Ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sovereign or appointed for a special and temporary diplomatic assignment. The word is often used more liberally for persons who are known, without national appointment, to represent certain professions and fields of endeavor such as sales. An ambassador is the ranking government representative stationed in a foreign capital; the host country allows the ambassador control of specific territory called an embassy, whose territory and vehicles are afforded diplomatic immunity in the host country. Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, an ambassador has the highest diplomatic rank. Countries may choose to maintain diplomatic relations at a lower level by appointing a chargé d'affaires in place of an ambassador; the equivalent to an ambassador exchanged among members of the Commonwealth of Nations are known as High Commissioners.
The "ambassadors" of the Holy See are known as Apostolic Nuncios. The term is derived from Middle English ambassadour, Anglo-French ambassateur of Latin origin from the word Ambaxus-Ambactus, meaning servant or minister; the first known usage of the term was recorded around the 14th century. The foreign government to which an ambassador is assigned must first approve the person. In some cases, the foreign government might reverse its approval by declaring the diplomat a persona non grata, i.e. an unacceptable person. This kind of declaration results in recalling the ambassador to their home nation. In accordance with the Congress of Vienna of 1815 and the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the ambassador and embassy staff are granted diplomatic immunity and personal safety while living abroad. Due to the advent of modern technologies, today's world is a much smaller place in relative terms. With this in mind, it is considered important that the nations of the world have at least a small staff living in foreign capitals in order to aid travelers and visitors from their home nation.
As an officer of the foreign service, an ambassador is expected to protect the citizens of their home country in the host country. Another result of the increase in foreign travel is the growth of trade between nations. For most countries, the national economy is now part of the global economy; this means increased opportunities to trade with other nations. When two nations are conducting a trade, it is advantageous to both parties to have an ambassador and a small staff living in the other land, where they act as an intermediary between cooperative businesses. One of the cornerstones of foreign diplomatic missions is to work for peace; this task can grow into a fight against international terrorism, the drug trade, international bribery, human trafficking. Ambassadors help stop these acts; these activities are important and sensitive and are carried out in coordination with the Defense Ministry of the state and the head of the nation. The rise of the modern diplomatic system was a product of the Italian Renaissance.
The use of ambassadors became a political strategy in Italy during the 17th century. The political changes in Italy altered the role of ambassadors in diplomatic affairs; because many of the states in Italy were small in size, they were vulnerable to larger states. The ambassador system was used to protect the more vulnerable states; this practice spread to Europe during the Italian Wars. The use and creation of ambassadors during the 15th century in Italy has had long-term effects on Europe and, in turn, the world's diplomatic and political progression. Europe still uses the same terms of ambassador rights as they had established in the 16th century, concerning the rights of the ambassadors in host countries as well as the proper diplomatic procedures. An ambassador was used as a representative of the state in which they are from to negotiate and disseminate information in order to keep peace and establish relationships with other states; this attempt was employed in the effort to maintain peaceful relations with nations and make alliances during difficult times.
The use of ambassadors today is widespread. States and non-state actors use diplomatic representatives to deal with any problems that occur within the international system. Ambassadors now live overseas or within the country in which it is assigned to for long periods of time so that they are acquainted with the culture and local people; this way they are more politically effective and trusted, enabling them to accomplish goals that their host country desires. The Congress of Vienna of 1815 formalized the system of diplomatic rank under international law: Ambassadors are diplomats of the highest rank, formally representing the head of state, with plenipotentiary powers. In modern usage, most ambassadors on foreign postings as head of mission carry the full title of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. "Ordinary" ambassadors and non-plenipotentiary status are used, although they may be encountered in certain circumstances. The only difference between an extraordinary ambassador and an ordinary ambassador is that while the former's mission is permanent, the latter serves only for a specific purpose.
Among European powers, the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary was regarded as the personal representative of the Sovereign. The custom of dispatching ambassadors to the h
Michael Burnham
Michael Burnham is the fictional protagonist on Star Trek: Discovery portrayed by American actress Sonequa Martin-Green. She appears as the First Officer of the USS Shenzhou under Philippa Georgiou until she commits mutiny and is stripped of rank. Burnham is recruited by Gabriel Lorca on the USS Discovery as a science specialist after serving only six months of her life sentence, with Lorca viewing Burnham as an asset in the war against the Klingons, she serves as the series lead. The character is introduced as an anthropologist helping the Earth-based Starfleet understand and engage with new cultures in outer space; the character is the first black woman to lead a Star Trek television series, as well as the first leading character that has never been a Starfleet captain. Bryan Fuller conceived the character based on the cultural impact of Nichelle Nichols' portrayal of Uhura, Mae Jemison and Ruby Bridges, she is revealed as the foster sister to Spock. Burnham is an orphan until she is taken in by Sarek.
Controversy of the character arose with the decision to connect her history to Spock's family, with debates of continuity discussed among Trekkies. Development of the character was praised by critics leading up to the debut for having a black woman lead for the first time in Star Trek history and reviews of Martin-Green's performance have been positive. In December 2016, it was announced that Martin-Green would serve as the series lead of Star Trek: Discovery, with the character named "Rainsford". In previous iterations of Star Trek, Spock had never mentioned a sister. Executive producer Alex Kurtzman has explained that the specifics of Burnham's backstory would be revealed in a way that would not break the existing canon continuity. Unlike previous Star Trek leads, Burnham was not made a starship captain, "to see a character from a different perspective on the starship—one who has different dynamic relationships with a captain, with subordinates, it gave us richer context"; the character was to be referred to only by the name Number One, to honor the character of that name portrayed by Majel Barrett in the original Star Trek pilot "The Cage."
With changes in the pre-production storyline, the character is found guilty of mutiny and no longer a First Officer by the end of the pilot episode. Thus, the Michael Burnham name was revealed during the first episode making "Number One" her informal name, the same as First Officer William Riker's informal name on the series Star Trek: The Next Generation. Series creator Bryan Fuller deliberately gave Martin-Green's character a traditionally male name, which he had done with the female leads in three of his previous series. Martin-Green decided. Executive producer Aaron Harberts spoke to TV Guide and explained the reason for calling the character a traditionally male name, explaining, "We've worked on many shows with Bryan and it's a motif. It's his signature move to name his lead women with names that would be associated as male." He felt the name was "cool and different" and pitched it himself explaining, " thinking of female columnist Michael Sneed, who writes for the Chicago Sun-Times, The Bangles' bassist Michael Steele."
He added, "And, of course, an archangel is named Michael as well, it just had a lot of potency for us." Sonequa Martin-Green expressed enthusiasm about the name, liking the symbolism and anticipating a more gender-fluid and equal opportunity future. Of the name, she said, "I appreciated the statement it makes all on its own to have this woman with this male name, just speaking of the amelioration of how we see men and women in the future."Bryan Fuller had numerous inspirations for conceiving the character of Michael Burnham. He cited the cultural impact of Nichelle Nichols' portrayal of Uhura saying, "I couldn't stop thinking about how many black people were inspired by seeing Nichelle Nichols on the bridge of a ship ". Another inspiration came from the legacy of Ruby Bridges, the first black child to attend an all-white elementary school in Louisiana, as well as Mae Jemison, the first woman of color to travel in space. Martin-Green referred to her character as being "the only human to have not just attended the Vulcan Science Academy but excelled as well, speaks to Burnham's intellect and just sheer level of intelligence".
She referred to her character as "highly disciplined principled, the Vulcan-Human dichotomy that lives within her is emblematic of her personality. It is the two realities living within me at all times." The casting process was difficult for producers. They searched long and hard to find an actor to pull off Burnham's divided nature between Vulcan and human. Harberts said, "We read a lot of people and they either went way too robotic and chilly or way too emotional. What's beautiful about Sonequa's performance is she's capable of playing two, four things at once. She's got such a great command of her craft, she's able to be warm. Alex Kurtzman felt the character's portrayal needed to have "remarkable duality inside her" between being "highly emotional" while being "contained". "Unlike Spock, half-human, half-Vulcan, she is all human, but she's been trained with the kind of Vulcan emotional-suppression ideology, and, challenging for her... you can see that wrestling match going on in every moment.
That was the single most important thing to define the character, I think we just had a sense that in
Leonard McCoy
Dr. Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy is a character in the American science fiction franchise Star Trek. First portrayed by DeForest Kelley in the original Star Trek series, McCoy appears in the animated Star Trek series, six Star Trek movies, the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, in numerous books and video games. Karl Urban assumed the role of the character in the 2009 Star Trek film and its sequels: Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond. McCoy was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 20, 2227; the son of David, he attended the University of Mississippi and is a divorcé. McCoy married Natira, the priestess of Yonada, characterized in the episode, "For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky". In 2266, McCoy was posted as chief medical officer of the USS Enterprise under Captain James T. Kirk, who calls him "Bones". McCoy and Kirk are good friends "brotherly"; the passionate, sometimes cantankerous McCoy argues with Kirk's other confidante, science officer Spock, is prejudiced against Spock's Vulcan heritage.
McCoy plays the role of Kirk's conscience, offering a counterpoint to Spock's logic. McCoy is suspicious of technology the transporter; as a physician, he prefers less intrusive treatment and believes in the body's innate recuperative powers. The character's nickname, "Bones", is a play on sawbones, an epithet for physicians qualified as surgeons; when Kirk orders McCoy's commission reactivated in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Spock transfers his katra—his knowledge and experience—into McCoy before dying in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; this causes mental anguish for McCoy, who in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock helps restore Spock's katra to his reanimated body. McCoy continues to serve on Kirk's crew aboard the captured Klingon ship in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. In Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, McCoy reveals that he helped his father commit suicide to relieve him of his pain. Shortly after the suicide, a cure was found for his father's disease, McCoy had carried the guilt about it with him until Sybok's intervention.
In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, McCoy and Kirk escape from a Klingon prison world, the Enterprise crew stops a plot to prevent peace between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire. Kelley reprised the role for the "Encounter at Farpoint" pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, insisting upon no more than the minimum Screen Actors Guild payment for his appearance. In the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "The Survivor", McCoy mentions he has a daughter, Joanna. Although Chekov's friend Irina in the original series episode "The Way to Eden" was written as McCoy's daughter, it was changed before the episode was shot. In the 2009 Star Trek film, which takes place in an "alternate, parallel" reality, McCoy and Kirk become friends at Starfleet Academy, which McCoy joins after a divorce that he says "left nothing but bones." This line, improvised by Urban, explains. McCoy helps get Kirk posted aboard the USS Enterprise, he becomes the chief medical officer after Doctor Puri is killed during an attack by Nero.
McCoy remains aboard to see the Enterprise defeat Nero and his crew, with Kirk becoming the commanding officer of the ship. The Guardian called Urban's portrayal of McCoy in the 2009 film an "unqualified success", The New York Times called the character "wild-eyed and funny". Slate.com said Urban came closer than the other actors to impersonating a character's original depiction. Kelley had worked with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry on previous television pilots, he was Roddenberry's first choice to play the doctor aboard the USS Enterprise. However, for the rejected pilot "The Cage", Roddenberry went with director Robert Butler's choice of John Hoyt to play Dr. Philip Boyce. For the second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", Roddenberry accepted director James Goldstone's decision to have Paul Fix play Dr. Mark Piper. Although Roddenberry wanted Kelley to play the character of ship's doctor, he did not put Kelley's name forward to NBC. Kelley's first broadcast appearance as Doctor Leonard McCoy was in "The Man Trap".
Despite his character's prominence, Kelley's contract granted him only a "featuring" credit. Kelley was apprehensive about Star Trek's future, telling Roddenberry that the show was "going to be the biggest hit or the biggest miss God made". Kelley portrayed McCoy throughout the original Star Trek series and voiced the character in the animated Star Trek. Kelley, who in his youth wanted to become a doctor like his uncle, but whose family could not pay for a medical education, in part drew upon his real-life experiences in creating McCoy: a doctor's "matter-of-fact" delivery of news of Kelley's mother's terminal cancer was the "abrasive sand" Kelley used in creating McCoy's demeanor. Star Trek writer D. C. Fontana said that while Roddenberry created the series, Kelley created McCoy. Kirk and science officer Spock, respectively. Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura, referred to Kelley as her "sassy gentleman friend".
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series aired as Star Trek and as The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek, is an American animated science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry. It aired from September 8, 1973 to October 12, 1974 on NBC, spanning 22 episodes over two seasons; the second series in the Star Trek franchise, it is the first sequel to Star Trek: The Original Series. Set in the 23rd century, when Earth is part of a United Federation of Planets, it follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Enterprise as it explores the Milky Way galaxy. After the cancellation of The Original Series in 1969, the live action show proved popular in syndication and generated significant fan enthusiasm; this resulted in Roddenberry's decision to continue the series in animated form. Much of the original cast returned to provide voice-overs for their characters. Show writers David Gerrold and D. C. Fontana characterized The Animated Series as being a fourth season of The Original Series.
The adventures of the characters were continued in cinematic form, the first being the 1979 film Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The Animated Series was the original cast's last episodic portrayal of the characters until the "cartoon-like" graphics of the Star Trek: 25th Anniversary computer game in 1992 as well as its sequel Star Trek: Judgment Rites in 1993. Both appeared after the cast's final film together, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, released in December 1991; the Animated Series was critically acclaimed and was the first Star Trek series to win an Emmy Award when its second season won the 1975 Emmy for Outstanding Entertainment – Children's Series. The Animated Series featured most of the original cast voicing their characters; the major exception was the character of Pavel Chekov, who did not appear in the series because the series' budget could not afford the complete cast. He was replaced by two animated characters who made semi-regular appearances: Lieutenant Arex, whose Edosian species had three arms and three legs.
Besides performing their characters Montgomery Scott and Christine Chapel, James Doohan and Majel Barrett performed the voices of Arex and M'Ress, respectively. Filmation was only going to use the voices of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley and Barrett. Doohan and Barrett would perform the voices of Sulu and Uhura. Nimoy refused to voice Spock in the series unless Nichelle Nichols and George Takei were added to the cast—claiming that Sulu and Uhura were of importance as they were proof of the ethnic diversity of the 23rd century and should not be recast. Nimoy took this stand as a matter of principle, as he knew of the financial troubles many of his Star Trek co-stars were facing after cancellation of the series. Koenig was not forgotten, wrote an episode for the series, becoming the first Star Trek actor to write a Star Trek story. Koenig wrote "The Infinite Vulcan", which had plot elements from the original Star Trek episode "Space Seed" blended into it; as is usual with animation projects, the voice actors did not perform together but recorded their parts separately to avoid clashing with other commitments.
For example, William Shatner, touring in a play at the time, recorded his lines in whatever city where he happened to be performing and had the tapes shipped to the studio. Doohan and Barrett, besides providing the voices of their Original Series characters and newcomers Arex and M'Ress, performed all of the "guest star" characters in the series, except for a few notable exceptions such as Sarek, Cyrano Jones and Harry Mudd, who were performed by the original actors from The Original Series. Other occasional guest voice actors were used, including Ed Bishop who voiced the Megan Prosecutor in "The Magicks of Megas-tu", Ted Knight who voiced Carter Winston in "The Survivor". Nichelle Nichols performed other character voices in addition to Uhura in several episodes, including "The Time Trap" and "The Lorelei Signal". Similar to most animated series of the era, the 22 episodes of TAS were spread out over two brief seasons, with copious reruns of each episode; the director of the first season was Hal Sutherland and Bill Reed directed the six episodes of season two.
All of this series' episodes were novelized by Alan Dean Foster and released in ten volumes under the Star Trek Logs banner. Foster adapted three episodes per book, but editions saw the half-hour scripts expanded into full, novel-length stories. Star Trek: The Animated Series was the only Star Trek series not to be produced with a cold open, instead starting directly with the title credits sequence. However, some overseas versions of the original live action series, such as those aired by the BBC in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s, were edited to run the teaser after the credits; the series' writing benefited from a Writers Guild of America, East strike in 1973, which did not apply to animation. A few episodes are notable due to contributions from well-known science fiction authors: "More Tribbles, More Troubles" was written by David Gerrold as a sequel to his episode "The Trouble with Tribbles" from the original series. Here Cyrano Jones is rescued from the Klingons, bringing with him a genetically altered breed of tribbles which do not reproduce but do grow large.
The Klingons, because of their hatred of tribbles, are eager to get Jones back because he stole a creature they created: a predator called a "glommer"
Sarek (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
"Sarek" is the 23rd episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 71st episode overall. It was released on May 14, 1990, in broadcast syndication; the story for the episode was created by Marc Cushman and Jake Jacobs, with the teleplay written by Peter S. Beagle. "Sarek" was directed by Les Landau. In this episode, the father of Spock and a regarded but elderly ambassador, is ferried by the Enterprise on his final mission for the Federation. While he is aboard the ship, the crew experiences an outbreak of irrational anger amongst themselves, it is revealed that Sarek has Bendii syndrome, telepathically causing the problems among the crew. It is only resolved; the appearance of Lenard was suggested by Gene Roddenberry as an alternative to an appearance by Leonard Nimoy, as it was suspected that it would be too expensive to have the latter actor reprise the role of Spock on television. Roddenberry had barred references to Star Trek: The Original Series in The Next Generation although he did pursue having DeForest Kelley as Leonard McCoy in the TNG launch feature Encounter at Farpoint.
The inclusion of Sarek in his namesake episode, along with a mention of Spock, was seen by the crew of The Next Generation as a breakthrough, allowing them to reference The Original Series more in the future. Sarek's failing health was intended to be a reference to the declining health of Roddenberry. "Sarek" received Nielsen ratings of 10.6 percent. Federation Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan has arrived on board the Enterprise with his human wife, Perrin, his mission is to attend a conference to lay the foundation for trade relations between the Federation and an alien race called the Legarans, after which time he will retire due to old age. Though Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew attempt to provide for Sarek and have arranged for a chamber music concert for him, the ambassador expresses apprehension and annoyance. Picard is surprised when Sarek starts crying in the middle of the performance, an emotional trait Vulcans suppress. Across the ship, the crew members start to act with uncharacteristic hostility towards one another, leading to a large brawl in the Ten Forward lounge.
The onset of the events is tied to Sarek's arrival. Ship's Counselor Deanna Troi and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Beverly Crusher believe Sarek may be suffering from Bendii syndrome, a degenerative neurological disease that only affects aged Vulcans; this condition causes individuals to lose control of their emotions and emit "broadcast empathy", destabilizing the emotions of others around them. Picard attempts to approach Sarek about this. Picard asks Lt. Commander Data to speak with Sakkath, Sarek's second assistant, who has mutual respect with Data. Picard directly confronts Sarek on the matter; when Sarek breaks down in front of Picard, Picard realizes they may need to cancel the conference. As Picard prepares to cancel with the Legarans, Perrin arrives and suggests an alternative option: Sarek could mind meld with another, allowing him to temporarily transfer his emotions onto someone else; this would leave Sarek able to complete the conference and maintain his dignity and honor. Sarek, warns of the possible dangers to the receiver's mind from Sarek's strong emotions.
Picard willingly agrees to be the host. Sarek performs the mind meld with Picard, is able to retain full control of his emotions for the duration of the conference. However, monitored by Dr. Crusher, suffers through the numerous emotions that Sarek has pent-up for years, including his regrets of not being able to show his love for his wife Amanda, their son Spock, or his current wife Perrin. With the conference completed, Sarek prepares to take his leave. Picard lets Perrin know of Sarek's love for her, Perrin says she has always known it. Sarek thanks Picard for his kindness, with deep respect states: "We will always retain the best part of the other, inside us." Following creator Gene Roddenberry's suggestion that The Next Generation would be unable to afford an appearance by Leonard Nimoy as Spock, it was suggested in a memo that Mark Lenard could appear as Spock's on-screen father, Sarek. Lenard had made his first appearance as Sarek in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Journey to Babel".
Trent Christopher Ganino and Eric A. Stillwell began to work on a script involving both Lenard as Sarek and Denise Crosby as Tasha Yar; this was because Crosby told Stillwell that she wanted to return to the show after her character was killed off in "Skin of Evil" in the first season of The Next Generation. This script would change over time to become "Yesterday's Enterprise". Ganino and Stillwell's original pitch for "Yesterday's Enterprise" featured a team of Vulcan scientists, led by Sarek, they accidentally travel to the past using the Guardian of Forever and kill Surak, the founder of modern Vulcan logic. When they return to the present, they find that the Vulcans are allied with the Romulans and at war with the Federation. Only Sarek and his Vulcan scientists are unaffected by the change, so he elects to return to the past and replace Sura
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry. It aired from September 28, 1987 to May 23, 1994 on syndication, spanning 178 episodes over the course of seven seasons; the third series in the Star Trek franchise, it is the second sequel to Star Trek: The Original Series. Set in the 24th century, when Earth is part of a United Federation of Planets, it follows the adventures of a Starfleet starship, the USS Enterprise-D, in its exploration of the Milky Way galaxy. After the cancellation of The Original Series in 1969, the Star Trek franchise had continued with Star Trek: The Animated Series and a series of films, all featuring the original cast. In the 1980s, franchise creator Roddenberry decided to create a new series, featuring a new crew embarking on their mission a century after that of The Original Series; the Next Generation featured a new crew that starred Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Jonathan Frakes as Commander William Riker, Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data, Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf, LeVar Burton as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge, Marina Sirtis as counselor Deanna Troi, Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher, a new Enterprise.
An introductory statement featured at the beginning of each episode's title sequence stated the ship's purpose in language similar to the opening statement of the original Star Trek series, but was updated to reflect an ongoing mission and to be gender-neutral: Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise, its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before. Roddenberry, Maurice Hurley, Rick Berman, Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor served as executive producers at various times throughout its production; the show was popular, reaching 12 million viewers in its 5th season, with the series finale in 1994 being watched by over 30 million viewers. TNG premiered the week of September 28, 1987, drawing 27 million viewers, with the two-hour pilot "Encounter at Farpoint". In total, 176 episodes were made, ending with the two-hour finale "All Good Things..." the week of May 23, 1994. The series was broadcast in first-run syndication with dates and times varying among individual television stations.
Several Star Trek series followed The Next Generation: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery. The series formed the basis for the seventh through the tenth of the Star Trek films, is the setting of numerous novels, comic books, video games. In its seventh season, Star Trek: The Next Generation became the first and only syndicated television series to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series; the series received a number of accolades, including 19 Emmy Awards, two Hugo Awards, five Saturn Awards, "The Big Goodbye" won a Peabody Award. Some of the highest rated episodes were the pilot, the finale, the two-part "Unification", "Aquiel", "A Matter of Time", "Relics". Four episodes featured actors DeForest Kelley, Mark Lenard, Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan from the original Star Trek reprising their original roles; the Star Trek franchise originated in the late 1960s, with the Star Trek television show which ran from 1966-1969.
Star Trek: The Next Generation would mark the return of Star Trek to live-action broadcast television. As early as 1972, Paramount Pictures started to consider making a Star Trek film because of the show's popularity in syndication. However, with 1977's release of Star Wars, Paramount decided not to compete in the science fiction movie category and shifted their efforts to a new Star Trek television series; the Original Series actors were approached to reprise their roles. By 1986, 20 years after the original Star Trek's debut on NBC, the franchise's longevity amazed Paramount Pictures executives. Chairman Frank Mancuso Sr. and others described it as the studio's "crown jewel", a "priceless asset" that "must not be squandered". The series was the most popular syndicated television program 17 years after cancellation, the Harve Bennett-produced, Original Series-era Star Trek films did well at the box office. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy's salary demands for the film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home caused the studio to plan for a new Star Trek television series.
Paramount executives worried that a new series could hurt the demand for the films, but decided that it would increase their appeal on videocassette and cable, that a series with unknown actors would be more profitable than paying the films' actors' large salaries. Roddenberry declined to be involved, but came on board as creator after being unhappy with early conceptual work. Star Trek: The Next Generation was announced on October 10, 1986, its cast in May 1987. Paramount executive Rick Berman was assigned to the series at Roddenberry's request. Roddenberry hired a number of Star Trek veterans, including Bob Justman, D. C. Fontana, Eddie Milkis and David Gerrold. Early proposals for the series included one in which some of the original series cast might appear as "elder statesmen", Roddenberry speculated as late as October 1986 that the new series might not use a spaceship, as "people might travel by some means" 100 years after the USS Enterpris
Romulan
The Romulans are an extraterrestrial humanoid species in the science fiction franchise Star Trek. First appearing in the original Star Trek series in the 1966 episode "Balance of Terror", they have since made appearances in all the Star Trek series: The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Enterprise. In addition, they have appeared in various spin-off media, prominently in the two feature films Star Trek: Nemesis and Star Trek. Throughout the series, they are depicted as antagonists, are at war with or in a tenuous truce with the United Federation of Planets. On rare occasions, they have allied with the Federation, they do not get along with Klingons either, whom they consider to be a savage race, while the Klingons consider Romulans dishonorable. The Romulans act as a counterpoint to the logical Vulcan race, whom they resemble and with whom they share a common ancestry; as such, the Romulans are characterized as passionate and opportunistic — in every way the opposite of the logical and "cold" Vulcans.
The Romulans are the dominant race of the Romulan Star Empire. Although Star Trek star charts place the Romulan Empire's territory in the Beta Quadrant of the galaxy, in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine they are referred to as an Alpha Quadrant power; the Romulans were created by Paul Schneider, who said "it was a matter of developing a good Romanesque set of admirable antagonists... an extension of the Roman civilization to the point of space travel". There are some differences in their history and the way they are portrayed on television, in the motion pictures and in non-canonical media; the Romulans began as a group of Vulcan revolutionaries who refused to accept the Vulcan philosopher Surak's teachings of the complete suppression of emotions. At some point in their shared history, this group left the planet Vulcan settling on the planets Romulus and Remus. In the original series episode "Balance of Terror", Spock notes that while the events during the period of Surak are well documented, he is uncertain about their connections to the Romulans.
He does state that he thinks them a offshoot of Vulcan. The Next Generation episode "The Chase" implies that Romulans, Cardassians and humans share a common ancestry. Like Vulcans, Romulans have pointed ears, upswept eyebrows, copper-based blood, green when oxygenated in the arteries and copper or rust-colored when deoxygenated in the veins. In the original series, Romulans were indistinguishable from Vulcans in appearance, but subsequent series and films introduced a V-shaped ridge above the bridge of their nose, a similar prosthetic make-up development to that of the Klingons. Like Vulcans, Romulans are always depicted as having dark or black hair. Romulans share the longevity common to their Vulcan cousins. In "Unification", the Romulan Senator Pardek shared a friendship with Ambassador Spock lasting at least 80 years. However, the similarities end when it comes to Vulcans' mental or physical abilities, which the Romulans do not share, or lost after their arrival on Romulus. Vulcans developed greater physical strength than humans due to the higher gravity of their home planet, whereas Romulus' gravity is analogous to that of Earth.
Romulan ale is a fictional popular blue alcoholic beverage, illegal because of a Federation trade embargo in the late 23rd century through the late 24th century. Despite this, it is traded and consumed openly. During the alliance with the Federation during the Dominion War, Romulan ale was legalized though it was outlawed again after the war, as stated by Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: Nemesis. Other Romulan drinks include Kali-fal, a blue drink with an aroma that should "forcibly open one's frontal sinuses before the first sip." Romulan fashion of the late 24th century had distinctive squared shoulders. Hair is cut straight across the brow close to the eyebrows, with longer locks framing the face, cut following the cheekbones, a style reminiscent of a helmet. In Star Trek: The Original Series, Romulan military uniforms consisted of a gray tunic with varying kinds of decorative sashes. Commanders wore red sashes, senior officers wore blue sashes, most soldiers wore no sash at all. In subsequent series, such as Star Trek: The Next Generation, Romulan uniforms were of a different style, with varying kinds of patterns and colors.
The dominant uniform style thereafter was gray under a pattern of squares. The rank insignia on the Next Generation-era Romulan uniform consisted of a series of diamond and crescent shapes, worn on the left collar, their uniforms tend to fit rather loosely, feature large phaser holsters that allow the entire weapon to be'dropped in', hiding most of it from view. As of Star Trek: Nemesis, Romulan uniforms were more standardized. Episodes of the fourth season of Star Trek: Enterprise depicted the 22nd century Romulans wearing the same uniforms as those of the 24th century Nemesis. Romulan military uniforms follow a distinct pattern through the 24th centuries. Male hairstyles do not appear to change although 24th century hairstyles seem more distinct from Vulcan hairstyles. Females in the 23rd century wore long hair in a variety of styles. By the 24th century, females wear a style similar to males; the emblem of the Romulan Star Empire depicts a large bird of prey clutching the worlds of Romulus and Remus.
The avian motif appears on their warbird starships. Those who rejected the teachings of Surak were said to be "beneath the raptor's wi
