# TrekYards Review of final Discovery Design



## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

Looks better than that ship shown in the teaser video

Rather weird saucer cutouts


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Just screams 'JJTrek' to me.  

But ya know, for those who dig it- enjoy. Right?


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

IIRC it is intended to exist in the Kelvin Universe.

Since it takes place after way before the Kelvin incident I suppose that means also that it takes place in the ST-Enterprise Universe which some say was a branching due to the Enterprise-E altering the timeline in First Contact.

Whatever- aside from the hand props it does not seem that the producers of this show are really concerned with keeping it Trek canon and are mostly just going for SciFi-Cool


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## bigjimslade (Oct 9, 2005)

I guess we now know who the 2 people are who are going to get CBS All Access.

That design is butt ugly and obviously done by people with no background in engineering.


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## MartyS (Mar 11, 2014)

If the doughnut saucer detaches leaving the neck and central ball shaped area that would be a cool design. The large ring gap seems pointless, unless 2 independent doughnut rings can detach giving 3 ships to flee or fight, that would be cool.

But man, that secondary hull and the nacelles are just plain ugly.


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

Perhaps the inner ring detaches, leaving the outer ring and command bal- that could explain the small connectors in the gap.

Like everything else in this new series- they are just trying too hard to be different.

The only exception to the above statement is regarding the Phaser and Communicator - those two are very nice evolutionary designs bridging Pike and Kirk eras. 
(Must be a different department)


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## Captain Robert April (Jul 5, 2016)

bigjimslade said:


> I guess we now know who the 2 people are who are going to get CBS All Access.
> 
> That design is butt ugly and obviously done by people with no background in engineering.


Well, Stuart lives in Canada, so he'll be watching it on Space, and Samuel lives in England, and he'll be able to watch it on Netflix.


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## Trek Ace (Jul 8, 2001)

It looks to me like a mixing of the Ralph McQuarrie redesign, the -D, and the big, black dreadnought ship from the Khan remake.


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## terryr (Feb 11, 2001)

So some guys got stuck in a spaceship graveyard, and they built a ship from the scraps.......


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## The_Engineer (Dec 8, 2012)

It was already ugly and they mad it worse. The holes in the primary hull don't make any sense. The outer ring connects to the inner part by 4 small struts???? That just makes it structurally weak. I like the comment that someone made that every time they release new information, it just keeps getting worse.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Is it just me, or does 'Discovery' have way too many windows?

Work with me here for a moment. 

Why does a spaceship have windows? It makes the ship visually interesting and it helps create a sense of scale. We all have the subconscious understanding on how 'big' a window generally is, so seeing lit (and unlit) windows allows the mind to have a vague grasp of size. Enterprise-D was COVERED in windows to help 'sell' how huge that ship was, and also to act as a 'story point' about how the -D was different because it carried entire families on board, parents and children, civilians and Star Fleet. 

The original Enterprise didn't have that many windows, the movie Refit had, I think, actually fewer windows (but upped the 'visual interest' with self-lighting areas) and again the -D was just awash in window area.

So then, Discovery. What's with all those windows? It practically has windows on top of windows. Being a CG model it has window placement regardless of physical or mechanical practicality. Why? I mean, other than they could.


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## whereisanykey (Sep 25, 2011)

When I first saw the "D" it struck me as odd that there seemed to be windows that were on the deck areas. The same appears here. 

The whole idea of separation has its own issues. There was always a mention of conduits connecting the different areas of the ship. When the D separated there was no consideration of that issue. Obviously there has to be a vast amount of some type of cabling at the point of separation. 

There is also the construction phase. Anyone who has seen a Carrier under construction can visualize the complexity in a large construction project. In the time this would take place there still has to be detailed planning in putting it all together. 

Another image I saw was a spacesuit with, once again, lights INSIDE the helmet. What idiot would believe you need lighting INSIDE a helmet. It looks ridiculous. 

I just have one question. Will there be zombies in this series.


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## MartyS (Mar 11, 2014)

whereisanykey said:


> Another image I saw was a spacesuit with, once again, lights INSIDE the helmet. What idiot would believe you need lighting INSIDE a helmet. It looks ridiculous.


This is one sad side effect of white LEDs, lighting people on sets can put them anywhere, great for the actors because they always want people to see their faces, but leads to a lot of unrealistic lighting effects.


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## Xenodyssey (Aug 27, 2008)

I have to admit when I first saw the new saucer section of the Discovery I thought they'd stuck a flattened Trade Federation ship from the Phantom Menace on secondary hull.


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## whereisanykey (Sep 25, 2011)

Apparently they have 47 episodes in the can. According to the cast there is all kinds of twists and turns in storyline. This method of storytelling is getting to be a cliche. 

Just because So many actors are dysfunctional doesn't mean the majority of the public is and that is what they seem to be highlighting. I've become quite fed up with so many shows that are nothing but constant bickering.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

I think John did a better job with this idea.

Kitbashed Starships


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## MartyS (Mar 11, 2014)

whereisanykey said:


> Just because So many actors are dysfunctional doesn't mean the majority of the public is and that is what they seem to be highlighting. I've become quite fed up with so many shows that are nothing but constant bickering.


Must be all TV writers that are dysfunctional, that's where the stories come from, not the actors... :grin2:


The trailer for Discovery is out, a LOT of 1 second clips, maybe a few 2 second clips, I guess they figure anyone that might subscribe to all access must have severe A.D.D....


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## bigjimslade (Oct 9, 2005)

Steve H said:


> Is it just me, or does 'Discovery' have way too many windows?


I saw an autorun Youtube video that asserted the reason for this design is to fit more windows. That gives windows with a view of other people's windows.


I stumbled across this. If it's an official trailer, things are getting worse (two versions)


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## CessnaDriver (Apr 27, 2005)

Overall almost everything has been a big bird flip to TV series fans.


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## JeffBond (Dec 9, 2013)

They do not have "47 episodes in the can." The entire first season is only 15 episodes of which maybe 10 are filmed; no episodes are locked in editing yet.


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## whereisanykey (Sep 25, 2011)

In a video of the actors one of them stated that number. So I don't know what they meant then. She also said there were four more to go.


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## charonjr (Mar 27, 2000)

Steve H said:


> Is it just me, or does 'Discovery' have way too many windows?
> 
> Work with me here for a moment.
> 
> Why does a spaceship have windows? It makes the ship visually interesting and it helps create a sense of scale. We all have the subconscious understanding on how 'big' a window generally is, so seeing lit (and unlit) windows allows the mind to have a vague grasp of size. (Edit)


I watched the Trekyards episode and it is clear from the window size that the inner donut is about the size of a Constitution (TOS) saucer section. This would put Discovery at close to 2400 feet in overall length.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

whereisanykey said:


> In a video of the actors one of them stated that number. So I don't know what they meant then. She also said there were four more to go.


Could it have been " four to seven episodes in the can" maybe?


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

charonjr said:


> I watched the Trekyards episode and it is clear from the window size that the inner donut is about the size of a Constitution (TOS) saucer section. This would put Discovery at close to 2400 feet in overall length.


ah, hah, huh?

Pretty darn big pre-TOS, yes? :laugh: Has it been officially stated that this is now canon to be in the 'Kelvin' universe? (I still prefer to call it JJTrek because there ain't no confusion over what that means  )


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## whereisanykey (Sep 25, 2011)

Steve H said:


> Could it have been " four to seven episodes in the can" maybe?


It was the British sounding actor and he specifically said 47. I thought it sounded like a lot but what do I know I'm not in the business.

I believe it was an interview with TV Line, I think


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## charonjr (Mar 27, 2000)

Steve H said:


> ah, hah, huh?
> 
> Pretty darn big pre-TOS, yes? :laugh: Has it been officially stated that this is now canon to be in the 'Kelvin' universe? (I still prefer to call it JJTrek because there ain't no confusion over what that means  )


Very big! Canon in JJTrek, no. Still claims to be Prime Universe. I have heard arguments that it is an altered Prime Universe after Enterprise-E and the Borg interfered with the timeline, resulting in ST:Enterprise. I am more inclined to agree with that view.

But, if that is true, the Constitution class, if it exists in name, would be very different from the TOS Enterprise. I would wonder what it is Pike is Captain of?


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## Captain Robert April (Jul 5, 2016)

If they ever show the Enterprise and it doesn't like it did in "The Cage", they may very well blow up the whole franchise, because the audience will no longer believe a single word they say regarding Star Trek. They're close to that point already.


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

Captain Robert April said:


> If they ever show the Enterprise and it doesn't like it did in "The Cage", they may very well blow up the whole franchise, because the audience will no longer believe a single word they say regarding Star Trek. They're close to that point already.


I really do not think they care...


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

​


Richard Baker said:


> I really do not think they care...


I mean, this is the entire point of this exercise, this thread. They just don't care. They see zero value in us, we fans who have a love for that stinky old nonsense called 'continuity'. Pish and Tosh. Who cares, right? It's all sci fi, that is to say, a western with ray guns and monsters, right? 

I mean, a doctor or police show, you have to get it right, yes? Millions of Dollars for consultants, loaning of expensive equipment from various makers for the publicity value, of course THAT has to be done but that sci fi junk? *Pffft* it's all pretend and make-believe anyway, who's gonna notice?

*sigh* Haven't moved an INCH from 1966, have we? It's just we have LEDs and amazing circuitry available instead of pea-grain bulbs and off-camera switches.


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## MartyS (Mar 11, 2014)

They can try and claim this is the "Enterprise" timeline that was altered by the Borg and the temporal cold war. But they showed a constitution class ship on Enterprise, so if this is that timeline they are ignoring the mirror universe episode.

Maybe the Federation goes through an art-deco type phase while Discovery is on the air, causing designs to change, yeah, that's it....


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## electric indigo (Dec 21, 2011)

How about finally nukin' the franchise from orbit (it's the only way to be sure) and reboot? Worked for Galactica (IMO).


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## aurora fan (Jan 18, 1999)

Wall Street projections of 8 million CBS subscribers by 2020. I wish they hadn't decided to launch Discovery on this platform either but as a cord cutter, it works to my benefit. As to the ships design, it is progressive and different. I'm not sure yet. My favorite is of course TOS. I don't know. the ships from Star Trek are all pretty amazing to me. The new movie design is awesome! I think when I see Discovery in flight I will be better able to judge as I thought Voyager was a pretty cool design too.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Saying they project 8 million subscribers by 2020 (three years away!) is sheer fantasy. They could as easily say 10 million or any other number. There is NO WAY to predict or assume these numbers. 

The fractioning of the viewing habit is not going to result in giant numbers, but smaller. Every new service takes away from everyone else. There's only so much money people are willing to spend on content and the internet has been educating the world that free (pirated) is best. 

The winner in fractioned viewing habits will be whomever develops an inexpensive aggragate 'umbrella' channel service, like Amazon or Netflix or Apple TV. 

I think CBS All Access will do well to have 2 million steady subscribers. I think they may hit 5 million when Discovery actually airs but there's going to be a HUGE drop-off when the mid-season hiatus hits.


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## whereisanykey (Sep 25, 2011)

After watching it again and numerous rewinds there are 10 episodes that are done. Everyone was talking over each other and made it difficult to catch who said what.


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## MartyS (Mar 11, 2014)

electric indigo said:


> How about finally nukin' the franchise from orbit (it's the only way to be sure) and reboot? Worked for Galactica (IMO).


I love both versions of Galactica (well, I love the entire new series and the beginning of the original before it got silly/boring). I wish they had done that with JJtrek, all the reboots of Batman and Spiderman have created a few good movies here and there that stand on their own.

It was stupid to pick the time that they did for Discovery, all of the issues with continuity go away if you do what TNG did, jump 80 years past DS9/Voyager. Then they could make up any futuristic designs they want for ships/uniforms/phasers/etc..., no issues with changing previously established characters or timelines. The dominion war shook things up pretty badly, so there would have been much more freedom to take the federation in new directions. Why pick a time that is already established with designs no modern show is going to use on a daily basis, makes no sense to hamstring the production that way....


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## whereisanykey (Sep 25, 2011)

I would say they might be wanting to attract the most ardent Trek fans. Those I know who went to see the new Trek movies, and liked them, are Not Trek fans at all, nor do they have any interest in the "Trek Universe". It won't be so easy for CBS to capture that market.


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## bigjimslade (Oct 9, 2005)

Some links with pictures sent to me:

Watch Preview Of EW ?Star Trek: Discovery? Cover Shoot From Sets Of U.S.S. Discovery ? TrekMovie.com

https://www.yahoo.com/tv/star-trek-...concept-art-titular-ship-photo-152638992.html


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## whereisanykey (Sep 25, 2011)

I've never been a fan of this "long-form storytelling". That's more fitting for soap operas. It's too much like the season cliff-hangers. Entertainment doesn't "Define" me, therefore these techniques are of little interest. 

I wonder if the "grittiness" isn't another way of saying a more "dark" approach, another form I vehemently dislike.


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## Captain Robert April (Jul 5, 2016)

Well, the Discovery's transporter room is a massive improvement over the Shenzhou's, so there's that...


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## StarCruiser (Sep 28, 1999)

^ But, it still doesn't fit - at all...


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## bigjimslade (Oct 9, 2005)

Steve H said:


> Saying they project 8 million subscribers by 2020 (three years away!) is sheer fantasy. They could as easily say 10 million or any other number.


I make the prediction that ST will end up being packaged as a big event and shown on plain ordinary CBS to recoup the cost.

Does anyone know if ST will be shown with commercials? At least on HBO, there are no commercials.


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

The Shenzhou's transporter room reminds me of this scene from an older film 'Saturn 3'
http://cdn-static.denofgeek.com/sit...dth/public/2016/02/saturn-3.jpg?itok=_TTybt6x
That shot was from a shuttle bay departure- designed to be visually delightful but having nothing to do with the practical operation, created by someone without a clue.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

I guess I could never be a movie/TV producer. I just do not understand why 'practical' is the enemy of 'visually interesting or exciting'.


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

There are a number of designers who can bridge that gap and make a practical design which is also visually interesting- just about anything Ron Cobb draw up does that.

Problem is that while a visual medium, film and TV have a tendency to overwork the visuals- overly dramatic lighting, glowing stuff which has no reason to exist other than make some glowing lines, etc...

What makes the TOS Trek work so well for me is that it was simple while still looking high tech. Monitors and readouts were not floating in the air trying to attract your attention, lighting was functional and generally uncluttered. Just compare shots of the TOS-E bridge to Voyagers or the NuTrek-E.

Oh well, so much for that soapbox, back to the topic at hand...


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## robn1 (Nov 17, 2012)

I liked Voyager's bridge just fine, and I think they had the best engine room. But I really loved DS9's Defiant bridge. Everything in this new show looks like a combination of Galaxy Quest and Tron, blech. An approach more in keeping with the previously established styles would not only have made more folks happy, it would have been a lot less expensive.



bigjimslade said:


> ...Does anyone know if ST will be shown with commercials? At least on HBO, there are no commercials.


CBS All Access has two tiers, one with a few ads and a higher priced one with no ads.


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## whereisanykey (Sep 25, 2011)

Someone had taken the original Enterprise and really spiced it up, in CGI of course, and it looked really good. I think it looked better than the TMP version. It probably would have fit well in this series timeline. I can't remember exactly what it looked like so I don't know how difficult it would be to construct a model.


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## robn1 (Nov 17, 2012)

whereisanykey said:


> Someone had taken the original Enterprise and really spiced it up, in CGI of course, and it looked really good. I think it looked better than the TMP version. It probably would have fit well in this series timeline. I can't remember exactly what it looked like so I don't know how difficult it would be to construct a model.


Perhaps one of these?
https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/modernized-tos-enterprise.261658/page-2#post-10517506

https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/modified-tos-ent-wallpapers.58313/

digitally efx'd geometry™ | desktops... | scenography | 01/09


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## whereisanykey (Sep 25, 2011)

The last link looks like the ones I had seen before. That design seems to be more congruent with the sets. The ship they decided looks more like it was designed by Klingons.


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## Captain Robert April (Jul 5, 2016)




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## Captain Robert April (Jul 5, 2016)

Oh, and more on topic...


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

Captain Robert April said:


> Star Trek Discovery: To Be Replaced by Nicholas Meyer's New Series?


So the bottom line is that everything in _Discovery_ looks so different from every other Star Trek production because CBS and Paramount each own different parts of the franchise, and that legal mumbo jumbo prevents either of them from using the other's intellectual property? That's the _first_ thing I've heard that explains why _Discovery_ looks so unfamiliar.

Oh well, _The Orville_ looks promising.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Zombie_61 said:


> So the bottom line is that everything in _Discovery_ looks so different from every other Star Trek production because CBS and Paramount each own different parts of the franchise, and that legal mumbo jumbo prevents either of them from using the other's intellectual property? That's the _first_ thing I've heard that explains why _Discovery_ looks so unfamiliar.
> 
> Oh well, _The Orville_ looks promising.


This is so totally insane I think it might actually make sense. Cripes that's just nuts. I say burn it to the ground with fire and start over but I think I may be crazy.


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## MGagen (Dec 18, 2001)

There seems to be a silver lining to all this: If CBS does their own Trek series or movies, they would be legally obligated NOT TO USE ANYTHING from the Bad Reboot universe. But they own everything in the prime universe.

To that I say HUZZAH!

And Nick Meyer into the bargain is all to the good...

Maybe soon we can say "Trek is dead. Long live Trek!"

M.


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## charonjr (Mar 27, 2000)

Of course, the ball looks Buck Rogers-ish and it HAS A HUGE frickin' SPACE WINDOW! Criminy. And it's over 2000 feet long.


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