I've not seen every episode of Enterprise, but I've seen quite a few, and I do not recall it ever being referred to as the USS Enterprise.
Did they use the USS designation?
Did they use the USS designation?
Question about the Enterprise
- Thread starter Gorn Captain
- Start date
I think they used the USS designation for Enterprise on a monitor display in "Divergence", but I don't believe it was ever said aloud.
Agreed, I only remember it being referred to as Enterprise.
It always struck me as a little odd that they always referred to it as "Enterprise", not "the Enterprise."
I think it was a conscious choice by the producers to have NX-01 be slightly different by dropping "the". But it definitely isn't without precedent in the two other shows that have featured ships named Enterprise, especially when people contacted the ship from a planet or starbase.
TOS:
"Kirk to Enterprise..."
TNG:
"Picard to Enterprise..."
It could be that in the Federation-era, it may be simply a Starfleet tradition to always refer to a ship named Enterprise as "the Enterprise".
I don't know. I think it started on VOY. I can't remember one instance where the ship is referred to as "the Voyager."
You're right that there are precedents. Even on DS9, Sisko would often say "Sisko to Defiant." However, that ship is almost always referred to as "the Defiant." I can't remember anybody on that series saying things like "Defiant will be here shortly" or "we have to let Defiant know what's going on."
I can. Tom Paris once did it in the early episode "Parallax." When he saw another copy of the ship, he turned around and said "It's the Voyager..."
Then again, there were also few off-hand instances in which NX-01 was called the Enterprise in passing too. One example is in the episode "Shadows of P'Jem" in which T'Pol said, "My assignment to the Enterprise was only supposed to last eight days..." Another was in "Dawn," in which Tucker referred to the ship as the Enterprise twice in his log entries.
I just chalk it down to what's customary for each ship.
I know it sounds funny (even wrong to some) to refer to NCC-74656 as "the Voyager" because it was hardly ever referred to as such in the entire run of the series, but I think had the writers decided to call it that from the start, we would have become conditioned to it just the same.
Good point.
You're right. It DID start with VOYAGER. There was one instance, in the first season, in episode two or three, I think it was, where Paris referred to "The Voyager", but after that, the "The" was dropped, and this practice carried over to ENTERPRISE. No Idea why.
Not canon, but most of the Fan fiction I've read refer to it as UES Enterprise, when they need to give an official designation. United Earth Ship. Which, if it were to be used officially, would make sense, as it's a shit of the United Earth Starfleet.
But canonically, it's only ever referred to as Enterprise, occasionally the Enterprise, as mentioned above. The fact that it doesn't have a 'USS' designation also makes sense, as it's just another spaceship at that time, similar to NASA's shuttles...and not a 'military' vessel like later the Enterprises of the Federation (let's face it, the Fed. Starfleet was the space navy of the time), even though she serves as a combat ship by pure dumb luck at some times, and by design other times.
But canonically, it's only ever referred to as Enterprise, occasionally the Enterprise, as mentioned above. The fact that it doesn't have a 'USS' designation also makes sense, as it's just another spaceship at that time, similar to NASA's shuttles...and not a 'military' vessel like later the Enterprises of the Federation (let's face it, the Fed. Starfleet was the space navy of the time), even though she serves as a combat ship by pure dumb luck at some times, and by design other times.
It is my understanding that the USS designation is used for federation starfleet ships. The federation doesn't exist yet so Enterprise is just part of the Earth starfleet.
Of course, USS may refer to a dozen different things, and already assuredly refers to two: United States Ship as well as (probably) UFP StarShip or (possibly) UFP Starfleet Ship.
Similarly, a dozen air forces today could be referred to as the IAF, and both the Israeli and the Indians (with English an important language in both nations) use that abbreviation a lot in quite official contexts. Confusion often ensues - but c'est la vie.
I never heard of the "Divergence" computer readout thing before. Fascinating... Thanks!
(Perhaps "USS" there means "Unusual Somersaulting Starship", tho?)
Timo Saloniemi
Similarly, a dozen air forces today could be referred to as the IAF, and both the Israeli and the Indians (with English an important language in both nations) use that abbreviation a lot in quite official contexts. Confusion often ensues - but c'est la vie.
I never heard of the "Divergence" computer readout thing before. Fascinating... Thanks!
(Perhaps "USS" there means "Unusual Somersaulting Starship", tho?)
Timo Saloniemi
Kind of like how it struck me as odd whenever someone referred to "Voyager" as "the Voyager".
As far as "U.S.S.", didn't anyone on Earth have star ships other than the United States? Always wondered that. Why no H.M.S. Led Zeppelin or something...
^ Yep.
In which case it *should* have been called UES Enterprise.
In which case it *should* have been called UES Enterprise.
^ Yep.
In which case it *should* have been called UES Enterprise.
Or, alternately, "U.E.S.S. Enterprise," depending on whether you think "starship" should be represented by "S" or "S.S" in the acronym.
But, yeah, I agree. In the World According to Sci, the ship seen in ENT would have been the U.E.S. Enterprise NX-01.
And since it was the Federation Starship Enterprise, the ship seen in TOS would have been the F.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701...
Sorry, but I had someone blabbing in my ear and caused me to bounce over where you guys had already brought up the "the Voyager" thing. I was a day late and a dollar short on that one. But yeah I do remember at least one or two instances of it.
Anyway, I had always wondered why every ship was a "United States Ship". That was off topic, but the flow of the conversation made me think of that.
I always kind of imagined that it should be "U.F.P. Enterprise", but then that wouldn't be planet specific. U.E.S. or U.E.S.S. seems logical. I still think it would be cool to have some nationality specific ships, like H.M.S.
Anyway, I had always wondered why every ship was a "United States Ship". That was off topic, but the flow of the conversation made me think of that.
I always kind of imagined that it should be "U.F.P. Enterprise", but then that wouldn't be planet specific. U.E.S. or U.E.S.S. seems logical. I still think it would be cool to have some nationality specific ships, like H.M.S.
Similar threads
