Spoilers Should they have used Romulans instead? (Spoilers, probably)

[WarpFactorZ]

And were instantly recognized by the crew of the Kelvin as Romulans, even before the alleged changes to the timeline were made.

I don't think they were "instantly recognized" by the Kelvin crew. There's no dialogue in the film to support that contention. Someone figured out after the fact that they were Romulans, but that could have been because (a) the Kelvin survivors were able to download info from the Narada, or (b) they heard over the coms that the Klingons captured some Romulans in a huge ship right after the Kelvin was attacked.

 

[Noname Given]

And were instantly recognized by the crew of the Kelvin as Romulans, even before the alleged changes to the timeline were made.

Um, no they weren't. No where in the opening scene did they realize or state they knew it was a Romulan ship. Robau even asks who they are:

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[The Wormhole]

No one on the Kelvin bridge is like "Why are these Vulcans so pissed? And, you know, emotional?" Which I've always interpreted as meaning they recognized them as Romulans.

Um, no they weren't. No where in the opening scene did they realize or state they knew it was a Romulan ship. Robau even asks who they are:

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Actually, he only asks Nero if he's the one in command, not "what species are you, bro?"

 

[Noname Given]

No one on the Kelvin bridge is like "Why are these Vulcans so pissed? And, you know, emotional?" Which I've always interpreted as meaning they recognized them as Romulans.

Actually, he only asks Nero if he's the one in command, not "what species are you, bro?"

At 4:12 in the clip:
Robau: "Where are you from?"
^^
If he knew they were Romulans, he would already know where they're from.

 

[The Wormhole]

At 4:12 in the clip:
Robau: "Where are you from?"
^^
If he knew they were Romulans, he would already know where they're from.

Since he asks that right after Ayel asked him the stardate, Robau probably thought it an odd question. "Where are you from" in this case meaning "where have you been that's made you forget today's date?" not "what planet you from?"

 

[{ Emilia }]

Nope, because of Balance of Terror.

That single episode from decades ago keeps preventing so much fun.
I also think the Romulans would've made a much more compelling villain in this show. Not nearly as overused as the Klingons, not as one-dimensional and the acting wouldn't be as hampered by makeup/prosthetics.

 

[Noname Given]

Since he asks that right after Ayel asked him the stardate, Robau probably thought it an odd question. "Where are you from" in this case meaning "where have you been that's made you forget today's date?" not "what planet you from?"

You're reading a lot into the line but even if that the case I don't see any indication that (as you state: "And were instantly recognized by the crew of the Kelvin as Romulans,")

 

[CorporalClegg]

It seems to me the writers cherry-pick which can the choose to follow.

It's like "Well 'Balance of Terror' is a really popular episode, so let's not go there."

 

[Tuskin38]

It seems to me the writers cherry-pick which can the choose to follow.

It's like "Well 'Balance of Terror' is a really popular episode, so let's not go there."

Nah

 

[Tuskin38]

Considering all the changes done so far, it seems strange that's being treated as unalterable doctrine. Especially since Trek XI already ignored it.

The only changes are in the visuals, they’re following the lore from the other series

 

[Tarek71]

I don't mind the Klingons. I did mind the hardly-seen-in-100-years thing which has been used twice already for the Romulans. It's especially hard to believe since ENT established that in 2151 a ship travelling under Warp 5 could reach the Klingon homeworld in just 4 days. There is no way they went from the 2150s to the 2250s with hardly ever encountering them. I don't mind the "era of warring states/houses" lasting decades, but one would think that given the very close proximity of the Klingons, that contact would be frequent and violent.

 

[cultcross]

That single episode from decades ago keeps preventing so much fun.
I also think the Romulans would've made a much more compelling villain in this show. Not nearly as overused as the Klingons, not as one-dimensional and the acting wouldn't be as hampered by makeup/prosthetics.

Yeah, agreed. The whole concept of never having seen the Romulans before is a pretty ludicrous one anyway, given the fact they're supposedly fought a whole war against them. They never captured one prisoner, or examined one debris field? I'd say just ignore it and introduce them earlier. I'm rather fascinated by the Romulans and their society, and we hardly see any of it (and most of what we do see is wildly inconsistent). I'd love to see them done well as a series antagonist.

 

[Agony_Boothb]

I don't mind the Klingons. I did mind the hardly-seen-in-100-years thing which has been used twice already for the Romulans. It's especially hard to believe since ENT established that in 2151 a ship travelling under Warp 5 could reach the Klingon homeworld in just 4 days. There is no way they went from the 2150s to the 2250s with hardly ever encountering them. I don't mind the "era of warring states/houses" lasting decades, but one would think that given the very close proximity of the Klingons, that contact would be frequent and violent.

Well Burnham's parents were killed in a Klingon Raid so they've definitely been active. My guess is that the Klingons were behaving like pirates, striking random colonies when they felt like it or needed supplies and were gone by the time starfleet arrived.

 

[guyute03]

I totally think the Romulans are out there, and watching the Fed/Klingon conflict, maybe even being involved with it somehow, behind the scenes. I remember those Romulan drone episodes of Enterprise being an example of how this can be done. Wouldn't mind any of this as long as they do try to respect the canon.

 

[F. King Daniel]

No one on the Kelvin bridge is like "Why are these Mintakens so pissed?

Fixed it for you

 

[Rahul]

That single episode from decades ago keeps preventing so much fun.
I also think the Romulans would've made a much more compelling villain in this show. Not nearly as overused as the Klingons, not as one-dimensional and the acting wouldn't be as hampered by makeup/prosthetics.

That's the problem of doing a reboot.
I want to see the Romulans on DIS. But I DON'T want to see the Romulans on DIS! Argh.

 

[Paradise City]

I don't recognise these Klingons from previous incarnations of Trek. So they are essentially as good as a new species for me.

There's one caveat to that -- the language. Given that there's actually a Klingon language. They are actually using it in a authentic way for the first time. No quick switch to English after a few barks and growls.

 

[The Wormhole]

The only changes are in the visuals, they’re following the lore from the other series

These Klingons are completely different from the Klingons of the others shows, and I'm not talking about their appearance.

 

[Tuskin38]

These Klingons are completely different from the Klingons of the others shows, and I'm not talking about their appearance.

They act and talk like the Klingons I know.

 

[arch101]

Now that I've seen it, I'm wondering why they used the Klingons at all. I don't want to fall back on the 'ol "lazy writing", but the Klingons have been so deeply and thoroughly explored in TNG and DS9. They'd have been better off using a new species or some lesser known one. Breen might not have been so bad. Enterprise was smart enough to come up with the Xindi so that their hands wouldn't be tied.