If the original enterprise is regarded as the most celebrated ship in Starfleet history,then why was it in her final years was made as training vessel for caets,with the history shoud the enterprise received a better retirement?.
enterprise better treatment
- Thread starter Mr Pointy Ears
- Start date
This is largely a product of later shows and fanboyism.
^ This.
The novelization of TMP aside, my feeling is that by and large the TOS era treated the Enterprise just like any other ship in the fleet, crewed by people who are just like any other crew. This "the Enterprise was the pride of the fleet!" and "her crew was the best of the best!" mentality was a later addition, which has only retroactively (and I should add, possibly erroneously) been applied to the TOS crew after-the-fact.
One thing she probably was was a survivor. No telling how many of her class actually survived, not how many were lost aside from the maybe half dozen known or speculated to have been lost or retired prior to the launch of the USS Enterprise-A.
We aren't even sure how many they built considering the question of if they built new ships in the refit style or if all those we saw were refits of older ships.
We aren't even sure how many they built considering the question of if they built new ships in the refit style or if all those we saw were refits of older ships.
Mostly true, but there was at least one "finest ship/crew in the fleet" reference in the original series (I think during one of those 'we-are-doomed-commendations-noted-on-the-record' countdown situations, or possibly a morale booster when headed into a crisis...I forget which.
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As others have pointed out, the Enterprise wasn't really "a legend in her own time," only later in the spinoffs.
Also, I was unaware that serving as a training vessel constituted any kind of dishonor.
Also, I was unaware that serving as a training vessel constituted any kind of dishonor.
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In TOS while the Enterprise was in active service each ship had it's own insignia- a rather cool idea I think. The crew of the Enterprise were the only ones to wear the Arrowhead emblem. When it completed it's five year mission and returned to Earth for the refit to honor it's service the entire Starfleet adopted the Enterprise Arrowhead.
It was suggested a few times that the instances of other starships having other insignia was an error on the prop department's side. It makes sense in terms of helping the viewer know that this guest actor in the Star Fleet uniform is not part of Enterprise's crew, but it seems the idea was that the arrowhead-like design was suppose to be what Starship crews wore. The flower insignia was starbases and the insignia on the Antares was the Merchant Marine.
At least that was one plan. The other plan is that each ship has its own patch until 2273 or so, when the Enterprise insignia goes to all Starfleet (though Epsilon Nine still had its own patch). Enterprise's patch might have been spread out to ships under Admiral Kirk's department, so he still has it as do others on Enterprise and a few on and around Earth. But by the late 2270s, everyone has that insignia with the new red uniforms.
At least that was one plan. The other plan is that each ship has its own patch until 2273 or so, when the Enterprise insignia goes to all Starfleet (though Epsilon Nine still had its own patch). Enterprise's patch might have been spread out to ships under Admiral Kirk's department, so he still has it as do others on Enterprise and a few on and around Earth. But by the late 2270s, everyone has that insignia with the new red uniforms.
Ships eventually come to the end of their days, and that end is not always glamorous. Look at what happened to Enterprise CV-6: Veteran of the most fighting campaigns of any USN ship, the only survivor of her class, the only Midway carrier and one of only three pre-war carriers to survive WW2. She wasted away in reserve for a dozen years, and by 1960 was all gone to scrap.
Using an active vessel for limited-duration training cruises has been a common practice in the real world and shouldn't be considered a dishonor.
Agreed.
And with that said, I think it's fascinating to consider that there might be (probably be) many other ships with equally good captains and crews that are similarly fighting power-hungry mad scientists, investigating time travel, visiting parallel universes, and encountering entities beyond belief. I love the idea that the adventures we see of the Enterprise aren't that unique given the size and scale of Starfleet. Sure, it means that space is plenty dangerous, but it also means that there's no shortage of wonders out there, either, and that even the average of people can step up and contribute to the human adventure.
I take that on board, but like you suggested it strikes me as something any starship captain might say in a "final rites" type of log entry when his or her ship and crew seems fated for certain doom.
It's certainly a LONG way from the near canonization that some fans seem to assume the crew enjoyed. Later shows certainly talked up the TOS crew as being honest-to-goodness legends, and the Enterprise being some kind of legendary and important spacecraft in the fleet at the time, but in reality it wasn't typically afforded that kind of status in TOS itself. All that came later. In TOS, she was merely one ship of many.Indeed, if we just look at the canon material, the USS Constellation encounters exactly the same giant space menace as the Enterprise does, the only difference being that Constellation got eaten while Enterprise survived (although, had Decker gotten his way, then she almost certainly wouldn't have). As you say, there really isn't any reason to assume that other Starfleet ships out there weren't having equally as fascinating adventures as our crew.
Indeed, if we just look at the canon material, the USS Constellation encounters exactly the same giant space menace as the Enterprise does, the only difference being that Constellation got eaten while Enterprise survived (although, had Decker gotten his way, then she almost certainly wouldn't have). As you say, there really isn't any reason to assume that other Starfleet ships out there weren't having equally as fascinating adventures as our crew.
I agree!
To assume otherwise would be no different than assuming that all the other cops who aren't the stars of some police show are all spending their days writing parking tickets.In fact, if all the other ships aren't encountering interesting planets and fascinating phenomenon, it sort of diminishes the necessity of having the fleet in the first place!
Are you talking about Morrow from STIII? I always got the impression based on his dialogue that Morrow didn't give a shit about the Enterprise, and would have been happy to see her decommissioned and scrapped for all he cared. He seemed to be far more interested in the Excelsior.
Some did, some didn't. The original intent was that everyone in Starfleet would sport the Arrowhead. Somehow the costuming department didn't get the memo and a couple ships wound up with their own patches.
I imagine every captain in the fleet tells his crew that. If you're facing the ship blowing up in 5 minutes unless everyone works together, you're not going to tell them they're the worst screwups you ever served with to inspire them.
Especially since she kept Spock, Scotty and co. on her and Kirk was still around. Teaching is an honorable job for someone close to his retirement. If I were I would find awesome to be trained on a good old Connie.
I am wondering why the damaged Enterprise was going to be decommissioned in Star Trek III, and the new one in Star Trek VI. The USS Enterprise was a training ship in the first, and could have been again in the second, though that is not clear.
The first Enterprise was rather old by the time she returned to spacedock after the Genesis incident. She seemed viable as a starship. Scott said he could have her ready in a few weeks which means she wasn't that badly damaged anymore. She's need hull repair work, some rooms rebuilt, some tweaks to the engine room and a rebuilt torpedo tube. See seemed to be functional give she was able to make it to Genesis again at seemingly high warp speed, with some issues if Scott's comment on a second wind means anything. The rigging of the automation wasn't up to combat specifications, but the ship seemed to work properly and would have been fine with a skeleton crew onboard.
The second Enterprise was in better shape, thought she had a larger hull breach. Her systems were alright, thought they'd need a new ship's mess. I think she might have been the training cruiser due to the command staffs comments about teaching at the academy and other comments about "what are we doing here" in relation to being at a high end Starfleet meeting. This would suggest that Enterprise was not being used for deep space exploration anymore. They were at Earth for unknown reasons. The crew was suppose to stand down within the year. So either they had come back from a five year mission and were filling time, or they were in their final rotation as training ship before she was due to be retired to free up the name for the Enterprise-B that was likely under construction.
What we don't know for certain is, how old was the second Enterprise? Did they built new Constitutions after the Enterprise was refit in the 2270s? Come to think of it did they build any new ones by the 2260s? Was Defiant the last one built? How old was it? Were all the remaining ships of that class refit to those specifications? How many were left by the 2290s?
The first Enterprise was rather old by the time she returned to spacedock after the Genesis incident. She seemed viable as a starship. Scott said he could have her ready in a few weeks which means she wasn't that badly damaged anymore. She's need hull repair work, some rooms rebuilt, some tweaks to the engine room and a rebuilt torpedo tube. See seemed to be functional give she was able to make it to Genesis again at seemingly high warp speed, with some issues if Scott's comment on a second wind means anything. The rigging of the automation wasn't up to combat specifications, but the ship seemed to work properly and would have been fine with a skeleton crew onboard.
The second Enterprise was in better shape, thought she had a larger hull breach. Her systems were alright, thought they'd need a new ship's mess. I think she might have been the training cruiser due to the command staffs comments about teaching at the academy and other comments about "what are we doing here" in relation to being at a high end Starfleet meeting. This would suggest that Enterprise was not being used for deep space exploration anymore. They were at Earth for unknown reasons. The crew was suppose to stand down within the year. So either they had come back from a five year mission and were filling time, or they were in their final rotation as training ship before she was due to be retired to free up the name for the Enterprise-B that was likely under construction.
What we don't know for certain is, how old was the second Enterprise? Did they built new Constitutions after the Enterprise was refit in the 2270s? Come to think of it did they build any new ones by the 2260s? Was Defiant the last one built? How old was it? Were all the remaining ships of that class refit to those specifications? How many were left by the 2290s?
How is keeping a celebrated but past her prime ship alive in one form or another poor treatment?
She was the big E and much like the real life big E recently scrapped the most celebrated ship in the fleet but the time comes when it's no longer feasible to upgrade and refit anymore. No shame in a role as a trainer or museum ship. I always assumed they were planning or building the next E which doesn't happen overnight. And again in real life the outcry for having the Big E patrolling the seas as our Navy's symbol of awesomeness has the next E on the shipyard schedule ahead of ships to be named after Presidents
She was the big E and much like the real life big E recently scrapped the most celebrated ship in the fleet but the time comes when it's no longer feasible to upgrade and refit anymore. No shame in a role as a trainer or museum ship. I always assumed they were planning or building the next E which doesn't happen overnight. And again in real life the outcry for having the Big E patrolling the seas as our Navy's symbol of awesomeness has the next E on the shipyard schedule ahead of ships to be named after Presidents
