| USSEnterprise (NCC-1701-D) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First appearance | |
| Last appearance |
|
| Created by | Andrew Probert |
| Information | |
| Affiliation | United Federation of Planets Starfleet |
| Launched | October 4, 2363[1] |
| Decommissioned | 2371 (Star Trek Generations) |
| Captain | Jean-Luc Picard William Riker Edward Jellico |
| Auxiliary vehicles | Shuttlecraft Captain's yacht |
| General characteristics | |
| Class | Galaxy |
| Registry | NCC-1701-D |
| Armaments | Phasers Photon torpedoes |
| Defenses | Deflector shields |
| Maximum speed | Warp 9.65[2] |
| Propulsion | Impulse drive Warp drive |
| Power | Matter/antimatter reaction |
USSEnterprise (NCC-1701-D), orEnterprise-D, to distinguish it asthe fifth Federation vessel with the same name, is a fictionalstarship in theStar Trek media franchise. Under the command of CaptainJean-Luc Picard, it is the main setting ofStar Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994) and the filmStar Trek Generations (1994). It has also been depicted in various spinoffs, films, books, and licensed products.
The Next Generation occurs in the 24th century, beginning 94 years after the adventures in theoriginalStar Trek (1966–1969).Andrew Probert'sEnterprise-D updatesMatt Jefferies' iconic1960sEnterprise design, depicting a ship supporting a larger crew on a longer mission "to boldly gowhere no one has gone before."
Paramount Television Group andStar Trek creatorGene Roddenberry announced the development of a newStar Trek series in October 1986.[3] Because theEnterprise had been "just as important to [the originalStar Trek] asKirk,Spock, andMcCoy," the new ship was critical.[4]
Whereas Captain Kirk led a five-year mission, the new crew would be outfitted for a mission of at least 10 years.[5] To sustain such a journey, the new vessel would be twice as long, eight times the volume, and include the crew's families.[5] 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 originalEnterprise.[6] He wanted theEnterprise to convey a harmony between science and quality of life.[7]
TheEnterprise's registry was originallyNCC-1701-7. The7 became aG to be consistent with thenew USSEnterprise, with registry NCC-1701-A, at the conclusion ofStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986).[5] A February 1987 revision to theNext Generation writers' manual specified the show'sEnterprise as theNCC-1701-D, carrying a crew of 907 and their families; by March, the crew complement was 1,012 and specified the show occurring 94 years after the originalStar Trek.[8]
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Artists Andrew Probert,Rick Sternbach, andMichael Okuda were among the earliestNext Generation hires, and they had worked onStar Trek films.[10] Probert, a concept artist, focused first on the bridge because that would be a frequent filming location.[4] Roddenberry envisioned the bridge as having a forward viewscreen four times larger than inStar Trek, and for there to be a conference table on the bridge. As production design continued, the table was shifted to a conference room adjacent to the bridge, and an open bridge design formed.[11] 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.[12]
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 theEnterprise redesign for 1979'sStar Trek: The Motion Picture as a referent.[13] Unbeknownst to Probert, story editorDavid Gerrold took the image to a producers meeting.[14] The producers liked the design and directed Probert to make it the basis for the new vessel.[15] The sleeker lines and rounded contours that informed the interior design also influenced the exterior.[13] The ship's many windows are meant to allow the crew to be in touch with their environment.[13]
The newEnterprise retains the hallmarks of Matt Jefferies' design for the originalEnterprise: a saucer section, engineering section, and a pair of engine nacelles.[13] Probert did this in part to assuage skeptical fans who were concerned about the originalEnterprise being "replaced".[15] The design instead shifted placement and proportion: for example, the saucer section was enlarged and the warp nacelles shifted lower.[16] Slanting the nacelle support pylons forward conveyed a sense of intense forward movement.[16] The July 1987 issue ofStarlog included the first public depictions of the ship.[13]
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.[16] Probert said his biggest design challenge was creating a ship that looked as good in two pieces as it did in one piece.[13] He had meant to add landing gear to the saucer's underside as he had with the film franchiseEnterprise, but he got "distracted" and never added them.[17]
In October 1986, producers began planning the show's sets, including efforts to reuse props and materials from the film franchise.[11] The films' engineering,sickbay, corridor, crew quarters, and bridge were redressed forThe Next Generation.[18][19] To save money in the first season, the observation lounge's windows were covered with carpet to become the sickbay; a new lounge set was created for the second season.[18] A multipurpose set that served as the cargo bay,shuttlecraft bay,holodeck, and gymnasium was built from scratch.[19] While the bridge "seems immense," the set had the same 38-foot (12 m) width as the original series bridge and was 2 feet (0.61 m) longer. A lounge set was created in unusedsoundstage space after the first season: producers realized their existing sets were workspaces, and they wanted an area to depict the crew at rest.[20]
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 theEnterprise's appearance further in the future.[21]
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 toIndustrial Light & Magic (ILM), who had worked on theStar Trek films, for the "Encounter at Farpoint" pilot.[19]
In March 1987, an ILM team led byGreg Jein and Ease Owyeung began building filming miniatures based on Probert's designs. They created two models forUS$75,000 (equivalent to about $208,000 in 2024): a two-foot (0.61 m) model and a six-foot (1.8 m) model that separated into the saucer and engineering sections.[19] The models were made offiberglass and cast resin over aluminum frames, and neon lights and incandescents provided the models' interior lighting.[22] ILM created severalstock footage shots and effects, including theEnterprise'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." NewEnterprise 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 forlong shots, and its lack of surface details—some of which were drawn with pencil—made it difficult to use inclose-ups.[23] Jein supervised construction of a four-foot (1.2 m) miniature for the third season that was more detailed than the first two.[24][22]
Production designer Herman Zimmerman had more freedom forStar Trek Generations (1994) than he had on previousStar Trek films. Producers wanted to ensureGenerations stayed true to the television series while also taking advantage of the film production's scope and budget.[26] Interiors were relit and received several cosmetic changes, such as redesigned consoles, metallic accents, and replacing backlit displays with monitors.[27] Some changes, like enhanced detailing and a redesigned bridge ceiling, were necessitated by the film cameras' higher resolution.[26] The increased budget allowed for the creation of sophisticated new sets, such as the stellar cartography lab.[28]
John Knoll led ILM's visual effects for the film, including an all-CGI warp jump effect for theEnterprise.[29][30] ILM rewired and updated its six-footEnterprise model for the saucer separation sequence.[31] ILM made a 12-foot (3.7 m) saucer section model to "crash" into an 80-foot (24 m) planet surface model.[31] An 18-inch (46 cm) model of the saucer's forward edge was used for close-ups of the crashed ship.[31]
Despite resistance due to budget and time,Star Trek: Picard executive producerTerry Matalas insisted on theEnterprise appearing in the show's third season (2023): he said they could not "have aStar Trek: The Next Generation reunion without [...] theEnterprise." There was not much construction information available for production designerDave Blass and art director Liz Kloczkowski to recreate the bridge set, and they created a wall of set photos and screen captures for reference. Blass hiredDenise andMichael Okuda, from theNext Generation production team, to assist. Construction of the bridge set took three months and involved approximately 50 people. The large wooden arch in the middle of the bridge was the most difficult part of the build, but remaking the chairs and recreating the carpet was also challenging. Changes in cameras and cinematography required a new approach to lighting the set.[32]
TheEnterprise is itself a protagonist inThe Next Generation.[33] Each episode's opening voiceover, which states that "these are the voyages of the starshipEnterprise," frames the narrative as belonging to the ship rather than the crew.[33]Jonathan Frakes, 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!"[34]
Starfleet commissions theGalaxy-class USSEnterprise in 2363 under the command of CaptainJean-Luc Picard. The flagship of theUnited Federation of Planets, it is on a mission "to boldly go where no one has gone before." The crew explores the galaxy and makesfirst contact with several new species, including theQ Continuum and theBorg. A pair of two-part episodes depict a change in command—toWilliam Riker in "The Best of Both Worlds" and Edward Jellico in "Chain of Command"—but leadership reverts to Picard at the end of both arcs.
In 2371, as depicted inStar Trek Generations, theDuras sisters attack and heavily damage theEnterprise. Awarp drive coolant leak causes an explosion that destroys the stardrive section. The saucer section crash lands on the surface of Veridian III. The final two episodes ofStar Trek: Picard's third season (2023) reveal that the saucer section was later recovered from Veridian III, after whichGeordi La Forge spent twenty years restoring the vessel as part of his role as curator of the Starfleet Museum. La Forge used parts from anotherGalaxy-class ship to rebuild theEnterprise. The olderEnterprise is the only Starfleet vessel not tied to a Borg-compromised mainframe, and Picard and his crew use the ship to defeat the Borg. The series finale shows theEnterprise has become part of the Starfleet Museum.
io9 ranked theEnterprise-D as the fifth best version of the franchise'sEnterprises, withPopular Mechanics calling it the third best andSyFy ranking it the second best.[35][36][37] Space.com said theEnterprise's brief appearance is the highlight of the opening scene ofStar Trek: Picard's first episode (2020).[38]Vulture described theEnterprise's return inPicard's third season as "perfect",[39] andCollider compared the crew's reunion on the bridge set to "a fever dream."[40]
In October 2006, the six-footEnterprise model was auctioned atChristie's, along with other models, props, costumes, and set pieces from theStar 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.[41]
Thecomputer voice andconversational system on board theStarshipEnterprise in science fiction TV series and movies, beginning withStar Trek: The Original Series andStar Trek: The Next Generation, inspired theAlexavirtual assistant.[42]
Effects supervisor Rob Legato on the economy, speed and ease of video digital compositing.
{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)When Toni Reid and her colleagues at Amazon set out to build the device that is now known as Alexa, they were inspired by the computer that drove the Enterprise onStar Trek (voiced by Majel Barrett Roddenberry, who played Nurse Chapel on the series and was married to the show's creator). Focusing on cadence and an accent that would suggest 'smart, humble, helpful,' the team tested voices that a diverse population would respond to. 'Our goal was to have Alexa be humanlike,' Ms. Reid said, but why end there?
