I'm GLAD they didn't copy it anymore than what they've already done.
Why Not Copy The Look of the Original Series More Closely?
- Thread starter Dayton3
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Enterprise was the series I was referring to.You were talking about TOS sets being used in modern times. Your example was a series that was promptly cancelled. Not the greatest example of the viability of your idea.
Sorry for the mixup. Edited for clarity.
I'm actually surprised at how closely the new movie adheres to the look of TOS.
The Big E looks very similar to the refit, with upscaled TOS nacelles. The bridge arrangement is virtually identical with updated furnishings and the costumes are as close as they could be to the originals. I think that from what I've seen the trailers thus far, the new Star Trek does a very good job at evoking the feel of TOS without being slavish in terms of detail.
The Big E looks very similar to the refit, with upscaled TOS nacelles. The bridge arrangement is virtually identical with updated furnishings and the costumes are as close as they could be to the originals. I think that from what I've seen the trailers thus far, the new Star Trek does a very good job at evoking the feel of TOS without being slavish in terms of detail.
How exactly? A central chair for the CO, a large viewscreen, a steering/navigational console in the front, a circle of other stations around. The only difference is the presence of the XO's chair is some of them. The rest is just window dressing.
No one knows empirically. But the perception is that it would not, and this reasonably answers the question: "Why not copy the look of the original series more closely?"
Because when they did it on DS9 & ENT I laughed so hard at the classic sets that I nearly vomited! plus I thought to myself (THIS was supposed to be the FUTURE back in the sixtes!?!?!
)
For those who like the TOS look more: Please be honest with yourself. It might have been the pinnacle of futuristicness (if that's even a word) in the 60's, but definitely not today. And the episodes where the recreated the look failed utterly, because the recreations were too precise. It looked completely and utterly fake. It simply doesn't work these days.
Why not? Well, my three biggest points:
1a) Bright, primary colors. As a uniform? Come on. Even a futuristic one. I thought the way they handled it in the new movie was even a little bit too much. No, uniforms have always had something in common: They should not make you more of a target then you already are.
1b) Bright, primary colors. In the interior? I'd get a headache after walking those corridors for 2 minutes; I'd bet that nobody would enlist in Starfleet if the insides of the ships really looked like that; you want to be effective in your job, not distracted.
2) Boxy stuff. Everything was boxy, as if the ship and the entire interior was made out of a few cardboard boxes. Of course, it was, but that's not the point. It shouldn't look like it, for that would not evoke the feeling of the future, more the feeling of homeless people.
Seriously: Designers aren't there for nothing you know; even in the most functional design there's a touch of the designer. It's the pride they take in their creative work. You can't seriously believe a designer would slack so much as to throw out all design rules (golden radio, correct choice of materials, conveying purpose with colors, lines and symbols) and make simple boxes without any thought behind them whatsoever.
I'm not saying the TOS sets were not designed with love; of course they were! But that's not the point: We have a different idea of functionality, information conveyance, usability and so on then we did in those days. The pinnacle of computer usability was a command prompt. I mean, come on.
3) Displays that are to small to look at with rows and rows of colored buttons. How can they ever convey enough information for ships operations? If the entire ship was run by an AI, perhaps. But as far as we know, it isn't, or you wouldn't need people on the bridge. Or anywhere on the ship, for that matter. You don't need all the information visible at all times, but there are a minimum of people on that bridge, all whom need at least a minimum of information visible to them at all times, with the option of displaying more and different content.
All in all: Society has changed these last 50 years. People consume more and more information at a faster rate then they did then. And, you can assume the rate will grow exponentially. As such, it simply doesn't do. The basics does (central captain's chair etc), but beyond that; not really.
Why not? Well, my three biggest points:
1a) Bright, primary colors. As a uniform? Come on. Even a futuristic one. I thought the way they handled it in the new movie was even a little bit too much. No, uniforms have always had something in common: They should not make you more of a target then you already are.
1b) Bright, primary colors. In the interior? I'd get a headache after walking those corridors for 2 minutes; I'd bet that nobody would enlist in Starfleet if the insides of the ships really looked like that; you want to be effective in your job, not distracted.
2) Boxy stuff. Everything was boxy, as if the ship and the entire interior was made out of a few cardboard boxes. Of course, it was, but that's not the point. It shouldn't look like it, for that would not evoke the feeling of the future, more the feeling of homeless people.
Seriously: Designers aren't there for nothing you know; even in the most functional design there's a touch of the designer. It's the pride they take in their creative work. You can't seriously believe a designer would slack so much as to throw out all design rules (golden radio, correct choice of materials, conveying purpose with colors, lines and symbols) and make simple boxes without any thought behind them whatsoever.
I'm not saying the TOS sets were not designed with love; of course they were! But that's not the point: We have a different idea of functionality, information conveyance, usability and so on then we did in those days. The pinnacle of computer usability was a command prompt. I mean, come on.
3) Displays that are to small to look at with rows and rows of colored buttons. How can they ever convey enough information for ships operations? If the entire ship was run by an AI, perhaps. But as far as we know, it isn't, or you wouldn't need people on the bridge. Or anywhere on the ship, for that matter. You don't need all the information visible at all times, but there are a minimum of people on that bridge, all whom need at least a minimum of information visible to them at all times, with the option of displaying more and different content.
All in all: Society has changed these last 50 years. People consume more and more information at a faster rate then they did then. And, you can assume the rate will grow exponentially. As such, it simply doesn't do. The basics does (central captain's chair etc), but beyond that; not really.
And of that list of bridges, the NX-01 is the closest in layout and dimension to the original series. Doug Drexler, Mike Okuda, and John Eaves really did some good work on that bridge.
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