The Excelsior class isn't as beautiful as people think it is

[Xerxes1979]

The ship has exactly one beauty shot, the side front view from below(i.e. the space dock shot in ST:III).

Lots of little things bring the class down. The twin crystals, the radiator fins, the neck, and the ugly half-flat half-convex saucer and the angle of the nacelles viewed from in front.

On balance I feel the Constellation and Ambassador classes are more visually appealing. I think the Miranda class probably has more pleasing angles as well.

The only thing I like about the Excelsior is the forward section of the engineering hull in its original color scheme pre-teal.

 

[Kemaiku]

She always looked butt-ugly to me.

 

[RyuRoots]

@ the topic title: Well, I think it is. So

 

[ALF]

Beauty is subjective.

 

[Amaris]

I love the Excelsior class.

 

[sbk1234]

Personally, I've never found the Excelsior class to be an attractive ship. But are you saying that all those people who do like it and think it is a nice looking ship are wrong, or too stupid to recognize something as ugly?

 

[TiberiusMaximus]

Beauty is subjective.

Just what I was gonna say. It's in the eye of the beholder, so however beautiful someone thinks it is, it is that beautiful.

 

[mtblillie]

I always thought it was funny how in the movies the Excelsior was like this big impressive ship but in TNG it was just another dinky ship dwarfed by the Enterprise. I bet the Constitution was tiny by comparison.

 

[SchwEnt]

^^^ That's true. TMP era, Excelsior is a massive starship. By TNG era, middling...
And the relative scales always got me, too.

The Constitution class can be viewed as a mighty ship.
But its total size is just about the length of an Excelsior nacelle.

And then the Excelsior is viewed as a massive honking ship,
but then again its total length is about the length of a Galaxy class nacelle.

And the Galaxy class? That's just flat out HUGE like nobody realizes, no matter what you compare it to.

 

[kitsune]

Overall, the exterior shape of the original Excelsior class was quite elegant, with the exception of the nacelle pylons (which were too rectilinear). It's still the best-looking Starfleet ship as far as I'm concerned.

The Constitution class' neck and pylons always looked flimsy.

On the Enterprise-B, I liked the primary hull modifications, but NOT the secondary hull modifications.

Captain Styles' bridge module though was decidedly ugly.

 

[TiberiusMaximus]

I much prefer the Excelsior or Constitution to the Galaxy, it looks like a fat duck to me. I like the Ambassador class too.

 

[SchwEnt]

I'm an old timer, so I remember what it was like during TSFS...
At the time, Excelsior was never-before-seen design. And back then, official Star Fleet ships known could be counted on one hand. So a lot of excitement, a lot of opinions. And generally, unfavorable.

At the time, it was called bloated, super-guppy like, akin to a baby's sippy cup.
Not a lot of good words. In fact, much as TOS crew seemed to have no great love for the Excelsior, so too the fans were equally dismissive.

Also, the perception was that this is the ship that's gonna try to replace our beloved Enterprise, so screw Excelsior!! (regardless of the design).

Only years later, when the Excelsior became more commonplace, and a bunch of other starships came along, could the design be considered on its own aesthetics.

And personally, I think it's not bad looking. Has its good features. Nowhere near as overall impressive and beautiful as the Constitution.

 

[Amaris]

I think it looked it's best in Star Trek VI.

 

[The Wormhole]

I like the Excelsior anyway, for what it's worth.

 

[scotpens]

To me, the design of the Excelsior's engineering hull never made sense. The flat top and long, broad fantail are for what -- landing aircraft? The flat-bottomed saucer looks like a saucepan lid. And the whole thing has the proportions of a dachshund.

 

[BillJ]

Loved the Excelsior class. I really didn't see a Starfleet design I didn't like until the Sovereign class came along. Which looks like a Constitution-refit, Excelsior and Intrepid class mash-up.

 

[Vonstadt]

I kinda liked the Excelsior design...both the original and the refit. I didnt at first but she grew on me over the years. She looked just like she had become...a ugly yet effective old 'work horse' of the TNG fleet.

She doesnt have to be pretty , just has to do her job

Vons

 

[C.E. Evans]

I'm sure every starship design has someone who thinks it's butt ugly. You name your favorite starship design, and there's someone out there who can write a five-page essay about how stupid it really is and pinpoint all its shortcomings in order of increasing wrongness.

 

[GeorgeKirk]

When I first saw the Excelsior in TSFS, I thought it had been designed to look ugly and ungainly on purpose, as a statement that the newest, shiniest thing isn't always the best. Then I read that the original intention was to have it replace the Enterprise, and I was kind of surprised.

Of course, when I first saw it I was absolutely fascinated. It was so different, and we didn't get any long, lingering looks at it the way we had at the refit Enterprise, so it was kind of mysterious. I still think it's a nice ship, although I prefer the ENT-B variant.

 

[6079SmithW]

Every ship class has its good and bad aspects. Personally, if I had to pick a starship class for title of most beautiful, it would be the Excelsior. There never seemed to be an angle at which it looked bad. Now, if you were talking about the Enterprise B refit, that was bad. I liked the original Excelsior class best.