Cosmetic Changes

[mada101]

This is something I've been pondering (for the last 7 and a half minutes): do cosmetic changes within a franchise from what has been established previously (for you smart-asses: not counting continuations/prequels set in different timeframes) constitute the 'offending' product as a reboot/retcon?

Specifically in relation to Trek, this is not only a in relation to the upcoming movie, but also with things like the different D7-class depicted in 'Trials and Tribble-ations' or the uniforms in 'Where No Man Has Gone Before'. If the new movie does alter the Enterprise design and the look of the uniforms, but considers the rest of the Trekverse as having 'happened', is it retconning the look of the TOS era?

 

[Nardpuncher]

Kind of like Picard's chair on the bridge. In season one it had flip-up panels on each arm, then I believe season two they were in a fixed position and the chair had a new design.
Did they stop off at a starbase just for that?

 

[sbk1234]

This will come under the category of You Can't Please Everyone, but to me, if it can be explained away plausibly within the continuity of that universe, it's not a reboot. For example, as was said about Picard's chair, it could have been an upgrade at a starbase. The uniform changes from Where No Man Has Gone Before and The Cage could be explained away with a new uniform being issued.

As for the movie, just the fact that there will be different actors as Kirk, Spock, et al, many will consider it non-canon, a reboot, or at least, alternate reality.

 

[Kegek]

I'd say it can count as a retcon, but not a reboot. The Trill were retconned, although how they were written on DS9 differed significantly from the Trill in 'The Host' - it wasn't just a makeup change.

The change of the TMP Klingons was originally intended as a cosmetic retcon, that the Klingons were always like this. But as this was only an implied cosmetic retcon, an explanation was ultimately provided for it.

A more subtle makeup change is the Cardassians, who lost their human ears for a more reptiliod look, and their clunky brown uniforms were replaced by sleek black ones. Flashbacks on DS9 going back to the era of TNG Cardassians and even before showed them in their sharp DS9 glory. For that matter, flashbacks involving Odo showed him in his normal DS9 makeup, not the kind he wore in the pilot and some early episodes. These are clear cosmetic retcons.

Another example is the change of O'Brien's rank from Lieutenant to enlisted. But again, this is a cosmetic retcon backed up by a change of concept, as in the Trill.

A better 'Tribble-ations' example is the Enterprise herself, who does feature some adjustments. One could hypothise away the appearance of the Gr'oth, which, after all, never appeared in TOS and could be thusly explained away.

When I said the Gr'oth never appeared in TOS... well, it did in TOS-R, true. And TOS-R, in canonical terms, is pure cosmetic retcon territory. It's probably the most definitive example.

So, it's ambiguous and sometimes needs some dialogue to back it up, but a cosmetic change can frequently be a retcon.

This is all distinct from more basic changes like, say, the 'Where No Man Has Gone Before' to normal TOS uniforms. Is this a retcon? No. The uniforms changed. That's the explanation offscreen, and for all we know it's the explanation onscreen too. The same applies to the various updates and uniform replacements. When we saw the Enterprise on the big screen in TMP, it was completely overhauled, but there was never any retcon suggesting it had always looked like this - the dialogue was to the contrary. So while some cosmetic changes are retocns, not all are.

 

[Green Shirt]

Nardpuncher said:
Kind of like Picard's chair on the bridge. In season one it had flip-up panels on each arm, then I believe season two they were in a fixed position and the chair had a new design.
Did they stop off at a starbase just for that?

No, they also installed new bridge carpeting, Guinan, and Riker's beard.

 

[JD]

The ones I've been wondering about would be the Andorians and Tellerites, because they've gone through about 3-5 changes each. The Tellerites even changed from appearance to appearance in TOS, and the Andorians have looked different in each era they have appeared.

 

[EEE]

klingongoat said:

Nardpuncher said:
Kind of like Picard's chair on the bridge. In season one it had flip-up panels on each arm, then I believe season two they were in a fixed position and the chair had a new design.
Did they stop off at a starbase just for that?

No, they also installed new bridge carpeting, ..., and Riker's beard.

That's redundant.

 

[Eagle]

klingongoat said:

Nardpuncher said:
Kind of like Picard's chair on the bridge. In season one it had flip-up panels on each arm, then I believe season two they were in a fixed position and the chair had a new design.
Did they stop off at a starbase just for that?

No, they also installed new bridge carpeting, Guinan, and Riker's beard.

Nice one !

 

[Eagle]

I thought those [----] ( ) [----] lighted areas on the front of the dilithium reaction chamber used to flash during TNG season 1 but after that they were just lit, why did they change that ?

Oh yeah, and during TNG season 3 the bridge was lit a lot brighter - less doom and gloom.

According to the TNG tech manual, wasn't the D supposed to get a new warp core or warp core upgrade during season 5 ?

When they did try a new core at some stage in season 6, during the episode with the caked counsellor and the parasites, the core was just the same except for green lights and that flashing thing in front of the hatch - it would've been fun to have seen a new warp core design during that episode.

 

[Admiral2]

mada101 said:
This is something I've been pondering (for the last 7 and a half minutes): do cosmetic changes within a franchise from what has been established previously (for you smart-asses: not counting continuations/prequels set in different timeframes) constitute the 'offending' product as a reboot/retcon?

Nope.

It ain't a reboot until you make fundamental changes to the way the story is told. If you take the little star out of the emblem on Kirk's shirt, it's a cosmetic change. If you make Kirk a woman, it's a reboot, because you have to change not only his backstory but the way he interacts with the other characters throughout the series.