Andrew Probert and Rick Sternbach: The New Enterprise

[EJD1984]

^^Well, maybe they're going for a really advanced technology that isn't based on anything as crude as a great big hinge, but is more a sort of flexible, shapechanging structure

I had thought of that as well, a form of "memory metal". If you look at the base of the support pylon, there is a darkened area that could very well be the "flexible" section.

Having the variable warp nacelles actually makes the most sense. I would think that for each warp level, the overall geometry of the warp field would have to change as well.

 

[Crazy Eddie]

To tell the truth, the only problem I have with it is the secondary hull sticks forward just a little too much. Move it back a few meters and the design would be A-okay. And I never thought it would happen, but the lack of a convex saucer section fits in pretty nicely.

 

[Christopher]

To tell the truth, the only problem I have with it is the secondary hull sticks forward just a little too much. Move it back a few meters and the design would be A-okay.

I think that's something of an optical illusion. The front of the secondary hull isn't significantly farther forward from the neck than it was on the original ship; but the dorsal goes so much farther back and the secondary hull undercut is so much farther forward that it creates the illusion of the hull being thrust forward.

And I never thought it would happen, but the lack of a convex saucer section fits in pretty nicely.

What do you mean? If you're referring to those wireframe mockups with a flat top to the saucer, that was just because the top of the saucer wasn't visible in the shot it was based on. In the trailer, which is now watchable at startrekmovie.com, you can see (if you freeze-frame at the right moments) that the saucer has pretty much the same shape it always had.

 

[EJD1984]

And I never thought it would happen, but the lack of a convex saucer section fits in pretty nicely.

What do you mean? If you're referring to those wireframe mockups with a flat top to the saucer, that was just because the top of the saucer wasn't visible in the shot it was based on. In the trailer, which is now watchable at startrekmovie.com, you can see (if you freeze-frame at the right moments) that the saucer has pretty much the same shape it always had.

I believe he may be referring to the underside of the saucer, there doesn't seem to be a concave cutout on the new ship - Which may have added to an elegant design on the TOS & Refit, in all practically, it was a huge waste of usable internal space.

 

[Christopher]

^^Well, he said convex, not concave.

 

[Timo]

Stalagmite or stalactite? The terminology isn't trivially easy to remember.

The saucer aft section shadows in the initially released shot might suggest concavity on the underside after all. Difficult to say, really.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[arch101]

I still think we are seeing the TOS time period as evolved from the altered Enterprise time period. I don't think it's a fluke that Abrams is using time travel AGAIN after it was so prevalent during Enterprise's run. Daniel's had said that the Xindi attack never happened, yet everyone remembered it and it strongly affected Earth's development during season 4, a year which laid much groundwork for TOS. Between that and whatever Nero has been doing before the main events of the film, I believe we are seeing a slightly altered TOS era replete with slightly altered technology. The ship is growing on me.

 

[Probert]

I was just wondering if you had any thoughts on the new design?

Personally I don't like the secondary hulls proportions and the fact that it's been moved forward. The design also seems to have a squashed feeling to me.

Okay,... it's my turn.

I FRIGGIN' HATE IT! ... was my kneejerk reaction. I simply couldn't believe that J.J. A. would screw with us this way... nothing made any logical progression sense. This is NOT what a pre-TOS Enterprise would look like. It's like re-filming the Titanic disaster but using the QE-2 instead. Once again, we have another Hollywood swell-head putting his illogical my-way-is-oh-soooo-cool twist on redoing cinematic history.

But I kept looking at everything,... the sets, the ship exterior, the new trailer. Why would he have a bridge that was obviously visually advanced from what it was to precede? What was up with the bizarre stylistic collision of the ship's exterior? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON???

A possible answer might be that J.J.A.'s mission is to "reset" the Trek universe for a new audience while trying to appease us old die-hard fans... probably not a great idea. I was there, back when Star Trek aired for the first time in 1966. My wife & I even protested with signs on the steps of NBC when they wanted to cancel it. Why? Because that show totally advanced Science Fiction with a ship that was powered by more than rocket flames shooting out the back. They had transporters, shuttlecraft, awesome ray-guns, a bridge unlike any I had ever seen, and a totally mixed crew including an alien. Those of you who aren't old enough to understand how utterly advanced Star Trek was back then cannot appreciate what I'm really saying... and that's okay, time & styles march on. As much as I still love it,... that original Star Trek has become rather 'camp' over the years and many of the advanced features of that show have been technologically surpassed already. Others, still unachievable, have been absorbed into our collective culture as things that will surely happen one day soon.

By resetting Star Trek, J.J.A. is probably trying to give this new generation of fans an upgraded version of what I felt forty three years ago. Where I think he might have gone wrong here was trying to appease us older guys. One way to do that would be to include elements from Trek's past, like that saucer... bad idea. That's what is throwing us, I think, because it clashes so badly with the new elements. Now I'm not going to get into all the new sets, as slick & shinny as they are (no comforting surfaces whatsoever, that I can see),... but I do think that they should have taken the ship's exterior ALL the way to hip-happening-ville, instead of only half way... and I've scribbled out kind of what I'm thinking.

I mean if you're resetting everything, then go for it.

For now, I'll leave it at that, and not even mention that the new shuttles look like Winnabegos with old fashioned jet engines stuck on.

Andrew-

 

[Santaman]

^^ Well said and totally agreed upon...

As for the shuttles eww?!!

 

[QuasarVM]

I was just wondering if you had any thoughts on the new design?

Personally I don't like the secondary hulls proportions and the fact that it's been moved forward. The design also seems to have a squashed feeling to me.

Okay,... it's my turn.

I FRIGGIN' HATE IT! ... was my kneejerk reaction. I simply couldn't believe that J.J. A. would screw with us this way... nothing made any logical progression sense. This is NOT was a pre-TOS Enterprise would look like. It's like re-filming the Titanic disaster but using the QE-2 instead. Once again, we have another Hollywood swell-head putting his illogical my-way-is-oh-soooo-cool twist on redoing cinematic history.

But I kept looking at everything,... the sets, the ship exterior, the new trailer. Why would he have a bridge that was obviously visually advanced from what it was to precede? What was up with the bizarre stylistic collision of the ship's exterior? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON???

A possible answer might be that J.J.A.'s mission is to "reset" the Trek universe for a new audience while trying to appease us old die-hard fans... probably not a great idea. I was there, back when Star Trek aired for the first time in 1966. My wife & I even protested with signs on the steps of NBC when they wanted to cancel it. Why? Because that show totally advanced Science Fiction with a ship that was powered by more than rocket flames shooting out the back. They had transporters, shuttlecraft, awesome ray-guns, a bridge unlike any I had ever seen, and a totally mixed crew including an alien. Those of you who aren't old enough to understand how utterly advanced Star Trek was back then cannot appreciate what I'm really saying... and that's okay, time & styles march on. As much as I still love it,... that original Star Trek has become rather 'camp' over the years and many of the advanced features of that show have been technologically surpassed already. Others, still unachievable, have been absorbed into our collective culture as things that will surely happen one day soon.

By resetting Star Trek, J.J.A. is probably trying to give this new generation of fans an upgraded version of what I felt forty three years ago. Where I think he might have gone wrong here was trying to appease us older guys. One way to do that would be to include elements from Trek's past, like that saucer... bad idea. That's what is throwing us, I think, because it clashes so badly with the new elements. Now I'm not going to get into all the new sets, as slick & shinny as they are (no comforting surfaces whatsoever, that I can see),... but I do think that they should have taken the ship's exterior ALL the way to hip-happening-ville, instead of only half way... and I've scribbled out kind of what I'm thinking.

I mean if you're resetting everything, then go for it.

For now, I'll leave it at that, and not even mention that the new shuttles look like Winnabegos with old fashioned jet engines stuck on.

Andrew-

I agree 200% Andy!

I like your sketched modification to the saucer section. It's basically what I described was needed over at Trekmovie.com. I think the secondary hull looks good and I'm ok with the connecting dorsal. The engines are OK...but why the short pylons? With the elements we have now, I'd like to see swept forward pylons like the Ken Adams design had...but longer than what we see here.

I think a more streamlined, sculptured look would have been better -- for a more advanced ship. And yes, the shuttles look out of timeframe...and the bridge...don't get me started on that.

This does look way more advanced than the old TOS Enterprise.

MEH!! What are we talking about??? This isn't even remotely resembling anything from pre-TOS.

Then again...I didn't like what the Enterprise series did with the ship either.

No one is hitting the mark these days.

This is TC Tobias -- I interviewed Richard Taylor a few years ago -- you may remember me.

They made big mistake not getting you on this design team!

 

[ancient]

I think this starship might fall into the uncanny valley.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

...it was fairly likely the warp engines were increased in size and moved closer together to "cheat" the final shot to get a better composition.

Or maybe not. If you look at the head-on image of the ship that's currently in my avatar, you'll see that the pylons rise fairly steeply and that the engines are in fact pretty close together relative to the saucer. And that particular shot from the teaser doesn't really have the ship close enough to the camera for there to be significant perspective distortion.

 

[Ronald Held]

Again, why did the exterior modeling need a reset? Why is this design more modern versus just different?

 

[USS Mariner]

Okay,... it's my turn.

I FRIGGIN' HATE IT! ... was my kneejerk reaction. I simply couldn't believe that J.J. A. would screw with us this way... nothing made any logical progression sense. This is NOT what a pre-TOS Enterprise would look like. It's like re-filming the Titanic disaster but using the QE-2 instead. Once again, we have another Hollywood swell-head putting his illogical my-way-is-oh-soooo-cool twist on redoing cinematic history.

But I kept looking at everything,... the sets, the ship exterior, the new trailer. Why would he have a bridge that was obviously visually advanced from what it was to precede? What was up with the bizarre stylistic collision of the ship's exterior? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON???

A possible answer might be that J.J.A.'s mission is to "reset" the Trek universe for a new audience while trying to appease us old die-hard fans... probably not a great idea. I was there, back when Star Trek aired for the first time in 1966. My wife & I even protested with signs on the steps of NBC when they wanted to cancel it. Why? Because that show totally advanced Science Fiction with a ship that was powered by more than rocket flames shooting out the back. They had transporters, shuttlecraft, awesome ray-guns, a bridge unlike any I had ever seen, and a totally mixed crew including an alien. Those of you who aren't old enough to understand how utterly advanced Star Trek was back then cannot appreciate what I'm really saying... and that's okay, time & styles march on. As much as I still love it,... that original Star Trek has become rather 'camp' over the years and many of the advanced features of that show have been technologically surpassed already. Others, still unachievable, have been absorbed into our collective culture as things that will surely happen one day soon.

By resetting Star Trek, J.J.A. is probably trying to give this new generation of fans an upgraded version of what I felt forty three years ago. Where I think he might have gone wrong here was trying to appease us older guys. One way to do that would be to include elements from Trek's past, like that saucer... bad idea. That's what is throwing us, I think, because it clashes so badly with the new elements. Now I'm not going to get into all the new sets, as slick & shinny as they are (no comforting surfaces whatsoever, that I can see),... but I do think that they should have taken the ship's exterior ALL the way to hip-happening-ville, instead of only half way... and I've scribbled out kind of what I'm thinking.

I mean if you're resetting everything, then go for it.

"Enterfunk." I like that. Permission to steal, sir?

You've basically said what I think of it, but can't because of the hater-hating going on here.

For now, I'll leave it at that, and not even mention that the new shuttles look like Winnabegos with old fashioned jet engines stuck on.

Andrew-

You know, the Eagle 5 still looks better than the new shuttles.

 

[Psion]

I was just wondering if you had any thoughts on the new design?

Personally I don't like the secondary hulls proportions and the fact that it's been moved forward. The design also seems to have a squashed feeling to me.

Okay,... it's my turn.

I FRIGGIN' HATE IT!
...

For now, I'll leave it at that, and not even mention that the new shuttles look like Winnabegos with old fashioned jet engines stuck on.

Andrew-

Well, I'm not completely against it, but I have referred to it as the Starship Platypus a few times for its "designed by committee" look. It's great to know a professional noticed this too!

I think this starship might fall into the uncanny valley.

I don't know if you're serious, Ancient, but I think you've hit on something here.

 

[Clawhammer]

Again, why did the exterior modeling need a reset? Why is this design more modern versus just different?

Du nut wurry! On the timeline this wont have much influence, after all this is a prequel, all the events and ripples will end somehow where 60's Star Trek starts, so for example TNG era starship design wont be affected by it.

I would have expected a mix between NX-01 and classic E. It's really not a problem to create something kick ass based on these 2. But it seems that they went into a different direction with a lot of things.

It slightly shows that the guys responsible for the new E are people that worked on Transformers and Star Wars. In my opinion they could have been a bit more careful with this design, it's not a run of the mill fanship, it's the E, it's something that a lot of people know. Just touch it up for 2008 and make changes to make it look like a predecessor. How hard can it be.

Still I'm sure it will be an enjoyable movie to watch.

 

[USS Mariner]

I honestly think the "new timeline" stuff is bullshit.

I honestly don't expect them to touch the "normal" timeline after this, and if they've gone this far to setup this new universe, why retread on it at the end? That's insulting and moronic.

And as for the argument of "updating" the design, remember that most movie goers can't tell any difference between the TOS ship and the new ship, or between any of the Enterprises for that matter. All they did here was endanger the respect of the "conservative" fanbase with not only a new design, but a shitpiece of one.

 

[ancient]

I was just wondering if you had any thoughts on the new design?



Personally I don't like the secondary hulls proportions and the fact that it's been moved forward. The design also seems to have a squashed feeling to me.

Okay,... it's my turn.

I FRIGGIN' HATE IT!
...

For now, I'll leave it at that, and not even mention that the new shuttles look like Winnabegos with old fashioned jet engines stuck on.

Andrew-

Well, I'm not completely against it, but I have referred to it as the Starship Platypus a few times for its "designed by committee" look. It's great to know a professional noticed this too!

I'm a supporter of the new movie, and I'm Ok with the new design - it looked amazing in the Kirk/Motorcycle scene. But I can see why some people have problems with it, and I have a few myself.

I think this starship might fall into the uncanny valley.

I don't know if you're serious, Ancient, but I think you've hit on something here.

Yeah, I think the problem isn't so much that the design is 'wrong', the problem is that it's 'not right'. Like the uncanny valley (which is a real problem) our familiarity with the old design and the similar-but-distorted look of the new ship combine to repulse us somewhat.

That's not the only problem with it, but it certainly doesn't help.

 

[JoeRalat]

Rick what do you think of the new bridge?

I am with Rick S. with this one. I hope he is right about the end of the movie. But I have a problem with that also. If you see the TOS E at the end of the movie, then what happen if they make another movie after this? Would they use TOS Enterprise in that? If so, then why not use the TOS Enterpise in this movie?

I like I said, I am holding out for that, if I hear that TOS is at the end of this movie, then I will go see it.

Anyway here are some high rez photos of different view of the ship.

And a photo of the new phaser???

 

[USS Mariner]

I'm curious as to why there are desk lamps from Costco and Giant Eagle self-checkout scanners all over the bridge.

Could they have picked something more uncomfortable for the captain's chair?