Was it ever really possible to do a pure prime prequel in the "TOS" era?

[Tenacity]

The last thing I want to see is a Trek series where the Enterprise/Discovery is trying to boost its wi-fi signal.

People in the TOS era, walking down corridors staring down at their open communicators.

Running into walls and falling down ladder wells.

 

[fireproof78]

People in the TOS era, walking down corridors staring down at their open communicators.

Running into walls and falling down ladder wells.

I'd watch it.

 

[Gojira]

This is going off-topic slightly I guess, but when it comes to anachronisms in period pieces, the two biggest offenders, IMHO, are Hogan's Heroes and Happy Days. Hogan's Heroes tended to have all these go-go dancer style chicks working for the resistance that seemed to reflect some very 1960s fashion trends and Happy days was full of 70s polyester.

I do think it's possible to do something deliberately retro AND have it be wildly successful, though. Stranger Things is a good example.

I think sometimes there's an assumption in Hollywood that you must tow the line stylistically with what's currently hip and it's just not true. Note that Stranger Things was rejected constantly until Netflix took it on.

http://www.businessinsider.com/stranger-things-was-rejected-by-over-15-networks-2016-8

There's just something vanilla about doing things the way everyone else does it. When you defy expectations it is perceived as bold and risky. The new Twin Peaks out-weirding the old might be another example.

I agree with you. Another show I love, from the 70s, is MASH. In real life the Korean War was in the 50s. On the show nobody wears their hair either 50s style or military style. They didn't even try. All haircuts look like the 70s.

 

[Captain of the USS Averof]

Not to mention the running gag that the series M.A.S.H. lasted longer than the actual Korean War!

 

[Kor]

Heck, we had three separate Sherlock Holmes series running concurrently not too long ago, each with their own continuities. Somehow the general public didn't get Robert Downey Jr and Benedict Cumberbatch confused, nor wonder how Lucy Liu fit into the movie series.

Although I do remember having to practically twist a friend's arm to get them to check out SHERLOCK because they objected on principle to the idea of a modernized Holmes series because it wasn't "true' or "respectful" to the original canon. (Needless to say, they loved it once I forced them to watch it.)

Ultimately, who cares if a prequel series is "pure" enough? Purity is overrated.

Ha, many of the now-classic Basil Rathborne Holmes movies produced in the 1940s took place in the contemporary era of the 1940s, bringing things way forward by half a century. I wonder if that ever raised the ire of viewers and critics.

Kor

 

[Greg Cox]

Ha, many of the now-classic Basil Rathborne Holmes movies produced in the 1940s took place in the contemporary era of the 1940s, bringing things way forward by half a century. I wonder if that ever raised the ire of viewers and critics.

Kor

Yep. Oh, I'm sure some people objected, although it's worth noting that the original Conan Doyle stories were not meant to be nostalgic period pieces. They were contemporary detective stories, set in the present, at the time that they were first published. All that gaslight nostalgia is a modern reaction to the stories.

 

[Balok's Decoy]

Yep. Oh, I'm sure some people objected, although it's worth noting that the original Conan Doyle stories were not meant to be nostalgic period pieces. They were contemporary detective stories, set in the present, at the time that they were first published. All that gaslight nostalgia is a modern reaction to the stories.

I think it's hysterical people have nostalgia for stories written in the late 19th century. The good old days! lmao

 

[Tenacity]

I think it's hysterical people have nostalgia for stories written in the late 19th century.

Jane Austen.