‘Star Trek: Discovery’: Why 'TOS' Romulan Combat Episode ‘Balance Of Terror’ Will Be A Major Influence On First Season

While specifics on Star Trek: Discovery have been thin on the ground, showrunner Bryan Fuller loves describing his influences for the new Trek show. Now he’s named Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Balance of Terror” as a “touchstone for the Star Trek: Discovery story arc.”

Set ten years before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series, Discovery (and its ship USS Discovery NCC-1031) will exist closer to the adventures of Captain Kirk and his Enterprise crew than any other series, so Fuller is taking that era of Trek very seriously.

Earlier this year, Fuller named Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country as a major inspiration for the series. Shortly after, Star Trek: Discovery hired Star Trek VI director Nicholas Meyer (who also directed Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and co-wrote Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ) as a writer and consulting producer.

His most recently named inspiration, “Balance of Terror,” sounds like it may be even more integral to the plot of Star Trek: Discovery. In “ Balance of Terror,” United Federation of Planets outposts along the Romulan Neutral Zone are under attack. The Romulans, first introduced in this episode, have never been seen, despite the Earth-Romulan War a century earlier (explained by audio-only communication and long-distance ship-to-ship combat). To make them even more deadly and mysterious, the Enterprise soon discovers that the attacking Romulan ship has a cloaking device, rendering it impossible to see or track.

The ensuing cat-and-mouse battle is one of the tensest moments in Star Trek history, as Captain Kirk faces off against a Romulan commander every bit his tactical equal. “Balance of Terror” established the Romulans as one of the Federation’s greatest adversaries. The Romulan Star Empire became a major galactic power.

So what does this actually tell us about Star Trek: Discovery? The plot can’t involve the Romulans, as it will be set ten years before Kirk encounters them. But we can probably expect the series to deal with a mysterious enemy and the slow understanding — earned through violence and tenuous diplomacy — that develops between us and them.

Star Trek: Discovery ’s Jan. 2017 release date is only four months away.