[Nate the Great]

PNQ: How much of the premise of Discovery requires its current placement in the timeline?

Not counting cameos from people who happen to have the same names as TOS characters (it's amazing how many Sareks and Harry Mudds there are, aren't there?), of course.

As a prelude to the following, I'm about to compliment Enterprise again, so feel free to mark your calendars before I go back into my groundhog hole for another year.

At least Enterprise talked about issues central to its placement in the timeline. What are the implications of entering the larger universe? What are the implications of being on a long-range mission when most ships you meet will have more advanced technology than yours? How will our laws and directives have to evolve as we learn more about the consequences of our actions? What can go wrong with first contact?

Does Discovery address questions like this that depend on being where it is in the timeline? Does it feel like we're evolving towards a place where it makes sense that Kirk/Spock/etc. can be on their adventures ten years from now? If both DIS and TOS were radio shows and we couldn't see the technology or uniforms, will the events being discussed mesh?

Or are the creators using the good will generated by names like "Sarek" and "Harry Mudd" to get viewers, just like they did with the Kelvinverse?