TOS aesthetics
- Thread starter Valenti
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Ummm…..
Okay?
Okay?
I remember reading an article that suggested that the TOS aesthetic with it's bright lighting and colourful scheme would likely be the best for actual astronauts on a long journey, as it would be cheery and comforting as opposed to a 'battleship grey' aesthetic that could lead to a cold atmosphere and potentially send the people aboard ship insane over time. Same deal with TNG's "hotel in space" aesthetic. Unfortunately, people choose to think of dark tones and muted colours as more dramatic and 'realistic'. 
I recently saw some footage a fan had posted! Can't recall if it was on YT or FB but it showed Kirk and Uhura on the bridge and it had more effective looking consoles and the like! Don't think it was on here but it was very, very good!
JB
JB
Whoever made that suggestion may be onto something.I remember reading an article that suggested that the TOS aesthetic with it's bright lighting and colourful scheme would likely be the best for actual astronauts on a long journey, as it would be cheery and comforting as opposed to a 'battleship grey' aesthetic that could lead to a cold atmosphere and potentially send the people aboard ship insane over time. Same deal with TNG's "hotel in space" aesthetic. Unfortunately, people choose to think of dark tones and muted colours as more dramatic and 'realistic'.
I saw "Relics" on H&I last night. When Scotty walked into the hologram TOS bridge, the atmosphere suddenly seemed more vibrant (compared to the TNG hallway he walked in from). You can see the red and the other bright colors on the TOS bridge. The TOS bridge had a dynamic vibe to it.
The TNG aesthetic did have a homey feel. There were plenty of beige-like color around the TNG bridge. While it did had a comforting feel, it also looked relatively dull compared to the TOS bridge. The TNG style would look good inside a luxury automobile though.
Neither TOS nor TNG had the metallic look of Discovery, which I suppose, many would consider a modern aesthetic.
I think TOS looks less dated than TNG, maybe because the TOS bridge had enough black and grayish colors in its scheme. And there is a sort of cool retro look with TOS that, imo, better stand the test of time.
LCARS is laughably primitive compared to touchscreen computers of the modern day.
LCARS is primitive compared to the setup they had on Discovery, a hundred years prior.
Nah, LCARS is better. More colours.
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But sometimes casting SHOULD trump the original conception. Let's be honest here, they probably should have changed "Jean-Luc Picard" to a Brit when they cast Stewart, instead of stubbornly sticking with the French thing just because that was the original idea.
Long live the '80s! Except for Reaganomics. We can do without those. But long live big hair, neon colors, montages, aerobics, hair metal, New Wave, and Blade Runner!
True. However, I am reminded of the Babylon 5 spin-off Crusade. Danial Dae Kim was cast as John Matheson. The producers suggested changing the character's name to something more Asian. The actor asked "Why? Why can't an Asian have a European-sounding surname?" And he was right. Who's to say his five-great grand-father wasn't European, or just adopted by a European couple?? And the cool thing was, they never tried to explain it in the show. It was what it was and that was that.
I seem to recall that the character of Sawyer on LOST was originally supposed to be from Boston, but then they cast Josh Holloway and rather than force the guy to attempt a Boston accent for seasons to come, then made him a Southerner instead.
And, proving that Trek can learn from its mistakes, let's note Kate Mulgrew was not forced to play a French woman after she replaced Bujold. They just changed Janeway's nationality to fit the actress, which was the sensible thing to do.
And, proving that Trek can learn from its mistakes, let's note Kate Mulgrew was not forced to play a French woman after she replaced Bujold. They just changed Janeway's nationality to fit the actress, which was the sensible thing to do.
I don't get the De Kelley issue. He was a Southerner, McCoy was a Southerner...what's the problem?
I'd love to see a return to the TOS aesthetics, they are clean cut, bold and elegant, giving the show a distinctive look and feel. Of course more detail could be added for HD, but it could be done without losing the overall look.
Sort of like Polish-American Kojak turned out to be Greek and Irish-American Mannix turned out to be Armenian.
Agreed. It's mainly about the subtle texturing that gives detail. You can have a blank, flat wall that has detail, becasue of the variations in paint thickness, grime from hands, or smears from cleaning.
If you're in an office building how many of you would look at a blank wall and say, "That wall doesn't look realistic because there's not enough detail." It's just absurd that people think we need bends, and angles, and greeblies on every single friggin thing, just so it looks "realistic." Flat, blank things exists in the real world!
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Operating an Ipad or Android is remarkably more primitive an interface than using BASH or dos without a gui 30 years ago, and those were easier than punching cards and throwing switches on a PDP-11 10 years before that.
I used to work on both old DEC and IBM systems. The office workers would be lazily dragging windows inside their cubicles whereas out on the factory floor, people who knew the workings of their green-screen terminals were operating those dumb-terms so fast they honestly looked like DATA.
I don't think there's a correlation to interface simplicity vs the advanced nature of the vehicle. Look at all the controls on a 100 year old locomotive vs a SpaceX Crew Dragon
The aesthetics should fit the tone of whatever we're watching. The aesthetics of Discovery fit Discovery. Bright and cheery fits the overall tone they were going for with TOS, TNG, and the Abrams Films, but it wouldn't fit DSC.
The look of the TFF bridge would be totally out of place in TUC. First Contact wouldn't work as well, visually, if it were set on the Enterprise-D. The visuals set the mood.
The look of the TFF bridge would be totally out of place in TUC. First Contact wouldn't work as well, visually, if it were set on the Enterprise-D. The visuals set the mood.
It's been mentioned before, the TOS gumdrop controls could be like our touch screens where pushes, rubs, and twists are mapped to different functions, and feedback comes in the form of vibrations, color changes, and sounds, so that immediate information is presented other than text on a screen.
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