Star Trek canon

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The Star Trek canon is the set of all canonical material in the Star Trek universe. It is usually defined as comprising the television series Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, and the motion pictures in the franchise.[1] However, the official Star Trek website acknowledges that this definition is not set in stone, but that the notion of what constitutes canon in Star Trek is fluid, open to interpretation and debate.[1]

The following is a glance at the less-obvious canon elements of Star Trek, as well as some of the in-canon contradictions.

Contents

[edit] TV series

As a rule, all Star Trek TV series that aired are considered canon,[1] However, this policy does not make clear which release version of the various episodes are the canon versions: there are longer and shorter versions of several episodes. For example, in the 1960s during the original run of Star Trek, an hour-long show was actually 51 minutes long, excluding commercials. Modern DVD releases of those episodes are also 51 minutes long. However, as of 2007, an hour-long show on television is only about 42 minutes long. The canonicity of the missing nine minutes of material in modern airings of TOS episodes has never been addressed. Likewise, when special two-hour-long episodes are aired as two one-hour-long episodes in syndication, several minutes of material is often cut to make time for the duplication of the opening and closing credits. The canonicity of this cut material has also never been addressed. Finally, the remastered TOS episodes released in 2006 present several visual differences from the episodes originally aired.[2]

[edit] Star Trek: The Original Series

  • Roddenberry-approved material

Based on the amount of creative control Roddenberry exerted over the first seasons of Star Trek, some people argue that only Roddenberry-approved material should be considered canon.[3] Considering only Roddenberry's material canon would eliminate from canon anything Roddenberry didn't like, as well as everything made after his death, including six movies and three TV series.

However, Roddenberry exerted that control over the first two seasons of The Original Series, only. Also, Roddenberry himself pre-emptively rebuked such an attitude. He had hoped that Star Trek would go on after his death.[4] As Star Trek was constantly improved by each following generation, he expected people to look back upon its humble beginnings as just that, the simple beginnings of something much bigger and better.[5] Roddenberry clearly never intended Star Trek to be limited to his work, but to include all the hopefully superior work of future generations. Therefore, "Roddenberry approved material" only applies in effect to things that would de-canonize Star Trek: the Original Series, and does not prevent future expansions, thereby making the subject of the Original Star Trek clearly canon, however, it still does not answer the questions revolving around Star Trek's season 3:

See, people can easily catch us, and say "well, wait a minute, in 'Balance of Terror', they knew that the Romulans had a cloaking device, and then in 'The Enterprise Incident', they don't know anything about cloaking devices, but they're gonna steal this one because it's obviously just been developed, so how the hell do you explain that?" We can't. There are some things we just can't explain, especially when it comes from the third season. So, yes, third season is canon up to the point of contradiction, or where it's just so bad... you know, we kind of cringe when people ask us, "well, what happened in 'Plato's Stepchildren', and 'And the Children Shall Lead', and 'Spock's Brain', and so on — it's like, please, he wasn't even producing it at that point. But, generally, [canon is] the original series, not really the animated, the first movie to a certain extent, the rest of the films in certain aspects but not in all... I know that it's very difficult to understand. It literally is point by point. I sometimes do not know how he's going to answer a question when I go into his office, I really do not always know, and — and I know it better probably than anybody, what it is that Gene likes and doesn't like.[6]— Richard Arnold, 1991

[edit] Star Trek: The Next Generation

Gene Roddenberry himself was something of a revisionist when it came to canon. People who worked with Roddenberry on Star Trek: the Next Generation remember that he used to handle contradictions between series canon not on a series-by-series basis, nor an episode-by-episode basis, but point by point. If he changed his mind on something, or if a fact in one episode contradicted what he considered to be a more important fact in another episode, he had no problem declaring that specific point non-canon. (According to his various quotes in The Making of Star Trek, Gene was more concerned with the overall message and tone of Star Trek, than the timeline of events between the series, or the technology)

Another thing that makes canon a little confusing. Gene R. also had a habit of fully de-canonizing things. He didn't like the way the animated series turned out, so he proclaimed that it was not canon. He also didn't like a lot of the movies. So he didn't much consider them canon either. And – okay, I'm really going to scare you with this one – after he got TNG going, he... well... he sort of decided that some of The Original Series wasn't canon either. I had a discussion with him once, where I cited a couple things that were very clearly canon in The Original Series, and he told me he didn't think that way anymore, and that he now thought of TNG as canon wherever there was conflict between the two. He admitted it was revisionist thinking, but so be it.[7]— Paula Block, 2005

[edit] Star Trek: the Animated Series

Additionally, David Gerrold, in an interview about Star Trek: The Animated Series, commented on Roddenberry's parsimony and how it originally affected "canon":

Arguments about "canon" are silly. I always felt that Star Trek Animated was part of Star Trek because Gene Roddenberry accepted the paycheck for it and put his name on the credits. And DC Fontana -- and all the other writers involved -- busted their butts to make it the best Star Trek they could. But this whole business of "canon" really originated with Gene's errand boy. Gene liked giving people titles instead of raises, so the errand boy got named "archivist" and apparently it went to his head. Gene handed him the responsibility of answering all fan questions, silly or otherwise, and he apparently let that go to his head.[8]

[edit] Films

As of 2011, all Star Trek films produced are considered canon.[1] However, much like for TV series, this policy fails to note which version of the films is canon. This leaves unknown the canonicity of scenes missing from the theatrical version of a film but included in home releases or director's cuts. Such is the case, for example, of a scene revealing that the character of Peter Preston was the nephew of Scotty in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.[9]

Similar to the issue ofThe Animated Series, Roddenberry is quoted as saying he did not like the films, and "didn't much consider them canon".[7] There exists no definitive list of which films in particular Roddenberry disliked, or what elements in them he did not consider canon, but there is some direct information on what he disliked about certain of the films. Gene Roddenberry jokingly considered elements of Star Trek V to be "apocryphal at best", and particularly disliked the idea that Sarek had fathered a child (Sybok) with a Vulcan before Amanda. Roddenberry made similar statements about elements of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Nevertheless, both films are included in Trek canon.[10] Ralph Winter said they should have recognized the film's plot was too reminiscent of V'ger from Star Trek: The Motion Picture.[11]

[edit] Publications

  • Reference Books

Certain reference books such as The Star Trek Encyclopedia, Star Trek Chronology, TNG Technical Manual DS9 Technical Manual, and 1968's The Making of Star Trek (which is the bible to the original TV series)[12] are considered semi-canon. Unlike the novels and novelizations, these reference manuals have never been explicitly named as non-canon, and the fact that they were officially sanctioned by Desilu and Paramount and given to episode writers as guides serves to give them an aura of credibility. Roddenberry himself considered the Technical Manual as part of the "background" of Star Trek.[13] Meanwhile, Michael Okuda and Rick Sternbach, two art and technical consultants since Star Trek: The Next Generation and the authors of several of the Technical Manuals, considered their work "pretty official".[14] However, they stop short of naming the books canon, leaving the debate open.

The Making of Star Trek is exclusively canon to Star Trek: the Original Series, and possesses some technical data in a less specific, "for writers" format, and is more focused on the overall presentation of data for the viewer. It was intended to be read by the writers of new episodes of Star Trek, and does not contradict any existing information in the series.

Star Trek writer and co-producer Ronald D. Moore dismisses the Technical Manual's material as "speculation", and says that the writing staff did not consider it canon.[15][16] However, Viacom, the parent company of Paramount, seems to believe differently. In a series of posts to the official Star Trek website's forums, Viacom Senior Director Harry Lang left no doubt that he considers the reference books as canon.[17][18]

Some writers like to include elements from popular non-canon or semi-canon works into canon episodes.[19] Such is the case of the first names for Hikaru Sulu and Nyota Uhura, which were first used in the novel "The Entropy Effect" and the reference book "Star Trek II Biographies", respectively. Several concepts that first appeared in the Animated Series have also been used in other Star Trek productions, such as Kirk's middle name, first used in the episode "Bem" before it was used in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. The animated episode "Yesteryear" first introduced The Forge and the city of ShiKahr, which were later included in the Enterprise three-part story that started with "The Forge".[20] However, despite the fact that elements borrowed from the Animated Series are considered canon, the status of the series as a whole remains in a gray, semi-canon area.[21][22][23]

  • Un-televised events (Fictional Novels)

Many of the original novels published by Pocket Books are not considered part of the canon.[1] This was a guideline set early on by Gene Roddenberry, and repeated many times by people who worked with him.

And as long as Gene Roddenberry is involved in it, he is the final word on what is Star Trek. So, for us here – Ron Moore, Jeri Taylor, everybody who works on the show – Gene is the authority. And when he says that the books, and the games, and the comics and everything else, are not gospel, but are only additional Star Trek based on his Star Trek but not part of the actual Star Trek universe that he created... they're just, you know, kinda fun to keep you occupied between episodes and between movies, whatever... but he does not want that to be considered to be sources of information for writers, working on this show, he doesn't want it to be considered part of the canon by anybody working on any other projects.[6]— Richard Arnold, 1991

However, even this rule is not without rare exceptions. Two Voyager novels written by Jeri Taylor (co-creator and then producer of Voyager), Mosaic and Pathways, were written early on in Voyager's run and detailed the background of the show's main characters.[1] These were meant to be canon, and to be used as references by the show's writers when fleshing out the characters. These two novels are sometimes named as exceptions to the "no book is canon" rule.[17] However, as some of the background information mentioned in those books was never referenced in an episode of Voyager, or was contradicted in episodes written after they were published, their status as canon is still open to debate.[1]

  • Novelizations of Episodes and Films

The novelizations of episodes and movies are not considered canon. This is a tradition that goes back to Gene Roddenberry himself. Roddenberry wrote a novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which included many tangents and new material that were not part of the movie, such as revealing that the woman who dies in the transporter accident was Kirk's lover.[24] While this novel filled in many gaps left in the movie, Roddenberry is quoted as saying it should not be considered canon.[25]

  • Other publications

The Star Trek comic books and Star Trek magazines are not considered canon.[1][6]

[edit] Alternate Timelines

All elements from "Alternate Universes" (out of timeline plots) are non-canon in relation to anything but their own canon: they are self-contained unless the events literally "overlap" with "normal-universe" events, and succeed in affecting them.

[edit] Miscellaneous

One final issue comes from text that appears on props, (such as computer displays) but is not legible during the episode except in modern HDTV broadcasts. The transcripts of the text can often be obtained through behind-the-scenes pictures and interviews. This leads to the question of whether material that is in the episodes but cannot be seen clearly should be considered canon. There is no valid answer for all of this extra material. In many cases, this material tends to simply be inside jokes inserted by the production staff.[26] Other miscellaneous information, such as the biographical information seen on a computer display in "In a Mirror, Darkly", has been clearly declared to be semi-canon. [27]

The canonicity of extra features found on home DVD releases, such as deleted scenes, has never been explicitly addressed, though it is likely non-canon.

[edit] Other materials

Nothing that takes place in Star Trek games, the Star Trek: The Experience attraction, Star Trek fan productions or Trekdom is considered canon.[1][6]

[edit] Klingon language

The Klingon language was first conceived by James Doohan for the movie Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and consisted only of a few words. Later, Marc Okrand proceeded to flesh out the sparse vocabulary into a real language, complete with grammar rules and phonology, and went so far as to publish The Klingon Dictionary; the Klingon Language Institute was created soon thereafter.[28] Okrand's Klingon language was used to write the Klingon dialogues heard in several Star Trek movies and episodes.[29] Despite these facts, however, Ronald D. Moore stated "Whether or not [Trek writers] use the language as spelled out in Marc's dictionary is up to the individual writer," and that he "find[s] the dictionary cumbersome and usually find[s] it easier to make [the language] up phonetically."[30]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i What is considered Star Trek "canon"? FAQ entry at the official Star Trek website. URL retrieved 16th May 2011.
  2. ^ Remastering Star Trek: TOS FX, Music Enhanced at the official Star Trek website. URL retrieved 23rd January 2007.
  3. ^ "Gene rewrote virtually every Star Trek script for the first two seasons, often working around the clock, days at a time, to produce scripts that conformed to his view of what Star Trek was and could be. It was not unusual for Gene to be walking out of the studio in the morning as the actors were arriving. As Gene used to say, 'It isn’t Star Trek until I say it’s Star Trek.' This ability to synthesize and improve input from others, adding his own special insights and touches, is best illustrated in the famous opening that set the tone for the series." - David Alexander, Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry, 1994.
  4. ^ "I would hope there are bright young people, growing up all the time, who will bring to [Star Trek] levels and areas that were beyond me, and I don't feel jealous about that at all. [...] It'll go on, without any of us, and get better and better and better, because that's the... that really is the human condition. It's to improve and improve." - Gene Roddenberry, The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next, 1988.
  5. ^ "There's a good chance that when I'm gone, others will come along and do so well that people will say, 'Oh, that Roddenberry. He was never this good.' But I will be pleased with that statement." - Gene Roddenberry, Los Angeles Times TV Times, article "Star Trek's New Frontier", 1993.
  6. ^ a b c d Richard Arnold, Star Trek: The Next Generation research consultant and Star Trek archivist, 1991 interview with Tim Lynch.
  7. ^ a b Paula Block, VCP Senior Director of Licensed Publishing, TrekBBS posts, December 2005.
  8. ^ STAR TREK:THE ANIMATED SERIES interview with David Gerrold
  9. ^ "The "Director's Edition" version of the film is not substantively longer than the original theatrical release, as he pointed out during last week's gala premiere at Paramount. But there were certain short scenes that Meyer felt needed to be restored. A couple of those scenes involve Midshipman Peter Preston in Engineering, with dialog establishing Preston as Scotty's nephew ("my sister's youngest")." Spotlight: Meyer Speaks Proudly of "Khan" article at the official Star Trek website. URL retrieved 16 June 2007.
  10. ^ Okuda, Michael; Denise Okuda (1996). Star Trek Chronology: The History of the Future, revised edition. New York: Pocket Books. vii. ISBN 0-671-53610-9. 
  11. ^ Dillard, 87-91.
  12. ^ Whitfield, Stephen PE; Roddenberry, Gene (1968). The Making of Star Trek. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0345315545. OCLC 23859. 
  13. ^ "Documents such as this Technical Manual help give some background to the vision we work so hard to create on Star Trek. Rick and Mike have obviously had a lot of fun filling in the gaps and trying to find technical 'explanations' for some of our mistakes." - Gene Roddenberry, Introduction to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual
  14. ^ "How 'official' is this stuff? Well, this is the first technical manual done by folks who actually work on Star Trek. It's closely based on source material we've developed in conjunction with our writers and producers in our role as technical consultants for the series. In that sense it can be considered pretty 'official'." - Mike Okuda and Rick Sternbach, Introduction to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual
  15. ^ "You have to remember that things like CD-ROMs and the various "official" manuals put out by Paramount are not done in conjunction with the writing/producing staffs and that the authors are usually simply extrapolating information based on what's actually been seen on screen." - Ronald D. Moore, AOL's "Ask Ron D. Moore" message board, July 1998
  16. ^ "We do use things like the Encyclopedia, the Chronology, the Technical Manual etc. for reference, but unless it was explicitly mentioned on screen, we won't feel bound by anything stated even in those books." - Ronald D. Moore, "Star Trek Continuum" message board posting, September 1998.
  17. ^ a b "Only the reference books (tech manual, encyclopedia, etc...) and two books by Jeri Taylor are considered canon outside the TV show and movies." - Harry Lang, Senior Director of Viacom Consumer Products Interactive division, posts on StarTrek.com forum, January 2005.
  18. ^ "The tech manuals are written by ST production staff, same as the Encyclopedia (Mike Okuda). Since their contents report on what is canon, they are technically canon." - Harry Lang, Senior Director of Viacom Consumer Products Interactive division, posts on StarTrek.com forum, January 2005.
  19. ^ "Do you think the Animated series should be considered canon? Or even more so, IS the Animated Series canon?" "We don't consider it canon, but it's kinda cool to throw in the odd reference here and there." - Ronald D. Moore, AOL's "Ask Ron D. Moore" message board, October 1998.
  20. ^ "The script even owes itself in no small measure to the animated episode "Yesteryear" written by D.C. Fontana — when Spock goes back in time to meet himself as a child — and that is where the term "Forge" is first used. [...] Among other things, the Earth embassy is located in the city of Shi'Khar, which in "Yesteryear" is identified as Spock's hometown." Production Report: "The Forge" Begins Three-Part Vulcan Saga article at the official Star Trek website. URL retrieved 16 June 2007.
  21. ^ The Animated Series Gets Real at the official Star Trek website. URL retrieved 16th June 2008
  22. ^ Canon Fodder: Star Trek: The Animated Series at the official Star Trek website. URL retrieved 5th June 2006
  23. ^ EDITOR'S PICK: The Animated Series, at Last! at the official Star Trek website. URL retrieved 29th November 2006
  24. ^ Roddenberry, Gene (1979). Star Trek: The Motion Picture. New York: Pocket Books. pp. 66–67. ISBN 0-671-83088-0. 
  25. ^ "The novelization that Gene wrote himself, of Star Trek: the Motion Picture, he does not consider canon either, because he also went off on tangents, that he said that it's okay for individual writers to do that, and he certainly had some fun with it himself, filling in parts of the puzzle that he never would've been able to do on film, it would've been a ten-hour movie, but he doesn't want even that used for canon, because otherwise, where do you draw the line? Which books are accepted and which aren't?" - Richard Arnold, Star Trek: The Next Generation research consultant and Star Trek archivist, 1991 interview with Tim Lynch.
  26. ^ http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/inconsistencies/curiosities2.htm
  27. ^ "I wouldn't really consider any of this 'hard canon,' so take it all with a grain of salt. Both bios were slapped together hastily and weren't approved by the exec producers." - Mike Sussman, Enterprise Producer, TrekBBS posts, 30 April 2005.
  28. ^ About the Klingon Language article at the Klingon Language Institute. URL retrieved 5th December 2006.
  29. ^ Marc Okrand short bio at StarTrek.com, the official Star Trek website. URL retrieved 5th December 2006.
  30. ^ [1] Ron D. Moore AOL fan Chat, 1997.

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