Star Trek II, III, IV movie Timeline question...

[Tallguy]

It's funny to see people take issue with the Space Seed date because it's the one date that actually happened. It's 15 years between Space Seed and Wrath of Khan. Like actually 15 years between the show and the movie (give or take a few months).

It might be one of the first "real" time lapses in Star Trek. (Are there any "this happened last year" in TOS? There are a few in TNG.)

2.5 years between Star Trek and Star Trek: The Motion Picture? Made up. (It's at least 8.) 12 years between The Cage and The Menagerie? Made up. (It was 2.) The Enterprise is 20 years old? Made up AND doesn't make sense. (I mean... I guess the 11 foot model was about 20 at that point.)

Is the problems some people are having with it coming from a movie that wouldn't have been made for another twelve years? Surely that's THEIR problem? Don't wreck Wrath of Khan just because Moore and Braga screwed up their movie and then the Okudas tried to patch it up.

 

[Tomalak]

I'd guess it was the other way around - the Okudas probably suggested the "this was nine years ago" line as a suitable period for Kirk to have a temporary leave of absence, or however you view the Antonia incident.

Thematically it feels like Antonia *must* happen pre-TWOK, because Kirk probably wonders if he had never left her and ended up back on the Enterprise, would the chain of events that lead to the deaths of Spock, David and countless others still have occurred? I can imagine him fixating on it as a source of regret.

But it's not an issue anyway. Leave TWOK in 2285 and Space Seed takes place in 2269 or 2270 since it's not fixed to anything otherwise. "Fifteen years", "nine years", "2283" - it all makes sense.

 

[clownprince23]

Well the last post was eight years ago until someone revived it. Normally the mods jump to close necro threads.

I was rounding.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

It's funny to see people take issue with the Space Seed date because it's the one date that actually happened. It's 15 years between Space Seed and Wrath of Khan. Like actually 15 years between the show and the movie (give or take a few months).

It might be one of the first "real" time lapses in Star Trek. (Are there any "this happened last year" in TOS? There are a few in TNG.)

The closest to that I can think of is Kang's line of dialogue "For three years, the Federation and the Klingon Empire have been at peace. A treaty we have honored to the letter," from "Day of the Dove." That implies that it's been three years since "Errand of Mercy" in the first season.

Kirk says the Enterprise has been to the energy barrier at the rim of the galaxy before in "By Any Other Name" and Sulu mentions the Horta in some third season episode or another, but I don't recall either one of those episodes mentioning a timeframe.

Is the problems some people are having with it coming from a movie that wouldn't have been made for another twelve years? Surely that's THEIR problem? Don't wreck Wrath of Khan just because Moore and Braga screwed up their movie and then the Okudas tried to patch it up.

Yep. One of the multitude of reasons I dislike GEN is because it screwed up the chronology of Kirk in the movie era. That's why in my headcanon Kirk's cabin fantasy with Antonia is no more real than Picard's Dickensian Christmas fantasy.

 

[Qonundrum]

Most normal people don't quote "X years ago" accurately in real life, so why expect it from fictional characters?

But aren't fictional characters are also in their own universe, not ours, for which they might or might not act like us, but close enough to be sufficiently relatable in one form or another, as well as being sufficiently different to differentiate - especially if the movie or show is set in a future time period? If a show made in 2024 is using 2024 slang on a regular basis, can audiences hold suspension of disbelief while watching someone in 300 years time act just like them? Now imagine watching Spock say "groovy", or Kirk telling the guest actress "Wanna be my lady and hang loose" and/or "Can you dig it?" thrice or more per episode and wince. It's arguably a little too pandering. Well, prolly... or probably, is there a standardized term of linguistic communication standards? Talk about flying high on the freak flag...