STAR TREK (2009)

Pages: 143-147

DOI: 10.4324/9780429347917-23

Abstract:

This chapter examines the next regeneration of the Star Trek franchise, considering the ways in which director J.J Abrams, in collaboration with writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, sought to “reboot” the imaginary world for twenty-first-century audiences. Set in a parallel continuity, their movie would neither interfere nor supplant the so-called “Prime” timeline-the home of TV series from TOS to VOY, and the canonical films from TMP to NEM. Instead, Abrams’ ST09 would operate within an alternative diegetic universe that would both protect “the franchise’s vacuum-sealed, force-field protected continuity, " while attempting to reach as a collation audience, a broader demographic that might not be fluent in the baroque language of Star Trek esoterica. The creation of the “Kelvin” timeline meant that producers were free from the constraints of pre-existing continuity to tell new stories that would not impact the “fictional facts” associated with the franchise’s 50-plus year history.

Source: Scopus