What does 'nu' mean?

Discussion in 'Star Trek Movies: Kelvin Universe' started by xvicente, Jul 10, 2013.

  1. Shazam!

    Shazam! Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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  2. Sindatur

    Sindatur The Gray Owl Wizard Admiral

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    I've always known Nu = New, it's used for Doctor Who and BSG as well. But, yea, I did think the reason for spelling it Nu was an Abbreviation for New Universe (Despite the fact that the "u" is rarely capitalized)

    As for Chris Pine Trek, I switch up what I call it, I call it JJTrek and AbramsTrek as well as NuTrek and on rare occasions I call it Bad Robot Trek, The characters though, I almost always refer to as Nu... or sometimes as the actor+character, such as Pine-Kirk.
     
  3. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Err, not in the cases of the actual subtitles The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, etc. And I don't think The Original Series and The Animated Series came into wide usage until they were adopted by Paramount. I mean, you'd find references to them being "the original series" and "the animated series" from time to time, but as lower-case descriptions, not upper-case titles.

    I've seen that abbreviation suggested, but what's the full term it's shorthand for? As I've said, Memory Alpha calls it "the alternate reality," but that feels too generic. Again, I'm thinking long-term here. As an SF writer, I habitually think about what will happen in the future. Someday there will almost certainly be another alternate reality -- some filmmaker or TV producer will create a third distinct Star Trek continuity, and maybe a fourth, etc. Now that it's been done once, it's paved the way for it to happen again. So "alternate reality" won't work forever.

    But heck, maybe I'm the wrong person to address this question. I've been developing my own original SF universe for decades -- the one that includes my first two published stories and my novel Only Superhuman -- and to this day I still haven't come up with a good overall name for it.
     
  4. F. King Daniel

    F. King Daniel Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I kinda like the designator used on Fanlore.org - Star Trek: AOS (Alternate Original Series)

    Failing that, I dub it the Whitebritishkhaniverse.
     
  5. iguana_tonante

    iguana_tonante Admiral Admiral

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    Well, works as a shorthand for "Alternate reality", which is the name used in the script by Uhura. Alt-universe, Alt-Kirk, Alt-Spock, USS Alterprise... :D
     
  6. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    I just call it the Abramsverse, since JJ Abrams is the one who got the ball rolling on this version. :shrug:
     
  7. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    It was a rhetorical question, leading into my subsequent point that "alternate reality" is too generic to work in the long term, given that there will likely be other alternate Trek realities one day. (And already are -- the Mirror Universe, the "Yesteryear" universe, the "Parallels" universes, etc.)
     
  8. Kevman7987

    Kevman7987 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    How about this; DC Comics has separated all of their lengthy continuities into separate Earths. Every time someone comes up with a new, closed continuity, they just add another Earth with a number (Earth 2 or Earth 76).

    Why don't we just start something similar with Star Trek? Right now we would have Trekverse 1 and Trekverse 2, but over time (maybe when Trek has entered it's 3rd re-imagining) it'll catch on.

    If we all go with my idea and stick to it, it'll catch on!
     
  9. Deckerd

    Deckerd Fleet Arse Premium Member

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    'Nu' is an English phonemic representation of a letter of the Greek alphabet.

    Whenever I see it I think of Doctors Mew New and Omicron Pie from the Barchester Chronicles.

    On the subject of its misuse in science fiction conversations, I quite like the ALT tag since it actually does distinguish between [gag] mirror which is an abomination which should never have been entertained EVER; and parallel, which is only really well dealt with in Sliders and Stargate. Trek writers were far too limited in their interpretation of this.
     
  10. MacLeod

    MacLeod Admiral Admiral

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    the prefix nu gets itself attached to other things not just Trek, how about nuWho. When it isn't really as it's a direct continuation of the show.
     
  11. Opus

    Opus Commodore Commodore

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    I recall using Modern Trek (MT) for TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT. People now sometimes call it Berman Trek.

    I like nuTrek, but like Modern Trek, there will be a point it will no longer be 'nu'.

    but really, I don't give a fig what we call it, as long as I don't get the lexicon wrong and accidentally call the nuTrek something dumb like GeeYourHairSmellsTerrificTrek.
     
  12. iguana_tonante

    iguana_tonante Admiral Admiral

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    I understand your point, but in the end it's just a convention. Even if there are other "alternate realities" in Trek, if the shorthand "ALT universe" sticks, it will be good as any. There are half a dozen ships called Enterprise in Trek, but when you say ENT, you know what you mean.

    I'll let future people decide how they will call their next alternate reality. I'll probably be the grumpy old man who grumbles how it isn't good as the first alternate reality. ;)
     
  13. Deckerd

    Deckerd Fleet Arse Premium Member

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    We could start the trend right here!
     
  14. iguana_tonante

    iguana_tonante Admiral Admiral

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    So it begins.
     
  15. M'Sharak

    M'Sharak Definitely Herbert. Maybe. Moderator

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    With his eyes rolled heaven-ward, and his little shiny appendages on the desk, GREGGERY ponders the question of The Multiverse (and fractional divisions thereof), as mysterious Alien Voices sing to him from a great distance, providing the necessary clues for the construction of this thrilling nuTREND!
     
  16. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I remember a comment someone made around 2006 or 2007 or so. "You know Trek fandom is stuck in the past when they still consider 1987 to be the 'modern era.'"
     
  17. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    You know, on thinking it over, I think something like this could be viable. We've already got "Prime Universe" for the original 1964-2005 continuity, and "prime" means "first." So we could have the Prime Universe and the Second Universe. I think that has a certain elegance to it. Or maybe Prime History and Second History, which is also kind of cool. And of course it could be extended to Third, Fourth, etc.
     
  18. sojourner

    sojourner Admiral In Memoriam

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    ^And sort of fits in with the already common "Mirror Universe".
     
  19. Kruezerman

    Kruezerman Commodore Commodore

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    "Primus" and "Secundus?"
     
  20. teacake

    teacake Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Maybe this got asked but I'm lazy..

    I thought Nu as a prefix started with NuBSG. Am I totally wrong?