Enterprise A

[Solariabsg25]

How would fans or the public had reacted if they had simply used the Excelsior re-named as the Enterprise-A? I certainly remember at the time this was a possiblity (even DC Comics had them aboard the Excelsior)

This could well have had an effect on the look for the whole future of Trek. The Enterprise miniature was never used in TNG/DS9 or Voyager (save a brief shot of the wrecked miniature from TSFS used in the graveyard scene at Wolf 359), so that means we would probably not have seen a proliferation of the Excelsior Class in these shows.

What would the Enterprise-B have been? Probably not a new effects model, but maybe a Constellation-Class?

 

[Plecostomus]

My take on this...

As gratitude Captain Kirk and his crew are assigned to a second Excelsior-class ship, the newly build USS Lakota. USS Lakota is renamed Enterprise-A in recognition of the original ship.

Under the influence of a Vulcan terrorist the ship is diverted to a point near the center of the Galaxy despite not having been declared fully spaceworthy. This journey is made possible by the new Transwarp drive based on Borg technology, recovered from the Antarctic.

Due to issues with this drive system, it is removed from the Enterprise A and Excelsior and replaced with a vastly improved standard warp drive.

Sometime between 5 and 6 Kirk undertakes a deep-space mission with the crew of the Enterprise-A, less Sulu who is now in command of the Excelsior. The ship is recalled to Earth for a diplomatic meeting with the Klingons.

The events of Six unfold, with the Enterprise-A taking a severe pounding by a Klingon BOP equiped with a modified cloak and shield-defeating gimics provided by rouge Starfleet elements. Battered and broken the ship is towed back to Earth and the crew disperses. Kirk and Scotty retire, others accept assginemts or move on.

The Enterprise A is rebuilt to the standards seen in Generations and assigned to Captain Harriman. As a publicity stunt Kirk and two of his former officers are aboard for the relaunch.

Ship and crew responds to a distress call. In an attempt to free the ship from some strange-ass energy-rift Kirk is killed. Or so it seems.

The Enterprise A goes on to have many more adventures before being destroyed.

The Enterprise B is a Constallation class 4-nacelle explorer which is retired suddenly along with the rest of the ships due to severe design flaws and safety issues less than five years after comissioning.

Enterprise C and D remain the same.

 

[Red Ranger]

I would have welcomed the Excelsior being renamed Enterprise-A. I always liked the ship, and it's one of the starship classes that looks the most like the Constitution-class. Then another class starship would've had to be used for the Enterprise-B.

A bit off topic, but I understand that Picard's old ship, the Stargazer, was supposed to be a Constitution-class starship, like ole NCC-1701. Instead, we got the awful Constellation-class starship.

Red Ranger

 

[MarianLH]

It was originally planned that the Excelsior would replace the Enterprise, but the idea was dropped between ST III and ST IV due to lukewarm fan response to the design. It wasn't until TNG that people started warming to it. It helped that they found some more flattering camera angles for it than the ones in ST III.


Marian

 

[Elder Knight]

It might have worked with Chekov as Captain of 1701-B.

Other people could have enunciated the dumb-Harriman stuff, and he could have been smart-Harriman ("Try venting plasma ... ') until Kirk stepped in.

I think that if the producers could have enlisted a few non-fanatic fan experts amongst their advisers, their product would have been better.

 

[Colonel Midnight]

It was originally planned that the Excelsior would replace the Enterprise, but the idea was dropped between ST III and ST IV due to lukewarm fan response to the design. It wasn't until TNG that people started warming to it. It helped that they found some more flattering camera angles for it than the ones in ST III.


Marian

They would've definitely lost me -- the Excelsior design to this day for me looks like a malformed, bloated whale... *yeck*

Cheers,
-CM-

 

[The Old Mixer]

It might have worked with Chekov as Captain of 1701-B.

Other people could have enunciated the dumb-Harriman stuff, and he could have been smart-Harriman ("Try venting plasma ... ') until Kirk stepped in.

Not even necessary...it's not like they were ever afraid of making Chekov look stupid....

 

[MarianLH]

It was originally planned that the Excelsior would replace the Enterprise, but the idea was dropped between ST III and ST IV due to lukewarm fan response to the design. It wasn't until TNG that people started warming to it. It helped that they found some more flattering camera angles for it than the ones in ST III.


Marian

They would've definitely lost me -- the Excelsior design to this day for me looks like a malformed, bloated whale... *yeck*

Cheers,
-CM-

"Pregnant guppy" was the phrase being tossed around after ST III, so you're not alone.


Marian

 

[Data Holmes]

It was originally planned that the Excelsior would replace the Enterprise, but the idea was dropped between ST III and ST IV due to lukewarm fan response to the design. It wasn't until TNG that people started warming to it. It helped that they found some more flattering camera angles for it than the ones in ST III.


Marian

They would've definitely lost me -- the Excelsior design to this day for me looks like a malformed, bloated whale... *yeck*

Cheers,
-CM-

"Pregnant guppy" was the phrase being tossed around after ST III, so you're not alone.


Marian

I never understood the Excelsior hate to be honest...

 

[Maurice]

^^^Probably because the ship is butt ugly from a lot of angles. It's one of those things that looks cool drawn in profile on paper, but the moment you get low and in front it's graceless.

 

[Colonel Midnight]

They would've definitely lost me -- the Excelsior design to this day for me looks like a malformed, bloated whale... *yeck*

Cheers,
-CM-

"Pregnant guppy" was the phrase being tossed around after ST III, so you're not alone.


Marian

I never understood the Excelsior hate to be honest...

For me, it was the shot in TSFS when she grinds to a halt outside of Spacedock... although a cool scene, she just looks... awful.

As in "not just ugly, but FUGLY". Still, to each his/her own.

Cheers,
-CM-

 

[RyanKCR]

They would've definitely lost me -- the Excelsior design to this day for me looks like a malformed, bloated whale... *yeck*

Cheers,
-CM-

"Pregnant guppy" was the phrase being tossed around after ST III, so you're not alone.


Marian

I never understood the Excelsior hate to be honest...

As has been said she has no graceful lines. Almost looks like a box.

 

[Data Holmes]

See, I think it is a really good looking model, I just don't think ILM knew who to shoot it and tried to shoot it like the Enterprise model.

I also think it wasn't fair to compare it to the Big E herself, and that it has a stigma from that comparison too.

 

[trevanian]

"Pregnant guppy" was the phrase being tossed around after ST III, so you're not alone.


Marian

I never understood the Excelsior hate to be honest...

As has been said she has no graceful lines. Almost looks like a box.

Rip off the dish and turn the ship upside down ... wah-lah! It's like a John Berkey sf book cover painting (only not as cool.)

 

[22 Stars]

I wonder if the love/hate for Excelsior is also biased by who was watching during the production of the movies. ST III clearly uses the Excelsior as a 'bad-guy' trying to rush our heroes into retirement prematurely. Scotty speaks badly of it, so we are meant to thing negatively about it. If you came to the design post- ST III then you may or may not have this imposed bias.

As a 'loyal' trek fan, I mocked the Excelsior along with our galant crew, but have grown to like it since.

 

[Rarewolf]

Rip off the dish and turn the ship upside down ... wah-lah! It's like a John Berkey sf book cover painting (only not as cool.)

Leave the saucer on and I think all the Enterprises look sleek, but menacing.

I don't think the Constellation could ever have been a 1701 - all of them stuck to the same 2 nacelle - behind the saucer design.

And don't forget it's only called Constellation so that they could dub LeVar's Constitution as was filmed on it's first appearance. We could of had retired connies on TNG.

 

[Elder Knight]

...

"Pregnant guppy" was the phrase being tossed around after ST III, so you're not alone.


Marian

Back then Cinefantastique magazine said that Excelsior's hull resembled a tube of toothpase that had been mercilessly squeezed in the wrong place.

 

[Red Ranger]

I wonder if the love/hate for Excelsior is also biased by who was watching during the production of the movies. ST III clearly uses the Excelsior as a 'bad-guy' trying to rush our heroes into retirement prematurely. Scotty speaks badly of it, so we are meant to thing negatively about it. If you came to the design post- ST III then you may or may not have this imposed bias.

As a 'loyal' trek fan, I mocked the Excelsior along with our galant crew, but have grown to like it since.

22 Stars: I think you've hit the nail on the head. The way Excelsior was set up was as kind of a "straw man," to be compared unfavorably to the more revered Enterprise. Esp. if you look at how Captain Styles was portrayed as a horse's ass, complete with riding crop! -- RR

 

[TigerOfDarkness]

I left the cinema after TSFS expecting that the series would continue with the Excelsior design (as a lot of people did, I imagine). I found the idea very disappointing - strange how important the look of the ship is.

 

[PhoenixIreland]

I remember somone bringing a magazine into school back in the day with a picture of the new E in it and I was very dissapoitned, it looked like a future bastard child of the A trying a little to hard to be diffrent.

I still dont like it, tho if the nacelles were L shaped it would be better.

I always loved the Excelsior, even with the first bridge, which had so many bight blinking lights I dunno how the actors didn't have epileptic seizures.