Regarding the Auxiliary Control Room seen throughout TOS' years 2 and 3...
Can it be assumed, as a basis for discussion, that this facility was a kind of "backup Bridge" for practical use in controlling the ship when the Bridge was not available?
Does anyone know the actual physical layout of this set for TOS? What did the floor plan look like? Even though I've seen it on TV countless times, I'm having trouble envisioning it.
Franz Joseph Schnaubelt's schematics suggested this command center was situated in the lower vortex of the ship's saucer, roughly opposite Deck 1 / Bridge. This would also dovetail quite well with other classes of starships, both in canon (Reliant/Miranda for one) and in FJ's "Tech Manual" worldview (Saladin/Hermes, Ptolemy).
I was under the impression that this facility was, in essence, the TOS analogue to TNG's "Battle Bridge". If the Enterprise's bridge were damaged or otherwise compromised, the ship could be effectively run (and was commandeered by Norman, Gorgan and Dr. Severn) from here. Having said that, it appeared to be an emergency facility, with insufficient equipment and capacity for a full bridge crew. (Could you imagine anything approaching a full bridge compliment working in Auxiliary Control while the Bridge were being repaired, while in-flight?) Could it be that, if the Bridge were taken out of action, the operational assumption would be that the ship is in trouble and its normal operations would be suspended until the Bridge could be restored at a home port?
Was anyone under the impression that this facility was frequently, if not constantly, manned with at least a couple of officers to pilot the ship in the event that something were to suddenly happen to the Bridge and/or staff there? Or could it be that Auxiliary Control was often shut down and "placed offline" for security reasons? Assuming that Auxiliary Control were regularly deactivated, what would that mean? Would the room simply be shut down, lights off, and the door locked?
I suppose FJ made the assumption of the Auxiliary Control's location in the lower saucer based on the similar Forward Phaser Room. If the Auxiliary Control aboard the Enterprise, and starships of somewhat similar saucer design, were indeed to be located in the lower saucer, Does this suggest a Tertiary Control Room somewhere in the Secondary Hull, in the event of catastrophic damage to the saucer?
If we assume that the refit TMP-era Enterprise (and Enterprise-A) possessed a similar Auxiliary Control Room, how would it be different from the one we saw in TOS? Could it look like a shrunken-down version of TNG's early Battle Bridge, or maybe Grissom's Bridge as seen in TMP3?
I know the general assumption is that the slanted control panels on the main table in Auxiliary Control simply have a few buttons, dials and toggles and that's it. But in "The Doomsday Machine", Kirk was obviously reading indicators off of those panels, which strongly implies those panels were "alive" with displays of data. The running assumption that TOS control panels of all kinds rely strictly on buttons, dials, levers and toggles never seemed sound to me. Even before anyone saw the touchscreen interfaces in TMP4 and TNG, I assumed that all that black area on those panels was populated with displays and iPad-like touch-screens. How else could Kirk have piloted the Starship Constellation without ever leaving that table?
Can it be assumed, as a basis for discussion, that this facility was a kind of "backup Bridge" for practical use in controlling the ship when the Bridge was not available?
Does anyone know the actual physical layout of this set for TOS? What did the floor plan look like? Even though I've seen it on TV countless times, I'm having trouble envisioning it.
Franz Joseph Schnaubelt's schematics suggested this command center was situated in the lower vortex of the ship's saucer, roughly opposite Deck 1 / Bridge. This would also dovetail quite well with other classes of starships, both in canon (Reliant/Miranda for one) and in FJ's "Tech Manual" worldview (Saladin/Hermes, Ptolemy).
I was under the impression that this facility was, in essence, the TOS analogue to TNG's "Battle Bridge". If the Enterprise's bridge were damaged or otherwise compromised, the ship could be effectively run (and was commandeered by Norman, Gorgan and Dr. Severn) from here. Having said that, it appeared to be an emergency facility, with insufficient equipment and capacity for a full bridge crew. (Could you imagine anything approaching a full bridge compliment working in Auxiliary Control while the Bridge were being repaired, while in-flight?) Could it be that, if the Bridge were taken out of action, the operational assumption would be that the ship is in trouble and its normal operations would be suspended until the Bridge could be restored at a home port?
Was anyone under the impression that this facility was frequently, if not constantly, manned with at least a couple of officers to pilot the ship in the event that something were to suddenly happen to the Bridge and/or staff there? Or could it be that Auxiliary Control was often shut down and "placed offline" for security reasons? Assuming that Auxiliary Control were regularly deactivated, what would that mean? Would the room simply be shut down, lights off, and the door locked?
I suppose FJ made the assumption of the Auxiliary Control's location in the lower saucer based on the similar Forward Phaser Room. If the Auxiliary Control aboard the Enterprise, and starships of somewhat similar saucer design, were indeed to be located in the lower saucer, Does this suggest a Tertiary Control Room somewhere in the Secondary Hull, in the event of catastrophic damage to the saucer?
If we assume that the refit TMP-era Enterprise (and Enterprise-A) possessed a similar Auxiliary Control Room, how would it be different from the one we saw in TOS? Could it look like a shrunken-down version of TNG's early Battle Bridge, or maybe Grissom's Bridge as seen in TMP3?
I know the general assumption is that the slanted control panels on the main table in Auxiliary Control simply have a few buttons, dials and toggles and that's it. But in "The Doomsday Machine", Kirk was obviously reading indicators off of those panels, which strongly implies those panels were "alive" with displays of data. The running assumption that TOS control panels of all kinds rely strictly on buttons, dials, levers and toggles never seemed sound to me. Even before anyone saw the touchscreen interfaces in TMP4 and TNG, I assumed that all that black area on those panels was populated with displays and iPad-like touch-screens. How else could Kirk have piloted the Starship Constellation without ever leaving that table?
