Could this be set in the Kelvin timeline?

[fireproof78]

Not set in the Kelvin Timeline.

As for the Prime Timeline business, I personally just attribute it to art updating with the times. I don't like buying in to conspiracy theories about CBS and them lying to people because I think they have better things to do with their time.

 

[Turtletrekker]

The producers say it set in the prime timeline and as far as I am concerned it is set in the prime timeline. However, this is all a fictional construct and if it helps your enjoyment of the show to believe it takes place in an alternate timeline, then more power to you. However, I don't think it fits into the Kelvin timeline.

 

[PiotrB]

I just view it was what the prime timeline would have looked like if the old powers that be had today's VFX and $8 million an episode to spend.

Indeed, it is. Also this twitter thread shows how Enterprise-D set could look with bigger budget. This concept sketches are more similar to current DSC or SHN bridges than those used in TNG series.

 

[BillJ]

If it really bothers you, just put down the visual differences to influence from the temporal cold war or even the result of the Enterprise - E's journey back to 2063. I think a good way to explain the visual differences and keep people happy would be to explain that Section 31 found wreckage of the borg sphere or the Enterprise's deflector dish or whatever and it led to subtle changes in how federation starships were designed.

Then it really wouldn't be the same timeline as TOS. Not that I have a problem with the explanation, but I find the "it is the Prime timeline, but it is different because..." stuff rather amusing.

 

[MakeshiftPython]

I can accept the idea that it takes place in a different universe. But Kelvin it is not.

The biggest reason is because of the Enterprise herself. in Trek 2009 set in 2258, Pike very clearly suggests that they're on the maiden voyage. Not to get too spoilery, but the Enterprise in Disco is said to have just completed a five year mission. Season 2 of Disco takes place in 2257.

Let's not forget about Prime Pike, who doesn't feel at all close to the Kelvin counterpart, who was played by an actor that is 17 years older than Mount.

Voyager novels written by Jeri Taylor. At the time some studio sources tried to claim they were canon, though Pocket Books was always adamant they were not. Regardless, after Taylor left, the show contradicted the books anyway.

It's not like the show never contradicted itself anyway.

His work has thus far, at least from Generations on, been timeless. Anything he designed in 1996, could be introduced in 2019 and still look like modern scifi. I'm not sure if that's because he was ahead of the curve, or because he set the trend.

And he had a lot more money at his disposal in the 90s than Matt Jeffries could have dreamed of. That helped a lot.

 

[Agony_Boothb]

I find the "it is the Prime timeline, but it is different because..." stuff rather amusing.

How would you feel about this then: in the ten odd years between Discovery and TOS, the Federation encounters a cybernetic race called 'Cylons'. Unfortunately they get access to the Federation defense net because a young Kirk can't keep it in his pants. To avoid armageddon, all Federation ships are retrofitted with old technology and no systems are integrated.

Not sure where I got this idea from, but i think it would be a nice bone to throw to the fans

 

[MakeshiftPython]

How would you feel about this then: in the ten odd years between Discovery and TOS, the Federation encounters a cybernetic race called 'Cylons'. Unfortunately they get access to the Federation defense net because a young Kirk can't keep it in his pants. To avoid armageddon, all Federation ships are retrofitted with old technology and no systems are integrated.

Not sure where I got this idea from, but i think it would be a nice bone to throw to the fans

“I guess I can settle for jelly bean buttons!”

 

[Kemaiku]

Which means, in all honesty, that there are a bunch of timelines that can be called "Prime". Broad strokes are relatively the same, the details vary.

Or that there is no Prime Universe anymore, just a threading outward of vaguely interconnected universes, making the Kelvin universe and Mirror universe equally deserving of the name. Having both been born out of it.

 

[fireproof78]

Then it really wouldn't be the same timeline as TOS. Not that I have a problem with the explanation, but I find the "it is the Prime timeline, but it is different because..." stuff rather amusing.

It's what Star Trek fans do best

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

It's set in the Prime Timeline and is a prequel to TOS -- with the caveat that set details look different and some small tech ideas are different, with both of those being things that could being art direction updates for a 21st-century TV show.

However, the story so far has not overtly contradicted anything specifically said TOS, TNG, etc, and even though there is an updated art direction, the general art direction is still very Star-Trek TV-like (the ships still look recognizable as TV-Trek ships), and the general tech is still the same (warp drive, transporters, phasers, and communicators).

The Spore drive is an exception, but I think the future non-use of the spore drive will be explained.

So, yeah -- It's the Star Trek Prime Universe with a look updated for a Star Trek TV show made in 2017 and 2018.

 

[DigificWriter]

And here we go again with this "it's not the Prime Timeline because I don't like it" nonsense.

* sigh *

DSC is set in the same universe as ENT, TOS, TAS, TNG, DS9, and VOY; either take the series or leave it, but stop trying to deny that basic fact.

Or, as Dave Bautista famously said back in 2014, "deal with it".

 

[fireproof78]

So, yeah -- It's the Star Trek Prime Universe with a look updated for a Star Trek TV show made in 2017 and 2018.

/thread

 

[RandyS]

I'm not familiar with what those are.

Voyager novels written in the 90s by Jeri Taylor.

 

[Xerxus]

The continued existence of Vulcan.

I just treat it as a third timeline. Most of the broadstrokes match, the details are different.



So Pathways and Mosaic are canon because the producers at the time said it was? Things change.

This, but any time there's a canonical conflict (Eugenics War / WW3 / Worf makeup / Picard hair status in academy/ Warp speed inconsistencies / Galactic Barrier), there's a new Parallels-like timeline.

We've been seeing hundreds if not thousands of timelines.

 

[Kemaiku]

And here we go again with this "it's not the Prime Timeline because I don't like it" nonsense.

* sigh *

DSC is set in the same universe as ENT, TOS, TAS, TNG, DS9, and VOY; either take the series or leave it, but stop trying to deny that basic fact.

Or, as Dave Bautista famously said back in 2014, "deal with it".

Calm down a bit, really.

 

[BillJ]

And here we go again with this "it's not the Prime Timeline because I don't like it" nonsense.

It has nothing to do with liking the show or not, for most folks. If I loved the show, it still wouldn't feel like the Prime timeline anymore than the Kelvin movies do.

Sometimes people just don't see things the same way as you do. IDIC and all that...

 

[DigificWriter]

It has nothing to do with liking the show or not

The OP flat-out admits that he/she doesn't like DSC and therefore doesn't want it to be or see it as being part of the Prime Timeline.

Sometimes people just don't see things the same way as you do. IDIC and all that...

Refusing to accept reality isnt embracing "infinite diversity in infinite combinations"; it's living in a delusion.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

Basically, I don't like the way this series stamps on the TOS timeline and hos un-Trek-ish it is... however I do enjoy it as a show regardless of that. So I was wondering, as I did not delve into the second season yet, how could the show fit in the Kelvin timeline, and if anything wherein prevents such connection.

It certainly follows the TOS timeline narrative MUCH more closely than the Kelvin timeline. In fact, other than the spore drive (which I think will be explained away), how does DSC contradict anything about the TOS narrative?

I'm not asking about story addenda, but just contradictions. By addenda, I mean stuff that has been added, such as a previously unreferenced foster sibling of Spock, or a previously unreferenced Klingon war, but do not outright contradict anything.

 

[Campe]

Sometimes people just don't see things the same way as you do. IDIC and all that...

WHAT?

People have differing opinions?

ON THE INTERNET?!?!?!

 

[BillJ]

Refusing to accept reality isnt embracing "infinite diversity in infinite combinations"; it's living in a delusion.

Dude, you're talking about a universe where we're still arguing about what century TOS takes place in.

Unclench a little bit...

And why is it so important that CBS pat you on the head and tell you its Prime? Can't you simply watch the show and make that determination for yourself?