It’s sounding more and more like the original starship USS Enterprise – NCC-1701 has indeed been redesigned for Star Trek (11).
First came a report from IESB a month ago stating that the ship will have a new design in the movie. Now TrekWeb points us to a post over at the Star Trek New Voyages forum where James Cawley claims that he has seen the new starship Enterprise NCC-1701. Cawley is producer of the New Voyages fan-made Star Trek series and plays Captain Kirk as well.
He was not pleased with the new look of the iconic NCC-1701.
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On the forum, Cawley makes clear that he wants the film to succeed:
“I understand the reboot thing, it is simply business and a way to hopefully sell many more new action figures and toys based on new designs, it always comes down to the money to be made. I just don’t agree with changing such iconic designs that are so ingrained in pop culture, it is really needless.”
“I would be a hypocrite if I did not believe in recasting these iconic roles, I do in fact support it. I just don’t want the production design radically changed. I see Matt Jeffries’ designs as ‘TIMELESS’ and as ‘Pure Science Fiction’, I feel the Big E as designed by Matt deserves it’s day on the big screen.”
There’s no doubt that Cawley is a huge Star Trek fan as evidenced by the fact that he has put together enough money, people and resources to have created multiple “webisodes” of a series with very impressive sets and production values (they even had George Takei guest star in one episode). There’s no doubt that’s pretty hard core, but I think from his statements that he’s at least open to the concept of rebooting the series, even if he’s not totally in favor of it.
As to his specific thoughts on the redesigned Enterprise:
“Yes, I have seen the New REBOOTED Enterprise… at any rate, I don’t like it. It is supposed to be NCC-1701, no bloody A,B,C,D or E! and it sure does not look like the 1701 I grew up with!”
“I have seen what was purported to be the final design of the New Enterprise, and I don’t like the changes. Period.”
And what does it look like, exactly?
“…all I will say is that the ship design seems to borrow heavily from ‘Contemporary Trek.’”
From his comments it sounds like the ship will retain it’s overall saucer, main hull and twin nacelle configuration but within the confines of those elements you can still have a design that is very different from the original.
For reference purposes, here is a history of the design of the USS Enterprise on TV and in the movies:
This was the first Enterprise designed for the screen. The image above is from the newly remastered version of The Original Series and is a new CGI model. Notice how they avoided the temptation to “upgrade” it in any way. It’s completely faithful to the original.
This was the upgraded version used in the six films starring the original cast.
This ship was highlighted briefly in the awful Star Trek: Generations. It was on it’s inaugural journey and was the ship on which Captain Kirk was supposedly killed.
This ship was highlighted in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Yesterday’s Enterprise where it traveled through time to the future to meet Captain Picard and crew. You can see that it has more in common with the original ship and the 1701-A than it does with the 1701-B. That’s because it was designed in 1990 while the 1701-B was designed in 1994.
This is the ship that came about 100 years after Kirk’s era. It is monstrously huge and I was always torn regarding the look of it – from some angles it looks great but from others I always thought it look very ungainly.
This is the version that followed the destruction of the 1701-D. In my opinion it’s ugly as sin and I believe that it is supposed to be even larger than the already huge “D.”
Finally, here is the prime example of a new take on what is supposed to be a ship built 100 years before the NCC-1701:
Long time Trek fans went nuts when they first saw this design for the TV show Star Trek: Enterprise. It was obviously based on a flipped over version of an Akira-class ship from the Next Generation era of Star Trek, therefore looking much more advanced than the original Enterprise. This, despite the fact that it was supposed to have been built and designed 100 years before the NCC-1701.
Now granted, there is a brand new production team working on the new film. As far as I know no one associated with the old production is on this including any of the art/design team that defined the look of Star Trek for so long. Still, I think they may go a little bit overboard on the Enterprise redesign in order to make it more suitable for the big screen. I would have been ok with them using the same ship as the frame but adding a bit more detail to the exterior, but I get the feeling that they’re going to fiddle with the core look of the ship.
It will be interesting to finally see what they come up with, but personally I’m nervous about it. Star Trek is almost as much about the Enterprise as it is about it’s crew.
[UPDATE: Here it is, the brand new USS Enterprise]
Oh, and finally… here is one fan’s interpretation of what a redesigned NCC-1701 should look like (I think I would have preferred this over what they came up with):
Source: Star Trek New Voyages forum (registration required) and images from Memory Alpha
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169 Comments
@Paul
Wait, are you actually thinking I might NOT have seen the movie? Are you kidding?
Vic
@Vic
No no, I’m thinking that all those pre- May 8 writers, who based their opinions on a few pre-release photos of the Enterprise and the fact that J.J. Abrams said he was “not a Trekkie”, especially the gentleman who said he was planning to just wait and rent the DVD (Joe, I think it was), might actually have gone so far as to not see the movie. I may be speculating wildly here, and they will let me know if I am, but those who are actually proud of being a member of a small and fairly elite audience (which you and I also are), might actually feel offended that such a mass audience has embraced the latest incarnation of Trek (”the box office says it all” and “this movie wasn’t made for us, it was made for them” are a couple quotes I remember)- and THEY might not go see the movie just out of spite (”I hope it tanks” someone also wrote). This seems illogical, like being a Democrat who is resentful at all the other people who finally voted Democrat last year (because they are newbies, “they aren’t lifelong supporters like me”).
I’m off in an hour to see the film again. I think Sulu said it all (in “The Wrath of Khan”)– “I’m delighted at any chance to go aboard the Enterprise.”
Before I start on my views on the movie, I would like to pose a question (or two) regarding the newly redesigned Enterprise. When the BBC restarted the Doctor Who series, what would science fiction fans had thought if they had opted to eliminate the iconic police box TARDIS in favor of a more modern style British phone booth? The subtle changes in plot, technique and budget was made more palatable because the shows iconic centerpiece remained unchanged. Battlestar Galactica is almost a moot point in discussions of this nature due largely in part to the fact that other than the overall plot line and characters, there are virtually no similiarities between the two series runs. it would be akin to having Shawn Ryan creating a live action reboot of The Simpson.
In my opinion, the public, and the Star Trek fandom were not awarded their just due, in finally being able to see the classic Enterprise broght alive on the big screen, in a manner that finally made it appear “real.”
Both fans and non fans alike would readily agree with the “cheeziness” of the original sets, wardrobe, and in many cases, overacting, however the actual vessel itself was never in question and, in many aspects transcended the series itself and became a cultural icon of exploration and discovery.
Using the original design of the Enterprise, even with the addition of more depth and detail; including exterior bridge windows, external phaser banks and photon torpedo launchers, leaving the vessel generally in tact would have been a no-lose senerio for the Abrams team. Such a redesign was un-necessary due to it’s historical & cultural status and could be construed as a selfish and egocentric act on their behalf.
In the aspect of the story, Abrams did us all a favor (not to ruin it for those who have yet to partake) with the overly Star Trek plot twist that temporal dynamics provide. In some aspects, it makes the debatable undebatable.
On the technological sides, Star Fleet appeared to be more organized, however, more of a militaristic organize and less oriented towards science as it’s prior incarnations. It seems to make for a more organized structure within Starfleet, but also manages to deminish some of the exploratory feel of Roddenberry’s image of the organization.
Again, without the spoiler, you cannot really discuss the career relationships of the central characters under cannon, as here, it does not apply. However, many of the roles are note worthy for their rendition of the classic characters. By the end of the movie, I was easily able to see both Kirk and Spock, not from the mannerisms, but from the central points of those characters. Scotty as comic relief is well played. Intresting though, is the choices to portray the bumbling Ensign Chekov and a child genius and Uhura as a sex symbol. By far, the most noteworthy performace of the film, was Urban’s modern, yet accurate performance as Dr. McCoy.
Overall, the film was successful enough, even to me, to leave me wondering about an upcoming television series, or at least a sequal.
I loved watching the old startrek episodes. they were campy and fun. I loved TNG, it was big beautiful and stories were grand. I enjoyed Voyager, it was adventurous and the effects were brilliant. The ones after, not so much.
But I liked this latest movie most of all. It is fun and campy, the universe was big and sets were beautiful. It was full of adventure and the effects were great!!!
I love startrek, but i watch other sci fi series too. Startrek was the first but the ones that followed helped expand and enrich the genre. Diverse numbers of ships, designs, stories, technologies cropped up because of them. I loved it!!! The other series have great ideas too and I don’t think it is irreverent or disrespectful if Startrek incorporated those great ideas into itself. I mean startrek IS space drama, it is the genre.
the ship was like a rough and tumble ready mix of all the ships I’ve come to love, in the recognizable enterprise profile. I was startled at first but I loved it by the end of the film.
@Dan
Nice analysis. As a Trekker, I did overly analyze much of the film using what I know about the Trek universe but I still came out loving the film. And your comment about Urban is exactly the same as mine; I thought he nailed McCoy’s character. I would rather they do a sequel instead of another series; at least hold off for a few years for a series.
Wow, fun discussion! But I think we’ve strayed a bit (partly my fault, I’ve done this too) from the original topic, “How Radical Is The Enterprise Re-Design?” into just movie reviews, worthy though these are.
And in answer to the central question, I agree with Lt Marky- it’s a ready-mix of all the ships and with the classic Enterprise profile. The primary hull is still a saucer mounted on a big pylon (both having more in common with the “Motion Picture” Enterprise refit than the original Matt Jeffries design); the engineering hull is still basically a tube, with a shuttle bay in the rear and a big deflector dish in the front (this one glows and seems a lot bigger, but that ought to make it better at deflecting, right?); and the warp nacelles are still basically two more tubes mounted on long pylons (slightly bent/curved this time), with glowing bits in front and two long attachments at the rear (I think those are the intercoolers, I could be wrong). The whole design is a lot more “blended” than the original designs, in keeping with what we now know to be cutting-edge technology (e.g. the stealth fighter and F-22), but not nearly as blended as the “E”-model Sovereign-class ship- which is as it should be, this is a much earlier design. But as I said in my earlier post, it doesn’t make sense to think that, if history changed 25 years ago, the design would magically turn out to be the same in this new timeline as in the original series! (Wierdly, the Klingon cruiser doesn’t seem to have changed that I could see from our brief look- but then again, it wasn’t their history that changed so much, was it? I mean, war with the Federation- what else is there to say?)
This Enterprise is no more radical than any other we’ve seen- and remember, the original design (all hail Matt Jeffries) was considered pretty darn radical in 1966, when TV and movie spaceships were either Flash Gordon rockets or huge saucers ala “The Day the Earth Stood Still”. I think this redesign, like the whole movie, is a fitting tribute to the original as well as a stunningly cool (is that a phaser joke?) update for the 21st Century!
I’m hoping they’re on “warp speed” for the next script as we speak!
I now know why the Enterprise was changed, it’s because of the alternate timeline created when Nero and “Prime” Spock went back in time. So the changes makes perfect sense to me!
I know we just got the new version of Kirks old version of the Enterprise but I’m starting to scratch my head on the refurbishment of the ship already. I’ve only come up with ideas of the pylons scince the sleek look is it, I would like to improvise from Enterprise-E’s pylons in a reversed kind of way to preserve the jet wing look. Any one know of any sites that have this idea going on?
Im a long time Trek fan, and I thought the new movie was AWFUL. It was dumbed-down with a story that made no sense. It felt rushed, sloppy and didnt seem like Star Trek at all. It was heavy on the FX and sound design and light on the clarity of the story. It also laid waste to the Star trek universe that we know. Definitely Trek for the new generation of kids who cant sit through a film with a story that moves at a normal pace.
And the Enterprise E is a beautiful gorgeous ship.
As a longtime Trek fan (having enjoyed all the series and movies except the abominable ST 5), I found I walked out of the movie with all the right itches scratched, all the right notes hit. I am optimistic for the future of the franchise.
My biggest question is when a cutaway poster of the new Enterprise will be available. I’ve got every cutaway poster I have been able to lay my hands on, and am jonesing bad for this next ship…where is the product marketing blitz? Gimme gimme gimme!
A post on this thread speculated about me seeing the movie. At first, I refused to watch it because of the negative advertisement used on the MTV crowd. JJ Abrams, in my opinion, made a lot of moves purposely to push Trek fans out of the way. In a sense, the advertisements came as an insult to the Trek fans, knowing that the non-trek fans would gain interest in seeing that a new Star Trek movie was being made for them, and not for the fans. That, of course, turned out to be a mistake. Based on what I’ve seen, very few new fans have come on board. The movie did great on opening week, and even had a great second week. But the cost for producing this movie did not necessarily make a box office smash, as all thought it would. When you consider the over-all cost of producing this movie, compared to its gain, they didn’t even break even. Then again, they still have DVD sells to look forward to, of which I will most certainly NOT buy it. Neither will I ever add it to my collection of beloved Star Trek films.
I agree with one poster who stated that they “Dumbed down” the movie to attract the non-intellectuals. This new movies was all about thrill rides, FX resolutions, and sound waves. The story was absolutely garbled with no apparent climax, and had the appearance of the LOST episodes. JJ Abrams, in my opinion, pushed more Trek fans away, than gained them. And the theoretical new fan base is not as high-leveled as everyone is making it. I’ve asked very non-trek person I know who seen the movie and liked it, if they would become Star Trek fans, and all of them said no.
Finally, the new design is not “gorgeous” as some like. If you like it, then that is OK. But this design is not my taste. It’s too radical and curvy, and doesn’t have the traditional Star Trek design. There’s no grace in her motion, and all of her angels appear out of proportion.
Will I continue to be a Trek fan? Yes, I will always love the Original Series, and the Next Generation films. But this garbage of a movie has no taste, not intellect, no climax, and the worst imagined starship I’ve ever seen. The fellow that designed this thing is a failure.
If JJ Abrams wants to see more Trek fans return, he might have one suggestion to follow. BLOW THAT THING TO HELL!
It’s too damn ugly! And that’s nearly a fact! On the Star TrekNewVoyages website, a poll shows that the original series Enterprise maintains the lead of acceptance. So although there are a few who like the new design, they are not enough to overwhelm the majority acceptance of the original and TRUE Enterprise.
I rank them Enterprise designs in this order:
1. TOS Enterprise
2. Refit Enterprise
3. Refit Enterprise A
4. USS Enterprise-E
The rest are all garbage to me, the worst being J-Treks Enterprise.
In conclusion, I gave it a chance. But with the weak story line, the senseless plot, weak climax, and over-designed toilet, I give the new movie several thumbs down! I will never accept anything JJ Abrams has to offer.
Joe
Unchanged, and unmotivated.
)
According to Wikipedia, this Trek is the highest-grossing of all the films in the franchise. This is more than “nearly a fact.” I quote- “Adjusted and unadjusted for inflation, it beat Star Trek: First Contact for the largest US opening for a Star Trek film.” Sounds pretty successful to me.
I love the appearance of the new ship. That is an actual fact (well, it’s a fact that it is my opinion).
Joe, consider that a poll or debate on any Trek site is pretty much statistically irrelevant (including the little discussion we’re having right now!), in that you have a self-selected sample- ie. those who went to the site in the first place and then chose to answer the survey. It’s like a TV-news channel phone-in poll- it has no bearing on anything except the opinions of those who chose to call in. This is just mental gymnastics for us.
The TRUE Enterprise is any Enterprise that is put on screen. I gotta love ‘em all.
More later. Keep flyin’.
Hello Paul.
While I agree with you that this Star Trek had the highest turn out than any previous Star Trek film, I would not exactly count that as a success. You didn’t mention the cost it took to make this film, nor did you mention the amount of money poured into its advertisement campaign. From what I’ve heard, they didn’t have enough money to build the sets as they wanted. That’s why the Engine room looked cheap and cheesy; they used a bear factory, which looked quite awful.
Now regarding the high turn out, I’d be cautious in this because curiosity is what drove most people to see the movie. While many Trek fans were excited to see a new movie released, this didn’t mean they liked it just because they went to see it. There were many who felt as I did in the theater. Some worse because they got up and walked out; it was that bad.
As for new fans, I’d say there was only a small handful that stated they would become Trek fans, but most probably won’t. Even though they were thrilled by the movie, it was not enough to convert them to the world of Star Trek. I’ve asked many of them, and their response was that Star Trek was still a geeks film. I wouldn’t count on them showing up at the next Star Trek convention.
Finally, regarding the Enterprise, if you like the new design, then good for you. But the majority of us think it sucked badly. This design is why out of proportion, and has too many curves. I’m quite positive that if they had used the original design, although dressed up for the wide screen, JJ Abrams would have had a higher acceptance rate from traditional Star Trek fans. It would have been a win/win result. As a result of the over-designed ship, it was a win/loss result.
I agree that polls can be biased, but I’m not seeing anyone thrilled over the new design. Some say it looked awesome, but I doubt you’ll see them heading off to the hobby shop to purchase the new Enterprise. If you visit the On-Line Star Trek store, you’ll note that they have plenty of stock on the JJ Enterprise. But try to order the new “Where No Man has Gone Before” Enterprise, and be prepared to wait. So far, they ran out of stock twice. I’m hoping they have a new batch in this month (October). I can’t wait to get my hands on it.
If I had a wife who would let me spend the money, I would have purchased the Master’s Replica of the Original Series; it’s absolutely gorgeous.
Well Paul, take care.
Joe
Joe,
I dont care what you say about the new Trek! You are obviously stuck in a past that wouldnt let TOS go ne farther!! Now we get to relive Kirk and his crew ( which most from TOS are dead) on new adventures. I first watched Star Trek TOS (the only series that matters) with my Dad. My Dad is a Vietnam Vet and first watched Star Trek in country (i doubt you know what that means cause your a loser)! I took my Dad to see the new movie and he thought it was the best he had ever seen. The last time my Dad watched a movie was in a drive thru in 1982 (Wrath of Kahn)!! If you want to dispute a TRUE TOS fan, say something about Vietnam!!! You probably have no comment now!! I served in Kosovo and Irag War, 7 years in the Marine Corps…My opinion, and my DADS matter!!! YOURS DOES NOT!!! The new ENTERPRISE and the new crew, and the NEW movie, according to people who fought for this country, THE BEST EVER…
Wow! Not sure how your service in the Marines, or your Dad’s service, while both are greatly appreciated, has any relevance to our discussion about Star Trek.
Oh, and on a side note, I do know what it means. My father died after returning from Vietnam. I was only 5 months old when that happened. I, like him, joined the military, except I joined the Air Force. And I’m still serving my country proudly. Without violating OPSEC rules, I’ll leave my tours of duty (which are many) out of this discussion.
Now if you and your father enjoyed the new JJ Abrams movie, then good for you. Nobody said that you had to hate it. But I, like many others, do hate it. And there’s nothing wrong with us hating it. But no matter how you look at it, what he’s created is NOT Star Trek EXCEPT by name only.
Regarding the new Enterprise design, I hate it with a passion. James Cawley, who stars in the StarTrekNewVoyages episodes, hates the new design as well. There is not as much acceptance of the new design as many seem to believe. The comments I’ve seen from those who say that it’s “cool”, particularly from youth bloggers, are not even Star Trek fans, and are STILL not Star Trek fans…..go figure.
Finally, as for me not wanting Star Trek to move on, you couldn’t be more wrong. I’ve enjoyed the Next Generation; both the television episodes, as well as the movies. At least it stayed within the universe of traditional Star Trek. But what JJ Abrams and his team did was insulting! He’s changed Star Trek into a Star Wars episode which has no place in the world of Star Trek. Instead of phasers, we now have blasters. Instead of photon torpedo’s, we now have submarine-like torpedo’s. Instead of an engine room, we have a beer factory with water tubes which seemed to be all over the place.
On a plus side, the move was action packed. But it wasn’t enough to make up for the terrible script, weak story, weak villain, and no climax. It’s like two couples have sex, and deciding to quit before finishing the job.
One more thing. For you to usurp a strange theory that those who fought (and are fighting) for this country all loved Star Trek is absurd, and quite immature! Just in my duty section alone, only one person has admitted to liking the movie, but not enough to become a Trek fan. The rest of us all tease him for liking such a lame movie. Then again, this movie wasn’t made for those who enjoy a good Star Trek movie, but for those who only care about flashing lights, loud noises, and childish games such as “Find R2D2 in the movie, and you’ll win a stage prop”. Gee, just what I always wanted. A digital model of the worst Enterprise ever, and a keg of beer straight from the engine room. *Laughs* Even after drinking that much beer, the ugly starship design still looks terrible. Those huge warp nacelles could sure you a nacelle reduction. Looks like huge implants or something. *laughs*
Thanks for your service…but don’t forget about mine, and my fellow brothers and sister who CONTINUE to serve.
Joe
as my american cousins say this movie sucked big time, just like the enterprise. we were shown the original enterprise in the teaser trailer being built , and it looked excellent.i was dissapointed to see this monster of a ship posing as the enterprise.as for the engine room it was for me the worst thing about the enterprise.bring back the original or at least the refit enterprise.(which is my all time favourite.)i really wanted to see the original trek get a new chance to shine again , but alas no.
my opinion of the new enterprise is i like the design but the interior of the enginering section looks like a water teatment or sewage plant other than that its fine
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