c57d
Lt. Commander
Posts: 169 
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Post by c57d on May 28, 2020 6:10:22 GMT -5
Isn't it funny that in TOS S1 we are introduced (in Balance of Terror) to an enemy empire who hasn't been seen of in a hundred years, but now tries to covertly test starfleets defences, and we are also (but much later in that series) introduced (in Errand of Mercy) to an enemy empire who after decades of "cold war" has finally decided to all out attack.
Combining that with the thought (I am sure it is recorded fact but I can't recall where) that Romulans were supposed to be the regular big baddy, but the cost of regular prosthetic ears changed that to the (greasepaint only)Klingons.
I wonder if BoT (covert probing of defences) and EoM (all out war) were originally intended to be part if the same Romulan story arc? If only makeup had more funds! Just my thoughts.
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Post by Falconer on May 29, 2020 7:35:09 GMT -5
Interesting. It has been a while since I have read The Making of Star Trek. I wonder if it mentions this idea of Romulans being the original recurring villains. I guess if you think of it as a Western, with cowboys and Indians (humans and Romulans), that makes Spock Tonto, the friendly Indian guide. It seems like a likely analogy.
As for story arcs, my understanding is that the show deliberately avoided them. Serialization was considered less prestigious than an anthology format. That said, it could have been a two-parter that got broken up, like “The Naked Time” and “Tomorrow is Yesterday.”
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c57d
Lt. Commander
Posts: 169
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Post by c57d on May 29, 2020 10:25:12 GMT -5
Interesting. It has been a while since I have read The Making of Star Trek. I wonder if it mentions this idea of Romulans being the original recurring villains. I guess if you think of it as a Western, with cowboys and Indians (humans and Romulans), that makes Spock Tonto, the friendly Indian guide. It seems like a likely analogy. As for story arcs, my understanding is that the show deliberately avoided them. Serialization was considered less prestigious than an anthology format. That said, it could have been a two-parter that got broken up, like “The Naked Time” and “Tomorrow is Yesterday.” I love your Spock/Tonto analogy, which certainly fits Trek's "waggon train to the stars" derivation from the westerns. Assuming that I am right, and the Roms were intended to be the regular big baddie, then maybe the Big E and the "twelve like her in the fleet" makes more sense. Romulans defeated and locked behind the RNZ forever (until they broke the chains in BoT's probe of Fed defences), no Klingons so no other major opponent to defend against. Why would you need a substantial fleet? Maybe a few hundred patrol/gunships on the borders and a similar number of similar sized ships as coast guard for the interior. AND then the 12-13 multi role explorer/warship/colony support "Starship class" super ships. All fine until, the Roms decide to test both their new tech and Starfleets defences......! |
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Post by Falconer on May 29, 2020 14:00:39 GMT -5
FWIW, there were fourteen, but by the time the “twelve” was stated, Valiant and Farragut had been destroyed. This is all documented in The Making of Star Trek (stated by the author and backed up by internal memos).
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