USS ''Enterprise'' (NCC-1701-D), or ''Enterprise''-D, is a
starship
A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems.
The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 188 ...
in the ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' media franchise. Under the command of Captain
Jean-Luc Picard
Jean-Luc Picard is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, most often seen as the captain of the Federation starship . Played by Patrick Stewart, Picard has appeared in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''T ...
, it is the main setting of ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994) and the film ''
Star Trek Generations
''Star Trek Generations'' is a 1994 American science fiction film and the seventh film in the ''Star Trek'' film series. Malcolm McDowell joins cast members from the 1960s television show ''Star Trek'' and the 1987 sequel series ''The Next G ...
'' (1994). It has also been depicted in various spinoffs, films, books, and licensed products.
''The Next Generation'' occurs in the 24th century, 78 years after the adventures of Captain
James T. Kirk
James Tiberius Kirk is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Originally played by Canadian actor William Shatner, Kirk first appeared in ''Star Trek'' serving aboard the starship USS ''Enterprise'' as captain. Kirk leads ...
and the
starship ''Enterprise''.
Andrew Probert
Andrew Probert (born 1946 in Independence, Missouri) is an American artist. He is known for his work with the ''Star Trek'' franchise, most notably the designs of the USS ''Enterprise'' for '' Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' and the ''Enterpris ...
's ''Enterprise''-D updates
Matt Jefferies
Walter Matthew Jefferies (August 12, 1921 – July 21, 2003) was an American aviation and mechanical artist, set designer, and writer. He is best known for his work on the original ''Star Trek'' television series, where he designed many of the s ...
' iconic 1960s ''Enterprise'' design, depicting a ship supporting a larger crew on a longer mission "to boldly go
where no one has gone before
"Where No One Has Gone Before" is the sixth episode of the American science-fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', which originally aired October 26, 1987, in broadcast syndication in the United States. A high-definition, r ...
."
Development and production
Concept
Paramount Television Group and ''Star Trek'' creator
Gene Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer, and creator of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', its sequel spin-off series ''Star Trek: The Animated Series,'' and ''Sta ...
announced the development of a new ''Star Trek'' series in October 1986. Because the ''Enterprise'' had been "just as important to
he original ''Star Trek''as
Kirk
Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it.
Basic meaning and etymology
As a common noun, ''kirk'' ...
,
Spock
Spock is a Character (arts), fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He first appeared in the Star Trek: The Original Series, original ''Star Trek'' series serving aboard the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), USS ''Enterprise ...
, and
McCoy," the new ship was critical.
Whereas Captain Kirk led a five-year mission, the new crew would be outfitted for a mission of at least 10 years. To sustain such a journey, the new vessel would be twice as long, eight times the volume, and include the crew's families. Roddenberry also wanted the ship to depict an improved quality of life for its crew: it would be brighter, less militaristic, and have sleeker and more refined interfaces than the original ''Enterprise''. He wanted the ''Enterprise'' to convey a harmony between science and quality of life.
The ''Enterprise''s registry was originally ''NCC-1701-7''. The ''7'' became a ''G'' to be consistent with the
new USS ''Enterprise'', with registry NCC-1701-''A'', at the conclusion of ''
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'' (1986). A February 1987 revision to the ''Next Generation'' writers' manual specified the show's ''Enterprise'' as the ''NCC-1701-D'', carrying a crew of 907 and their families; by March, the crew complement was 1,012 and specified the show occurring 78 years after the original ''Star Trek''.
Design
![USD307923 art (Andrew Probert, toy starship, Enterprise)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/USD307923_art_%28Andrew_Probert%2C_toy_starship%2C_Enterprise%29.png)
Artists Andrew Probert,
Rick Sternbach
Richard Michael Sternbach (born 1951 in Bridgeport, Connecticut) is an illustrator who is best known for his space illustrations and his work on the ''Star Trek'' television series.
Early years
Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1969 Sternbac ...
, and
Michael Okuda
Michael Okuda is an American graphic designer best known for his work on ''Star Trek'' including designing futuristic computer user interfaces known as "okudagrams".
Career
Work in ''Star Trek''
In the mid-1980s, he designed the look of ani ...
were among the earliest ''Next Generation'' hires, and they had worked on ''Star Trek'' films. Probert, a concept artist, focused first on the bridge because that would be a frequent filming location. Roddenberry envisioned the bridge as having a forward viewscreen four times larger than in ''Star Trek'', and for there to be a conference table on the bridge itself. As production design continued, the table was shifted to a conference room adjacent to the bridge, and an open bridge design formed. Probert designed a transporter to be near the bridge, but Roddenberry preferred that it be further away so characters could have conversations on their way to the transporter room.
Knowing the bridge would need to match up with the exterior design, Probert pinned up a "what if?" painting he'd made shortly after finalizing the ''Enterprise'' redesign for 1979's ''
Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' as a referent. Unbeknownst to Probert, story editor
David Gerrold
David Gerrold (born Jerrold David Friedman; January 24, 1944)Reginald, R. (September 12, 2010)''Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Volume 2'' Borgo Press p. 911. Archived at Google Books. Retrieved June 23, 2013. is an American science fic ...
took the image to a producers meeting. The producers liked the design and directed Probert to make it the basis for the new vessel. The sleeker lines and rounded contours that informed the interior design also influenced the exterior. The ship's many windows are meant to allow the crew to be in touch with their environment.
The new ''Enterprise'' retains the hallmarks of Matt Jefferies' design for the original ''Enterprise'': a saucer section, engineering section, and a pair of engine nacelles. Probert did this in part to assuage skeptical fans who were concerned about the original ''Enterprise'' being "replaced". The design instead shifted placement and proportion: for example, the saucer section was enlarged and the warp nacelles shifted lower. Slanting the nacelle support pylons forward conveyed a sense of intense forward movement. Fans got their first look at the ''Enterprise'' in the July 1987 issue of ''
Starlog
''Starlog'' was a monthly science fiction magazine that was created in 1976 and focused primarily on '' Star Trek'' at its inception. Kerry O'Quinn and Norman Jacobs were its creators and it was published by Starlog Group, Inc. in August 1976. ...
''.
Probert's design did not originally include the ability for the saucer and engineering sections to separate, and producers rejected his initial concepts for incorporating it. Probert said his biggest design challenge was creating a ship that looked as good in two pieces as it did in one piece. He had meant to add landing gear to the saucer's underside as he had with the film franchise ''Enterprise'', but he got "distracted" and never added them.
Sets
In October 1986, producers began planning the show's sets, including efforts to reuse props and materials from the film franchise. The films' engineering,
sickbay
A sick bay is a compartment in a ship, or a section of another organisation, such as a school or college, used for medical purposes.
The sick bay contains the ship's medicine chest, which may be divided into separate cabinets, such as a refriger ...
, corridor, crew quarters, and bridge were redressed for ''The Next Generation''. To save money in the first season, the observation lounge's windows were covered with carpet to become sickbay; a new lounge set was created for the second season. A multipurpose set that served as the cargo bay,
shuttlecraft
A shuttlecraft, also known as a shuttle spacecraft, shuttle ship, drop shuttle, drop spacecraft, or dropship, is a type of spacecraft described in theory and science fiction. Serving the same purpose as a ship's tender, it is a smaller vessel that ...
bay,
holodeck
The Holodeck is a fictional device from the television franchise ''Star Trek'' which uses "holograms" (projected light and electromagnetic energy which create the illusion of solid objects) to create a realistic 3D simulation of a real or imag ...
, and gymnasium was built from scratch. While the bridge "seems immense," the set had the same width as the original series bridge and was longer. A lounge set was created in unused
soundstage
A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a soundproof, large structure, building, or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or ...
space after the first season: producers realized their existing sets were workspaces, and they wanted an area to depict the crew at rest.
The production crew did everything possible "within reason" both to recreate first-season sets and to imagine futuristic upgrades for the series finale, "
All Good Things..." (1994), which presents the ship in three different time periods. Some props and details, such as the first-season conference room starship models, had been saved and were reused for the flashback scenes. Sets for the future scenes reused props from other episodes that posit the ''Enterprise''s appearance further in the future.
Filming models and visual effects
Producers were aware that audiences had grown accustomed to the cinematic quality of models and effects in the franchise's films. They considered using only CGI models and effects, but anxiety about whether the vendor could consistently deliver high-quality work led to that idea's rejection. The producers turned to
Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pro ...
(ILM), who had worked on the ''Star Trek'' films, for the "
Encounter at Farpoint
"Encounter at Farpoint" is the pilot episode and series premiere of the American science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', which premiered in first-run syndication, syndication on Septem ...
" pilot.
In March 1987, an ILM team led by
Greg Jein
Greg Jein (born October 31, 1945 in Los Angeles, USA; died May 22, 2022) was a Chinese American model designer who created miniatures for use in the special effects portions of many films and television series, beginning in the 1970s. Jein was no ...
and Ease Owyeung began building filming miniatures based on Probert's designs. They created two models for $75,000: a model and a model that separated into the saucer and engineering sections. The models were made of
fiberglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...
and cast resin over aluminum frames, and neon lights and incandescents provided the models' interior lighting. ILM created several
stock footage
Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures, and file footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Stock footage is beneficial to filmmakers as it saves shooting new material. A single piece of stock ...
shots and effects, including the ''Enterprise''s jump to warp. The warp jump was featured in the show's opening sequence, but most of the other shots were too static and "didn't pan out."
New ''Enterprise'' shots were created as necessary for each episode, and effects supervisor Robert Legato had over 350 such shots in his library by the seventh season.
Legato disliked filming the six-foot model: its size made it hard to shoot for
long shots
In photography, filmmaking and video production, a wide shot (sometimes referred to as a full shot or long shot) is a shot that typically shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surro ...
, and its lack of surface details—some of which were drawn with pencil—made it difficult to use in
close-ups
A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production, still photography, and the comic strip medium is a type of shot that tightly frames a person or object. Close-ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium and long s ...
.
Jein supervised construction of a miniature for the third season that was more detailed than the first two.
Transition to film
Production designer Herman Zimmerman had more freedom for ''Star Trek Generations'' than he had on previous ''Star Trek'' films. Producers wanted to ensure ''Generations'' stayed true to the television series while also taking advantage of the film production's scope and budget. Interiors were relit and received several cosmetic changes, such as redesigned consoles, metallic accents, and replacing backlit displays with monitors. Some changes, like enhanced detailing and a redesigned bridge ceiling, were necessitated by the film cameras' higher resolution. The increased budget allowed for the creation of sophisticated new sets, such as the stellar cartography lab.
John Knoll
John Knoll (born October 6, 1962) is an American visual effects supervisor and chief creative officer (CCO) at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). One of the original creators of Adobe Photoshop (along with his brother, Thomas Knoll), he has also ...
led ILM's visual effects for the film, including an all-CGI warp jump effect for the ''Enterprise''.
[ ] ILM rewired and updated its six-foot ''Enterprise'' model for the saucer separation sequence. ILM made a saucer section model to "crash" into an planet surface model. An model of the saucer's forward edge was used for close-ups of the crashed ship.
Depiction
Starfleet
Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conduc ...
commissions the ''Galaxy''-class USS ''Enterprise'' in 2363 under the command of Captain
Jean-Luc Picard
Jean-Luc Picard is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, most often seen as the captain of the Federation starship . Played by Patrick Stewart, Picard has appeared in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''T ...
. The flagship of the
United Federation of Planets
In the fictional universe of ''Star Trek'' the United Federation of Planets (UFP) is the interstellar government with which, as part of its space force Starfleet, most of the characters and starships of the franchise are affiliated. Commonly refe ...
, it is on a mission "to boldly go where no one has gone before." The crew explores the galaxy and makes
first contact
First contact may refer to:
*First contact (astronomy), the moment in astronomical transit when the apparent positions of the two bodies first touch
*First contact (anthropology), the first meeting of two cultures previously unaware of one another
...
with several new species, including the
Q Continuum
Q is a fictional character, as well as the name of a race, in '' Star Trek'' appearing in the '' Next Generation'', '' Deep Space Nine'', '' Voyager'', '' Lower Decks'', and '' Picard'' series and in related media. The most familiar Q is portray ...
and the
Borg
The Borg are an alien group that appear as recurring antagonists in the ''Star Trek'' fictional universe. The Borg are Cyborg, cybernetic organisms (cyborgs) linked in a Group mind (science fiction), hive mind called "the Collective". The Borg ...
. A pair of two-part episodes depict a shift in command—to
William Riker
William Thomas "Will" Riker is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' universe appearing primarily as a main character in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. Throughout the series and its accompanying films, he is the ''Enterprise''s first ...
in "
The Best of Both Worlds" and Edward Jellico in "
Chain of Command
A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on others' authority within the group. It can be viewed as part of a power structure, in which it is usually seen as the most vulnerable and also the most powerful part.
Milit ...
"—but leadership reverts to Picard at the end of both arcs. The ''Enterprise'' also briefly appears in other franchise spinoffs: the pilots of ''
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993) and ''
Star Trek: Picard'' (2020) and the finale of ''
Star Trek: Enterprise
''Star Trek: Enterprise'', titled simply ''Enterprise'' for its first two seasons, is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. It originally aired from September 26, 2001, to May 13, 2005 on Uni ...
'' (2005).
In 2371, as depicted in ''Star Trek Generations'', the
Duras sisters
This is a list of characters from the science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. Characters are ordered alphabetically by family name, and only characters who played a significant recurring role in the series are list ...
attack and heavily damage the ''Enterprise''. A
warp drive
A warp drive or a drive enabling space warp is a fictional superluminal spacecraft propulsion system in many science fiction works, most notably ''Star Trek'', and a subject of ongoing physics research. The general concept of "warp drive" was i ...
coolant leak causes an explosion that destroys the stardrive section. The saucer section crash lands on the surface of Veridian III and is damaged beyond repair.
The ''Enterprise'' is itself a protagonist in ''The Next Generation''.
Each episode's opening voiceover, which states that "these are the voyages of the starship ''Enterprise''," frames the narrative as belonging to the ship rather than the crew.
Jonathan Frakes
Jonathan Scott Frakes (born August 19, 1952) is an American actor and director. He is best known for his portrayal of Commander William Riker in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and subsequent films and series. Frakes als ...
, who played first officer William Riker, said, "When we negotiate our contracts, Paramount's company line is that the ship is in fact the star of the show!"
Critical reaction
''
io9
''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...
'' ranked the ''Enterprise''-D as the fifth best version of the franchise's ''Enterprise''s, with ''
Popular Mechanics
''Popular Mechanics'' (sometimes PM or PopMech) is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do-it-yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation and transportation o ...
'' calling it the third best and
SyFy
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
ranking it the second best.
Space.com said the ''Enterprise'' brief appearance is the highlight of the opening scene of ''
Star Trek: Picard'' first episode (2020).
Cultural impact
In October 2006, the six-foot ''Enterprise'' miniature was auctioned at
Christie's
Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
, along with other models, props, costumes, and set pieces from the ''Star Trek'' franchise. Its projected value was $25,000 to $35,000, but the final sale price was $576,000—the most expensive item in the auction.
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uss Enterprise (Ncc-1701-D)
Enterprise-D
USS ''Enterprise'' (NCC-1701-D), or ''Enterprise''-D, is a starship in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, it is the main setting of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994) and the film '' ...
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Fictional elements introduced in 1987