STAR TREK

It’s been 50 years since the crew of the USS Enterprise first flew into our homes and introduced us to a possible world of the future. As ‘Star Trek Beyond’ releases nationwide next week, let’s have a quick look at how things have evolved over the years.

J.J. Abrams’ 'Star Trek' films introduced the world of creator Gene Roddenberry to a new generation of moviegoers. The Star Trek universe had been developing since the 1960s, but had stalled in the late 2000s after the latest TV series was poorly received (and outright rejected by many fans). What Abrams did was tread a very fine line between creating something new, and paying homage to what had gone before.

Unlike the new ‘Star Wars’ film, the ‘Star Trek’ reboot films run parallel to the original canon series. ‘Star Wars VII’ pretty much wiped out all the (until now) canon books, comics, and various tie-in stories, which pissed off a lot of fanboys (and girls). A lot of world building took place in novels that fans considered to form part of the accepted Star Wars universe. Abrams managed to keep almost everyone happy by creating a universe parallel to ‘The Original Series’: same (almost) characters, similar setting, new timeline.

So all the events that took place in the Star Trek Universe that Trekkies love - the other series, the books (there are hundreds), the comics, the fan-made films - can all remain canon and stay that way. The reboots don’t affect them, don’t wipe them out, and fans can continue to enjoy them without that nagging feeling of it not really counting any more – all through the magic of parallel universes. Admittedly, the parallel universe trope can be a bit of a copout, but can you imagine the fallout if suddenly all that material, all those characters and events, didn’t “exist” anymore? There’d be riots at conventions!