Star Trek has been rewriting its past en masse since the first episode of Discovery though this phenomena was essentially given birth when the reboot movies were greenlit. This is an era that can best be described as Slop Trek. A time of shallow storytelling that relies on nostalgia and legacy characters/legacy aliens. There is no thought to the impact given of these changes to the past storylines. Previously established character dynamics or implications are often completely upended.
Perhaps a problem with all this purposeful retconning is that it lacks authenticity. It’s difficult to believe that Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) was the secret sister Spock (Leonard Nimoy/Zachary Quinto/Ethan Peck) that inspired him to become the character we know. Though poorly done with Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill), that could be explained away under concepts of Vulcan shame.
Harder to dismiss is that Trelane (William Campbell/Rhys Darby) interacted with humanity before The Squire of Gothos. Or Harry Mudd significantly interacted with Starfleet before we met him on TOS. Or that a Klingon and the genetically engineered Jem’Hadar had a child. While all certainly could have happened as presented it’s difficult to believe they did happen as the people using them now present.
I am certainly bothered by the inclusion of Trelane in Strange New Worlds. In The Squire of Gothos his species was never named so that does allow for some wiggle room to make him a Q but what doesn’t allow for wiggle room is that Trelane needed machinery to have the power level he had. Q do not need equipment.
Retconning the heck out of Star Trek to get eyes changes what it is. With rumors swirling of a TOS based series coming next this all comes off as an attempt to put a different stamp on the universe rather than emulate the one of Roddenberry. That can be seen in inclusions of pop music or the liberal use of profanity by characters now. Both were avoided to let the viewer know they were in the future where humanity was more refined.
What is done now is not the same as perhaps using aliens that have previously shown up before such as the Ferengi or the Klingons or the Breen. This is more to forcibly establish connections. It’s to show people just how Star Trek what they are watching is. Regardless of what they are doing. That’s lazy writing. That’s what hacks do.
Then there is the aforementioned recent reveal of the Jem’Hadar/Klingon hybrid shown in the Star Trek: Starfleet Academy trailer. I have so many questions. Mostly I’m curious if like so much else they picked a random alien(s) out and decided to use it to remind the audience that they are indeed watching from something from Star Trek. Little thought given beyond “This will be cool” like the use of Trelane or the warp nacelles not being connected physically to Discovery.
So much of Star Trek today just has a little thought put into it. There’s no vision of what the universe is. It’s just put in because they think it’s awesome. Not because it’s a good idea and will tell a good story. There’s a difference: one generates a wow factor that’s only good once. The other generates something the audience will revisit again and again because they enjoyed it.
This is not a reinvention of the wheel by Kurtzman and pals. They are trying to make a square rotate as evenly as a wheel with no thought into home well it will work. Such efforts to rewrite the timeline of the Trek universe by editing or undoing the intentions of the earlier creators lack authenticity and creativity while harming the overall fictional world.
Warren Watched A Movie 