Why did they never show this section of DS9?
DS9 power core/engineering?
- Thread starter GalaxyClass1701
- Start date
They already had two huge and expensive sets, Ops and Promenade. They probably couldn't have afforded to show a large industrial facility like the power plant, not when very few plots would have involved such technicalities. In "Civil Defense", we saw some crawlways related to that section, plus a few smaller industrial sets related to the ore processing function of the station. The latter were a fun addition to the atmosphere of the show - but even they would probably have played little or no role in other episodes.
Timo Saloniemi
Timo Saloniemi
They could have filmed off site the engineering frome the new trek film was a Budwieser factory.
IMO, Ops was not only was the command center, it was also the equivalent of the station's engine room. Indeed, there was a lower section that O'Brien frequently went into to directly access some control systems. I would gather that all of DS9's fusion generators could be monitored and controlled from O'Brien's station in Ops.
Physically going inside DS9's fusion reactors might be akin to physically going inside an active warp core. You can do it, but it probably wouldn't be a place you'd want to be in for any length of time...
Physically going inside DS9's fusion reactors might be akin to physically going inside an active warp core. You can do it, but it probably wouldn't be a place you'd want to be in for any length of time...
Because if they showed it, large chunks of DS9's screentime would devolve into meaningless, boring technobabble that puts the audience to sleep (like in other Trek shows which feature similar areas on a regular basis).
DS9 got it right by avoiding those issues by abstracting things like this.
DS9 got it right by avoiding those issues by abstracting things like this.
yep, that's what you call making a virtue out of necessity. klingon honour mumbo-jumbo and religious mysticism are way better. my guess ist that ds9 didn't have the budget of the main shows, and couldn't afford more sets.
If I had to choose between Engineering and Promenade (the latter obviously is one of the most expensive and largest sets any ST show had to maintain on a regular basis), I would definitely choose Promenade because it could be successfully used in a lot more diverse stories than boring room with a glowing tube in the middle 
The creators obviously realized that.
Personally, I can`t recall any good episodes of either TNG or VOY where the use of Engineering actually enhanced the story. Unless you count that time when in the first season of TNG the klingon who fought his way into engineering fell over the railing
The creators obviously realized that.Personally, I can`t recall any good episodes of either TNG or VOY where the use of Engineering actually enhanced the story. Unless you count that time when in the first season of TNG the klingon who fought his way into engineering fell over the railing
You do get to see the reactor core itself in Lois Tilton's novel Betrayal (DS9 #6). Sure, it's not an onscreen visual, but I sure felt as though I'd seen it. I highly recommend Betrayal for many reasons...I believe Simon & Schuster has it available as an eBook. Trust me, it's worth it.
Are you being sarcastic there? Because truly, anything is better than technobabble.
The other shows that made technobabble sets wasted every penny they spent on them, but the precious screen-time wasted within them is the even greater offense.
How many Engineers, Starfleet and Bajoran, are stationed in that section at any time, cause if it's any more than a hundred then shouldn't there be Lieutenant or Lieutenant Commander in charge of that section as well as O'Brien in charge of the enlisted engineers and technicians in the upper sections?
technobabble, just like "Klingon honor mumbo-jumbo", and "religious mysticism", has it's time and place. all three can be fine in moderation, but become intolerable when overused.
yeah, because watching people play Tongo, or playing whatever that game was in MAH was, or talking to a silent character at a bar is not only worth every penny spent, but is so much more engaging and entertaining.
Yeah, but look how bloody awful that was.
