At the end of the episode, Kirk assigns the Romulan commander quarters on Deck 2. According to the official blueprints of the original Enterprise, Deck 2 contains no quarters, just scienctific and astronomical labs.

Maybe he just wanted to confuse the Romulans concerning ship layouts?

During the transporter exchange, Kirk and Spock carried no weapons. Why did the Romulan hostages have weapons? And why didn't I see any Security guards in the Transporter Room? I presume that some were there, off in the corners, because when the Romulans aimed their weapons at Scott, he just stared at them, exasperated. I'm surprised that they didn't try to kill or capture Scott (and the ship as well).

Romulan commanders sure have comfy chairs.

In the Security room, Kirk slowly starts muttering to himself, and then slooooowly steps towards Spock. Spock claims that he was unprepared for the attack. If I were the Romulan commander, I'd start suspecting something fishy right there.

McCoy claimed that he didn't know what was going on until he was on the Romulan ship. When did he find out? Did Kirk tell him in the Security room, with a guard standing outside and presumably listening devices tuned in?

Romulans must not have much contact with each other on the ship, or Kirk would have been instantly recognized as a stranger.

Spock and the Commander were alone in her room--why did she feel that she had to whisper her name? Couldn't the writers come up with a pretty, Romulan-sounding name?

Great line: "What is your present form of execution?"

Nice cloaking device--small enough to lift off and tuck under your arm. And according to Shatner, it was originally supposed to be even smaller. Romulans are very efficient.

Why on Romulus did the Commander grab Spock when she saw he was being transported? What did she hope to gain? Did she think she could stop him? Or was she hoping to expiate her mistakes by being killed along with the enemy?

And after all this, the Federation STILL doesn't know how to make a workable cloaking device!!!

The Klingons have cloaks, the Romulans have cloaks. The guys who negotiated the Treaty of Algeron must have been pretty stupid to sign away the Federation's right to make a cloak! (see TNG "The Pegasus")

I just watched this episode again on the Sci Fi channel the other night and noticed something new.
During the scene in the Commander's quarters, when she gets up to "transform herself into a woman" she has to tug down on the hem of her very short skirt. Apparently she didn't tug hard enough. As she passes through a door, there is a clear shot of what my aunt used to call bohunks showing under the hemline. Considering that this is the network that refused to show the underside of the breast, I found it surprising that they allowed this shot to remain. Of course, it went by real fast.

The shot was probably intentionally left in there. If you read "Inside Star Trek: The Real Story" you'll see lots more about things like that.

The Romulan Commander's skirt is still longer than the ones the women of the Enterprise have to wear, by a good inch at least!

Yeah, but she gets to wear those thigh-high leather boots!

The Romulans sure have to work on the "we've got you completely surrounded" bit. When the time comes, the Enterprise just peels outta there, no problem.

They were cloaked - the Roms didn't know where to fire. "Surrounded" doesn't mean "encased in a shell."

No, they weren't cloaked until after they started their getaway. My point is that the Romulans had to chase them down to fire at them (and of course the Enterprise got the cloak to work just in time). With an enemy ship in your territory, still controlled by its complete crew, wouldn't you have somebody with a finger on the weapons button to shoot them down on one sudden move?

At the beginning of the episode, everyone discusses the Romulan cloaking device like it's something they've newly encountered. Didn't they become pretty familiar with the cloaking device and its abilities during the events of "Balance of Terror"?

If I understand correctly, this was a newly perfected version which made the ship invisible to sensors as well as the naked eye. If you recall in "Balance of Terror" they could still track the Romulan ship with sensors.

The Romulan commander asks "A starship? One of Starfleet`s finest vessels?" Aren`t they on a starship?

I think back then the term was used to connote a certain type of Starfleet vessel - not a particular class but a more general category. That's why the captain in Bread and Circuses differentiated between himself and Kirk, a Starship commander.

Actually, I think it was a class. IIRC the dedication plaque of the Enterprise says Starship Class. Later it was decided that the Enterprise was a Constellation Class ship. I think a picture of the plaque can be found in The Art Of Star Trek.

The series did tend to distinguish scoutships, freighters, battle cruisers, starships, etc. one from the other. A starship was a certain type of vessel, not necessarily a class of ship. I was under the impression that Enterprise was a Constitution class vessel.

Officially it was, but close-up photos of the dedication plaque say Starship Class. This was, apparently, not visible on TV screens so is not canonical, but when they were putting the show together TPTB had decided that it was a class of ship and the reference in this show and Bread And Circuses are artifacts of that idea which was later discarded.

The plaque was also used as one of Kirk's momentos in his cabin in the Nexus, although I don't know if it is readable onscreen. (They have a picture in The Art Of Star Trek.)

The Romulan commander tells Spock that their method of execution is "both painful and unpleasant". Is it really neccesary to explain that something painful will also be unpleasant?

There's a nit with the star field in the background during the following scene; Scott is called to sickbay, we see the Enterprise surrounded by the Romulans, then we cut to Scott arriving at sickbay.
The problem is that all four ships are supposed to be stationary, but there are a bunch of stars or objects crossing the screen in the background, such as when we see a ship travelling at warp speed. What are these UFOs? Other Romulan ships? Stray meteorites?

In the scene with Spock and the Romulan Commander, She offers him a blue drink. The scene cuts to the Enterprise. When it cuts back, they are drinking something orange.

Once again, I'm kvelling! My daughter has the soul of a nitpicker! -- ScottN

I wonder if the door to the Props Department has the Greenpeace logo on it?
The cloaking device prop is made from the Nomad prop from The Changeling, and the spherical part of Sargon from Return to Tomorrow.
Somebody tell that new guy at the sound effects keyboard to relax!
Right before the last commercial break, the Romulan commander slaps Spock, and even though she barely touches him, her fingers merely grazing Spock’s chin, there’s a distinct "slap" sound!
Perhaps the Vulcan Ministry of Truth classifies this as "acting"
Obviously, in fooling everyone about Kirk’s seemingly irrational behavior at the beginning of the episode, and the notion that he killed him with a Vulcan death grip, Spock lies.

ScottN, maybe it was the Romulan version of a Samarian Sunset? ;-)

Yes, Luigi Novo, Spock lies. In the Blish adaptation of this episode, there is a conversation about whether or not Vulcans can lie in which Spock says it is necessary for any advanced civilisation to be able to dissemble. I haven't seen the ep in a while, but I'm guessing this was one of the bits that got cut from the script (or scpipt) that was filmed. Spock clearly lies in support of his Starfleet oath - and not merely here but on other occasions also.

A possible explanation as to why when Spock takes the Romulan Commander to deck 2 yet it takes forever to get there....

THEY ARE NOT GOING TO DECK TWO!

Spock said, "Deck Two" to mislead the Romulan Commander...just in case she has a hidden communications device in her bra (If she's wearing one) so she can't communicate with her ships as to her true whereabouts.

Did Spock lie? No, he exaggerated.

GREAT SCENES: The D-7s surrounding the Enterprise
and the front & rear shot of the D-7 as it passes by the cloaked Enterprise.

Nit: The wideshot of the viewscreen is missing Sulu AGAIN!

RUMINATIONS: The self-destruct is mentioned again in this episode.
Vulcans do not lie is noted in this episode.

Forcefield sfx and Enterprise cloaking away is so cool, I get chilly!

In the Romulan Brig, there's something mounted on the wall....IT'S THE ARCHON ABSORPTION TABLE THAT WAS USED ON KIRK IN "Return of the Archons"! FESTIVAL! *Crash!*

Why did the Romulan Commander WHISPER her name to Spock? Was it so provocative that it couldn't be heard on network TV?

DUMB LINE: Spock notes that the Romulans have a cloaking device that is undetectable to sensors....DUH! NO KIDDING! It was like that in "Balance of Terror" too, Mr. Amnesia!

You can see traces of Scotty's mustache in this episode.

After Kirk steals the cloaking device, the Commander walks in the cloaking device room with several guards...and NO ONE...NOBODY...notices the device is gone until almost 5 seconds later...they look on the floor & on the other consoles before looking at the table in which the device was. You'd THINK they look at the table in which the device stood FIRST then look around...but noooooooo! Buncha dolts! *TSK!*

Mr. Leslie is back again...from the dead! (Obsession)

New music for the episode!

MISSED OPPORTUNITY...Chapel beaming over to the Romulan ship, barging in on the Romulan Commander & Spock touching fingers and beating the Commander to a pulp saying, (altogether, now...)
"HANDS OFF! HE'S MINE!"
(I JUST could NOT resist!)

DUMB LINE: Spock notes that the Romulans have a cloaking device that is undetectable to sensors....DUH! NO KIDDING! It was like that in "Balance of Terror" too, Mr. Amnesia!
--John A. Lang

Actually, John Lang, I believe they *could* detect the Romulan with the sensors, that is why the Romulans powered down and just drifted freely in space.

This new clocking device's revolution was that it made them invisible to sensors as well as to the eye.

Anonymous, if you're going to insult someone, at least have the guts to say who you are. Otherwise we'll treat you with the contempt you deserve.

Anonymous' remark has since been removed by the moderator.

If I was the Romulan Praetor & found out one of my female Romulan Commanders was using seduction to win over the enemy...I WOULD NOT BE HAPPY!

Maybe, maybe not. Espionage agents around the world have used the "bond"ing method of spying for a long time. (double entendre' alert there) And after all if she did manage to win over the first officer of the flagship of the Starfleet who just happened to be a Vulcan, then she would win some massive brownie points. And no doubt later the Kirk (use 'em and lose 'em) effect would kick in.

AH HA! The Romulan Commander's name is Mata Hari!

Some of the footage of the D-7 is from "Elaan of Troyius"

In the briefing room, when Kirk shows on the mini-screen the Enterprise vs. the D-7, he says, "The design of the ships is the same." Really? How? The Enterprise has its warp nacelles pointing up and the D-7 has the warp nacelles pointing down.

When McCoy pages Scott, Uhura is missing.

The Romulan Commander & Spock drink some blue liquid...they don't identify it...but knowing Star Trek lexicon, it's Romulan Ale....therefore, this is the first episode to feature Romulan Ale...not STII.

At one point the Romulan Commander says to Kirk that he does not understand the bond of the Vulcan/Romulan roots and origins...Really? The people of Romulus & Remus must not watch "Star Trek"...for Kirk found out about the bonds & origins in "Balance of Terror"

>>In the briefing room, when Kirk shows on the mini-screen the Enterprise vs. the D-7, he says, "The design of the ships is the same." Really? How? The Enterprise has its warp nacelles pointing up and the D-7 has the warp nacelles pointing down.<<

There ARE the same if one of the ships is viewed upside-down.

Yeah, but when have we seen any ship fly around upside down?

RUMINATION: This is the last time we see the Romulans until STV. (Caithlan Dar to be precise) and then not again until the 3rd season of ST:TNG in "The Defector"

No! TNG Season 1 "The Neutral Zone".

OOPS! Thanx, Electron. I missed that one. It must have been "cloaked"

No, we've never SEEN them onscreen except "like" the ships were in water. But perhaps Kirk's analysis is valid due to the point raised about one of the ships being "visualized" as upside down.

There is no upside down in space.

OK, upside down relative to the Enterprise.

WHY is Spock rubbing fingers with the Romulan Commander? This is done mostly during Pon Farr...Spock can not be in Pon Farr again, it's been only at least two years.
The rubbing fingers bit is the Vulcan way of kissing and things more erotic that I can not mention here.

Um...

1. Spock is trying to keep her busy.
2. Sarek and Amanda did the finger thing, and he wasn't in Pon Farr.

Rene---You might have been right on #1, but on #2...look again.... Sarek & Amanda only TOUCHED fingers.....
Spock & the Romulan Commander both touched AND rubbed fingers.(Something done in Pon Farr...according to STIII)

Maybe the Kirk effect was begining to rub off on Spock.

Personally I go with Dorothy Fontana's assertion that while Vulcan males are compelled to mate while in Pon Farr, it remains an option at other times too. (Can I say that on this board?) In which case Spock and the unnamed Commander are just getting a little on the friendly side - the Vulcan equivalent of Kirk snogging almost every beautiful human babe he meets (can I say that on this board?) Nimoy describes the action in "I am Spock" as "The beginning of the Vulcan mating ritual". and now I'm definitely gonna stop before the mods get me!

Your explanation (or should I say Fontana's explanation ) makes sense to me.

In Sick Bay, the "dead" Kirk opens his eyes..however, when Kirk closes his eyes again, the footage of him closing his eyes is from when he opened his eyes PLAYED BACKWARDS!
(You can see it clearly!)

The creators fudged a bit when Romulanized Kirk beams off the Enterprise, they skip the dematerialization sequence.

When Kirk hits the Romulan force field, it makes a familiar sound....EGAD! It's the Eminiar VII disruptor noise again! TPTB must REALLY LOVE that sound effect!

CAMERA KUDOS: I really love the angles the camera people use on the D-7 battlecruisers. Also, the camera angle of Kirk & Spock when the Romulan subcommander is talking with them on the Bridge. It's really good.

I often wondered....what did the Klingons get from the Romulans in exchange for their ships?

Cloaking devices?

I'll buy that. Makes sense to me.

In one of the corridors, there's a three pronged emblem over the door. This must be the "early version" of the Romulan Star Empire.

According to the FASA universe the Klingon/Romulan alliance gave the Romulans, Klingon vessels and warp drives while the Klingons got cloaking devices and plasma weapons.

I'm trying to decide if the cloaking device being easily removable is a nit.

I think it isn't. The cloak is experimental. It may be necessary to get rid of it in a hurry.

However, I would suggest that the ability to install it so rapidly, without any native supporting circuitry/equipment is a nit... Except of course, that Scotty is Just That Good^OMT.

The Romulans are conducting a shipwide search for the saboteur. They should raise shields so that said saboteur couldn't beam off, not to mention making sure that the Enterprise couldn't beam Spock out as well.

I'd say that Tal (as well as our nameless Commander) made a serious mistake there.

When Kirk said that the ships were identical, I thought he was saying that it was identical to a Klingon ship, and therefore, they knew where the important things, like captain's cabin, brig, and engine room are.

SCOTTN:"They should raise shields so that said saboteur couldn't beam off, not to mention making sure that the Enterprise couldn't beam Spock out as well."

I know it wasn't specifically stated in the episode, but I got the impression that the ships didn't have shields because the cloaking device made them either impossible or were deemed unnecessary. Remember that Scotty said he would have to install the device in the deflector shield grid (or words to that effect.)

Chris, they weren't cloaked.

And perhaps Scotty had to install it into the deflector shield grid because he was jury-rigging it. The Romulans, having designed the bloody thing, would have dedicated circuitry for it.

Good points, but I was thinking that the Romulan (Klingon) ships' shield generators may have been designed so that they could either have shields, or a cloak, but not both. (That's a little more acceptable to me than both Tal and the Romulan Commander forgetting to raise the shields.)

Of course that doesn't explain how they failed to detect the Enetrprise beaming Kirk to and from the Romulan Flagship.

Have any of you read the Vulcan novels by Josepha Sherman and... a co-author, I don't remember... Vulcan's Heart was one. They go into some good detail about the Romulan Commander, her feelings and motivations, and what happened to her afterward.
Diane Duane had some good ideas, too.

In "Conscience of the King" McCoy offers Spock a drink...Saurian Brandy to be precise. Spock refuses because of his heritage. So...why has Spock taken up drinking all of a sudden? And I MUST point out...he drank Romulan Ale in this episode...a very potent drink indeed! (I KNOW it's Romulan Ale because of the color)

I see. So you can tell Pepsi from Coke from Dr Pepper just by the color? Grape Koolade from wine? Just making a point.

Oh, and given that the Romulan Commander "knows" that Vulcan can't lie (hehehe), I think she'd probably knows that Vulcans do not imbibe alcoholic concoctions, I don't think she'd be tacky enough to serve Saurian Brandy to Mr. Spock.

Funny you should say that. Your statement reminds me of an "All of the Family" episode in which Gloria challenges Mike to taste 3 different colas and then correctly identify them. (Can't remember which brands) You know what? He did it!

Yeah, but IIRC, he did it by taste, not by color.

The Star Trek Encyclopedia identifies Romulan Ale as being blue in color. STII-TWOK also confirms this.

But that doesn't mean it's the only drink that is blue. Coke, Pepsi and Dr Pepper are all the same color. Grape juice and wine can be the same color. That was my point, John. Just because it's blue doesn't automatically mean it's Romulan Ale. It could still be something else.

Point taken. But Spock's still boozing it up when he said his race don't drink.

You're assuming it's booze, though. Is there anything in the dialogue to indicate that it is alcohol?

Spock's reaction. He raises his eyebrow. Hardly the type of reaction you'd get from something non-alcoholic. I know it's not much to go on, but it sure LOOKS like that drink was pretty strong. That's why I thought it was Romulan Ale.

John, I'm afraid I don't follow your logic. How do you equate a raised eyebrow with alcohol? "Hardly the type of reaction you'd get from something non-alcoholic"? Says who? Pepsi Blue is blue. Hawaiian Punch had a blue version. Neither is alcoholic. He might just as well taste Pepsi Blue or blue Hawaiin Punch and raise his eyebrow (at the taste, the sweetness, the carbonated fizz, etc.) On what basis can you conclude that he wouldn't? Is there some episode that establishes that Spock does not raise his eyebrow when he tastes something good or sweet?

Aye, and it could be that Spock was expecting Romulan Ale and the drink instead turned out to be a non-alcoholic drink or perhaps even a Vulcan beverage that the Science Officer would not expect the Romulan Commander to know about. That the drink was a potent potable is not necessarily the only answer.

Points well taken.

"Aye"?

I, eye.

Even if it was Romulan Ale; and even if Vulcans don't normally drink; Vulcans don't normally lie (as he was doing to her) or from her point of view Vulcan's don't normally hook up with enemy commanders either. Seeing as he was on a mission to gain her trust, turning down her drink beacuse "my people don't drink" is not the way to do it.

In another episode (sorry, can't remember which), McCoy suggested brandy, then said that he knew that Spock would not accept. Spock said, "Thank you, Doctor, I will have a brandy." McCoy said to Kirk, "Can the two of us handle a drunk Vulcan?" The give-and-take went on from there, but it does seem to indicate that Spock can and does drink alcohol when he feels like doing so.

BTW, McCoy once showed that he could tell Saurian brandy--and its age!--just by looking at a clear glass decanter.

D.K.....The episode you're referring to was "Requeim for Methuselah"

I always assumed that the drink was an aphrodisiac or something to 'put him in the mood'. Who knows what effects that drink had on his mind or, uh, elsewhere.

One of the redshirts in the briefing room scene has Commander's stripes on. Is he the head of Security?

Someone mentioned Spock and the Commander drinking the blue drink, then a cut, then it's orange. No, it is two different drinks with some time elapsed between them. Could have been lousy Sci-Fi channel editing that made you think it was a blooper, when it was not. They drink the blue drink, scene cuts away, then when it cuts back, she is pouring the orange drink for Spock (different glass even).

And as pointed out, Kirk was definitely saying that the ships the Romulans were using were identical to the Klingon ones on the monitor graphic. The fact that a blueprint of a starship is also there on the monitor to show size differential is confusing everyone.

Sir Rhosis

A while back, John wrote:
Funny you should say that. Your statement reminds me of an "All of the Family" episode in which Gloria challenges Mike to taste 3 different colas and then correctly identify them. (Can't remember which brands) You know what? He did it!

It was Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola and Royal Crown Cola.

In "The Paradise Syndrome", the Warp Drive engines whine & moan when Spock orders Warp 9 to the asteroid. Scotty even hails the Bridge to warn Spock on how dangerous the situation is.
However, in this episode, Kirk orders Warp 9 and there's no muss...no fuss.
What happened?

Engine upgrade? Maybe Scotty tinkered with the engines enough that can now handle Warp 9 a little more easily.

Live long and prosper.

I'll buy that. It probably was a "Section 31" mission, so, Scotty was probably ordered to beef up the engines for a quick escape.

Here's one:

The Romulanized Kirk beams back to the Enterprise from the Romulan (Klingon) ship wearing the Romulan outfit. Yet, when he comes back up to the Bridge, he's wearing his regular yellow command outfit.

(With Spock still on board the Romulan (Klingon) ship, possibly in danger, he found time to change clothes?)

OH MY!

When the Romulan Commander gets up to change into her intimate outfit, you can see the little black panties she's wearing beneath her micro-miniskirt.

This was the first episode in the third season where wee see the transporter room. For some reason, TPTB painted the three steps to the transporter chamber black for season three, instead of the earth tones they were previously.

My bad. Two steps were painted black.

Nurse Chapel, a human, knows that there is no such thing as the "Vulcan Death Grip", but the Romulans, who are supposed to be originally of the Vulcan race, don't?

I think that the Romulans don't have as much telepahty as the Vulcans, has it ever been established that the Romulans have things like mind melds?

Also, can a Romulan do the nerve pinch? I would think so, but I can't recall one doing it. Especially in "Unification," where even Data can do it.
Incidentally, when new New York Yankee Randy Johnson ("The Big Unit") recently pushed his right hand in front of a camera lens, to shove off the cameraman, one sports columnist (and I can't remember who) refered to it as a "Vulcan Death Grip." I guess that columnist only watched half the TV screen though, as the "Grip" is done with two hands.

Todd Pence: Nurse Chapel, a human, knows that there is no such thing as the "Vulcan Death Grip", but the Romulans, who are supposed to be originally of the Vulcan race, don't?
Luigi Novi: If the grip originated after the Romulan emigration from Vulcan, why not?

And Nurse Chapel is a medical person on a Federation starship that has a Vulcan onboard. The Romulans haven't had any contact with the Vulcans for 2000 years.

The Vulcans and Romulans seem to know rather too much about each other in this episode. In Balance Of Terror, Spock basically hazards a guess as to who the Romulans are. It's clear there has been no contact between the two races in a very long time. Yet in this one they seem to know all about one another. When did all this cultural exchange/catching up take place, down to the Romulans having a Vulcan recipe book on board? Haven't the Vulcans developed any new recipes in the centuries since the two races diverged?

I'm surprised that, not only did Phil miss this when he wrote the NPGFCT, but no one else has ever mentioned here, either! Trust me, I looked very carefully in both places. Heck, I'd expected Luigi at least to pick up on this, he's so good at it.

Anyway, it's when the Romulan Commander first has Kirk and Spock brought to her quarters, and then after she dismisses Spock and walks around her computer, talking about the "violations of the treaty", you can see on top of it the head (hood?) of Number One's goosenecked scanning instrument from The Cage! You know, the one that's since been replaced by Sulu's slowly rising squarish one. It also reminds me of the Martian goosenecked death ray emitters in George Pal's War of the Worlds (1953). Coinky-dink? You be the judge.

I watched this the other day, and then again tonight mostly on fast forward to catch the skirt tug, which I'd caught before but it was so fast and I didn't bother rewinding then. I did tonight and boy was I surprised to see just how much of her rear end was shown as she rose and then went out the door! This from a time when showing Jeannie's belly button was believed to prove sorely detrimental to the fragile, impressionistic minds of young American males everywhere! But then Uhura's navel was shown in Mirror, Mirror so I guess by then they finally relented, unless Jeannie and ST were shown on two separate networks with their own standards and practices.

I also thought the actress, Joanne Linville, was in her mid-30's in this ep but she was actually 41, according to the IMDB info on her. She still looked pretty darn good in that episode.

And is it just me or does the material for the TOS Romulan outfits look to be about the same as those of the TNG Romulans'?

Its just you.

And I've seen MANY women in their early 40s and beyond that look pretty darn good! Age ain't nothing but a number!

Actually, Mark, I don't think I've seen this ep more than once. I think I've seen every Trek ep at least once, but I don't think I've gone through this one with my nitpicker's comb like others. The only nits I have for this ep are the ones from my May 29, 2001 post above.

This is one of the better episodes of the 3rd season!

Ironic isn't it that the first time the fans saw a Klingon ship on screen, it was being commanded by the Romulans.

Didn't we see a D-7 in The Trouble With Tribbles, during the exterior shots of station K-7?

No we never saw it in that episode, although they did show it in "Trials and Tribble-ations" (DS9). Thats probably what you are thinking of.

The diamond-shaped wall decoration from the bar in "Trouble With Tribbles" is prominently displayed on the bulkhead in the Commander's office. (Maybe Romulans are kleptomaniacs....? )

I'm wondering how the Enterprise could even be surrounded, when she was travelling at warp speed into Romulan space. I don't recall Kirk holding position, so how did the D-7's maneuver her into coming to a stop?

I find it incredibly hard to believe that the Vulcan cuisine aboard the Enterprise is inferior to a Romulan ship's. The food synthesizers must be able to recreate anything, and surely they could produce anything for Spock, since Vulcans are a part of the Federation and they would obviously prefer a Vulcan salad to a Federation hamburger! In Day Of The Dove Kirk even asked the food synthesizers to be reprogrammed to recreate food for Kang and his Klingon crew (raktageno, anyone?). My only explanation is that instead of the reconstituted food on his ship, Spock was offered 'fresh' food, in its natural form. If not, then Spock lied.

His other lie is quite evident; the Commander can't possibly believe at the end of the show that she's spent a full minute in a turbolift, just to go down to 'deck 2'. The bridge would naturally be considered 'deck 1'. But, how can it be a lie, if Spock spoke the command aloud, and the computer sent him and the Commander to deck 2? On the other hand, the level indicator showed several 'bars' pass by which I've always considered illuminated floor levels.

Tal's subordinate is a jack of all trades; he informs the Sub-Commander of Spock's transmission making him seem like the communications officer, but later in the show he's giving tactical information about the Enterprise warping away, as if he's a sensor operator or navigator.

The sound effects guy muddled two scenes; the sound of Kirk's Romulan gun hitting the deck when he's found in the cloaking device room sounds like a plastic toy hit the floor. Shouldn't it have made a slightly metalic 'clunk' or 'clank' hitting a metalic floor? He also left out any indication that the Enterprise is travelling at the very streeful speed of warp 9. The background should be reverberating with the engines whining.

And speaking of warp 9, it sure took them a long time to get back to Federation space, considering they weren't even travelling anywhere near warp 9 when they were 'surrounded' at the beginning of the show. I guess they weren't making the obvious course, ie. a straight line to Federation space. And why is Tal's ship the only ship chasing the Enterprise? Where are the other two from the fleet?

Isn't it fortunate for Spock that he correctly surmised that the guarded hallway led directly to the cloaking device? No dialogue supports this, and yet the guard could have been there protecting the armory, the engine room, the deflector shield room, the matter/anti-matter reactor, the Commander's wardrobe collection of designer dresses...

By Benn Allen on Saturday, November 27, 1999 - 10:20 pm:

The series did tend to distinguish scoutships, freighters, battle cruisers, starships, etc. one from the other. A starship was a certain type of vessel, not necessarily a class of ship. I was under the impression that Enterprise was a Constitution class vessel.

By Keith Alan Morgan on Sunday, November 28, 1999 - 4:53 am:

Officially it was, but close-up photos of the dedication plaque say Starship Class. This was, apparently, not visible on TV screens so is not canonical, but when they were putting the show together TPTB had decided that it was a class of ship and the reference in this show and Bread And Circuses are artifacts of that idea which was later discarded.

I noticed in Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, during one of the Bele/Lokai scenes by the bridge turbolift, the plaque is indeed readable. It does, in fact, say Starship Class. That's the only time I've found thus far that it is.

Romulans attack the Enhanced episode next week!

The remastered "The Enterprise Incident" airs next week. The main effects are the "Romulan" ships (reuse of the Klingon model).

There are some preview images over at TrekMovie.com. They switched one of the D-7s for a Bird of Prey, and did the warbird paintjob on the two D-7s.

I like it. They preserved the (budget forced) plot point about Romulans having Klingon ships but also put in a Romulan Warbird.

my vcr went forward one hour ! I taped South Park...blah,,,,at 4am.,pst.

Ah, you got bit by the DST change!

What's a VCR?

The main change is the substitution of a warbird for one of the D-7s and the warbird paintjob, as noted above. There's some new shots showing the dissolve effect of the cloak; the old version was more of a fade. We see the D-7 firing on empty space after the Enterprise eludes it.

The live-action effects haven't been changed -- the viewscreen diagrams of the ships and the force field flash.

They may have inserted a new shot rather than simply replacing an existing shot. When we see a shot of the E's saucer fading out, the soundtrack is dead. Normally there'd be a musical cue.

It does seem like they've never heard of the cloaking device at all before, not just the new improved version. The old version was detectable by motion sensors; apparently the new version is not.

There have been various stories told over the years as to why the Romulans got the "Klingon" ships -- disputes over the ownership of the Romulan model, or whether they just wanted to show off their new model.

Hey nitpickers!

It's been a while for me but I just wanted to mention how much better the end of this story was with the new graphics. The Enterprise speeding away from the Romulan ships at warp nine, followed by the pursuit and the cloaking effect gave a much clearer picture of what was happening than the old effects where someone on screen tells you what happened and you have to imagine the rest.

A lot of the new graphics are really cool, but this is the first time I felt they made an improvement to the story itself.

Its sad that this younger generation has no imagination and has to have "new graphics" that the creators didn't have the money for 40 years ago, to show exactly what is happening in the episode. VERY sad indeed.

It's not that we have to have them to understand, Mr Crusher, but more the fact that now that we DO have them, we like how they show things in greater clarity. Plus, it's fun and darn cool, too. :-)

Next weekend's episode is "The Enterprise Incident" with "Spock's Brain" the following weekend.

Here's a summary of the first draft of the teleplay. One difference is that McCoy goes along with Kirk and masquerades as a Romulan with him. The Romulan Commander is still not named in it.
D.C. Fontana has said that the scene of Spock and the Romulan Commander getting romantic was added by Roddenberry against her wishes. According to David Gerrold's 1973 book The World Of "Star Trek", Fontana went down to the set and told Leonard Nimoy that she didn't write the scene.

John A. Lang on Friday, August 17, 2001 - 6:17 pm: At one point the Romulan Commander says to Kirk that he does not understand the bond of the Vulcan/Romulan roots and origins...Really? The people of Romulus & Remus must not watch "Star Trek"...for Kirk found out about the bonds & origins in Balance of Terror.

True, but knowing and understanding are two different things.

The Romulan brig appears to be the same set as the absorption chamber on Beta III fron "Return of the Archons".

In the conference in the Briefing Room, just before Kirk and Spock beam to the Romulan ship, there is an African-American redshirt in the background.

Said redshirt is wearing Commander's insignia (two unbroken braids at the wrist). Who is this high ranking officer, and why have we never seen or heard of him before or since?

Going all the way to D.K. Henderson on November 24, 1998 - 5:48 am:

Spock and the Commander were alone in her room--why did she feel that she had to whisper her name? Couldn't the writers come up with a pretty, Romulan-sounding name?

Potential anti-nit: Given what we know (or later learn) of Romulan society, it's probable that there was some form of surveillance device (owned by the Tal Shiar).

Oh... I didn't see Adam Bomb's March 23 2004 nit about the nameless redshirt Commander.

Here's some behind the scenes info, courtesy of These Are The Voyages. As first written by D.C Fontana, Sarek was to be a major character in the story.

Barbara Luna was in Star Trek New Voyages, but not in Star Trek Continues.

The Romulan commander makes a big deal that the Enterprise violated the Neutral Zone.

Well, Commander, one of your ships did the same thing a couple of years back, and destroyed several Federation outposts in the process.

Who did the more damage here?

I see that dishonesty in a lot of places.

Person A accuses Person B of "doing a bad thing", but if one examines Person A's history, they did a lot worse. Go fig?

Well, at least no one died this time. Kirk KO'd a couple of Romulans when he went after the cloaking device, but that was it.

And if you considered Star Trek Continues canon, and I do, then the Romulan Commander even regained her command, despite the loss of the cloaking device.

And if you considered Star Trek Continues canon, and I do, then the Romulan Commander even regained her command, despite the loss of the cloaking device.

Which, considering what we know about the Romulans, I find totally unbelievable.

Perhaps she has friends in the right places.

Speaking of the Romulan Commander, I noticed this time that she has human flesh-colored skin. If she's a full-blooded Romulan, and they're offshoots of the Vulcan race, shouldn't she be the same skin color as Spock? Her skin compared to his is more like Kirk's than Spock's.

Another thing about her-- she seems to be the Romulan version of Kirk. She's thinking with her hormones than her intellect. Her attraction to a visitor to the ship (Spock) seems a lot like something that Kirk experiences quite often, too.

Spock said he was 'very flattered' to be served Vulcan cuisine. How can an unemotional Vulcan be 'very flattered'?

In his book, Worlds Of Star Trek, David Gerrold mentioned that this is based on the famous Pueblo Incident. Only this time, the good side wins.

The Federation was the one violating the treaty here, the Enterprise could have started a war. That is why Kirk was acting so out of character. It was part of his orders so the Federation would have deniability.

You know, the old: "If you or your colleagues are caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions."

Still, it was a gambit. Not only did Kirk and Co. steal a cloaking device, they kidnapped a Romulan Commander. It was fortunate for all that the Romulan Empire didn't declare war on the Federation right then and there.

"steal a cloaking device, they kidnapped a Romulan Commander"

Forget about the 'Enterprise incident' being caught red-handed in Romulan space, you just put your finger on a SECOND 'Enterprise incident' for the diplomats to fix!

'the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions'

When I was younger, I thought they meant the President's personal secretary! Not (I assume) the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Foreign Affairs.

Of course, the Romulans were right. The Enterprise was illegally in their space. That was a violation of the Neutral Zone Treaty, and could be considered an act of war.

And even if the Romulans initially bought the story that Kirk had gone rogue when he ordered the Enterprise to cross the Neutral Zone, they could have asked:

1. Why didn't the crew relieve Kirk of his command when he first ordered the ship to cross the Zone? As far as they were concerned, those orders were illegal.

2. Why wasn't Kirk brought up on charges for violating the treaty?

And no doubt the Roms soon put two-and-two together and realized that the whole "went rogue" story was bullsh*t and that Starfleet had sanctioned the whole thing.

Once again, Act Of War.

Luckily, it seems that the diplomats on both sides were able to smooth things out.

However, there was that little inconvenient matter that Kirk was still alive and not dead like McCoy said he was. Romulan revenge, anybody?

Although not canon, the TOS novel, Abyss, suggests that Section 31 masterminded this scheme to steal the cloaking device (or course, Kirk was unaware of this when he got the assignment).

Well, it fits with S31's "protect the Federation and the consequences be damned" policy. So I can buy the idea that the novel presents.

Sometimes events make more sense years later, with a new novel or episode. I like that idea, too, since it really doesn't seem like a 'normal' Starfleet mission when you really analyze it.

All throughout the novel, Kirk reflects on that mission, that it seemed off somehow. Of course, he was right.

Well, this video puts the turbolift ride at the end into perspective...

https://youtu.be/8v181BxVxBk

LOL

Yup.

When sentenced to execution Spock invokes the Romulan "Right of Statement." The commander tells him "You understand Romulan tradition well."

I thought at this time the Federation knew almost nothing about Romulans and their customs and traditions. Where did Spock learn about this facet of Romulan law.

No doubt in the two years since Balance Of Terror.

Where did Spock learn about this facet of Romulan law?

Maybe the Federation sent a spy balloon over a meeting of the Romulan Senate.

Good one.