A mistake to go to the 32nd century

[TRON JA307020]

It was not a good idea. It's too much of s stretch to believe that a crew of a 23rd century starship would so easily integrate into a starfleet with technology 900 years more advanced. Also the crew of the Discovery seems to be better and solved problems much more easily they their 32nd century counterparts. It's like if a group of people from the middle ages came into our time and would instantly understand our tech and came up with solutions to any of our issues. No it would have been better to have them go to the 25th century and at least it would only have been a 150 years and it would have been more believable. The writers of Discovery write the show like it's badly written fan fiction. Really too bad. They should have stuck more closely to canon and this would never have happened.

 

[fireproof78]

I say 26th century, and eliminate time travel nonsense.

They should have stuck more closely to canon and this would never have happened.

Oh, please. Canon is full of ridiculous ideas throughout Trek. Time travel alone is ridiculous and done multiple different ways. If they "followed canon" then thought is the basis of all reality and they could fix their problems that way!

 

[TRON JA307020]

I say 26th century, and eliminate time travel nonsense.

Oh, please. Canon is full of ridiculous ideas throughout Trek. Time travel alone is ridiculous and done multiple different ways. If they "followed canon" then thought is the basis of all reality and they could fix their problems that way!

It was 900 years. It stretched credibility beyond what I'm willing to buy. I remember the ridiculous scene where Michael wanted to show off and say we aren't as primitive as you think watch our spore drive. So dumb to think that 900 years after discovery that starfleet never came up with better technology beyond a dilithium crystal powered warp drive but the 23rd century did. It's laughable.

 

[fireproof78]

It was 900 years. It stretched credibility beyond what I'm willing to buy. I remember the ridiculous scene where Michael wanted to show off and say we aren't as primitive as you think watch our spore drive. So dumb to think that 900 years after discovery that starfleet never came up with better technology beyond a dilithium crystal powered warp drive but the 23rd century did. It's laughable.

Well, they did come up with better tech.

It just wasn't sustainable. And they go back to tried and true, which is what happens in canon all the time with Starfleet.

 

[TRON JA307020]

Well, they did come up with better tech.

It just wasn't sustainable. And they go back to tried and true, which is what happens in canon all the time with Starfleet.

900 years it's stretches credibility. So they didn't come up with any new tech for 900 years after the spore drive? They are still using dilithium crystals? All of the Federation halted for 150 years because they couldn't find a replacement for dilithium. Ridiculous.

 

[Lord Garth]

Actually, the way it's depicted, it would be more like the Discovery is from Ancient Rome (100 BC) and, after The Burn, they've ended up towards the end of the Dark Ages but still in thick of the Middle Ages in general (830 AD).

The times we've recently come out of are unusual. The 20th Century saw more change than any other century. Culturally, technologically, socially. 1901-2000 isn't a good example to go with. Outside of computer tech, culturally and socially things have slowed down already in the 21st Century and I'd say have backslid in a lot of areas. But that's a whole other topic. Back to this one...

There's not a lot of meaningful difference between the 23rd and 24th Centuries. The ships are twice as fast. Holo-technology is better. AI has advanced. That's about it.

The Dominion is 2,000 years old in DS9, compared to the Federation's 200 years old. Theoretically, even cut off, the Dominion should've been able to completely destroy the Federation, Klingons, and Romulans as soon as the Dominion War started. More time doesn't always mean more advanced. Advancement doesn't always proceed at the same rate. And more advanced doesn't always mean more effective. Otherwise, the United States wouldn't have spent so much time in Vietnam.

So I have no problem believing Discovery could've made it in 32nd Century, with the right context. The ship was also refitted early on in the third season. (Thank you Reprogrammable Matter!) And the crew was trained and educated in what they needed to know. Starfleet kept Discovery's interfaces and layouts the same (even though the guts were completely overhauled), to ease the crew's transition. They explain it in Season 3, Episode 6. It's in the dialogue and in one of the early scenes.

 

[STEPhon IT]

Also they're boldly going where no franchise has gone before, at least the showrunners are trying to be fresh.

 

[fireproof78]

900 years it's stretches credibility. So they didn't come up with any news tech for 900 years after the spore drive? They are still using dilithium crystays? All of the Federation halted for 150 years because they couldn't find a replacement for dilithium. Ridiculous.

The Federation is repeatedly shown to not be willing to work with any tech that proves too dangerous. So, actually, it's entirely consistent with the precious canon.

 

[Yistaan]

Not only do I agree but I'm beginning to think that the people in charge now are having second thoughts. It seems they were going to continue in the 32nd century with Starfleet Academy but now the demand is for a Star Trek Legacy show instead.

 

[FederationHistorian]

I say 26th century

The 26th century would work better, as they could still work in the century long dark age. But if Discovery jumped to 2489, that’s only 90 years after the events of Picard. And would tie in with the undeveloped Final Frontier animated series.

Not only do I agree but I'm beginning to think that the people in charge now are having second thoughts. It seems they were going to continue in the 32nd century with Starfleet Academy but now the demand is for a Star Trek Legacy show instead

Anything involving Discovery will have second thoughts. It's why they retooled the show to be set in the 32nd century in the first place.

 

[DarKush]

While it was a very big jump, I get why they did it. It was to get away from any canon controversies/headaches. The 32nd century isn't a problem for me (outside of how it might creatively handcuff any series or movies that take place between PIC and DISCO). The only real problem I have with making the jump is how I don't think the series has grappled enough with Discovery's crew adjusting to living in the 32nd century. They were so wedded to "The Burn" storyline that they didn't take enough time to breathe. I hope the final season takes a break from some big storyline and takes a page from ENT's final season. Some character focused mini-arcs that also explore aspects of the 32nd century would be great.

 

[Phoenix219]

Both culturally and technologically it doesn't make sense that its 1000 years. 400 years maybe. Its TOO familiar to be THAT far in the future. Not nearly enough has changed or advanced. I liked the original assumptions, where language and changed and thing were barely recognizable, like the slang that meant "Federation" , and the loss and distortion of history and culture, and even the idea that the Federation became the bad guys. This was just the most giant GIANT RESET BUTTON around.

 

[ScottJ85]

I didn’t find it particularly hard to believe, if we assume Discovery arrived during the “bust”part of a centuries-long boom and bust cycle. As Lord Garth said, it would be more like someone from ancient Rome showing up in the Middle Ages.

I do agree that it feels like not enough has changed though. When I first heard about the time skip I was hoping for more of a lost technology / used future type of setting, where functioning warp drives were rare and precious, and Starfleet’s ships were held together by a few hundred years worth of duct tape.

 

[STEPhon IT]

I didn’t find it particularly hard to believe, if we assume Discovery arrived during the “bust”part of a centuries-long boom and bust cycle. As Lord Garth said, it would be more like someone from ancient Rome showing up in the Middle Ages.

I do agree that it feels like not enough has changed though. When I first heard about the time skip I was hoping for more of a lost technology / used future type of setting, where functioning warp drives were rare and precious, and Starfleet’s ships were held together by a few hundred years worth of duct tape.

That would've been a great idea, also I think it could've been fun to see places which were established just didn't exist anymore or have moved far far far away from where they once were. I really love your take on it which would've been challenging but hey, that's the reason why these heroes were trained to do what they do.

 

[The Wormhole]

32nd century was chosen because it was further than any point in the timeline previously seen in any other Trek series. The furthest into the future seen prior to Disco was the 31st century in Enterprise. Well, not really seen, but we know Daniels was from there.

That said, I will admit they dropped the ball when it came to worldbuilding in the 32nd century. Not much has been done to distinguish it from any other era in the Trek franchise, with the most notable difference, a crippled Federation having been undone by the end of the fourth season.

 

[nic3636]

32nd century was chosen because it was further than any point in the timeline previously seen in any other Trek series. The furthest into the future seen prior to Disco was the 31st century in Enterprise. Well, not really seen, but we know Daniels was from there.

That said, I will admit they dropped the ball when it came to worldbuilding in the 32nd century. Not much has been done to distinguish it from any other era in the Trek franchise, with the most notable difference, a crippled Federation having been undone by the end of the fourth season.

I agree. I can’t blame the writers for wanting a blank canvas but the world building was very underwhelming. Why spend an entire season building up the Emerald Chain, only to have them disappear off screen? I thought the crippled Federation was intriguing and had tons of potential, but it never amounted to much from a storytelling perspective.

To me, the biggest problem with Discovery (and Picard) is the insistence on “mystery box” storytelling that dominates the entire season. It creates pacing issues and limits the ability to devote time to other things, like worldbuilding, because everything has to fit into the central plot.

 

[fireproof78]

32nd century was chosen because it was further than any point in the timeline previously seen in any other Trek series. The furthest into the future seen prior to Disco was the 31st century in Enterprise. Well, not really seen, but we know Daniels was from there.

That said, I will admit they dropped the ball when it came to worldbuilding in the 32nd century. Not much has been done to distinguish it from any other era in the Trek franchise, with the most notable difference, a crippled Federation having been undone by the end of the fourth season.

While the world building is limited I at least feel the world is more wild and wooly.

 

[ScottJ85]

While the world building is limited I at least feel the world is more wild and wooly.

It’s the sort of thing Enterprise did well when it was at its best.

 

[Noname Given]

I'm sure to the writers a Time jump to the 32nd century looked really good on paper. Problem is they haven't ever been able to execute it well at all.

I enjoyed Discovery when it was in the 23rd century. When it jumped to the 32nd Century I gave it a watch, but it was no longer a Trek series with episodes that I was anticipating at all any longer.

They really didn't do much with technical advancement after over a thousand years; and I understand why because if they did it the way they should have, most of the technology wouldn't be recognizable as Star Trek.

It's also the reason I'm not really interested in their upcoming Starfleet Academy series because I don't think they'll be able to really do the 32nd Century the way it should be. It's clear setting it in that time frame was to allow them to use all the standing sets that were constructed for Discovery in the 32nd century. They save a lot of money and continue to be able to amortize the sets and props.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I liked season 3 quite a bit. Season 4 was shite. Hopefully season 5 will be an improvement.

There's a lot they haven't done yet with their new time period, and yes the tech is 95% same as every other Trek, but I like it and am curious what's coming.

Starfleet Academy is gonna be awesome.... if you enjoyed Buffy or Smallville.