Why Star Trek's Romulan Bird of Prey Vanished

Studio Execs, Ugh!

Anti-union scabs, ugh!

Since Season Three, Romulans were using Klingon as well as their own designs.

UNIONS, We voted ours out, and I was there and in the Union for 18 years, but we got rid of the Union (voted it out) but the damage had already been done, they still shut the company down and over 500 people lost there jobs, YES cause of that Union that was in 1993, NOW another reason to hate Unions, You open a company to make money, but if you pay all your profits away the company can't survive and must shut down, 20.00 min wage in Cali now, You can only raise the prices so much, customers stop coming, basic economics, but people think every Company is made of Gold with an endless supply of money, I know 500 that thought that in 1993, who understands the cold facts now, and I'm one of them, Imagine what the new generation thinks, you can't crap money, no matter how hard you try, Other places I worked after that I never joined the union again. Unions will get you money till the company can't pay the bills, raise prices THEN EVERYBODY SUFFER's TO PAY, Inflation, why a 49 cent can of pork&beans is a buck forty nine now, 2.50 gallon of gas is 5.00 now, I made it I GET ALL THE GOV CHEESE NOW, and I am a U.S. citizen

Wah Chang is one of my heroes; as with W. Matt Jeffries, Brian Johnson, Joe Johnston, and Syd Mead he literally shaped my dreams.

Chang's props (Communicator, Tricorder, Phaser) may well represent the first unified vision for a future technology in all of filmed Sci-Fi; not just a walkie talkie, a pistol, and a portable computer, but three devices created by the same society, from the same materials, and ergonomically crafted to be used in the field. They are still spawning new iterations to this day. It's truly remarkable.

I always wondered why the Romulans suddenly showed up sporting Klingon B210s.

I have heard that story before and it is a shame. That model would of been priceless. It is a good story to tell as a warning to not destroy things when you are angry.

I had never heard this sad sad story. Even after five decades of fandom, there are still things to be learnt.

It didn't "disappear" it just has a really good cloaking device

So here's an important tidbit.

Yes, racism played its role in the talented Wah Chang's mistreatment. However, if we look at the bridge crew in both the first and second pilot, it's all rather "whitebread." NBC studio execs passed down a network-wide order for more diverse casting, leading to "Uhura," and "Sulu" being on the bridge by "The Corbomite Maneuver." "Chekov" would become a regular cast member in the second season. So the situation was complex, with some forces enforcing racism in the US, and others trying to erode it. The more things change....

Star Trek was also not a very union-friendly production. The producers write in "Inside Star Trek" how they would commission costumes from non-Union sweatshops, and then smuggle those costumes into the Paramount lot. Star Trek was relatively expensive to produce for the time, and Desilu was a studio suffering from mismanagement and mixed receptions for its shows.

Fascinating!

I had grown up with the rumor that the model was set on the workshop floor for a tech to turn and get a tool (or something to the effect) only to have an apprentice fall into the model making it unusable. Seemed a good enough explanation to a 12-ish year old.

The story I had read back the 1970s was that when he designed it he didn't like it, after it was used in "Balance of Terror" he took it back and destroyed it.

So that's why the Romulan BOP never appeared in any other episodes Star Trek The Original Series. Of all the ships from that series, this was the one I liked best. It's shape more or less announced its purpose; to be a predator!

Those unions can be ridiculous as we can see. They go way overboard.

Pay the man his money.

I had NO idea this happened!

If I was Roddenberry, I would’ve cut him in on some royalty or license deals, something, to make up for this.

The exploitation Wah Chang suffered at the hands of cowards and racists in Hollywood was just shameful. It’s beyond belief that in 2024 there are those who would suppress the history that such things once happened, or would even choose to go back to such a state of affairs.