The problem with the Voyager bridge

[StewMc]

I'm 98% sure he Relativity bridge is a a redress of Voyager's science lab, the curved walls behind the temporal transporter give it away and the layout of the set is very similar.

I reckon you are at least partially right, the transporter wall panels and ceiling are the exact same as that curved section at the back of the science lab.

I don’t think the science lab was seen again after “Drone” was it? If I were to guess I’d say the Relativity bridge was a new set built using bits and pieces of what they had lying around, including parts of the science lab.

 

[NCC-73515]

https://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/gallery/stmagazine/voy-laboratory.jpg
https://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/gallery/bridges/relativity-bridge.jpg

They seem too different.

 

[Takeru]

https://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/gallery/stmagazine/voy-laboratory.jpg
https://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/gallery/bridges/relativity-bridge.jpg

They seem too different.

I don't think they're that different, the bridge has curved walls but depending on how modular the set was that wouldn't be much of a problem and like StewMC said, the science lab was barely (or at all?) used at that point so they might have been okay with making bigger changes. The curved well section from the science lab is too recognizable and the set has similar dimensions, I doubt that's a coincidence.

 

[StewMc]

You can see the same walls and ceiling piece in the background of both shots here. I’ll agree the rest of the set is quite different though, multi levels etc. Although I feel I recognise those wall consoles on the Relativity’s back wall, but can’t place them off the top of my head.

The blue panels reappeared as the Equinox’s science lab shortly after this, although the rest of the set was hidden by battle damage.

 

[jackoverfull]

There's that outtake where Tuvok overacts getting hit by something and grabs the chair and spins around XD

here we are: definite proof!

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

Going back to the OP, Voyager is not the first Trek ship to have dual command chairs. That award goes to the very first TNG Romulan warbird seen in that series, from the TNG first season finale "The Neutral Zone". This arguably extends backwards to the first ever Romulan episode "Balance of Terror", where the enemy ship in question had NO chairs at all, unless you count the while bridge crew being huddled around that one console as a center seat.

And the Voyager bridge did indeed have high stool chairs for the Ops and Tactical stations, which are frequently seen throughout the show; but often enough (and especially when the camera is shooting from below the actors at those stations) they are seen standing so they can be more visible, and the chairs are notably absent. Hollywood magic!

Mark

 

[jackoverfull]

Perhaps those are holographic stools that disappear when one stands to avoid getting in the way!

 

[Richard Baker]

Officers the captain likes get the coveted high stools, the ones she does not like get traffic cones...

 

[publiusr]

It took me awhile to get used to what I thought were space station uniforms on a ship

 

[jackoverfull]

Officers the captain likes get the coveted high stools, the ones she does not like get traffic cones...

notice how worf got a stool the same day he was promoted!

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

WTF is with the fact that the bridge of the first ship we see with a female captain is also the first bridge we see where there's no central captain's chair?

It's not the first bridge with a female captain.

That honor goes to the Saratoga in ST IV, which I might add, DOES have a central captain's chair.

As did the Enterprise-C.

Both of which predated VOY.

So whatever reason Voyager didn't have a central chair, it would not appear to have anything to do with gender/sex.

My problems with Voyager's bridge are these: 1) It just looks weird not to have a central chair, and 2) the first officer has no business HAVING a chair in the first place. Chakotay, being the XO, should have been far too busy to ever sit down.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

My problem is that the vessel should have proper Shift Officers and that having 3 Chairs makes the most logical sense from a total evolution perspective thanks to TNG.

In a 24 hour schedule split into 4x 6-hr shifts:

Following various Earth/Human Command Structure amalgamated into StarFleet:
You have these positions:
- 1iC|CO(Commanding Officer)|Skipper of Ship/Base
- 2iC|XO(Executive Officer)|1st Officer/Mate
- 3iC|2O(Secondary Officer)|2nd Officer/Mate
- 4iC|TA(Tertiary Officer) |3rd Officer/Mate

 

[Richard Baker]

I still think the dual seating was for Chakotay to be a "Co-Captain" in the show. Two crews, each with an established commander over them, working together, side by side.

 

[fireproof78]

It's not the first bridge with a female captain.

That honor goes to the Saratoga in ST IV, which I might add, DOES have a central captain's chair.

As did the Enterprise-C.

Both of which predated VOY.

So whatever reason Voyager didn't have a central chair, it would not appear to have anything to do with gender/sex.

My problems with Voyager's bridge are these: 1) It just looks weird not to have a central chair, and 2) the first officer has no business HAVING a chair in the first place. Chakotay, being the XO, should have been far too busy to ever sit down.

Central chair always looked best.

 

[trekshark]

There are US Navy ships with separate xo and co chairs

 

[fireproof78]

There are US Navy ships with separate xo and co chairs

Yes.

They don't look as good.

 

[Richard Baker]

I think the best design is the center seat that swivels. The Captain can turn to give his full attention to any duty station on the bridge and there is absolutely no mistaking who is in charge. Anyone walking onto the Voyager bridge need to count pips to know whom to address properly.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I admit that I never particularly liked Voyager's bridge. I dunno, it just didn't work for me. It seemed a bit cumbersome to me (too many steps and handrails), and probably due to the fact that the show wasn't filmed in widescreen, you really couldn't see all of it at once (the engineering and science stations you could only see from rarely-seen angles). I really wish the producers had gone with one of the rejected concepts, but I think they may have thought it was too small or simplistic for them:
https://forgottentrek.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Voyager-bridge-concept-art-4-600x369.jpg

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

I admit that I never particularly liked Voyager's bridge. I dunno, it just didn't work for me. It seemed a bit cumbersome to me (too many steps and handrails), and probably due to the fact that the show wasn't filmed in widescreen, you really couldn't see all of it at once (the engineering and science stations you could only see from rarely-seen angles). I really wish the producers had gone with one of the rejected concepts, but I think they may have thought it was too small or simplistic for them:
https://forgottentrek.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Voyager-bridge-concept-art-4-600x369.jpg

That says more Defiant to me.

Could also have worked as the bridge for the Val Jean instead of the redressed runabout cockpit.

 

[C.E. Evans]

That says more Defiant to me.

IIRC, originally they didn't originally know exactly how big (or small) Voyager was going to be, except that she was going to be smaller than the Enterprise. That bridge design would have worked for any starship of 200 meters or less, IMO.