My answer is nope. TOS was the start of it all, and no amount of retconning can take that away.
After all the retcons… were they still great?
- Thread starter F. King Daniel
- Start date
My answer is nope. TOS was the start of it all, and no amount of retconning can take that away.
Agreed. That seems to have been Roddenberry's original view of the series when he was producing it. He described it as "Wagon Train to the Stars." There were many wagon trains that traveled the west. That TV show was about the adventures that one wagon train (out of the many) encountered.
^^^
This. (Especially in the first season)
TOS almost always gave the viewer the impression that the 1701 was WAY out in space - and Star Fleet support was far off (too far to help); OR that the aliens encountered OUTMATCHED the 1701 technologically
In TNG (even in the first season) - Earth and the rest of the Federation were nearby; OR the 1701-D itself outmatched the majority of ships it encountered.
(And there are episodes in both series that contradict the above - but in general - this seemed the meme for both series)
DS9 started out as the farthest most station at the edge of known space; but quickly turned out to be quite near Earth and the Federation (9 days travel time to Earth was once stated as how long it took to get there.)
Didn't watch VOY past "The 37's" as I found the quick abandonment of a great premise (two factions on the same ship with VASTLY different philosophies on how to operate as they try to make it back); in favor of "TNG-lite" and a ship that never suffered significant damage or had issues with re-supply 70K LY from Fed space...
For me - ENT is the only modern (or post TOS series) that came close to captuuring some key elements of the original series. Yes, they were relatively close to Earth most of the time themselves - but as the rest of Star Fleet was using vastly slower warp drives, they were often beyond any hope of help; and were almost ALWAYS outmatched technologically.
But, more to the point - it always bothered me a bit that as the Star Trek franchise aged; the exploits of the TOS crew were considered more 'legendary' or 'beyond the norm'; BUT, during the run of TOS itself (again mostly in the first season) GR and GC MEANT for te 1701 Enterprise to be 'one of many' experiencing the same types of things - and Kirk, while on of teh more decorated Star Fleet captains, was NOT so 'above the norm' as anyone who rose to command one of the original 13 Federaqtion starships was 'the best of the best'.
In the end, while I could accept Kirk as one of teh best Captains, and Spock as one of the best First/Exec. officers - to then say Sulu, Chekov, Scotty, Uhura were also 'the best of the best' (as happened as the franchise aged) just got to be a bit much (IMO).
number6
Vice Admiral
TOS will always be its own thing. I think that what keeps it special is the ten year gap between it and the rest of the franchise. TOS is in its own timespace, whereas everything that followed came out in a continuous stream of series and movies. The original series fans who grew up in the 60s and 70s are the only ones who lived with nothing but the memory of the awesomeness that was TOS, hoping for more while watching the original 79 over and over again. It was that 10 year gap that secured TOS' legendary cult status and that will never change. That is why Star Trek is about Kirk and Spock, not Picard and Data, Sisko and Odo, Janeway and Seven, or Archer and T'Pol.
What are you trying to say? He he...sorry, I couldn't resist. I am, as it happens, a (rather smug) Yankees fan.
No offense intended! I grew up in the Northeast, so I picked the Yankees from my own familiarity!
However, in years since my youth in the Northeast, I have met silly fans who are "equally" smug about teams that have nowheres near the history and accomplishments of the Yankees!
Yes. Because what since followed were just retcons to make themselves look good. And since I don't recognize ENT and ST09 as as canon in regards to TOS or even in the same continuity then they don't take away from what TOS did first within its own continuity and as a television series.
All I know is TOS, TNG, DS9 and even Vger are still shown in reruns where I live. But no Enterprise, haven't for many years now. And the further away we move from 2005 fewer and fewer people will remember it, in anyway other than being the show that killed Star Trek.
Since Enterprise was cancelled after season 4 without resolving the Temporal Cold War and revealing FutureGuy's true identity, maybe the events of Enterprise were erased during the war in an unproduced episode and never actually occurred in the TrekPrime universe with TOS. TOS would still be the cutting edge on time travel and Vulcan/human hybrids boldly going where no man has gone before.
I like the way you think.
What are you trying to say? He he...sorry, I couldn't resist. I am, as it happens, a (rather smug) Yankees fan.
No offense intended! I grew up in the Northeast, so I picked the Yankees from my own familiarity!
However, in years since my youth in the Northeast, I have met silly fans who are "equally" smug about teams that have nowheres near the history and accomplishments of the Yankees!
I'm not surprised. BTW, I was being facetious, of course.
In all honesty, I think the answer to the OP's question depends on whether the viewpoint is "in universe" or as a television viewer looking at TOS in light of the other, newer series. But, I'll stick by my previously stated opinion that the missions of the TOS crew haven't paled.
It's been endlessly rerun in the UK since cancellation, along with every other Trek bar the animated series. It's also available for streaming online. Another Enterprise novel was just released.
FWIW, Enterprise is also the only bit of Trek that "happened" in the new film's continuity.
Tricky question. On the one hand the new shows are IMO far better than the original one except for perhaps VOY, on the other hand they all pay homage to TOS and make the 23rd century appear as the "golden age".
That's why I, despite not being much of TOS fan, would greatly enjoy it if the next series where a 23rd century retro series, perhaps set on a cargo ship, a space station or a colony.
That's why I, despite not being much of TOS fan, would greatly enjoy it if the next series where a 23rd century retro series, perhaps set on a cargo ship, a space station or a colony.
When I firsst saw thwe thread title I though it was going to be about the retcons in TOS!
Cant say I think too much about the other shows when I watch TOS. Probably because I watched it first so its the "litmus test", not the others. My fanboy sense goes off when they contradict TOS, but I ignore it if I'm having a good time.
Cant say I think too much about the other shows when I watch TOS. Probably because I watched it first so its the "litmus test", not the others. My fanboy sense goes off when they contradict TOS, but I ignore it if I'm having a good time.
Similar threads
