NCC -1701 (TOS).....

[Dukhat]

On the other hand, the look of the ship has nothing to do with whether someone is going to watch the show or not. It doesn’t even matter if it’s a believable-looking design. It’s gotten to the point where no one would even know what a police call box is anymore, yet the producers of Doctor Who have never felt the need to change or update the outward appearance of the Tardis accordingly for 21st century fan sensibilities. Why? Because it’s an iconic representation of the show. Old fans love it. New fans don’t care because the show is more than just what the time machine looks like.

 

[Tallguy]

If I understand correctly the police box is literally copyrighted by the BBC now.

 

[HotRod]

Why? Because it’s an iconic representation of the show.

Which is exactly why the Enterprise looks as close to the original version as she does.

We are all nerds here. Fussing over little details that the vast majority of people would never notice. She's still very identifiable as the Enterprise. She's still a saucer with some cylinders attached to it.

I've always liked it because I found it struck a perfect balance between being clearly identifiable as the Enterprise, while also being sensibly modernized for both modern television and modern audiences.

Sometimes I've been honestly confused by the reaction a minority of people have had to it. You'd think by the way certain people have talked about it that the ship has been totally revamped. That it doesn't look like the Enterprise.

To the VAST majority of people, this meme rings far more true than false.

 

[Tallguy]

To the VAST majority of people, this meme rings far more true than false.

While this is certainly true it also puts paid to "The original Enteprise is a laughable design from the 1960's that couldn't possibly be taken seriously by today's audiences."

 

[HotRod]

While this is certainly true it also puts paid to "The original Enteprise is a laughable design from the 1960's that couldn't possibly be taken seriously by today's audiences."

You still need to produce a show for a 21st century audience. There are expectations for things set in the future to look futuristic. Which I think SNW has done a wonderful job at conveying. The ship, both inside and out, shows it's 1960's influence, without being overly retro. It looks futuristic and fantastical.

As for the TARDIS, i'd say it is a bad example because a police box is a real object. People expect a real object to look....real.

 

[Dukhat]

Except, as I said, nobody knows what a police box even is, unless you’ve been a fan of Doctor Who for the last 60 years. They could have easily made the Tardis look completely different like they did on the inside. But, whatever.

The difference between the SNW ship and the TOS ship is that the Discoprise isn’t really all that unique. It’s a cross between the DSC season 1 ships and the NX-01, with the overall shape of the TOS/TMP Enterprise. I don’t fault anyone for liking it, but to me it’s just a boring kitbash. But hey, at least it’s better than the Abramsprise.

 

[HotRod]

But hey, at least it’s better than the Abramsprise.

Something we can agree upon! I don't actively dislike the JJPrise, but compared to both the Discoprise and the TOS Enterprise, it's a distant 3rd. I like the Saucer, and I kinda like the massive Nacelles from '09 and Into Darkness. It's everything in between I kinda dislike.

 

[Dukhat]

To me the Abramsprise looks like each part was designed by a different person, none of whom were communicating with each other, and then each part was attached without any acknowledgement that they absolutely do not work together. Ironically, though, that wasn’t remotely the case. The entire ship was designed by one guy, Ryan Church. And it’s not like he’s a lousy designer, because he also designed the Kelvin, which IMHO was a great design.

 

[fireproof78]

You still need to produce a show for a 21st century audience. There are expectations for things set in the future to look futuristic. Which I think SNW has done a wonderful job at conveying. The ship, both inside and out, shows it's 1960's influence, without being overly retro. It looks futuristic and fantastical.

Indeed, yes.

For all the "Well Doctor Who or Star Wars do X" Star Trek has never done X. It has always done the update to the ship in the name of keeping it realistic and approachable for the entire audience. Making it look believable as a space vehicle as understood by the audience of the time.

Sometimes I've been honestly confused by the reaction a minority of people have had to it. You'd think by the way certain people have talked about it that the ship has been totally revamped. That it doesn't look like the Enterprise.

I am often confused by it too. It's demanding a look a certain way, while also claiming that fans and modern audiences are somehow at odds.

 

[HotRod]

And it’s not like he’s a lousy designer, because he also designed the Kelvin, which IMHO was a great design.

Agreed. The Kelvin, and to a somewhat lesser extent, The Franklin, are the best ship designs to come out of the Kelvin Timeline. Ironic, when you consider that they're "Prime" designs.

 

[Dukhat]

Agreed. The Kelvin, and to a somewhat lesser extent, The Franklin, are the best ship designs to come out of the Kelvin Timeline. Ironic, when you consider that they're "Prime" designs.

Yep. Which is why I’m hoping we see the Kelvin in SNW at some point, and that it looks exactly like it did in the films (despite my feelings of ambiguity concerning whether DSC/SNW takes place in the ‘prime’ timeline, since prime seems to be more just a buzzword with no real meaning these days.)

 

[CorporalCaptain]

If I understand correctly the police box is literally copyrighted by the BBC now.

I believe that's trademarked, not copyrighted.

https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00001068700

 

[Tuskin38]

But it didn't have to be made twice as big.

I don't remember a size being established in canon.

 

[Tallguy]

I don't remember a size being established in canon.

Do we want to go off of the visible scale in The Enterprise Incident of would you rather we read the stated size of the ship in Discovery?

I believe that's trademarked, not copyrighted.

https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00001068700

Whatever the word the BBC can stop you from selling pictures of police boxes in the countryside now.

 

[UssGlenn]

They could have easily made the Tardis look completely different like they did on the inside.

Ah but they did, there have been at least 9 different versions of the Tardis, each with different proportions, roof shape, and paint colors. The current Tardis is as different from the 1963 version (or even a real police box) as the SNW Enterprise is from the original. But to the average viewer "It's the same picture".

 

[F. King Daniel]

If we MUST have the classic Enterprise look then we MUST also have Disney-style CGI Jeffrey Hunter mapped over Andon Mount's face, Nimoy over Peck and so forth.

Because if you can't deal with new ship models you can't deal with new actors either!

 

[STEPhon IT]

I've always thought the problem with the super smooth hull of the TOS Enterprise is that it begs comparison with her contemporaries of the era. To a segment ofvthe population, that smooth look will always scream "cheesey 50's/60's scifi."

That was never a problem for me because those inspired designs was supposed to give the impression it was not "Man-made" something which was far beyond aeronautical engineering. The Starship Class Enterprise was the top echelon of UFO design and it is beautiful, while every other version looks like it was put together piece by piece through the same construction done since the 20th century. The tools are upgraded but seeing TMP, and JJTrek's version being built feels bland to me, and doesn't bring out the mystery and wonder these amazing spacecrafts should have.

 

[STEPhon IT]

That's just it, the Enterprise isn't silver. She's infact very gray. It's just difficult to tell from the way they like the CGI.

Occasionally, they put enough light on the model that her "true colours" are able to shine through.

There's also this larger scale model that has traveled around as a bit of an exhibit. No idea who made it, but being it travels around in an official capacity as part of an official showcase, I think it's safe to assume whoever made it had access to her CGI model and colour choices for reference.

When I built my own model I used this ship as my primary reference. I think I got pretty close AND I used the exact same base colour that I used for my 1/1000 scale TOS Enterprise.

Yuck. What an ugly looking ship. DISCOprise does flow in line with NX-01 and 1701 - E.

 

[Tuskin38]

would you rather we read the stated size of the ship in Discovery?

Which was confirmed to be an error so not canon.

Do we want to go off of the visible scale in The Enterprise Incident

Not legible.

 

[HotRod]

Yuck. What an ugly looking ship. DISCOprise does flow in line with NX-01 and 1701 - E.

I think she's gorgeous.

Not legible.

But this is.