Here it goes again, the old bait and switch... Top paragraph: "I'm a huge fan of FJ's work..." Bottom paragraph: "FJ didn't know jackshit..."
--Shouldn't use quotation marks for something that's not a quote. I find your remarks unfair, vitriolic, and totally unfounded. If you actually read my post, you may have noticed that I never once even implied that 'FJ didn't know jack,' but, rather, that he chose to take some creative licence with the designs. That's a real big difference.
...
Listen, you show me Better blueprints of the old Enterprise and I'll listen to you... I'm not talking about Exteriors (we've plenty of them)...
--Here you seem to imply that the newer measured drawings of the
Enterprise are more accurate than what appeared in the FJ work... what gives?
...but ones with DECK Plans... I've gone through many of them and none beat FJ's...
--Oh yeah, I agree that none of the published stuff I've ever seen is as complete as the FJ stuff. He was nothing if not thorough, which is part of why his material is so great.
...Oh, you can argue about no "warp core" in there--but Treknical fans of old do not believe in such a contraption Within the hull but intermix chambers in the nacelles...which is also where the antimatter is stored (much safer that way)...
--The heck!?!? Where did I say anything about a warp core? I post quite a lot on Trek Tech and over in Trek Art, and, if you've ever followed any of the discussions in which I've participated, you might find that I'm a strong proponent of "fuel + reactors in the nacelles where MJ said they were." You're on a rant for no good reason!
And no life boats: Treknical fans of old believed the turbolift cars served as ejectable lifeboats...
--According to FJ, the only lifeboat functions were that the saucer could be separated and could support the entire crew as a lifeboat or the secondary hull could support the entire crew under emergency conditions. Geoffrey Mandel's
Enterprise Officer's Manual put forth the idea that the turbolifts could be used as escape pods. It's kind of a clever idea but that's the only place I've seen it. Which makes it the outlier. The same book also suggested that the entire "command gondola" (the teardrop section beneath the bridge) could also be ejected and act as a lifeboat. Again, that's the only place that idea shows up. FJTM and TMoST both only mention the saucer separation option for lifeboating...
Yes, it's a matter of Interpretation...but if the best you can come up with is a jazzed up blueprint set from Strategic Design or what have you published within the last decade or so, then it's a case of too little WAY TOO LATE, since the FJ blueprints served as Guides for many, MANY Trek authors and fans and modellers and Gamers for DECADES...
--I've never actually seen the TOS E from Strategic Design. But I do agree with you that FJ's work inspired uncountable creative works by plenty of
Trek fans, myself included.
The thing is that FJ had only the following reference items:
--Film frames in slide form from the Franklin Mint
--The book
The Making of Star Trek
--The AMT model kit of the
Enterprise
--Catching the show on TV during it's syndication re-runs
Given what he had to work with, the work he finished was outstanding. In a class by itself.
But, the wealth of information we have today, the ability to screen-grab any frame from the show, the additional behind the scenes information that has been released since the mid-70's... Today, we just have so much more to go go on than he did. There are two projects on TrekBBS, by
blssdwlf and
Robert Comsol that are both interpreting, in different ways, versions of the interior of the ship that match not only the appearance of the sets as they appeared on screen, but even making sure that they match the dialogue and the editing as best as possible. These are on their way to becoming a much more definitive version of
what was seen on Star Trek than FJ was able to do. Or, even intended to do. And, I might add, that both of those guys are takingcare to use just information from TOS... no ret-conning.
Just as the "prime" universe got flushed down a galactic toilet, you'd best concentrate on the latest and greatest Enterprise right now... You know, with the Apple Store upstairs, the Brewery downstairs, and that insane hangar deck with pylons blocking the way...
I'm not a fan of the new version of the ship. But, it seems that a lot of people aren't. I don't know if you follow the merchandising of
Star Trek right now, but the most of it is stuff that ties into Shatner's Kirk and crew and Stewart's Picard and company. J.J. Trek gets a bit of love here and there, but I'm surprised just how much the Prime universe gets paid attention to by the marketers, especially with the new movies just weeks away.
--Alex
