruition. But when it comes to the Star Trek franchise, Pine “feels like it’s cursed,” according to an interview he did with Esquire in 2023.

Star Trek 4: Plot, Cast, Release Date, and Everything Else We Know

In March of this year, the C.O.O./President of Development for Roddenberry Entertainment, Trevor Roth, said “there is a plan” for a new Star Trek movie. Roth elaborated on the possibility in the same interview conducted at the SXSW film festival:

“I am not able to say much, but I can say that it is Paramount's intent to figure out the Star Trek side of movies and what's going on there. There's every intent of a new movie coming out in the very near future. There's a lot of secrecy around what's going to happen there. But there is a plan getting into place. And we're very excited to see it return to the big screen.”

Most recently, Pine wrote and directed his first feature film, Poolman. Pine also stars alongside Danny DeVito in the comedic mystery, which opens exclusively in theaters on May 10. And fans can watch the Poolman trailer right now.