Prime Timeline vs. Movie Timeline: Comparative Chronology

[thesadpanda]

I'm taking a stab at creating a comparative timeline for the movie and the Star Trek Prime universe. I'm listing the date, then what happened in the Prime universe. Then the movie universe in italics. Then an attempt at an explanation for the difference.

DISCLAIMER: This is based on my math and supposition and I'm doing a lot of it from memory, so I'd LOVE feedback, corrections, etc. I don't own the Star Trek Chronology or anything but I think this is consistent with what is mentioned on screen in the series.

Okay, here we go.

---------

2232
PRIME TIMELINE: Spock born.
MOVIE TIMELINE: Spock born.

2233
PRIME TIMELINE: Kirk born.
MOVIE TIMELINE: Kirk born. Nero arrives in the past and destroys the USS Kelvin, killing Kirk’s father.
REASON FOR DISCREPANCY: Direct intervention by Nero.

c. 2243
PRIME TIMELINE: Kirk survives Tarsus IV massacre by Kodos the Executioner. (“Conscience of the King”)
MOVIE TIMELINE: Kirk destroys his stepdad’s car. Spock fights bullies.
REASON FOR DISCREPANCY: Since George Kirk is dead Kirk grows up in Iowa and never lives on Tarsus IV.

2250
PRIME TIMELINE: Spock enters Starfleet Academy.
MOVIE TIMELINE: Spock enters Starfleet Academy.

2251
PRIME TIMELINE: Kirk enters Starfleet Academy.
MOVIE TIMELINE: Kirk graduates from high school with high aptitude but stays in Iowa.
REASON FOR DISCREPANCY: Spock Prime says Kirk’s father was his inspiration for joining Starfleet in the prime timeline. Kirk never knew his father in the movie timeline.

2254
PRIME TIMELINE: Spock graduates from Starfleet Academy. Spock begins serving with Captain Pike (based on the duration of his service with Pike from “The Menagerie”). Pike takes command of the Enterprise. “The Cage” occurs (based on the fact that it is said to have happened 13 years in the past in “The Menagerie.”)
MOVIE TIMELINE: Spock graduates from Starfleet Academy and serves as an instructor at Starfleet Academy. He begins a four-year stint programming the Kobayashi Maru test. The events of "The Cage" never occur.
REASON FOR DISCREPANCY: Construction of the Enterprise has not been completed in the movie timeline.

2255
PRIME TIMELINE: Kirk graduates from Starfleet Academy. He is assigned to the USS Farragut.
MOVIE TIMELINE: Kirk is convinced to enter Starfleet Academy by Captain Pike. The Enterprise is under construction in Iowa.
REASON FOR DISCREPANCY: Kirk lacked inspiration to join Starfleet Academy due to his father’s death. There is no clear reason for the delay in construction of the Enterprise. It is generally believed (though not canonical) that the Enterprise was constructed in spacedock in the prime timeline. Perhaps Nero’s mysterious attack necessitated greater security in the Federation, requiring the ship to be built on the ground and causing a delay. Perhaps the need to replace the USS Kelvin delayed starship development and construction. In any case, the fact that the Enterprise was completed at least five years later in the movie timeline than in the prime timeline explains the minor design differences.

2257
PRIME TIMELINE: The majority of the Farragut crew, including the captain, are killed by an attacking cloud creature at Tycho IV. Kirk blames himself for not firing on the creature, though it's later proven the ship’s phasers would have had no effect. (“Obsession”)
MOVIE TIMELINE: It is unknown whether these events occurred. If they did, Kirk was not present.
REASON FOR DISCREPANCY: Other than Kirk's absence there may be no discrepancy. The death of such a large portion of the crew may explain why the Farragut is one of the ships at the Earth spacedock in 2258 when Nero attacks Vulcan.

2258
PRIME TIMELINE: No known events. Kirk may be serving on the USS Republic at this time, per “Court Martial.”
MOVIE TIMELINE: Spock Prime arrives in the past. Nero attacks and destroys Vulcan but is killed before he can destroy Earth. Kirk takes command of the Enterprise.
REASON FOR DISCREPANCY: Direct intervention by Nero and Spock Prime.

2265
PRIME TIMELINE: Kirk takes command of the Enterprise. The five year mission begins. “Where No Man Has Gone Before” presumably happens this year, with the rest of the TOS first season taking place in 2266 and 2267.
REASON FOR DISCREPANCY: Kirk takes command of the Enterprise later because Nero’s attack hasn’t killed a large number of Starfleet officers, disabled Captain Pike and given Kirk a chance to distinguish himself in the Prime Timeline. These events allowed him to advance to command rank more quickly in the movie timeline.

2269
PRIME TIMELINE: Five year mission ends.

2272-2291
PRIME TIMELINE: TOS movies.

2368
PRIME TIMELINE: Spock moves to Romulus to pursue reunification. ("Unification")
MOVIE TIMELINE: Since Spock’s life has been radically different and since Vulcan no longer exists to be reunified with Romulus, Spock likely doesn’t go to Romulus.

2364-2379
PRIME TIMELINE: TNG, DS9, Voyager and Star Trek: Nemesis.
MOVIE TIMELINE: Most of these events probably still occur but they would be altered by the destruction of Vulcan and any subsequent changes.

2387
PRIME TIMELINE: Romulus destroyed by a supernova. Spock and Nero travel back in time. (Based on Spock Prime’s statement that he comes from 129 years in the future.)
MOVIE TIMELINE: These events probably don’t happen. When he’s talking to Captain Pike, Nero seems to suggest that he destroyed the star that caused all the trouble before attacking the Federation but it isn’t totally clear. If the supernova does occur in this timeline, Spock probably doesn’t live on Romulus so it’s unlikely he promises to save the planet.

-------

Comments, corrections, problems with my BS explanations for discrepancies? Please add your two cents.

 

[Psion]

Looks good, thesadpanda. Now where does Chekov fit in all of this?

 

[Samurai8472]

Somehow I find it farfetched to have any Tuvok or future Vulcans we might know with just 1000 left

T'Pol probably died before the destruction of Vulcan.

 

[Cyke101]

Looks good, thesadpanda. Now where does Chekov fit in all of this?

Beat me to it. Chekov Prime seems to be a few years younger than his new timeline counterpart (God, I love these labels!).

 

[EJA]

Did Spock create the Kobayashi Maru test in both timelines? If he introduced it in 2254, the year he graduated, would he still have been able to serve on the Enterprise under Christopher Pike? On a side note, 2254 was the year in which James Kirk took (and cheated on) the test in the prime timeline, according to the non-canon novel The Kobayashi Maru.

 

[thesadpanda]

Looks good, thesadpanda. Now where does Chekov fit in all of this?

Beat me to it. Chekov Prime seems to be a few years younger than his new timeline counterpart (God, I love these labels!).

Good point, guys. I never thought of that.

In the movie Chekov says he's seventeen. That means he was born in 2241. That would make Chekov 26 or 27 when during the second season of TOS. Walter Koenig was 31 in 1967 so it doesn't seem impossible to me.

Was Chekov's age ever established on screen in TOS? I can't remember. His normally accepted date of birth, 2245, could have been made up by Michael Okuda for the Star Trek Chronology. A lot of the dates in that book are Okuda's estimates rather than dates firmly established. This is especially true for TOS events, almost none of which can be dated accurately using on screen information. This wouldn't be the first time that new information has changed Okuda's dates without contradicting anything on screen.

 

[thesadpanda]

Did Spock create the Kobayashi Maru test in both timelines?

The movie never says that Spock created the Kobayashi Maru test, just that he's been programming it for four years. That suggests the test needs tech support regularly. I took it to mean that Spock took over programming it from somebody else. It has open source code, so to speak. In the prime timeline somebody else would have done this since Spock would have been too busy serving with Captain Pike on the Enterprise during these years.

 

[Cyke101]

Looks good, thesadpanda. Now where does Chekov fit in all of this?

Beat me to it. Chekov Prime seems to be a few years younger than his new timeline counterpart (God, I love these labels!).

Good point, guys. I never thought of that.

In the movie Chekov says he's seventeen. That means he was born in 2241. That would make Chekov 26 or 27 when during the second season of TOS. Walter Koenig was 31 in 1967 so it doesn't seem impossible to me.

Was Chekov's age ever established on screen in TOS? I can't remember. His normally accepted date of birth, 2245, could have been made up by Michael Okuda for the Star Trek Chronology. A lot of the dates in that book are Okuda's estimates rather than dates firmly established. This is especially true for TOS events, almost none of which can be dated accurately using on screen information. This wouldn't be the first time that new information has changed Okuda's dates without contradicting anything on screen.

I think it was said in TOS (if it were TAS, we could happily dismiss the discrepancy). But still, it's not really a major problem, like how the dates of World War III/first warp jump/first contact kept leaping around until First contact came out. No biggie.

 

[thesadpanda]

Was Chekov's age ever established on screen in TOS?

I think it was said in TOS (if it were TAS, we could happily dismiss the discrepancy). But still, it's not really a major problem, like how the dates of World War III/first warp jump/first contact kept leaping around until First contact came out. No biggie.

Well, it definitely wasn't on screen in TAS since Chekov wasn't on that show.

And you're right, this is far from the biggest thing to have been retconned in the Star Trek universe. Ultimately, I'm with you, I don't really care if the movie took artistic license that can't be justified. I just think it's fun to try.

 

[Cyke101]

I just think it's fun to try.

We wouldn't be good Trekkies if we didn't try

 

[Calhoun24]

Somehow I find it farfetched to have any Tuvok or future Vulcans we might know with just 1000 left

T'Pol probably died before the destruction of Vulcan.

I don't know. T'Pol could still be alive. I'm a little more concerned about T'Pau. Since Vulcan bit the dust, that means Amok Time is somewhat altered. And we definitely know Journey to Babel is toast, since Sarek is there far before he's supposed to be - not to mention the apparent death of Amanda Grayson.

And then there's Tuvok (who I presume is nearly born at the time of the movie) and other Vulcans like Sisko's academy rival Solok, or the crew of the T'Kumbra. Now that the timeline is altered, do these occurrences still happen?

Personally, I'm theorizing and hoping that the timeline is somewhat self-correcting. With the next film, they can do what they want, but with respect to the TNG era (including DS9 and Voyager), I hope these still occur. That, and it would just be a shame if it was established in some way that they didn't happen...

 

[Dar70]

Im not even sure if there is a prime universe any longer. There has been so much branching off, I dont think we have seen a prime story since mid TNG.

 

[thesadpanda]

... and other Vulcans like Sisko's academy rival Solok, or the crew of the T'Kumbra. Now that the timeline is altered, do these occurrences still happen?

The Vulcans can't field an entire baseball team now, so Sisko wins. He thanks his mom, God (same thing), and Nero when interviewed by ESPN after the game.

 

[Cyke101]

Im not even sure if there is a prime universe any longer. There has been so much branching off, I dont think we have seen a prime story since mid TNG.

You could be right, but hey, I refuse to believe that DS9's been wiped out simply because the show is just so darn good. Luckily, my DVDs still exist

As for the issue of Starfleet vessels being completely crewed by Vulcans, in some sense it's probably more relevant now that such crew placements be made, if only for the sake of procreation and cultural development across vast distances.

 

[CaptMurdock]

Beat me to it. Chekov Prime seems to be a few years younger than his new timeline counterpart (God, I love these labels!).

Good point, guys. I never thought of that.

In the movie Chekov says he's seventeen. That means he was born in 2241. That would make Chekov 26 or 27 when during the second season of TOS. Walter Koenig was 31 in 1967 so it doesn't seem impossible to me.

Was Chekov's age ever established on screen in TOS? I can't remember. His normally accepted date of birth, 2245, could have been made up by Michael Okuda for the Star Trek Chronology. A lot of the dates in that book are Okuda's estimates rather than dates firmly established. This is especially true for TOS events, almost none of which can be dated accurately using on screen information. This wouldn't be the first time that new information has changed Okuda's dates without contradicting anything on screen.

I think it was said in TOS (if it were TAS, we could happily dismiss the discrepancy). But still, it's not really a major problem, like how the dates of World War III/first warp jump/first contact kept leaping around until First contact came out. No biggie.

"Who Mourns for Adonais?" Chekov gives his age as 22. Second-season episode, so around 2267, so a birthdate of 2245 is reasonable.

 

[thesadpanda]

Im not even sure if there is a prime universe any longer. There has been so much branching off, I dont think we have seen a prime story since mid TNG.

You could be right, but hey, I refuse to believe that DS9's been wiped out simply because the show is just so darn good. Luckily, my DVDs still exist

That's the right attitude. These are all fictional events anyway. The fact that one of the previous versions (DS9) doesn't exist (or at least not exactly the same way) in the current version doesn't mean anything. You can still watch it and enjoy it just as much as you always did. Personally, I refuse to look at one Trek series or movie through the lens of another. I never judge DS9's moral gray area based on TNG's ethics. I never judge TNG's pacifism through the lens of DS9's militarism. I never judge Voyager's and Enterprise's boring episodes based on TNG and DS9's well developed characters and compelling stories. (Withdrawn, I'm just kidding, I like them too... ) I just try to take each series on its own terms. That means the fact that Tuvok may never have been born in the new movie timeline doesn't affect the way I feel about anything on Voyager.

 

[Strekrules]

Good write up!

One of the writers posted on TrekMovie.com that Starfleet built the IOWA SHIPYARD in honor of Kirk's Dad. I also don't remember it saying USS ENTERPRISE anywhere in the IOWA shipyard, so that might not be the Enterprise (although I'm 99% sure that it is, since it's the only constitution starship we see in the movie).

Was the Enterprise the flagship in the Prime universe too?

 

[Strekrules]

And I'm sure one of the reasons for a new timeline was due to Paramount and CBS's breakup. Paramount has the exclusive rights to movies, while CBS has the exclusive rights to TV shows. As such, this lets them do their own "thing" without steping on each other!

Prime Time Line is for future TV Shows
New Time Line is for the movies.

Simple Enough =)

 

[Green Shirt]

Was Chekov's age ever established on screen in TOS?

He claimed to be 22 during "Who Mourns for Adonais".

Beat me to it by 2 minutes

 

[Psion]

Was Chekov's age ever established on screen in TOS? I can't remember. His normally accepted date of birth, 2245, could have been made up by Michael Okuda for the Star Trek Chronology. A lot of the dates in that book are Okuda's estimates rather than dates firmly established. This is especially true for TOS events, almost none of which can be dated accurately using on screen information. This wouldn't be the first time that new information has changed Okuda's dates without contradicting anything on screen.

In "Who Mourns for Adonais", he claims he's twenty-two.

Alright, alright, I admit I posted this after I already knew the question had been answered, but I had to make it look like I know more than I do.