that's also mentioned in the TNG companion. It was switched from -7 to -G because of the 1701-A in TVH...
1701 was far too iconic and just feels like the appropriate match for the Enterprise line.
Only because we're used to it -- because, as viewers of a television show called Star Trek, we saw that ship and its number every week and saw very few other ships whose numbers were even legible. That wouldn't apply to people within the ST universe. Most of them wouldn't be seeing this ship and its number on a weekly basis, and those who did (such as the people in Starfleet receiving the ship's reports) would be seeing plenty of other ships' numbers at the same time. To people in Starfleet, the number NCC-1701 would just be one registry number out of dozens or hundreds, and to people in the general population, it would be an obscure bit of trivia. How many people know the registry number of the battleship Arizona or the bomber Enola Gay? Names can become iconic, but numbers? I don't think so.
So I can understand why ST fans would want to keep the number, but there's no in-universe reason why it would be the subject of any great nostalgia. It's important not to confuse our priorities and perceptions as viewers with those of people within the fictional world itself.
^^But surely other starships and their crews have saved Earth or the Federation from time to time. It's just that we focus on a few specific ships and don't see those stories. Heck, we know for a fact that Captain Garth was a legendary, heroic commander in his prime, one whom Kirk looked up to as an idol. Why isn't his ship just as iconic?
Thanks!that's also mentioned in the TNG companion. It was switched from -7 to -G because of the 1701-A in TVH...
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