USS Enterprise (eventually) on Discovery?

[cooleddie74]

Kirk was on the Republic around 2250, not long after entering the Academy. We know this because he's an Ensign at the Academy when he's serving with Ben Finney on the Republic but by the time he meets Gary Mitchell (also circa 2250) he's already been promoted to a Lieutenant Junior Grade or full Lieutenant and has been appointed a student instructor. That doesn't leave much time for an Ensign Kirk to be on the Republic.

 

[DanielPMonut]

People say "oh, that was just a tribute episode," as if it was only tolerable to watch for a single story or something, but I'm never quite sure what they're thinking there, because it worked beautifully. Exteriors and interiors, even the new sets that were designed to show previously unseen parts of the TOS-era Defiant, looked fantastic on screen, no compromises or apologies necessary.

They mean they don't feel the way you do about it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[cooleddie74]

People say "oh, that was just a tribute episode," as if it was only tolerable to watch for a single story or something, but I'm never quite sure what they're thinking there, because it worked beautifully. Exteriors and interiors, even the new sets that were designed to show previously unseen parts of the TOS-era Defiant, looked fantastic on screen, no compromises or apologies necessary.

Because it wasn't cool enough. Don't you understand? Modern audiences need floating holograms and ships that have 50,000 greebles on every greeble and all the lighting to be moody and dark. Edgy is what's in and if you don't understand that you need to live back in the 1960s with all the other cavemen who try to start fires with cylindrical warp nacelles and gumdrop-colored buttons.

 

[fireproof78]

Because it wasn't cool enough. Don't you understand? Modern audiences need floating holograms and ships that have 50,000 greebles on every greeble and all the lighting to be moody and dark. Edgy is what's in and if you don't understand that you need to live back in the 1960s with all the other cavemen who try to start fires with cylindrical warp nacelles and gumdrop-colored buttons.

Yeah, that's it...

 

[Tuskin38]

Discovery's Starfleet ships are very greeble free.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Greebles wobble, but they don't fall down.

 

[Ovation]

Greebles wobble, but they don't fall down.

Because there’s no “down” in space.

 

[lawman]

I got that date from Memory-Alpha.
They probably estimated from a line of dialogue or something.

Gotta be careful with date statements in Memory Alpha, especially when it comes to TOS, which never actually used any Gregorian dates. They're all interpolated from something, and (in contrast to M-A's usually solid practice of distinguishing what is and isn't canonical) sometimes they embed unstated assumptions (about, e.g., ambiguous things like Kirk's pre-TOS career). They're not always even entirely consistent with other M-A entries.

Because there’s no “down” in space.

Except in the opening scenes of The Last Jedi...

 

[fireproof78]

Except in the opening scenes of The Last Jedi...

Space is very different in Star Wars.

 

[jaime]

Space is very different in Star Wars.

Even the light is different...

 

[cooleddie74]

And the Jedi are totally different as well.

 

[Crazy Eddie]

Space is very different in Star Wars.

I've come to the conclusion that star wars ships never actually ORBIT anything ever, they just hover at some incredibly high altitude using their repulsorlifts. Otherwise, they're bound to the frame of reference of whatever gravitationally dominant body is nearby.

 

[Belz...]

The only thing of the Walker apparent in the Shepard in common is the deflector dish and a vague similarity in the secondary hull (the underside of the Shepard and the "strongback" of the walker). Beyond that, they have almost nothing else in common.

Yeah, beyond the things that make the Walker recogniseable, they have nothing in common.

Anyway, here's an update to my earlier collage. I've removed the 1701-F for the Saber class and updated a few pictures. The "chronological" order of the designs is still my interpretation based on what I see, regardless of behind-the-scenes info, so long as it doesn't contradict on-screen canon.

 

[Crazy Eddie]

Yeah, beyond the things that make the Walker recogniseable, they have nothing in common.

Well, yes. They have about as much in common as the Enterprise and the Kelvin.

 

[cooleddie74]

Good job with that collage! I'm still pleasantly surprised at how well the Franklin fits into the design lineage starting with the late 21st century. It's a shame we never saw a canonical, onscreen version of the S.S. Valiant from 2065 because I imagine she might have borne a strong resemblance to the Conestoga from just four years later.

 

[Belz...]

TOS does not look silly, and there's no reason to pander to people who think it does.

Yes it DOES look silly, to the vast majority of the target audience, which means it isn't pandering, it's smart business. Just because we enjoy the original show doesn't mean it doesn't look terribly dated.

But hey, who knows? Maybe in the 23rd century it'll look exactly like that!

But that has nothing to do with the design vocabulary of TOS, which was thoughtful, brilliant, and beautiful.

Sure, I can agree to that. But that's because we're fans of the show. You can't market the new series to just us. Have you seen this? The bridge looks very TOS-like but uses the more modern, DSC designs.

Well, yes. They have about as much in common as the Enterprise and the Kelvin.

We've been through this before. The entire bottom of the Shepard saucer looks like much of the top of the Walker. The pylons are arranged differently but if you flip the ship on its head it's hard to tell them apart from the "bottom", and the bridge is just a flattened version of the Walker's, etc. That's not almost nothing. No one's saying both ships aren't distinct and pretty. They just have a lot in common, is all. I wish they had done the bottom of the Shepard saucer differently.

Kirk was on the Republic 2 years before Season 1 (2254)

Right now (2257) Kirk would be on the Farragut, though the ship will soon lose most of it's crew because of the Dikironium cloud creature.

Wait, three years have passed?

 

[Belz...]

Good job with that collage! I'm still pleasantly surprised at how well the Franklin fits into the design lineage starting with the late 21st century. It's a shame we never saw a canonical, onscreen version of the S.S. Valiant from 2065 because I imagine she might have borne a strong resemblance to the Conestoga from just four years later.

Making this picture, I realised how, if you put them in a certain order, there is actually quite a nice progression of designs through time. They've done quite a good job of things over the decades.

What I find unfortunate is that there's a bit of missing designs between the NX-01 and the Kelvin. I'd like to see a ship from the very late 22nd century.

 

[Jadeb]

Sure, I can agree to that. But that's because we're fans of the show. You can't market the new series to just us. Have you seen this? The bridge looks very TOS-like but uses the more modern, DSC designs.

I could live with that, though I hope they keep the half-moon control panels.

 

[cooleddie74]

There's the Daedalus-class which we do know existed in canon and had been decommissioned and removed from Starfleet by 2196, but since the only onscreen appearance of them was as a model in Sisko's office on DS9 I understand why you didn't use an image of one.

 

[CaptainMurdock]

That TOS/DIS hybrid bridge is quite lovely. Not a fan of the dark lighting but with some hints of white and red and it would be smashing.