What's going on with the TOS crew during Discovery? Masterpost.
What’s going on with the TOS crew during Discovery?
The first episode of Discovery takes place in the year 2256, ten years prior
All of the Original Series episodes except for the first pilot takes place during and after the year 2266
The first episode of Discovery takes place in the year 2256, ten years prior
Discovery takes place is three years after the Canon events of the first Original Series pilot and the flashback in the later TOS episode “The Menagerie,” (2253)
During the time of the first Discovery episode:
The Enterprise (NCC 1701) launched around 2245. The Enterprise is 11 years old in Discovery and still very much a new starship.(it looks likes the above picture till the 2260′s when the spikes are removed from the nacelles)*
During the time of the first Discovery episode Christopher Pike is still in command of the USS Enterprise and is finishing up a 5 year exploratory mission.*
Spock is 26 years old and is a lieutenant junior grade serving on the USS Enterprise as its science officer, and second officer, under Captain Pike. It has been 8 years since Spock has spoken with his father Sarek, over a disagreement relating to spock going into starfleet.*
According to the EV comic “cloak and dagger,” close to this time period Spock will reassess his life after an incident with a lost tribe of vulcans . after the incident Spock will choose to undergo a purification ritual, removing what few Human emotions he did have and devoting himself fully to a life of logic and intellect. this would serve to explain why spock is less inhibited on displaying his emotions in the first pilot “The Cage.”*
James T. Kirk is 23 years old.
Kirk is a Lieutenant aboard the USS Republic. He is finishing his last year in a five year officer training regimen through Starfleet Academy. it will be 9 years till Kirk takes command of the Enterprise.*
Nyota Uhura is 17 years old and is more than likely attending classes at Starfleet Academy for advanced phonology and advanced acoustical engineering. Close to canon sources suggest that she is also a rising star in Starfleet Academy’s Chorale Ensemble.*
It will be 10 years till she is a Lieutenant assigned aboard the Enterprise.
Montgomery Scott is 34 years old and has been in starfleet for 14 years. it can be assumed that he is serving in an engineering department of a starship or as an engineering advisor for the Deneva colony.*
It will be 9 years before he is assigned to the Enterprise.
Leonard McCoy is 29 years old.
Unlike the Alternate Universe where Bones goes to Starfleet Academy, the Prime Universe Bones was not initially educated at Starfleet and went to the University of Mississippi from 2245-2253. Bones graduated and received doctorates for medicine in multiple fields in 2253 and after separating from his wife he was commissioned as an officer by starfleet that same year, 3 years before the start of Discovery. In 2256 Bones is on Starbase 7, and is just ending a relationship with Nancy Crator, the woman who will be replaced by a monster in the original series episode “the man trap.”*
Bones will be assigned to the Enterprise in 10 years.
Christine Chapel is 19 years old.
Ms. Chapel is most likely in her first years of studying nursing at Starfleet Medical. It is implied by writers notes and close to canon resources that she had an interest or career in Ballet and/or Law before going into a nursing program.**
It will be ten years before she gets her commission as a nurse on the Enterprise.*
Pavel Chekov is 11 years old
Primary sources don’t have much to draw from when it comes to his life at this particular point in history. Secondary sources suggest that Chekov has had an interest in space exploration for the majority of his formative years, and that close to this point in his childhood Chekhov’s mother passes away, causing a rift between him and his father. Highly intelligent at such a young age, it has been suggested in close to canon sources that he has a developing interest in computer language and code, and may be taking a course in language with Uhura at starfleet academy through an accelerated education program.**
It will be 7 years till he is assigned to the enterprise as a Navigator
Hikaru Sulu is 19 years old
Sulu has just started his second year at starfleet academy. He is a competitive fencer with the academy’s team and just won the previous year’s championship title. He excels in his courses in spatial navigation, and his elective courses in botany have more than likely led to a buildup of plants he’s taking care of in his dormitory as a hobby. **
It will be 9 years till he is assigned to the Enterprise as Helmsman.
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Hi all, thank you for your support with these posts. This is a masterpost of my previous posts that have gotten popular. I plan to create more posts like this in the future. Dax is on my radar so be prepared for that in the coming weeks, and Yeoman Rand after that.
**My primary sources are Memory Alpha the Star Trek Wikia and the Star Trek websites database. When not enough information is present (like my post on Chekov) in primary sources i go to any official production notes and Memory Beta, which is the repository for close-to-canon information from books, comics, games, etc. when it comes to the secondary sources i try to synthesize information that would logically fill in the gaps, and don’t come close to conflicting with canon sources, but i would like to clarify that since some points are from secondary sources they aren’t set in stone, so in my summaries i try to qualify them with “it can be assumed that…” or something to that effect.
