What would you change about the TOS Enterprise?
- Thread starter GregroxMun
- Start date
I think Star Wars was certainly a grittier look, but not grim, just "lived-in". I think the modern esthetic of "grimness" really hit mass audiences with Alien. Star Wars was never lit so darkly as Alien or Aliens. Also the noir approach taken in Bladerunner... So I guess I'm saying Ridley Scott is to blame more than George Lucas....
--Alex
(P.S. and before someone else calls it out, I will point out that Aliens was the work of James Cameron rather than Ridley Scott...But then, The Terminator was also pretty grim. But by then, I think the style had already been laid down.)
--Alex
(P.S. and before someone else calls it out, I will point out that Aliens was the work of James Cameron rather than Ridley Scott...But then, The Terminator was also pretty grim. But by then, I think the style had already been laid down.)
Last edited:
I've always pointed to that ENT 2-parter as evidence that the TOS look works with present day sensibilities; I cannot recall anyone complaining that the TOS sets (or Defiant exterior, for that matter) looked out of place or outdated. Great design sense rarely has a shelf life no matter the cultural changes around it.
I tend to agree. I would love to see a contemporary take on the TOS design with a similar aesthetic.
I always felt the TOS bridge had the most life to it, versus the other Bridges which felt either impractical or too tight.
I think a new take on the TOS bridge would be fun to see.
As for "grim and grit" I think that Star Wars had a grit, sand in the gears, worked in and lived in feel. The Millennium Falcon, especially, was designed as a working ship that would have existed before the camera role and had a job to do.
I don't like the "grim" part of things, were life is downtrodden or depressed, with dark lighting and moody atmosphere. I do like items that look and feel practical in their daily application.
Starborn Dragon
Captain
Grim and gritty is because of Batman.
I'm not super into grim/dark material. But lets be honest, the stuff superheroes deal with would really fall into the grim/dark spectrum. Robbers, crooks, drug dealers, serial killers, planetary invasions...
Even Star Trek was much darker than people gave/give it credit for with a death toll in the billions. Kirk and Company laughed at the end of episodes because they were numb to death at that point.
Grim and gritty is because of Batman.
I love that SO much!
The TOS bridge seemed functional. No frills, but it had a style. TNG-TV was a hotel lobby with workstations, and that created for VOY/ENT were the same dour, recycled bridge design seen all throughout the Rick Berman spin-offs and movies.
That's what I found great (and advanced) about TOS-1701; once the actors almost invented the smooth, realistically second nature of using controls, every button or switch seemed to have a legitimate purpose, as opposed to productions on TV or film, where it was the usual twisting of knobs, often the same one for endlessly different functions (see: Lost in Space)
Starborn Dragon
Captain
Well, for me it seems that grim and dark and gritty should be used sparingly. Right now it's over used so much that is has basically become a cliche'.
But you are right, there are some elements even in TOS that could be considered bleak. Charlie X was a particularly bleak episode.
I prefer to use the word bleak instead of dark because when they use the word dark it means an unlit movie. Think movies like The Rite and you'll get the idea.
Or even Firefly which had the main three switches that Wash flipped on the bridge. Even Star Trek had those moments, including an implied one where Worf draws all the power to the shields, including from life support, with one push of a button. That should be more complicated.
Apple didn't invent the one button interface. Cheap SF productions did
I was actually reading over the design of some of the control panels on a blog and they used a lot of aviation surplus to build the sets, which was fascinating.
It's like the cliché that Star Trek uniforms look like "pajamas." None of the uniforms from any of the Trek TV series or movies look like any pajamas I've ever seen.
Except for these ones
I honestly never understood it either. I love the TOS style uniforms, and thought TNG was ok, but not pajama looking.
Maybe its the colors?
Or, I'm shopping at the wrong store.
Except for these ones
I honestly never understood it either. I love the TOS style uniforms, and thought TNG was ok, but not pajama looking.
Maybe its the colors?
Well, my pajamas are kigurumi, and if you're suggesting we do a Star Trek where everybody's dressed like red pandas or Stitch or bunnies ... then ... I am intrigued by your ideas and wish to support your Kickstarter campaign.
What would I do? Mainly what this fan-artist did. Still unmistakably the same classic ship, but tweaked just enough to firmly tie it in to the family of starships that came both before (NX-01, Kelvin) and after it.
Does anyone know what the op-art whirligig at Spock's science station in TOS is used for? I've never been able to figure that out.
Add one more vote for bright and light. In my admittedly biased estimation, the presence of grim and gritty sets signifies not only an ordeal ahead, but an ordeal that makes people's faces that much harder to differentiate.
Add one more vote for bright and light. In my admittedly biased estimation, the presence of grim and gritty sets signifies not only an ordeal ahead, but an ordeal that makes people's faces that much harder to differentiate.
Looks a lot like the forthcoming TOS Ent model from Qmx:
[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcd6dOyGKjk[/yt]
Just a few modernizing tweaks and you're there.
The only other possible change might be making the corridors feel a bit more enclosed and ship-y. Engineering should be big, the shuttle bay is already amazing and the bridge should be the futuristic showcase that it is. Add touchscreen everything and you've brought the ship fantastically up-to-date.
Looks a lot like the forthcoming TOS Ent model from Qmx:
[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcd6dOyGKjk[/yt][/QUOTE]
Yuch!
Similar threads
