So back to your example - it might be better put that ST:XI is
another interpretation/continuity/universe of Star Trek (like all the different series, movies, novels, comics, etc) and Jim Kirk's life is upended when a guy named Nero comes back in time to take vengeance on Spock from Kirk's future.
And if that's how someone wants to interpret it, fine. But that's not what the writers intended. They intended the beginning of the movie, and where old Spock came from, as the
same universe we saw when watching TOS.
But what is this "same universe when watching TOS"? Jim Kirk never spoke about his parents in TOS and only of his brother George Sam Kirk in two episodes. The only thing we can tell from old Spock was the future he came from which may or may not be the same as that of TOS or even TNG or whatever. Old Spock couldn't even tell that cadet Kirk wasn't at the right age or appearance to be Captain when they meet. We can only say old Spock came from Star Trek's future and traveled into the past but which continuity that's anyone's guess. Since the writers left that vague, we could also consider that is what they intended as well.
They weren't quibbling about each and every instance where time travel in TOS potentially caused things to change, because frankly, nobody would care about such things except for obsessive-compulsive fans such as you and I
Well we are in the Trek Tech forum
From the beginning to end it was already an alternate universe just from a production standpoint with only the name and some generic stuff that connect back to generic Star Trek, IMHO
And again, I'll ask why they needed a time-traveling Romulan from the 24th century to come back and change things if it was already an alternate universe from the one we saw in TOS? What was the point of Nero and old Spock being from the future? If it was a complete reboot, there would have been no need for time travel at all.
I thought the obvious answer is to restart the story in the 23rd century. After all, the last ST film was in Picard's time and the audience needed a reference point indicating we've reset it back to the past.
(I'm really not trying to argue this point here. You're welcome to think what you want. I just don't see the logic in calling it another universe just because some people can't accept the Kelvin being so big when there's zero canonical evidence of how big ships were in 2230.)
Big ships in 2230 has nothing to do with the logic of calling it another universe (I'm rather neutral on that). It's another universe simply because new people are making it, fresh ideas and all. I don't see the logic of calling the pre-Nero part to come from a
specific universe when not enough detail is present other than the generic names and ideas. It's like reading a story about future Superman without knowing how Lex Luthor became his nemesis, etc. Without knowing more details, you can't say which continuity it is or claim what the past should be like. Sure, Supes came from Krypton but his upbringing and enemies have different origins depending on the continuity (or "Earth version"). Ironically, in Superman there is an "Earth-Prime"
The other thing to also consider is canonical evidence. If by invoking canon to prove that large ships in 2230 can exist, then you've opened the door to when
did Kirk die in the unaltered future that Nero was from and also where Kirk was born. As in "The Voyage Home", he's from Iowa but works in outer space. Now in the post-Nero universe, he's from outer space too
Was the Kelvin just minutes away from Earth for Jim Kirk to be born in Iowa when they were diverted? And consequently, back to the size of ships in 2230, which continuity of 2230?
