I am using the available material that is present to the audience-the dialogue, the Okudagrams, etc.-and fitting the different pieces together. If a fact is not supported by other facts, I ignore that fact. For this discussion, I am ignoring the fact from "Dr. Bashir, I Presume?" that the Eugenics War occured in the 2170's. This is contradicted by the facts in "Up the Long Ladder" and First Contact that have the human civilization fusing into a single community in the early 22nd century and founding an united Earth in 2150.
I know that the war is supposed to occur in the early 1990's. This fact is not as important as the statement uttered by Spock that the war is the last global war. And the other facts-propulsion of the SS Botany Bay, distance traveled by the SS Botany Bay, other technology of the SS Botany Bay, etc. guide me to the conclusion that the Eugenics War occured in the late 21st century.
And I get the feeling that the discussion could be marching into a battlefield over canonicity vs. non-canonicity, this history vs. that history, etc. I have stated my interpretation of facts as presented by the franchise.
Let me be the first to return to the thread topic.
According to "Trials and Tribbleations", the corridors of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 were designed for mass movement of people. Later, ships had their corridors narrowed as automation replaced the functions of crew members and there ended the need for mass movement of people.
This corridor of the new Enterprise indicates that the older ship doesn't need wide corridors for the crew to 'commute' to and from work and home. This could be an indication that the crew of this ship is smaller in size than the Enterprise of a hundred years later.
[ June 05, 2001: Message edited by: targetemployee ]
posted
Fundamental Law #2: TPTB have a (fairly reasonable, IMHO) habit of avoiding back-references to events that occurred in the Trek universe's past that didn't actually happen in our universe's (recent) past.
When putting together Tech for Enterprise, TPTB will almost certainly be basing it on projections of what we'll have 100/125/150 (choose one) years from today-today and 40/65/110 years from Zef Cochrane and not what would have come about 100/125/150 years from the "actual" Trek canon's rendition of 2001 (artificial gravity and genetic supermen and widespread cryogenics). Given the fact that this is meant to make the show coherent to the 99.9% of the audience who'd rather not have it hit over their heads that the show takes place in any more an alternate universe than the one that, say, The West Wing or Frasier would take place in. (Even the most sceptical of TV watchers are OK with there being a different president in office to the one we have and the terms being offset 2 years, or a show being about a Seattle radio station that doesn't exist. But set up the West Wing with a backstory where the Vietnam War was fought in Libya instead and do a B-story about Bartlett finding a site for a Libyan War Veteran's Memorial and you're only going to make things irritating to the viewing audience.)
So, I personally wouldn't consider Enterprise's failing to acknowledge the fact that artificial gravity could be a 110/135/160 year-old technology high treason to the laws of canon. This is a universe, after all, where there can be cracks in event horizons (*cough* Parallax) and characters can suddenly change their appearance to look like a whole other person. (*cough* ST III)
-------------------- "I was surprised by the matter-of-factness of Kafka's narration, and the subtle humor present as a result." (Sizer 2005)
"But set up the West Wing with a backstory where the Vietnam War was fought in Libya instead and do a B-story about Bartlett finding a site for a Libyan War Veteran's Memorial and you're only going to make things irritating to the viewing audience."
But, what if "The West Wing" were a spin-off from an older show (called, say, "Libya Trek", or something), which established that Libyan War. But then "The West Wing" comes along and decides to change it to the more reality-accurate Vietnam War. Wouldn't you expect people who watched and enjoyed "Libya Trek" to be a bit miffed when "The West Wing" makes references back to "Libya Trek" events, but places them in Vietnam instead of Libya?
posted
Well, Tim, there's a difference between the entire prequel show having been expressly about the Libyan War and the prequel show having a single episode in which it was brought up. If TOS had concentrated heavily on the events of the Eugenics Wars and TNG had done a season-long arc about spaceflight in the nineties then it might be justifiable to take them into account when establishing tech levels in Enterprise. But it was single lines in single episodes that established the Botany Bay and Birdseye's age. (Even TWOK didn't mention the Eugenics Wars or dates at all, just the fact that Khan was a genetic superman from a previous time.) I can't say your counterexample stands up.
-------------------- "I was surprised by the matter-of-factness of Kafka's narration, and the subtle humor present as a result." (Sizer 2005)
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