I love Andrew Probert's designs, I wish he had been around to make sure the Ambassador class was closer to his original concept for 'Yesterday's Enterprise'.
To Mr. Probert: It's so cool that they asked you to design the bridge, as we see the bridge so much in the show, more than the exterior (which is so lovely on it's own), I feel the bridge is a character on it's own also and it is very iconic. You designed a very huge part (and beautiful ships) of this show that I love with all of my heart from since I was young.
Check your You Tube messages! (Thanks for the support!) - yes indeed there was a glitch with You Tube that only had it at 240 so we had to re-upload it! :)
Thanks to Mr. Probert and to you both, guys. A great show. Back when it was new it took a very long time for me to grow fond of the D, BECAUSE a) it didn't have the right colour. I simple liked the TOS "white" ships, b) it lacks proportion. I immediately fell in love with the Refit and later the Enterprise E because they both have something "natural" about them. So I expected something more "refit" like for TNG, which of course influenced my jugdement.
Great episode guys, I really, really love the Enterprise D. I think your series is the best trek series I watch regularly these days, it's fantastic that you are getting so many Trek legends Doug, Andrew etc. Keep up the amazing work.
More to come as well. Stay tuned. If you haven't already checked out our Indiegogo video you should do that now. Here's the link. l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiegogo.com%2Fprojects%2F1141452%2Ffblk&h=cAQHgeH2Y&s=1
A little tidbit to help you increase you knowledge about the galaxy class for all us star trek historians. The first commissioned galaxy class was commissioned as a science vessel and christened the U.S.S Galaxy,according to history (in the books) this is why the massive saucer section. It was later that it was discovers the galaxy class was a great multi role ship and shortly after became the backbone of starfleet much like the constitution was. After the U.s.s. Galaxy had distinguished itself in battle before being destroyed starfleet decided to refit a few of the class with heavier hull armor, stronger shields and more powerful weapons systems and better sensors , it was then the saucer separation system became standard on the galaxy class. The refit version was proven in battle and could absorb an incredible amount of damage and keep on fighting so the refit version was given a dreadnaught classification and often was first into battles as it was for a short time starfleets primary battlecruiser up and until the sovereign class was first commissioned. It took the dreadnaught classification for a time until the first galaxy x was built followed shortly by the last true dreadnaught that starfleet built and if i remember right, named the same class as the original tos class dreadnaughts class though the class name escapes me.
The Galoob die-cast toy of the 'D' had pylons that sloped up gracefully to the nacelles (like Probert's eventual Ambassador-class design). I'm certain it was a toy manufacturing limitation, but I think it looked more organic than the 90-degree bend we see in the final Galaxy-class design.
Surprisingly. This Enterprise design was the only design also to incorperate a familiar ability that was intended for the Matt Jefferies Enterprise. The Saucer Seperation ability. But at high warp. The difference in the seperation of saucers between the Matt Jefferies and Andrew Probert Enterprise saucers was that the saucer on the consitution class couldent be re attached were as the one on the galaxy class could re attach automaticly or manualy.
For all it's majestic presence the fact I have some dessert spoons with the same profile will forever put the D in the don't like it category, great to hear Andrew talking about his time on the franchise and the birth of the design. :)
I never understood the windows on the top and bottom of the saucer and secondary hull. They are either about 15 foot long windows in the floor or ceiling (which we never saw on screen) or they could be almost vertical windows (as seen from inside) with passages to the exterior and covered with external transparent material to make them flush with the hull. It would be like looking through a tunnel with no peripheral view.
Does anybody have a link to a larger version of the image used from 13:04 to 13:22? I have never seen it before, and would like to see it blown up. Thanks! Keep up the good work guys, amazing stuff!
I've been thinking about something regarding the saucer design (and yes i know this is stupid but hear me out). What if you placed small emergency warp nacelles inside the saucer section of Galaxy class? From the top down view, i would think on both side of the command module would be big enough to accommodate them. They wouldn't be active for any reason other than a emergency separation and because of how small the nacelles would be it wouldn't be able to go faster than i wanna say at least warp 2 for a set amount of time.
The Galaxy class starship is a very sleek streamlined starship but the bridge was too big. The main reason why they built the shoehorse shaped bridge was for practical filming. They had a large front view screen but on the Intrepid class the viewscreen was quite small. Why not have a large view screen?
Do you mean the bridge interior? It was actually on the same footprint as the TOS bridge. If you mean externally you are probably thinking of the structure beneath the bridge proper, the actual bridge is so small that it's essentially invisible when looking at the ship as a whole. Even when looking at the raised section that is the hangar bay the bridge some is quite small.
Really like the Galaxy class ship. It's always struck me as more futuristic than the later ship from the NextGen movies. My own view is that the future of vehicles is to make them living things, and both the Enterprise D and J look like living things while the movie ships look more like clunky, primitive, mindless machines. I'm not bashing on the movie ships, I think they look very nice, but it's the D and J that actually look like something created by an advanced civilization..
Alright, I have a pretty random lore question about star trek, that fit's the galaxy class the most, as it came up for me in a video I watched about this ship. Hopefully, somewhere here somebody knows an answer to this. So, the question essentially is: How long does it take to travel in the star trek universe, for example lets say through the federation space? Okay, I know this is maybe a dumb question. But at the moment, I am every confused. In early series, like TOS and the first seasons of TNG, I always had the feeling that, despite having warp capability, traveling in the star trek universe takes very, very, very long. months in a minimum. Typical Starfleet vessels have hundrets of people an board, the enterprise D clearly was intended to stay in space without having ever to return to any starbase if needed. Many colonies shown in star trek seem like even if they're part of the federation, spaceships only visit them every few months, if at all. And how often do we learn that the enterprise is the "only ship within reach" as an introduction to an episode. Wich indicates, that starfleet despite having hundrets of ships, has to cover just a huuuuge amount of space? But later, in Deep Space Nine for example, spaceship travels seem to be as short as a trip with a car. They're cruising through half of the quadrant within days it seems and now I am confused in wich scale to think, wich was always a problem in star trek for me. So, if I'd be a regular citizen on star treks earth and would decide to take a holiday a little bit further out...what should I take with me? Do I need enough books to read for several weeks or months or is it enough to have a short film collection for a few evenings? I don't know if this question is entirly appropiate, but when it comes to random knowledge, trekyards is one of my first ideas, because I hope, within your research for all those ships you cover, you might have gotten a feeling for how long they're in space out there.
Thanks! The flicker is not in the edit its in the render, sometimes Premier Pro does that and we are not sure why, we have had to render episodes again because of this but luckily it doesn't last long in this episode! Weird though!
I always wondered if the mid-80s curvy, bubbly "future" design - think first model Ford Taurus - had any influence on the D. It's really, really curvy.
As a longtime Star Trek, I’m a little embarrassed that I don’t know the answer to this question. On the scene towards the end of this video from the opening credits, there are some squares on the back of the primary haul just above where the ship separates. They look like special windows or vents and sometimes they glow with a baby blue light. What are those?? I’ve been thinking about this for a week and it’s killing me.
Disappointed you didn't ask him what he thought of the 4 foot model that replaced the six foot ILM one in the forth season. It's substantially different in shape, detailing, and proportions. They sort of worked on his work without him.
I feel like a minority who loves the Galaxy class. I think it's limitations were simply due to the fact that it was hard to express the ship's true scale, and the model was not as detailed as it could have been.
also @Trekyards Stuart and Samuel i also had a theory that all federation ships are a silver white and that the blackness of space is reflecting off the hull giving the ships the gray or light gray colors . just theory a Star trek theory !! :)
A great episode. TNG was my fav ST series and i loved how sleek and curvy the Enterprise D looked. There is this guy who actually made a RC flying model from it. I think this is amazing as the model flew pretty well with a minimal of design tweaking. This is a testament to the solid desing of A.Probert and it is aerodynamically sound. I think he would be very pleased to see that his Galaxy class model can actually fly :) th-cam.com/video/L_c6jIkpcGk/w-d-xo.html
I loved the reft Enterprise. One of my favorite, if not my straight-up favorite sci-fi ship ever. It is almost perfect. As much as I love the reft, the D makes me nauseous. Absolutely loathe it. Inside and outside, it is bar none hands down the grossest, dumbest looking, and ugliest sci-fi ship ever. How the same guy could make my favorite design and also the fugly D is a strange thing.
One big question I got is about the captains yachtI believe that there was no captains yacht that the yacht wasn't added until enterprise E in inserrection Becuz even the e in first contact didn't look like there was a yacht either So I believe the yacht was added to new designs after insurrection This Andrew guy tho would be the one to know he designed it and worked on the series But ppl will argue with me But it's not like voyager where they did the aeroshuttle lauch concept video TNG didn't have that concept video so until Andrew Probert says there was a captains yacht in the enterprise D There wasn't one so argue all you want with me ppl becuz Andrew is the one who would know if there was one in the design at any part of the series and generations
In other Trekyard reviews with Mr. Probert, he does say it's a Captain's Yacht, because he the navigation array became an egg/oval shaped ring surrounding the Yacht. In the Romulan Warbird interview, he complained about the "...special effects guys not asking the designers...(phaser) beams coming out of the Captain's Yacht!" (Encounter at Farpoint).
I think the Enterprise D was done too early in the franchise as the design is far more futuristic and efficient looking than the later Enterprise E in Nemisis and F and G in Picard. It looks like it should be the last model to be built (eg. Enterprise NCC-1701-Z).
Definitely my least favorite Enterprise (simply from a design standpoint). It's bulbous and ungainly from a lot of angles; mainly looking like a Thanksgiving turkey. I know a lot of Trekkers claim to like it, but they'd convince themselves that they like a giant steamy terd if it had 'NCC-1701' slapped on it. The E is far more balanced and purposeful looking. But, given that the D was designed to be, essentially, a giant condominium complex in space (while the Sovereign class is a dedicated battle-ship), I can forgive its odd proportions and utilitarian appearance.
I originally didn't like the "D" at all when it first appeared. It looked a bit ungainly, the saucer was too big, and the secondary hull just looked off. Over time, I've come to like it more, but I don't think it is as good looking as the E, refit, original, or Excelsior class. I've definitely warmed up to it, and it has some nice design elements, but the Eis definitely a better looking ship.
I love Andrew Probert's designs, I wish he had been around to make sure the Ambassador class was closer to his original concept for 'Yesterday's Enterprise'.
To Mr. Probert: It's so cool that they asked you to design the bridge, as we see the bridge so much in the show, more than the exterior (which is so lovely on it's own), I feel the bridge is a character on it's own also and it is very iconic. You designed a very huge part (and beautiful ships) of this show that I love with all of my heart from since I was young.
My favorite ship. Still holds up today. Along with the D'deridex and the Vor'cha, the best looking ships in sci-fi.
you ladies have so many episodes I can't even fathom. galaxy class enterprise "D", this is the enterprise I grew up on. good show. another thumps up.
Great Stuff Master Probert, always a joy to hear you talk about your work! :-)
another great video hearing from someone who helped make it happen!
I'm at 5mins in.This is SIMPLY OUTSTANDING. Thank you all.
Very cool to see the history from designer POV
Great interview, iconic and beautiful design
I'm glad you uploaded this in HD.
Check your You Tube messages! (Thanks for the support!) - yes indeed there was a glitch with You Tube that only had it at 240 so we had to re-upload it! :)
great to see Mr Probert chat about it....
Thanks to Mr. Probert and to you both, guys. A great show. Back when it was new it took a very long time for me to grow fond of the D, BECAUSE a) it didn't have the right colour. I simple liked the TOS "white" ships, b) it lacks proportion. I immediately fell in love with the Refit and later the Enterprise E because they both have something "natural" about them. So I expected something more "refit" like for TNG, which of course influenced my jugdement.
Great episode guys, I really, really love the Enterprise D. I think your series is the best trek series I watch regularly these days, it's fantastic that you are getting so many Trek legends Doug, Andrew etc. Keep up the amazing work.
More to come as well. Stay tuned. If you haven't already checked out our Indiegogo video you should do that now. Here's the link.
l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiegogo.com%2Fprojects%2F1141452%2Ffblk&h=cAQHgeH2Y&s=1
Amen. What Alan said.
so do i dude. she was a beautiful ship and always reminded me of a giant ocean liner in space.
I really like Mr. Probert's original design with the shorter nacelles.
A little tidbit to help you increase you knowledge about the galaxy class for all us star trek historians.
The first commissioned galaxy class was commissioned as a science vessel and christened the U.S.S Galaxy,according to history (in the books) this is why the massive saucer section.
It was later that it was discovers the galaxy class was a great multi role ship and shortly after became the backbone of starfleet much like the constitution was.
After the U.s.s. Galaxy had distinguished itself in battle before being destroyed starfleet decided to refit a few of the class with heavier hull armor, stronger shields and more powerful weapons systems and better sensors , it was then the saucer separation system became standard on the galaxy class.
The refit version was proven in battle and could absorb an incredible amount of damage and keep on fighting so the refit version was given a dreadnaught classification and often was first into battles as it was for a short time starfleets primary battlecruiser up and until the sovereign class was first commissioned.
It took the dreadnaught classification for a time until the first galaxy x was built followed shortly by the last true dreadnaught that starfleet built and if i remember right, named the same class as the original tos class dreadnaughts class though the class name escapes me.
I've held a few discussions with Andy, I love his insight into how the model turned out vs what he wanted for the model, etc.
The Galoob die-cast toy of the 'D' had pylons that sloped up gracefully to the nacelles (like Probert's eventual Ambassador-class design). I'm certain it was a toy manufacturing limitation, but I think it looked more organic than the 90-degree bend we see in the final Galaxy-class design.
Surprisingly. This Enterprise design was the only design also to incorperate a familiar ability that was intended for the Matt Jefferies Enterprise. The Saucer Seperation ability. But at high warp. The difference in the seperation of saucers between the Matt Jefferies and Andrew Probert Enterprise saucers was that the saucer on the consitution class couldent be re attached were as the one on the galaxy class could re attach automaticly or manualy.
The galaxy class is truly an elegant vessle
For all it's majestic presence the fact I have some dessert spoons with the same profile will forever put the D in the don't like it category, great to hear Andrew talking about his time on the franchise and the birth of the design. :)
Loving this Series right now ! There's some great detail in these shows. Recommending to all my ship building buddies :D
really enjoyable episode!! Thank you soooo much for doing this!! i have contributed and will do so again soon!!!
Great show. Frankly, I didn't realize I was such a geek at heart.
I never understood the windows on the top and bottom of the saucer and secondary hull. They are either about 15 foot long windows in the floor or ceiling (which we never saw on screen) or they could be almost vertical windows (as seen from inside) with passages to the exterior and covered with external transparent material to make them flush with the hull. It would be like looking through a tunnel with no peripheral view.
would love to see an episode on the Ambassador class (my fav)
Does anybody have a link to a larger version of the image used from 13:04 to 13:22? I have never seen it before, and would like to see it blown up. Thanks!
Keep up the good work guys, amazing stuff!
Great video !!!! Thank you!!!
I've been thinking about something regarding the saucer design (and yes i know this is stupid but hear me out). What if you placed small emergency warp nacelles inside the saucer section of Galaxy class? From the top down view, i would think on both side of the command module would be big enough to accommodate them. They wouldn't be active for any reason other than a emergency separation and because of how small the nacelles would be it wouldn't be able to go faster than i wanna say at least warp 2 for a set amount of time.
The Galaxy class starship is a very sleek streamlined starship but the bridge was too big. The main reason why they built the shoehorse shaped bridge was for practical filming. They had a large front view screen but on the Intrepid class the viewscreen was quite small. Why not have a large view screen?
Do you mean the bridge interior? It was actually on the same footprint as the TOS bridge.
If you mean externally you are probably thinking of the structure beneath the bridge proper, the actual bridge is so small that it's essentially invisible when looking at the ship as a whole. Even when looking at the raised section that is the hangar bay the bridge some is quite small.
Really like the Galaxy class ship. It's always struck me as more futuristic than the later ship from the NextGen movies.
My own view is that the future of vehicles is to make them living things, and both the Enterprise D and J look like living things while the movie ships look more like clunky, primitive, mindless machines. I'm not bashing on the movie ships, I think they look very nice, but it's the D and J that actually look like something created by an advanced civilization..
Alright, I have a pretty random lore question about star trek, that fit's the galaxy class the most, as it came up for me in a video I watched about this ship. Hopefully, somewhere here somebody knows an answer to this.
So, the question essentially is: How long does it take to travel in the star trek universe, for example lets say through the federation space?
Okay, I know this is maybe a dumb question. But at the moment, I am every confused.
In early series, like TOS and the first seasons of TNG, I always had the feeling that, despite having warp capability, traveling in the star trek universe takes very, very, very long. months in a minimum. Typical Starfleet vessels have hundrets of people an board, the enterprise D clearly was intended to stay in space without having ever to return to any starbase if needed.
Many colonies shown in star trek seem like even if they're part of the federation, spaceships only visit them every few months, if at all. And how often do we learn that the enterprise is the "only ship within reach" as an introduction to an episode. Wich indicates, that starfleet despite having hundrets of ships, has to cover just a huuuuge amount of space?
But later, in Deep Space Nine for example, spaceship travels seem to be as short as a trip with a car. They're cruising through half of the quadrant within days it seems and now I am confused in wich scale to think, wich was always a problem in star trek for me.
So, if I'd be a regular citizen on star treks earth and would decide to take a holiday a little bit further out...what should I take with me? Do I need enough books to read for several weeks or months or is it enough to have a short film collection for a few evenings?
I don't know if this question is entirly appropiate, but when it comes to random knowledge, trekyards is one of my first ideas, because I hope, within your research for all those ships you cover, you might have gotten a feeling for how long they're in space out there.
Cool episode guys, just curious what is causing the flicker? It almost looks like crosstalk from a badly shielded cable or a bad connector.
Thanks! The flicker is not in the edit its in the render, sometimes Premier Pro does that and we are not sure why, we have had to render episodes again because of this but luckily it doesn't last long in this episode! Weird though!
Hopefully you guys raise enough to get some new equipment, its gotta be frustrating after putting in all that work.
I always wondered if the mid-80s curvy, bubbly "future" design - think first model Ford Taurus - had any influence on the D. It's really, really curvy.
Well, he did design it in '86.
any workings on an episode talking the Constellation class starship Picard's first command
As a longtime Star Trek, I’m a little embarrassed that I don’t know the answer to this question. On the scene towards the end of this video from the opening credits, there are some squares on the back of the primary haul just above where the ship separates. They look like special windows or vents and sometimes they glow with a baby blue light. What are those?? I’ve been thinking about this for a week and it’s killing me.
Disappointed you didn't ask him what he thought of the 4 foot model that replaced the six foot ILM one in the forth season. It's substantially different in shape, detailing, and proportions. They sort of worked on his work without him.
I feel like a minority who loves the Galaxy class. I think it's limitations were simply due to the fact that it was hard to express the ship's true scale, and the model was not as detailed as it could have been.
I always thought it was one of the most popular ship designs, so I don't think you would be in the minority.
+Diax1324 Dont think its a minority thing - the Galaxy is well loved.
The scale blur is, IMHO, a factor of SD 80s TV resolution. The HD remasters, the D sometimes just looks stunning. And very large.
I Miss The Enterprise D
I love the Galaxy class, bit if I had to nitpick one thing it would be that the engineering hull looks too small from the front.
I was wondering if and when you will do a show on the constitution class? I enjoy your show, keep up the good work!
Of course we will. But that will likely be in 2016 for the 50th anniversary of Star Trek.
+Trekyards
hey trek i have a question why is the star trek collector's edition enterprise d deflector dish red instead of blue
love this video, galaxy class is one of a kind
p.s. feels wrong to see it as a cgi model
interesting ......... great video ! :)
also @Trekyards Stuart and Samuel i also had a theory that all federation ships are a silver white and that the blackness of space is reflecting off the hull giving the ships the gray or light gray colors . just theory a Star trek theory !! :)
Nobody ever does sequels or prequels to Enterprise-D. That's because everything was well done & Said.
'86 was a great year
A great episode. TNG was my fav ST series and i loved how sleek and curvy the Enterprise D looked.
There is this guy who actually made a RC flying model from it. I think this is amazing as the model flew pretty well with a minimal of design tweaking. This is a testament to the solid desing of A.Probert and it is aerodynamically sound. I think he would be very pleased to see that his Galaxy class model can actually fly :)
th-cam.com/video/L_c6jIkpcGk/w-d-xo.html
The ship actually looked better with shorter nacelles. @5:19
I loved the reft Enterprise. One of my favorite, if not my straight-up favorite sci-fi ship ever. It is almost perfect.
As much as I love the reft, the D makes me nauseous. Absolutely loathe it. Inside and outside, it is bar none hands down the grossest, dumbest looking, and ugliest sci-fi ship ever.
How the same guy could make my favorite design and also the fugly D is a strange thing.
Surely Andrew is an Admiral by now?
One big question I got is about the captains yachtI believe that there was no captains yacht that the yacht wasn't added until enterprise E in inserrection Becuz even the e in first contact didn't look like there was a yacht either So I believe the yacht was added to new designs after insurrection This Andrew guy tho would be the one to know he designed it and worked on the series
But ppl will argue with me But it's not like voyager where they did the aeroshuttle lauch concept video TNG didn't have that concept video so until Andrew Probert says there was a captains yacht in the enterprise D There wasn't one so argue all you want with me ppl becuz Andrew is the one who would know if there was one in the design at any part of the series and generations
In other Trekyard reviews with Mr. Probert, he does say it's a Captain's Yacht, because he the navigation array became an egg/oval shaped ring surrounding the Yacht. In the Romulan Warbird interview, he complained about the "...special effects guys not asking the designers...(phaser) beams coming out of the Captain's Yacht!" (Encounter at Farpoint).
My friend said that the enterprise D looks like a cookie..... So I said he looks like a jackass
Please make show of the gorn ships :3
I think the Enterprise D was done too early in the franchise as the design is far more futuristic and efficient looking than the later Enterprise E in Nemisis and F and G in Picard. It looks like it should be the last model to be built (eg. Enterprise NCC-1701-Z).
Definitely my least favorite Enterprise (simply from a design standpoint). It's bulbous and ungainly from a lot of angles; mainly looking like a Thanksgiving turkey. I know a lot of Trekkers claim to like it, but they'd convince themselves that they like a giant steamy terd if it had 'NCC-1701' slapped on it. The E is far more balanced and purposeful looking. But, given that the D was designed to be, essentially, a giant condominium complex in space (while the Sovereign class is a dedicated battle-ship), I can forgive its odd proportions and utilitarian appearance.
I originally didn't like the "D" at all when it first appeared. It looked a bit ungainly, the saucer was too big, and the secondary hull just looked off. Over time, I've come to like it more, but I don't think it is as good looking as the E, refit, original, or Excelsior class. I've definitely warmed up to it, and it has some nice design elements, but the Eis definitely a better looking ship.
Uss ravin from ST voyager
Enterprise D was the Ugliest ship in the fleet