I've always thought that the VFX of the Fesarius was one of the best shots in all of TOS. It was the one time where we actually shown appropriate scale in TOS. The Doomsday machine was supposed to be miles long and big enough to devour a fleet of ships. Unfortunately it was never depicted as being that big. In contrast, the Fesarius was truly enormous. The ship actually looked bigger than most of the planets the Enterprise visited. Oddly enough, Spock described it as merely being a mile across. This is the one instance where the dialogue grosly underestimates a size compared to the VFX.
The VFX of the Fesarius
- Thread starter Gotham Central
- Start date
Actually the relative scale was terribly off in "Corbomite." As you mention, the Fesarius was depicted as being far larger than the mile diameter it was supposed to have; also, the cube buoy was said to be over 100 meters across, but in the exterior shots, it was hardly any thicker than the saucer edge of the Enterprise, making it closer to 10 meters. They were certainly superb visual effects for 1966 television, and they left an unforgettable visual impression, but there were definite problems coordinating the visuals with the dialogue.
^Well, bigger relative to the cube, but much tinier relative to the Fesarius.
It should be noted that the visual effects were also some of the hardest to produce... this was the first episode (non-pilot) shot and it was the 10th episode to be aired. By the time it did air, the production was weeks behind schedule and the next two episodes were The Menagerie, parts 1 and 2.
At that late date, with the pressure that they were feeling from NBC to meet the agreed schedule, I doubt that they would have (or could have) made changes to fix the disconnect between the dialog and the effects (most likely hoping that the metric system units would confuse the audience enough to get by
).
At that late date, with the pressure that they were feeling from NBC to meet the agreed schedule, I doubt that they would have (or could have) made changes to fix the disconnect between the dialog and the effects (most likely hoping that the metric system units would confuse the audience enough to get by
).Love everything about this episode...except maybe for the Constantly Shrinking Costumes. 
The Fesaurius is a great alien ship, right up there with the Planet Killer if not cooler in design.
The Fesaurius is a great alien ship, right up there with the Planet Killer if not cooler in design.
One of my very favorite scenes in TOS is when the Enterprise first encounters the Fesarius. The music build-up, the look of tension on everyone's face, and finally the giant ship "zooming in" to fill the screen; followed by the general attitude "Gentlemen, we are screwed".
One nit: When Kirk asks about the Fesarius' mass, Spock says "Reading goes off my scale, Captain. Must be a mile in diameter." Really? Spock's sensors can't measure the mass of an object this size?
One nit: When Kirk asks about the Fesarius' mass, Spock says "Reading goes off my scale, Captain. Must be a mile in diameter." Really? Spock's sensors can't measure the mass of an object this size?
The only things that kills this episode for me is the shiny glazed donut look the actors have, even before the tension mounts, and the terribly-repetitive music.
Even though I'm fairly deaf now, when I watch the episode, my brain fills in the blanks and I still hear the damned music.
Joe, safe and dry
Even though I'm fairly deaf now, when I watch the episode, my brain fills in the blanks and I still hear the damned music.
Joe, safe and dry
That line has bothered me since I was a teenager. The sensors can scan the size of an entire planet or solar system, but not the Fesarius? Hmmm.
Chalk it up to dramatic license.
Doug
Yeah, they're making up the details of the tech as they go along at this point.
One could argue, I suppose, that the ship has special sensor suites to detect and examine FTL spacecraft, different from the devices routinely used to measure mass and velocity etc. of stars and other "natural" celestial objects, and that they've just never been calibrated up to this point for such a huge object. But that would be beyond nerdy.
One could argue, I suppose, that the ship has special sensor suites to detect and examine FTL spacecraft, different from the devices routinely used to measure mass and velocity etc. of stars and other "natural" celestial objects, and that they've just never been calibrated up to this point for such a huge object. But that would be beyond nerdy.
One of the impressive aspects of this episode is that when things like the cube are being shown on viewscreens, the rest of the room and actors (on the bridge or in sickbay) are lit by the changing colors. The live action part of the episode was filmed months before the effects, so someone (on this, the first episode to be filmed) was thinking some of this stuff through while they were on set.
I thought that part of the production worked out nicely.
I thought that part of the production worked out nicely.
Love everything about this episode...except maybe for the Constantly Shrinking Costumes.
Ya know Dennis...all these pleasantries being extoled about TOS lately is making me fall in love with you all over again.
Scales were a problem in TOS.
I thought the cube's radiation was interfering with all of the scans
I thought the cube's radiation was interfering with all of the scans
One of the impressive aspects of this episode is that when things like the cube are being shown on viewscreens, the rest of the room and actors (on the bridge or in sickbay) are lit by the changing colors. The live action part of the episode was filmed months before the effects, so someone (on this, the first episode to be filmed) was thinking some of this stuff through while they were on set.
I thought that part of the production worked out nicely.
A very good point, sir.
Wait... the saucer edge only 10 meters? I would think it would be much larger than that, given the number of decks it contains and the amount of stuff that's supposed to be on each deck.
http://tos.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/1x10/corbomitemanuever026.jpg
Eh, more evidence that the TOS ship is a lot larger than people have always thought it was.
Eh, more evidence that the TOS ship is a lot larger than people have always thought it was.
The saucer edge -- meaning the widest portion of it -- is only two decks thick, decks 6 & 7, to be precise. Decks 1-5 are in the upper bulge and decks 8-11 in the lower bulge. In fact, the saucer rim is more like 6.3 meters by my measurement. And the cube's just a little bit taller, as shown in the screencap Dennis linked to in the post above mine, so that would make it maybe 8-9 meters.
Indeed, the whole Enterprise is only supposed to be about 238 feet high, which is only 72.5 meters. So if the cube buoy were 100 meters across as Spock claimed, it would be taller than the Enterprise, which it clearly isn't in that screencap.
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