Star Trek Continuity Issues Part I: TOS and movies

I started writing this article last year but it soon spiralled out of control, so I had to take a break from it. Given how long it became, I’m releasing it in several parts. Also, I’m not covering Discovery here.

Star Trek is a massive, sprawling franchise that has been with us for over fifty years. In that time, numerous writers, directors and producers have worked on the show, so it’s no wonder that the franchise has accumulated a fair amount of continuity errors and inconsistencies – some accidental, some deliberate.

However, what’s also true is that science-fiction tends to attract the kind of people who spend a lot of time obsessing over details and wanting everything to fit together into a coherent and logical narrative. In fact, as part of my research for this post, I ended up reading a 68-page forum thread on continuity errors in Star Trek, which went down such rabbit holes as the relative merits of Voyager and Enterprise; whether Chekov was on board the NCC-1701 during the episode Space Seed, and even the definition of canon itself. Having emerged from that thread with some inspiration, and some ideas of my own, I now present to you a range of Star Trek continuity errors that we, as fans, have to come up with some really creative explanations just to rationalise them away.

The Great Star Trek Rewatch: Turnabout Intruder

Well, everyone, we’ve made it. After almost three months of daily Star Trek watching, I’ve completed The Original Series. That’s not it for the great rewatch, of course – TNG, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise and even the movies await. But for now, we must concentrate on the TOS finale, which not only is nothing special nor particularly final, but is also perhaps the most sexist and misogynistic Star Trek has ever managed.

The Great Star Trek Rewatch: All Our Yesterdays

Whilst investigating the final hours of a planet about to be swallowed by a nova, Kirk, Spock and McCoy stumble upon a very special kind of library – one which not only records the planet’s history, but lets people travel back to it. Unable to get a clear explanation of this from the library’s curator, Kirk, Spock and McCoy end up separated in different eras of the planet’s past. Can they get back to the present before the nova destroys the library forever?

The Great Star Trek Rewatch: The Savage Curtain

When the Enterprise is hailed by none other than Abraham Lincoln apparently floating in space, it’s obvious that something strange is afoot. Whilst Captain Kirk insists on welcoming Lincoln aboard with full presential honours, Spock sets to work in determining the exact nature of this visitor – who is in fact an emissary from an alien race seeking to understand the concepts of good and evil.

The Great Star Trek Rewatch: The Cloud Minders

Desperate to cure a botanical plague on Merak II, the Enterprise heads to planet Ardana to collect a shipment of zenite – a rare mineral which is the only known cure. On Ardana, the upper class lives serenely in their beautiful cloud city, whilst the worker Troglytes must toil in the mines. But the Troglytes are no longer content with their lot, and as part of their rebellion, they withhold the Enterprise’s zenite, forcing Kirk to intervene in Ardana’s planetary politics.

The Great Star Trek Rewatch: The Way to Eden

When the Enterprise intercepts a stolen spacecraft, Kirk discovers that the crew are a group of space hippies searching for the mythical planet Eden. Since one of the hippies is the son of an alien ambassador, Kirk is forced to take their group seriously, and whether the crew cooperates or not, they are determined to reach Eden, one way or another.

The Great Star Trek Rewatch: Requiem for Methuselah

When the Enterprise crew get infected with deadly Rigellian Fever, it’s a race against time to gather curative ryetalyn from a barren planet. But the seemingly lifeless planet is actually home to Flint, a secretive human who is at first gruff and inhospitable, before suddenly changing his tune and offering Kirk, Spock and McCoy a warm welcome. But just who and what is Flint, and what are his ulterior motives?

The Great Star Trek Rewatch: The Lights of Zetar

En route to the Federation library on Memory Alpha, the Enterprise runs into a mysterious creature travelling at warp speed. The mere sight of the creature is enough to paralyse all of the bridge crew, but it has an especially potent effect on new lieutenant Mira Romaine. Has the creature formed some sort of link with Romaine, or is she just suffering the stress of her first deep space assignment?

The Great Star Trek Rewatch: That Which Survives

When the Enterprise encounters an implausibly young Earthlike planet, Kirk is quick to lead a landing party down to the surface. But as soon as they materialise on the surface, the Enterprise is flung almost a hundred light years away. Whilst the Enterprise attempts to effect repairs and return to the planet, on the surface, Kirk and the others must contend with a mysterious woman who appears able to kill with a touch.

The Great Star Trek Rewatch: The Mark of Gideon

When the Federation opens negotiations with the secretive planet of Gideon, Captain Kirk is the only representative from the Enterprise allowed to beam down. But instead of arriving in the Gideon council chambers as expected, he finds himself aboard an Enterprise devoid of all crew – and in their place, a single, mysterious girl. Just where exactly is Kirk? And can the crew of the real Enterprise track him down?