A simple reason why NuTrek is so different from *canon* ...

[Silversmok3]

With the goal of explaining why things are different-such as why the Enterprise is 700 meters long,why nuSpacedock is so huge,and the general differences of nuUniverse compared to old.

The Narada's influence:

In universe,what's supposed to happen is the USS Kelvin completes its deep space survey without incident.
Instead it is engaged and destroyed by the Narada,a 24th century mining vessel outfitted with then-cutting edge weaponry.

This had bigger consequences than just the immediate loss of life and the ship itself. The people killed that day would do other things after finishing their tour on the Kelvin,thus projects,programs,and tasks that the victims did in the prime universe never took place in the alternate universe-or if they did,they did so without the former Kelvin crew's input.


Confused?In an example format,take the chief engineer who is KIA in the engagement.
Let us say he * transferred* to starfleet research and development after serving on the Kelvin,where he goes on to assist in the design the Constitution class.He makes an engineering breakthrough that allows a ship to use a smaller engineering space,so the Constitution class can be made smaller.


But Nero kills him.

And that ,combined with others killed (including George Kirk) and the tactical data released to Starfleet from the Narada's battle results in subtle,yet massive changes to the alternate reality.

The bottom line?Don't play with red matter ,boys and girls...:-)

 

[Jayson]

I agree. The changes go beyond that though. The Klingon empire and Romulan empire would be impacted as well. The Klingons would know about the Romulans because of Nero and this attack would have the ROmulan government having to deal with the Federation and Klingon in new ways.

Jason

 

[Silversmok3]

I agree. The changes go beyond that though. The Klingon empire and Romulan empire would be impacted as well. The Klingons would know about the Romulans because of Nero and this attack would have the ROmulan government having to deal with the Federation and Klingon in new ways.

Jason

Indeed.I didn't consider the political aspects,but the Narada mopping the floor with Federation and Klingon fleets would mean both organizations would be amping up the weapons stockpiles.

 

[Shikarnov]

Weren't the Romulans pretty much out of touch during this period of time? I wonder how aware they'd be of events occurring deep within Federation space.

 

[Jayson]

Weren't the Romulans pretty much out of touch during this period of time? I wonder how aware they'd be of events occurring deep within Federation space.

Well they proably have spies and other aliens they interact with for information. I would think the idea of Romulans from the future with future tech would definately be something that makes them come out hiding. I just don't see them being happy with having Klingons holding their people and their ship.

Jason

 

[CommodoreKong]

You could even explain away why the Kelvin is so big/different from other Starfleet ships of the era is because Star Trek First Contact altered the time line, which is why Enterprise has advanced technology, compared to when it was said in TOS that the Earth Romulan war was fought with atomic weapons in the same time peroid.

 

[Omega_Glory]

Depends on how you define "atomic".

 

[RAMA]

Um, different producers? Ring a bell?

RAMA

 

[Praetor]

The Butterfly Effect at work!

 

[TrekGuide.com]

Three words: "Temporal Cold War."

'Nuff said.

 

[Python Trek]

The Butterfly Effect at work!

I just got a picture in my head of Ashton Kutcher as Gary Mitchell in Trek XII. <shudder>

 

[JohanKoch]

There's a certain...convenience (for lack of a better word) to the destruction of the Kelvin as an excuse for all the changes we see in the film. While I'm sure that was a big event, and did change the future somewhat, it boggles the mind to think of the massive numbers of changes that supposedly flowed down from that. Everything from radically bigger ships, different bridges, starships now being built on a field in Iowa, different birthdates for the same characters (!), etc. All those changes get "blamed" on the destruction on one ship.

I suppose it's remotely possible that the destruction of the Kelvin did cause all those things (butterfly effect, and all that). But, in some ways, it seems like a lazy excuse.

I prefer to think of new Trek as not just a slightly altered timeline, but as a completely new continuity, with some parts that just happen to resemble the original Trek (e.g. old Spock).

None of the above is meant as a bash against the movie. I thought it was an exciting, well-made film, and I look forward to more Abrams Trek. It's just I think tying ourselves in knots to explain all the changes, just to fit it into the old continuity (but a new timeline), is perhaps a waste of time. Future movies will, I'm sure, introduce more continuity errors. Why not just call it a complete reboot, and sit back and enjoy the ride?

 

[NileQT87]

The only one whose age is different is Chekov, and he was born AFTER the destruction of the Kelvin. None of the characters born before Kirk had anything changed about their births (that I'm aware of).

You could view this Pavel as essentially only an older brother (4 years older) of the prime timeline version who got the same name. The genetically-identical one was apparently never born in this new reality. In a sense, the timeline probably changed the Chekov family the most.

 

[Bill Morris]

So it's like the new host has the symbiont, with 16 lifetimes of experience, bound and gagged.

 

[JohanKoch]

The only one whose age is different is Chekov, and he was born AFTER the destruction of the Kelvin. None of the characters born before Kirk had anything changed about their births (that I'm aware of).

Pike was supposed to be the same age as Kirk, at least according to dialogue from "The Menagerie".

 

[NileQT87]

Maybe the Christopher Pike here is actually that Pike's father (or would have been?)? If that were the case, either that Pike was never born or chose not to become part of Starfleet and something caused the older Pike to remain instead. Or perhaps the Kelvin incident or that dissertation on it caused Pike, Sr.'s destiny to happen differently.

Just like the Enterprise wasn't the same ship as the old one because of a need for more advanced technology and a larger ship due to the threat of the Narada. The building of it was also delayed.

Best guess.

 

[Silversmok3]

There's a certain...convenience (for lack of a better word) to the destruction of the Kelvin as an excuse for all the changes we see in the film. While I'm sure that was a big event, and did change the future somewhat, it boggles the mind to think of the massive numbers of changes that supposedly flowed down from that. Everything from radically bigger ships, different bridges, starships now being built on a field in Iowa, different birthdates for the same characters (!), etc. All those changes get "blamed" on the destruction on one ship.

I suppose it's remotely possible that the destruction of the Kelvin did cause all those things (butterfly effect, and all that). But, in some ways, it seems like a lazy excuse.

I prefer to think of new Trek as not just a slightly altered timeline, but as a completely new continuity, with some parts that just happen to resemble the original Trek (e.g. old Spock).

None of the above is meant as a bash against the movie. I thought it was an exciting, well-made film, and I look forward to more Abrams Trek. It's just I think tying ourselves in knots to explain all the changes, just to fit it into the old continuity (but a new timeline), is perhaps a waste of time. Future movies will, I'm sure, introduce more continuity errors. Why not just call it a complete reboot, and sit back and enjoy the ride?

To detail every possible change would consume pages of material, but the loss of live on the Kelvin is more than enough to change A LOT of what should have followed.

Since theres not much info on starfleet pre-Enterprise thats even close to reliable, we cannot say whether Picard's effects on First Contact made any changes.

Lets assume we know what happens in the 'real' continuum, and Pierre Robau becomes an Admiral.

Lets assume the chief engineer on the Kelvin moves on to help design the Constitution class.

George Kirk lives on to raise his family,which by extension keeps young Jim outta trouble with the law.


Neros interference means the orders Admiral Robau would cut wouldnt exist, at least has he'd ordain.

George Kirks absence indirectly led to some Starfleet cadets, among others likely, going home with more bruises than they left with.

And the Constitution class is 700 odd meters long, and is built on Earth.But if engineer so-and-so had his way hed build ships in orbit.....

And so on, and so forth.We dont think about it often, but if one person you spoke to in your day-to-day life dissapeared it would affect a LOT more than you realize.Its funny how that works.

 

[OneBuckFilms]

A Q&A format explanation for the reasons for certain differences. My creativity here.

- Why is the Kelvin so much larger than any of the TOS ships?

There is nothing in Canon to prevent this, and much of the technology developed in the TOS timeline could have been refinements to what was seen here, resulting in greater efficiencies in design and technology, leading to smaller crews and smaller ships.

With the Romulans showing up early, it is not unreasonable to assume that Engineering resources would be diverted to examine the Kelvin's telemetry data.

- In TOS Continuity, the Enterprise was built in San Francisco Fleet Yards in 2245. Why is she now built at the Riverside Shipyards, Iowa, in 2255?

Due to the Engineering resource reallocation after the Kelvin's destruction, the Constitution Class project was delayed, and finally implemented 10 years later with the latest technology at that time, which was developed slightly differently to the TOS Timeline.

Also, the Riverside Shipyards were built in honor of George Kirk's sacrifice on the Kelvin, and as the newest facility, was the best place to build the Enterprise.

NOTE: The Salt Shaker that Kirk looks at in the Starfleet Bar not far from the Shipyards, just as Pike leaves, is shaped like the USS Kelvin, indicating that this ship may be important in Starfleet History. This is also reflected in the reverence Pike has for George Kirk.