Whatever happened to Starship Exeter?

[Admiral Buzzkill]

So am I, but I can see them on TV - and TV itself isn't exactly limited to a 19-inch diagonal these days. I'll pay the big bucks to see Avatar or a naked Anne Hathaway in IMAX - but TOS? Probably not.

[USS Intrepid]

Yeah that's not unreasonable. And probably what the majority of Joe and Jane Public thinks.

[Tallguy]

DS9Sega wrote:

---

What? You actually played one of those games?!

Indeed I did. I think it may have been the second DOS game I bought. Heck, I even played Universe (or tried to) on the Apple ][.

USS Intrepid wrote:

---

Yeah that's not unreasonable. And probably what the majority of Joe and Jane Public thinks.

Wow, this is a real roller coaster of a thread.

So, I'm trying to phrase this so that you know it's a real question and not rhetorical: Does anyone love the JJ bridge?

I'm asking that because I know there are people that REALLY dig the new Enterprise. It's THEIR Enterprise. It never occurred to me that anyone could NOT love the TMP Enterprise because that one was MINE. (Ok, the old one was mine too. Yes, I know they're both old. Yes, the Galaxy is old too. Just get offa my lawn, ok?)

But are there people here that really know the new bridge the way many of us here knew the old one. Not even in an unhealthy obsessive way, either.

Someone hit the nail on the head with the Galaxy Quest comparison: I think it would have been possible to get something closer to the TOS bridge but make it "real". To get the feeling of "Ohhh, this is what it was supposed to look like all along." You know, like you'd have in a $150 million dollar movie. I think they NAILED that with the uniforms, btw. (And I haven't heard anyone say that those were unusable. At least not since they actually used them.)

To me, if they had done something more like the Kelvin for the Enterprise bridge, I'd have been ecstatic.

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I don't love the JJPrise bridge, but I like it fine. I like the Kelvin bridge better in some ways - but if it were to be the Enterprise bridge, I'd like to see it spiffed and shined up and given a few more curves and some color - like the JJPrise bridge in those respects.

It's a deliberate choice in Abrams's Trek movie, IMAO, to present the control center of the Enterprise as a confusing and complex environment that the viewer can't immediately take in and understand as a whole and I think that's necessary in order to sell the viewer on the "reality" of it.

Interestingly enough, the set for the Protector bridge in Galaxy Quest is quite huge even compared to the JJPrise bridge. The trick there is that the sequences that are supposed to be from the 1970s GQ TV series are shot close on the various stations to hide that fact.

[USS Intrepid]

Tallguy wrote:

---

Someone hit the nail on the head with the Galaxy Quest comparison: I think it would have been possible to get something closer to the TOS bridge but make it "real". To get the feeling of "Ohhh, this is what it was supposed to look like all along." You know, like you'd have in a $150 million dollar movie. I think they NAILED that with the uniforms, btw. (And I haven't heard anyone say that those were unusable. At least not since they actually used them.)

I don't remember if it was fan speculation, or someone from the production team suggested it, but I recall such an idea being bandied about early in the production process. Perhaps that was the intention, I don't know, but for me, that's not what we got.

I'm pretty neutral on the JJPrise bridge. Don't love it, don't hate it. It serves its purpose well enough.

Now Engineering, that I can't stand. While I appreciate what they were trying to do with it, it simply didn't work for me.

Interestingly enough, I'm also fairly neutral on the uniforms. They're nice, but given how far everything else has diverged from the original, I'm not convinced I see the point in the costumes being so close.

[CorporalCaptain]

Tallguy wrote:

---

So, I'm trying to phrase this so that you know it's a real question and not rhetorical: Does anyone love the JJ bridge?

From Memory Alpha:

J.J. Abrams stated the difficulty of depicting the future was that much of modern technology was inspired by the original series, making it seem outdated. As such, the production design had to be consistent with the television series while also feeling more advanced than the real world technology developed after it. [28] Specifically, he felt that the original series had a "kitschy quality" to it which had to be abandoned for the sake of realism. [29]

According to production designer Scott Chambliss, redesigning the Enterprise and especially the main bridge began with laying out a framework of ground rules: the sets had to reflect the optimism of the original series, while also having a real functionality to them. "There was a strong, sleek, modernist vision at play in the 1960s when the television series began," says Chambliss. "That was something we wanted to infuse in our look." As such, the Enterprise draws inspiration from the work of Pierre Cardin and the sets from the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. (Production notes)

Chambliss maintained the layout of the bridge from the original series, but added more consoles and glass data displays to increase its functionality and make it more "busy." He also altered it aesthetically, with brighter lights and colors. The main viewscreen was turned into a window that could have images projected on it to make the space environment palpable. The bridge set was built on gimbals so the ship's rocking motions when it was attacked or when it accelerated to warp were more realistic. More railings were added to the bridge set to make it appear safer. [30] [31]

Putting stations behind these panels creates relatively isolated groups of stations where it seems like people would be able to concentrate more easily. And yet they are also still in easy call of the captain. Having more people on the bridge is much more realistic. I like the bridge officer standing over the captain's shoulder. She is hot. I am fine with the viewscreen. I felt that there were many times in TOS when a port looking out into space would have easily solved the problem at hand. And the new viewscreen loses none of the functionality of TOS.

The only complaint that I had was that I could have used an establishing shot of the bridge such as the famous overhead ones in TOS. It would have helped me orient a little easier, but that's really of no negative impact. In 20 years, no doubt JJbridge will seem dated too. What is fascinating is how much of the basic TOS layout endures.

Do I love JJbridge? No. But, I can be friends with it, and parts of it are really cool.

Tallguy wrote:

---

I think they NAILED that with the uniforms, btw. (And I haven't heard anyone say that those were unusable. At least not since they actually used them.)

I already complained on another board a few years ago now that they distorted the insignia and that is not to my liking. Also, I don't like the sciences symbol. They botched that one. However, command and engineering are fine. The shirts and everything else is fine. The dresses are A-OK, and their sleevelessness rocks.

Tallguy wrote:

---

To me, if they had done something more like the Kelvin for the Enterprise bridge, I'd have been ecstatic.

Ditto. I like the way Dennis put it, they threw us TOS fans a bone with that one. As I said upthread, the Kelvin sequence made me think that this was how The Cage would "really" look.

[CorporalCaptain]

@Dennis re:Protector --- Thanks, that's awesome.

[Admiral Buzzkill]

CorporalCaptain wrote:

---

@Dennis re:Protector --- Thanks, that's awesome.

And of course, the apparent difference in scale between the Protector bridge "as seen on TV" and the one built by the Thermians was used as one visual device to sell the idea that the first had been constructed on a TV budget and the second was a "real spaceship."

[EEE]

Tallguy wrote:

---

Heck, I even played Universe (or tried to) on the Apple ][.

You're not the only one! (I tried to get my $99.00 worth out of it... but never really did.)

[Expo67]

USS Intrepid wrote:

---

Oh I'd definitely pay to see it. Heck, I'd pay to see Exeter, or Farragut, or Phase II on a big screen. I never tire of seeing good stories in that setting. But then, I'm a fan.

Theoretically, or in this case, hypothetically speaking, what do you think a J.J. Abrams version of Exeter or Farragut would be like?

[USS Intrepid]

Expo67 wrote:

---

Theoretically, or in this case, hypothetically speaking, what do you think a J.J. Abrams version of Exeter or Farragut would be like?

Now that's an interesting question.

Flashy and fun, but much like Trek 09, probably not my Star Trek.

I imagine Garrovick would be similar to Greenwood's Pike, only grimmer. Other than that, I think the characters might not be that different. A bit more 'hip' and probably less mature (same as Trek 09's interpretation of Kirk and co) but recognisably the same characters.

I'd probably pay to watch it. But then again, I think I'd rather see the originals.

[Ah, Forgive!]

I wish the Exeter podcast had kept going all this time, so we could keep getting our monthly fix of awkward Tressaurian Intersection status updates.

I really did enjoy that podcast.

[CorporalCaptain]

[nickyboy]

what is the download link for this episode? has it all been finally released?

[Potemkin_Prod]

Oh, man, it was awesome! You really should see it.