What if they just don't tell us?

[stardream]

What if the Powers that Be behind the new Star Trek Show simply do not tell us which timeline they are using?

Set it a bit in the future, beyond the time of Kirk. It could be set on another ship/space station/Academy wherever. They could still reference Kirk/Picard/Sisko/Janeway because their alt personalities would exist in some form. They could even reference well known missions or events in passing but not mention the outcome so we would not be able to pinpoint in which timeline it occurred. For instance they could mention 'Janeway's trip through the Delta Quadrant' and leave it at that. Any new tech could be explained simply because it is in the future. It could be the future prime or the alt future.

Now it might get a bit iffy concerning things like Vulcan but they could simply...not mention it.

Think they could pull it off? Think of the debates and frustrations. This could keep the fandom busy for years.

I am not advocating FOR This. I'm just thinking of it as one possibility.

 

[Terok Nor]

I'd be fine with this. If we end up loving the show we're not going to care where its set in the end. The only problem is the destruction of Vulcan and Romulus. Both races are sure to be a part of the new series and I don't see how the destruction of one of their planets can't be referenced a some point. Had it not been for this I'd happily hitch my wagon to it being in a vague continuity so fans of both Prime and JJVerse can be satisfied.

They could always reverse what happened to Vulcan and Romulus in the next JJverse movie to solve the issue rather than ignore it.

 

[Mudd]

Not telling would work just fine at first, maybe for years.

Everything about the show will be so different from 90s Trek that it would be hard to pin down.

Nothing happened to Romulus in the nuTrek movies that didn't happen in the oldTrek universe - the destruction of the planet in the oldTrek universe is what sends Nero back in time to create the divergence.

 

[hux]

Ive already brought this up in some of the other thousands of threads about the new timeline; if Voyager edits out any mention of Vulcan (which would be less than an hours worth of footage IMO) then the show is basically set in the new timeline.

In truth, NuTrek is just oldTrek without mentioning Vulcan or Kirk's father yet for some reason, a large number of people seem to think NuTrek is some kind of radical departure from the old shows and a new direction in visuals, filming techniques, acting styles, sound quality, ideas, everything.

I think these people are confusing "new timeline" with "increased quality of TV since the 90's."

 

[Ryan8bit]

A part of me feels like Picard and any of those others of the TNG era shouldn't even really exist in the new timeline. I mean, that is if time travel were the tiniest shred of logical. I know that the answer here is yadda yadda fate and that the writers can basically do what they want, but I don't care much for that.

Reasonably, none of them should ever be born. And I think part of that is why there is this divide of people who want the prime universe back. Their beloved characters are done and gone here, with no chance of ever showing up again. At best, they can just get some sort of parallel universe version of those characters shoehorned in, regardless of if it makes sense.

This is kind of why I feel like they should do a reboot without any alternate universe olive branches for insecure fans. Don't try and avoid the question of whether or not it's this or that universe, just use selective bits of continuity.

And again, none of this may even matter depending on the time frame they choose. Even though it's possible, I feel like anything after Nemesis isn't really probable.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Ive already brought this up in some of the other thousands of threads about the new timeline; if Voyager edits out any mention of Vulcan (which would be less than an hours worth of footage IMO) then the show is basically set in the new timeline.

What do you mean? I don't quite follow.

 

[T'Girl]

If set in the later 23rd century, the show could have Vulcan Starfleet personnel, who were born on Vulcan, just don't spell out whether or not Vulcan is still there. Tuvok (iirc) was born on a colony.

If the new series has unique costumes and sets (no retread from the movie), that would further conceal the universe.

 

[David.Blue]

I am totally fine with this.

 

[dub]

Oh yes. Please don't tell us. Because that will give us years of one group of fans arguing "it's the prime timeline because of X, Y and Z," and then others using the oh-so-original argument, "it's definitely not the prime timeline because the prime timeline is dead," or, "it's nuTrek, reboot, or anything else because the prime timeline is clearly dead." Pretty much the same back-and-forth we're getting before the show even has a working title. Yay.

 

[stardream]

Oh yes. Please don't tell us. Because that will give us years of one group of fans arguing "it's the prime timeline because of X, Y and Z," and then others using the oh-so-original argument, "it's definitely not the prime timeline because the prime timeline is dead," or, "it's nuTrek, reboot, or anything else because the prime timeline is clearly dead." Pretty much the same back-and-forth we're getting before the show even has a working title. Yay.

Like I said...it would keep the fandom busy.

 

[Tim Thomason]

Ive already brought this up in some of the other thousands of threads about the new timeline; if Voyager edits out any mention of Vulcan (which would be less than an hours worth of footage IMO) then the show is basically set in the new timeline.

In truth, NuTrek is just oldTrek without mentioning Vulcan or Kirk's father yet for some reason, a large number of people seem to think NuTrek is some kind of radical departure from the old shows and a new direction in visuals, filming techniques, acting styles, sound quality, ideas, everything.

I think these people are confusing "new timeline" with "increased quality of TV since the 90's."

Interesting thought, although of course TNG has some issues with it. Don't forget that Tuvok was born on the "Vulcanis Lunar Colony", wherever that is.

 

[rahullak]

I'd be completely fine with not knowing the official stance on the timeline setting. I imagine the fans can each decide for themselves which timeline it is in and enjoy the show. Until some future plot element or dialogue disproves their choice, in which case it is the other timeline. Until that is disproven too, and then it is the third option.

The timeline issue is a very trivial one, imho. There would be many more important things to discuss once the show starts, I imagine.

 

[Mudd]

Since nothing - Nothing - will make fans happy, the producers should do whatever gives them the most freedom.

 

[Terok Nor]

Since nothing - Nothing - will make fans happy, the producers should do whatever gives them the most freedom.

A brand new idea of their own creation would do just that. But they've decided to revive Star Trek. They have to take the so called restrictions that come with that. Not that I consider 700 episodes and 10 movies a restriction. Lots of tv shows would have killed for that as a starting point. There's already a built in fanbase before a single word is written on the page.

 

[EnderAKH]

They have to take the so called restrictions that come with that.

No, actually, they do not HAVE to. You would like them to, but if they pitched something that is in some kind of third Star Trek universe that featured a more grounded, realistic take that features very few of the classic Trek tropes and CBS liked their take enough to order it to series, they have every right to do that, just as you have every right to not like it or watch it. But they absolutely do not HAVE to take those restrictions.

 

[tharpdevenport]

I got a better idea: How about they just say it?

I don't need to be jerked around by a TV show that's trying to be coy and trick an audience into watching it.

People who want to watch it already have to jump threw one trick hoop just to even watch it.

They either have a leg to stand on or they don't.

 

[Jedman67]

"Star Trek: FTF" (F*ing the Fans)

 

[Mudd]

But they've decided to revive Star Trek. They have to take the so called restrictions that come with that.

They get to decide what "restrictions" matter to them and which can be discarded. You don't.

 

[rahullak]

The serious fan's sense of entitlement is amazing.

 

[Mudd]

The serious fan's sense of entitlement is amazing.

Well, and why not - you can see how well it's served them for the last twenty years.