Good point -- that's also probably why the FX house (which was doing its first Trek episode anyway) did it in such an unusual way, because it hadn't really been defined what it looked like yet.
Balance of Terror Observations
- Thread starter Dale Sams
- Start date
Good point -- that's also probably why the FX house (which was doing its first Trek episode anyway) did it in such an unusual way, because it hadn't really been defined what it looked like yet.
I loved the depiction of the Romulans here (in their debut episode). They were (almost overtly) Space Romans with titles, behaviour, honour, and imperial conduct all to boot. In TNG, the Romulans then became far less sympathetic as treacherous (a la the TOS Klingons) and less impassioned (a la Vulcans) beings.
That's something I never quite manage to wrap my brain around. What's "honorable" about these people who perform unprovoked surprise strikes in invisible ships and plot against each other and their superiors while at it? When the two veterans discuss their brave soldier past and how tired they are of it, it's treason. When they go ahead nevertheless, it's what losers were hanged for at Nuremberg.
The only point in their potential favor is the all too late suicide. But how is suicide honorable? It's not winning them or their Star Empire any real brownie points.
Timo Saloniemi
The only point in their potential favor is the all too late suicide. But how is suicide honorable? It's not winning them or their Star Empire any real brownie points.
Timo Saloniemi
The honor belongs to the Romulan commander, not the race.
He laments earlier in the episode that their safe return after luring the Enterprise across the Neutral Zone (and destroying it) will signal the Federation's weakness and bring on war for his people.
Later, with dramatic pause, he makes the decision to engage the Enterprise when he knows that doing so will put his ship below its fuel reserve, so there will be no return home. And without it, no war.
The death of the centurion - his old friend and counsel - underscores his weariness of war and its follies. He wants no longer wants any part of it.
Yet because of the nature of his people, going for the kill is a decision 'cloaked' in honor as they understand (or value) it. Win or lose, there will be no war. And the crew doesn't appreciate or realize that they are being sacrificed as pawns.
His choice is Shakespearean. His own loss is in furtherance of greater good - to avoid yet another war inflicted upon the Romulan Empire. This depth is, to me, what makes this my favorite ST episode.
OTHER POINTS:
* The use of lighting in this episode is incredible. Such a simple tool, but it adds layers of drama to the quiet moments of contemplation by Kirk especially.
* BoT underscores Shatner's acting ability. The look on his face as he confesses his doubts to Bones: "What if I'm wrong?" - wow. And in several scenes, he conveys a lot without saying anything at all.
* Such a touching moment during the final Romulan plasma attack when Rand steps to Kirk, her chin on his shoulder, neither of them knowing if this will be their last moment when the weapon impacts.
* And hey, how does Spock not even recognize his own father? Maybe Styles was right!!! (I kid, I kid.)
Excellent analysis! Spock recognised more of Sarek in the Balok puppet than he did Mark Lenard's Romulan Commander!
Still not getting it - it's not the Commander making a brave decision to sacrifice his ship, it's the Commander going along with the hothead Decius because there really is no decision involved. He isn't about to make a "safe return", but is instead stalled already.
That his final actions would have any effect on war, one way or another, is unlikely.
1) The Commander already attacked, several times - one more offense will not make any difference in the "acts of war" department.
2) If this was a test of the ship's capabilities, it was a success (since survival is not the Romulan way, and Decius already did decide it was a success after the initial attacks and told the Praetor as much) and the war can now commence, or a failure (because the ship was exposed and tracked, and her being late tells the Romulans back home as much) and the Commander could just as well wait for a tugship inside the RNZ.
3) If this was the first shot in a campaign, a special forces strike to pierce the RNZ defenses, it connected nicely enough, and there's now a gap for the Praetor's armada to exploit - the Commander is already retiring from the battlefield as planned, and his actions no longer matter.
4) If one invisible attacker almost got away, Kirk is not justified in thinking that destroying that one would make the UFP safe from immediate further attacks of the sort, by dozens of like vessels. So the Commander isn't disarming the Star Empire with his actions, not in the eyes of the UFP, even if his ship really is unique.
The Commander really comes off as spineless, doing Decius' bidding just because. Is it brave that he removes himself from plaguing this universe further? Hitler got no points for his all too late departure. Earlier on, his generals, expecting execution back home, got no points for theirs. If anything, Kirk now can report that the Romulans are as ruthless and inhuman as they always were reputed to be.
(No disagreement with the other points. This is a well done episode even if the plot itself doesn't make much of an impact.)
Timo Saloniemi
That his final actions would have any effect on war, one way or another, is unlikely.
1) The Commander already attacked, several times - one more offense will not make any difference in the "acts of war" department.
2) If this was a test of the ship's capabilities, it was a success (since survival is not the Romulan way, and Decius already did decide it was a success after the initial attacks and told the Praetor as much) and the war can now commence, or a failure (because the ship was exposed and tracked, and her being late tells the Romulans back home as much) and the Commander could just as well wait for a tugship inside the RNZ.
3) If this was the first shot in a campaign, a special forces strike to pierce the RNZ defenses, it connected nicely enough, and there's now a gap for the Praetor's armada to exploit - the Commander is already retiring from the battlefield as planned, and his actions no longer matter.
4) If one invisible attacker almost got away, Kirk is not justified in thinking that destroying that one would make the UFP safe from immediate further attacks of the sort, by dozens of like vessels. So the Commander isn't disarming the Star Empire with his actions, not in the eyes of the UFP, even if his ship really is unique.
The Commander really comes off as spineless, doing Decius' bidding just because. Is it brave that he removes himself from plaguing this universe further? Hitler got no points for his all too late departure. Earlier on, his generals, expecting execution back home, got no points for theirs. If anything, Kirk now can report that the Romulans are as ruthless and inhuman as they always were reputed to be.
(No disagreement with the other points. This is a well done episode even if the plot itself doesn't make much of an impact.)
Timo Saloniemi
The Roman/Vulcan combination is really cool.
The Romulans as Depicted in this episode are really intriguing and I wish were explored more.
Love the Bird of Prey design. I think it was probably nothing more than laziness by the Production to have Romulans use Klingon Design in "The Enterprise Incident"? That made no sense.
OTOH, half the backstory of the genuine Romulan vessel was lost in rewriting - she "should" have been even more alien, probably, in-universe, but was the result of industrial espionage and ended up looking like a human starship.
Nothing wrong with Romulans having the same native aesthetics as such - yet we could keep the unvoiced backstory and say that the bird things from TNG on are the "real" Romulan design style. Or then we could expand on this one, like FASA did - their Romulan ships are the least ugly in their entire production line.
Timo Saloniemi
Nothing wrong with Romulans having the same native aesthetics as such - yet we could keep the unvoiced backstory and say that the bird things from TNG on are the "real" Romulan design style. Or then we could expand on this one, like FASA did - their Romulan ships are the least ugly in their entire production line.
Timo Saloniemi
It was more about money. The third-season budget was really tight, but AMT, the company that made the Star Trek model kits, volunteered to build a Klingon battlecruiser miniature and donate it to the production in exchange for the merchandising rights to the ship. So the show had to give the battlecruiser as much airtime as it could manage in order to help promote the model kits, to help AMT get a return on its investment. So they tossed in a line about the Romulans using Klingon designs now. And The Making of Star Trek, written by an AMT employee and published before the third season, featured artwork of the Klingon battlecruiser before the ship even appeared on the show, and established the idea of a Romulan-Klingon alliance in order to set up "The Enterprise Incident."
Also, some reports suggest that the Romulan Bird-of-Prey miniature from "Balance of Terror" had been lost or destroyed, so they couldn't have reused it anyway. Although it isn't known for sure if this was the case.
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Romulan_Bird-of-Prey_(23rd_century)#Studio_model
There is additional information at http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Wah_Ming_Chang:
Chang's association with Star Trek began in 1964 when he was hired to create make-up and props for TOS: "The Cage" by Producer Robert Justman. His first contribution was the prosthetic Talosian head make-up. He then designed the laser pistol for the pilot, after Justman was unsatisfied with the original designs. He was later hired to design various items for the regular series, including the famous tricorder, flip-top communicator props and the Romulan Bird-of-Prey studio model. He was usually sent a copy of the script for the episode he was hired to work on, and he began to work on design, make sketches and models in his home. Chang's association with Star Trek ended in middle of the second season after the fabrication of dozens of tribble props, conceivably due to the budget cuts resulting from Desilu's purchase by Paramount.
Originally his work was not credited, nor did Chang take the credit afterwards and his work for Star Trek went unnoticed well into the 1970s. It was through fandom and its corresponding Star Trek convention circuit of the 1970s that his contributions became known. The reason for this state of affairs was eventually revealed when Producers Herb Solow and Justman published their book Inside Star Trek: The Real Story in 1996. In it (pp. 119-120) Justman described that it all originated from a conflict with the propmaker's union. Chang as a non-member was neither allowed per their rules to fabricate props for the show, nor was he allowed to join, creating a catch-22 situation. On Justman's urging, who considered Chang's work superior to anything elsewhere available by far, the studio devised a ruse to make it appear that the props were bought as pre-existing and off-the-shelf from Chang, which was allowed under union rules, and it was reflected as such in Desilu's purchase orders sent to Chang. As a result Chang could neither be officially credited for his contributions, nor be mentioned in the, otherwise thorough, contemporary reference book The Making of Star Trek, where most of his hand-held props were prominently featured. The ruse however, was uncovered by the union just prior to the start of the second season, as mentioned by Justman in his book, and might have served as an additional reason why Chang's talents were not called upon again from the mid-second season onward, as the union was now alerted to Chang's involvement. [1]
Originally his work was not credited, nor did Chang take the credit afterwards and his work for Star Trek went unnoticed well into the 1970s. It was through fandom and its corresponding Star Trek convention circuit of the 1970s that his contributions became known. The reason for this state of affairs was eventually revealed when Producers Herb Solow and Justman published their book Inside Star Trek: The Real Story in 1996. In it (pp. 119-120) Justman described that it all originated from a conflict with the propmaker's union. Chang as a non-member was neither allowed per their rules to fabricate props for the show, nor was he allowed to join, creating a catch-22 situation. On Justman's urging, who considered Chang's work superior to anything elsewhere available by far, the studio devised a ruse to make it appear that the props were bought as pre-existing and off-the-shelf from Chang, which was allowed under union rules, and it was reflected as such in Desilu's purchase orders sent to Chang. As a result Chang could neither be officially credited for his contributions, nor be mentioned in the, otherwise thorough, contemporary reference book The Making of Star Trek, where most of his hand-held props were prominently featured. The ruse however, was uncovered by the union just prior to the start of the second season, as mentioned by Justman in his book, and might have served as an additional reason why Chang's talents were not called upon again from the mid-second season onward, as the union was now alerted to Chang's involvement. [1]
It's subtle, not overt. But it's without a doubt there. Watch again. He doesn't really go along with Decius -- he sees that Decius' urging will produce his desired result so he lets the hothead think that he's doing his Romulan duty.
With 15-16 minutes left in the episode, the commander says they have "only enough ..." and pauses. He's saying they have only enough energy to make it back home. And realizes if they use more, they cannot return.
They are stalled (just as the Enteprise is without phaser power for a period). It doesn't mean repairs are not ongoing. Never does he say, "We are dead in the water, our engines will no longer work." He says they have enough power (to get home) ... but then takes steps to use that power below reserve so they cannot. They try to lure the Enterprise in for a kill shot with the debris -- if they take that kill shot, there goes the power reserve.
When Spock screws the pooch by accidentally turning on whatever by hitting the panel button and turning on power, the Commander says "We have him. Move forward." So that 9 hours of "radio silence" where neither ship moves has given the Romulan time to make repairs, just as the Enterprise has fixed its phaser problem.
Whatever has or has not been reported, if they lose -- if they get destroyed by the Federation ship -- the Romulan high command will realize their powerful weapon and cloaking device and tactical ways will not be enough to win all-out war.
What did Spock say? You can't show the Romulan any weakness, it will embolden them. That's why he falls on the side of attack. The stakes of this chess match between Kirk and commander is whether a Romulan-Fed war will take place.
It's there. All the pieces. It doesn't hit you over the head with it, but it's there. It's clunky -- the script could have used a bit more work -- but it is definitely there.
I always found it odd that both Mark Lenard and Joanne Linville's Romulan Commanders weren't named, although both of their respective first officers were (Decius, Tal) and every major Klingon character was named in TOS. Was there a conscious effort by the creative staff to attain a sense of mysteriousness with the Romulans by not naming their leading commanders?
THANK you. I agree and have had arguments with people about this here. Night and day to me how the Romulans are depicted in TOS vs. TNG.
You don't want to even know how many arguments I've had in person and online regarding the extensive characterisation overhauls the Klingons and Romulans eventually received (and how their original iterations were, in my opinion, far more nuanced and compelling than what they became, especially the Klingons).
I'd assume that "The Enterprise Incident" was just following the precedent of "Balance of Terror" on that point. As for BoT, recall that both the Commander and the Centurion were unnamed. I don't know if that was for the sake of being "mysterious," except in the sense that the Romulan crew never communicated with any outsiders until the end and thus had no need to introduce themselves. Although I get the impression that Decius is an outsider, a representative of the Praetor who got assigned to the mission due to his political connections (his "friends," as the Centurion puts it). So maybe the career soldiers call each other by rank while the political appointee uses his name, underlining his outsider status. Of course, that doesn't translate to Tal, but as I said, TEI was probably just imitating what BoT had done. Since it was written by different people, they may not have been aware of Paul Schneider's reasons for choosing what to call the characters.
I think it all started when the makers of ST III decided to strike out the word "Romulan" in their script and type "Klingon" in its place. So we got a movie featuring Klingons who were more like TOS Romulans -- using cloaked Birds-of-Prey and talking about honor. Then, when TNG came along, they wanted the Klingons to be our friends now, so they built on ST III's precedent and played up the positive trait of honor as the Klingons' defining feature. And that left the Romulans to be the bad guys, so they ended up displaying the treachery and sneakiness that had been a defining Klingon trait in TOS.
Although it's consistent with BoT's suggestion that the Commander and Centurion are the relics of an earlier, more honorable generation of Romulans that's being supplanted by a more venal culture.
Those were the assumptions that John Byrne went with when he expanded on BoT in his IDW comic series Romulans: Pawns of War.
The destruction of his ship denied his opponent access to prisoners (to be interrogated and then used for political purposes) and the opportunity to examine his ship and it's technology.
That's a reasonable explanation, though I find it unfortunate as I liked TOS's Romulans.
The Romulan commander's destruction of his ship reminded me of the actions of another Romulan who also self destructed his ship. I'm talking about the Romulan defector in the aptly named ep (TNG) "The Defector".
Both Romulans had reservations or disagreement with his Praetor's war policies, but at the same time both appeared to be at heart a Romulan patriot. Neither of them wanted their people to be embroiled in another war. The defector committed treason, while the commander may or may not have indirectly sabotaged his mission, in order to prevent a war.
But neither one of them were going to allow the enemy the chance to get their hands on Romulan technology.
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