Star Trek Four Bridge

[Cheapjack]

What does everyone think of the bridge shown in the last few seconds of ST4?

I thought it was very impressive at the time, a bit bare now. It was one of the first to use back-lit transparencies instead of blinking lights. Very nineties in the eighties.

Basically, it was just TMP bridge repainted.

The ST5 bridge was nothing like it. I think that they should revisit it at some point, rebuild it.

What does everyone else think?

 

[votd]

I disliked it and the STV bridge; far too sparse and the white just harked back to dodgy 70s sci fi. STVI was the best brige IMO, it had a lot more going on with complimentary colours.

 

[Cheapjack]

When you think that TMP bridge looked dated after seven years, it's amazing how things moved on.

I think that the STVI bridge is good, but the displays are too basic, very low tech CG.

I think that the 1701D bridge is the best, better than the more militaristic 1701E. Where would you go from that, I wonder, if you didn't go backwards to 1701E?

I wonder if they are going to use back-lit graphics for STXI, or HD Plasma, or film, for the displays?

I hope that they've put some thought into it!

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I liked the bridge as shown in the fifth film, better than the one at the end of the fourth. In fact the ST V bridge is one of my favorites from the TOS era.

 

[RyanKCR]

The bridge as shown in TMP was the best and it was the most believable. The D bridge looked the worst. It looked more like a lounge then a control center.

 

[FalTorPan]

Considering only the physical aspects of the bridge -- not the actual information displayed on any of the screens -- the only thing that might make a bridge design seem obsolete would be predominantly physical control interfaces -- buttons, toggles, etc. On the other hand, a design featuring only "glass cockpit" interfaces probably isn't ideal either. I would expect an optimal design to consist of a blend of physical controls and "glass cockpit" controls and displays.

 

[Furlong]

I liked the 6th films bridge the most. It actually looked like a command center, rather then the lounge design. I never saw anything overly militaristic about it.

 

[137th Gebirg]

The chairs used in 1-4 I think were the best, with the collapsing armrests to hold people in during a shaky flight. Always wanted one of those things...

 

[GeorgeKirk]

I think this video may have been the one you were thinking of in your earlier thread. The TVH remodel of the bridge set really looked good under the more subdued lighting we see in that segment. In the movie, it was just lit too brightly. Call me sentimental, but I prefer the TMP-era design aesthetic to Zimmerman's.

As far as the control interfaces, we're already starting to build tactile feedback into touchscreen devices link. It's not too hard to imagine physical buttons and switches becoming completely obsolete by the 23rd century.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Moving to Trek Movies

 

[Cheapjack]

I think that it's sad that some people didn't like the 1701D bridge.

It looks the most FUTURISTIC. It's a command, decision and conference centre.

Gene Roddenberry said at the time:

'Just because a man's bed is more padded, doesn't mean he's less of a man'.

I'd love to see what Andrew Probert, or anyone else, would think is the next step up from that, rather than going backwards to the 1701E bridge, which is just the Voyager bridge redressed!

 

[Lonestar]

It would've been interesting to see that 2 level Enterprise-D bridge

 

[Cheapjack]

2 level bridge? I've never heard about that.

I know there was one design for that 'Phase Two' TV show in the 70's that had no lift, just a transporter pad of to the side of the bridge.

They decided to keep the lifts in TNG as they were a good place for conversation and plot exposition to take place.

 

[Lonestar]

I couldn't find it online so here's a scan from an old magazine of the 2 Level Enterprise-D concept:

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o41/Lonestar2007/IMAGE0014.jpg

 

[Cheapjack]

Now that DOES look like a hotel lounge!

I think I've seen it before somewhere.

Imagine THAT shaking and shuddering under a photon torpedo attack!

Perhaps that's the next step.

 

[Basill]

GeorgeKirk said:
I think this video may have been the one you were thinking of in your earlier thread. The TVH remodel of the bridge set really looked good under the more subdued lighting we see in that segment. In the movie, it was just lit too brightly. Call me sentimental, but I prefer the TMP-era design aesthetic to Zimmerman's.

Wow. I remember taping that when it first aired! It was excellent fodder for my little replica minded brain. Nice to see it again.

Those were indeed my favorite sets and still are to this day. That bridge was such a great stand in for multiple ships. I agree the subdued lighting on that incarnation of the bridge helped immensely. I remember liking it at the end of TVH, but now it just seems just blindingly bright.

Also, I tend to call for a nice blend of touch screen and toggle/button command centers, as I think each has its strengths and weaknesses.

 

[RandyS]

Babaganoosh said:
I liked the bridge as shown in the fifth film, better than the one at the end of the fourth. In fact the ST V bridge is one of my favorites from the TOS era.

Agreed. In fact it's my favorite thing about V. I liked it so much that I think they should have incorporated it into TNG. They had the perfect storyline the following year with "The Best of Both Worlds". They could have said that the Enterprise-D was so heavily damaged that they needed a new bridge. And, what with the fleet having been wiped out by the Borg, they needed to cannibalize the Fleet musem for starship parts, and the old Enterprise-A bridge from V was the only thing available.

I would have loved that.

 

[cardinal biggles]

I just don't see that working. Yeah, the TFF bridge has the same color scheme going on as the TNG bridge, but other than that, they're still representative of different eras. By the fourth season, TNG had come into its own as a series and didn't really need to draw upon TOS for help in attracting viewers. To suddenly put the latest iteration of the movie bridge on that show would have been a bad step backwards.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Lonestar said:
I couldn't find it online so here's a scan from an old magazine of the 2 Level Enterprise-D concept:

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o41/Lonestar2007/IMAGE0014.jpg

I've always liked some of those early TNG bridge designs because it is so different than TOS; I especially like the one with the conference table and horseshoe tactical console. It's similar to what we finally got but still retained the forward couches with the helm consoles integrated behind them and a retractable captain's chair with table. There were also break booths on the sides of the bridge.

Although the one shown above, reminds me of Main Mission in Space:1999 which was a gorgeous set. I was peeved that they got rid of it in Year Two in favor of that small, cramped Command Centre.

 

[blueziggy]

the reason why the bridge at the end of STIV is so white is simply what white means. clean. clean and new. this isnt the same ship that they had in the first three movies that has been beat up and see its share of better days. for the few seconds it was on screen at the end of IV we knew this was a new ship just by some subtle, movie magic.