You have been warned.
The trailer has been out for a couple days now, but just in case you haven't seen it CBS has announced the title of the new Star Trek show as well as a short clip of the titular ship (The NNC-1031 USS Discovery) leaving dry dock.
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| The name is so promising! |
Again, that's conjecture. I haven't looked.
I don't want to break down the trailer too much, there isn't much there and I don't know how representative of the show any of it will be in another five months.
No cast has been announced (or likely even picked yet) so the whole theme of the show is still likely very fluid.
What we can see is a ship!
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| No, not that one... |
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| There it is! There, in the middle, see? It's that flat silhouette. |
This has been confirmed as intentional and I guess there's even some legal inquiry into whether or not that's okay.
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| Look at the shuttle bay in the back, you can see a person in there for a sense of scale. |
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| Not a shot-for-shot match up, but what do you want to bet that door in the back is the shuttle bay? |
I thought that was a neat use of the old design concepts, although it isn't clear whether it fits within the style of the Prime Universe that it is supposedly a part of.
Why not? I don't hear you cry.
Well, I'm going to explain it to you anyway, so... settle in.
Don't worry, we're only going through some of the models of the various Enterprises here, and I won't be delving into Voyager.
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| Early 23rd Century Starfleet Design |
In the 23rd century, Starfleet's mission was (believe it or not) about peaceful exploration of the galaxy. Their ships, in contrast to the warlike Romulans and Klingons, were generally not shaped in a manner that suited warfare. Note how skinny the pylons holding the nacelles are, and how far away from the main hull the saucer section is. These are ships designed for science, not for combat.
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| Late 23rd Century Starfleet Design |
I've skipped the NCC-1701 refit and its sequel to go to the next design for Starfleet ships in the 23rd century. By this point in the Prime Timeline, things have been heating up between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingons. The hull is beefier, the saucer section is far lower, and the nacelles are brought in closer to the frame on wider, stronger pylons.
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| Early 24th Century Starfleet Design |
Moving into the 24th Century, the direct conflict with the Klingons was not entirely over. It was, in fact, through the actions of the USS Enterprise-C that hostilities eventually came to an end. But they didn't know that when they designed the Ambassador class vessel. Not as war-ready as the older Excelsior class Enterprise-B, the Enterprise-C nevertheless has the same wider pylons for its nacelles and a saucer that is closer to its primary hull.
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| Mid 24th Century Stafleet Design |
The Galaxy class USS Enterprise-D was almost the pinnacle of 24th century Starfleet tanks. Almost. Note that the neck is wider leading to the beefier saucer section, the wider, angled hull and the rear-set wide pylons supporting flatter, angled nacelles. Sure, the Enterprise-D was a flying city, but it was also the Cadillac of battleships in the Federation.
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| Late 24th Century Stafleet Design |
In response to the hugely lethal Dominion War, Starfleet pumped out a whole two Defiant-class starships. There is no pretense of scientific exploration here, the Defiant is a Federation warship. It's hull is the saucer section and its nacelles are attached directly to the hull without the use of extending pylons. You're not knocking out the Defiant's warp capabilities as easily as you'd knock out any of the other starships.
The point is that the designs evolved based upon the need to keep ships from getting disabled and destroyed by the enemies of the Federation (namely the Klingons and the Romulans).
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| A lot of this is visible in McQuarrie's design. |
It's unclear exactly what the intended purpose of Ralph McQuarrie's Enterprise would have been in the unreleased Star Trek movie it was designed for. But in a meta context, its design is consistent with the evolving warlike designs of Starfleet.
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| Klingon D7 Battlecruiser |
Look at the triangular shape of the above Klingon D7 Battlecruiser. Notice its flat nacelles, and the way its pylons angle backwards. This shot shows the D7 from underneath, signifying its dominance. It is the controlling power in this picture.
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| Starfleet D[iscovery]7 Battlecrusier? |
Look at the triangular shape of the above Starfleet Discovery starship. Notice its flat nacelles, and the way its pylons angle backwards. This shot shows the Discovery from underneath, signifying its dominance. It is the controlling power in this picture.
Driving this fact home harder is the musical score that is playing as the USS Discovery exits the dry dock. Instead of being curious or inspiring, or a ballad about the strength of the human spirit, the music is dark and threatening as though the Discovery is heading to war.
It's hard to say what we will see in the upcoming Star Trek television show, but based upon some of the recently cancelled stuff, it seems like most of the folks that head the Trek are interested in something darker and grittier. I mean, geeze, they keep blowing up the new Enterprise.
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| Stop blowing holes in my ship! |
The title of the show is Discovery, though, and the theme that plays when we can see the title is much more inspiring than the grim music that plays when we first get to see Starfleet's Klingon-esque starship design.
I think it's too soon to say what we can expect from Discovery, but I don't plan to rule anything out just yet.
Anyway, here are two more stills of the new starship because, hell, why not?
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| The obligatory saucer reveal |
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| The Late 23rd Century deflector design is probably the biggest indicator of when this show will take place |
Live long and prosper, friends!
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