It's at least three continuities...

All this talk about "Prime" and the Abramsverse is pretty ridiculous.

Based on the current state of play, all the studio Star Trek productions fall plausibly into three continuities:

TOSVerse - the original TV series and, more or less, the TOS-based movies;
JJVerse - or whatever you want to call it: four movies set in a rebooted version of the TOSVerse;
TNGVerse - the TV shows produced since Roddenberry revived his version of Star Trek in 1987.

Based on the stated and evident efforts of a lot of writers and artists, beginning with TNG, to maintain as coherent a narrative continuity as possible, all of the modern TV shows can be fit into the TNGVerse without a lot of heartache:

• Enterprise
• Discovery
• The Next Generation
• Deep Space Nine
• Voyager

As someone has noted elsewhere, the main inconsistencies of the modern Trek shows are mostly visual discontinuities rather than narrative resets of one kind or another. Everything about Federation and Klingon and Romulan interactions that's dramatized in the prequel series is reasonably consistent with what's said about history in the 24th century shows, for example.

This way of sorting it all out will spare a lot of folks a lot of anguish and conflict as the post-STD projects set in the 23rd century - the "Kirk era" - inevitably roll out over the coming years. The creatives behind these shows make sufficient effort to keep most of this stuff straight with the modern Trek shows that while Pike Trek or Kirk 2.0 will drive a lot of old-timey trufans batty in their divergence from the original Star Trek, they'll probably work real well as backstory to TNG.

 

I find this more reasonable then making Discovery separate from all of them.

 

It is funny that the one that started it all no longer has a place in the continuity it created.

 

But what about Trials and Tribble-ations? Did the Orb of Time send them into another universe?! Dax and Darvin didn't seem to have a problem with the "visual discontinuities."

 

You just need to imagine it all looks like the Discovery stuff now. Which is a bridge to far for me.

 

Bashir: "Those are supposed to be Klingons?! What the hell happened?!"
Worf: "We don't discuss it with outsiders. For pretty obvious reasons."

 

You have to imagine that Worf looks like a Discovery Klingon as well.

 

If trek ever gets a George Lucas type head honcho then they can do special editions of TOS episodes and movies to make them fit better in TNGverse

 

The Prophets move in mysterious ways.

or

We do not discuss it with outsiders!

I think @Serveaux is right about the three continuities (in that looking at things that way solves a lot of problems). In any case, I would prefer the question you are raising to remain unresolved. If only Worf's beautiful line could have put all questions about Klingon appearance to rest!

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But as far as the three continuities go, it's not all visual (@Serveaux said the main issues are mostly visual). Things like when cloaking devices were first encountered work better if you give up trying to tie TOS into DSC and ENT both. It's like the ship for tying TOS into post-TOS Trek left the harbor in ENT, and it's sinking below the horizon with DSC. Let it go [/Dr. Jones].

Of course, the spore drive could send the DISCO into a TOS look-alike universe, so...?

 

I think that it's best to yield at least some to the fannish reasoning that goes "visual continuity is the less important aspect of canon."

My complaints about the look of things generally are more along the lines of disliking the designs than not feeling they "fit" with much earlier stuff.

 

Very much so, I think.

 

For strict observance of visual continuity, you have to believe there's a reason in-universe why Captain Tracey looks and sounds so much like Dr. Van Gelder. Etc. That way lies madness.

 

The same reason why Carter Pewterschmidt and Dr. Hartman sound similar.

 

I find it even MORE reasonable that it really is all one continuity (as the showrunners have repeatedly stated, but which certain parties seem to take perverse glee in refusing to listen), and any supposed discontinuities that may arise, can be easily explained.

 

Never mind that - why are Chapel and Number One twins?

 

It's a small thing, but it bothered me in "Home Soil" that they didn't immediately think of the Horta. It took me right out of the episode. In universe, the Horta should have been a very well known instance of non-carbon based life. I get it that they didn't want to lean on TOS, but geez.

Also, not needing to reconcile the warp scales completely disappears as an issue, if you just fugget about reconciling.

"Parallels" can even come to the rescue, if you need it to.

Going down this road feels very liberating. I might not want to go back!

 

meh...it's all one big continuity, from my point of view, there is no discrepancy that can't be rationalized with minimum effort.
except maybe parts of the first season of TNG. those episodes were clearly set in a very goofy alternate universe

 

When they finally saw a Romulan, Spock's reaction should have been: "DAD!!"

Also in the first Kelvin movie I was surprised when old Spock recognized Scotty. That dude didn't look anything like the Prime Scotty.

 

And Saavik in ST3 looked nothing like Saavik in ST2. What was up with that?