November 11, 2008 | by Vic Holtreman 

First Look At J.J. Abrams’ New USS Enterprise

First look at the new USS Enterprise

Thanks to Entertainment Weekly, you are looking at the first full image of the redesigned USS Enterprise from the new Star Trek movie (you can head over there for a larger version).

As a long time Star Trek fan, whose favorite series is the original, my from-the-gut reaction when I first came across this was:

That is one ugly ship.

Here is what J.J. Abrams had to say in regards to the new design vs the original:

“If you’re going to do Star Trek there are many things you cannot change. The Enterprise is a visual touchstone for so many people. So if you’re going to do the Enterprise, it better look like the Enterprise, because otherwise, what are you doing?”

I don’t know… maybe it’ll grow on me or it will look awesome while in flight on the big screen, but at the moment it’s not doing it for me. While he went pretty “classic” with the saucer section (that’s “primary hull” for the Star Trek fans out there) the connecting pylon and the secondary (lower) hull just look… incongruous.

If I had to pick one word that comes to mind when I look at that image, it would be:

Taffy.

You know, that stretchy carnival candy? You get it warmed up and then you can pull on it and it stretches and thins? That’s what the secondary hull and the nacelles look like to me. The lower hull looks like it was molded out of clay, rolled between two hands and rolled narrower at one end.

Almost exactly one year ago I wrote a speculative post asking “How radical is the USS Enterprise Redesign?”

Pretty damned radical, it seems.

Here are some comparative images from that post to help put things in perspective:

The Original USS Enterprise NCC-1701
compare-ncc-1701.jpg

JJ Abrams’ Redesigned USS Enterprise NCC-1701
Redesigned USS Enterprise

The USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A
compare-ncc-1701-a.jpg

Tell me the new design doesn’t look like the movie Enterprise saucer section tacked onto some completely different alien ship.

In another post, I tried to guess how a redesign of the Enterprise might equate to the modern trend of doing design updates of classic cars. As it turns out, I think my 1960s to 21st century Camaro comparison turned out to be the closest in design ideology:

Classic Camaro
60s-camaro.jpg

Modern Camaro
new-camaro.jpg

At the time I wrote:

“Let me say that I think the new Camaro is really, REALLY hot and from a design standpoint pays homage to the classic version, but that degree of change for the Enterprise would be completely unacceptable.”

Oh well.

Or… is it just me? Do I need to give it time to sink in and see it in action? I’d like to hear opinions from both Star Trek fans and non-fans.

[UPDATE: Thanks to "Spockboy" check out this minor change to the design via Photoshop that makes the new NCC-1701 look FAR better by adding some bulk to the lower part of the ship.]

Photoshopped new Enterprise

Star Trek opens on May 8, 2009.

Source: EW.com via FirstShowing.net

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  • Adrian
    Eeww,gees, I don't know... agree with you, Vic, have to see her in action. Just not sold all the way on the new look.
  • Spocks Brain
    I agree...

    they raped the poor enterprise...just to make money...

    No respect to the original BRILLIANT design... and to heck.. LOGIC!

    This ship should not have been designed this way PERIOD!
  • busy
    im not a star trek fan, so the ship design isnt a big deal to me.

    but seriously...what did you guys expect?

    you want the same exact ship as the original? its sticking to the classic look while modernizing it.

    in my worthless opinion its a huge improvement, the original in that top pic looks like a plastic toy that should be floating in a 5 year old's bath water instead of flying warp speed in outer space
  • It looks like almost every incarnation of the Enterprise so far: recognizable. I don't see 'ugly' so much as 'appropriate'. Plus, the Enterprise from TNG is a far bigger depart from the original than this one.
  • Spark
    Yeah I'm not a big Star Trek guy either but the design to me doesn't look too bad. The originals nacelles remind me more of a Y-Wing anyway. It seems like they decided to give the neck and other pieces on the new version a slanty look which could make it really sweet when it is in motion. ...thats jus me tho... but hopefully Abrams redesigning this ship wont be a repeat of Lucas' crappy overly produced Star Wars sequels ...God, I hate that man.
  • Deadpool
    It's time to give it up Vic. Seems to me like everything JJ is doing is for new fans, to start fresh. To hell with hardcore Trek fans, or fans of the original series. Those fans, myself now included (I started watching the original series again, first time since I was very young), are all very upset with the direction this movie is headed. The new designs of the "bridge," so aptly named by my friend 790 as "the iBridge." The overall design of the ship. The costumes, the look of the actors in all of these promo shots. It makes hardcore fans mad.

    But I've noticed, in people that I've talked to who know literally nothing about Star Trek, it seems cool to them. They seem interested, excited, intrigued. To hell with fans of the legendary Shatner and Nemoy! They want to start fresh. I hope this backfires on Mr Abrams
  • Van Banoovong
    I hope that Enterprise is used under the command of Captain Pike. When Kirk takes command, hopefully the Enterprise will look like the iconic one from the original series.
  • Ed
    I really was thinking they could do something more original. It looks a lot like a bloated "modernized" version of the old ones, but it also looks like 'a' Star Trek space ship, so it (might) do for Joe film-goer.

    My problem I guess is it looks too trekky...

    I like your car comparison though.
  • Patrick
    I like the old design and I'm not a trek fan either. It's the thing I hated about the new Star Wars movies, they made everything in the new star wars look so much more advanced, and sleeker. I mean look at the Naboo fighters compared to the X-Wings. maybe if you get technology to a certain point it starts regressing.
  • Jim dandy
    The ship doesn't look too bad; ya'll knew that they would "moderize" it for today's empty-headed audiences. The young, cocky-looking crew is what I'm afraid of seeing in action, and hurling over. If they do a great acting job as a group, then the movie will rock, if not, no ship design in the known universe is going to make this turkey any better to see.
  • David
    Your right Vic, the secondary hull looks... I don't know how to describe it other than out of place or wrong. My first impression was its not finished, there's still work to be done on it! (Please!)

    It has the look of cake frosting that has just began to melt and sag. Like it was squished a little bit.

    It doesn't look big enough to hold what the Enterprise originally housed in the secondary hull. You know your a trekkie if you have a "Booklet of General Plans" Well I checked mine and there are all sorts of fabrication, storage, and recreation facilities there. Not to mention the shuttlecraft hanger, which takes up a quarter of the secondary hull.

    I do however like the new engines. That is the one thing I expected to be considerably different. I'm not disappointed by them, but they do have that rolled piece of clay look with a headlight lens stuck in the end.

    I know I'm over analyzing, but as a trekkie I think I'm entitled. Lets hope in the movie She kicks butt and looks super doin' it!
  • FlameStrike
    It's Transformers all over again.
  • Ed
    Ah, Galaxy Quest comes to mind.

    Interesting considering how JJ says he likes Galaxy Quest more then the Star Trek movies.
  • Typhon
    Not to be too crude, but this new design looks like the "classic" Enterprise and the "movie" Enterprise had sex and made one ugly baby.

    I don't see why it would be so hard to use the classic Enterprise in the film. Just watching it in action after only ever seeing it on the small screen would have been worth admission alone.
  • Gary
    I think I will see the movie and judge the images in full context.
  • Daniel
    I am a fan from the beginning, or at least since I was born, of Star Trek. I don't understand whats wrong with the new concept. It looks totally correct from a realistic and physical point of view. It looks like a ship that can handle various forces in the universe, natural or not. That was always a hard sell with the original design. All of those sharp corners everywhere would stress at the sign of any differing gravitational field let alone high speed and you can forget about atmospheric flight. The new one however has a molded design that shows engineering and stability and doesnt need the aid of an "advanced alloy" to explain how the shape and sturdiness is possible.
  • Bvance
    I like Star Trek, I don't like this.



    It feels like this ship should be the Enterprise F or G. How come in all prequels the technology looks/is superior to the future technology. Doesn't make sense to me.
  • Bvance
    I found where J.J. stole the design from....

    From flippin Veggie tales!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zscIbgsbrPg

    @ 0:44 seconds.
  • David
    I agree Vic. The secondary doesn't match the primary.

    There are plenty of other closer (to classic) solutions that would have been much better. Personally, I love the STMP Enterprise. I would loved it if they had used a design based on that nut with round narcels.

    This ship is ugly, does not feel real and does not make the existing base happy. I'm sorry to say that I will be staying home.
  • @Bvance

    I can understand updating a design. I mean the original was ahead of its time when it aired, but it's too plain for a film. I thought the Trek movie ships were beautiful.

    But as a couple of folks stated above, this looks both too much like Galaxy Quest and too "organic" a la Star Wars Episodes I-III.

    Vic
  • "iBridge" lol, I love it.

    I don't get why the neck of the ship is so out of proportion with everything else...nor do I get the crazy disco warp nacelles. It looks like an entirely different class of ship.
  • CanuckLou
    Grew up with the original series in its initial network run. Love the look of this. Its a nice amalgamation of TV and movie versions of the ship.
  • I think my main beef with the design is the teeny-tiny "butt" on this thing. The back part of the secondary hull is so thin it almost looks like a caricature.

    Check out what this guy did and see how much better it looks:

    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v617/spockboy...

    Vic
  • Joe of the Mountain
    Sorry JJ. It looks like something out of "Overhauling" or that "We Hire Hung-Over, Low IQ Vo-Tech Graduates to Design Motorcycles" show on Discovery channel.

    Sort of bears no connection to a functional design, although I'm sure the kiddies (who know everything about cyberspace but nothing about reality) will love it.

    Until the Next Coo-ull Thing comes along and their ADD adled minds forget this hack-job every happened.

    Heavy sigh...
  • Check out the photoshopped version of the new ship by "Spockboy" that I've added to the end of the post. That minor change actually makes the ship look 10X better.

    The more I look at that skinny "tail" the worse it looks.

    Vic
  • Jack
    I'd agree with Vic on this one. The small tail-end of the ship is way too small. the neck and saucer are also misaligned, if you think about it. if they kept the tail the same, but moved the neck and saucer forward, it wouldn't look so bad. Another thing, if they had used the correct paint schemes and insignia for the hull, as well as a better deflector dish design, the overall design would improve. To me, it looks like a cross between the Star Trek Phase II and Star Trek I-VI models.
  • @joshi

    You have your opinion, I have mine. Yes, there are things that are different, but some (for example the unbalanced proportions), taken as a whole make the ship look pretty ugly to me.

    Vic
  • @joshi

    No worries, bud. I made it quite clear in the opening paragraphs that my opinion on this was "As a long time Star Trek fan, whose favorite series is the original."

    :-P

    And as I also stated, this ship could very well look good on the big screen and as you pointed out, from different angles. I know that the Enterprise-D from "The Next Generation" looked pretty hideously fat from some angles.

    It's just that this, combined with the Apple-store-looking bridge has me a bit leery as a fan.

    Vic
  • @joshi

    Well I *did* want non-fans' opinions so I appreciate your taking the time. :-)

    Best,

    Vic
  • Mike
    The design is WRONG.

    For whatever reason, everyone that has helmed TREK after Roddenberry has somehow just decided that TOS does not and never did exist. TOS represents, to them, a design abberation.

    BS. TOS IS TREK. Making the PRE 1701 look more like the A version simply ignores TOS, and since it is examining the TOS crew the entire thing makes no sense.

    Dorks.

    gah!
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