Actually, there was just a lot of downtime between shots of STV. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy spent about 40 years in that brig cell waiting for Scott to break them out. By the time they made it back home they had caught up to the TNG era. That’s why Worf was able to serve as as defense attorney in the trial in STVI. It’s obvious when you think about it.
Actually, there was just a lot of downtime between shots of STV. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy spent about 40 years in that brig cell waiting for Scott to break them out. By the time they made it back home they had caught up to the TNG era. That’s why Worf was able to serve as as defense attorney in the trial in STVI. It’s obvious when you think about it.