Original bridge screen graphics lost?

[F. King Daniel]

Okay so I came across this on Joe Ralat's Twitter

It looks like it's from the bridge engineering station. Awesome, right? But I checked the old Fact Files and then the Eaglemoss Illustrated Enterprise Handbook and their version of this graphic (unless I've got the wrong one) is this:

I was always a little suspicious of these modern books reproducing TOS graphics with a few snippets of what seemed like modern Trek technobabble weaved in, but now it looks like we might have been looking at inaccurate reproductions for decades. TNG-style number spam, smaller and different fonts. Changes to the layouts themselves, unless I've mistaken one screen for another, similar one. Most importantly, does that mean that the actual bridge graphics of the original Enterprise are lost and all we have are these reproductions?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Yeah, it's the first one, visible here: https://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/3x20hd/thewaytoedenhd0994.jpg

 

[Maurice]

TOSgraphics did a much better job of replicating the originals.

 

[Ssosmcin]

I'm of the mind that the 007 at the bottom is a cutesy in-joke.

 

[feek61]

The very first photo in the first post is the actual display from the Enterprise bridge set. I have documented all of the bridge displays in detail but sadly, there are only 4 known surviving displays and only 3 complete ones with the light box. There has never been an accurate depiction of the displays in any book (yet) but I am working on it. FWIW, the original display and light box in the first post is for sale now for $70K but sadly out of my price range.

 

[drt]

The very first photo in the first post is the actual display from the Enterprise bridge set. I have documented all of the bridge displays in detail but sadly, there are only 4 known surviving displays and only 3 complete ones with the light box.

You’ve probably posted this previously, because I have a vague recollection, but for how many of the displays are there detailed photos, etc.?

 

[Phaser Two]

The very first photo in the first post is the actual display from the Enterprise bridge set. I have documented all of the bridge displays in detail but sadly, there are only 4 known surviving displays and only 3 complete ones with the light box. There has never been an accurate depiction of the displays in any book (yet) but I am working on it. FWIW, the original display and light box in the first post is for sale now for $70K but sadly out of my price range.

Whew. I started the thread and was just about to send up the feek Batsignal. Glad to hear you're working on a book!

 

[PCz911]

The very first photo in the first post is the actual display from the Enterprise bridge set. I have documented all of the bridge displays in detail but sadly, there are only 4 known surviving displays and only 3 complete ones with the light box. There has never been an accurate depiction of the displays in any book (yet) but I am working on it. FWIW, the original display and light box in the first post is for sale now for $70K but sadly out of my price range.

Interesting

went to your website but it required a log in and approval so I wasn’t able to view your link

 

[publiusr]

I wonder if some of the folk behind the scenes also worked on car dashboards

 

[Maurice]

I wonder if some of the folk behind the scenes also worked on car dashboards

I rather doubt it. And to my eye the instruments don't look like auto dashboards of the era nor those which preceded it.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

I rather doubt it. And to my eye the instruments don't look like auto dashboards of the era nor those which preceded it.

What strikes me is that those blinking panels on the bridge stations look so good to this day, and that goes double in standard definition.

• They don't include any analog mechanical gauges, which would look corny and ancient now.

• They could plausibly be computer graphics on flat screens, which means their look has lived beyond even the intended "far out high tech" of illuminated indicators that the makers probably had in mind.

• They give the appearance of delivering real information, like actual monitoring software that engineers and network analysts use:
https://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/3x11hd/winkofaneyehd0179.jpg
I can't say as much for the willy-nilly Christmas lights behind frosted panels in TMP.
https://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/tmp2/tmphd1394.jpg

 

[David cgc]

I can't say as much for the willy-nilly Christmas lights behind frosted panels in TMP.
https://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/tmp2/tmphd1394.jpg

The BTS description for that is that it's the "Computer Library Display: Each lighted honeycomb cell represents a circuit to a special memory core," which actually doesn't look that far off from real diagrams showing disk usage or fragmentation.

 

[Phaser Two]

What strikes me is that those blinking panels on the bridge stations look so good to this day, and that goes double in standard definition.

• They don't include any analog mechanical gauges, which would look corny and ancient now.

• They could plausibly be computer graphics on flat screens, which means their look has lived beyond even the intended "far out high tech" of illuminated indicators that the makers probably had in mind.

• They give the appearance of delivering real information, like actual monitoring software that engineers and network analysts use:
https://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/3x11hd/winkofaneyehd0179.jpg
I can't say as much for the willy-nilly Christmas lights behind frosted panels in TMP.
https://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/tmp2/tmphd1394.jpg

I sort of like those lights on the refit library computer station - I imagine them as monitoring software just as you described.

But the original bridge graphics are peerless. When you get closer and realize that they have writing on them - something unknown to the casual viewer - it becomes amazing. Then throw in the occasional unicorn like the library computer station's moiré sensor sweep indicator (mostly S1 before it got too loud) and it's just pretty much the epitome of cool.

 

[Maurice]

Then throw in the occasional unicorn like the library computer station's moiré sensor sweep indicator (mostly S1 before it got too loud)

That moire never looked like it did anything. The one the Jupiter II flight deck actually looked like it did something.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

That moire never looked like it did anything. The one the Jupiter II flight deck actually looked like it did something.

The Spocké Moiré probably looked more functional in standard def, on an old-style 20th century TV set. Like maybe it displayed a sensor screen analogous to a rotating radar scope, only more complicated and spacey.

 

[Maurice]

The Spocké Moiré probably looked more functional in standard def

Not to me. It just looked like the background of The Green Hornet titles.

 

[Phaser Two]

The Spocké Moiré

Zap, I'm not sure if you intended to type that or not, but that's an outstanding band name.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I'm still stunned that a fandom so obsessed with minutae doesn't know what the OG Trek bridge panel screens looked like.

 

[Phaser Two]

I'm still stunned that a fandom so obsessed with minutae doesn't know what the OG Trek bridge panel screens looked like.

Meaning what?

 

[F. King Daniel]

Meaning what?

I wanna know what the original bridge screens looked like!