Spoilers Canon, Continuity, and Pike's Accident
- Thread starter CorporalCaptain
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Now, now ... no need to bring in a Starship Killing sentient gas cloud into this discussion
Ninja'd by @Nerys Myk. 
I'm going to reply directly to the OP. I have not read through all the pages.
No, TOS, TAS, Disco and SNW are NOT in the same continuity. In terms of the greater Star Trek universe, each takes place in a similar, but not quite exact, parallel universe and timeline. So does the opening of Star Trek (2009). All of these are distinct parallel universes. Calling TAS that is being nice. This is because the visual and story both vary slightly in ways that are more significant than some others. The 6 original cast movies, TNG, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise and season 3 of Picard tie together to form one mostly harmonious universe. But TAS varies from true to TOS to totally off the wall. Discovery clearly takes a jump from the visual and TOS historical continuity. SNW does as well (with superior writing). Picard Season 3 goes so far that the refit NX-01, a TOS era Constitution Class (USS New Jersey), and the 2nd refit 1701-A and the Excelsior all appear in the season. That is at odds with what we see in Discovery and SNW. So we clearly have two different ships, the Dis/SNW Enterprise and the Cage/WNMHGB/TOS/Trials and Tribbleations/In a Mirror Darkly/Picard Season 3 Constitution Class. Not only that, but more than once Dis/SNW has used the original TOS dimensions (specifically those published by Franz Joseph).
And that isn't even getting into the story differences, which are by far more important. But I am a visual person and those draw my attention more. Others have done better at noting the story differences. But to me they are parallel universes that are following nearly identical timelines with nearly identical people doing nearly identical things. This is something that has been explored in many episodes and is part of the Star Trek larger universe.
On the far side of the galaxy known as Triangulum
Picard ghosts Jenice Manheim in 2342ish...
Sorry, wrong century.
Or they're simply different shows, produced at different times, by different people.
Season 3 was a sequel to Seasons 1 and 2. You can't just ignore them, season 3 has characters and references events from both.
Only once and that was an acknowledged mistake.
Nope, just different artistic visions.
This is my view. If the answer becomes nearly identical parallel timeline events then it's s distinction without a difference. It's attempting to be extremely technically precise and make language square up perfectly in a way that humans do not use other than in highly technical fields.
Entertainment is not one I expect technical language in.
Don't get me wrong, I love the technical side of Star Trek. I've spent a lifetime reading tech manuals, building models, obsessing over the minutiae of details.
But I'm also a realist.
At the end of the day, it's just a TV show. A show that needs to appeal to audiences beyond just the obsessed fans. To expect a modern show to adhere to the almost 60 years of minutiae, is just asking too much. Plus, it handicaps alot of potential stories.
That's why I adore Strange New Worlds. It stays close enough to the so called canon, while also being flexible if it means they can tell a better story.
Exactly so. If it means becoming more flexible then I'm the better for it because the story becomes more enjoyable.
I haven't tried to kill a malevolent cloud creature ONCE since I've been here, and quite frankly, I don't think I get enough credit for that.Now, now ... no need to bring in a Starship Killing sentient gas cloud into this discussion
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Spock: You are assuming that La'an knows how events are predicted to unfold. To the contrary, La'an's very presence has altered the flow of history, beginning with the attack on the Noonien-Singh Institute, culminating in the events of today, thereby creating an entire new chain of incidents that cannot be anticipated by either party.
Uhura: An alternate reality?
Spock: Precisely. Whatever our lives might have been, if the time continuum was disrupted, our destinies have changed.
La'an: ****, Temporal Investigations was right, I shouldn't have told you guys about what happened. Now that I did you're going into existential monologues.
Uhura: An alternate reality?
Spock: Precisely. Whatever our lives might have been, if the time continuum was disrupted, our destinies have changed.
La'an: ****, Temporal Investigations was right, I shouldn't have told you guys about what happened. Now that I did you're going into existential monologues.
And if we consider it a parallel universe reboot then we get the best of both. An untouched original and this glorious new romp through the stars. Strange New Worlds is one of the best series in the franchise because it captures the spirit of the original while still being different and unique.
I'm not. I'm okay if they get a few things wrong (TNG:Relics), but they at least need to try. Trek has several times connected with the past and done it well.
If they wanted to tell a unique new story there was plenty of room in the Trek sandbox without plopping Discovery between The Cage and WNMHGB. If they want to revisit the sandbox of TOS in a new way, it becomes a reboot. Sure they can say they are following the timeline, but those of who know the timeline keep finding the mistakes that they make because they aren't really following the timeline.
I consider Rogue One to be the pinacle of revisiting the past. They nailed every visual detail they could (they did get a couple of minor things wrong). Star Trek has the potential to be just as modern by revisiting the 60's asthetic. So much can be done without redesigning things totally. You just add a layer of detail that could have been missing. A few touches here and there that make the old look pop anew. But the total redesign in light of how much respect was paid to TOS in the past, plus the many noticeable mistakes in story continuity, make considering Disc/SNW a parallel universe following the same basic timeline the most logical conclusion. You don't have to agree. That is how I look at it.
While I'm not a big TNG fan, they didn't get Relics 'wrong' as the episode was written and filmed PRIOR to the feature film Star Trek: Generations <--- Although that fact in itself shows again that Berman and Co. had no issues jettisoning their own TNG canon/continuity when it conflicted with an aspect of a Story they wanted to tell.
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Nope.Spock: You are assuming that La'an knows how events are predicted to unfold. To the contrary, La'an's very presence has altered the flow of history, beginning with the attack on the Noonien-Singh Institute, culminating in the events of today, thereby creating an entire new chain of incidents that cannot be anticipated by either party.
Uhura: An alternate reality?
Spock: Precisely. Whatever our lives might have been, if the time continuum was disrupted, our destinies have changed.
La'an: ****, Temporal Investigations was right, I shouldn't have told you guys about what happened. Now that I did you're going into existential monologues.
The reason modern Star Wars can get away with replicating the 1970s look and feel of ANH is because much of the technology we see in Star Wars is supposed to be, from an in-universe perspective, old and even outdated. Star Trek meanwhile is constantly telling us that what we see is supposed to the peak of advancement, and many Trek shows are set on what's described as the newest most advanced and state of the art ships. You can't replicate a 1960s look, or make something that's supposed to be less advanced than it and expect modern audiences to accept it as the technological peak the same way they will look at a replicated 1970s look and accept it as outdated.
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