Destruction of Vulcan

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Alderaan didn't have the familiarity of Vulcan - it was just the name-dropped place Leia grew up. Not that it's any less devastating to the character, it just didn't have a connection to the viewer.

I suppose they could have destroyed a new or less familiar planet that Spock's mother was visiting, and the loss of Amanda could still be a factor. But it's like poetry - it rhymes - Prime reality Romulus is gone, alternate reality Vulcan is gone, at opposite end's of their Spock's lifespans.

 

[SithHappens]

Must admit to being confused over the supernova that destroyed Romulus. Has it ever been specifically stated if it was Romulus star or a neighboring one? Either way surely they would have known anyway it was going to go, they don't just go supernova. I know the window for them going is very wide but when they settled there from Vulcan you'd have thought someone would say, erm chaps this is a bad idea as that stars due to go supernova anytime, let's find somewhere else.

Of course it could have been by artificial means it went supernova but not sure this has ever been said?

 

[somebuddyX]

Alderaan didn't have the familiarity of Vulcan - it was just the name-dropped place Leia grew up. Not that it's any less devastating to the character, it just didn't have a connection to the viewer.

That's a different point though. I'm not talking about choosing which planet, I'm talking about once you choose it, what happens next to it. And if they're going to have Nero threaten Earth you need to have a dry run on some sacrificial lamb and that has to be Vulcan.

 

[Markonian]

Tuvok survived off-world, right?

 

[Frontis]

Tuvok survived off-world, right?

Wasn't Tuvok in another timeline?

 

[DonIago]

Tuvok survived off-world, right?

I don't think we have any information regarding the status of Tuvok in the Kelvinverse.

 

[M'Sharak]

Tuvok survived off-world, right?

According to Memory Alpha, the Prime timeline Tuvok was born in 2264 on Vulcanis Lunar Colony, so his presumed Kelvin timeline analogue would have been removed in two different dimensions (distance and time) from the 2258 destruction of Vulcan.

 

[Frontis]

The Kelvin movies are entertaining but I'm not a big fan of an alternative timeline.
Strictly speaking it means to steal characters and other elements and to write a new story.
It changes Star Trek history and can be confusing for different reasons...

 

[fireproof78]

Alternate timelines are confusing?

 

[Frontis]

Yes

 

[DonIago]

According to Memory Alpha, the Prime timeline Tuvok was born in 2264 on Vulcanis Lunar Colony, so his presumed Kelvin timeline analogue would have been removed in two different dimensions (distance and time) from the 2258 destruction of Vulcan.

One or both of his parents might have been on Vulcan at the time though, and/or Vulcan's destruction may have changed their circumstances such that they won't meet or won't conceive Tuvok.

I ironically have Hitler to thank for my birth, as my dad's parents came to the US fleeing the Nazis.

 

[Nerys Myk]

The Kelvin movies are entertaining but I'm not a big fan of an alternative timeline.
Strictly speaking it means to steal characters and other elements and to write a new story.
It changes Star Trek history and can be confusing for different reasons...

How can the events of in an alternate timeline change Trek history? The alternate timeline has it's own history.

 

[somebuddyX]

I think in a universe that was more hard about time travel Tuvok would have been butterflied away. But since it's Trek, he's probably fine.

 

[fireproof78]

Yes

Boy, episodes like MIRROR MIRROR, Parallels, and Yesterday's Enterprise must have been rough.

 

[Dukhat]

Must admit to being confused over the supernova that destroyed Romulus. Has it ever been specifically stated if it was Romulus star or a neighboring one?

The 2009 film just mentioned that a star went supernova and threatened to 'destroy the galaxy' or something, and Romulus was one of its victims. They didn't specifically mention the name, nor that it was in fact the Romulan home star. The tie-in comic stated the star's name as 'Hobus,' but that's not canon. PIC retcons the star as the Romulan's home star, and that they knew about the potential for it to go nova way ahead of time, unlike the film where it appeared to catch everyone off guard.

 

[M'Sharak]

One or both of his parents might have been on Vulcan at the time though, and/or Vulcan's destruction may have changed their circumstances such that they won't meet or won't conceive Tuvok.

While that's statistically possible, the odds of such changes in Star Trek resulting in any alteration to the birth or birthdate of a significant character would seem, based upon canon evidence, to be rather slim. I'd have to check, but nuChekov being born 4 years earlier than his Prime counterpart is the only example which comes immediately to mind of a major character not being exactly the same age in the altVerse as in the Prime timeline (and that change was likely made more because "C'mon, how could we have Chekov be in Starfleet at age 13?" than for any remotely plausible in-universe reason).

 

[F. King Daniel]

The Kelvin movies are entertaining but I'm not a big fan of an alternative timeline.
Strictly speaking it means to steal characters and other elements and to write a new story.
It changes Star Trek history and can be confusing for different reasons...

Using the old characters in a new story was the whole point. It does it's own Trek history, it's it's own thing.

Us nerds know Spock is the same guy from TOS and the supernova is the one Picard was trying to save Romulans from in season one of his recent show, but it's all spinkles on top, so to speak.

 

[Dukhat]

It changes Star Trek history and can be confusing for different reasons...

It doesn't do that at all. No history has been changed. A different universe with the same characters is running alongside the original one. They made that crystal clear in the film itself. The only people who might find it confusing are non-Trek fans who happened to be watching the movie. And I doubt they care all that much.

 

[Frontis]

Boy, episodes like MIRROR MIRROR, Parallels, and Yesterday's Enterprise must have been rough.

Isn't there a difference between an alternate timeline and a parallel universe?
Anyway, do not make fun of me.

 

[Frontis]

It doesn't do that at all. No history has been changed. A different universe with the same characters is running alongside the original one. They made that crystal clear in the film itself. The only people who might find it confusing are non-Trek fans who happened to be watching the movie. And I doubt they care all that much.

Well, so we have 2 histories now. And this can be confusing.