The Romulan Commander (female)

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Character
Name: she is given no proper name in canon
Occupation:
Relationships:
Fandom: Star Trek: TOS
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The two unnamed male and female Romulan commanders never appeared together on-screen, but here they are sharing a page in Despatch #22/#23/#24 (reprinted in a slightly different format from T-Negative): artist is Anthony Tollin

The Romulan Commander is an unnamed female character in the Star Trek: TOS episode "The Enterprise Incident". She is one of the most intriguing and fannishly-imagined characters in Star Trek and is featured in many fanworks.

Brief Canon Description of the Romulan Commander

We've certainly seen more beautiful women on Star Trek, but our nameless Commander proved more powerful than T'Pring ("Amok Time"), much sexier than Leila ("This Side of Paradise"), and more persistent than Nurse Chapel (in almost all episodes). She not only seduced Spock, but she got him to enjoy it as well. Will we ever forget those passionate scenes in her bedroom? [1]

Fontana's Comments

In 1979, D.C. Fontana gave an interview in which she explained why she'd left "Star Trek" after the second season, citing a change in leadership and laziness and ignorance in script writing (which Fontana called "drek) and that "I didn't want to work for anybody who didn't even have a working concept of the show.":

The Romulan Incident—"The Enterprise Incident" was heavily rewritten much to my alarm, and I wanted to take my name off it. Gene talked me out of it

Well, let's face it, the romantic scene between the Romulan commander and Spock was totally out of context. It was wrong. Any Romulan worth her salt would have instantly suspected Spock because they are related races. That was wrong. Kirk's attitudes were wrong. A simple thing -- the cloaking device was supposed to be a very small thing, about the size of your watch, for instance, and it could be easily hidden, and here's Kirk running around with this thing that looks like a lamp. You know, highly visible. This is stupidity as well as illogical thinking. Visually it was stupid, conceptually it was very bad. There were a lot of things, little things, that were changed, but my biggest objection, my really biggest objection is the scene between Spock and the woman because I really did not believe it. And I did not believe that the Romulan did not suspect Spock of something underhanded, because they are related races. She does know enough about Vulcan and Vulcans to know something's afoot. [2]

Fans Imagine Her Name

Her name is never given in canon, though at one point she whispers her private one to Spock. Spock remarks that the name is rare and beautiful, but incongruous when said by a soldier.

One of the earliest speculations on her first name was in December 1968, about five weeks after the show aired in the U.S.: "Just out of curiosity — a good Vulcan trait — what do you think would be a good name for the Romulan Commander in "The Enterprise Incident"? If you have a name for her, send it in and we'll print a list next issue, just for the logical mental exercise of it. (How about Dicifontana?) [3]

In 1987, a fan asked: "Could someone in fandom, please give our favorite Romulan a real name?" [4]

Some fanon speculations:

The licensed fiction (novels, comics and games) also used several names for the character over the decades: Liviana Charvanek; Di'on Charvon; Thea; and Nevesa. [5]

Fan Fiction About the Romulan Commander

one of the earliest meta, from Anti-Matter #3 (1969)
  • The most well-known fan fiction featuring the Romulan Commander is Courts of Honor by Syn Ferguson.
  • L.P. Santos wrote a series of stories, published mostly in More Missions, More Myths, about Subcommander Tal, his wife the Romulan Commander, and their son, Ty, who is actually the biological son of Spock.
  • Time Warp includes "The Cytherean Cycle" by Anne Elizabeth Zeek: another explanation of the the Romulan Romulan Commander from the episode, 'Enterprise Incident,' explores her background and mission.
  • Orion Archives: 2272-2275 The Second Mission includes "Homecoming" by Rick Endres (Spock is reunited with the Romulan Commander from the "The Enterprise Incident" under less than desirable circumstances: a pon farr brought on early by his mental contact with V’ger.)
  • First Time #1 has the story "Lantern in the Dark" by Chris Waken (Kirk and Spock are abducted by the now insane female Romulan commander and forced to have sex with her.)
  • "Whither Thou Goest" by Carolyn Spencer (Kirk is used as bait for the Romulan commander to get Spock to go with her where she has Spock tortured, not knowing of the link that he and Kirk share.)
  • From Abode of Strife #5: "Who But Thine Own Enemy" (Spock and the Romulan Commander must team to defeat a threatening superrace.)
  • "The Enemy of My Enemy" eBook by Glenn E. Smith takes place after the live-action fanfilm episode, "Phase II: Kitumba". When Commander Dion Charvon returns home to a reception unlike anything she ever expected, her younger sister, Sub-Lieutenant D’Vahn Charvon of the Tal’Shiar, is afforded one opportunity to make things right and save her sister’s life. [6]

Fan Art Featuring the Romulan Commander

Vids

Fan Reaction

  • A fan comments on this character in "Courts of Honor": The biggest reason I have to love this book is Ferguson’s fleshing out of the Romulan Commander from "The Enterprise Incident". I worship her, and although I do take issue with some of her actions as dictated by DC Fontana, she's one of my favorite Trek characters. In CoH she is so real, so perfectly imperfect it hurts—in the very best way." [7]
  • "I've always liked Tal and wondered what happened to him and the Romulan Commander. The characterization of Tal was crisp, gentle, and intelligent. I didn't particularly like the subservient role of the Romulan Commander, but this is Tal's story and a good one it is, too." [8]
  • "...an after story following up the events surrounding the Romulan Commander from "The Enterprise Incident." It has quite an interesting plot, namely, the overthrow of the Romulan empire because of internal corruption and other factors and how Lareesha (the Commander) winds up in charge of things by default."[9]

References

  1. ^ from Anti-Matter #2, published in 1968
  2. ^ from an interview with Fontana in Enterprise Incidents #7
  3. ^ from Plak-Tow #12
  4. ^ from Treklink #8
  5. ^ Memory Beta
  6. ^ Star Trek: New Voyages/Phase II International (Accessed 8 January 2021)
  7. ^ sans-pertinence. Big List of ST:TOS book recs, 17 June 2009. (Accessed 30 July 2010)
  8. ^ from Datazine #49
  9. ^ a review of "The Cytherean Cycle" in Spectrum #33
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