Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

[ChrisIII]

I always thought that they kind of implied that Number One, while human, was not born on Earth.

Doesn't TOS imply that Kirk spent at least some time on a colony world?

[thwhtGuardian]

Doesn't TOS imply that Kirk spent at least some time on a colony world?

Yeah, he spent time on Tarsus IV as a kid

[DrNewGod]

I say leave the toggles and buttons in the past. Those are simply an artifact of being a TV series in the 60's and were simply the best they could do with the budget they were given to show the audience what they thought the future would look like...and that's not the case anymore. The future isn't going to have analog controls and computers aren't going to have reel to reel memory because our own technology in the present is past that, so a show made now has to give its audience the best view of what it thinks technology will look like in the future using the budgets we have now and what our technology currently looks like.

...Dollars to donuts, the DSC "revisionism" will remain intact. Could be interesting to see if they "evolve" the show to the TOS-era look (a la the Star Wars prequels), but seeing how the current run of the franchise sees everything as falling under artistic license, I assume they're just going to ignore the discrepancies between the shows.

(IMHO, this bugs me to no end, but I've kinda accepted that the Star Trek canon is broken, so we should just accept the new stuff on its own terms and, so far, they've been good on that.)

I'm okay with going with some tweaks here and there, particularly regarding the sets. ST is supposed to be about the future, and there's just no way to sell that with Matt Jefferies' iconic designs. It makes for lovely nostalgic service for the hardcore TOS fandom, but it's not a good fit for a contemporary vision of the future.

As to ST's canonical history, as long as they don't overdo any revisions, I can live with it as long as it results in good storytelling. This is a TV show, not Holy Scripture. I suppose I park it in my head as each of the shows (except TNG and DS9) being in very similar parallel alternate universes.

[ChrisIII]

I think the Klingon D7 design still holds up pretty well, so much that it really only has had some minor cosmetic changes for the movies and later TV shows.

[thwhtGuardian]

I think the Klingon D7 design still holds up pretty well, so much that it really only has had some minor cosmetic changes for the movies and later TV shows.

Just about all the exterior designs hold up, there's nothing wrong with the look of the ships...it's just the technology running them that has changed. Analog computers just aren't the future so having an advanced star ship in the far future operating with reel to reel memory banks the size of a large fridge, punch cards and toggles and switches rather than graphic interface just looks silly. The only way to slice it is artistic license..because that's exactly what it is, this is fiction after all not a documentary.

[Captain Craig]

I say leave the toggles and buttons in the past. Those are simply an artifact of being a TV series in the 60's and were simply the best they could do with the budget they were given to show the audience what they thought the future would look like...and that's not the case anymore. The future isn't going to have analog controls and computers aren't going to have reel to reel memory because our own technology in the present is past that, so a show made now has to give its audience the best view of what it thinks technology will look like in the future using the budgets we have now and what our technology currently looks like.

I totally get what you're saying and actually agree with you. I can totally watch it and enjoy it despite the fact the sets don't match up.
It is just a a thing to make note of and move on to the real joy...the stories about the journey, struggles, triumphs and heart aches.

(IMHO, this bugs me to no end, but I've kinda accepted that the Star Trek canon is broken, so we should just accept the new stuff on its own terms and, so far, they've been good on that.)

A few cracks in canon I can go with but mostly, even with the amount of time travel involved in Trek, by and large I feel canon is intact.

[ChrisIII]

Just about all the exterior designs hold up, there's nothing wrong with the look of the ships...it's just the technology running them that has changed. Analog computers just aren't the future so having an advanced star ship in the far future operating with reel to reel memory banks the size of a large fridge, punch cards and toggles and switches rather than graphic interface just looks silly. The only way to slice it is artistic license..because that's exactly what it is, this is fiction after all not a documentary.

The TOS Enterprise and the Romulan Bird of Prey kind of have a bit of a 60's "Flying saucer" look to them, although of course the basic concept is sound NCC-1701 still looks kind of primitive-hence it being redesigned in first the movies then Discovery which seems to be a sort of compromise between the original series and the version from the first six films. Although DS9 didn't change it's outer look too much for the time travel tribble story.

Funny thing is that originally they were considering a spherical design instead of the saucer. The design was kind of reused for the Daedulus class (Which has never really been 'seen' apart from a model in Sisko's office but is supposed to be contemporary with NX-01 I think and a few of them are probably some of the 'lost' ships that caused problems in TOS and TNG) and Crusher's ship in the All Good Things future.

[WebLurker]

A few cracks in canon I can go with but mostly, even with the amount of time travel involved in Trek, by and large I feel canon is intact.

There is a degree of "milage may vary" in terms of what breaks the suspension of disbelief too much and what doesn't.

[thwhtGuardian]

There is a degree of "milage may vary" in terms of what breaks the suspension of disbelief too much and what doesn't.

Eh, if the line that breaks your suspension of disbelief is, "The future doesn't look like the early 60's anymore" then I don't think that's something that should be catered to.

[WebLurker]

Eh, if the line that breaks your suspension of disbelief is, "The future doesn't look like the early 60's anymore" then I don't think that's something that should be catered to.

And yet they did two great episodes around that. (Look at it this way; imagine if Rogue One had completely reimagined the visual look of Star Wars; would you be able to comprehend why some people would find there being a disconnect for insisting that it was the same world?)

[CosmiComic]

And yet they did two great episodes around that. (Look at it this way; imagine if Rogue One had completely reimagined the visual look of Star Wars; would you be able to comprehend why some people would find there being a disconnect for insisting that it was the same world?)

I think the disconnect is understandable but so the reverse is also

[thwhtGuardian]

And yet they did two great episodes around that. (Look at it this way; imagine if Rogue One had completely reimagined the visual look of Star Wars; would you be able to comprehend why some people would find there being a disconnect for insisting that it was the same world?)

Except the look of Star Wars was never tied to the technology of a specific period and wasn't ever focused on in the films, and Lucas did that specifically so it wouldn't look dated but remain classic.

And the episodes that copied the look to the tee were fun...but they were pure fan service and that kind of thing wouldn't work in the long term for an actual series that's trying to capture any of the general public.

[Sutekh]

I totally get what you're saying and actually agree with you. I can totally watch it and enjoy it despite the fact the sets don't match up.
It is just a a thing to make note of and move on to the real joy...the stories about the journey, struggles, triumphs and heart aches.

I like to think that 'the stories of the USS Enterprise, her five year mission...' are being shown with the technology available to the current audience, and will remain no less authentic 'stories' if the sets are made in 1960 out of particle board or 2020 out of CGI.

Same with Klingons going from sort of Mongolian-looking dudes with bushy eyebrows to bumpy-headed 'aliens,' or the bridge crew being 'mostly humans, maybe one with pointy ears' to a more exotic mix including part-Borg, Caitians, etc. depending on what technology is available when that 'story' is told.

[CosmiComic]

I like to think that 'the stories of the USS Enterprise, her five year mission...' are being shown with the technology available to the current audience, and will remain no less authentic 'stories' if the sets are made in 1960 out of particle board or 2020 out of CGI.

Same with Klingons going from sort of Mongolian-looking dudes with bushy eyebrows to bumpy-headed 'aliens,' or the bridge crew being 'mostly humans, maybe one with pointy ears' to a more exotic mix including part-Borg, Caitians, etc. depending on what technology is available when that 'story' is told.

Klingons were supposed to look Mongolian? I never saw that at all

Also, I didn't like the Romulan brow ridges from the TNG era

[thwhtGuardian]

Klingons were supposed to look Mongolian? I never saw that at all

Also, I didn't like the Romulan brow ridges from the TNG era

That was the the inspiration yes, specifically Kor was meant to look like Genghis Khan.