(orchestral strings humming)
(serious intense music)
- Oh, Borg.
- The Vulcan Science Directorate
has determined that time travel is impossible.
- [The Popcast] What if we told you
that the "Star Trek" you've been watching
isn't the "Star Trek" you think it is.
Would you be surprised if we told you
that quite some time ago, "Star Trek" was very quickly
and quietly rebooted and all of the shows
you are watching today
aren't remotely connected to "TOS," "TNG," "Voyager,"
or "Deep Space Nine."
No, not Kurtzman Trek or the Kelvin timeline either.
It's something most people never noticed
but perhaps quite a few people felt.
Yes, we believe "Star Trek" was quietly rebooted
right beneath our noses.
And if the fact that the franchise may have been reset
without anyone noticing isn't startling enough,
then the captain in charge at the time
and the producer responsible
may shock you right to the core.
Captain Picard and Rick Berman,
you got some 'splaining to do.
So you don't wanna miss this episode.
Also, make sure you stay tuned until later in the show
where we are excited to show you why Fishing Clash
will forever change the way you go fishing.
And if you haven't already subscribed to our channel,
please do so now.
And give us a thumbs up if you want more inside knowledge
about your favorite shows.
And make sure you stay tuned to the end
to see how to get this awesome "Star Trek" Zefram Cochrane
graphic design from the amazing artists at mixedtees.com.
So you're probably wondering
how the heck did Jean-Luc Picard reset "Star Trek"?
And Rick Berman,
when was the last time that guy did "Star Trek"?
Of course, Rick Berman is a "Star Trek" legend.
Not only was he the executive producer
of "The Next Generation," "Deep Space Nine,"
"Voyager," "Enterprise," as well as four "Star Trek" movies,
but he was the man who was leading the franchise
when "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry died.
So from 1987 to 2005, Berman served the "Star Trek" universe
and helped make all of the shows most fans hold dear.
If Roddenberry drew the plans
and laid the foundation for "Star Trek,"
Berman is the contractor that built the house it stands on.
And whether this contractor fully realizes it or not,
under his watch, the "Star Trek" team
started building a new house on the lot next door.
- I wasn't leaving.
- [The Popcast] And perhaps no one would've noticed it
if it hadn't been for a Romulan Bird-of-Prey
and that elusive cloaking technology.
But before we break this theory down for you,
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- [The Popcast] To understand why we believe
the franchise was rebooted,
you have to go all the way back to the "TOS" episode,
"Balance of Terror."
This is the first time the Federation comes face to face
with a cloaked Romulan Bird-of-Prey,
with Captain Kirk at the helm of the Enterprise in 2266.
It's obvious this is the first time the Federation
has even come in contact with this type of technology.
Kirk manages to defeat the Romulans and divert war.
And it would seem this defeat signals
to the Romulan Star Empire
that the Federation is still too powerful to attack.
And apparently, the Klingons were also worried
about their enemy, the Federation,
because they started wheeling and dealing with the Romulans.
Two years later, during the "TOS" episode,
"The Enterprise Incident,"
we learned that Romulans are now using Klingon ship designs.
It makes sense that Klingons would share their ship design
with Romulans as they could maneuver as well
as the Federation during that time.
And the Romulans could then share their ships as well.
And 17 years later in 2285,
during the events of "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock,"
we would learn that the Klingons
are now using modified Birds-of-Prey
and they also have the Romulan cloaking technology.
So, what's the problem?
Everything seems to make sense, right?
No canonical problems and the fans are happy.
But then came "Enterprise."
The show about Captain Archer and the crew of the NX-01.
The first human ship capable of warp five,
which takes place more than 100 years before Captain Kirk
and the Federation learned cloaking technology
has been discovered.
So why is it that Romulan Warbirds
have cloaking technology during "Enterprise"?
Well, at least the Klingons
don't have cloaking technology, right? (sighs)
And to make matters worse,
the Romulan ship greatly outclasses the Enterprise
and appears to be the most powerful ship
we've ever seen in "Star Trek."
I mean, why didn't the Romulans just conquer
the Alpha Quadrant then?
Who would've stopped them? - From what I've heard
about these Romulans, they mean business.
We have to find some way to stop them or next time,
they might come back with a thousand of those ships.
- [The Popcast] None of this makes sense.
If you go back to "Balance of Terror,"
Spock explains that a Romulan war with the Federation
occurred more than a hundred years before
and took place in primitive space vehicles.
- Earth believes the Romulans to be warlike.
Cruel. Treacherous.
- [The Popcast] This war would've been right about the time
of the events of "Enterprise."
Perhaps Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock
were clueless about history.
Maybe Spock dreamed the Romulan War.
Perhaps Kirk didn't know the Federation
was almost completely wiped out by a fleet
of cloaked Klingon ships nearly 10 years earlier.
Perhaps Spock forgot that he was serving in Starfleet
during the Klingon War,
and he must have also forgot
his sister basically started it.
Or perhaps the reason none of this makes sense
is because everything that happened during "Enterprise"
is a totally different timeline
from everything we'd seen before.
But how did that happen?
Remember Rick Berman and Captain Picard?
Yep. It's their fault.
It's important to note that Berman receives story credits
on all four of the "Star Trek" movies he made up.
And that includes "First Contact."
When things get screwed up,
the Borg are always involved, aren't they?
It would be just like those pesky Borg
to lead Jean-Luc back in time to 2063,
just in time to save history from assimilation,
help Zefram Cochrane make first contact happen
with the Vulcans, and oh, yeah, reboot the franchise.
While Captain Picard and the crew
are successful stopping the Borg,
Zefram Cochrane, the father of the warp engine,
and his partner, Lily,
learn about the Borg and exactly how dangerous
they are now and in the future.
After the events of "First Contact,"
we learned that Cochrane gave a public speech
about the existence of time traveling cyborgs
from the future that wanted to enslave all life.
As we learn in the "Enterprise" episode, "Regeneration,"
no one would believe Cochrane
and he would recant his story a few years later.
- He was giving a commencement address at Princeton.
He mentioned a group of cybernetic creatures
from the future who tried to stop his first warp flight
and he said they were defeated by a group of humans
who were also from the future.
- [The Popcast] Wait, no one believed Cochrane?
One of the most important human beings
in the history of Earth
and the predecessors to Starfleet
wouldn't have listened to him?
They wouldn't have questioned Lily?
Who received an inspiring speech from Jean-Luc Picard
about the importance of what was about to happen.
She didn't talk about what she saw?
Based on the incredible differences we see in "Enterprise,"
we believe they did.
And it likely wasn't only Earth that took him seriously.
With the Vulcans closely tied into Earth relations,
it's likely they were aware
of what Cochrane was saying as well.
But since they don't believe in time travel during this era,
they wouldn't have acted on it.
But that doesn't mean Vulcans
wouldn't have been talking about it.
And who knows how many Romulan sympathizers
and spies might also hear.
If true, the Romulans would've thrown all of their energy
into developing weapons, ships, and stealth technology,
and perhaps managed to develop the cloaking device
more than 100 years before they had
in the original timeline.
The Klingons would also likely learn
what the Romulans were up to
and double their technological efforts or trade
to get the cloaking technology sometime after the events
of "Enterprise" but before "Discovery."
And remember that war that Spock was talking about
between the Romulans and the Federation?
Well, they must have been too busy building technology
to worry about fighting with the Federation
because there was no Romulan war
eminent during "Enterprise."
And as a result of Cochrane's warning,
the people in charge of what would become Starfleet
would've also put more emphasis on research
and development as well.
Notice how much bigger and more advanced all of the ships
of USS Discovery's timeline are.
Even the Enterprise in "Strange New Worlds"
is much bigger than the Enterprise
in the original "TOS" timeline.
Also, other things that connect
are how similar the uniforms
in "Enterprise" and "Discovery" are to each other.
And what about "Star Trek: Picard"?
The events of "Picard" take place
after the events of "First Contact,"
which means Picard and his crew came back to a future
that they had altered.
Of all the advancements the Romulans make
earlier in this new timeline,
the biggest one would be its impact on the Federation.
And we can see this very clearly
in the first season of "Picard."
It seems as though rather than assimilating Romulans
into Federation life,
the Romulans have instead changed
the Federation's way of thinking.
In "Picard," the Federation values secrecy and hierarchy.
Gone as the positive forward thinking values
of a Federation who embraces new life and new civilization.
The peaceful utopia has been replaced with terrorist attacks
that are covered up by high ranking Starfleet officers.
A head of Starfleet security
who is part of the Romulan Zhat Vash.
Even Seven of Nine is different.
Would the Starfleet we know not accept her
because she was once a Borg?
Synth and synth technology are outright band.
Even when their technology can save organic lives.
Is this the Federation of the original timeline?
- Sheer hubris.
- [The Popcast] It sure doesn't seem so.
And if we are being fair,
the future that Discovery has gone to
is even more bleak and less hopeful.
Perhaps all because Rick Berman sent Jean-Luc Picard
into the past to stop the Borg.
It's always time travel that messes everything up, isn't it?
So what do you think?
Was "Star Trek" rebooted right under our noses?
Do you think this theory explains the changes
and inconsistencies going back to "Enterprise,"
or are we just barking up the wrong tree?
Let's talk about it in the comments below.
Also, don't forget to click on the link
in the description below and give Fishing Clash a try.
We'd like to give a special thanks to Salty-Trekker
for allowing us to adapt this theory that he came up with.
We think it was very clever and explains a lot.
Also, check out this incredible USS Enterprise NX-01
inspired graphic design
from the amazing artists at mixedtees.com.
Get 20% off your purchase by using coupon code: THEPOPCAST.
The link is in the description below.
- I suspect our future is there waiting for us.
(brave orchestral music)