The Mothballing of the NX-01

[F. King Daniel]

I believe it's the designer's attempt to appease all the "Akiraprise" haters that hit the cieling in 2001.
I've been told that Doug was never happy with being told to use the Akira-class design (from Star Trek First Contact, and seen in DS9 and a few Voyager's) for Enterprise in the first place, which is a shame because I think the NX-01, as seen on TV, was great.

The sad thing is that those "Akiraprise" haters don't care anymore - they've got a whole new "Edselprise" (which I think looks really cool!) to whinge and bitch over. Any supposed "crimes" from Doug's baby are forgotten in the wake of the scaled-up, brewery-powered steroid-fuelled monster from last year's movie.

 

[AstroSmurf]

^ "Brewery-Powered"

Here

And here

HORRIBLE. Where is all the grace? The NX-01 is IMHO the best looking ship ever and now it looks all lumpy and awkward.

I love Doug. He is an amazing designer, artist and person. He has also been very kind to let me play in his sandbox. But I am flummoxed by the refit. I just can't get my head around it. I have to admit that I am rather jaded though. I love love love LOVE my NX-01 as is. I have spent four years living and breathing her and I guess I can't think of her as being a second rate ship or looking like one. (However, I could live with the new additions if they didn't make her appear so... out-of-balance.)

And I don't think Mr. Drexler ever disliked the design. I can't speak for him personally but I always got the impression his major beef was the producer's push to use the Akira design as is. (There was also a MAJOR time-crunch involved since they had trouble settling on a design and needed something quick. They were just trying to get the show on track so they could start shooting on schedule.) His refit, again from the impression I am getting, was his way of laying more ground work for what came later in TOS and had nothing to do with fixing a ship he didn't like.

 

[Robert DeSoto]

It's cuz the Kirk's Enterprise has been said to be the "first" Enterprise in TNG and DS9.

When ENT came out, the fans said WTF? another Enterprise before Kirk? But the writers said, naw, its cool, this is not a Federation starship. So as soon as the Federation is formed, the NX-01 needs to be decomissioned.

Kind of a waste tho. I'm sure those Excelsior and Miranda class starships have been in service for many years longer by Picard's time.

 

[Dukhat]

When ENT came out, the fans said WTF? another Enterprise before Kirk? But the writers said, naw, its cool, this is not a Federation starship. So as soon as the Federation is formed, the NX-01 needs to be decomissioned.

And all that would have been fine, had the NX-01 not resembled a Federation Starfleet vessel from 200 years in the future, and having it be a brand-new ship to boot.

What I got from Drexler's info on his blog was that he was NOT happy in the least that UPN wanted him to use the Akira class. That's why he changed the design from the Akira class to what we saw in ENT: because he knew that the UPN suits were idiots, and that Trek fans would know that the ship was an anachronistic Akira class within the first two seconds of seeing it. Speculation mine.

The Enterprise should have looked nothing like a Federation Starfleet vessel. And it should have been far older than it was, for the decomissioning to make sense.

 

[Timo]

And all that would have been fine, had the NX-01 not resembled a Federation Starfleet vessel from 200 years in the future, and having it be a brand-new ship to boot.

Perhaps more importantly, the writers could have avoided calling NX-01 a "starship" and her organization context "starfleet". Obviously they had nothing against choosing slightly different names for other familiar (and dramatically necessary) Star Trek concepts: shields/polarizable armor, phasers/phase guns, photon/photonic torpedoes, tactical/armory officers...

Just deciding that NX-01 was an interstellar cruiser from the United Earth Space Navy would have satisfied most of the nitpickers: it would be their kind of a solution, a perfect technicality if they ever saw one. The shape of the ship would be somewhat secondary, and one could argue with a straight face that no other shape would even work, in show-internal terms, that a ship more or less like Kirk's was the only way to have Star Trek style adventures.

That's why he changed the design from the Akira class to what we saw in ENT

But he didn't. He retained things he didn't need to, such as the highly distinctive "hood" over the saucer and beneath the bridge. Either he wasn't really trying, or he had artistic ideas in line with those of the Evil Suits.

And it should have been far older than it was, for the decomissioning to make sense.

What's with this obsession of wanting to see old soldiers pull themselves to their graves with trembling hands as their legs have already failed them? Is there some sort of perverse glory to that? In the real world, ships and soldiers alike retire in their prime, or close to it, because that makes sense - especially to their employer. An old and crippled fighter is a liability rather than an asset, after all.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Dukhat]

Perhaps more importantly, the writers could have avoided calling NX-01 a "starship" and her organization context "starfleet". Obviously they had nothing against choosing slightly different names for other familiar (and dramatically necessary) Star Trek concepts: shields/polarizable armor, phasers/phase guns, photon/photonic torpedoes, tactical/armory officers...

In total agreement here. I always hated the fact that TPTB had zero imagination when it came to naming their interstellar branch of the service "Starfleet."

Just deciding that NX-01 was an interstellar cruiser from the United Earth Space Navy would have satisfied most of the nitpickers: it would be their kind of a solution, a perfect technicality if they ever saw one. The shape of the ship would be somewhat secondary, and one could argue with a straight face that no other shape would even work, in show-internal terms, that a ship more or less like Kirk's was the only way to have Star Trek style adventures.

And I wouldn't have minded so much about the ship having a saucer and two nacelles if it didn't resemble the Akira, or look more advanced than the TOS Enterprise.

But he didn't. He retained things he didn't need to, such as the highly distinctive "hood" over the saucer and beneath the bridge. Either he wasn't really trying, or he had artistic ideas in line with those of the Evil Suits.

I believe he was restricted in what he could change. At least he tried making the ship look sufficiently older than the Akira (nacelles, windows, hull plating, etc.) He is quoted as saying that if he had the power, he would have made the NX-01 look similar to the Daedalus class.

What's with this obsession of wanting to see old soldiers pull themselves to their graves with trembling hands as their legs have already failed them? Is there some sort of perverse glory to that? In the real world, ships and soldiers alike retire in their prime, or close to it, because that makes sense - especially to their employer. An old and crippled fighter is a liability rather than an asset, after all.

But you're trying to compare real-world military mores to a 22nd century fictional space service. I'm just using logic here, and the above poster was right: If 30 year old freighters with outdated tech and constant repairs being needed are still being flown, why not the NX class? And TATV gives the impression that not only is the Enterprise being decommissioned, but that the NX class in general are being done away with thanks to new "warp 7" vessels. Warp 2 vessels were still being used while the NX class was being built, so what's the deal here?

 

[Hartzilla2007]

^ "Brewery-Powered"

Here

And here

HORRIBLE. Where is all the grace? The NX-01 is IMHO the best looking ship ever and now it looks all lumpy and awkward.

I love Doug. He is an amazing designer, artist and person. He has also been very kind to let me play in his sandbox. But I am flummoxed by the refit. I just can't get my head around it. I have to admit that I am rather jaded though. I love love love LOVE my NX-01 as is. I have spent four years living and breathing her and I guess I can't think of her as being a second rate ship or looking like one. (However, I could live with the new additions if they didn't make her appear so... out-of-balance.)

And I don't think Mr. Drexler ever disliked the design. I can't speak for him personally but I always got the impression his major beef was the producer's push to use the Akira design as is. (There was also a MAJOR time-crunch involved since they had trouble settling on a design and needed something quick. They were just trying to get the show on track so they could start shooting on schedule.) His refit, again from the impression I am getting, was his way of laying more ground work for what came later in TOS and had nothing to do with fixing a ship he didn't like.

You know if they had to put a secondary hull on the thing, this looks way better

http://bridgecommander.filefront.com/screenshots/File/41035/6

 

[Dukhat]

^Meh. It looks like it's just a slightly bigger pod than what the ship already had.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

That's because, in that image at least, that's essentially what it is: a bigger pod.

 

[Irishman]

When ENT came out, the fans said WTF? another Enterprise before Kirk? But the writers said, naw, its cool, this is not a Federation starship. So as soon as the Federation is formed, the NX-01 needs to be decomissioned.

And all that would have been fine, had the NX-01 not resembled a Federation Starfleet vessel from 200 years in the future, and having it be a brand-new ship to boot.

What I got from Drexler's info on his blog was that he was NOT happy in the least that UPN wanted him to use the Akira class. That's why he changed the design from the Akira class to what we saw in ENT: because he knew that the UPN suits were idiots, and that Trek fans would know that the ship was an anachronistic Akira class within the first two seconds of seeing it. Speculation mine.

The Enterprise should have looked nothing like a Federation Starfleet vessel. And it should have been far older than it was, for the decomissioning to make sense.

What would you have made it look like?

 

[Dukhat]

I based my personal idea of what a 22nd century "United Earth Stellar Navy" ship, and the Enterprise in particular, would look like, on the present navy. The one class of pre-Federation ship that we definitely did know the existence of, and the design of, was the DY-500 class. I always liked the Reeves-Stevens's hypothesis that the DY class ships were adapted from former submarine hulls. Well, why not former battleship and aircraft carrier hulls as well? I'd think it would have been really cool to see the ship in ENTERPRISE be the former U.S.S. Enterprise CVN-65, converted into a spacecraft with warp nacelles, a la the Argo/Yamato from Starblazers. Instead of two lousy shuttlepods, the ship could have had fighters instead. Every time we saw an image of the aircraft carrier in another Trek series, we could say that it was also the ship in ENT, instead of just pulling a new ship out of UPN's ass that no one had ever heard of before.

I don't suppose you'd want to try to design something like that, would you, Irishman?

 

[AstroSmurf]

As much as I love the NX, if I had been the producers I would have gone with something along the lines of this...

I don't know why but I just love the look of this ship. I think it also shows a nice clear lineage to TOS without looking to advanced or like a Starfleet vessel. Of course she would need to be bigger than what we see here.

And I don't think many of you have a clue about the requirements associated with visual effects. If you did you folks would not keep harping about the Daedalus. First off, you would not be able to do forward shots of her at all. If you did all you would get is a flying soccer ball with nacelles. The engineering hull would disappear. The design would force almost every shot to be from the side or the back, severely limiting what the shot designers could do with her. The spherical hull would also make establishing scale a pain in the ass. Besides that, the design has got to be one of the clunkiest I have ever seen. It has very little grace!

 

[Dukhat]

The Intrepid class looks incredibly stupid from the front, and yet we had seven years of looking at that ship (not to mention its phallus-like top view). I'm aware of the subtleties of visual effects just fine, thanks.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

OMG Shipper wars!!

 

[Skywalker]

As much as I love the NX, if I had been the producers I would have gone with something along the lines of this...

Man, I love that ship. It's beautifully ugly. That's how I picture the Enterprise in my own personal alternate ENT.

 

[F. King Daniel]

The Star Trek Legacy videogame had a really cool Daedalus-class ship reimagined with NX-01 style details, and none of that campy 60's look. I think it would have been a cool guest ship, but not the lead.

Remember that CBS hold the copyright on the Enterprise's general shape. They may well have demanded the new (at the time) ship follow the pattern they'd spent money ensuring no-one else can use.

IIRC the only reason the ship had a transporter was because the suits "made them" put one in. Decisions were being made above even Berman and Braga.

 

[Leathco]

Umm, the ship definately should not have been mothballed as early as it was. To whomever mentioned using antiquadated equipment, perhaps you should look at more current naval history. The same name, even. USS Enterprise CVN-65, the worlds first nuclear powered aircraft carrier. Launched in 1960 and still in service today (though scheduled to be decommishioned in 2013). A 53 year service history.

And keep in mind this is the worlds FIRST nuclear powered carrier. Which means it too was an experimental craft, with a lot of new, top of the line tech when it launched.

 

[Nerys Myk]

As much as I love the NX, if I had been the producers I would have gone with something along the lines of this...

Man, I love that ship. It's beautifully ugly. That's how I picture the Enterprise in my own personal alternate ENT.

I'm seeing the Defiant kitbashed with....?

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

As much as I love the NX, if I had been the producers I would have gone with something along the lines of this...

Man, I love that ship. It's beautifully ugly. That's how I picture the Enterprise in my own personal alternate ENT.

I'm seeing the Defiant kitbashed with....?

A thermos?