The re-mastered Class J

[Wingsley]

I don't know how many of you have had the chance to see the remastered Class J space vessel that was shoehorned into "reamstered" TOS, first as Harry Mudd's cargo ship in "Mudd's Women", then as the Deneva madman's "I'm free!" sun-ship in "Operation: Annihilate!", and yet again as the Space Cruiser Aurora in "The Way To Eden".

Setting aside the controversy over whether or not TOS-R should dare to foster any visual revisionism, what do you think of the Class J space vessel as seen in these remastered eps?

• aesthetically, as a TOS spacecraft
• functionally, as far as its appearance as a spacecraft
• What if this ship had been used as the long-ranger shuttlecraft Copernicus in the TAS outing "The Slaver Weapon"?

Does the nature of this craft make it appear, in some vague respect, like a sort of TOS version of the DS9 Runabout? (Note: there is no indication that this remastered Class J ship is equipped with any military/defensive capability. It is never established that the craft has any transporter technology, or what its range would be, or how fast it could go.)

 

[Kaziarl]

If it wasn't actually seen on screen, which I can't remember if it was or not, then I don't have a problem. They often had spinning lights on the view screen, and called them ships soo... yeah, definite upgrade.

I think it looks great as a personal craft. Maybe mid range system hopper. I don't think it could go from one end of the federation to the other by itself, not without several stops and a long amount of time.

I could see the remastered design being an ancestor of the runabout, but then so do some of the TNG shuttles.

 

[sbk1234]

I like it as an older version of a shuttlecraft. It looks like it went into service around the same time that Pike or April did.

 

[sojourner]

The big windows always evoked a 60's VW bus to me. Very appropriate for "The Way to Eden"!

 

[Christopher]

...what do you think of the Class J space vessel as seen in these remastered eps?

• aesthetically, as a TOS spacecraft
• functionally, as far as its appearance as a spacecraft
• What if this ship had been used as the long-ranger shuttlecraft Copernicus in the TAS outing "The Slaver Weapon"?

Does the nature of this craft make it appear, in some vague respect, like a sort of TOS version of the DS9 Runabout? (Note: there is no indication that this remastered Class J ship is equipped with any military/defensive capability. It is never established that the craft has any transporter technology, or what its range would be, or how fast it could go.)

Well, it's not analogous to a Starfleet runabout, because given the contexts in which it was seen, it's undoubtedly a civilian craft. For that reason, I doubt it would've worked in "The Slaver Weapon."

Aesthetically? Well, the nacelle pylons are clearly based on the original Aurora, which was the Tholian ship kitbashed with pieces of the AMT Klingon cruiser and Enterprise model kits. The nacelles are pretty conventional TOS-era warp nacelles. And the body is influenced both by some early Matt Jefferies shuttlecraft designs and the Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne (with the big round windows). Also, the underside of the hull is shaped very much like that of a Constitution-class engineering hull. So I guess it fits as well as anything.

Functionally? Hard to judge, since very few ST vessels would live up to any realistic assessment of spaceship functionality. Ultimately it comes down to how much disbelief you're willing to suspend.

But it looks to me like the front window is the cockpit and the side windows are observation corridors, since there's no internal detail aside from what looks like a wall and a floor. Probably crew quarters and a mess area in the middle and below, and a warp reactor and impulse engine in back. Sensor dome on top, maybe a sensor strip around the middle. There are small dishes on the nacelle pylons which may be navigational deflectors, so that's covered. No sign of a hatch, but we haven't seen the portside view.

 

[Wingsley]

Interesting observations, Christopher, as well as for everyone else.

Maybe the hatch is located on the back-underside of the ship, kind like the Cruiser C57D in FORBIDDEN PLANET. I watched the non-remastered "The Way to Eden" on the CBS web-site the other day, and recalled the "remastered" FX clips on the TrekMovie site. I definitely think this Class J image is a huge improvement over the ships seen in those original eps.

Speaking of FORBIDDEN PLANET, some folks have been bantering in the TOS forum about interpreting FP as a TOS prequel. I thought about turning that concept on its ear, and speculating what it would be like to see a TOS prequel based 20-100 years before TOS, or maybe pre-ENT, set in the TOS Universe, where the C57D would look something like this ship. Maybe a larger version would be called a "Class L". Kinda think of it was part Coast Guard cutter, part PT 109, part Corvette, part Bering Sea fishing vessel, and part C57D: a small self-contained mini-starship. Such a ship would be like an early Federation attempt at a Klingon Bird of Prey, but not as well armed or armored or powerful. I'm thinking a ship like the Class J might be able to sustain Warp 2-3, and a Class L might be able to sustain Warp 2-4. Not a long-range ship by any means. Maybe related to the TMP Vulcan shuttle/warpsled. (In a sense, doesn't the Class J look like a hull attached to a warpsled?)

 

[Cary L. Brown]

A fascinating question here... glad y ou asked!

I agree that any ship not seen on-screen can be interpreted in virtually any way.

However, I hate seeing too much repetition. I'd have been much happier had the TAS freighter not been used for Charlie's doomed rescue ship. (I WOULD have used that TAS freighter as the Woden, however!) And I'd have been happier had each of the three ships you mention been different.

If it were me, I'd have used this, exactly as seen, as Harry Mudd's ship. I'd have had something more along the lines of a "system patrol ship" (more along the lines of a small fighter, not intended for long-duration habitation) for "Operation: Annihilate!". And I'd have had something MUCH different for the Aurora.

Granted, I HATE the Aurora as seen in TOS... just totally cheesy. But the trick is to try to respect the original material as much as possible, which isn't what was done for TOS-R in this case.

The TOS-R "Aurora should have been larger, should have been shaped generally like the TOS Aurora... something that wouldn't immediately jump out and scream "not the same thing."

There are lots of ways to do that. (One of these days I may do a quick-and-dirty version of that as well just for "discussion" purposes... not as a renderable thing. But not tonight!)

But... in answer to your specific questions:

aesthetically, as a TOS spacecraft

Oh, it fits in perfectly well in this regard, except that I don't care for "blue bussards" and never will. I'm perfectly comfortable with there being many different "styles" of ship out there. I can see this as a popular "space minivan" design. I'd probably refine the shape and details a bit, but as a "first pass" I think that this is pretty good.

functionally, as far as its appearance as a spacecraft

Again, no problem, except that (a) it's not a "shuttlecraft," at least not as seen in "Way to Eden" and "Mudd's Women." It's a long-range vessel, intended for independent use, not operating from a base or mothership, and (b) it's a bit too sparsely-detailed to sell itself in a close-up view (but fine as a first-pass, low-detail model).

What if this ship had been used as the long-ranger shuttlecraft Copernicus in the TAS outing "The Slaver Weapon"?

No, I don't like that at all. It's actually quite a bit larger than the "slaver weapon" long-range scout, and it's not going to fit in any better than that does... plus it looks NOTHING like the ship seen on-screen (which is always a problem for me... I can accept "the thing we saw on-screen is an inaccurate representation of the 'real' design" but I can't accept "the thing you saw before is completely wrong in every way.")

Does the nature of this craft make it appear, in some vague respect, like a sort of TOS version of the DS9 Runabout? (Note: there is no indication that this remastered Class J ship is equipped with any military/defensive capability. It is never established that the craft has any transporter technology, or what its range would be, or how fast it could go.)

No, it doesn't strike me as a "runabout" at all. See, a "runabout" is more like a modern "Coast Guard Cutter." This ship is more like a "fishing boat" or a "pleasure yacht."