@136th Gebrig - no two ships are exactly alike, which is why the Saratoga's bridge wasn't identical to Reliant's (really it was a slight redress of the Grissom as mentioned in the TVH text commentary). Which is why I was interested in seeing what sister Constitution-class refit bridges might look like.
Donny's Refit Enterprise Interiors (Version 2.0)
- Thread starter Donny
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I’m pretty sure the Grissom scenes were filmed after they wrapped filming of and destroyed the Enterprise bridge in TSFS, which is probably why they only showed that one section. Most likely they only repainted/redressed that section seen of the Grissom’s bridge. Odds are this set would’ve stayed in this configuration between filming of TSFS and TVH. So, instead of moving everything back and redressing the entire bridge, they left the set as standing and saved some money by only again repainting and redressing that one sliver. Then they moved everything back and repainted and redressed the ENTIRE bridge for the 5 seconds we see at the end of TVH.
Or so I think.
Makes sense. Unless we have copies of the original filming schedules of the two movies, I guess we'll never really know for sure.
Funny. More time and money went into the redress for the Ent-A, yet we spend a good bit more time on the Saratoga's bridge in the film.
I definitely do plan on doing a few more variations of this era's bridges with what I've built. Different color schemes, layouts, etc. It's why I wanted to rebuild my TWOK bridge in a way that would make it easier to make variations (my previous build was NOT built with this goal in mind, which is why it made more sense to do a complete rebuild). I also want to depict the bridge of the Akyazi-class, which is featured in Ships of the Starfleet Volume Two/Number One. It's got cool double weapon's consoles up front and a different aft section. All in due time.
Agreed. TFF does look better.I guess they could have done it that way, assuming it hadn't been modified too much for TNG. The console in TFF is in fact quite different from the one in TVH however. Honestly, I think it looks a lot better. It looks more planned out and not like something done quickly for the last few seconds of the movie.
Wouldn't the assumption be that this bridge would be available for future films? That's before it got damaged.
Would have been awesome if it had survived to 6. Wonder what refurbishments would have resulted.
Ahh yes. You're right. I sometimes forget that the set was damaged by a freak weather event. While it would've been neat to see what they'd have done with the design had it survived into the next film, I have to admit that the bridge was beginning to look rather dated by the late 80s.
Interestingly, the TFF / TUC bridges were more of an homage to the bridge as it was seen throughout most of TOS. The control arrangements on the parameter stations were very similar to the way they were arranged on the TOS bridge, not to mention the rounded rectangular status displays that were reminiscent of those display screens at each station.
You know I initially thought that dome thing on top of the TMP bridges was the "Automatic Bridge Defense System" deal that was seen in TAS's "Beyond the Farthest Star." I know now that's part of the navigation system or something.
You know I initially thought that dome thing on top of the TMP bridges was the "Automatic Bridge Defense System" deal that was seen in TAS's "Beyond the Farthest Star." I know now that's part of the navigation system or something.
I dunno, compare the TMP aesthetic to Next Gen's Bridge. Apart from going with hoops and ovals, and the color switch to a warmer pallet over a cold one, they could sit side by side.
I imagine lighting, console displays, and the carpet would be all things that got changed. Maybe using a TNG pallet as well, since that seems to be what Shatner did anyway for the new bridge. Might be worth experimenting with after everything else got done- hypothetical lighting/color changes to the TMP bridge in a hypothetical 5 and 6. Just adapt set and lighting schemes from those movies?
So, Donny, sad to say the book I had was actually illustrations of the original TMP layout, not the TVH or any other version, unfortunately. Sorry about that. It had been so long since I looked through it, I misremembered what I thought it was supposed to be. 
Message sent.
I'll second that request to @JoeRalat . There's so little decent information out there about the TVH Ent-A bridge. I won't be so grandiose as to call sharing those graphics a public service, but you'd be making a lot of fellow Trekkies really happy if you could help @Donny out here.Would you graciously be willing to share the images of the Ent-A graphics in that binder? How about providing some scans to use as reference and help to make some nice renders of a screen-accurate TVH Ent-A bridge a reality?
Okay.. another one of my posts that turned into a mini-novel with way more information than people want s. And probably already knew. Anyhooo....
I don't think we were ever going to see the TVH bridge again - even without the weather issue. Once they modified to become the Battle Bridge for TNG, that was it. Not that I think the TNG crew were careless with how they modified the set. Heck, if anything, for all its sins, TATV showed that those people could take apart a set, come back a decade later put all the pieces back together.
I think TPTB just had little interest in that look. Each movie saw changes to that bridge - from both necessity and the atheistic preferences of the director. Had the bridge set still been fully intact as it was at the end of TVH, it probably would have gotten a new paint job, some wood grain and carpeting. Had they wanted, they could very well have made something that resembled the old bridge more. Movie sets get recreated all the time for sequels. Or at the very least paint it the same colors. What we got in TFF was deliberate, and was what they wanted.
For all we know, they might very well have kept the TNG battle bridge look and controls. Shatner didn't seem bothered by the new TNG atheistic on the corridors, sickbay or transporter room. I doubt any of the actors scrutinize the bridge sets the way we do. To them, it’s just the futuristic space room with lots of blinking lights that they spend most of their on camera time in.
Recreating the TVH set post TNG modifications would have taken a lot of work and retrofitting. At best would need to be repainted yet again. Some of those CRTs that they gutted out would need to be put back in for the hostage tape scene, BOP cloaking at ShaKaRe, and the red alert graphics. Breakaway panels would be needed to depict it's broken state at the start of the film. Not sure what the timing of the damage was, but by Measure of a Man, the set seems to have been stripped of all its screens and stations.
For all the new look in TVH, it was aging and dated as you mentioned. And it had its share of problems. Its acoustics and creaking floors meant many of the scenes required ADR. I remember seening on commentary that it was difficult to light - special drop down lamps needed to be created. The walls were not quite wild - a floor section had to be pulled out with it. The new bridge for TFF addressed some of these issues. Portions of walls and panels could be pulled out to allow reverse angles on the actors. Carpeting to muffle footfalls and reduce echoing. The ceiling had more lights built in which probably helped with lighting.
The viewscreen alignment issue in TWOK might have been caused by moving Spock's station. Even though each segment is probably supposed to be the same size, nothing in construction is ever dead on. I was thinking about how the TWOK DVD commentary talked about the blue support structure created for Regula 1, how it was supposed to be self supporting but didn't quite fit together right so they had to cut it. Changing the order of the bridge may have put things off just a little bit. I remember seeing somewhere on this board all the changes between films were detailed. Between the changes to make the Reliant bridge in TWOK, then back to Enterprise for TSFS resulted in another couple pieces getting swapped (damage control and environmental I think). It got cracked open and decoupled from the center to move the helm and captains chair closer to one side for Grissom. Got left half open for 2 years until TVH. Even thought it was created originally for the Phase II series and thus, designed to last a long time, I think even this amount of usage and wear and tear is a tall ask. Had it gone to series, I doubt there would have been as much shuffling of the segments as there were in the movies. I have to wonder if the chrome support struts in TVH were an attempt to disguise just how badly the segments were fitting together at that point. A fresh coat of paint only does so much.
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The Battle Bridge set was used as the courtroom in Measure of A Man, as stated above, and as Data's lab in Offspring. I believe it was also used to depict the occasional "Guest bridge" like the Enterprise C in Yesterdays Enterprise before being restored back to the Battle Bridge; although with some modifications in Best of Both Worlds. It seems like it just would have been more efficient to simply build a new set for the movie.
I agree with everything you said in your original post, except this one thing. I think it's pretty much understood that the viewscreen alignment issue was due to the Kobayashi Maru "Open Her Up" scene where that whole screen section slid to the side to allow Kirk to enter the simulator - a sequence that the original set piece was never designed to do when initially constructed. After that scene was filmed, it never got put back together quite right.
The thing to keep in mind is that the battle bridge set of TNG underwent a heavy modification on season 2 to adjust for the fact that the original walls were needed back on the movies. If you check the dates of the episodes and the filming of TFF, the original TMP bridge pieces were removed before filming even begun, so it makes sense that the TVH bridge was getting rebuilt for the next movie, and then that weather event happened and everything got destroyed.
Everything because Shatner wanted to create the full shuttlebay and they had to remove the bridge from the stage...
Everything because Shatner wanted to create the full shuttlebay and they had to remove the bridge from the stage...
No worries! I'll be able to piece everything together with the references that are publicly available and guesswork. And if we ever do see more of that binder, it'll be easy to fix errors. I just wanna go in with as much reference as I can before I start.So, Donny, sad to say the book I had was actually illustrations of the original TMP layout, not the TVH or any other version, unfortunately. Sorry about that. It had been so long since I looked through it, I misremembered what I thought it was supposed to be.
I don't remember hearing this story, please tell!
The hangar deck was built around the structure built for the throne room for Coming to America and was on a different stage than any of the Trek sets, or are you claiming they movie bridge was stored in that stage?
