Does Star Trek need a single, streamlined canonical continuity?

Should Star Trek take a cue from Star Wars and begin making sure all the various tie-in materials form one, single canon continuity?

From almost the moment Star Trek hit the airwaves, the series expanded beyond just what was seen on the television screen. Even in those early days there were books and comics featuring the characters with adventures not seen on television.

For the most part that ended when the show was cancelled, but when the series made the jump to the big screen things began again in earnest. New novels arrived almost every month with previously unknown adventures of the Enterprise and her crew. Soon new comics hit the stands as well, filling in the gaps between the films.

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Things went to another level when The Next Generation arrived in 1987 and then Deep Space Nine in 1993. Fans were literally overwhelmed with new tie-in stories as well as video and role playing games, all with new bits of information.

Even now, new Discovery novels are hitting store shelves as well as new comics from IDW that cover all the various time periods as well as alternate realities.

So it is time for CBS to get everything organized and create a single, unified Star Trek continuity?

When Lucasfilm was purchased by Disney, one of the first things they did was effectively wipe the slate clean and start fresh. All the previous novels, comics, games and so forth, collectively known as the Expanded Universe, were furthermore called “Star Wars Legends” and the franchise’s continuity was essentially rebooted. While it upset many longtime fans, in retrospect it was probably the best thing to happen to the franchise. It made for a more cohesive universe where everything counted and all the stories fit into a seamless whole.

With the amount of new Star Trek projects on the horizon, each to almost certainly have tie-in novels and comics as well as new games, forming some sort of Star Trek Story Group to keep everything straight wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world. It would ensure that everything tied together and that way there wouldn’t be any question about what is and isn’t canon because it would all be canon.

Sure, decades of novels and comics would be relegated to the “it didn’t happen pile” which would be a shame. Especially considering how after Star Trek: Nemesis, the various novels went from stand alone adventures to more of a shared universe of stories. All the books formed a single narrative that told the story of the Federation in the post-Nemesis era. However, with most of those surely to be contradicted in the new Picard series, it was going to happen anyway.

Some form of Star Trek Story Group could solve a lot of problems before they crop up and keep everything organized and coherent. And wouldn’t it be nice to know the latest Star Trek novel or comic book series is canon without having to ask?

Considering how continuity minded Star Trek fans can be, it might be time for CBS to at least consider it.