Strange New Worlds Treats Star Trek Canon More Like Guidelines Than Actual Rules
The makers of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" must, at times, feel stymied. The series is set on the U.S.S. Enterprise about five years prior to the events of the original 1966 "Star Trek" series, meaning that, by necessity, it can only last five years tops. The series also features Spock (Ethan Peck) and Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), so nothing terribly dramatic and life-altering can happen to them that would interrupt their transition to a continuity that has been entrenched in Trekkies' minds for 57 years. Indeed, when this version of the Enterprise first appeared on "Star Trek: Discovery," it was equipped with holographic communication technology which it most certainly did not have in the 1966 series. The writers had to cover up the technological gaffe by having Captain Pike (Anson Mount) insist the holograms be uninstalled. He merely didn't like them.
When it comes to being sticklers for pop culture canon, one can look to Trekkies as the ur-example. Between Trekkies and Whovians, the central nerd notion — that a sci-fi TV series has a larger mythology outside of what was on the screen — was born in earnest. Since then, fans have written a great number of complicated sourcebooks and technical manuals explaining how everything in this fictional universe operated. This is why Trekkies, if you know any, are often quick to point out tiny continuity errors they may spot in their object of obsession.
It seems, however, that the makers of "Strange New Worlds" are (perhaps practically, from an artistic perspective), more concerned with character and with storytelling than they are with the strictures of canon. In the latest issue of SFX Magazine, showrunner Akiva Goldsman talked about his views on continuity, and how he feels free to play a little fast and loose.
Filling in the dark spots
Goldsman pointed out that filling in the pre-Kirk era is what makes working on "Strange New Worlds" so much fun. It's not just an exploration of "Star Trek" lore, but a direct connection to well-known Trek history. Indeed, Captain Pike was seen in the original "Star Trek" pilot, "The Cage," when he was played by Jeffrey Hunter. Reinterpreting the characters in a new TV milieu is, as Goldsman has it, an exciting experience. But, it seems, he knows winkingly that he's breaking a few rules with some of the characters; one can look closely at the extant "Star Trek" timeline and find a few holes. Goldsman foregrounds story, but appreciates some of the boundaries:
"[W]e will body-check canon when we need to, and we have. We've moved some folks around in terms of timelines, we put some folks together who aren't necessarily canonically together at the same time, we pull some things forward because ultimately story wins. But trying to stay within canon is an awfully fun exercise, and leads to solutions that you might not come up with if you didn't have those boundaries."
As the old saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention.
Goldsman is, of course, aware that the entirety of "Strange New Worlds" takes place in between the events of "The Cage" (which has already been addressed on "Star Trek: Discovery"), but before the events of "Where No Man Has Gone Before," the first episode with Kirk (William Shatner). That means the show's writers know where Spock needs to end up, but will have a great deal of fun exploring elsewhere before ending up there.
'We don't really worry about it'
Ultimately, though, Goldsman said:
"We don't really worry about it. [...] But we're thoughtful in the same way that we're thoughtful of Pike's journey and where he has to go and how that works. I don't mean his death, because God knows we've talked about that until we're blue in the face, just where he is canonically in terms of location, who is or isn't on the Enterprise."
But, he knows that he's deliberately put people in each other's paths at times when they may not have already met, and even changed ages by just a few years here and there. Uhura, for instance, according to Geoffrey Mandel's semi-canonical 1980 tome "The U.S.S. Enterprise Officer's Manual," was born in the year 2233. That would make her 25 years old during the first season of "Strange New Worlds," set in 2258. That's a little old for a cadet. Although performer Gooding is 23, so that part lines up. But Goldsman was sensitive to when they colored outside the lines, saying:
"[Y]ou can see ... stuff where we're a little bit already in violation. We've already pulled some folks onto the ship that probably weren't really there — at least we certainly have never heard of Uhura being on Pike's Enterprise. And yet here she is. We are thoughtful, but not slavish."
The new season of "Strange New Worlds" will debut on Paramount+ on June 15, 2023. The "Strange New Worlds" season 2 trailer shows a young Kirk interacting with the crew. Will this mess with some extant timelines? Yes, a little. Does it look fun regardless? You bet.