10 Best Ever Romulan Stories In Star Trek
1. Star Trek Nemesis
Like it or loathe it, Star Trek Nemesis is critical to watch to understand all Romulan stories to follow. The overthrow of the Romulan Senate by the Reman soldiers, led by the clone Shinzon, was the greatest upheaval of power in the history of the Empire in the Star Trek universe, before the supernova that destroyed Romulus.
The Romulans suffered in the Star Trek movies with a lack of continuity or exploration. They had been billed as the main villains of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and the Klingon Bird of Prey was originally designed to be a Romulan ship, before this was changed to bring back the Klingons as it was deemed that they were more familiar to audiences.
A Romulan ambassador appears in Star Trek V and another one is part of the conspiracy in Star Trek VI. They make a brief cameo in the form of a corpse in Star Trek Generations, while they are absent entirely from Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Insurrection. In all that time, the Klingons were barely off the screen! Finally, Star Trek Nemesis brings them to the forefront, setting the action in and around Romulus and showing the after-effect of the Reman uprising.
However, as frequently happens, they fell victim to budget cuts. A proposed fleet of ships became two, admittedly beautiful, Valdore class Warbirds at the film's climax, though their role was key. Once again, the different aspects of Romulan society were shown in those loyal to the senate, those loyal to Shinzon and those who are somewhere in the middle. These Romulans choose to ally themselves with Picard and the Enterprise to stop Shinzon from carrying out a devastating attack on Earth, finally proving that there are powerful forces in the military who do not want internal affairs to affect the running of the galaxy.
Star Trek Picard is set twenty years after the events of Star Trek Nemesis, showing the effects of the events of that film on Picard's life. Most frequently mentioned is the death of Commander Data but the seeds of Picard's deep loyalty to the Romulan people are sowed once the Valdore de-cloaks and they unify to defeat their common enemy. It remains to be seen how many Romulans remember this alliance and this thread is sure to continue on in Star Trek Picard.