Would You Be Okay With a Different Enterprise?

[Clark Terrell]

Each of the ships named Enterprise seen in the TV series and films has the same basic shape, with a primary and secondary hull flanked by two warp nacelles. This contrasts somewhat with other vessels that have been members of radically different classes. The original Defiant was a Constitution-class ship, but its successor was a prototype warship never before seen on Star Trek. If a similar change happened with Enterprise, would you be okay with it, or is the ship's appearance as important as the name?

 

[T'Girl]

If it's an interesting design, that seems to make a degree of "sense," then sure.

Why not?




'0'

 

[F. King Daniel]

So long as it doesn't look like THIS. Or the Defiant, which needed nacelles. I think the Enterprise's general shape, goofy as it is, is a big part of the Trek mythos.

 

[Clark Terrell]

So long as it doesn't look like THIS. Or the Defiant, which needed nacelles. I think the Enterprise's general shape, goofy as it is, is a big part of the Trek mythos.

Looks like a robotic butterfly.

 

[BigJake]

If a similar change happened with Enterprise, would you be okay with it, or is the ship's appearance as important as the name?

I actually think the distinctive visual saucer-and-nacelles style, while it admits of plenty of variation, is more important than the name.

 

[sojourner]

If the show were "re-imagined" with a different art style. I could live with that. Assuming it's not ugly.

A new Enterprise set in a new time frame? yeah. I have no problem with it not following the familiar saucer and 3 tubes layout. Even the Defiant class does have some recognizable federation ship design ques though.

 

[Cyke101]

While I generally like the basic shape of the Starships Enterprise over the years, I'd really like it if Starfleet had more unique designs. Not only are they all of the basic design, but Starfleet has perhaps three or four times more ship classes than the Romulans and Klingons combined. Yes, they cover different roles, but doesn't that coverage get redundant after awhile?

If anything, a Starfleet with more variety means that the any ship named Enterprise would stand out in the crowd that much more.

 

[urbandefault]

While I love the original 1701, I think they got it absolutely right with the refit/A. Anything else is just different to be different.

 

[C.E. Evans]

So long as it doesn't look like THIS.

I don't mind that design in the dramatic setting it was made for (a war-devastated Federation that had seen better days).

Otherwise, I think the Enterprise should have always a forward saucer and elevated twin aft nacelles configuration. The shape of the saucer can be played with (wider or longer) as well as the nacelles (longer or shorter, closer together or farther apart), but it should be evoke something of the original configuration even if only barely.

 

[BillJ]

I think it's one of those iconic visual cues that let us know we're watching "Star Trek". So unless the design was really unique and eye-catching, I'd have to say no.

 

[Push The Button]

At this point, no. The original Matt Jeffries design is as much a beloved character in Trek as Kirk, Spock or McCoy, and I was happy to see JJ use the same basic design in the movies.

 

[The Wormhole]

So long as it doesn't look like THIS.

You know, I kind of like that.

Or the Defiant, which needed nacelles.

The Defiant has nacelles, as evidenced by the presence of Bussard Collectors.

I think the Enterprise's general shape, goofy as it is, is a big part of the Trek mythos.

Indeed, especially when you consider something like 90% of Starfleet ships are variations on that basic design.

 

[Ro_Laren]

I don't know how I would feel. Maybe I'd be okay as long as it looks "Starfleetish." That is, I would be annoyed if it looked like a Borg Cube or a Romulan Warbird.

 

[Infern0]

It's an iconic design which they shouldn't change too much imo

Usually whenever hollywood changes anything it's for the worst

 

[mendelin]

The design of the USS Enterprise is based on the Golden Ratio. She has really beautiful, harmonious shape. There is no need in drastic changes.

 

[T'Girl]

The design of the USS Enterprise is based on the Golden Ratio ...

Okay, while I love the TOS design, I've got to call bullshit on this.

The way I understand it, Jefferies didn't just sit down and draw the TOS Enterprise on a blank piece of paper. He drew multiple extremely different verisons, Roddenberry would look them over and select a small portion to this, and a general idea from that, and Jeffies would combine things, the happen over and over until he arrived at what Roddenberry eventual wanted.



'0'

 

[Shawnster]

The design of the USS Enterprise is based on the Golden Ratio ...

Okay, while I love the TOS design, I've got to call bullshit on this.

The way I understand it, Jefferies didn't just sit down and draw the TOS Enterprise on a blank piece of paper. He drew multiple extremely different verisons, Roddenberry would look them over and select a small portion to this, and a general idea from that, and Jeffies would combine things, the happen over and over until he arrived at what Roddenberry eventual wanted.



'0'

It doesn't have to be BS and you both can be correct. Engineers and designers have an intuitive sense about their craft. Roddenberry may have picked pieces from this or that or the other for Jefferies to combine, but Jefferies still had to combine and refine those elements. Intentionally or unintentionally, Jefferies worked within the golden ratio.

I mean, look at the original Jefferies drawings for the Enterprise and compare it with the final results. There are numerous refinements.

I think this is what killed me on the JJPrise. The ratios and proportions were all wrong. I don't care if you change the appearance, just get the design proportionally the same the way the original was.

 

[HIjol]

...no

...she is perhaps the REAL main character, if you think about it, and needs to stay relatively true to her proportions...

...you would not change Spock's ears or Scotty's accent or the sound the doors make or any of the thousands of things that make it Star Trek...

 

[BigJake]

So long as it doesn't look like THIS.

You know, I kind of like that.

I'm with King Daniel on this one. It looks like it's designed with something like an aircraft carrier hangar deck on the front? I'm sure there's a reason behind that, but it looks a bit comical...

 

[C.E. Evans]

So long as it doesn't look like THIS.

You know, I kind of like that.

I'm with King Daniel on this one. It looks like it's designed with something like an aircraft carrier hangar deck on the front? I'm sure there's a reason behind that, but it looks a bit comical...

In the setting it was designed for, the Federation was pretty much devastated in a war and is in the process of rebuilding itself. Starfleet abandoned all its exploration, scientific, and diplomatic programs and concentrated solely on defense & reconstruction efforts, and the starship designs of the era are a reflection of that. And it is something of a carrier as it has a number of fighter-type craft.