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How do/did you feel about the return of the Enterprise-D?

A few other things:

I've seen people talk about how they think it should've been the E. Admittedly, I guess the E would've made a lot more sense since the E was designed more to be a ready-for-battle ship AND less importantly the picture ratio PIC was filmed in was the same for the TNG films using the E, but I'm still glad we got the D back because i always preferred her over the E. She is a lot more visually appealing than the E's more aggressive design.

There have been questions being asked about why the Generations bridge wasn't recreated. I believe I have an answer for this (a couple actually). 1: The Enterprise D's return was brought back with nostalgia in mind. On TNG's case although we've seen several variations of the bridge throughout the show's seven-year run, the S4-7 bridge is the version we've seen the longest so that's the bridge we're most familiar with whereas we only saw the Generations bridge in that one movie, so in my opinion, recreating the S4-7 bridge was the better option. 2: For an in-universe reason, I think Geordi didn't recreate that bridge because that bridge would've been a painful reminder of how the Enterprise-D was initially destroyed in 2371.

You know what's so ironic? It still fascinates me how when the producers initially pitched the idea for the Picard show to Patrick Stewart he originally gave them a hard no insisting he was done with Star Trek but with a little more persistence they were able to convince him Picard's post-Starfleet life was worth exploring, Stewart agreed but under the three conditions that (to paraphrase) the new Picard show not end up being Star Trek: The Next Generation, Part 2. But the cool thing is, the end of Season 3 ended up being exactly that - Star Trek: The Next Generation, Part 2! Especially since most of Season 1 and some of Season 2 didn't feel much like Star Trek at all.

I would've liked if the very last scene took place in Enterprise-D's Ten Forward. I still love that scene in the very beginning of Picard and Data playing poker in Enterprise-D's Ten Forward but it was a dream sequence. I'm think how cool it would've been if that would've been repeated for the very last scene of "The Last Generation" -- another poker game in the Ten Forward lounge of the D but this time it's not a dream and with the whole TNG principle crew. I know the D had already been returned to the Fleet Museum at that point but still.

I'm not too bummed out about it but I would've liked to hear the ambient humming beeping sounds you hear on TNG. I loved that background noise on the bridge.

To me, the return of the Enterprise-D was kind of silly. I understand it was nostalgia and a way to send the TNG cast off with the ship they began with, but in-universe it made no sense. The saucer section of the Enterprise-D should have been scrapped for parts a long time ago, IMO. I think the resources used to restore the ship could have been better used for other ships intended for active service, not one destined to sit in a museum.

USS ENTERPRISE NCC-1701-D
Commissioned: 2363
First Deployment: 2364
Destroyed In Action: 2371
Restored: 2401
Decommissioned: 2401

The only thing that stuck out to me as "silly" was how Geordi explained that the engines and nacelles were extracted from the USS Syracuse. In the GEN movie we saw the D's stardrive section be blown to a million pieces. I just find it hard to believe he spent the past two decades collecting all the bits and scraps from the wreckage of the destruction of the stardrive section of the D.

Regardless, in my head canon, Geordi just used the whole stardrive section of the Syracuse and attached the refurbished D's saucer section onto it. Especially when the word "Syracuse" at one point can be seen clear as glass on the neck of the ship.
 
There have been questions being asked about why the Generations bridge wasn't recreated. I believe I have an answer for this (a couple actually). 1: The Enterprise D's return was brought back with nostalgia in mind. On TNG's case although we've seen several variations of the bridge throughout the show's seven-year run, the S4-7 bridge is the version we've seen the longest so that's the bridge we're most familiar with whereas we only saw the Generations bridge in that one movie, so in my opinion, recreating the S4-7 bridge was the better option. 2: For an in-universe reason, I think Geordi didn't recreate that bridge because that bridge would've been a painful reminder of how the Enterprise-D was initially destroyed in 2371.
One "head canon" theory I've seen around was that the bridge module seen in seasons 4-7 was swapped out with the GEN bridge, and Geordi could have just retrieved the older bridge module for the museum.
 
You know what's so ironic? It still fascinates me how when the producers initially pitched the idea for the Picard show to Patrick Stewart he originally gave them a hard no insisting he was done with Star Trek but with a little more persistence they were able to convince him Picard's post-Starfleet life was worth exploring, Stewart agreed but under the three conditions that (to paraphrase) the new Picard show not end up being Star Trek: The Next Generation, Part 2. But the cool thing is, the end of Season 3 ended up being exactly that - Star Trek: The Next Generation, Part 2! Especially since most of Season 1 and some of Season 2 didn't feel much like Star Trek at all.
I mean, I get Stewart's point of view. To him, acting is apart of exploring themes, so it would make sense to not repeat themes previously explored. Season 2, for all the grief I give it, felt like an exploration of a darker side of humanity, even though it probably didn't feel very Star Trek. But, Star Trek is about the human adventure, and these experiences are valid to explore.

Hmmm...maybe that's why Legacy appeals. It's exploring another stage of humanity?
 
The only thing that stuck out to me as "silly" was how Geordi explained that the engines and nacelles were extracted from the USS Syracuse. In the GEN movie we saw the D's stardrive section be blown to a million pieces. I just find it hard to believe he spent the past two decades collecting all the bits and scraps from the wreckage of the destruction of the stardrive section of the D.

Regardless, in my head canon, Geordi just used the whole stardrive section of the Syracuse and attached the refurbished D's saucer section onto it. Especially when the word "Syracuse" at one point can be seen clear as glass on the neck of the ship.
I think it's safe to say that LaForge was talking in a general sense. The stardrive section totally belonged to the Syracuse. But even so, it meant that the wrecked saucer section of the Enterprise-D was kept around for 20+ years for some unfathomable reason. Maybe it was towed to Surplus Depot Z15 and used for spare parts for other ships that entire time until LaForge had the idea of restoring the ship perhaps. Even though the Enterprise-D is a notable and historic ship, it still seems like a waste of Starfleet resources to me though...
 
Technically I found it impressive to see the E-D again, and the people who recreated the bridge deserve a lot of credit for how much work they put into making it as authentic as possible. Though I kind of would have preferred to see the GEN version, as I found it superior to the TV show version.

Emotionally I found the whole thing blatantly manipulative, and the circumstances leading to it are kind of laughable.

Intellectually it seemed to make about as much sense as much of the rest of the season (which is to say, not much), and it further increased my sense of disappointment with the season's decision to abandon the original premise of the series in favor of TNG Season 8. I strongly suspect that if you stripped away the nostalgia factor S3 wouldn't be regarded nearly as highly as it is.

I do not like it when I feel that something is appealing to my emotions in an attempt to pull an end run around my intellect.
 
There have been questions being asked about why the Generations bridge wasn't recreated. I believe I have an answer for this (a couple actually). 1: The Enterprise D's return was brought back with nostalgia in mind. On TNG's case although we've seen several variations of the bridge throughout the show's seven-year run, the S4-7 bridge is the version we've seen the longest so that's the bridge we're most familiar with whereas we only saw the Generations bridge in that one movie, so in my opinion, recreating the S4-7 bridge was the better option. 2: For an in-universe reason, I think Geordi didn't recreate that bridge because that bridge would've been a painful reminder of how the Enterprise-D was initially destroyed in 2371.
The in-universe reason would probably be similar to your first reason. The ship was restored with the intention of being a museum ship, they'd obviously want to present the way the bridge looked for a majority of its years in service rather than the look it had for the last few months of its service.
 
The only thing that stuck out to me as "silly" was how Geordi explained that the engines and nacelles were extracted from the USS Syracuse. In the GEN movie we saw the D's stardrive section be blown to a million pieces. I just find it hard to believe he spent the past two decades collecting all the bits and scraps from the wreckage of the destruction of the stardrive section of the D.

Regardless, in my head canon, Geordi just used the whole stardrive section of the Syracuse and attached the refurbished D's saucer section onto it. Especially when the word "Syracuse" at one point can be seen clear as glass on the neck of the ship.
He never suggested that just the inside was from the Syracuse, and the outside was pieced together as a million pieces puzzle :D
 
One "head canon" theory I've seen around was that the bridge module seen in seasons 4-7 was swapped out with the GEN bridge, and Geordi could have just retrieved the older bridge module for the museum.
That was my thinking too, and it adds extra poignancy to when Picard looks at the dedication plaque.

In any real museum piece, authenticity would be valued over a facsimile of the original. And if Geordi's intent was to make the Enterprise-D into a museum attraction, I'm guessing he would try to use as much of the original that he could find, including a bridge that was actually used by the crew.
The only thing that stuck out to me as "silly" was how Geordi explained that the engines and nacelles were extracted from the USS Syracuse. In the GEN movie we saw the D's stardrive section be blown to a million pieces. I just find it hard to believe he spent the past two decades collecting all the bits and scraps from the wreckage of the destruction of the stardrive section of the D.

Regardless, in my head canon, Geordi just used the whole stardrive section of the Syracuse and attached the refurbished D's saucer section onto it. Especially when the word "Syracuse" at one point can be seen clear as glass on the neck of the ship.
I think he did use the entire stardrive of the Syracuse. There's a difference in the color shading between the saucer section and the stardrive, implied to be the result of the Enterprise's saucer section having gone through the scorching from the atmosphere and crashing on Veridian III. Also, people who've magnified sections of the stardrive have noticed that the CGI visual artists actually put the Syracuse's registry number on the stardrive section.

I always took the Syracuse to be a Galaxy Class hull from a ship that might have been destroyed or whose saucer section was damaged beyond repair from the Dominion War.
 
Didn’t the CGI model have “Syracuse” written at the bottom of the neck and its registry written on the nacelle pylon? Pretty good evidence that the star drive was from that ship, and Geordi’s line was just awkward scriptwriting.
 
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Didn’t the CGI model have “Syracuse” written at the bottom of the neck and its registry written on the nacelle pylon? Pretty good evidence that the star drive was from that ship, and Geordi’s line was just awkward scriptwriting.

That's what I was getting at earlier when I said he used the Syracuse's drive section and put the Enterprise-D's saucer on it.
 
That's what I was getting at earlier when I said he used the Syracuse's drive section and put the Enterprise-D's saucer on it.

Well, you said "I just find it hard to believe he spent the past two decades collecting all the bits and scraps from the wreckage of the destruction of the stardrive section of the D." I'm pointing out that he didn't do that. ;)
 
The night the episode dropped, I was over-joyed to see the Enterprise-D come to life again. TNG was my Trek show growing up, so it was like coming home again.

But as I've said elsewhere, as the fanboi goggles faded over time and I came to realize how uninspired the whole thing was, the Enterprise was just another reference in a season of callbacks.
 
A few other things:

I've seen people talk about how they think it should've been the E. Admittedly, I guess the E would've made a lot more sense since the E was designed more to be a ready-for-battle ship AND less importantly the picture ratio PIC was filmed in was the same for the TNG films using the E, but I'm still glad we got the D back because i always preferred her over the E. She is a lot more visually appealing than the E's more aggressive design.

IIRC, the in-universe explanation was that the D was the last ship in the fleet that didn't have Borg tech installed on it. :shifty:
 
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I thought it was because the Enterprise-D wasn't part of the starship network that allowed the Borg to take control of all the ships and anyone under 25.

The "No people under 25" rule really galled me. :mad:

What would it have been like for Picard to have his Enterprise-D crew assimilated? :eek:
 
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