Broken Bow - Diane Carey [72]
A new addition to the bridge is the set that, in previous series, has proven to be one of the largest challenges to the various Star Trek directors. Formerly known as the briefing room, the Enterprise’s situation room is set off in an alcove behind the captain’s chair but still very much a part of the set. In the past, directors have noted the difficulty in creating interesting scenes within a room that is little more than a large table surrounded by chairs. This new design for the situation room places it in the action rather than away from it and opens up the staging possibilities. Though the space is tight, the room does have removable walls to allow for cameras and lighting, as do all the standing sets.
Another feature in all the sets is the addition of what the production crew refers to as “busy boxes,” which Zimmerman describes as “things that can be opened up and worked on during an emergency or even during the routine of getting the ship ready for leaving Spacedock. Leaving so much more for the actors to do.”
One familiar set for Enterprise is the transporter room. However, the transporters of this earlier time have a bit of a twist. “This transporter is not really recommended for biological organisms,” Zimmerman explains. “It’s basically a cargo transporter. So while we are occasionally forced to use the transporter for a live specimen, it’s not recommended. Mostly we use the shuttles to leave the ship.”
This design, too, mixes a little of the familiar with the new. Zimmerman explains, “Again, it’s an homage to the Original Series transporter and it’s a precursor of all the transporters you’ve seen since. It’s got a single pad, but it does have ribs around it that have the same structural pattern that were on the ribs of the transporter on The Original Series. That was one of the things we did as a nod to Matt Jefferies’ designs.”
INT. ENTERPRISE—MAIN ENGINEERING
Unlike the spacious, brightly lit engine rooms of future starships, this is more like the cramped, red-lit nerve center of a nuclear submarine ...
A more dramatic change in the design of the interior can be found in the heart of the ship, engineering. Zimmerman’s directive for the room was that it be a busy place with lots of moving parts. The concept behind the design is that the room is heat-generating and pulsing. The area is more cramped and the core itself is horizontal, rather than vertical, as were warp cores past.
Zimmerman goes on, “We talked of a honeycomb design with multiple push and pull rods, accessible through openable doors. Machine walls cover the bulk of the engine. In other words, you’re not going to see a big roiling mass of energy, you’re going to see the result of that through small windows. You’re going to see a very powerful engine that looks like a very powerful engine.” And the audience will also see the process by which the energy is distributed, through tubes leading out of the core directly to the warp nacelles.
In short, the design for the engine reflects a more simple time. As Zimmerman explains, “It doesn’t look like you can’t understand it or that it wouldn’t break down if all the components weren’t working perfectly. So, it’s a more realistic propulsion system than the fantastic propulsion system.”
Other sets include the armory, loaded with missiles instead of the futuristic photon torpedoes, and the sickbay, which also has a new look.
“I think my favorite set is sickbay,” Braga admits. “Obviously the bridge is very cool, but sickbay, to me, really captures a nice flavor of Enterprise because it’s so different. It looks so believable. It’s kind of white, gleaming, with lots of chrome, and it kind of looks like a real hospital, a real futuristic hospital.