Was Burnham still alive at the beginning of TNG?

[Unimatrix Q]

If she doesn't die at some point in the show, i don't think it's impossible that she is. McCoy was still living during "Encounter at Farpoint". He was 137 years old at this time.

Could it even be possible that she was still alive during the Dominion War or when Voyager returned?

 

[Tenacity]

Burnham is somewhere in her mid-thirties, which makes her about the same age as McCoy. So sure.

 

[cultcross]

McCoy appears to be something of an aberration. Other evidence of the TOS era suggests human lifespan is about the same as today, give or take, so I'd answer 'possible but unlikely'.

 

[KennyB]

McCoy appears to be something of an aberration. Other evidence of the TOS era suggests human lifespan is about the same as today, give or take, so I'd answer 'possible but unlikely'.

Doubt it...........and really......don't care.

 

[The Wormhole]

McCoy appears to be something of an aberration.

Unless you take the novels into account. In which case, everyone from the TOS era lives on into the TNG era. Even Mr. Adventure from TSFS.

 

[cultcross]

But of course they do. And everyone's an admiral no doubt.

 

[tomswift2002]

Unless you take the novels into account. In which case, everyone from the TOS era lives on into the TNG era. Even Mr. Adventure from TSFS.

Well in the novels, at least Shatner novels, McCoy has had just about everything replaced, and I think Sulu and Chekov have both been considered deceased by the TNG era and quite possibly Uhura, as the last chronological book that I recall Uhura being in was “Catalyst of Sorrows” in 2360, but I don’t recall her appearing after that. And Sulu and Chekov I don’t recall much being mentioned about them past the 2310’s.

 

[Lord Garth]

Let's see if she makes it out of the very end of DSC first. Of course, the cover's blown if an elderly Michael Burnham shows up in the Picard Series.

But, in all seriousness: If she was born in 2226, she might make it to the beginning of TNG if McCoy's anything to go by, but I don't think she'd make it to the end of VOY. She'd be 152 in "Endgame". We haven't seen any humans in Star Trek who made it to 150 (unless they're aided by the Companion like Zephram Cochrane).

In Star Trek, I think 150 for them is like what 100 is for us. So maybe she makes it, but the odds are probably against it. I heard that without illness, if we were kept in perfect health with no wear and tear, and had perfect nutrition, we could live to be 150. If all those things are possible in TNG, then it makes sense that 150 would be the terminal lifespan for Humans since the Federation is against genetic engineering.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I wasn't even thinking that "big." Instead, I've wondered, "Is Burnham still alive in the 2280s when Spock dies?"

 

[Captain Jed R.]

Schrodinger’s Burnham.

 

[LizStargaryen]

Doubt it...........and really......don't care.

I care.

Given the direction the show's going, I think it's more poignant if she isn't alive in the late 2300s. I know most old school fans can't stand the Kelvin timeline, but in the overall Trek universe, Spock's life is in both. My headcanon is that he was so invested in (re)unification in old age because it was a natural step in his lifelong search for identity.

Others have noted that he died, alone, in an alternate timeline that he (in part) created.

For me, a huge part of the Spock character is that he was alone long before that. His parents are dead. So is Sybok. And so is Michael and all of his friends. And then, with the way Kirk goes... yeah, it's heavy.

(Existential loneliness is my jam.)

 

[The Wormhole]

But of course they do. And everyone's an admiral no doubt.

Many of them are, yes.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

If she doesn't die at some point in the show, i don't think it's impossible that she is. McCoy was still living during "Encounter at Farpoint". He was 137 years old at this time.

Could it even be possible that she was still alive during the Dominion War or when Voyager returned?

Start of TNG like McCoy, maybe. The Dominion War started nine years later and Voyager returned 14 years later though, so that might be kind of pushing it, even with women having longer lifespans. Hoshi lived to be 117 according to her bio on the Defiant in In a Mirror Darkly, but she was killed by Kodos the Executioner in 2246, so she may have lived longer normally. We have women who have verifiably lived to be 119 (and one disputed until 122) and men who have lived to be 116 now, so given all the medical advances of the future like replacement organs and such, I think it should be possible.

One thing to consider, is that in the episode Sarek, Picard said he "attended the wedding of Sarek's son as a lieutenant", and previously met Sarek there. Since Sybok was dead before Picard was born, unless Sarek has another son floating around (wait till next series), that means Picard attended Spock's wedding*. So Picard may very well have met Michael Burnham as a young man barring her dying earlier or not attending for some reason (that family has issues).

* In the novel Vulcan's Heart by Josepha Sherman & Susan Shwartz, it was Spock's wedding to Saavik that Picard attended.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

But of course they do. And everyone's an admiral no doubt.

Khan: Admiral Chekov? AD-mee-ral Chekov?! I remember your face when you were just a below-decks ensign!

 

[DaveyNY]

Khan: Admiral Chekov? AD-mee-ral Chekov?! I remember your face when you were just a below-decks ensign!

I always figured that Khan knew the entire crew of the Enterprise because he was given access to the Library Computer while recuperating in the Sickbay.
(which most likely included mugshots/pictures)
He is just extremely good at remembering everything he reads.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

I always figured that Khan knew the entire crew of the Enterprise because he was given access to the Library Computer while recuperating in the Sickbay.
(which most likely included mugshots/pictures)
He is just extremely good at remembering everything he reads.

I had no problem with him recognizing Chekov as someone from the Enterprise, even if we fans didn't ourselves see Chekov as part of the crew until after Khan's episode. If Khan says he was there somewhere, then who am I to doubt him?

Mostly my post was just a (poor attempt?) at a joke about almost everyone from the TOS era eventually becoming an admiral (that is, Chekov wasn't really an admiral in TWoK, and Khan's line really was "Admiral Kirk?...AD-mee-ral Kirk!").

 

[Kane_Steel]

If STD is meant to be a reboot/reinvention/retcon of the Prime timeline, then it's fine.

If they want to somehow awkwardly align Discovery with 60s Trek eventually, then nah. I can't imagine Burnham, Tilly, Owosekun, etc running around in mini-skirts a few years from now, and blending into the aesthetics and tone of 60s Trek.

Just have the Discovery disappear into another dimension by the series end, if they want to somehow transition the universe to 60s Trek and beyond.

They are better off just keeping Discovery as it's own separate thing, without aligning it to TOS and the rest.

 

[Nerys Myk]

If they want to somehow awkwardly align Discovery with 60s Trek eventually, then nah. I can't imagine Burnham, Tilly, Owosekun, etc running around in mini-skirts a few years from now, and blending into the aesthetics and tone of 60s Trek.

Somehow I don't think they're gonna go that deep into the "aesthetics".

 

[DaveyNY]

I don't know, Faux Fur seems to me to be something Stella would wear for Harry.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I suspect as per "Calypso" there will be a time jump involved at some point down the line... she may be "in transit" during all later Trek shows.