Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
According to Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Star Trek fans often complain these days about continuity issues caused by shows like Discovery and Strange new worldsbut such complaints are not really new. In fact, various plots about Business set off a wave of fan anger regarding continuity changes, and these complaints continued with the release of the Kelvinverse films. Historically, fans have blamed the writers for these problems, but it turns out that all of Star Trek’s biggest continuity problems could have been caused by Captain Picard during the events of First contact.
Star Trek: First Contact did it
as you remember Star Trek: First Contact had continuity concerns built right into its narrative thanks to a plot about the Borg returning to 21st century Earth and destroying the timeline as we know it. Captain Picard followed the Borg into the past and defeated them, while the others in his crew helped Zefram Cochran complete the first ever warp flight at human speed. This flight caught the attention of nearby Vulcans and brought Earth into the wider galaxy, but while the film suggests that Picard completely corrected history, later continuity issues prove that he could have made things worse.
Before we go any further, it is important to focus on some of them Star Trek continuity issues that fans have been focusing on ever since Business began airing in 2001. This show rewired the Vulcan mind into something that only certain Vulcans could do and their society frowned upon, which went against everything we knew about it. The original series. Other continuity issues come from the show’s awkward length of episodes featuring the Ferengi and Borg, two races that seemingly no one in Starfleet had ever heard of before Picard’s misadventures in A new generation.
It’s not Nero’s fault
Later Star Trek reboot movies tried to get around the continuity issues by explaining that this was an alternate universe in which the Romulan Nero traveled back in time and changed history forever. But that still doesn’t explain why Chekhov’s age is different, why Khan has a different ethnicity and healing blood, or even why Sulu is now openly gay. While other changes such as the increased size of the Starfleet ship as a result of Nero’s timey-wimey attack on the Federation can be explained, none of these specific changes can actually be attributed to it, but one theory claims that it could all have been caused unintentionally. by Picard.
Not all timelines will change to Star Trek v Kelvinverse the movies make sense as a result of Nero’s attack, and none of the Enterprise continuity issues make any sense at all. However, some fans have noted that while saving humanity from the Borg, Picard made major changes to the timeline in 2063. It is entirely possible that this explains the apparent continuity changes in Business (which begins in 2151) a Star Trek (2009), which takes place in the year 2255.
Picard And The Butterfly Effect
Obviously, this Star Trek theory isn’t perfect, but it could explain a lot of the continuity changes that are causing viewers grief. Think of it as the butterfly effect: even small changes Picard made in the past can have a big impact on the future. First contact came out five years ago Business and 13 years before the first Kelvinverse film, so it would make some sort of meta sense that we’re now seeing a timeline that has been permanently altered by Picard’s shenanigans, with each new on-screen adventure being influenced by Picard’s earlier actions.
This theory would explain later problems with Star Trek: Discovery continuity that ranged from changes in Klingon appearance to Spock suddenly we have a great Mary Sue sister we’ve never heard of. Interestingly, Strange new worlds implicitly supports this theory with the episode confirming that major details such as Khan’s date of birth have been changed due to the constant interference of time travelers.
It’s one thing to talk about Star Trek theory, but it’s another thing for fans to accept it as the reason for all these big continuity changes. For better or for worse, though, fans have to brace themselves for even bigger changes. Since the next Trek movie will be the original movie they are seemingly repeating First Contact aliens and humanity joining the United Federation of Planets — an event we’ve literally seen on screen before — it looks like Trek continuity will never fully align with decades of established lore.
Oh, good. Maybe the next time Captain Picard goes back in time, he can focus on making sense of his franchise. Or just make it interesting again. Honestly, we’d put up with it!
