What Class Was 1701?

[Captain Robert April]

^ Nailed it. A major factor in determining a ship's class is its capabilities, not just how much she looks like another ship.

From where I sit, the refit we saw in TMP made the Enterprise something of a prototype, changing her from a Constitution class ship to a one-of-a-kind vessel, i.e., Enterprise class. After seeing how well, or how badly, the various changes worked out in the field, designs were rethought, resulting in more refined refits on other old Constitution class ships (almost certainly including the USS Constitution herself, since the class name is retained, and, of course, the ship that would become the Enterprise-A).

In other words, the TMP refit was the buggy prototype, the E-A was the regular production version, hopefully free of the prototype's oddities.

 

[Timo]

...It almost seems reasonable that the first refit would remove many physical walls from the secondary hull in favor of the new technology of life support belts, sorry, atmosphere-containing forcefields - but that the rest would dispense with this tech that offered no real advantages over the original solid bulkheads and rolling doors, but did ante up the risks of power failure. Plus, it might simply not be worth all the fuss to remove the walls in the shuttle and cargo area if shuttles gradually lost in importance and transporters gained in it.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

In other words, the TMP refit was the buggy prototype, the E-A was the regular production version, hopefully free of the prototype's oddities.

Go watch ST 5 again and then come back here and say that.

 

[Vance]

Go watch ST 5 again and then come back here and say that.

Ah, the new ship didn't have the NCC-1700's problems, it had problems all its own.

 

[Captain Robert April]

In other words, the TMP refit was the buggy prototype, the E-A was the regular production version, hopefully free of the prototype's oddities.

Go watch ST 5 again and then come back here and say that.

You mean the version described in that drunken ghost story that Kirk and McCoy were telling around the campfire after a few too many helpings of McCoy's "secret ingredient" for the beans?

Doesn't count.

 

[EliyahuQeoni]

Doesn't count.

Yes, it does.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Doesn't count.

Yes, it does.

Well, this has the makings of a compelling debate.

 

[Green Shirt]

Shane Johnson's Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise has the plaque on the 1701-A as reading "Starship Class". Wonder if there are any screen caps to verify this. If so, it would be a nice carry-through from the original 1701 (no bloody A, B, C, or D).

 

[Gary7]

The plaque was made in '65, for the second pilot, while the designation of the Enterprise as a Constitution Class starship didn't occur until the show was already in production, with the plaque remaining as it was because 1) they had more important things to spend those very tight budget dollars on, 2) hardly anybody could read that thing on the tv sets of the day, and 3) if folks were scrutinizing that plaque hard enough to read it on their 19" Zenith, they clearly weren't paying attention to the story, meaning they had bigger problems than a freakin' piece of background dressing.

Translating that into an in-universe explanation, when the ship was launched, she was a Starship class vessel, and the plaque was made to read accordingly. Later, some brainiac at Starfleet Command thought it'd be a nifty idea to redesignate all the various ship classes, and thus the Enterprise became a Constitution class starship. Only this time, they never got around to having a corrected dedication plaque made up (either to keep a record of the ship as she was originally launched, or they just never got around to it).

That makes the most sense to me. While Star Trek TOS was in the works, the whole story platform was evolving, being fine tuned. It does make me wonder whatever became of that plaque. I wonder if Roddenberry kept it?

 

[T'Girl]

While I don't know for sure, the plaque was probably just a piece of wood, with the lettering routered into it and painted to look like metal.

It might not have survived the demolishment of the sets, being considered to be a part of the plywood wall.

 

[Green Shirt]

It might not have survived the demolishment of the sets, being considered to be a part of the plywood wall.

Yeah, it wasn't as lucky as some assorted buttons, displays and hunks of carpet.

 

[Wingsley]

Here's a strictly non-canon twist to the "what class is the refit TMP Enterprise?" game:

In Diane Duane's novel "My Enemy, My Ally", she writes a story of Romulan Commander Ael t'Rllallieu and her crew that defect to the Federation to stop a plot to abduct the newly commissioned all-Vulcan Starship Intrepid and her crew. Kirk sees the Intrepid for the first time, and it is expressly said to be the new design. In other words, Duane was suggesting that the TMP-era design started (or, at least, evolved from) Vulcan's replacement for the Intrepid lost in "The Immunity Syndrome".

So if the refit class name is not Constitution or Constitution II, maybe it's Intrepid.

 

[blssdwlf]

That brings a twist to Spock being "fully rated on the design"... because it's Vulcan designed

 

[Vance]

That brings a twist to Spock being "fully rated on the design"... because it's Vulcan designed

Could be a "Phase II" design, which had been floating around at that time. Remembering the book (it's been years since I read it), the description didn't seem quite like the TMP starship.

Besides, it's pretty explicit in TMP that the Enterprise is a whole new design. There wouldn't have been another ship in service yet before her... at most, the Constitution was out doing trial runs for her uprating.

 

[Tiberius]

That brings a twist to Spock being "fully rated on the design"... because it's Vulcan designed

Where does it say Spock was fully rated? I remember Decker saying that no one was fully rated on the design after Sonak was killed (except Decker himself), but I can't remember the bit where they say Spock is fully rated.

 

[blssdwlf]

@Tiberius - none directly in the movie. It just appeared that one of the qualifications for the science officer position was being "fully rated on the design".

DECKER: None available, Captain. There's no one available. In fact there's no one who's fully rated on this design.
KIRK: You are, Mister Decker. I'm afraid you're gonna have to double as science officer.
...
KIRK: If our Exec has no objections?
DECKER: Of course not. I'm well aware of Mister Spock's qualifications.
KIRK: Mister Chekov, log Mister Spock's Starfleet commission reactivated, list him as science officer, ...both effective immediately.

Although that doesn't mean I agree with it being Vulcan designed, just that is an interesting side explanation

 

[TIN_MAN]

Wasn't there something in Roddenberry's novelization of TMP to the effect that it was Spock himself who had recommended or designed many of the features of the new science station? I seem to remember reading that somewhere.

 

[Lieut. Arex]

Page 119 of the novelization. It says the console's design reflected Spock's recommendations.

 

[TIN_MAN]

Thanks Arex!