Star Trek: 10 Behind The Scenes Decisions We Can't Forgive

The biggest sin of the modern era of Star Trek is that the producers continue to be beholden to more than 50 years of continuity because setting their new shows in the Prime Universe sounds good.

One of the successes of JJ Abrams' 2009 Star Trek reboot was the clever creation of a new universe that also maintained the old canon. Utilized for only three movies, Abrams' Kelvin Timeline allowed previous franchise installments to remain canon, while creating a new place to tell fresh stories. Unfortunately, diehard fans were less than thrilled with Abrams' take and a stigma was attached to the Kelvin Timeline – it wasn't really mainline Star Trek, just a convoluted excuse to make popcorn movies.

While Star Trek: Discovery creator Bryan Fuller toyed with the idea of setting his show in the Kelvin Timeline, the decision was made to place it firmly in the Prime Universe and then proceed to tell two seasons of stories that either explicitly or implicitly violated the continuity of that universe. By the second season finale, the producers attempted to reconcile this discontinuity by having the characters ordered, by pain of death, to never discuss the very existence of the titular ship. Rather than utilizing the blank canvas of the Kelvin Timeline or even creating a whole new setting, the producers instead decided to perform writer's room gymnastics to make Star Trek: Discovery fit the Prime Universe.

Star Trek: Discovery's third season will see the ship and crew sent to the distant future where the storytelling potential is limitless, but this could've been achieved from day one. The producers used the buzzword of the Prime Universe as a meaningless carrot to get old school fans back in the audience, sacrificing the continuity those old school fans cherished and placing themselves in something that neither Prime or Kelvin Timeline Kirk would ever accept: A no-win scenario.