Star Trek - May 8, 2009

[Watchmen]

I can't do it either, but my wife can. Has there ever been an Asian Vulcan????

 

[silvermoon383]

Yes there has. In the Vulcan trilogy in Season 4 of Enterprise there's an Asian Vulcan among the High Command.

 

[cardero]

Spoiler/Question (Don't read if you haven't seen the movie)


Did anyone notice that when the Kirk, Sulu and the other crewman parachuted to the device that was turning the planet into a black hole that they were wearing different color uniforms and the crewman in the red uniform plummeted to his death? I thought that was a keen reference.

 

[Trey of Diamonds]

Spoiler/Question (Don't read if you haven't seen the movie)


Did anyone notice that when the Kirk, Sulu and the other crewman parachuted to the device that was turning the planet into a black hole that they were wearing different colors and the crewman in the red uniform plummeted to his death? I thought that was a keen reference.

Wow, I didn't put that together, thanks! Your right that was a very nice homage to the Red.

 

[Trey of Diamonds]

I finally saw the movie. Very good, I enjoyed it. Star Trek has always had issues with the timeline and seemed to try and hold on to two different theories. One is that you can travel back and forth along the timeline and make changes that will alter the events that happen along the line. The other is the multiverse theory where multiple versions of the universe are happening all at the same time. Time travel in a multiverse scenario tends to be traveling to a different universe and changes affect that universe and not the timeline the travelers were on. The most famous examples of the multiverse theory happened in the Mirror, Mirror episode of the first series. But there were several other examples. Mirror Universe

The time is a single line theory could be seen in seveal examples as well, notably the Temporal Cold War from Enterprise. Temporal Cold War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the new movie we never learn if we are seeing a Mirrior Universe or if the actual timeline of the standard Star Trek universe has been altered. I suspect we are seeing a Mirror Universe, otherwise all the Star Trek episodes, movies and books will not happen, at least not as they happened originally.

So, what do people think? Is the movie part of a Mirror Universe or has the timeline actually been changed forever?

 

[J Bryson]

So, what do people think? Is the movie part of a Mirror Universe or has the timeline actually been changed forever?

I say that we go with what the writers say.


From an interview with screenwriter Robert Orci on TrekWeb.com:

Given that the most clearly established and highly regarded precedents for time travel in both Star Trek (City on the Edge of Forever, Yesterday's Enterprise, All Good Things, etc.) and Abrams' other work (Lost) are Einsteinian/linear and not quantum mechanical, did you not also feel a particular/extra necessity/obligation to make it crystal clear in the film, and definitively manifest your intent? Because I've seen the film twice, and it pretty clearly indicates a single timeline has been altered and replaced with a new one. There is simply no evidence, information or argument presented within the film itself that the characters are in a parallel timeline/universe instead of a replacement timeline/universe. In my view, your intent wasn't manifested.

Finally, if you can play the "Temporal Prime Directive" card, so can I - and I dare say mine trumps yours. It's Spock Prime's fault the timeline has been altered, so it's clearly his primary responsibility (above everything else) to restore/fix/correct it at any and all cost. Furthermore, if you are going to claim a "Temporal Prime Directive" applies, are you not conceding that the timeline has indeed been altered, and that Spock Prime is not in a parallel universe but rather an altered timeline of his own making? I'm sorry, but you can't have it both ways - even with quantum mechanics. ;-)

BobOrci: For those who care to truly analyze the movie, a parallel reality is clearly expressed both by the dialogue (Uhura) but more importantly by the plot and how the characters behave within it (like the fact that Spock talking to himself doesn't interfere with his own existence, etc...). However, I understand for some it is a distasteful or unintuitive concept, and for those people, the movie works just as well if they think of it as linear. Just like the movie is both a prequel and a sequel, depending on your point of view.

 

[Trey of Diamonds]

I say that we go with what the writers say.


From an interview with screenwriter Robert Orci on TrekWeb.com:

Spectacular, thanks for that link!

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Spoiler/Question (Don't read if you haven't seen the movie)


Did anyone notice that when the Kirk, Sulu and the other crewman parachuted to the device that was turning the planet into a black hole that they were wearing different color uniforms and the crewman in the red uniform plummeted to his death? I thought that was a keen reference.

Absolutely - it was a great reference. I knew he was going to die ahead of time because of exactly this. Although, I just expected him to plummet to his death, not get sucked into the drill ray.

The movie had a lot of great little touches like this.