Where did all the future tech come from?

[Blamo]

I love TOS but it was one step away from using lava lamps to indicate advanced technology.

It's just one of those things you have to pretend was different than the episode portrayed... Like the galactic barrier, human Klingons (until Enterprise put it's head up it's arse to explain them), Romulans without forehead prosthetics, rubbish looking Gorn, a man being remote controlled by a few buttons on a box (seriously, does McCoy keep those lying around just in case?), no female captains, phasers being called lasers, officers in minis, Romulans having interstellar travel but no warp drive, poor understanding of the immensity of "even" a star system, Khan in the 90's, etc etc etc.

Again, I love TOS, but it was the 60's.

 

[Timo]

No, that was the 1970s, with fans misunderstanding stuff. "No female captains" was never the writer's intent, nor was "Romulans don't know how to warp" or "they didn't know how to make vidiphones in the 22nd century". It's all on par with "Spock doesn't have emotions" or "Spock was the first Vulcan in Starfleet".

And most of that is not outdated in any way. We still have women in miniskirts and Romulans without forehead bumps in the very latest Star Trek movies, and it looks fine.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Tuskin38]

TNG mentioned mutiny, and how it had never happened before (someone fact check me). Nobody saw a Gorn until TOS (Fact check again)

No entire crew had mutinied.

As for the Gorn, he might not know it is a Gorn.
According to 'After Trek' they know that Kirk was first Starfleet officer to encounter a Gorn and this some how doesn't violate that. Lorca didn't encounter the Gorn alive, he got the Skeleton somewhere, secretively perhaps.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Discovery is some kind of super secret black ops/Section 31 ship. Everything that happens in the show is likely to be classified, so meeting the Gorn, Tribbles and all that stuff "first" won't matter.

 

[Tuskin38]

Discovery is some kind of super secret black ops/Section 31 ship. Everything that happens in the show is likely to be classified, so meeting the Gorn, Tribbles and all that stuff "first" won't matter.

Phlox had a Tribble in enterprise, that ship has sailed.

Either way it was never said that Trouble with Tribbles was starfleets first encounter with then. Just the enterprises encounter. They may have been rare outside of their home planet, and we can see why from that episode.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I remember reading somewhere that the in universe explaination for TOS era looking so low tech was that the ships were designed for accessibility, and that all of the higher processing was done underneath with easy use switches etc. It's ropey at best but works for me.

In the Rise of the Federation novels, it's suggested that the "downgrading" of TOS tech was done deliberately so the Romulans couldn't hack it.

Meaning: During the Earth-Romulan War, the Romulans were fond of using a weapon that could take over the controls of enemy ships. TOS tech was designed to be "primitive" so as to be impervious to said attack. (It's also why we eventually got the 'prefix code' as seen in TWOK.)

 

[DigificWriter]

Instead of complaining that DSC should've been made to fit TOS, here's a "radical" suggestion: mentally make TOS fit DSC.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Instead of complaining that DSC should've been made to fit TOS, here's a "radical" suggestion: mentally make TOS fit DSC.

If only there was, I don't know, a trilogy of big budget Star Trek movies where everything was visually upgraded.

 

[marsh8472]

 

[Nyotarules]

In the Rise of the Federation novels, it's suggested that the "downgrading" of TOS tech was done deliberately so the Romulans couldn't hack it.

I remember reading that and wondering why the writer felt the need to give an in universe expo for something that was just down to lapse of time and increase in technology. I think its the same writer that came up with an in universe reason for the lack of diversity in TOS Enterprise.
I prefer to pretend the rest of the non human crew were just off that day and working in other areas of the ship, after all out of 430 crew how many did we see on screen, not that many.

 

[Noname Given]

NX-01 Enterprise had a great bridge set with buttons that managed to look modern, yet still true to TOS. There was no reason for them to go full JJ Reboot with the Disocvery tech, aside from the CBS President wanting it.

Stuff like the walking holograms and whatnot, were just unnecessary. But maybe it will pull in the Star Wars audience.

There was a good reason - there are fans who were introduced to Star Trek via JJ-Trek. They also wanted to cater a bit to them tto (hopefully) rope them into watching the show as well.

 

[cgervasi]

I noticed that tech technology shown in the Star Trek Discovery appears vastly superior to the technology shown in the original series.

I have no problem with things looking more advanced. They're making this show 50 years later, so it will naturally look more advanced.

When in a future series they clearly say something is new, I wish they wouldn't present it in the prequels.

For example, intra-ship beaming was explicitly stated to be risky and experimental in TOS. They never beamed people directly to sickbay until TNG. I wish they hadn't done it in Episode 3 of DIS.

I hope we don't see in holodecks. There was crude holodeck on the animated series. The crew of TNG clearly reacted to the life-like aspect of the holodeck as something new and amazing. We should not see holodecks with life-like characters or where the crew doesn't realize their in a holodeck simulation. If they want to do those episodes, and I'm not sure why they would, they should do it in some future series set after TNG.

 

[Mirror Mirror]

I have no problem with things looking more advanced. They're making this show 50 years later, so it will naturally look more advanced.

When in a future series they clearly say something is new, I wish they wouldn't present it in the prequels.

For example, intra-ship beaming was explicitly stated to be risky and experimental in TOS. They never beamed people directly to sickbay until TNG. I wish they hadn't done it in Episode 3 of DIS.

I hope we don't see in holodecks. There was crude holodeck on the animated series. The crew of TNG clearly reacted to the life-like aspect of the holodeck as something new and amazing. We should not see holodecks with life-like characters or where the crew doesn't realize their in a holodeck simulation. If they want to do those episodes, and I'm not sure why they would, they should do it in some future series set after TNG.

1: The Discovery is 12 years newer than the Enterprise. So while the Enterprise may not be able to pull it off, a new ship with the latest in transporters maybe can. People keep forgetting the enterprise is an old and maybe failed design.

2:I do not think we will see holodecks. But Holodecks may not have been new in TNG, but on a ship they may have been. DS9, which predated the Galaxy class had them, so the tech was not new

 

[Butters]

Isn't a more pertinent question, where did all the future tech go?

We go from minified computers, interactive visual displays, massive HD screens, and the rest to dot matrix printouts on the bridge, microfiche archives and tapes!

What happened to federation electronics that it regressed to the 1950s level. That's the bigger question here.

 

[SG-17]

Because the real world had the misfortune to advance 50 years and the things that impressed people then looks laughable now when depicted as futuristic. My iPad looks better than any computer on TOS.

You can never have enough threads on this very subject.

Boy, if only there was a way to avoid this issue entirely... hmm...

 

[DigificWriter]

Isn't a more pertinent question, where did all the future tech go?

We go from minified computers, interactive visual displays, massive HD screens, and the rest to dot matrix printouts on the bridge, microfiche archives and tapes!

What happened to federation electronics that it regressed to the 1950s level. That's the bigger question here.

If you update TOS in your mind's eye, there's no need to ask "where did the future tech go" because it didn't go anywhere.

 

[Noname Given]

Isn't a more pertinent question, where did all the future tech go?

We go from minified computers, interactive visual displays, massive HD screens, and the rest to dot matrix printouts on the bridge, microfiche archives and tapes!

What happened to federation electronics that it regressed to the 1950s level. That's the bigger question here.

Honestly, while production-wise I know that all the color screens on the 1701 Bridge in the actual TOS TV series are plastic overlay (some with lights rigged behind them) - and all the Flatscren Bridge Monitors (above the Consoles were covered with reflective paper) - If you believe EVERY ONE of the displays has 'touch screen" functionality - and the colors are so clear and sharp because they are really High-Resolution monitors (beyond the resolution we have today) - the 1701 from TOS looks more advanced then the 1701 refit Bridge from the feature films (which use lower res CRT monitors and vector graphics on displays, etc.) Hell, it could even be argued it allows the TOS 1701 quicker access to displayed info then the crew of the U.S.S. Shenzhou or even the U.S.S. Discovery. (The Holo screen tech OTHOH... )
^^^
But my point: It all depends on how much you're willing to put aside HOW the sets were constructed and instead focus on suspending disbelief and understanding it's ALL much more advanvced them we have today in 2017 whether a show/film was made in 1966, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1086, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2014, 2016 or 2017.

 

[mdtauk]

Holograms without solidity are hardly far in our own future - I can see it being quite old hat in 200 years. The only reason they have been sparsely used in other trek shows, is down to production budget.

 

[Noname Given]

Holograms without solidity are hardly far in our own future - I can see it being quite old hat in 200 years. The only reason they have been sparsely used in other trek shows, is down to production budget.

My point was - the TOS 1701 should have had Holographic Comm Tech similar to that of both the Shenzhou and Discovery. In Universe - that it doesn't is 'troublesome'.

 

[XCV330]

Gorns may not have been met but they were at least known about. Archer was offered a drink of some Gorn made beveredge by an Orion trade who said it was from "The Gorn Hedgemony, but the less said about them the better."

In the course of dealing with other worlds its undoubtable that the Boomers and others would hear about all sorts of species out there but probably not encounter them or at least not their governments.