Discoprise won't have TOS "cardboard sets"

[MakeshiftPython]

I like the approach DSC is taking and I agree that it has to pass to 2018 muster, but...



I have to agree with this as well. I've been hearing the "cardboard" bullshit for over 20 years. Basically practically since Day One that I joined the Internet. To unintentionally work a Throwback Thursday into this post, I cringed when Stewey even called the TOS sets cardboard back in the ENT Days. Way to stick up for the series you're holding sacred! So, after all this time, I've developed a thick skin to that criticism.

The real problem is: there are probably lots of people out there who believe it. But nope. Star Trek sets have always been wood. And they used to be lit with color. Many of my favorite Trek sets ever are from TOS. I'd put the Talos IV sets up against anything made during my lifetime.

Calling them “cardboard sets” is just shorthand for how cheap looking they are, not that they were literally made out of cardboard. It gives a certain cannotation that a more literal term like “plywood sets” would not convey. And let’s be honest, for 2018 television standards, TOS is very cheap looking. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it now. I think anyone watching it can suspend their disbelief knowing that it was made in a very different era of television.

 

[jaime]

Calling them “cardboard sets” is just shorthand for how cheap looking they are, not that they were literally made out of cardboard. It gives a certain cannotation that a more literal term like “plywood sets” would not convey. And let’s be honest, for 2018 television standards, TOS is very cheap looking. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it now. I think anyone watching it can suspend their disbelief knowing that it was made in a very different era of television.

It’s the corridors really. They come from a time before panel details got in vogue.

 

[MakeshiftPython]

Jeffries also liked smooth surfaces and that’s seen through his work. In fact, what we see is a compromise in some parts. For example, he didn’t want windows on the Enterprise. Roddenberry overruled that.

 

[Lord Garth]

Calling them “cardboard sets” is just shorthand for how cheap looking they are, not that they were literally made out of cardboard. It gives a certain cannotation that a more literal term like “plywood sets” would not convey. And let’s be honest, for 2018 television standards, TOS is very cheap looking.

I'm not going to fault anyone who points out they should've used more tact in the interview.

 

[Relayer1]

If they are really sneaky they could imply the TOS aesthetic coming without labouring it.

Have a scene or two with an explicitly brand new ship, the bridge of which is seen to have a look moving somewhat towards TOS.

No need to go full on with the colours, design etc., but something midway between DSC and TOS. The inference being that in a few years time when the Enterprise gets a refit...

No in the face fanwank explanation, no jarring clash of aesthetics, no undermining the suspension of disbelief.

 

[Red Panda]

In 2018 dollars, how much will it cost to build the Discoprise sets versus the TOS sets???

You can't really compare, because obviously the value of a dollar is different, and also the technology is completely different. They've likely spent a $1M+ on the main Discovery set (there are at least $200k worth of TOLED screens alone), which alone would pay for 7 or 8 episodes of TOS in their entirety.

The cheapest episode of Discovery has 6 times the equivalent budget of the most expensive TOS episode, even adjusting for inflation.

 

[Red Panda]

That corrugated shit they used to use in TV production is actually cardboard and made out of layers of paper, not plywood.

 

[Awesome Possum]

Er, yes they did. The term ‘cardboard sets’ is meant as a derogatory statement. They used that term all the time in classic Doctor Who, as a derogatory statement.

So what? The sets looked fine in the 60s, so did Lost in Space and Bewitched. But current productions require a higher standard than back then. Even the best looking set from 50 years ago will fail to impress modern audiences.

 

[Ronald Held]

I did not ask the episode cost, but only the set costs in 2018 dollars. Maybe a better comparison is the DSC bridge versus the TUC bridge?

 

[Kor]

Think of all the modernist minimalism that's all the range in both architecture and interior design. It looks like it would be right at home in the universe of TOS. I don't see why that kind of aesthetic couldn't be worked into STDsc.

Kor

 

[Red Panda]

I did not ask the episode cost, but only the set costs in 2018 dollars. Maybe a better comparison is the DSC bridge versus the TUC bridge?

How would we know that? The Season 1 production guide isn't even out yet.

 

[Red Panda]

I don't see why that kind of aesthetic couldn't be worked into STDsc.

I personally think it'd look stupid and dumb. I actually can't really get into older Star Trek because of it - I've seen important episodes and then read wiki articles, because the show is ugly to me. I get its a product of the time, but it's a no from me. The episode where Kirk fights a dinosaurman... Holy crap.

 

[Kor]

I personally think it'd look stupid and dumb. I actually can't really get into older Star Trek because of it - I've seen important episodes and then read wiki articles, because the show is ugly to me. I get its a product of the time, but it's a no from me. The episode where Kirk fights a dinosaurman... Holy crap.

I wasn't referring to the exact look of TOS itself. I was referring to the streamlined, minimalist design aesthetic that everybody has been going gaga over for the last ten years. It's very much in line with 1960s modernism, although it doesn't look exactly the same.

I watch TOS like I watch a stage play. It's a stylized depiction. Nobody expects all the visuals of a stage play to be ultra-realistic. It's merely a backdrop for the setting. The story and characters are the important part.

Kor

 

[thribs]

Shame that. They could have made them better now.
Enterprise had a good looking TOS set.

 

[thribs]

Apparently this picture is in the Discoprise. Reminds me of something from the Thunderbirds live action movie. Is Frakes directing that one?

 

[BillJ]

Shame that. They could have made them better now.
Enterprise had a good looking TOS set.

Nah. Obviously, the TOS sets can only be built with cardboard. No way to use modern production values in concert with the original designs.

Basically, they are running down those designs because they know their designs are going to be held up against them. It is the old political trick of running down the other guy because you're not sure you can win.

 

[Kor]

Apparently this picture is in the Discoprise. Reminds me of something from the Thunderbirds live action movie. Is Frakes directing that one?

An interesting contrast to the monochrome, lights-out look of Season 1.

Kor

 

[thribs]

The lights look like they're on as well.

 

[jaime]

An interesting contrast to the monochrome, lights-out look of Season 1.

Kor

Sixties colours, seventies design school. They do hew close to that TMP look.

 

[MakeshiftPython]

Nah. Obviously, the TOS sets can only be built with cardboard. No way to use modern production values in concert with the original designs.

Basically, they are running down those designs because they know their designs are going to be held up against them. It is the old political trick of running down the other guy because you're not sure you can win.

Given how they worked so hard to create these sets only to have a loud group of fans crap on them, I don’t blame them for feeling a bit peeved so they respond by being a bit catty over the old TOS sets. It’s the vindictive Orci method. I wish less people would gravitate to that.