Should Paramount digitally alter the TOS Enterprise?

[The Rock]

OK, in the second episode of Star Trek: Picard this season, Picard walks into Starfleet HQ and sees a hologram of Kirk's Enterprise. As you can see in the pic below, it is the retconned Star Trek: Discovery version of the Enterprise (as opposed to the TOS Enterprise):

Also, in the Star Trek: Short Treks animated episode "Ephraim and Dot" it shows the progression of the Enterprise from Discovery until its destruction in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. In said episode, it shows several key moments from TOS with the TOS crew, and it shows the Enterprise exterior during these TOS moments. And guess what? Those TOS moments use the Enterprise exterior as seen in the picture above.

What's my point you ask?

Well, since Paramount has officially retconned the original TOS Enterprise to always look like how it does in that above pic (well, until it gets a refit in The Motion Picture that is), should they change all exterior shots of the TOS Enterprise in the following Star Trek episodes so that it looks like how it does in the above pic:

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine "Trials and Tribulations"

Star Trek: Enterprise "In a Mirror, Darkly" (OK, so the Enterprise isn't actually seen in this two-parter, but it uses the USS Defiant from TOS, which is a sister ship to the TOS Enterprise, so that's why I included it)

Star Trek: Enterprise "These Are the Voyages..."

Notice that I did not include every episode of TOS in the above list, cause digitally altering every single exterior Enterprise shot in that show would be way too costly and, they already digitally altered all of the exterior shots when they re-mastered the entire series in HD.

As for the interior shots of the TOS Enterprise in the episodes in the above list? They don't need to mess with those, because in "Ephraim and Dot", despite the exterior of the Enterprise looking like the above picture, the interior of it looked just like how it did in TOS, so I'm guessing that 10 years after Discovery when Kirk becomes captain of the Enterprise and takes over from Pike, the interior ends up looking exactly like how it did in TOS.

I'm not saying that they must make these changes, nor are they necessary. I'm just saying that it would be nice if they did, that's all. It would make canon fit a little bit more smoothly for me. I figured it wouldn't cost all that much for them to make these changes for just three episodes.

And yes, I'm a huge nerd. It's a slow day here at work.

 

[JamesRye]

Nah, cause this is the alternate timeline caused by the Borg incursion into the past as seen in Star Trek First Contact.

 

[The Rock]

Nah, cause this is the alternate timeline caused by the Borg incursion into the past as seen in Star Trek First Contact.

How can that be, when Star Trek: Enterprise uses the same exact aesthetic from TOS for "In a Mirror, Darkly" during the parts with the USS Defiant? And, in the very end of "These Are the Voyages..." it shows the TOS Enterprise (from the original timeline).

 

[Dukhat]

No, because that would be a stupid waste of their money.

 

[elric428]

Blame it on Q. He had nothing to do one day so he thought he'd make a few changes to the Klingons. the TOS uniforms and the ships.

 

[XCV330]

No. One is one show, the other is another show.

 

[BillJ]

What a way to disrespect the people who gave us the franchise we love.

 

[The Rock]

What a way to disrespect the people who gave us the franchise we love.

I never meant any disrespect, and I am sorry if I offended anybody.

 

[BillJ]

I never meant any disrespect, and I am sorry if I offended anybody.

That wasn't necessarily directed at you. This isn't the first time I've heard such stuff, and it is clear that TPTB no longer care about the folks who gave them an unending meal ticket all those years ago.

 

[FederationHistorian]

No. it’s a waste of money. There’s the Enterprise during the Kirk years and there’s the Enterprise during the Pike years. This is just showing the Pike years. Nothing more, nothing less.

Its far more interesting that the NX-01 still isn’t acknowledged at all. Of course, we weren't looking at those holographic projections all episode long, so who knows? Maybe it's acknowledge too.

 

[The Rock]

No. it’s a waste of money. There’s the Enterprise during the Kirk years and there’s the Enterprise during the Pike years. This is just showing the Pike years. Nothing more, nothing less.

Its far more interesting that the NX-01 still isn’t acknowledged at all. Of course, we weren't looking at those holographic projections all episode long, so who knows? Maybe it's acknowledge too.

Well, according to Star Trek: Short Treks animated episode "Ephraim and Dot" the exterior of the Enterprise during the Kirk years looks exactly like it how it does during the Pike years.

 

[Kor]

It would be a phenomenal waste of money to render new visuals for every single exterior ship shot spanning 79 episodes of television, when their massive "remaster" is already supposed to be the new definitive version.

Kor

 

[XCV330]

I do like the idea that connies went through this simplification program for awhile. simple nacelle struts, ablative coating on exterior surface, lengthened neck for saucer sep. The new 5 Year Mission were really going way out in the void and they'd have to be able to handle their own repairs and fabrication. Once that era was over they went back to something resembling their original look.

Well, according to Star Trek: Short Treks animated episode "Ephraim and Dot" the exterior of the Enterprise during the Kirk years looks exactly like it how it does during the Pike years.

I would not take that too seriously. It also flew around as 1701-a.

 

[The Rock]

It would be a phenomenal waste of money to render new visuals for every single exterior ship shot spanning 79 episodes of television.

Kor

As I mentioned in my original post, they don't have to alter anything in TOS. Just three episodes amongst DS9 and ENT.

I do like the idea that connies went through this simplification program for awhile. simple nacelle struts, ablative coating on exterior surface, lengthened neck for saucer sep. The new 5 Year Mission were really going way out in the void and they'd have to be able to handle their own repairs and fabrication. Once that era was over they went back to something resembling their original look.




I would not take that too seriously. It also flew around as 1701-a.

Actually, during that Short Treks episode, when it showed exterior shots of the 1701-A, the Enterprise looked exactly how it did in the movies.

 

[XCV330]

like I said, its a show. the other one is a show. anyone can have the big E look like how they want it to in their head, but they don't need to mess with the Jeffries model in TOS.

 

[Kor]

As I mentioned in my original post, they don't have to alter anything in TOS. Just three episodes amongst DS9 and ENT.

In that case, it doesn't matter much to me.
But I would rather not wipe out all the painstaking miniature work that went into "Trials and Tribble-ations" (although the execution wasn't perfect).
And the CBSAA shows are basically their own thing, connected in more of a "broad strokes" way with what came before years ago.

Actually, during that Short Treks episode, when it showed exterior shots of the 1701-A, the Enterprise looked exactly how it did in the movies.

XCV330 was pointing out that the ship in TMP-TSFS was not supposed to be labelled as "1701-A" at all. The "A" appeared on the brand new ship at the end of TVH. This was an error in the animated Short Trek.

Kor

 

[The Rock]

like I said, its a show. the other one is a show. anyone can have the big E look like how they want it to in their head, but they don't need to mess with the Jeffries model in TOS.

In that case, it doesn't matter much to me.
But I would rather not wipe out all the painstaking miniature work that went into "Trials and Tribble-ations."



XCV330 was pointing out that the ship in TMP-TSFS was not supposed to be labelled as "1701-A" at all. The "A" appeared on the brand new ship at the end of TVH. This was an error in the animated Short Trek.

Kor

Points well taken @XCV330 and @Kor!

 

[FederationHistorian]

Well, according to Star Trek: Short Treks animated episode "Ephraim and Dot" the exterior of the Enterprise during the Kirk years looks exactly like it how it does during the Pike years.

Paying attention to detail has not been a strong suit of the CBS Access era.

Case in point: see uniforms in “Q&A,” which are different from the uniforms in “The Cage” and is supposed to be a prequel to it, yet are portrayed as new uniforms in season 2 of Discovery.

Plus, I don’t know if “Ephraim & Dot” is meant to be considered 100% canon anyways.

 

[The Rock]

Paying attention to detail has not been a strong suit of the CBS Access era.

Case in point: see uniforms in “Q&A,” which are different from the uniforms in “The Cage” and is supposed to be a prequel to it, yet are portrayed as new uniforms in season 2 of Discovery.

Plus, I don’t know if “Ephraim & Dot” is meant to be considered 100% canon anyways.

Points well taken as well!

 

[XCV330]

Paying attention to detail has not been a strong suit of the CBS Access era.

Case in point: see uniforms in “Q&A,” which are different from the uniforms in “The Cage” and is supposed to be a prequel to it, yet are portrayed as new uniforms in season 2 of Discovery.

Plus, I don’t know if “Ephraim & Dot” is meant to be considered 100% canon anyways.

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they know what the Cage era looks like. TNG did their love letter to the TOS era, DS9 did, and this was the CBS era's version.

CBS is just going for their own look. They have never shown any interest in 100% recreating past looks, and that's fine. In some cases I think it works well (Discoprise), other times it has fallen flat Fuller's Lizard Doublepeener Klingons, for instance.