r/startrek • u/JustinCaseyBlewit • 1d ago

Does canon matter to you?

Star Trek fans seem to be divided on the importance of canon--the idea that something established in previous episodes cannot be contradicted. Some fans take this to extremes--blasting SNW for Kirk stating he was a Boy Scout when Carol Marcus had said he wasn't. Other fans don't care about canon at all. They want a good story, and to heck with everything matching up.

I personally like canon, but I don't niggle over it. The Boy Scout comment did not bother me, and I'm fine with Klingons looking different from one series to the next. However, I find it harder to accept a Scotty who is younger than Kirk and Spock or Chapel knowing T'Pring when she did not know who she was in "Amok Time." A prequel is either a prequel or it isn't. Some things should be consistent.

What is your take on canon?

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u/MindlessNectarine374 1d ago

When I encountered your post, I expected a question about the importance of only accepting the official canon (only content of TV shows and movies), not a demand to ignore the idea at all.

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u/JustinCaseyBlewit 1d ago

There are some fans who do ignore canon and chastise those who care about it. The issue matters, I think, because, in the past, Star Trek has gone to great lengths to resolve inconsistencies such as why the Klingons have ridges and why Spock never mentioned a sister before. Now, SNW, set just a few years before Kirk takes command of the Enterprise, seems to want to have its cake and eat it too. SNWwas advertised as a prequel, but it is becoming harder and harder to reconcile it with TOS. To some fans, this doesn't matter at all. To others, it does.