For Star Trek's 60th anniversary, it seemed appropriate to do some Trek material. This list will be based primarily on the aesthetics and look of each ship. Not the power/capabilities (which would just put them in chronological order) or how much airtime they got or how well they were used. When it comes down to it, only a couple of these ships have really gotten airtime or had shows dedicated to them. So yeah, this is about aesthetics and how much I like looking at any given ship on TV.
Side note: I think that chart above is oversizing Excelsior a bit. I was under the impression it was just a little bigger than the Enterprise-A, and closer to that ship than it is to the C or D. It's just as likely that it's undersizing the Kirk Enterprises, though.
Honorable Mention: The boat, the space shuttle, and the circular spacecraft that shared the name. We only ever see models of these, as far as I know, in any Trek media. Another HM for the 2009 movie's ship redesign, which I'm not going to include here since it's an alternate timeline. Also not including the Discovery/SNW recreation of the original Enterprise, since it's basically a remake version, like the 2009 movie. Though both of those would place pretty well on here, neither would win. Only including the main canon, shows/movies from TOS through the Picard show.
Now, starting with the one everyone knows is the worst...
#10. Enterprise-J
Appearances: A few scenes in one episode in Enterprise Season 3
Look at this monstrosity. The "time ship" of hundreds of years in the future. This only appeared once, in an episode of Enterprise circa 2002, when Enterprise-E was the latest variant and J was still far away. No sign of Enterprise-H or I any time soon and it's probably better that way because I really don't want to get to this monstrosity of a ship. Imagine a show with this beast in every episode, where every episode is about time travel. Considering the awful newest show that nobody watched took place later in time than this ship supposedly was a thing, and there was no mention of it or any other Enterprise, maybe it's just forgotten. Like, unfortunately, the Enterprise show itself. Give us Seasons 5-7!
At the end of the day, this is easily the worst design out of all of them. The fact that it's from the show Enterprise explains why it's vaguely similar in layout (and badness) to...
#9. NX Enterprise (Archer's ship)
Appearances: Four seasons of the show Enterprise
The first ship to reach the lofty speed of Warp 5, this is the predecessor to all of the others. As a proto design, it's flat and weird-looking, and desperately needed a lower deck (which I imagine would have been added on Tuesday). The flatness alone kinda kills the appeal. Definitely not something I would build an entire show around, because who wants to look at this ship all the time? One thing I can give it credit for is that it has nacelles with glowing red tips just like the very first Kirk Enterprise from back in the day. That gives it a bit of an edge, and links it to what'll come along later in time.
So the funny thing is, while this show was cancelled at four seasons, Seasons 5-7 were going to give us the legendary Earth/Romulan War. Enterprise (the show) deserved better. Enterprise (the ship) was supposed to get a refit version for Season 5 of the show, and the refit looked much better simply by adding a lower section. The refit version probably would have landed between #6 and #7 on this list, if it had existed. I mean, look at this thing:
#8. Enterprise-F (Odyssey Class)
Appearances: A couple of scenes at the end of Picard Season 3
This one brings back the "cruise ship" mentality of Enterprise-D, in a sleeker format. It's the largest ship on this list (aside from J), and dwarfs all of the others (before Enterprise-G brings it back down to a normal size). It kinda looks like a Mega-Voyager. That or a bigger, uglier Ent-E. This one was actually designed by fans, and is mainly known for being a capitol ship in Star Trek Online. It got popular enough there that it basically got canonized by fans and carried over onto an actual show. I'm not crazy about it, but it's alright as a missing link bridge-ship. I wish it looked less like a computer mouse crossed with a beluga whale.
From underneath it looks even weirder, and has the same below/front unappealing design as the ships before and after it on this list. Still, would have liked to see more of this ship. Some sort of action, at least. I think it might have grown on me if I had. For a while I felt like Voyager should have been christened "Enterprise-F" when it got back from the Delta Quadrant. They eventually did carry out this idea in a roundabout way, by rechristening Titan-A as Enterprise-G at the end of the Picard show. Also worth noting that Commander Shelby (now Admiral Shelby) finally got to command an Enterprise here. And the biggest one, no less.
#7. Enterprise-E (Sovereign Class)
Appearances: Three movies (the last three classic movies, which counts for a lot)
Kind of the Excelsior to Enterprise-D's Enterprise-A, this is a swept-back, fast-looking, sleek vessel. It's more of a battleship than an exploratory cruise ship, and doesn't have the bulkiness of Enterprise-D. It's a ship that I really like from some angles and really don't like from other angles. From the side, it looks really freaking cool, and originally it was going to be a few spaces higher on this list due to that and how it's the "ultimate ship" of the original Trek canon.
However, from the front it's pretty weird-looking. Has the same "Microsoft mouse" form-factor as the Enterprise-F, only without looking as much like a beluga whale. Despite all of this, it's a lot of fun to see this ship in action, and it's got some rad moves. The blue Quantum Torpedos are brighter and much cooler-looking than the torpedoes of any other ships on this list. I'd love to rank this one higher because there's a bit of a jump from -F to -E, but everything above here is just that good-looking.
#6. Enterprise (Constitution Class, Kirk's ship, show version)
Appearances: Three seasons of the classic show
The most rudimentary/simple of all of these, as it was made for a show in the 1960's. It sure is a good design, though, talk about getting it right out of the gate. This design is one of the things we have to thank for the enduring legacy of Trek. The only reason it's low is because so many of the other designs are great. I'm not as keen on the nacelles / warp decks and like what the refit did with those a lot more. The large dish on the lower deck just looks like a glaring weak point and the ship is much more futuristic without it. However, the main saucer on this is incredibly smooth, and gives it an enduring appeal.
#5. Enterprise-D (Galaxy Class)
Appearances: Seven seasons of The Next Generation, other cameos, two episodes of Picard S3
The most famous, probably, of all of them. This one got the most airtime, with a whopping seven seasons of The Next Generation, a movie, and various reappearances later on. The design of it makes a lot of sense, and you can see the evolution from Kirk-era ships in every aspect of this one. The rest of the (newer) fleet at this point in time had also adopted similar design elements, like the new warp nacelle look with blue lights. I particularly love the nacelle look.
As a kid, I had a die-cast model of this ship...because we couldn't find any models of the ship I actually wanted, Kirk's Enterprise. I didn't like this ship nearly as much, but I made do and still had fun playing with it and pretending to go on space flights and Trek adventures. The main thing I didn't like about this ship was how bulky the saucer is. The whole thing just looks bulbous and unwieldy, and it isn't surprising that a studio decided to replace it with the sleeker -E for the TNG movies.
This ship got a ton of use compared to everything else on the list. It was a great ship right up until they hot-dropped the saucer section on a planet. It's safe to say that no other Enterprise on this list took as thorough of a pounding as this one.
#4. Enterprise-B (Excelsior Class)
Appearances: One movie (Star Trek Generations)
Ent-B was an Excelsior-class, one of the best ships in the Trek canon. Excelsior was my favorite ship design for a long time, and could have potentially topped this list. The only problem is, for the Ent-B Excelsior specifically, they added weird bulges to the warp core lower section of the ship. Not sure what prompted this design change to Excelsior, but it worsened what was essentially a perfect-looking ship. As a result, Enterprise-B is lower than it would have been if it had been a basic Excelsior. Talk about addition by subtraction. If you have something that works, usually it's better to just leave it alone.
Even though they messed up the lower decks, it's still incredibly sharp. The angles and swept-back look of Excelsior makes it look incredibly fast even when it's stationary. If they had left Enterprise-B in the original Excelsior form and not added the weird bulges, it would be one rank higher...maybe even two ranks higher.
The design they'll probably stick with if they ever do what the audience actually wants and continue into the immediate future beyond the Picard/Sisko/Janeway era. This is a fantastic design that elevates Picard Season 3 (the season that saved that show from the bin for me) just by its mere presence. They recaptured what worked about the old ship designs while also doing something new. We've got a new era of beastly nacelles, along with a retro saucer, and it's a terrific combination.
#2. Enterprise + Enterprise-A (Constitution II Class)
Appearances: Six movies
This one might well be my favorite. Kirk's Enterprise, with all those perfectly clean retro lines. The movie Enterprises are pretty much all "Enterprise-A" in my mind, but yeah, the actual Enterprise-A isn't until Star Trek 5. It's identical to the one in the earlier movies, or at least close enough as to be virtually identical. Both of these are a big improvement visually on the show version. I wish this ship had more LEDs on it, more lights and neon and so forth like the later ships had. It doesn't really need them, though.
The design evokes the "tall ships" of the Exploration Age, which I love about this ship. It's like a noble galleon, cresting over the horizon of the ocean. The blue light emanating from the lower deck completes the look and makes it look more than seaworthy. As a kid, this was the die-cast model I really wanted.
Not sure any of the others on this list look and feel as "solid" as this one does, thanks to the variety of legitimate physical models they created to represent it. The "tall ship" of Enterprises, named after one of the most famous tall ships out there, the U.S.S. Constitution. To this day, that ship is parked in Boston Harbor, kept maintained and as tall as ever.
-----
-----
-----
#1. Enterprise-C (Ambassador Class)
Appearances: One episode of The Next Generation
One of the least-used ships on the entire list, and also the best-looking. The ship that I'd like to pilot, if I could choose any of these ships to pilot. It combines the design elements of Enterprise-A and Enterprise-D that worked the best to create a hybrid design that pretty much checks all the boxes of what you'd want from an Enterprise. It has a saucer that is a direct fusion of those two ships, a lower deck that looks incredibly streamlined (and is a nicer version of Ent-A's), and the awesome glowing nacelles of Ent-D.
No comments:
Post a Comment