Troi's Chair

[EyalM]

So I've been wondering...
On the D, the ship's counselor is probably sitting next to the captain because she can sense emotions and it can be useful.
But on other Galaxy class ships, what is the purpose of the chair to the captain's left? Was is supposed to be used by a different bridge office who had to move?
Or maybe every Galaxy class ship has a telepath\empath sitting on the bridge for when hostile aliens phone in?

 

[NCC-73515]

Sometimes Bev sat there. Whatever mission advisor comes with them.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I've always suspected that on some Galaxy-class ships (or maybe even most of them perhaps) there isn't a third chair in the command well at all. It may have been that it was just Picard who wanted a counselor on the bridge and someone made it so. It was probably fairly easy to do while the Enterprise was undergoing her initial shakedown prior to "Encounter At Farpoint," IMO.

It's even possible that on some Galaxy-class ships, only the captain is seated in the "command well," and the first officer is a standing position ala the tactical/security officer. If anyone remembers TMP, First Officer Decker didn't have a chair on the Enterprise bridge after relinquishing the science officer position back to Spock.

 

[EyalM]

I've always suspected that on some Galaxy-class ships (or maybe even most of them perhaps) there isn't a third chair in the command well at all. It may have been that it was just Picard who wanted a counselor on the bridge and someone made it so. It was probably fairly easy to do while the Enterprise was undergoing her initial shakedown prior to "Encounter At Farpoint," IMO.

It's even possible that on some Galaxy-class ships, only the captain is seated in the "command well," and the first officer is a standing position ala the tactical/security officer. If anyone remembers TMP, First Officer Decker didn't have a chair on the Enterprise bridge after relinquishing the science officer position back to Spock.

I went and tried to look at images of the Yamato and Odyssey bridge, but couldn't find a good view showing if there is a third seat. But this seems like the likely explanation.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I went and tried to look at images of the Yamato and Odyssey bridge, but couldn't find a good view showing if there is a third seat.

There was a deleted scene on the Odyssey's bridge from "The Jem'Hadar" which showed a woman in a gold operations uniform seated on the captain's right, with the first officer (unlike on the Enterprise) seated to the captain's left. Another difference was that the captain's chair was positioned a bit ahead of the other two chairs.
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/m...ision/latest?cb=20080711044315&path-prefix=en
I think the woman was supposed to be the tactical officer/second officer, so that might have been a case that Captain Keogh wanted her by his side and that counselor wasn't a bridge position on his ship.

 

[Oddish]

If it's not Starfleet policy to have a Betazoid or other empath/telepath on the bridge of every capital ship, it should be.

 

[NCC-73515]

https://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/inconsistencies/odyssey-bridge.htm

There was also only 1 chair in the altered timeline where the Enterprise was a warship in Yesterday's Enterprise, and Troi was not on the ship IIRC. Also in one of the alternate realities from Parallels.

 

[Herbert]

That chair is properly referred to as a hotel station. Usable by anyone on an ad-hoc basis.

 

[Tosk]

Captain Keogh sometimes likes to put his feet up.

There was a deleted scene on the Odyssey's bridge from "The Jem'Hadar" which showed a woman in a gold operations uniform seated on the captain's right, with the first officer (unlike on the Enterprise) seated to the captain's left. Another difference was that the captain's chair was positioned a bit ahead of the other two chairs.
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/m...ision/latest?cb=20080711044315&path-prefix=en
I think the woman was supposed to be the tactical officer/second officer, so that might have been a case that Captain Keogh wanted her by his side and that counselor wasn't a bridge position on his ship.

That wiki page confuses me slightly. They say that Sandra Grando was mostly cut out of The Jem'Hadar. And that she had no other known Trek appearances.

But then they have a photo of her with Rene and Avery, one clearly taken in a later season. (Season four presumably, based on the fact that Avery has a TNG uniform on.) I guess the wording could technically allow for her to have filmed for another episode, but been cut out completely...but you'd think they'd note that.

Anyway, I know it's not important. But where else can I possibly wonder out loud about this?

 

[Guy Gardener]

Brand new theory!

Galaxy Class ships, during peace times are unique from every other ship that we have seen in the serieses.

Civilians.

Deana is supposed to be there to represent the rights of the almost 400 civilians on the Enterprise, she's there to say "that's cool" whenever Picard makes a life and death decision that can get the civilians killed or maimed, since they technically have not given Starfleet absolute permission to feed them, and their children into a meat grinder.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

The two links above are no bueno, but here's a B&W pic I found. Seems to be the only decent one. I think they may have been hiding the fact they were using a different set.

 

[somebuddyX]

I think it makes sense for Picard to have his Counsellor there but I think on other ships it might just be a different officer. Data is both second officer and Ops on the Enterprise-D but perhaps they are two different people on other ships, like how when Riker and Kieran McDuff thought they were second and first officers and both sat in the chairs. I also like the imagery of a TNG Season 1 type bridge that only has one chair. I've imagined some alternate TV universes where Data sits there or in one where there is no counsellor and it's the chief medical officer. I sort of have a problem that it conflates Troi's importance to like part of a trinity with Picard and Riker, but it's also a part of TNG I wouldn't really want to see taken away.

 

[Tosk]

I think they may have been hiding the fact they were using a different set.

Mmmmaybe, but the shots in the ep show an obviously quite different background area to the bridge. No doubt they were evoking the basics of the D bridge on a budget (why go crazy if it won't be seen anyway?), but if they really wanted it to look exactly like the D bridge surely they'd have simply scheduled to use the real one?

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Mmmmaybe, but the shots in the ep show an obviously quite different background area to the bridge. No doubt they were evoking the basics of the D bridge on a budget (why go crazy if it won't be seen anyway?), but if they really wanted it to look exactly like the D bridge surely they'd have simply scheduled to use the real one?

Agreed. Without going back to watch the episode, weren't most or all of the actual Odyssey bridge shots fairly close-up on the Captain? Actual vs that B&W image that seems to be a production image.

The officer on the Captain's left definitely appeared to be sitting further back, yet still in front of that beige panel

 

[somebuddyX]

They probably couldn't use TNG bridge because it was getting upgraded or filmed for Generations. But I also like the Odyssey bridge anyway. It was also the Prometheus bridge in "Second Sight" and had a history before and after as different Trek ships. Junkball and Ex Astris have done in depth video/articles on the history of these sets.

 

[C.E. Evans]

It's a little known fact that the bridge of the Odyssey wasn't a full set to begin with and was really just a partial redress of the "stock bridge set" at the time, used for both Federation and non-Federation ships. The Odyssey bridge was only seen from certain angles because those were the only angles built.

 

[Jedi Marso]

I don't know that I would called it "Troi's Chair" per se.

I think it was simply an extra chair to be used by whoever merited it at any particular time. It could host an ambassador on the bridge, or a flag officer like Admiral Necheyev, or a visiting captain from another ship. Basically a guest chair, for lack of a better term.

 

[aquova]

IIRC isn't there a little stool to the left of that chair? I seem to remember some scenes with both Troi and Crusher where one of them had to sit there.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

IIRC isn't there a little stool to the left of that chair? I seem to remember some scenes with both Troi and Crusher where one of them had to sit there.

Small bench type seats on both sides, yes.

 

[NCC-73515]

PRO S2

Spoiler

On the USS Prodigy, the Captain's chair is on the port side, and the 1st officer's on starboard