Ready Rooms

[Timo]

But neither the script nor the construction are a canonical part of the fictional universe. We're free to interpret the identity and purpose of the room as we wish, just like we can interpret the identity and purpose of those fancy blinking lights on corridor ceilings (they were built as "pager alerts", but pagers are an anachronistic technology, having been outdated already) or those belt buckles (they were built as "personal medical status reporters", but snitching on private matters doesn't sound all that plausible for the Trek universe).

Timo Saloniemi

 

[C.E. Evans]

But neither the script nor the construction are a canonical part of the fictional universe. We're free to interpret the identity and purpose of the room as we wish, just like we can interpret the identity and purpose of those fancy blinking lights on corridor ceilings (they were built as "pager alerts", but pagers are an anachronistic technology, having been outdated already) or those belt buckles (they were built as "personal medical status reporters", but snitching on private matters doesn't sound all that plausible for the Trek universe).

I'm sure you can argue that the room was the bowling alley or wasn't even aboard the Enterprise at all, but I'll just take the simplest explanation that it was Kirk's quarters as it was built as such by the production crew.

EDIT: Then there is the fact that Kirk asked to see Decker in his quarters in the previous scene.

 

[Timo]

The intent of the artists is seldom the "simplest" explanation, considering that artists care little about what other artists do. But the little bit of canon proof is of course enough to nail down the identity of that two-room set.

(Or are there perhaps more rooms to the complex, "hidden by camera angles"? Seems a bit small even compared with Kirk's TOS facilities...)

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

Pager alerts? The only reference I found in about the blinkies was in "Mr. Scott's Guide" where they were referred to as a visual clue to there being people ahead in the next section, which is overall kinda silly to begin with. OTOH, as pagers go we DID have the LCARS panels and directional blinkies built into the TNG corridor sets, which people barely ever used and which were largely left out of the corridors for the Defiant, Voyager, etc.

Mark

 

[C.E. Evans]

The intent of the artists is seldom the "simplest" explanation, considering that artists care little about what other artists do.

It was meant to be Kirk's quarters and it was referred to as such both onscreen and offscreen. Seems the "simplest" explanation is that it was Kirk's quarters to me.

But the little bit of canon proof is of course enough to nail down the identity of that two-room set.

We accept things with even less proof than that as canon.

 

[Timo]

Oops, sorry, I didn't intend that to sound sarcastic or anything - canon proof, even if "little bit", is of course canon proof. So it really is nailed down now.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[kguru]

One of the later episodes has someone entering the bridge from what should have been a turbo lift, but was instead empty white space. It is possible that there was a way to get to the Observation Lounge by turbo lift without crossing the bridge. That may be how the children snuck in there. I don't think very many public use rooms were locked on the Enterprise except for the armory, and maybe the battle bridge. Crew quarters were usually the only rooms locked. This also seemed to be the case on Voyager, though I do recall 7 of 9 locking herself in Astrometrics, and I think someone may have been locked in Sickbay at some point. Deep Space 9 had a lot more security of its common spaces, which makes sense as it was a space station rather than a starship with a more controlled population to prevent incidents.

 

[The Librarian]

One of the later episodes has someone entering the bridge from what should have been a turbo lift, but was instead empty white space. It is possible that there was a way to get to the Observation Lounge by turbo lift without crossing the bridge. That may be how the children snuck in there. I don't think very many public use rooms were locked on the Enterprise except for the armory, and maybe the battle bridge. Crew quarters were usually the only rooms locked. This also seemed to be the case on Voyager, though I do recall 7 of 9 locking herself in Astrometrics, and I think someone may have been locked in Sickbay at some point. Deep Space 9 had a lot more security of its common spaces, which makes sense as it was a space station rather than a starship with a more controlled population to prevent incidents.

Actually, whenever you see the doors open on the conference room open on the opposite side, there's a corridor there. Pretty much every deck plan, official or otherwise, shows a ramp down to the lower part of Deck 1 (or Deck 2's upper part) there. It makes sense, there should be a way to walk to any part of the ship using ramps or stairs without resorting to Jefferies tubes. In Disaster, it was probably just sealed like the lift shaft, but at a point that left the conference room itself accessible. Maybe it was just that entire upper bridge module that was reachable but not any points lower.