Romulans should've looked like Vulcans

[commodore64]

Robert Scorpio, exactly. Thanks for making the argument better than me.

 

[Sci]

I think it safe to say that Gene Roddenbery had always intended for the Romulans to end up the way they did from TNG onwards.

Actually, it's not, as Michael Westmore has said on a number of occasions (including Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Continuing Mission by Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens) that it was his idea to give the Romulans the forehead to compete with the Klingons.

 

[Myasishchev]

I know there are few people who like Nemesis, but the appearance of the Remans provide an excellent excuse for the ridges via interbreeding even if it was not voluntarily on the Romulans part, considering the Remans probably would not count as attractive mate.s

In the alternative, the Remans had the Vulcan rickets.

 

[Karnbeln]

I think it safe to say that Gene Roddenbery had always intended for the Romulans to end up the way they did from TNG onwards.

I could accept that easily if the major plot point of the first appearance of Romulans didn't hinge on them looking like Vulcans. The line of thought would have had to extend to "Vulcans were always supposed to have ridges", and Spock would have had them in TMP, when visual changes based on increased budget first occurred (as in the Klingons). I suppose they could have chosen to keep Vulcans the same since Spock was so iconic, but then you'd think they'd keep him the same but give other Vulcans ridges and use it to show that he's half human.

 

[Anwar]

It wasn't really a major plot point that they look EXACTLY the same, just similar enough for Stiles' racist B-Plot. They don't have to look exactly the same for that to happen.

Besides, retroactively having the Romulans have the foreheads at least explains why Kirk never wondered why Spock's father looked just like the Romulan Captain...

 

[JustKate]

It wasn't really a major plot point that they look EXACTLY the same, just similar enough for Stiles' racist B-Plot. They don't have to look exactly the same for that to happen.

That's what I figure too - as I mentioned to Robert earlier in the thread, if you're the sort of person who would assume that a dedicated Starfleet officer was a traitor based on a chance resemblance, you don't need that much of a resemblance to become suspicious. You are evidentally already predisposed to bigotry anyway.

Besides, retroactively having the Romulans have the foreheads at least explains why Kirk never wondered why Spock's father looked just like the Romulan Captain...