Star Trek celebrated its 50th anniversary this past week, and to mark the occasion Bryan Fuller – showrunner of the upcoming Star Trek: Discovery – took to Twitter to reveal that the famous ‘Balance of Terror’ episode of Star Trek: The Original Series is a “touchstone” for the new show’s story arc. Here’s Fuller’s tweet…
https://twitter.com/BryanFuller/status/774062077811929090
The fifteenth episode of the first season of Star Trek, ‘Balance of Terror’ is notable for introducing the Romulans to the world of Star Trek. The episode sees Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise battling a Romulan Bird of Prey which is attacking Federation outposts along the Neutral Zone – an area of space established following a peace treaty that ended the Earth-Romulan War a hundred years prior.
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It’s unclear whether Fuller is referring to ‘Balance of Terror’ as a touchstone in terms of quality, or if the events of the episode will play into the actual storyline for Discovery. However, seeing as Discovery takes place ten years prior to The Original Series, it would seem unlikely that Romulans will feature in the series in any major role, given that ‘Balance of Terror’ marks the first time that Humans and Romulans have made visual contact with each other.
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Originally published September 11, 2016. Updated April 16, 2018.
