A USS Kelvin Complaint Nobody's Made Yet...

[SalvorHardin]

My advice would be to wait till the movie comes out, see it, then decide if this is as gross a violation of whatever it is that's so important and says its not possible actually is, instead of freaking out over two photos that have been released and are probably being taken completely out of context.

And also, because nobody has caught this error --- the Oberth-class starships had two nacelles.

That would be logic speaking...And logic is not always welcome here unfortunately

 

[Captain Robert April]

Of all the complaints I have with the Kelvin, a single warp nacelle is the least of 'em.

I'm more irritated about all the TMP and later design features being put on a ship that supposed to be from before Kirk was born.

 

[Dac]

You guys do know that the Kelvin is an experimental prototype to combine two sets of warp coils in a single nacelle to help cut down on unneeded energy expenditure in the creation of a stable warp field...


Yeah, I dont care, I made that up and that explanation is good enough for me if there isnt one in the film, im not gonna let the Kelvin Ruin it...


Now, if the enterprise has hot pink rims and shatners head for the right nacelle, THEN there'll be hell to pay.

 

[DontFeedPhil]

How do we know that the ugly eye looking thin on the top isnt a 2nd warp nacelle? huh?

 

[Brutal Strudel]

There is this, from TNG and Best of Both Worlds

http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Freedom_class

plus we've seen ships operating at reduced warp speeds and one nacelle inoperative because of damage in VOY and ENT

Check out the babe holding the studio model! In my best Dr. Zoidburg: What a cutie!

 

[Stag]

There is this, from TNG and Best of Both Worlds

http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Freedom_class

plus we've seen ships operating at reduced warp speeds and one nacelle inoperative because of damage in VOY and ENT

Check out the babe holding the studio model! In my best Dr. Zoidburg: What a cutie!

 

[Brutal Strudel]

There is this, from TNG and Best of Both Worlds

http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Freedom_class

plus we've seen ships operating at reduced warp speeds and one nacelle inoperative because of damage in VOY and ENT

Check out the babe holding the studio model! In my best Dr. Zoidburg: What a cutie!

Hey, I'm like that: a cute girl with a pretty smile who seems genuine does ten times more for me than all the Jolene Blalocks in the galaxy.

 

[Michael]

^ I don't think you need to vindicate anything, Brutal Strudel. She definitely is cute!

 

[Captain Fine]

I'm not too fond of one-nacelle designs. But I don't think it's really a gross violation. As for the registry having a leading 0, it's not unprecedented.

First there was the Dauntless NX-01-A or whatever it was, then there was Enterprise NX-01. So I accept the leading 0 as well.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

How do we know that the ugly eye looking thin on the top isnt a 2nd warp nacelle? huh?

It just doesn't look like one, IMHO.

 

[SonicRanger]

Franz Joseph's one-nacelled ships have appeared on-screen...

http://www.trekplace.com/article09.html

http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/articles/sftm.htm

... and are therefore canon.

 

[JuanBolio]

Of all the complaints I have with the Kelvin, a single warp nacelle is the least of 'em.

I'm more irritated about all the TMP and later design features being put on a ship that supposed to be from before Kirk was born.

How do you know it violates technological progression when we've never seen a ship from a generation before Kirk's time? The TMP ship could be a retro design, for all we know.

As to the single nacelle, I've always held that a single nacelle ship would produce a linear warp field - one that is incapable of allowing the ship to maneuver at warp, or at least not very well. Dual nacelle designs offer greater power and maneuverability (as well as redundancy), but are more expensive and not strictly necessary for smaller scoutships and the like.

We've seen alien ships with no nacelles, and the Vulcan cruisers with single rings. I don't think one nacelle is a violation of much at all.

 

[Sci]

Or at least, not that I'm aware of. The ship only has one warp nacelle. This is in blatant defiance of Roddenberry's Rules of Starship Design, which says warp nacelles have to be in even numbers. A rule which has been followed faithfully with the exception of the redesigned Enterprise D in AGT, but that can be written off as an alternate future that never happens. So what gives with the Kelvin and its odd-numbered nacelle?

Considering that Roddenberry only instituted those "rules" because he was perturbed by the popularity of Franz Joseph's Star Trek Technical Manuel, I could really care less.

 

[gastrof]

Considering that Roddenberry only instituted those "rules" because he was perturbed by the popularity of Franz Joseph's Star Trek Technical Manuel, I could really care less.

You could?

How bizarre.

From the tone of your reply, I'd have expected you to say something like "I really couldn't care less."

 

[Dale]

^^As for canon, the Oberth class ships - the Grissom in TSFS and the Vico in TNG had one nacelle.

No. The Oberth class has two nacelles.

As for the Kelvin, I couldn't care less if the new design defies Roddenberry's rules. I actually think the Kelvin looks fantastic.

I think the Kelvin looks retarded, but I share your "couldn't care less" as far as defying precedent.

 

[Timo]

...Especially when no precedent is really being defied. Not in the in-universe sense, at any rate. Whatever rules have been made up backstage have not had enough effect on the Trek universe to preclude the appearance of single warp nacelle designs long before USS Kelvin.

As for the "TMP detail", a holistic view of Trek would have that as "Baton Rouge era detail" (the hull paneling is nearly identical to Sternbach's old artwork), or "detail logically toned down from past ENT era paneling towards the future TOS smooth looks".

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Haggis and tatties]

I cant believe everybody missed this one....

Ok i cheated.....

 

[Tiberius Jim]

 

[Timo]

Us Trekkies?

I mean, this is one of the most interesting things we can discuss at the moment with any authority or basis in fact. We learn basically zip about the plot of the movie from stills that show our heroes in funny poses, but we learn a lot about the debutante starship by looking at a still of her. And it does look as if she is of a modestly innovative configuration, which is enough to carry a thread or five on this forum.

Apart from this, the only thing we can really discuss is aesthetics: of uniforms, of bridges, of tattooed, bald Romulans. At least we can pretend that the 1 vs. 2 nacelles thing goes beyond aesthetics, no matter how slightly.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[The Wormhole]

The point is that Trek has messed with the 2 nacelle design in the past several times.
It doesn't surprise me that they would do it again.

The Rule has never been "only 2 nacelles." The rule has always been "only an even number of nacelles." Therefore, the Prometheus class, Constellation class, and any other class with four nacelles are acceptable.

As I said in my first post, the tri-nacelled Enterprise D from AGT is from an alternate timeline that likely won't happen and is best left ignored.