Gene Roddenberry's "Starship"...

Does anyone have any info or links to info/materials regarding Gene Roddenberry's proposal for a show called Starship? The well known image of a ringship design spacecraft is often linked with the idea and that Matt Jefferies designed it for Roddenberry's proposal.

I've never been able to learn more about this idea and I'd like to know what's out there if anything.

 

Essentially, look at "Andromeda"... That's what finally came from the original, and as I understand it unfinished, concept for Starship.

I know, Andromeda was a bit of a disapointment, but..

 

Gene Roddenberry's Starship--"the adventures of a young human scientist and a brash alien commander who must work together on the Starship ECO-1, despite their personal differences, to combat intergalactic ecological disasters."
http://www.trektoday.com/news/180900_04.shtml

Andromeda was a combination of some aspects of Starship, Genesis II, and Planet Earth (namely with the central character of Dylan Hunt), IIRC.

 

I really disliked Andromeda...intensely.

 

I really liked Andromeda...a lot.

At the time, I was grateful for a show that wasn't trying to be so serious and (more importantly for me), wasn't Star Trek...

 

I liked the first year of Andromeda a lot, but it went downhill quickly as the guy who actually created it - Robert E. Wolfe - lost control.

Andromeda was not really something substantially retrieved from Roddenberry's notes. It was a few of Roddenberry's character names and ideas grafted onto a series that someone wanted to create. I doubt that the influence actually went far beyond the names "Dylan Hunt," "Harper" and the idea of the main character sleeping through several centuries.

 

"Andromeda" was objectively a terrible show.

 

Objectivity does not enter into such things in any way, shape or form.

What you meant to say was that you didn't like it.

 

Other than the very last season, I loved the show. I loved it when they poked fun at Hercules. I liked how the show didn't exclusively revolve around the one ship. The only thing I wish is that they could have ended it better.

 

Speaking for yourself. of course.

This, I really enjoyed the (multiple) character of Rommie. While not exactly a brand new concept, they put a new interpretation on the idea of a living sapient warship.

 

The plot of Starship originally had some similarities with Andromeda, didn't it?




Majel Roddenberry: The same similarity as with Star Trek! We stole parts of Starship deliberately for Andromeda. We stole names, we stole titles. They were all Gene's, so it didn't matter. We'll be doing that probably until my deathbed. If something works with a particular story, let's use it here, and save this other element for another place.
There is no story to tell you yet, not on Starship. I could go into what we had before, but it's not going to be the same, it's not even going to be similar as a matter of fact. The original idea was about a bunch of scientists, but that was when they were people -- they're no longer people! We always end up with a captain and a crew, there will be in this case. But remember this: we only have one or two humanoids in it. We've got a bug for a lead! I really can't tell you a Starship plot summary because that particular part of it is changing daily. The last time I went to a meeting, Stan said, this is not really going to work with what we have in mind for over here, so the story hasn't been turned in yet.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1998_Oct_20/ai_53099756/

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BW Entertainment Wire)--Oct. 20, 1998--Vancouver-based Mainframe Entertainment, Inc. (TSE:MFE), a leading producer of CGI animation for television series, interactive media and motion simulation rides, has acquired the rights to Gene Roddenberry's Starship(TM). Based upon an original concept by the renowned creator of Star Trek, the property will initially be produced as a 3D CGI-animated television series, with Mainframe retaining ancillary rights to exploit the series in all media.
The treatment for Starship was developed by Majel Barrett Roddenberry and John Semper and was written by Semper. Both will serve as the series' executive producers as will Mainframe's CEO and Vice Chairman, Christopher Brough and President Ian Pearson.

http://www.trekplace.com/article13.html

 

Part of season two was still good two since Wolfe didn't leave till half-way through.

 

I liked Andromeda up until the last season where they were no longer in space and it seemed like everyone turned on each other.

 

The budget was cut during the last season. Seemed like they wanted to get a certain number of episodes before calling it a wrap like they did the other Roddenberry-inspired show, Earth: Final Conflict (it and Andromeda both ended after five seasons and 110 episodes)...

 

Now that the Enterprise ringship has been featured in a recent movie again - http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/USS_Enterprise_(XCV_330) - it starts to look like it's been (ab)used as some kind of "canon glue" to bind the known Star Trek universe to both of the “alternate” ones.

FaltorPan wrote a research article on the ship whose title allusions (“Spaceship of the Rings”) were almost prophetic considering the lore “One Ring(ship) to rule them all, One Ring(ship) to find them, One Ring(ship) to bring them all and in the darkness bind them”...


It appears the basic design goes back all the way to the TOS pre-production stage once you look at the corresponding Jefferies sketches from that era (thanks to Trekcore’s special gallery!):

http://www.trekcore.com/specials/albums/sketches/STTOS_Sketch_EnterpriseConcept15.jpg

http://www.trekcore.com/specials/albums/sketches/STTOS_Sketch_EnterpriseConcept16.jpg

Here is one where his “Jefferies shuttle” is attached to the bow of the primary hull (while his shuttle looks remarkably foresighted that many years ahead of the actual space shuttle, I think the rest of this sketch is really not one of his better accomplishments): http://www.trekcore.com/specials/albums/sketches/STTOS_Sketch_EnterpriseConcept10.jpg

Seems to me that for the Starship TV series pre-production, Jefferies revisited these original sketches, but it’s difficult to tell what came first, the submarine-style “enviropod” for the crew or the rings of the ship.

This sketch obviously shows the new mission pod but still has the old engineering hull (looks pretty Klingon and derivative I’d say and maybe that's why this design wasn't pursued): http://www.trekcore.com/specials/albums/sketches/STTOS_Sketch_Dynertia1.jpg

The other one shows the two rings but still features the shuttle at the bow: http://www.trekcore.com/specials/albums/sketches/STTOS_Sketch_Dynertia2.jpg

They settle for the ring design (# 22) but are still uncertain which mission module / pod /payload they should use: The one with the shuttle (# 22 G) - http://www.trekcore.com/specials/albums/sketches/STTOS_Sketch_Dynertia3.jpg - or the one with the enviropod (# 22 L) - http://www.trekcore.com/specials/albums/sketches/STTOS_Sketch_Dynertia6.jpg

Looks like 22 L (enviropod) is the winner, we get a stern view - http://www.trekcore.com/specials/albums/sketches/STTOS_Sketch_Dynertia4.jpg - and a blueprint with size indication, now that the final Starship design has been established: http://www.trekcore.com/specials/albums/sketches/STTOS_Sketch_Dynertia5.jpg

This is the final design featured in Lincoln Enterprises’ mail order catalog, on the rec deck of the movie Enterprise (to show Enterprise XCV 330) and elsewhere.

Looks like Andrew Probert and Matt Jefferies really thought alike, Andrew had an interesting visualization for what the Liberty-1 from “Planet of the Apes” probably looked like in her complete FTL-drive configuration: http://www.probertdesigns.com/#!store/vstc4=probertprints

Bob

 

Over the years I think we've seen but only a smattering of the sketches Matt Jefferies had done. Evidently he played around with a lot of ideas to arrive at the final design we're all familiar with.

Anyone who has ever tried to design something---particularly speculative---understands this is what the process is usually like. Rarely do you have even a basic concept in mind before you start playing around with different shapes and proportions to work towards something that starts to come together in fully realized form.

I would be curious to know how detailed and close to the final form MJ got with his final concept (for the TOS Enterprise) and how much (if any) was Richard Datin's contribution.

We know there are construction drawings out there for the 11 footer, but to my knowledge few have actually seen these drawings and no one is talking or being forthcoming.

 

Both Earth: Final Conflict and Andromeda had the same problem they went downhill after the first season or so. No doubt due to network interferrence.

 

Way back I had an opportunity to chat with Leni Parker (Da'an in EFC) at Toronto Trek. When I expressed my disappointment with the second season and the departure of Kevin Kilner (who played Boone) she acknowledged similar feelings. She said they (the cast and crew) were bound by their contracts, but even so they preferred the more thoughtful stories of the first season while the suits wanted more straightforward action.

I have first season on dvd, but I never bothered to pick up the rest of it.

 

Here are some beautiful visuals of the Enterprise XVC 330:

First, here is the one sold by Lincoln Enterprises and a piece of beautiful space art, IMHO:
http://www.up-ship.com/models/notthatenterprise/2007-07-22d.jpg

Then, here is a gorgeous CGI reproduction that makes me want to book a flight on this vessel:
http://images.wikia.com/stexpanded/images/archive/b/b2/20110307032245!Enterprise_XCV-330.jpg

The size of the ship is the apparent difference in the work of both artists. Looking at the pod's windows, the painting suggests more space in the enviropod than the CGI rendering.

It's difficult to determine which size is correct. The CGI rendering appears to reflect the measurements provided in Jefferies' blueprint but we know from TOS that his original Enterprise design was eventually boosted in size.

The painting reveals a bigger XCV 330 which could reflect an enlargement for the unrealized Starship series but not necessarily the final word for the Enterprise XCV 330.

Bob

 

I still have that poster stashed away somewhere. A bit worse for wear, though. Sadly, I do not have the set of blueprints that Lincoln enterprises also sold back in the day. Damn sure wish I still had those, they were quite beautiful.