• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

The Excelsior Bridge Looks So Much Cooler in III Than VI

TheAdmiralty

TheAdmiralty

Commander
Red Shirt
In The Search for Spock it looks credible as the most advanced ship in the fleet with the elegant chrome design and all the bright colored flashing lights. In VI it just looks like a redress of the Enterprise bridge with a softer blue color scheme and a mini coffee table for Sulu so we can get that cool opening shot of the close up of his hands picking up the cup. Why the change? Was it just a money thing?
 
Maybe in '84 it looked like the most advanced, but now... those CRT screens with the low-res VGA displays, those weak seat restraints, the goofy green-lit chairs - and back to only one turbolift?? Yeahhh, that was a good upgrade in TUC. The only thing about the first bridge they kept (and on to TNG) were the two separate helm consoles.

That said, I would have put some more primary colors into the TUC displays. I never understood why the LCARS from TFF all the way up to the Enterprise-C's time (nearly 60 years later!!) were all blues and greens.
 
I agree. The STIII Excelsior looked huge, smooth and futuristic. I loved the talking computer too (which was Nimoy's voice, IIRC). When VI came around the bridge was a redress of the Enterprise-A bridge, with additions that actually made it look smaller and the computer voice and personality was gone.

I'm pretty sure it was a money thing, the STIII bridge was just what we saw and only good for the one angle, whereas the STVI version was a 360-degree set and thus much more flexible.
 
If memory serves, the bridge in TSFS wasn't a purpose built set. It literally was just an empty space with consoles. For TUC they built a specific set

If memory serves
 
^ Perhaps that was true in-universe as well. The Excelsior hadn't even begun its shakedown cruise, so its permanent bridge module may not have been ready yet.

The funny thing about the ST III bridge was those big displays next to the turbolift that showed the ship's status (yellow alert, red alert, etc.). I mean....really? "Oh, are we at battle stations? Let's make people run to the back of the bridge and look at the elevator, instead of just using different lighting like every other freaking ship in Starfleet." :lol:
 
I too loved the Excelsior bridge from Star Trek III, especially the way Tom Sutton drew it in DC's Star Trek comics. No, it didn't have a lot to do with what we saw on screen (Sutton was best at suggesting the characters and their universe rather than attempting to be accurate and photo-realistic), but it was big, open, airy, and bright. I liked that a lot.
 
It also was the setting for one of the funniest lines in all of Trek:

"How can you have a YELLOW ALERT in SPACEDOCK?" :guffaw:

(it's even funnier in the novelization, where Styles actually does get that angry when he says it)
 
TheAdmiralty said:
In The Search for Spock it looks credible as the most advanced ship in the fleet with the elegant chrome design and all the bright colored flashing lights. In VI it just looks like a redress of the Enterprise bridge with a softer blue color scheme and a mini coffee table for Sulu so we can get that cool opening shot of the close up of his hands picking up the cup. Why the change? Was it just a money thing?
Click to expand...


Nitpick, the coffee cup wish breaks at the start of TUC is a different one to the one he was given the coffee in.

But I suspect the change was budget reasons. I doubt they saved the bridge elements for the Excelsior from TSFS as they likely though they wouldn't need them again. So rather than going to the expense of building a second bridge they just redressed the set(s) they had.
 
Mr. Laser Beam said:
It also was the setting for one of the funniest lines in all of Trek:

"How can you have a YELLOW ALERT in SPACEDOCK?" :guffaw:

(it's even funnier in the novelization, where Styles actually does get that angry when he says it)
Click to expand...

I would say the nonchalant way he says it in the movie is part of what makes it so funny. In general his "I don't care" attitude during that whole sequence is funny, even more so when the Enterprise actually gets away.
 
I'm still wondering if Captain Styles is supposed to be the same character as the bigoted crewmember from "Balance of Terror".

Yeah, I know the spelling of their names is different (the TOS character is spelled Stiles), but then again, we never see either spelling onscreen - not counting credits - do we? ;)
 
SFS Excelsior Bridge was so different from TMP/WOK 1701 Bridge, but with the black consoles it looked like TOS 1701 Bridge. I wish they had kept it for TUC.
c1b717ccbe2d5f4986e0e87a17f6a6fb--star-trek-generations-star-trek-iii.jpg

tsfshd0614.jpg
 
That drawing is missing the raised platform the central consoles and center seat were on. You can see the platform in the still.

An aside: the actor playing the helmsman is not the one I would have thought would die first of those actors present. He is missed.
 
FormerLurker said:
That drawing is missing the raised platform the central consoles and center seat were on. You can see the platform in the still.
Click to expand...

It also has the outer consoles sticking out past the turbolift alcove, the way they did on the TOS bridge, which also inaccurate. I'm also not too sure about the general proportions of the set, but given that it's a partial, they would have to cheat the drawing to get something remotely round.
 
Forget the drawing being inaccurate :lol: , it is about SFS Excelsior having a cool bridge that should not have been abandoned in TUC.
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
SFS
tsfshd0614.jpg

TUC
tuchd0050.jpg

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
 
Last edited:
I agree with the OP. The TSFS bridge looked way more modern than the TMP Enterprise bridge, which was the point. It was bigger to match the bigger ship, and more advanced to match the more advaned ship. In fact, one could argue it was a precursor to the "Apple Store" look that we got in ST09.

The redress in TUC just looked like every other old and tired TNG-esque bridge. I also felt it looked very cramped. You could almost hear the crew thinking: "This ship is huge -- why are we forced to drive it from a broom closet?"

Maybe they didn't have to keep the exact same bridge, but it would have gone a long way to come up with something new.
 
The lighting is what makes it look small. I daresay the TUC bridge is probably about the same size as the SFS bridge.

The problem I have with the SFS bridge is it's too generic. The TUC bridge looks like it has purpose, which it does from being a mission specific bridge.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Trek Writers Room
STAR TREK: Expedition 8180 - Episode 4 "The New Frontier"
Replies
1
Views
535
Trek Writers Room
Trek Writers Room
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top