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How Much of the Original Series Enterprise Is Left In the TMP era refit?

Samuel

Fleet Captain
Fleet Captain
Strictly based on what we see and here onscreen how much of the original series Constitution class U.S.S. Enterprise carries over to the refitted ship from The Motion Picture onward?

I think its said onscreen that "It's almost a new ship". But they say "almost" which doesn't mean "all".

From what I can recall observing there isn't a single set or feature from the original series that carries over to the refit ship. Even crew quarters which would logically be about the last thing changed seems to have been completely redone.
 
Although it's not what we see on screen, I'm a fan (fiction wise) of the saucer being the only surviving piece from the TOS Enterprise, with an upgraded bridge dome bolted on top. And maybe 'some' of the engineering hull, deep inside.

The saucer already has the capacity for separation, so it makes sense that it could be re-attached to an entirely new 'warp platform', which is basically the purpose of the engineering hull and its various systems.
 
Although it's not what we see on screen, I'm a fan (fiction wise) of the saucer being the only surviving piece from the TOS Enterprise, with an upgraded bridge dome bolted on top. And maybe 'some' of the engineering hull, deep inside.

The saucer already has the capacity for separation, so it makes sense that it could be re-attached to an entirely new 'warp platform', which is basically the purpose of the engineering hull and its various systems.

Except that the impulse engines are obviously different. And the phaser banks as well. And much of the upper curvature of the saucer seems different to me as well. Concave on the refit while much of it was convex on the original.
 
I echo a lot of the same thoughts as @DanGovier
I see the TMP saucer as a stripped down and (partially) streamlined TOS saucer, with the Bridge & teardrop modules being replaced entirely. The saucers and undercut line up almost exactly with a bit of resizing, and I'm sure this can't be a coincidence.
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The dorsal (being just a connection piece between the two main hulls) was probably replaced outright by the stouter TMP version.

The deflector/sensor dish systems have a modular appearance so I don't see an issue in just swapping them out like the bridge module. However, the rest of the TMP secondary hull is very barrel-like in shape compared to the TOS version (possibly to accommodate the more powerful inboard antimatter reactor) so a simple "strip down" like the saucer wouldn't be enough; the circumferential ribs would have to be replaced along the entire length of the hull, a major undertaking. Along with the changes in deck structure on the Secondary Hull internals and the relocation of the nacelle pylon anchoring points, very little of the TOS structure would have survived without a major rebuild.
In fact, it would have been easier just to build a new secondary hull from stratch!
 
Looking at both versions side by side, It's kind of astonishing to me that they just didn't retire the original and build a new ship. I mean, the lines and general shape remain the same but the refit is quite different.
 
FASA actually offered a reasonable answer to that, as the original refit wasn't meant to be on the level seen in TMP. The problem was that some of the new systems under development weren't compatible with the Enterprise's existing systems and hull design, and the ship had to be extensively modified to make use of them. The end result is what we see in TMP, which in the film's dialogue is said to be almost two years worth of work (18 months IIRC).
 
Food for thought, the version of the Enterprise drawn by Matt Jefferies had a barrel-like secondary hull and a different bevel on the saucer rim. This one is seen on the computer screen in the series in "The Enterprise Incident" (IIRC) and could suggest a previous refit/redesign occurred before Pike took command. So perhaps the ship's outer hull can be reshaped and still keep many of her internal structure intact.
 
Or it could be a "Starship class" variant on the screen. We have seen ones with a different lower saucer, after all, not to mention those that bear a striking resemblance to a certain AMT model kit...
 
Or it could be a "Starship class" variant on the screen. We have seen ones with a different lower saucer, after all, not to mention those that bear a striking resemblance to a certain AMT model kit...
Very true. I like to think that the Constellation's AMT style was another refit based off of the original "Starship class" like the Enterprise was. Kinda to keep the tradition of seeing previous ship designs used in computer graphics in TMP and TSFS :)
 
Very true. I like to think that the Constellation's AMT style was another refit based off of the original "Starship class" like the Enterprise was. Kinda to keep the tradition of seeing previous ship designs used in computer graphics in TMP and TSFS :)
In my headcanon, I explain Constellation's low registry number by it being a refit of an earlier class into Starship Class. it could also be an upgrade straight to, say, Starship-B, in line with what you're saying, which would actually make sense, as a refinement of the original Starship Class with various improvements including an upgrade path for certain earlier classes.
 
This reminds me of something I was thinking about earlier, which doesn't really need it's own thread. What direction does the water swirl when they flush a loo on a starship? Is there even water in there?
It goes straight to the replicators.
 
The saucer diameter is slightly greater on the refit, so I assume they added a corridor, or rooms, around the rim.
 
The saucer diameter is slightly greater on the refit, so I assume they added a corridor, or rooms, around the rim.
Since the dimensions of the TOS-E were never given, it's entirely possible that the saucer was one of the few areas that was relatively untouched and is the same diameter on both versions of the vessel. The undercut certainly matches up very neatly (see my earlier post)
 
I have always been a TMP fan, but I do think that it might have been better if TOS 1701 was retired [not refit] to the fleet museum and the Enterprise in TMP should have just been a 100% new ship named 1701-A .
 
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