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Does canon really matter?

I'm tempted to rant that I've read a really cool poem that is Star Trek themed so it should be embraced as Star Trek 'culture'.

Methinks 'Spot' is having fun at our expense..
 
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Discovery is canon as distinct from unlicenced.

Does consistency with previous works in the same canon matter? The canons of certain mythologies and ancient religions have arguably thrived by having pliable continuity and allowing each storyteller to tweak details as they saw fit. As regards Discovery, I think the question will prove to be more or less mute - it looks like it'll be more faithful to TOS than most of the other incarnations have been, visuals aside. But if the makers feel the need to, say, relocate Vulcan by a few hundred parsecs then that's fine by me if it makes for a better Star Trek show.
 
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Based on various comments from producers/writers. It will respect the established canon, so they probably won't have drastic things like earths moon being destroyed or something like changing who the current captain of the enterprise is.

Even the new Klingons still have Kahless and the great houses.

But will it be Kronos or Qo'noS?
 
Based on various comments from producers/writers. It will respect the established canon, so they probably won't have drastic things like earths moon being destroyed or small things like saying we know what the Romulans look like.
Vulcans know what the Romulans look like, meaning the Federation knows what the Romulans look like. Balance of Terror is obsolete.

A classic, and one of my favorite Trek episodes ever, but in terms of canon and continuity, obsolete.
 
Vulcans know what the Romulans look like, meaning the Federation knows what the Romulans look like. Balance of Terror is obsolete.

A classic, and one of my favorite Trek episodes ever, but obsolete.

What Vulcans know what Romulans look like?

Also I edited my post with a different example
 
Ok, first off there's a strong case I've put this in the wrong forum but I picked here over, say, GTD as it seems appropriate given the current unease in certain quarters about the visual and design directions Discovery seems to be taking, not to mention some rather vague concerns about adhering to canon.

Not to put too fine a point on it there seems a lot of fan discontent (not just here I hasten to add) before the show even airs, with such grave concerns as the klingons foreheads and the design of the ship's consoles sitting alongside questions of the show's place in the timeline and the more (in my view) significant and socially relevant issues and political statements the show might raise.

The question I am putting out here is how much significance do people think we should attach to these things? At what point do mistakes or deliberate deviations from the canonical timeline or shifts in the artistic and thematic directions of the show go from being oddities, minor details to mention in passing, to carrying more significance? At what point do they start impacting on the show's validity to the extent they overshadow the show's role as a form of entertainment that asks questions of the viewer?

Canon is important if you want to feel like the show is somehow connected to the other shows. It has no bearing on whether or not the show will be good but if it is their it can enhance the experience by making the universe feel more like a real place with history and detail. If not the experience can also be enhanced by seeing old idea's with a new twist.

Either option is okay. I do think though that canon is in the eye of the beholder. If people feel it fits they will make it fit in their head. If not they will see it as a remake or reboot. What the shows creators think is irrelevant because they have no control over people's opinions.

Jason
 
There is nothing to imply they knew.

The schism was centuries ago, they had not had (known) contact
Kelvin Spock said "Vulcans and Romulans share common ancestry" like it was common knowledge. Doesn't necessarily prove anything, but the idea that no one knows about their kinship comes from the episode which establishes that the Earth-Romulan war was fought with primitive atomic weapons and in primitive space vessels incapable of ship-to-ship visual communication.

ENTERPRISE shits all over this, and the novels try to reaffirm it in a laughably contrived manner.
 
Kelvin Spock said "Vulcans and Romulans share common ancestry" like it was common knowledge. Doesn't necessarily prove anything, but the idea that no one knows about their kinship comes from the episode which establishes that the Earth-Romulan war was fought with primitive atomic weapons and in primitive space vessels incapable of ship-to-ship visual communication.

ENTERPRISE shits all over this, and the novels try to reaffirm it in a laughably contrived manner.

Kelvin timeline, not prime.

Plus that was after Nero revealed himself attacked the Kelvin.

It is canon that very little people know of the connection.
 
It's important to me.

Although in my old age I've come to few Trek canon and continuity as being a largely workable tapestry with some gaping holes that can't be rationalised away.

I would submit that canon and continuity are important to CBS too. I say that because 'world building' is all the rage these days - nobody just makes A Genre Movie. A Genre Movie is made to be sequelised and spun off into a Netflix series, all going well. I can't see why the owners of one of the biggest fictional worlds in the history of entertainment media would suddenly be disinterested in maintaining it.

But then, I know nothing of the media industry and am only speculating. Perhaps also inserting my own biases and preferences into that speculation as well...something that seems to be the trend on this particular forum :borg:
 
What Vulcans know what Romulans look like?

Also I edited my post with a different example
Saavik came this close to being confirmed as half Romulan on screen, and she is generally accepted as such. Her age would have made Balance of Terror obsolete. Although the line confirming this was cut, it wasn't because of the 'canon violation'.
 
Saavik came this close to being confirmed as half Romulan on screen, and she is generally accepted as such. Her age would have made Balance of Terror obsolete. Although the line confirming this was cut, it wasn't because of the 'canon violation'.

I'm sure higher ups and former members of the vulcan's intelligence/security agencies knew, but the average citizen probably didn't.

They probably would have wanted to keep their relationship secret anyways.
 
Lots of people, just look at the literture sub forum. But we know they're not canon.
If one was to be all technical there is a definition of canon and canonical and as entertaining as other variants are if they are not recognized then they are not popularized as such.
 
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