Ronald D. Moore was right to hate the Next Generation's Romulans

When people think about the names behind the success of Star Trek in the 1980s and 1990s, one of the more prominent ones is Ronald D. Moore. Moore is of course the voice behind many of the better episodes of The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, while also being a producer for a long time with the franchise. He'd go off and reboot the cult classic series Battlestar Galactica, giving the franchise a face-lift and a series that finally tied up the story.

Moore knows how to tell a story, even if he doesn't always stick to the ending. He was also a stickler for embracing the franchise's past and had serious issues with how others were handling the series. Moore started as a writer on The Next Generation and had a major issue with how the series' makeup designer opted to alter Romulans.

Originally depicted as being just like Vulcans in appearance, as they were genetically similar when the aliens made their first appearance in the then-new series, The Next Generation, they didn't look like Vulcans anymore, instead featuring major forehead ridges that made them unique from the Vulcans.

Moore would go on to reveal how he had an issue with the makeup lead, Michael Westmore, going on to say (via Looper);

"I hated the foreheads on the Romulans. The backstory [established in 'Unification'] was that they were basically the same race, yet somehow the Romulans got these different foreheads at some point."

Moore was right to take issue with the redesign as it was needless and further deluded the purpose of them looking similar to one another in the first place. In the history of Star Trek, only once did a physical change of an alien race generally go over well with the fans and that was when the new Klingons debuted their updated look in the film franchise.

The lack of funds and proper techniques forced them to appear more human in the original series. Yet, when the film came around, Roddenberry was able to redesign them into something more unique, allowing them to stand out from the pack much better. Lack of funds kept that from being a reality earlier. The Romulans, on the other hand, were designed and showcased as intended in the 60s, making their return to the franchise in the 80s one met with much criticism.