Bridge of Klingon D7 ship

Interesting...Gotta' give McMaster credit. His bridge design reflects what (little) we saw in "Elaan,,,"

 

They really are extremely cool plans with some very nice touches. "Guards' Quarters, Battle Sickbay" and so forth. Outstanding stuff. I had never seen those before. The bridge is definitely not what we're used to, is it?

 

I should imagine the D7 was pretty cramped and uncomfortable apart from those things that Korax mentioned missing in Trouble With Tribbles!
JB

 

I always thought the view screen "bridge" scenes of other star ships in TNG were a bit ridiculous. You know, starting with "The Neutral Zone" where we see the two Romulans sitting in these chairs side-by-side with nothing else around and nobody in the background.

Nice to see the same idea was used all the way back to TOS.

 

It seems more logical than pulling the "fake-looking pseudo-busy newsroom in the background" stunt that news anchors use to give extra gravity to their message... Why should there be anything in the background when you videophone a fellow/enemy starship? Surely you'd want to hide the clutter, for aesthetic if not strategic reasons.

Timo Saloniemi

 

Just making sure you saw the whole set:
https://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/book-of-klingon-plans.php

McMaster was obviously a big Franz Joseph fan, and he sent FJ the plans, but FJ did not return the admiration. He was unhappy to have been copied so closely. There's some irony in that, because Matt Jefferies felt that way about FJ.

Anyway, McMaster's Bridge plans are where he really shined:
https://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/uss-enterprise-bridge.php

 

The emphasis in the third season of TOS was also that the Klingon battle cruiser was a new addition to their fleet! So I wonder what their earlier ships were supposed to look like? And not L shaped electrical vessels either!
JB

 

I never got that impression. As a matter of fact, the first time we see the ship (when the Romulans were using it), Scotty makes it clear that he recognizes the ship as a Klingon vessel.

 

Based on what?

 

For thier ST RPG, FASA produced a 1" to 10' scale set of plans for both a Connie and a D7 (and I am the proud owner of a copy of both).
The D7 quite closely matched McMasters on general terms but had a lot more detail (and is better than the Connie imho). The "grain silo" cylinder was relegated to stairway around a turbolift shaft. But the oblong held quite a nice bridge. Captain's "throne" in the forward center with gondola-like helm and navigation controls behind him and viewscreen in front. Either end held TMP-like gunners stations and either side of the viewscreen were communications and sensor controls.
All in all a great little bridge that felt very Klingon.

 

I got the impression from "The Enterprise Incident" dialog.

SCOTT: That's a Klingon ship! But it couldn't be, not in this area.
SPOCK: Intelligence reports Romulans now using Klingon design.

Now using Klingon design. They were not using them before, but they are now. The only way this makes sense is if those Romulan ships using Klingon designs were more recent additions to the Romulan fleet.

 

Yup - new in the Romulan fleet, not in the Klingon fleet.

Indeed, I find it amusing to think that pretty much all the hardware seen in TOS was on its last legs, being totally withdrawn from service only a few years later. It nicely fits this context that the D7 itself would be more than a century old at that point, as per ENT "Unexpected"... Although probably Klingon hardware doesn't age quite as fast as the human equivalent does.

Timo Saloniemi

 

...But speaking of the Klingon/Romulan connection, we have to remember we saw the D7 in action in TAS one more time in "The Practical Joker", this time in Romulan hands. Complete with bridge shots.

The command chair layout is basically the same:

http://tas.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/blu-ray/203-BR/thepracticaljokerhd0028.jpg

The viewscreen is not, though:

http://tas.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/blu-ray/203-BR/thepracticaljokerhd0443.jpg

Plus, we get a bit of context:

http://tas.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/blu-ray/203-BR/thepracticaljokerhd0442.jpg

So again the trusty underling sits to starboard of the CO, with a console of his own. But higher up, and the bridge in general feels smaller, or more crammed with equipment. A likely main entrance directly behind the skipper, and again the option for an attractively asymmetric port side of the aft half of the bridge. But the general feel remains that of a cylinder or a dome, as befits the exterior.

Timo Saloniemi

 

Do you mean that the set doesn't match the exterior? Because I think I've seen a drawing by Andrew Probert that showed the TMP bridge in relation to the exterior layout.

 

Me too IIRC. In fact, one of the drawings at Mem Alpha here may be the one you are referring to.

 

Ummm...there's a room behind them and you see at least one Romulan in the b.g.

 

Yes, that was the sketch I was remembering.

It's interesting that in that Memory Alpha article, it mentions two previous designs, one for the Phase II series that Robert Wise rejected, and another that Doug Trumble then rejected, which meant a third design, basically the one we see on screen in TMP.

Does anyone know if any sketches or even photos of partially built sets exist of these two designs?

 

If you want to see some interesting speculation on what TOS era Klingon ships looked like on the inside, you may want to check out John Byrne's photo comic series Star Trek: New Visions. Byrne used 3D computer programs to build a Matt Jefferies-style design of what the Klingon bridge and corridors might have looked like. The main stories featuring Klingons are collected in Volume 1 ("The Mirror, Cracked"), Volume 5 ("Sam"), and Volume 8 ("The Enemy of My Enemy").

 

You mean this ugly thing? (link) It only has a few superficial Jefferies elements.

 

Well, I liked it.

And thanks for linking to the site I write for, BTW.