The guy who was Captain of the Enterprise before James T. Kirk. He was played by an actor named Jeffrey Hunter, in the first pilot for Star Trek. The execs didn't like the character, so he was replaced with a character named James Kirk (Shatner) in the second pilot. The transition between the two Captains was never seen, which is part of the timeframe era I believe this new movie covers.
Well, actually, according to the original series continuity (that is, actual episodes aired), Spock was originally on the Enterprise, under Pike, long before Kirk set foot on the ship
Yeah, the original pilot, under Pike's command. This movie covers that, I believe.
(Kirk was stationed on a different ship).
Was he? I guess I could look it up, but I'm lazy so I'll just accept it.
Furthermore, McCoy didn't get assigned to the ship until sometime after Kirk took over as Captain. On the original series there was a different doctor for the first few episodes.
I know there was a "Doctor Piper", which was in the first two episodes (maybe?) of the original series, before DeForrest Kelly was cast as Bones. "Doctor Bryce" was under Pike. Still, nowhere in the show did it literally state that Bones wasn't on the ship and we just didn't see him. Same with Chekhov, he could have been in another department. Sulu was in astrophysics in the second pilot, so he obviously shifted jobs. But, it doesn't matter since...
So, obviously, they're using a different continuity than the original series which, granted, was always loose to begin with.
Bingo!
Eric Bana's character is from the timeframe of Patrick Stewart's Star Trek: The Next Generation. It's time travel. JJ Abrams said this new timeline is an alternate one. The original Shatner-verse still exists. Meh.
