Klingon Bird-of-Prey in Star Trek's III and IV
- Thread starter vess
- Start date
For an in-universe explaination, I figured the bridge in TSFS was an auxiliary bridge. For some reason, Kruge and crew were using the auxiliary bridge in that film. In the three months on Vulcan, they managed to get the main bridge repaired, so they used it in TVH. It seemed likely that they wouldn't want to change the actual design of the ship since it would probably be very valuable to Starfleet Inteligence at that time.
Also, it would explain why subsequent Bird of Prey bridges looked so similar to the TVH bridge.
Also, it would explain why subsequent Bird of Prey bridges looked so similar to the TVH bridge.
I figured his next mission would be to bust John Lithgow out of the loony bin.
So they redesign the whole bridge, but keep all the writing in Klingon text?
^^Indeed. Every BoP bridge seen all the way through to DS9 is similar to the TVH one and the TSFS style was never seen again.
Interestingly enough, the novelization of TFF suggests that Klaa's targeting rig was a custom job, because he earned his command by being an expert gunner. And also earned some disloyalty from certain crewmembers who felt he didn't deserve a full captaincy and was a "favorite."
Quite possible, as the rig isn't seen again.
In contrast, Kruge's targeting rig is the very same that was seen in TMP. His small ship just has one such swiveling targeting chair in the background, while the TMP cruiser had two...
We see that Starfleet bridges are heavily "customized", perhaps according to the wishes of the skipper: certain workstations may be absent or present, differently situated, manned with differing numbers of personnel... Perhaps Klingons go for the same sort of customizing.
Another thing to consider: the BoP in ST3 probably isn't a new ship type at all. Kirk and Sulu seem intimately familiar with it, at least. It's possible that a few of the BoPs of the 2280s would have interior aesthetics that reflect the 2260s ones we saw on TOS cruisers, then. Kruge may have had a modern navigation bridge, but his secondary bridge or spy center or whatnot may have had the classic "blue plywood walls" style because refitting it was not such a priority.
Alternately, navigation bridges don't have to change much with times, since the ST4 style is not only seen in TNG, but also centuries earlier in ENT. But Kruge's mission-specific command center may have had to feature the hottest hot in new technology, and that would be blue plywood. The TOS and TAS cruisers in turn would be all-hot from the inside, that is, all-blue-plywood.
By the time of TNG, this hottest hot would change a bit, adopting more subdued colors - or then simply accruing a crust of dirt and rust, something that the other parts of the ships had received much earlier. For all we know, the ST4 navigation bridge was originally very TOS-like, too, with bright colors on clear walls, but five decades of maintenance neglect and the bolting of new consoles and other gear had turned it into the "fleet standard" of grimy looks.
Timo Saloniemi
In contrast, Kruge's targeting rig is the very same that was seen in TMP. His small ship just has one such swiveling targeting chair in the background, while the TMP cruiser had two...
We see that Starfleet bridges are heavily "customized", perhaps according to the wishes of the skipper: certain workstations may be absent or present, differently situated, manned with differing numbers of personnel... Perhaps Klingons go for the same sort of customizing.
Another thing to consider: the BoP in ST3 probably isn't a new ship type at all. Kirk and Sulu seem intimately familiar with it, at least. It's possible that a few of the BoPs of the 2280s would have interior aesthetics that reflect the 2260s ones we saw on TOS cruisers, then. Kruge may have had a modern navigation bridge, but his secondary bridge or spy center or whatnot may have had the classic "blue plywood walls" style because refitting it was not such a priority.
Alternately, navigation bridges don't have to change much with times, since the ST4 style is not only seen in TNG, but also centuries earlier in ENT. But Kruge's mission-specific command center may have had to feature the hottest hot in new technology, and that would be blue plywood. The TOS and TAS cruisers in turn would be all-hot from the inside, that is, all-blue-plywood.
By the time of TNG, this hottest hot would change a bit, adopting more subdued colors - or then simply accruing a crust of dirt and rust, something that the other parts of the ships had received much earlier. For all we know, the ST4 navigation bridge was originally very TOS-like, too, with bright colors on clear walls, but five decades of maintenance neglect and the bolting of new consoles and other gear had turned it into the "fleet standard" of grimy looks.
Timo Saloniemi
Are there any screen shots to compare them, as I can't remember what the BoP bridge looked like in ST3?
This from ST3:
http://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/tsfshd/tsfshd0114.jpg
Versus this from ST4:
http://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/tvhhd/tvhhd0231.jpg
One might argue that both rooms represent the same aesthetic, only the first one is cleaner and more brightly lit - and has the computer graphics confined to personal monitors rather than openly displayed for everybody to ogle (a nice feature for a command center of intelligence ops). But the two can't easily be the same room, because every dimension and shape has been altered.
Timo Saloniemi
http://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/tsfshd/tsfshd0114.jpg
Versus this from ST4:
http://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/tvhhd/tvhhd0231.jpg
One might argue that both rooms represent the same aesthetic, only the first one is cleaner and more brightly lit - and has the computer graphics confined to personal monitors rather than openly displayed for everybody to ogle (a nice feature for a command center of intelligence ops). But the two can't easily be the same room, because every dimension and shape has been altered.
Timo Saloniemi
Similar threads
