Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
President Forward
During the Next Generation multiple set pieces were re-used and recycled from the set pieces built for the film franchise. From the obvious re-use of internal corridors, to smaller pieces such as Dr Crushers office being McCoy’s, it’s hard for a keen eye to ignore how much the productions shared between them. But as The Next Generation became the dominant forcer with ongoing production and full standing sets, eventually the turn tabled and by the final original cast instalment, it was the TNG stages that became the obvious redress solution.
The most jarring of the films set re-uses was the office of the president. As Kirk and McCoy were charged with assassination, a political poop show begins and the Federation President considers all his options from the calm and logical approach from Ambassador Sarek, to a full on military extraction from special ops. All through the briefing however, and in every single scene, curtains and trinkets can’t quite hide the distinct and unique windows and decorative panels of the Enterprise-D Ten Foward looking over Paris.
Defiant Design
Deep Space Nine hosted some unique sets that were hard to use as redressed locations due to their large and unique designs that couldn’t really be hidden away. Following the shows run various bits and pieces would end up in the background, most visibly the large cog-like airlock doors would be squeezed in to some Enterprise background scenery. But only the Starfleet sets were kept in storage ready to be revived.
When Captain Janeway and her crew discovered imposters posing as the Voyager crew, they grappled with a fake Delta Flyer which… well, didn’t look anything like Voyager or the Flyer at all. And inside, it looked oddly like the Defiant… Recycling the Defiant set for episode ‘Live Fast and Prosper’, the rear section was hidden with more bulkier internal walls, but the rest of the set – from the columns to the chairs – were instantly recognisable to the Niners in the audience!
Section By Section
In 2017 we were introduced to the USS Shenzhou, a hero ship who’s story would end in the dramatic two part opener for Star Trek Discovery which saw Shenzhou abandoned after taking extensive damage from the Klingons at the Battle of the Binary Starts. The Shenzhou’s bridge was unique, located under the saucer section with transparent panels showing the external space and sensor dome below.
Seen again only briefly, Shenzhou’s set was elevated form ground level to help show the void underneath the bridge. When it came time to build a new bridge for Section 31 in the second season, the money spent on the Shenzhou wasn’t wasted. Using that void, the centre section was removed and a lowered ground floor built to show a multi-layer intelligence centre. While the bulk of the set would be removed following season 2, the core structure would be used again and given a massive overhaul to become the 32nd Century Federation Headquarters for the following three seasons.
Redress of Khan
While some sets are recycled across multiple shows in different era’s, sometimes they’re recycled multiple times for the same film! Reviving the sets used for the Motion Picture, the Enterprise bridge was given a little bit of recolouring and tweaking to give darker tones for the more tense script.
The film spent a lot of time on the bridge with Admiral Kirk and his crew trying to out-maneuverer Khan while neither actually shared a room, communicating face to face only through the viewscreen. Kahn’s stolen ship, the Reliant, was just the same set mixed around. Thanks to its modular design, each section could be swapped and replaced just enough to give the Reliant it’s own unique layout.
To make it more fun, the same trick was used for the USS Grissom in The Search for Spock and yet again another redress and a lick of paint for the Enterprise-A in The Voyage Home. But that was only the beginning….
Battle Stations!
Possibly the most long serving structure in the entire franchise, the bridge itself had more lives than an androids cat! Originally designed and constructed for the abandoned Phase 2, then recycled through various films, the film-era Enterprise set would be used as the base for the Battle Bridge on the Next Generation in 1987 with some very obvious components from it’s original structure.
The bridge set’s life wouldn’t end there. The bridge wouyld be modified and recycled multiple times to become the Stargazer, have new wall panels added to act as the Hathaway and Bozeman bridges and more. With plain walls the base structure would also become everything and anything, from Data’s cybernetics lab to the court room in Measure of a Man.
Unfortunately the everlasting bridge set’s life came to an end due to a storage mishap that saw most of it destroyed. But it’s legend lived on with it’s replacement, the Enterprise-A set build for The Final Frontier, continuing the mission and being re-dressed for the Excelsior and Enterprise B.
About the author
Them From That Thing: Wallace Shawn
Unlike nearly every other iteration of Star Trek, Deep Space Nine's stories revolved around a large extended cast being thrown into the mix thanks to it's more static core setting, Beyond it's core regular cast members, the show made time for evolving young prospects like Nog, old soldiers like Martok to take the fight to the Dominion, and even followed the rise of Damar from political puppet to revolutionary. One of the most iconic in extending the cast was the iconic character actor Wallace Shawn. Making his first appearance in season one's The Nagus, Shawn's part was that of the head of the Ferengi power structure and would help to explore and expand Quark's culture and family. But even layered in complex heavy make up, he'd still be instantly recognisable with his distinct voice and comedic timing. Having had a […]
“So, this is goodbye.” Walter Koenig. 1936-2026
The Star Trek community has lost one of its most cherished members as original series actor, Walter Koenig, has died at the age of 90. He passed away on 25 October 2026 at his home in North Hollywood, surrounded by his daughter and niece. For generations of Star Trek fans, Koenig was far more than the young navigator who served under Captain Kirk. Joining Star Trek at the beginning of its second season, Koenig stepped aboard the Enterprise as Ensign Pavel Chekov, a young Russian officer at a time when the United States and the Soviet Union remained locked in the tensions of the Cold War. His presence aboard an American-led fictional starship was a small but meaningful expression of Star Trek's enduring belief that humanity could overcome its divisions and work together towards a better future. Appearing in […]
[Q2&A] The Quadrants of Command
Quadrant 2 is free for anyone in the UK, EU (and more!) to join. With a solid base in the UK, we have members from around a dozen other countries including units in France and Japan. One query we often get in our inbox is why don't we include the countries that have produced Star Trek – the United States and Canada? The answer is simple. We don't host those members. Quadrant 1 does. Starfleet Command Quadrant 2. It's quite the mouthful. If you're a curious fan wandering by wondering why we opted for a club name that had that many syllable, it comes down to our history and how SFC formed and evolved over the years. Originating in 1974, Starfleet Command began in the United States, an idea by fans that quickly gained the support of creator Gene Roddenberry […]
[Retro Review] Dagger Of The Mind
Dropping by a penal colony focused on rehabilitating the criminally insane, the Enterprise beams down some much needed supplies while one of the inmates sneaks on board to beg for asylum. But it's no regular stowaway. Dr Simon Van Gelder used to be part of the staff before he began to lose his mind and he's not just afraid of having dodgy meals and no windows, but reveals to Kirk that the facility runs through torture and abuse. Van Gelder arrived broken. His memories scattered, and any glimpse of those memories would trigger a painful and violent reaction. The colony's lead scientist and essentially warden, Dr Tristan Adams, waves it off claiming Van Gelder's techniques were tested on himself and that the rest of his story was delusional ramblings. Not entirely convinced, and given a heavy nudge by McCoy, Kirk […]
[Treknology] Shields Up! Red Alert!
Different writers, directors and plot points paint Starfleet as multiple and occasionally conflicting things. Both a military and exploratory force, there's many layers to the fleet and how it operates. Handling everything from border defence to mapping unknown territories, even the most mundane mission in peace time can be a risky one. Especially as not every new person you meet will want a cup of tea and a chat, and accidentally dropping into someone's back garden doesn't always go down well.So when the shooting starts, you have to be ready to defend yourself, and in a world of weaponry that could burn an entire planet into ashes, sticking some armour on your hull just isn't going to cut it. One of the most vital systems always ready on stand by, deflector shields help to keep a ship and it's crew […]
Behind the Viewscreen: Gene L Coon
As it's creator, the name Gene Roddenberry is part of the Star Trek legend. But when it came to shaping what the show was, and forming it's foundations, there was another Gene behind the scenes who help build on and refine the shows concepts into the world we know today. Originally brought into the fold in August 1966, Coon was hired to handle day to day production and script revisions during the shows first season, with his first credit appearing on the first seasons eighth episode, Miri. Beyond that day to day production, as well as his creative relationship with Roddenberry, Coon's efforts would help shape the shows identity, helping to form it's unique blend of science fiction, drama and political commentary and in shaping the shows moral compass that would be a keystone of the Star Trek experience. Giving […]
Related
A Fistful of Picard
While Star Trek first launched in 1966, for a huge number fans of science fiction, it wasn't Kirk's adventures that defined Star Trek. It was Picard's. Leading the show into huge success, revitalising and rebuilding what Star Trek was, Patrick Stewart brought a refined performance to bring a measured, intellectual leader to the bridge of the Enterprise. With an incredible calm and restraint, Picard's aura was one that commanded respect through his ability to listen, understand and lead with his conscience. Following the sad loss of the legendary actor, we figured it's time to put our feet up, have some Earl Grey (hot, of course) and look back at some of the Captains finest hours. Measure of a Man TNG Season 2 Episode 9 Hoping to learn from and build on Data's systems, Dr Bruce Maddox comes aboard the Enterprise […]
A Fistful of Spooky Encounters
Since it's inception Star Trek hasn't just been a sci fi show, but a show that used it's science fiction setting to tell a variety of stories from a large pool of themes and styles. And since we're officially in 'Spooky Season' on the countdown to Halloween, why not take a look at some of Star Trek's best dives into darkness? EMPOK NOR DEEP SPACE NINE, SEASON 5 Deep Space Nine is falling apart and thanks to the war, O'Brien can't exactly ask the Cardassians for spare parts. But he has a plan. Along with Nog and Garak, O'Brien leads an engineering crew to another abandoned Cardassian station to salvage what they can. Only problem is... there's a reason it was abandoned... Possibly the most straight forward horror story in the series, Empok Nor was host to an experiment gone […]
A Fistful of Undercover Operations
Occasionally when exploring the wonders of deep space, our heroes of Trek have been summoned to - or by sheer accident - become another person to fulfil their mission. Whether it's O'Brien mixing with gangsters or Picard becoming a mercenary, Star Trek's filled with episodes where our favourite explorers have to become someone else to save the day.... FACE OF THE ENEMY The Next Generation Season 6 Waking up on the Warbird Khazara, Deanna Troi finds herself in a bit of a pickle. Kidnapped and surgically altered to take the place of a Tal Shiar Commander she finds herself led by her handler, N'Vek, to lead a secret mission after the Commander had been killed. Out of her comfort zone, Troi has to convince the crew she's the real deal despite the ships skipper knowing something's not quite right.... In […]
A Fistful of Down To Earth Adventures
Warping through the stars always searching for the next adventure, it's rare that Star Trek ever comes home to Earth. Through all the series, and highlighted in Enterprise, the third rock from our sun is kinda important in the grand scheme of things but our eyes are always far beyond the stars. So for no particular reason at all - certainly not any recent new series launching - we're taking a look at Trek's more Earthbound moments.... Homefront/Paradise Lost Deep Space Nine Season 4 The Founders said they were everywhere. Now we know they're on Earth. Recordings revealed a founder during the bombing of a Federation meeting on the home-world and Sisko is recalled. His knowledge and experience with the Dominion is vital to securing Earth against the inevitable war. But while the Dominion may be the enemy, they aren't […]
A Fistful of ‘Spirk’
We've been spoiled with Spock in the past few years with Discovery introducing a younger iteration of the character long before he became the refined man of logic that made him famous, and continued that story through Strange New Worlds and his time under Captain Pike's command. As Strange New Worlds continues, giving more history to the original series line up and the early meetings of Spock and Kirk as it makes way for the beginning of the Kirk era, we thought we'd look back at some moments that made the partnership one of the most popular combinations in science fiction. JOURNEY TO BABEL TOS Season 2 Spock's got a bit of an issue with sharing. Secret brother who was shunned. Secret sister who's fate was classified. And despite trusting the Enterprise crew with his life, it was clearly only […]
A Fistful of O’Brien
Entering the Star Trek world as an unnamed extra with a few bits of dialogue, O'Brien soon became a fixture on the Enterprise D as it's transporter chief before moving to Deep Space Nine to head up engineering and operations on what was thought to be a backwater outpost before it became one of the most strategically important stations in the quadrant!As the only enlisted or non commissioned officer to feature in the main cast of any Star Trek show to date, O'Brien stands as the only working class hero in the Star Trek universe with a vast and varied career taking from the front lines of the Cardassian war as a soldier, to the front lines of the Dominion War as an engineer, retrofitting DS9, keeping the Defiant from blowing itself apart, and even sniping Dominion troops. All in […]
