Possible error in Star Trek

[RyanKCR]

I apologize if this has been brought up before. If it has what was decided?

The delta sheild as the insignia for Starfleet was not done until Star Trek II the Wrath of Khan. Each ship and starbase had its own insignia. The arrowhead was the Starfleet insignia. This movie has it for Starfleet long before it was supposed to be.

Am I correct?

 

[Alrik]

I'd say not so much and error, but a change. Remember, the timeline began to change when the Kelvin was destroyed. Perhaps the Delta was unique to the Kelvin as it's ensignia, but was adopted as the fleetwide insignia early in this timeline to honor the Kelvin and the heroics of Captain Robau and George Kirk.

 

[Santa Kang]

Thats was the theory but in practice no. Some episodes featured non Enterprise personnel wearing the delta and so did TMP.

Not assigned to the Enterprise.

Not assigned to the Enterprise


My guess is that the Kelvin's emblem (the delta) was adopted fleetwide as a tribute to her sacrifice. Prior to that is was used by the fleet the Kelvin was assigned to. In the prime universe anyone sporting that emblem was part of the same fleet as the Enterprise.

 

[Johnnymuffintop]

I still think that after this United Earth insignia:
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/startrek/images/4/43/United_Earth_Starfleet_Emblem.gif

[Hotlinked image converted to link. Images posted inline should be hosted on web space belonging to you. - M']

Starfleet simply adopted the delta.

 

[Bones2]

I won a caption competition off the back of this.

 

[I am not Spock]

I still have a theory that the delta insignia could have been designed as a tribute to either Archer or Pike (the arrowhead).

 

[Bones2]

Tribute to the Kelvin if anything, in the new timeline at least. Didn't they have the same assignment patch?

 

[Sector 7]

I agree with the theory that it is a tribute to the USS Kelvin. In the novelization, the Iowa shipyard is a tribute to George Kirk, Sr. The Kelvin's sacrifice appears to be a BIG deal to people in our altered timeline.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Not assigned to the Enterprise

The publicity material for TMP mentioned how the delta shield had been adopted beyond the one ship to acknowledge Kirk's return from the 5YM with his ship and crew "relatively intact". However, we didn't see another full crew till Reliant in ST II.

 

[ROBE]

In the original Trek series different ships had dfferent badges to the Enterprise while Starbase members wore a flowery sun like symbol. However sometimes you saw people from other ships wear the delta symbol. This can be explained as costume error and/or ships belonging to the same fleet wore the same symbol e.g 12 symbols for ships of each fleet. Starfleet later decided just to use the delta symbol because of the Enterprise fame. In the new universe they adopted the delta symbol earlier becuse of the Kelvin. In the real world the British Royal Navy used to use three flags based on what division of the fleet a ship belonged to, Red Ensign, White Ensign and Blue Ensign. Later all Royal Navy ships just flew the White Ensign.

 

[Franklin]

Even though it's an official off-screen explanation, it's a pretty damned big tribute to Kirk to adopt the Enterprise arrowhead as the symbol for all of Starfleet. Too big for me to swallow, anyway. Such an explanation also adds fuel to the fire that James T. Kirk was the only real heroic captain out there. That is something Abrams deliberately tried to dispell in this movie with Robau and Pike.

As far as it being a tirbute to the Kelvin in the new universe goes, that makes no sense, either. I don't even like the idea of a shipyard being built in Iowa to honor George Kirk. Maybe renamed for him, since it's also his home town. But built there to honor him? Yes, he performed a heroic act, but come on.

To me, the best explanation for all this is to step back and adopt the MST3000 rule for a second (it's just a show) and allow for the change without explanation. Chalk it up to one more continuity error and move on.

 

[Sector 7]

Chalk it up to one more continuity error and move on.

Continuity errors in the Star Trek franchise??! WTF?! Say it ain't so!! There have always been such errors in canon for over 40 years. This is just further proof that this movie really is Star Trek.
I have no problem with the shipyard being named, or built, to honor George Kirk, Sr. as there are so many real life precedents in existence. If they can rename an airport after Ronald Reagan and build ships and submarines named for politicians, then it is no stretch of the imagination to name a shipyard after a hero.

 

[barnaclelapse]

Even though it's an official off-screen explanation, it's a pretty damned big tribute to Kirk to adopt the Enterprise arrowhead as the symbol for all of Starfleet. Too big for me to swallow, anyway. Such an explanation also adds fuel to the fire that James T. Kirk was the only real heroic captain out there. That is something Abrams deliberately tried to dispell in this movie with Robau and Pike.

As far as it being a tirbute to the Kelvin in the new universe goes, that makes no sense, either. I don't even like the idea of a shipyard being built in Iowa to honor George Kirk. Maybe renamed for him, since it's also his home town. But built there to honor him? Yes, he performed a heroic act, but come on.

To me, the best explanation for all this is to step back and adopt the MST3000 rule for a second (it's just a show) and allow for the change without explanation. Chalk it up to one more continuity error and move on.

Yeah, I'm not sure I buy that either.

 

[T'Girl]

Decker was a commodore with a different symbol, admirals had their own symbol, the crew of the cargo-merchant ship from Charlie X (non-starfleet ?) had their own too. ALL starfleet ships from the begining of TOS used the arrow head design.

 

[Commander Dan]

In TMP, didn't the Epsilon IX personnel have a different emblem?

 

[shadowedgalaxy]

to acknowledge Kirk's return from the 5YM with his ship and crew "relatively intact".

"Relatively intact"?

 

[M'Sharak]

In TMP, didn't the Epsilon IX personnel have a different emblem?

They did -- apparently, the basic design was specific to a Starfleet Communications group within the sciences division. The logo would be re-used in slightly modified form on several later occasions:

This Starfleet Communications logo would later be modified to represent the Wormhole Relay Station logo in DS9: "Destiny", and the AR-558 Subspace Relay logo in DS9: "The Siege of AR-558". It would later be modified to represent the Pathfinder Project logo in VOY: "Author, Author", et al.

 

[Mirren Audax]

What about the United Earth emblem on the back of Friendship One, launched by UESPA in 2067? That was a recognisable 'Starfleet' arrowhead with the UN flag set within.

 

[Unionized Elf]

ALL starfleet ships from the begining of TOS used the arrow head design.

Actually, no we saw several different chest insignia in TOS, for different starships. Like the Constellation and Exeter. Hell, when Enterprise showed us the 23rd century Defiant, they even created a new chest insignia for it

 

[Therin of Andor]

In TMP, didn't the Epsilon IX personnel have a different emblem?

Yes, a space station emblem, in the same six colour divisions as the Enterprise insignia patch.

From my TMP Epsilon 9 costume, won via "It's a Wrap!"