What I Don't Like About the USS Kelvin

Discussion in 'Star Trek Movies: Kelvin Universe' started by CuttingEdge100, Jun 16, 2009.

  1. CuttingEdge100

    CuttingEdge100 Commodore Commodore

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    Even though the ship has two hulls (engineering and primary), apparently the primary hull is incapable of separating, and acting as a lifeboat as was the intentions of Matt Jeffries.

    The ship also does not appear to have any conventional lifeboats and instead just has shitloads of shuttlecraft which are used apparently as lifeboats.

    The ship (due to the lack of a separating saucer or lifeboats, and instead requiring buttloads of shuttles) is apparently monstrous in size just looking at the shuttlebay. I think I also saw a size comparison of the new Enterprise with the USS Kelvin and it also reflected that the Kelvin was a very large vessel, and when in combination with the 800-man crew, in most likelyhood, is larger than the (original) Constitution-Class (Which as of 2265, 32 years after the Kelvin's destruction, was the largest class of ship in the Federation inventory)

    The engineering-hull looks quite small in size (not to mention, it looks like the bridge would be in the way of the deflector field) compared to the primary hull.

    The warp-engine looks gigantically oversized, and the back has a glowing blue exhaust even when not at warp (Considering the ship has regular impulse engines, the argument that this is an impulse engine is moot). Gene Roddenberry specifically said when he created Star Trek that he did *NOT* want to see flamin' rocket-like exhaust shooting out the back of the ship (granted he also said he wanted warp-engines in pairs but that view actually seems to have varied over time) something which has been maintained all the way up to Star Trek Nemesis (which in my opinion sucked)

    The interior of the ship looks completely trashy and junky, particularly that gigantic elevator shaft that extends right down into the shuttlebay if I recall. In every Starfleet ship shown in Star Trek, even the NX-01 Enterprise did not look that crude, trashy and junky, nor did it have a long giant elevator shaft hanging down all the way into the shuttlebay like that. The turbolifts always seemed to be "behind doors" and you never actually saw the elevator shaft.

    The point-defense cannons the ship has was never seen on any other Federation-Ship, and the sheer number of overall weapons was ludicrous for that timeframe.


    While this isn't really a complaint, or a gripe about the Kelvin, I am wondering why the Kelvin didn't blow up after just one volley, or just one shot for that matter.

    The Constitution Class vessel shown in TOS had been refitted two or three times from when it was first commissioned and was in most likelyhood fitted with far more powerful shields and weapons.

    The Refit Enterprise in TMP, had substantially more powerful deflectors than the TOS Enterprise, and apparently it would seem that it's force-fields were several times more powerful than the K'Tinga's which themselves had more shielding and deflectors than the D-7's which were about rivalable to the Constitution-Class.

    The Refit Enterprise first flew in 2272 or 2273, and Nero's ship, while not a fleet-vessel (Romulan in this case) would have most likely been around during the Dominion war, and during wars even transport ships are often fitted with guns, generally ones that can at least do a little bit of damage to defend themselves against hostiles. Considering Nero's ship was from 2387, 114 or 115 years after the Enterprise Refit (TMP), in which time, shields, and weapons technology has increased DRASTICALLY (Particularly during the dominion war and conflicts the Federation had with the Borg)

    The difference in shielding capability and weapons capability the Kelvin would have had would have been virtually nonexistant compared to the Narada, and I'm just amazed the ship didn't get cut up in one volley...


    CuttingEdge100
     
  2. Jeri

    Jeri Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Well, you can just forget it; there's nothing to dislike about the Kelvin. ;)
     
  3. DonIago

    DonIago Vice Admiral Admiral

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    CuttingEdge - Captain Robau would like some words with you. :)
     
  4. Hartzilla2007

    Hartzilla2007 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    And by words Robau means you begging his forgiveness for dissing his ship.
     
  5. EnsignRicky

    EnsignRicky Commodore Commodore

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    It did have a pretty flimsy autopilot.
     
  6. Jeri

    Jeri Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Uh oh; I think you have found something I could agree with. Poor George. Auto pilot has been "destroyed." That was a weird way of putting it; they usually say disabled or something. Destroyed is pretty emotive for a computer.
     
  7. Hyperspace05

    Hyperspace05 Commodore Commodore

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    To the OP:

    You, sir, have no taste! :)

    I also think you could have saved yourself some typing by renaming the thread "What I *like* about the Kelvin" - Because clearly that is a very, very, very short list. ;)
     
  8. CinC_UFPForces

    CinC_UFPForces Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Gene Roddenberry is dead.
     
  9. Sector 7

    Sector 7 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    This is probably the only thing I can agree to dislike about USS Kelvin. May Robau have mercy upon me. :scream:
    OT: I think the OP missed the entire point of the Kelvin in the movie. I was MEANT to be seen as an 'old clunker' from the TOS past-- especially in comparison to the shiny new USS Enterprise. This was the main purpose of the Kelvin in the movie. Period.
     
  10. npsf3000

    npsf3000 Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    One question, why exactly cant the saucer separate - did you get that from the film or your imagination?
     
  11. Jeri

    Jeri Vice Admiral Admiral

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    We will both be in my prayers...
     
  12. SilentP

    SilentP Commodore Commodore

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    Did anyone notice though that George programmed the collision course which apparently was gonna last about 30-60 seconds, and then 'just sat back' to talk to Winonna, while the ship followed the course (which wasn't a straight line either)? It seemed like his presence was unnecessary for that last stretch :confused: or am I just reading the situation wrong?
     
  13. johnsonalmighty

    johnsonalmighty Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    His Idea's of the future are become quite outdated fast, that and i like the "warp thrusters" on the new ships, it kinda makes sense at a subconceus level.
     
  14. Messianni

    Messianni Commodore Commodore

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    He made it up. The argument of "...as Matt Jeffries intended" is absolutely moot considering...

    1. Matt Jeffries is dead.
    2. Matt Jeffries did not design the Kelvin.
    3. Matt Jeffries is dead.

    His entire post is basically grasping at straws because it doesn't conform to 1960's standards.

    I gathered he was staying to buy enough time for all of the shuttles to escape and to make sure the Kelvin made it long enough to ram the Narada. There may not have been too much he could do, but had he tried to run to a shuttle he never would have been able to program the collision course and the Narada would have swapped the shuttles off like flies.
     
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2009
  15. npsf3000

    npsf3000 Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Then the entire deal with no lifeboats can be explained that ideally you would separate.
     
  16. saddestmoon

    saddestmoon Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    ^^^ My thoughts exactly! :bolian:

    TBH - I think the Kelvin was awesomeness personified!!!!

    Infact - the only thing wrong with it, was that the Narada got in it's way...
     
  17. Sanae

    Sanae Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    I actually loved the Kelvin. It was a pretty cool ship...albeit I assume Starfleet used the experience to improve the autopilot's design, with special emphasis on its protection....:p

    PS: Maybe I'm wrong but, didn't Daddy Kirk need stay on board so that he could protect the fleeing shuttles as well as manually set course to ram the Narada?
     
  18. Amra

    Amra Ensign Newbie

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    And this is why people make fun of nerds.
     
  19. SilentP

    SilentP Commodore Commodore

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    Ah fair enough, he probably needed to co-ordinate the weapons up until they were exhausted, then engage the collision course, rather than just set a collision course from the get go.
     
  20. Royal Fizzbin

    Royal Fizzbin Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    The idea of the Kelvin having a metric buttload of shuttles has tickled my brain. The Kelvin was a survey ship. My guess is that it had lots of shuttles, and those shuttles had their own advanced sensors, so it could send out a whole bunch of survey teams and map an entire planet in one swath. According to that Intel site the upper nacelle seems to be just a giant hangar with a deflector on the front. That would indicate to me that the warp core is probably in the back of the saucer a la the Akira, NX, Norway or other "stardrive-less" designs. Therefore the saucer probably wouldn't make a very good lifeboat if it's full of antimatter.:p So my guess would be that using the fleet of survey shuttles was the best option. Although, those shuttles seemed to be jaunting along at very low impulse, so I hope there either was another ship in the area, or they were taking a dramatic pause to bask in the starlight and waiting for the fade to jump to warp.