ST canon is inconsistent and contradictory.

It was a post-TMP world.

 

I would as well, plus it would have been fun to see Worf as a TOS Klingon, even better if nobody would have commented or reacted to how different he looks

Okay I can accept that as being pretty creative.

Alright, that sounds pretty cool, though personally I still prefer the "we just updated the makeup and Klingons always had ridged heads." explanation.

Because the ridgehead Klingons look cooler/more alien (imho)

 

Just like any other work written by multiple authors over a long period of time.

 

Don't be silly, there are people on this bboard who know Trek facts and figures and trivia better than anyone ever on staff. Certainly better than JJ Abrams, who came right out and said he hated Star Trek and knew nothing about it. For decades now, we've been saying that having a Trekkie 'fact checker' on the continuity staff would have helped with a lot of story inconsistencies.

 

jJ knOWs noTHinG aBouT StaR treK

You do know he said that for publicity, to get new people to watch a franchise that had become extremely insular, right?

 

Abrams had Orci. Discovery and Picard have Beyer. Goldsman, who appears to be the driving force behind SNW, is a fan from the '70s. Lower Decks is being created and show-run by a writer who gained some popularity for running a TNG-based Twitter account.

There is absolutely no shortage of "fact checkers" available in any of the Trek productions made sense probably 1969.

 

That's not what he said. And one writer and producer both stated they were on Memory Alpha for references for 09.

 

I wasn't talking about ST creators who were ignorant of ST before they made a Star Trek production (a club that also includes Nicholas Meyer, BTW). I was talking about fans who claim that they know a thing better than the people who actually made the thing. So to use your example, it would be someone claiming that they knew the 2009 movie better than JJ Abrams, despite them not being involved in the production in any way.

THAT'S arrogant.

 

And I'm sorry, but you're still wrong, for the reasons I already laid out. If that makes me arrogant, then I'm arrogant. But I'm also correct: most of the people on this board who like Voyager would almost certainly beat Tim Russ at a Voyager trivia contest, no problem. That's no disrespect to him, at all, he just didn't get to appreciate the art he was part of from an outside perspective. Or apparently, according to him, a linear and readily comprehensible one.

 

I think the more arrogant part of the discussion is the assumption that fans know the only right way to appreciate the art.

I also think that knowing trivia does not mean that they know the product. Star Trek production is more than just trivia points.

 

You're totally missing my point, but I've reached my threshold of arguing with strangers on the internet for the day. So congratulations, you've "won."

You get it, @fireproof78.

 

I mean if some members of the writing staff for a long running franchise are fans of the older installments then that can lead to fun references, gags, allusions and so forth, as seen in DS9 on occasion with its many references to broader Star Trek canon.

But for a product to be good, the creative team just has to be good.

And fans being in charge doesn't necessarily create a god project, in fact it can lead to this:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RunningTheAsylum

"Fanbois/gurls" just bending a product into their perceived "perfect" version of what a franchise should be, because that's the way it was when they loved it best, no matter if it makes sense or leads to good stories or not.

 

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that fans would do a better job of making shows even if they know more of the material. I'm suggesting that some of us know that Shatner's mare had a foal this morning. And whatever else that might mean, it is a level of knowledge and devotion to the subject matter that can't be discounted.

 

And it's a level of devotion impossible (or nearly so) for a show runner to obtain.

 

Which leads to the question of why they did it in TMP.

 

Because the money was finally there to do some things the way Roddenberry would have wanted them in TOS if it had been possible on their budget. Or at least, that's what Roddenberry said.

 

Because it wasn't 1966 anymore and Roddenberry knew it.

 

Because Roddenberry wanted it that way and had the money to make them look more alien.

 

I always forget that there were Klingons in TMP. Where in that whole mess did they fit them in again? One of their ships makes a cameo and V'ger eats them, right? Do I forget something or was that all?

Also @Nerys Myk that's an awesome edit, did you do that yourself?