Romulan look TNG onwards

[JustKate]

I don't mind the ridges - as Praetor mentions, I just assume some Romulans have the ridges and some don't.

As for the uniformity of hair and clothing, I am pretty sure that was done to underline how important conformity was to Romulans. They all looked a lot alike because that was the way they were supposed to look.

Besides, just about everybody we saw was either a military officer, a secret-service-type agent, or a high Romulan official. How much individuality does one see in military officers, intelligence agents or high officials in cultures here on Earth? Speaking of my own culture (USA), I'd say "not very damn much," and this in a culture that at least at times admires individuality.

 

[Myasishchev]

Was it ever explained anywhere in canon how the Romulans managed to keep their composure without logic?

I always figured they often didn't under the right stimuli, but the ground state is probably more or less composed even for a Vulcan--being angry over literally nothing would be a wasteful use of scarce resources and not much of a selective advantage, even if the angrier and more violent in prehistory would tend to breed more. Also, less stringent disciplines than the Surakian ideal are probably commonplace, in order for Romulans to operate in a civilized fashion. Finally, fear of reprisal keeps animals like us honest, so it should work with a Romulan as well.

Or whether they endure Pon Farr?

If they said they didn't, we would be forced to ignore it as utterly retarded. But I'm pretty sure they never did.

 

[Anwar]

Pon Farr is the result of Vulcans suppressing their emotions, they build up until once ever 7 years it explodes out in a mating frenzy. Romulans don't supress, so not pon farr.

 

[Myasishchev]

Nuh-uh. It's the Vulcan fetility cycle. Nuns don't have periods?

 

[Praetor]

Can't it be somewhere in between?

The Romulans seem to physiological be somewhat different than the Vulcans, apparently lacking some of the strength and telepathy. If we can attribute at least some of that to Vulcan mental discipline mind-over-matter stuff, why can't pon farr be a natural reproductive cycle taken to an extreme by generation after generation of Vulcan discipline?

 

[Anwar]

They mentioned something in "Amok Time" about how the Pon Farr is the price Vulcans pay for suppressing their emotions the rest of the time. As for fertility and the like, Vulcans can have sex whenever they want. The pon farr is just when they absolutely HAVE to.

 

[Praetor]

Right, which I think still gels with the compromise approach I propose. Pon farr, the blood fever, might not be the actual "natural" process itself, but would be unique to Vulcans. Romulans would not have a "mate or die" cycle or the ensuing chemical imbalances.

Animals can have sex even when they aren't "in heat," but "heat" compels them to have sex to try to make sure they reproduce.

 

[Myasishchev]

They mentioned something in "Amok Time" about how the Pon Farr is the price Vulcans pay for suppressing their emotions the rest of the time. As for fertility and the like, Vulcans can have sex whenever they want. The pon farr is just when they absolutely HAVE to.

McCoy said that. The doctor who didn't even know what pon farr was till earlier in the episode.

I checked to make sure, which leads me to another question: why the hell does McCoy have something like gorilla skulls on display in sick bay? Check it out. He totally does.

Anyway, obviously Vulcans can do the deed whenever (presumably Spock and the Romulan commander would have faced no problems, and Saavik does Frankenspock with apparently little more prep-work than telling David to go stand somewhere else, the poor guy). And maybe this would obviate a normal pon farr cycle; maybe it wouldn't. We can't say with certainty. Ironically, I suspect Romulans are actually probably a lot more adult about it than the Vulcans, and avoid most of the problems the plak tow causes since they wouldn't feel obligated to ignore it out of some very illogical-logical shame.

Now, what really, really annoys me, to the point I consider it about as canonical as Threshold, is Tuvok's holodeck self-help in Voyager (which he apparently needs Tom to help design, like there aren't girly programs on the holodeck already). If glorified jerking off really is an answer, Spock is totally unsympathetic in Amok Time, and basically guilty of mutiny.

 

[Anwar]

Well, Spock wasn't really the nicest guy in TOS. Maybe you're on to something.