I kept getting the feeling that the Romulans talked a big game, but didn't have the players. The threats were empty because they really were empty, in that they had overtaxed themselves with their century-long infighting, and felt they needed to put on a show of force to avoid the type of scrutiny that would have gotten them in big trouble. That's what the entire alliance with the Duras' was all about, that's why they tried to take over Vulcan, that's why they tried to stay out of the Dominion War until they were dragged in kicking and screaming by Sisko, et cetera.
Commander Tomalak was extremely fortunate to have been played by late actor Andreas Katsulas. There were also decent Romulan stories like "The Defector" and "Yesterday's Enterprise." So, if some are entertained by and really get into the revamped Romulans, I kind of get it. They weren't completely abandoned to useless absurdity. But they needed to be more of a threat to properly drive the stories they were included in ... they weren't a fun villain, in the same way that the Klingons in TOS were. They seemed more of an excuse to get the Enterprise involved with an enemy that knowledgeable audiences would be aware of and whom the Enterprise could escape from, with the promise of more interesting encounters in the future. The problem is, they seldom came along ... and that's not very satisfying, when you love TNG the way the show's fans love it ...
And that stupid V shape on their foreheads was stupid. And so were their stupid haircuts. How can 3 Vulcanesque species all have the same dang universal haircut? Are they born with that haircut and it cannot be cut off?
The Defector is actually one of my all-time favorite episodes of the franchise. I think it's an overlooked masterpiece. It's on the same level as Darmok, Measure of a Man, and BOBW for me.
That scene when Jarok talks about how he'll never see his daughter again, but she'll get to grow up. That broke me.
I've been watching Trek since 1973 and after TOS, my favourite series is Enterprise. Also, I like the Abrams-verse films better than any of the others. (slowly heads for the underground bunker...)
The fakeness for me, extends back to already knowing him as a child from Reading Rainbow - i was young, and didn't have him in the same category as "real actors," so to speak....
Totally! But I thought he was the "cool" one when I was like 7. He had the cool visor, he was on reading rainbow... Now, he often seems really fake, especially when he's acting angry or shouting technomumbojumbo.
There is a small mention of a battle with the Romulans, but it's a very small part of the episode's story.
The Enterprise C was helping the Klingons fend off a Romulan attack and their sacrifice brought the Klingons and the Federation into better relations. It's why the C had to go back.