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7 things nobody wants to admit about Star Trek

By Camila Domingues

Nov. 2, 2015 – CBS Television Studios announced today it will launch a totally new “Star Trek” television series in January 2017. The brand-new “Star Trek” will introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966. The new series will blast off with a special preview broadcast on the CBS Television Network. The premiere episode and all subsequent first-run episodes will then be available exclusively in the United States on CBS All Access, the Network’s digital subscription video on demand and live streaming service.Pictured: William Shatner as Capt. James T. Kirk in STAR TREK (The Original Series)Photo: ©1966 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved
Nov. 2, 2015 – CBS Television Studios announced today it will launch a totally new “Star Trek” television series in January 2017. The brand-new “Star Trek” will introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966. The new series will blast off with a special preview broadcast on the CBS Television Network. The premiere episode and all subsequent first-run episodes will then be available exclusively in the United States on CBS All Access, the Network’s digital subscription video on demand and live streaming service.Pictured: William Shatner as Capt. James T. Kirk in STAR TREK (The Original Series)Photo: ©1966 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved /
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Pictured: Tara Rosling as T’Rina, Doug Jones as Saru, Sonequa Martin-Green as Burnham, Chelah Horsdal as Rillak and Hiro Kanagawa as Dr. Hirai of the Paramount+ original series STAR TREK: DISCOVERY. Photo Cr: Marni Grossman/Paramount+ © 2021 CBS Interactive. All Rights Reserved. /

4. Easy-peasy time travel

Time travel in Star Trek is usually nothing more than a narrative convenience, giving us intriguing storylines that would otherwise have been unattainable. The ease and frequency with which time travel is used can sometimes overshadow the implications that come with it. Whether it’s simply slingshotting around a star or using a temporal anomaly, the characters in multiple Star Trek series seem to travel through time so casually that could make a physicist scratch his head.

While this has led to some of the most memorable episodes in the entire franchise, it also raises questions about the series’ logic and coherence. Time travel, especially when easily accessible, would deeply change a civilization’s approach to everything from its history and science to its ethics and governance.

This very casual handling of time travel doesn’t just create inconsistencies within the series but also undermines the gravity of what should be a gigantic scientific milestone. Easy access to time travel would allow for the manipulation of historical events, the alteration of timelines, and the introduction of civilization-ending paradoxes. I am no scientific expert, but the absence of any kind of regulatory measures or even a sense of caution when it comes to time travel is a big oversight.

Time travel would be subjected to intense scrutiny, with plenty of ethical debates, and precise controls to prevent any kind of misuse. The Temporal Prime Directive introduced later in the franchise is a step in the right direction towards what time travel would logically require, but its effectiveness is still slightly questionable given the number of incidents that still happen.

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