One of the intriguing (and dangerous) aspects of setting Star Trek: Discovery only ten years before The Original Series is that all of those TOS characters were actually alive then, and some of them were serving in Star Fleet.
I find it highly unlikely that this will not mean we encounter some TOS crewfolk some time during the run of ST:D. The temptation (a la Enterprise) will be unbearable.
This article goes through the canonical info (assuming ST:D adheres to canon) as to where all these folk were during the ST:D timeframe.
Where Were The TOS Crew During The Events of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’?
The new show will take place 10 years before the events of The Original Series. We take a look at what Kirk and crew were up to in 2256, and whether the Discovery crew might run into our classic heros out on the frontier.
Contempt for continuity has been the trend since Voyager. The sets and costumes for this new series are obviously advanced on those of the original series. The Klingons are completely reworked. It's just cashing in on the franchise without showing any respect for it.
+Travis Bird I've come to appreciate, with time, that slavish adherence to continuity is not necessarily a virtue. The issue of modern design sensibilities vs what FX and budget (and period) could effect in 1966 is a example of that. It would be interesting to see Discovery actually look like TOS-10Y, but I'm not at all confident that it could be economically successful.
+Dave Hill
I disagree with that.
Take a look at Axanar…it dealt with a pre-Kirk era and it looked fantastic and was well written and received.
Its all about promotion and concept.
You can practically sell anything, plus big studios are one dimensional thinkers and go with hard line facts.
JJ's look was sold to younger people, not fans. They pushed that look and rode the wave.
+Tony Lankford Good point on Axanar, though I'd argue that was framed primarily as historic fiction, which has a very different feel to it, and it was marketed (as you suggest) directly to dyed-in-the-wool fans, whereas ST:D is going after a broader audience (stupid streaming channel decision notwithstanding).
I've actually enjoyed the Kelvin timeline reboot movies, at least as a change of pace. I am glad that they are apparently going back to the Prime universe. I don't mind that they are doing so with more contemporary FX and looks to things, though that could also go horribly wrong if they let it.
+Dave Hill
I agree.
Fresh and different is always good if not refreshing.
HAving worked in TV for many years, I can tell you they really dont care about fans per se, money is the deciding factor.
A shame.
Sadly, I do care about continuity. And if they are setting this during a time period where we know what ships, uniforms, weapons, etc looked like, it would be nice if they at least acknowledged that. Axanar looked good, this doesn’t. But that’s not going to be a problem since I’m not going behind the paywall to see it.
@Marc – Me, neither. At some point it will be available for free, and by then I’ll know whether it’s worth watching.