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Romulans first appeared in one of the greatest Star Trek episodes of them all [Warp Factor 2.2]

Welcome back to SYFY WIRE's Warp Factor . Since the first season of Star Trek: Picard was loaded with Romulan schemes and intrigue, it is only proper that we go back to the episode when we first met this warlike offshoot of the Vulcans.

Romulans first appeared in the  Star Trek Original Series episode "Balance of Terror" and have been a mainstay in the lore of Trek ever since. The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise (Spock included) did not know what Romulans looked like, and neither did viewers of the show. Seeing that they looked exactly like Vulcans was a shock and a major addition to canon.

Based on submarine films, the episode features Captain Kirk going up against an unnamed Romulan Commander, played by Mark Lenard. Lenard was so fantastic in this role that he soon returned to the series in the more regular role of Sarek, Spock's father. Lenard played that role in this series, in the films, and also on Star Trek: The Next Generation — such was the power of his performance here.

Though both Star Trek: Enterprise and Star Trek: Discovery have played around with earlier Romulan incidents and mentions, everything established in "Balance of Terror" remains in tact.

Watch right here as Warp Factor: Classic Blend dives into the episode, but leave all bigotry in your quarters — there's no place for it on the bridge.

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A Complete History of the Romulans in Star Trek

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.

10 Star Trek Time Travel Stories That Changed Canon

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.

Star Trek: Discovery's Kenneth Mitchell Was Heroic On and Off Screen

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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Published Nov 4, 2022

Vulcans and Romulans: A Primer on Unification

Exploring one of the most crucial schisms in the Star Trek universe.

StarTrek.com

A couple of weeks ago, Jake Black wrote an excellent article about how Spock’s dream of Vulcan and Romulan unification , as shown in The Next Generation episodes “ Unification , Parts I and II,” is incredibly relevant for the divided society we are today. But what, exactly, is unification, and why is it important to the Star Trek universe? I’m going to explore that in this primer on unification between the Romulans and Vulcans .

The Romulans and Vulcans descend from the same ancestor species — specifically, the Romulans are an offshoot of ancient Vulcans. From the Star Trek history we know, it’s unclear when the split between the two occurred, but it was likely during Vulcan’s war-torn period of history. Before they established logic as the foundation for their culture and history, Vulcans were similar to humans — emotional and warlike. They thrived on colonialism and conquest, establishing a large swath of colonies across space. Eventually, their empire fell and their society devolved into chaos.

Few records survive from this unstable time, so it’s unclear how the Romulan species was born, but they likely were established during this period. It’s possible that a faction of warlike Vulcans rejected the idea of peace and left to found their own civilization. It’s also possible that the Romulans are one of Vulcan’s outlying colonies that were abandoned by the homeworld and forgotten in the chaos. Either way, for centuries Vulcans were aware of the Romulans as an alien race, but had no idea that the two species shared an ancestral history.

In The Original Series episode “Balance of Terror,” the Enterprise encounters an unknown vessel (presumed to be Romulan) destroying Federation outposts along the Romulan neutral zone. Humans and Romulans had fought a vicious war in the past, but it was before viewscreens were common on ships and there were no captives taken during the conflict. As a result, no one had seen a Romulan in generations, and it was unclear what they looked like. Spock expressed real surprise that the species looked so similar to Vulcans and posited that the two had split during a violent period of Vulcan history, and that Romulans retained that warlike culture, while Vulcans had turned to logic.

Whenever the schism between the two species happened, it was long enough ago such that significant genetic differences have since evolved between Vulcans and Romulans. So while they have the same ancestors, the differences between them by the 24th Century, when The Next Generation is set, are deeper than just culture.

The pro-unification underground goes much further back in history than The Next Generation episode of the same name, where it was introduced. In Star Trek: Enterprise ’s “Kir’Shara,” which aired after TNG but chronologically took place before The Original Series , a secret Romulan agent posing as a Vulcan mentions the unification movement to a Vulcan collaborator (no Starfleet officers were present at this exchange, hence why their shared past remained a mystery). While its origins are unclear (and we don’t know whether Romulan culture retained the memory of their genetic history), the movement was apparently thriving long before it was first depicted on screen.

In “Unification, Parts I and II,” which brought Spock to The Next Generation , the revered ambassador is spotted on Romulus, and the Federation fears that he defected. The costs of his betrayal would be incalculable, so they send Captain Picard on a mission to uncover what’s happened. After a visit to Sarek, Spock’s ailing father, Picard and Data head to Romulus aboard a cloaked Klingon Bird of Prey .

They discover that Spock has not defected; instead, he’s been working with an underground movement to support the reunification of Romulans and Vulcans. Many members of the group had been declared enemies of the Romulan state because of their adherence to Vulcan philosophy; Spock’s goal was to both help them and also evaluate the greater potential of reunification, though, he admits the possibility may be unlikely.

Over the course of the episode, Spock is betrayed by his closest Romulan ally, Senator Pardek, and he, Picard, and Data are captured by the Romulan government. It turns out that the Romulans are interested in reunification, but one at gunpoint — they want to invade Vulcan and conquer it. (As an aside, the idea of the Romulans being able to successfully invade one of the founding worlds of the Federation with three ships and 2,000 troops is laughably arrogant.)

Spock, Picard, and Data manage to escape, but the ambassador chooses to remain on Romulus. He recognizes that unification won’t happen via political channels, but instead through the will of the Romulan people, and he wants to help shepherd it. He stays on Romulus for at least a few years, as the sixth-season episode “Face of the Enemy” once again confronts unification.

While Spock himself isn’t in this episode, his fingerprints are all over it. Counselor Troi is kidnapped by Romulans and altered to look like one of them. She pretends to be a member of the feared Tal Shiar, the Romulan secret police, and her job is to successfully transport high-ranking members of the Romulan government to the Federation as defectors. Spock and his associates are hoping to open a new path for Romulan dissidents to leave the oppressive Star Empire.

What we know about unification after this point is negligible. In the Kelvin universe, at least, Spock continued working with the Romulans in some capacity, as he was involved in efforts to prevent their sun from going supernova. In the time of Star Trek: Picard , the Romulans are scattered, without a home world. It’s unclear whether the movement continued when so many of their brethren were lost, but unification, and the desire to connect with one another, is an important part of Star Trek history that shouldn’t be forgotten.

A Closer Look at Romulans

This article was originally published on November 24, 2020.

Swapna Krishna (she/her) writes about tech, science, and sci-fi. She’s a contributing editor at SYFY FANGRRLS and has been published at Engadget, Gizmodo, Mental Floss, the Los Angeles Times, and more. You can find her on Twitter @skrishna.

Star Trek: Picard streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and is distributed concurrently by Paramount Global Content Distribution on Amazon Prime Video in more than 200 countries and territories, and in Canada it airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave.

Stay tuned to StarTrek.com for more details! And be sure to follow @StarTrek on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .

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Why Star Trek's Romulans Looked So Different When They Returned In The Next Generation

The first appearance of the Romulans on "Star Trek" came in the episode "Balance of Terror" (December 15, 1966), wherein the U.S.S. Enterprise faced off against a mysterious Romulan Bird-of-Prey. It was said in the episode that the Federation and the Romulans had previously fought a war, but, thanks to primitive communication technology, had never laid eyes on each other. After managing to hack into the Romulan computers, the crew of the Enterprise was able to spy on their enemies for the first time, finding that they looked a lot like Vulcans. The Romulan Commander (Mark Lenard) merely sported angled eyebrows and pointed ears, very much like Spock (Leonard Nimoy).

In a later episode called "The Enterprise Incident" (September 27, 1968), Kirk (William Shatner) and Spock find themselves on board a Romulan Bird-of-Prey facing off against a new Romulan Commander (Joanne Linville). It was the first time a human and a Romulan were depicted in the same room face-to-face. Romulans, we learn, are a strict, secretive, and dastardly Empire, and are exceptionally good at tactics and subterfuge. They remained a notable antagonist throughout "Star Trek" from then on.

The first time audiences saw Romulans on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was in the episode "The Neutral Zone" (May 16, 1988), and they looked noticeably different. They now had larger ear points and raised ridged foreheads. The decision for the change, it seems, was not merely a matter of advanced makeup techniques. According to Paula M. Block and Terry J. Erdman's book "Star Trek: The Next Generation 365,"  makeup designer Michael Westmore aimed specifically to make the Romulans look more threatening.

It's been acknowledged throughout "Star Trek" that the Vulcans and the Romulans were originally the same species, but separated long ago and evolved differently on different worlds. They are similar, yet not identical in anatomy. As such, the Romulans couldn't stray too far from the classical Vulcan design. Westmore noted:

"From the very first moment [Romulans] appeared on-screen, the viewer had to take them seriously, rather than seeing them as stereotyped villains with pointed ears. [...] The two races were completely different on a cultural level, but it wasn't that easy to tell them apart physically. They had the same basic skin color, they wore the same hairstyle, and both races had pointed ears and archless eyebrows. Aside from dressing them in different clothes, what were we going to do to bring out the diversity between them?"

What Westmore could do, though, is communicate instantly — through his forehead designs — that the Romulans were villains. Without adding a caveman-like brow, Westmore decided to build on their foreheads, explaining:

"I devised a forehead that had a dip in the center, and then I hollowed out the temple area. We wanted to stay close to their natural forehead, not making them look Neanderthal, but giving them a built-in sullen expression they couldn't get away from."

It works. The Romulans have, essentially, permanent "angry eyes." There has yet to be any in-universe explanation as to why the Romulans suddenly had enlarged foreheads 80 years after the events of the original series, but it's one of those details most Trekkies happily overlook. It would, however, eventually be canonically explained why Klingons looked more human in the original series and had enlarged foreheads in the "Next Generation" days; it turns out one of Data's ancestors tinkered with their DNA.

Screen Rant

Star trek's kelvin timeline accomplished a major starfleet first.

Star Trek's Kelvin timeline changed the face of the franchise forever, and it also accomplished a major first, a century before the Prime timeline.

• The Kelvin timeline provided a fresh start for Star Trek, free from the burden of existing continuity.
• Valas, the first Romulan to serve in Starfleet, tragically defected to the Romulans after a meeting with the Tal Shiar.
• The Prime timeline was slower in accepting Romulans into Starfleet, with Elnor joining in the 25th century.

Star Trek ’s Kelvin timeline accomplished a major Starfleet first, nearly a century before the Prime universe. The Kelvin timeline, created in 2009’s Star Trek , provided a generation of fans with a grand jumping on point, unencumbered by years of continuity. Yet, as seen in the IDW comic Star Trek: Boldly Go , the Kelvin timeline began pushing the envelope and trying new concepts and ideas, one of which was the first Romulan to serve in Starfleet.

Introduced in Star Trek: Boldly Go #1, the Romulan Lieutenant Commander Valas was the First Officer aboard the USS Endeavor . Valas’ parents had been Romulan dissidents who defected to the Federation and ultimately settled on Earth. Their daughter grew up to join Starfleet. Captain Kirk temporarily took command of the Endeavor , and Valas served capably as First Officer. However, during the course of a mission, she was captured by the Tal Shiar, who sent an operative to recruit Valas. When fans next see her, she has joined the Romulans, although Kirk suspects there may be more than meets the eye.

The Kelvin Timeline Gave Star Trek A Fresh Start

The Kelvin timeline, which began with JJ Abrams’s big-budget reimagining in 2009 and concluded with 2016’s Star Trek: Beyond , helped change the face of the franchise. Thanks to time travel, a new Star Trek timeline was created, one that was not bogged down by almost 50 years of stories. The movies were all box office successes, and helped keep interest in Star Trek alive during the franchise’s “wilderness years.” In 2016, IDW launched Star Trek: Boldly Go , which told new stories involving the Kelvin timeline and characters. The book broke new ground, introducing the Borg a century earlier, as well as the first Romulan to serve in Starfleet.

Starfleet's First Romulan Was Not to Be

Valas’ story is a tragic one. Her parents fled the Romulan Empire seeking a better life, one represented by the Federation and its ideals of equality and justice. They raised Valas to believe in these same principles, and this led her to Starfleet. Yet, after one meeting with the Tal Shiar, Valas seemed to defect to that which her parents sought to escape. It is a tragic and heart-breaking turn of events as it seems that Valas has become everything her parents hated. Boldly Go was canceled before Valas’ story could reach its conclusion, leaving her a traitor to Starfleet and the Federation.

Star Trek's Romulans Are Telepathic - They Just Don't Know It

Star trek's prime timeline was behind the curve.

Elnor Was a Follower of the "Way of Absolute Candor"

In the Prime timeline, it would be the early 25th century before a Romulan joined Starfleet. Elnor, who appeared in the first two seasons of Star Trek: Picard , was last seen as a cadet at Starfleet Academy. There was also speculation that Saavik, from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , was half-Romulan, but this never made it to the screen, and thus not canon. As seen in the fourth season Next Generation episode “The Drumhead,” a Romulan background can negatively impact a Starfleet service record. However, in the Kelvin timeline there was no such issue, and they had a Romulan in Starfleet nearly a century earlier.

Qowat Milat

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Sisters of the Qowat Milat say goodbye to Jean-Luc Picard

The Qowat Milat , formally the Order of the Qowat Milat , were a group of Romulan warrior nuns . They were an all- female group; while a male could train in their ways, he could never truly be one of them. The Qowat Milat were the most feared enemies of the Tal Shiar , and, by extension, the Zhat Vash . ( PIC : " Absolute Candor "; DIS : " Choose to Live ")

• 1 Beliefs and practices
• 3.1 Affiliates
• 4 External link

Beliefs and practices [ ]

The primary teaching of the Qowat Milat was the Way of Absolute Candor , i.e. the total communication of emotion without filter between thought and word; this ran counter to everything that mainstream Romulans held dear. According to Zani , theirs was a "house of truth". Another of their sayings was " a promise is a prison ."

Jean-Luc Picard described the Qowat Milat as " the most skilled single-combat fighters that I have ever seen ". Indeed, they were sometimes mistaken for assassins . They wielded swords known as tan qalanq . When possible, before attacking they offered their opponents a chance to retreat with the phrase, " Please, (my) friend(s), choose to live. " This was an abbreviation of a longer saying: "The path you are on has come to an end. Choose to live." It meant that the person could opt to move onto a new path in their life and live, or stay on their present course and die. ( PIC : " Absolute Candor "; DIS : " Choose to Live ")

The Qowat Milat could not be hired, though their assistance could be requested. A Qowat Milat sister could choose to bind her sword to a singular cause as a qalankhkai , or "freeblade", if she judged the cause worthy. The criterion for worthiness was that the cause be a lost one. This criterion also extended to providing their services as shalankhkai during the T'Kal-in-ket . ( PIC : " Absolute Candor ", " The Impossible Box ", " Nepenthe "; DIS : " Unification III ")

A traditional Qowat Milat gesture of greeting, goodbye, or acknowledgment was to press their palms together, then spread them outward like opening a book. ( PIC : " Absolute Candor ")

History [ ]

In the early 2380s , the Qowat Milat provided invaluable assistance to Admiral Jean-Luc Picard during the Federation effort to rescue Romulans from the impending Romulan supernova . On Vashti alone, they helped to relocate over 250,000 refugees . At this time, they took in an orphan boy, Elnor . Although this was meant to be a temporary arrangement, he would grow up among them. After the Attack on Mars in 2385 led to the withdrawal of Federation support, Qowat Milat qalankhkan contributed to maintaining the peace on Vashti.

In 2399 , Picard traveled to Vashti aboard La Sirena to beg the Qowat Milat's help for his quest to find and protect Soji Asha . At the urging of their leader Zani, Picard made his case to Elnor, who agreed to bind himself to the mission as a qalankhkai . ( PIC : " Absolute Candor ")

Gabrielle Burnham in 32nd century Qowat Milat robes

The Qowat Milat played an essential role in establishing trust between the Vulcans and Romulans in the early days following the reunification of their societies. They continued to facilitate healthy discourse between the two peoples through the Burn into the 32nd century . Only sisters of the Qowat Milat were permitted to act as shalankhkai for the process of T'Kal-in-ket . ( DIS : " Unification III ")

In 3189 , Gabrielle Burnham acted in that role for her daughter Michael Burnham . ( DIS : " Unification III ")

In 3190 , Dr. Burnham, along with her daughter, Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly , and another sister of the order undertook a joint Federation-Ni'Var mission to apprehend J'Vini . ( DIS : " Choose to Live ")

Members [ ]

• Gabrielle Burnham

Affiliates [ ]

External link [ ].

• Qowat Milat at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• 2 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

The Evolution of Romulans’ Appearance in Star Trek: The Next Generation

W hen the Romulans made their comeback in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” fans noticed a distinct change in their appearance compared to the original series. Despite being an offshoot of the Vulcan species, the Romulans’ evolution on a different planet over the centuries led to their distinct look. The challenge was to differentiate them from their Vulcan relatives without overly altering their recognizable features, as Michael Westmore, head of the makeup department, elaborated:

“Visibility was key for the Romulans; they needed to come across as credible adversaries rather than one-dimensional villains. The difficulty was that physically, Vulcans and Romulans were quite alike with similar skin tones, hairstyles, pointed ears, and upward-angled eyebrows. Even clothing did little to underscore their differences. So the question stood—how could we highlight the distinctions between these two cultures?”

To solve this, Westmore introduced a signature forehead design for the Romulans:

“I crafted a unique forehead style with a central dip and indented temples, aiming for subtlety over a brutish look. It gave them a constant ‘angry eyes’ expression they couldn’t shake off.”

The result was effective. While there is no formal explanation for the Romulans’ evolved foreheads in-universe, some discrepancies in species appearances have been justified eventually, as with the Klingons’ altered looks being attributed to genetic experiments by an ancestor of Lieutenant Commander Data.

FAQ Section

Q: Why do Romulans look different in The Next Generation compared to the Original Series?

A: Michael Westmore, responsible for the makeup, wanted to ensure the Romulans were taken seriously and not just as cliché villains. He achieved this by creating a distinctive forehead design that was subtle but conveyed a permanently sullen expression differentiating them from Vulcans.

Q: Is there an in-universe explanation for the change in the Romulans’ appearance?

A: No official in-universe explanation has been provided for the change in the Romulans’ appearance as there has been for the Klingons. The change is typically accepted by fans without question.

The revamped look of the Romulans in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” illustrates the creativity and thought put into developing a species that could maintain its heritage while also signaling its divergence from Vulcan culture. Michael Westmore’s ingenious makeup design remains a testament to subtle yet impactful character development within the “Star Trek” universe. While not every species’ transformation has been explained within the lore, the dedication to creating compelling alien appearances has undeniably enriched the franchise.

The First Star Trek Actor To Play A Vulcan, Klingon, And Romulan

While it's unusual, it's not rare for an actor to appear in the same television show as two separate characters. Sometimes this will happen when the first character is more of an extra, without a name or many speaking lines. A producer or showrunner will see the dailies and really like the person's look or their acting and want them to come back in a larger role. Another example is how a show that is on the air for many years may have an actor in a specific role in Season 2, and then they come back as an entirely different character in Season 8. Why not? It's likely that no one remembers their previous character anymore, anyway.

The ever-expanding "Star Trek" franchise has had quite a few actors portray different characters across its universe of many television shows and films. For example, Jeffrey Combs played eight different characters in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, "Star Trek: Voyager," and "Star Trek: Enterprise," among them an Andorian, a Weyoun, and a Ferengi (via Star Trek, CBS ). But one other actor also played multiple roles in the "Star Trek" universe, even though he's probably best remembered as the father of Spock (Leonard Nimoy).

Mark Lenard played three different characters in the Star Trek universe

Mark Lenard's first appearance as Spock's father Sarek is in Season 2, Episode 10 of the original "Star Trek" series , titled "Journey to Babel." He would go on to also play Sarek in "Star Trek: The Animated Series," "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and the third, fourth, and sixth "Star Trek" films (via IMDb ). But few fans realize that Lenard's first role in the franchise wasn't as a Vulcan, but rather, as the first major Romulan character in the show, playing a hostile commander in Episode 14 of the first season.

When "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was released in 1979, Lenard could've easily played Spock's father again, but instead, the creators brought him on in the role of a Klingon captain. While it's not as notable a role, it makes Lenard one of the only "Star Trek" actors to play three unique roles of different alien species within the iconic sci-fi universe. Throughout his long career, Lenard always embraced the "Star Trek" franchise and its legacy, not only narrating the video game "Star Trek Omnipedia" in 1995 but also writing a "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" comic book called "Blood & Honor," which was published shortly before Lenard's death in 1996 (via Goodreads ).