Spoilers New Picard TV Series and Litverse Continuity (may contain TV show spoilers)

[KRAD]

Nobody in Hollywood who is producing a TV show or movie that is seen by millions or billions of people is going to be beholden to books or comics that are read by thousands.

The most popular tie-in fiction reaches less than 10% of the audience of the least popular TV show or movie.

Not saying it's right or it's wrong, it simply is the economics of scale and how it works.

This has all happened before. The Motion Picture contradicted Spock Must Die! in its very first scene. First Contact contradicted Federation. The Next Generation and its spinoffs in general contradicted The Final Reflection and My Enemy, My Ally.

It's the way of tie-in fiction.

And who cares? I don't stress about what's real in a fictional construct. The Marvel Cinematic Universe isn't canon either, and people still go see those movies.

 

[The Wormhole]

Sure, but I think the situation is different here. The litverse has established itself over the last 15 years and now it should all be screwed because CBS doesn't hold up to it? I think that's unfair towards all authors and readers.

The situation is not different at all. The tail does not wag the dog in the Star Trek franchise, nor in any television/movie franchise with tie-in material. Disney and Lucasfilm tossed twenty years worth of EU continuity a little over five years ago. Doctor Who had almost a decade's worth of novel continuity built up which was abandoned when the show returned in 2005. It's what happens. The authors of Star Trek novels were all aware this could happen, and the fans should have as well.

And besides, it's not like anyone else tries to be consistent with Trek Lit. STO doesn't. IDW doesn't. When William Shatner was writing Star Trek novels, he wasn't consistent with the novel continuity. So why in the flying fuck do people think CBS should the one exception to the rule? That makes no damn sense at all.

Two separate continuities really isn't a practical option. We're only going to be getting about eight novels a year now, and with two live action TV shows in production, soon to be three, the annual line-up is going to get eaten up with tie-ins for those. The remaining slots, if any will go to TOS 5YM novels, since they are currently the best selling of all Trek novels. The novel continuity is done. And after almost two decades worth of material, it had a good run. Now it's time to move on.

I guess Countdown is toast too? its going to be difficult not considering it canon after a decade..

It never was canon.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

And who cares? I don't stress about what's real in a fictional construct. The Marvel Cinematic Universe isn't canon either, and people still go see those movies.

I get the point you're making, Keith, but equating the MCU to tie-in fiction seems kinda weird to me, because that completely inverts your audience share statistic. Way the fuck more people have seen Avengers: Endgame (the tie-in) than have read last month's (of the last year's worth of) Avengers comics (the canon). If 10% of Avengers (the comics) audience went to see the film (the tie-in), it'd be lucky to draw 6,000 people. I hate saying this, but the canon's superfluous to the tie-ins. If Disney shuttered Marvel Comics tomorrow, the MCU would continue unchanged and unhindered.

 

[Relayer1]

I guess Countdown is toast too? its going to be difficult not considering it canon after a decade..

I never considered it canon.

The Data stuff was much better handled in the novels anyway.

 

[Takeru]

I get the point you're making, Keith, but equating the MCU to tie-in fiction seems kinda weird to me, because that completely inverts your audience share statistic. Way the fuck more people have seen Avengers: Endgame (the tie-in) than have read last month's (of the last year's worth of) Avengers comics (the canon). If 10% of Avengers (the comics) audience went to see the film (the tie-in), it'd be lucky to draw 6,000 people. I hate saying this, but the canon's superfluous to the tie-ins. If Disney shuttered Marvel Comics tomorrow, the MCU would continue unchanged and unhindered.

Unlike the lit verse the MCU is also canon. The non canon trek lit has to follow the current canon established by the tv shows/movies. The MCU is free to do whatever it wants and can disregard the current comics, use older stories or characters or even come up with their own stuff.

 

[Tuskin38]

I guess Countdown is toast too? its going to be difficult not considering it canon after a decade..

It was never canon in the first place.

Though they seem to be using the Romulans messing with Borg tech storyline from it.

Edit:
Oops I missed that there was another page.

 

[MadeIndescribable]

The Marvel Cinematic Universe isn't canon either, and people still go see those movies.

I agree with everything else you said, but is the MCU (an original continuity to a new medium) really comparable to the Novelverse (different medium continuing an established continuity)?

 

[Tuskin38]

Has Hugh shown up in any of the novels?

 

[MadeIndescribable]

Yep, Avenger (which depends on your headcanon for the Shatnerverse) and Greater Than The Sum

https://memory-beta.fandom.com/wiki/Hugh

 

[David Weller]

Just seen the SDCC trailer and the litverse is definitely coming to an end.

 

[Tuskin38]

Oh right, that's the novel that introduced T'Ryssa

Just seen the SDCC trailer and the litverse is definitely coming to an end.

Don't worry, there will most likely be another one to take its place.

 

[David Weller]

Don't worry, there will most likely be another one to take its place.

I’m not worried. I’ve always said that there will still be new Star Trek novels from our favourite writers.

 

[Markonian]

Memory Beta, which aims for treating all content as in-continuity, is gonna get messy. I’ll be right in the thick of it.

 

[Tuskin38]

Memory Beta, which aims for treating all content as in-continuity, is gonna get messy. I’ll be right in the thick of it.

I just read the Hugh page, "He sacrificed himself", then a section later "Hugh is alive"

 

[MadeIndescribable]

Memory Beta, which aims for treating all content as in-continuity, is gonna get messy. I’ll be right in the thick of it.

I just read the Hugh page, "He sacrificed himself", then a section later "Hugh is alive"

Yeah, this is gonna be nothing new

 

[Ronald Held]

Is it worth trying to patch the current Treklit or just move on with the TV continuity?

 

[Tuskin38]

We'd have to wait and see what other differences there are. For all we know most of the differences will be confined to 2379+, so only the post-Nemesis stuff will be effected.

Which does make up a bulk of the stories in the last 18 years, so we're back to the start here.

Rise of the Federation should be fine

 

[F. King Daniel]

So, any thoughts where the litverse will be in 5 years?

Pretty much the same as now, except all released novels tie into the current Star Trek Universe continuity instead of their own post-Nemesis (and allabouts everywhere in the timeline) novelverse.

That doesn't mean Star Trek Universe won't continue to draw lore from the novels. Commander Una's name and Control were taken from and inspired by the books. I'm sure there will be more namedrops and similar going forward.

 

[MadeIndescribable]

So, any thoughts where the litverse will be in 5 years?

I think one big thing to remember is that you can't group all the tie in novels into one single continuity 'verse', as @KRAD said,

This has all happened before. The Motion Picture contradicted Spock Must Die! in its very first scene. First Contact contradicted Federation. The Next Generation and its spinoffs in general contradicted The Final Reflection and My Enemy, My Ally.

It's the way of tie-in fiction.

And as others have mentioned before, even if you narrow it down to just the relaunch novels, the ENT Rise of the Federation and TOS era Vanguard are still likely to be left intact.

But to answer the question, as long as there are Star Trek TV series being produced, there will be novels that tie-in to them.

 

[Mysterion]

Is it worth trying to patch the current Treklit or just move on with the TV continuity?

So, the entire Alpha Quadrant steps out of the shower and...