live action vs cartoon's but go off i guess...
Starship design history in light of Discovery
- Thread starter INACTIVEUSS Einstein
- Start date
Which is a cartoon, stylized and not live action.
Would you be fine if a TOS connie showed up in Lower Decks unaltered? Similar to the TAS/TOS-R cargo ship from season 1?
Honestly, in my humble opinion, TOS Connie exterior(!) is a perfectly anachronistic design that oddly works with little to no changes needed. It doesn't look goofy to me, but rather, "out of time" and special. I wouldn't have any issue seeing it exist in a modern production.
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I mean, I think that the TOS exterior starship aesthetic could work just fine in a modern production too, but I do feel the need to point out that "In A Mirror, Darkly" is itself 16 years old, its visual effects are a bit outdated, and that it is generally itself no longer part of the modern age.
sure i would have no problem with LD using goofy/unaltered TOS stuff since that's the point of the show being a comedy ''fan wank'' which is pretty good don't get me wrong but i wouldn't want that stuff in the live action side
Fuller's no round nacelles thing is very strange, and pointless. I'm no fan of Eaves but let the man do his work without some arbitrary rule that makes no sense, either in or out of universe.
IMO, no good reason to alter the TOS ship appearance.
I don't agree with Fuller but take no issue with square vs. round nacelles either. Yeah, it was a change for the sake of change, but it isn't a continuity violation either, given that I would expect Starfleet to be able to output ships in a variety of configurations, informed by many different member species.
There's plenty of good reasons. Chiefly the fact that it looks outdated compared to other sci-fi series these days.
I love the design of the TOS Connie (it's my 3rd favourite of all canon Connie designs), but only the context of the era it was designed in. I love the fan and licensed designs based on the design language. One of my favourite Star Trek Online ships is based off that design asthetic.
But I don't want to see it flying around on modern Trek looking as it did in the 60s. This show is also meant to appeal to new fans you know.
The “outdated” argument holds little water for me because most everything in the Roddenberry/Berman Trek era looks “outdated” at this point.
Next Gen…especially seasons 1-2 are VERY 1980’s. DS9 and Voyager scream 1990s. And Enterprise is very much a product of the early 2000’s/early HDTV era.
TOS is just easier to pick on because it’s the oldest. I highly doubt people would be so chill (and condescending TBH) if they had redesigned the 1701-D. People still complain about offing that ship in Generations in favor of a more widescreen/movie friendly looking ship. A full on reimagining (while leaving in nods to the original design) in either Disco or Picard would have people losing their minds.
Next Gen…especially seasons 1-2 are VERY 1980’s. DS9 and Voyager scream 1990s. And Enterprise is very much a product of the early 2000’s/early HDTV era.
TOS is just easier to pick on because it’s the oldest. I highly doubt people would be so chill (and condescending TBH) if they had redesigned the 1701-D. People still complain about offing that ship in Generations in favor of a more widescreen/movie friendly looking ship. A full on reimagining (while leaving in nods to the original design) in either Disco or Picard would have people losing their minds.
Haven't seen "Code of Honor" in a while, have you? 
I love TNG but the idea that no visuals or ship or equipment designs in it aren't clearly of the '80s is a bit much.
I think it's really important to remember that creating art always involves making some choices that are motivated by subjective aesthetics rather than objective criteria. Fuller wanted a different design aesthetic for Starfleet starships than in TOS, and he wanted a different Klingon makeup design than the Berman-era designs. Those are subjective decisions, but that doesn't make them artistically invalid. "Change for the sake of change" is a valid artistic choice.
TNG never gave me that futuristic vibe. Even VOY managed that. But, yeah, they have design elements that feel of their time. Which is fine, but certainly not something that I go "Yup, that's the future." TOS is hit and miss on that front though.
I'm talking ship stuff here, not stories lolHaven't seen "Code of Honor" in a while, have you?
I'd say it less about being out-dated, but more that the original Star Trek has largely become a kitschy pop-culture joke. This is fine when it's revisited for fun episodes like happened with DS9 and ENT, but strictly adhering to the TOS aesthetic is more difficult if a new show wants to be taken seriously.
I don't think it's even an argument when it comes to the starships and uniforms. The Kelvin Timeline computers and other tech systems are radically different in most respects but the ships and costumes are a lot closer to TOS than anything yet shown on DSC.
My take was that they were TOS-style round nacelles, but with a bunch of extra go-faster parts bolted on to the outside, which could be integrated into the design for better performance, as with Scotty's more finicky engines, but for most ships it was more cost-effective to have them outside the "tube," until TMP rolled around, where you could get top-shelf squared-off engines.
A number of cutaways have suggested that some post-TOS nacelles have TOS-looking nacelles inside them, especially the Enterprise-E, which has three round nacelle caps inside the bussard collectors, an upside-down stoplight-hood nacelle endcap at the back.