Was the reveal of the Enterprise-A a big surprise?

Discussion in 'Star Trek Movies I-X' started by Amasov, May 25, 2013.

  1. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2001
    Location:
    America, Fuck Yeah!!!
    Looks similar. But the one I saw was pointed the other way and the lines didn't seem quite as thick.

    But it's probably been twenty-five years. So that could be the exact same one. :lol:
     
  2. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 22, 2010
    Location:
    publiusr
    I was hoping it wasn't Excelsior, but that it was a bit more advanced than the refit. Cranked nacelle supports, Raan type nacelles or something--three torpedoe tubes--just some tweaks to Probert's work.
     
  3. Belz...

    Belz... Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    May 19, 2013
    Location:
    In a finely-crafted cosmos... of my own making.
    Ugh. Those nacelles don't belong on that ship. I'd prefer something like this:

    [​IMG]

    That's by me, by the way.
     
  4. ConRefit79

    ConRefit79 Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Nov 18, 2008
    That's the one. But the saucer didn't have the changes this one does. Wouldn't mind a mod for the Polar lights 1/1000 kit to make one.
     
  5. Dantrek

    Dantrek Ensign Red Shirt

    Joined:
    May 18, 2013
    Location:
    south carolina
    I was 14 when Voyage home came out and I had no idea they would get the same designed ship. I thought when the music boldly came on and they were rising above the Excelsior the name would have been changed to Enterprise. I had no idea another constitution class refit was on the other side.
     
  6. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2001
    Location:
    Sac, Ca
    Something I've always wondered: Was the Ent-A supposed to be an all new ship, or just another Constitution Refit that got renamed "Enterprise" for Kirk's benefit?

    I think most people assume the former (given the dialogue in TFF), but it seems weird to me that Starfleet would commission a complete recreation of a refit that was built out of another ship. In that case, why not just recreate the original TOS-E?
     
  7. ConRefit79

    ConRefit79 Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Nov 18, 2008
    There is nothing said about it in canon. But Roddenberry is quoted as saying the Yorktown was renamed Enterprise. I assume she was scheduled to be decommissioned. But to honor Kirk and his crew she was rechristened Enterprise 1701-A.
     
  8. Belz...

    Belz... Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    May 19, 2013
    Location:
    In a finely-crafted cosmos... of my own making.
    The almost-canon sources state it was indeed the Yorktown, but dialogue from TFF (Scotty's "They don't make them like they used to") implies it's "new". One more problem with canon ! :P
     
  9. Amasov

    Amasov Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2001
    I remember having a discussion here on this subject some time ago.

    There was a theory that it is the Yorktown, briefly mentioned in IV. This can also explain the system failures the Enterprise is facing in V; suggesting the ship's computers were still affected by the probe's wave. My only issue with that is, I find it weird that an entire crew would be reassigned and the ship renamed, all for Kirk and crew's benefit, but I don't know how the military works in that sense, so. But it may also explain why that Enterprise had the shortest lifespan, since she was decommissioned in VI.

    But even with the decommissioning of the Enterprise-A in VI, I wonder if it was about that time the Constitution class ships were taken out of service.
     
  10. EliyahuQeoni

    EliyahuQeoni Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Dec 24, 2007
    Location:
    Redmond, Oregon, United States of America
    Dialogue in ST V suggests that it was a new ship. There is nothing on-screen to suggest otherwise. What Roddenberry said doesn't matter because he had nothing to do with the production of the movies at this point and just liked to make statements like that so nobody would forget he was there.

    It doesn't seem all that mysterious. A ship was being built when the 1701 was scuttled. After the destruction of the 1701 it was descided to name the new ship "Enterprise." While ship names are often chosen even before construction is started, it is not uncommon for names to be changed before actual commissioning. In fact, the descision to name her Enterprise may have come at the same time Star Fleet decided to decommission the 1701 before Kirk stole her.
     
  11. Amasov

    Amasov Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2001
    That's another thing. The Enterprise was going to be taken out of service in III, but I always wondered if another Enterprise was on the drawing board. Perhaps the E-B was to originally be its successor, but the E-A was quickly rushed into service?

    It's fun to theorize about.
     
  12. ConRefit79

    ConRefit79 Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Nov 18, 2008
    Could be. But she was in service from 2287 - 2293. I doubt it would take them 5 yrs to build the B. Not to mention, the Excelsior class completed her trials and a 3yr mission under Sulu's command.

    She should have taken a mortal beating by Chang. Sufficient damage to warrant such an early decommissioning.
     
  13. C.E. Evans

    C.E. Evans Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2001
    Location:
    Ferguson, Missouri, USA
    It's subject to speculation, all right. In lack of any canonical answer, one theory about the ship is as good as another, IMO. The only thing we can say for indisputably about the Enterprise-A is that she came after the original, was in service for about a decade (more or less), and then decommissioned.
     
  14. Belz...

    Belz... Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    May 19, 2013
    Location:
    In a finely-crafted cosmos... of my own making.
    Actually, VI implies that it's the crew that were being decomissioned, though Generations, set a short while after, shows the launch of 1701-B.
     
  15. mswood

    mswood Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2002
    Location:
    9th level of Hell
    LONG BEFORE IV was released there was fan talk of the excelsior, but by the month or two months before the movie was released materials started coming out. Interviews on TV, magazines, ect that left it very clear that the ship would be the same.

    You didn't have to look for spoilers, to discover that.

    But of course it's like Trek II, I didn't know the ship got destroyed until the ads ruined it.

    Say what you will with the reboot Trek, and its far superior in keeping some things from fans.
     
  16. Candlelight

    Candlelight Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2000
    Location:
    New Zealand
    The Enterprise-A.

    Duh.

    :D
     
  17. Amasov

    Amasov Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2001
    Well-played! :techman:
     
  18. Galileo7

    Galileo7 Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Sep 19, 2010
    Location:
    usa
    Agree. I even thought it was going to be Excelsior renamed Enterprise 1701-A.
     
  19. TheSubCommander

    TheSubCommander Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    May 5, 2013
    If the Enterprise A was a brand new ship, not a refit and rename of an older ship, then why was it decommissioned after Star Trek 6, a mere 5 years after it was commissioned? It was not that badly damaged.

    Also, wasn't the production of Constitution class ships winding down by that point? Why build another Constitution class ship, if only to decomission it in 5 years?
     
  20. General_Phoenix

    General_Phoenix Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2006
    Location:
    Bespin
    I remember conversations taking place on old BBS's about Kirk and crew getting the Excelsior. I'm not sure if anyone even considered the Excelsior being re-named Enterprise with the Alpha tag at the end of the registry number though..I have to admit, I personally would have liked that (I also like the Enterprise B..big fan of the Excelsior class.) I recall one guy that would write on one board on a local BB seemed adamant that IV would be the last Trek movie with the old crew, and that all focus would be on the new TV series. One of the good things about the old BBS's, very little in the way of spoilers, but a lot of speculation.

    There is a lot of confusion as to which ship the Enterprise A was before, I have heard that she was the Yorktown, but have also heard she was the Ti-Ho. I think the Ti-Ho was a complete new build though, before being re-named Enterprise.