By Chris Snellgrove
| Revealed 26 seconds in the past
Star Trek followers nowadays usually complain concerning the continuity issues attributable to exhibits like Discovery and Unusual New Worlds, however such complaints aren’t actually new. In truth, numerous plot factors about Enterprise kicked off a wave of fan anger about continuity adjustments, and people complaints continued with the discharge of the Kelvinverse movies. Traditionally, followers have blamed the writers for these points, however it seems that each one of Star Trek’s largest continuity issues might have been attributable to Captain Picard through the occasions of First Contact.
Star Trek: First Contact Did It
As you’ll recall, Star Trek: First Contact had continuity considerations constructed immediately into its narrative because of a plot concerning the Borg touring again to Twenty first-century Earth and ruining the timeline as we all know it. Captain Picard adopted the Borg into the previous and defeated them whereas others in his crew helped Zefram Cochrane full humanity’s historic first warp-speed flight. This flight caught the eye of close by Vulcans and introduced Earth into the broader galaxy, however whereas the film implies that Picard utterly mounted historical past, later continuity issues show that he might need made issues worse.
Earlier than we go any additional, it’s necessary to deal with a number of the Star Trek continuity issues that followers have targeted on since Enterprise started airing in 2001. That present retconned the Vulcan thoughts meld into being one thing solely sure Vulcans can do and that their society frowned on, which clashed with every thing we knew about this from The Authentic Collection. Different continuity issues come from the present’s awkward insistence on having episodes with the Ferengi and the Borg, two races that seemingly no one in Starfleet had ever heard of earlier than Picard’s misadventures in The Subsequent Era.
It’s Not Nero’s Fault
The later Star Trek reboot movies tried to sidestep continuity points by explaining that this was a unique universe wherein the Romulan Nero traveled to the previous, altering historical past perpetually. However that also doesn’t clarify why Chekhov’s age is totally different, why Khan has a unique ethnicity and therapeutic blood, and even why Sulu is now brazenly homosexual. Whereas it’s doable to elucidate different adjustments like Starfleet’s elevated ship dimension because of Nero’s timey-wimey assault on the Federation, none of those explicit adjustments can actually be attributed to that, however one concept holds that each one of this may inadvertently have been attributable to Picard.
Not the entire timeline adjustments to the Star Trek continuity within the Kelvinverse movies make sense because of Nero’s assault, and none of Enterprise’s continuity issues make a lot sense in any respect. Nonetheless, some followers have famous that, whereas rescuing humanity from the Borg, Picard made main timeline adjustments within the 12 months 2063. It’s fully doable that this could clarify the seeming continuity adjustments in Enterprise (which begins within the 12 months 2151) and Star Trek (2009), which takes place within the 12 months 2255.
Picard And The Butterfly Impact
Clearly, this Star Trek concept isn’t good, however it may clarify most of the continuity adjustments that audiences gripe about. Consider it just like the butterfly impact: even small adjustments Picard made prior to now might have main impacts on the long run. First Contact got here out 5 years earlier than Enterprise and 13 years earlier than the primary Kelvinverse film, so it will make a sort of meta sense that we are actually seeing a timeline that has been completely altered by Picard’s shenanigans, with each new onscreen journey affected by Picard’s earlier actions.
This concept would clarify the later points with the Star Trek: Discovery continuity that ranged from adjustments to the Klingons’ look to Spock all of the sudden having a superb Mary Sue sister we’ve by no means heard of. Curiously, Unusual New Worlds implicitly helps this concept because of an episode that confirmed that main particulars like Khan’s date of delivery have been modified because of the fixed interference of time vacationers.
Now, it’s one factor to have a enjoyable Star Trek concept, however it’s one other factor for followers to simply accept this as the explanation behind all these main continuity adjustments. For higher or for worse, although, followers must brace for much more change. Provided that the following Trek movie shall be an origin film seemingly rehashing first contact with aliens and humanity becoming a member of the United Federation of Planets–occasions we’ve actually already seen onscreen–it seems to be like Trek’s continuity gained’t ever be absolutely in step with its many years of established lore.
Oh, properly. Possibly subsequent time Captain Picard travels to the previous, he can deal with making his franchise make sense. Or simply making it attention-grabbing once more. Truthfully, we’d accept that!
