Flare Sci-Fi Forums: On the Reitrement of A Treknology Legend

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Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :

A sad day for us all - Rick Sternbach posted this on his technology forum today. Read on...

Mark

***

Just to make it all highly official:

Yesterday, Monday, April 9, 2001, was my last workday on Star Trek Voyager. I
have left my recollections on PDE's startrek.com website, and will now pursue
other projects. I have not been picked up by Series V and don't expect to be
asked over, though I will certainly listen to offers for either the series or
feature, depending on the outcome of the strike situation and my availability.
There have been no creative differences, no pat on the back, no animosity, no
real contact of any kind. Series V is staffed. I'm crossing my fingers that
they'll be able to finish the pilot on time.

I will drop into the forum on occasion, but I can't promise to be able to take
part in the ongoing discussions; I have been busy wrapping up on Voyager and
haven't had the time lately in any case. If PDE decides to shut down the group,
all I can say is that it was intelligent fun, and the best of luck to all of
you. I will continue to carry my personal concept of Star Trek with me, even if
I am no longer part of the production team.

Feel free to stop by my new website (see below); I should have some
long-promised Trek modeling data up before too long.

Thanks for the interaction, and bye for now,

Rick
--
Rick Sternbach
Fellow, IAAA

Senior Illustrator Emeritus "We've been doing so much
Star Trek The Next Generation for so long with so little,
Star Trek Deep Space Nine we're now qualified to do
Star Trek Voyager anything with nothing!"

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"Why build one, when you can have two at twice the price?"

- Carl Sagan, "Contact"

Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :

*bows head and removes hat*

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"I can be creative when I have a good idea. That just happens way too rarely."
-Omega, April 6

[This message has been edited by The_Tom (edited April 11, 2001).]

Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :

Those bastards, they bumped of Richy!

Sternbach was one of the best for Trek... Eaves' designs suck-diddly-uck.

Where is his web page then?

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Homer: I'm gonna miss Springfield. This town's been awfully good to us.
Bart: No, it hasn't, Dad. That's why we're leaving.
Homer: Oh, yeah. [pokes his head out the window] So long, Stinktown!

Posted by Peregrinus (Member # 504) on :

At the risk of repeating myself... If anyone can and will kill off Star Trek, it's Berman and Braga.

--Jonah

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"It's obvious I'm dealing with a moron..."

--Col. Edwards, ROBOTECH

Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :

They already did. It's called "Voyager."

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Star Trek Gamma Quadrant
Average Rated 8.32 out of 10 Smileys by Fabrux (with seven eps posted)
***
"Oh, yes, screw logic, let's go for a theory with no evidence!"
-Omega 11:48am, Jan. 19th, 2001

Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :

Jesus H. Christ!

We hear that there's a new series coming up, and everyone howls and says that they can't just slap together the same old-same old or else it'll mean the death of the franchise.

So, here we have an example of the show being refreshed, and room being made for new faces. And what happens? It becomes a drub Berman-and-Braga fest.

I'm so sick of this. Do we need to go through this all over again, and point out that Berman was the driving force behind some of Trek's best work?

Yes, Braga's an up-and-down writer. Yes, he wrote Threshold. But some of the other stuff he did was maniacally good. What I hate is the fact that Ronald D. Moore gets the credit as being the "good guy" in the writing partnership and Braga's the "bad guy." Moore gave us "Let he who is without sin..." for crying out loud! Yes, Braga made some alleged comments during the development of First Contact that raised some hackles about his attitudes towards continuity. Yes, the entire mess with Moore on Voyager was incredibly odd and could point to Braga being an asshole. But honestly, how much of the criticism thrown his way is legitimate, how much is just making him into the straw man for all the faults in modern Trek, and how much is jealously by horny fanboys about his girlfriend?

Why does RDM get kudos and Braga get shat upon? Because the former relates well to hardcore fans; he chatted them up on AOL for years and became something a of a fellow geek figure everyone wanted to hang around with. All anyone thinks when they think of Braga is giant salamanders, "maybe Zefram Cochrane can be Picard's love interest" and these weirdass stories supposedly coming out of Paramount that he sexually harasses people. It's unfair that Braga's work gets judged with such an innate bias, no?

I loved Rick Sternbach's work, too. I loved it a lot. But Rick's alao pretty charismatic figure, one who the hardcore fanbase can relate to and communicate with. Funny how the same degree of respect isn't out there for Doug Drexler or John Eaves. Does that mean their work isn't as good? Of course I'll miss Rick. Does it mean that series V is gonna suck because someone we all consider "our buddy" isn't on board? No.

Berman has as much as confirmed that the new series takes place in a different time period. Sternbach would have had to pretty much toss out his previous "look" and start with a blank slate anyway. Perhaps bringing in a fresh face will help ensure that things are sufficiently fresh and cool.

Finally, I'll point out that no TV illustrator has had the time to illustrate the films concurrently as hold a job with the series. If Eaves is busy doing series V, then Trek X should require someone else. Now, aside from wild theories that Sternbach switched the offices over to decaf without telling anyone, why wouldn't they take him back if they had a vacancy for the film? It'll require a look consistent with Sternbach's stomping-ground of the TNG-era 24th century, after all, and as per John Logan, there's a whole pile of cool stuff in the script that would make excellent models and action figures that he can't wait to get his hands on. Who better than Rick to do that?
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"I can be creative when I have a good idea. That just happens way too rarely."
-Omega, April 6

[This message has been edited by The_Tom (edited April 11, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by The_Tom (edited April 12, 2001).]

Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :

I'm with Tom.

Though that might be because I've never seen "Threshold."

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"Excuse me, Mr. Rampaging Killer? Why don't you put down the gun and take a look at this hand-held monkey? Does it not have clever little forepaws? It eats gum and sap!"
--
L. Fitzgerald Sj�berg
****
Read three (three!) chapters of "Dirk Tungsten in...The Disappearing Planet" and something pleasent will happen to you. Possibly involving syrup.

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

You should. It's horrid. Everyone should see it, just so they know how bad things can really get...

I think Braga can be a very good writer. But I don't think he should have been put in charge of anything. He's alright for stories, as long as someone keeps him in check when he tries to change characters' genders and such.

And Series V won't necessarily suck w/o Sternbach. But he still doesn't deserve to simply be left by the wayside like that. The point is that the "hardcore" fans want someone who's willing to relate to them. People like Sternbach and Okuda who actually enjoy their work and appreciate their fans to the point that they take their own time to talk to those fans, or do extra work on projects like the encyclopedias, technical manuals, &c. It's not that the loss of Sternbach will ruin the show. It's that we'll have lost that extra connection to it.

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"Although, from what I understand, having travelled around the Mid-west quite a bit, apparently Jesus is coming, so I guess the choice now is we should decide whether we should spit or swallow."
-Maynard James Keenan

Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :

Tim: Well, Okuda's on board for Series V. And who's to say Eaves or a new guy can't also forge that sort of relationship with the hardcore corps?

And, yes, I agree that viewing "Threshold" is a prerequisite of any criticism of Braga, be the conclusion positive or negaive. It's bad. It's very bad. And this is coming from someone who thought Spock's Brain was kinda cool...

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"I can be creative when I have a good idea. That just happens way too rarely."
-Omega, April 6

Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :

It did feature fur bikinis, and those can go a long way.

Posted by Mikey T (Member # 144) on :

Which episode, Spock's Brain or Threshold?

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"When I said to get involved in the gay community, I didn't mean to sleep with everyone in it."
Michael_T

Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :

Well, "Threshold," obviously, hence Simon's pun about going a long way - indeed, if you were to go warp 10 in a fur bikini, and then occupied all points in the universe simultaneously, then it could be said that the very universe is a fur bikini! And therefore, we're all in a fur bikini, even Frank. 8)

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"It strikes me that there are enough episodes of the Simpsons that people could speak entirely in Simpsonese, using references from the show to explain or describe an endless series of situations. Nelson and Apu . . . at Tinagra.

But now I�ve brought Star Trek into it again, haven�t I. Sorry."

- James Lileks, 09/04/2001

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Yes, Okuda's there, so we'll still have some connection. But we'll still have lost something.

And still, Sternbach is cool, knows his job, and has been there for a long time... He doesn't deserve to just get slighted like that.

Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :

Whoooah there Mr. Nix...

Don't get me wrong, I am in no means slighting off ol' Rick. He'll be sorely missed. But let's not link the loss of a senior member of the illustration team as further reason to believe that Berman and Braga are running the show into the ground. I mean, who was howling when they found out that Deep Space Nine was going ahead and Andrew Probert wouldn't contribute to the designs? Oh the horror, the horror...

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"I can be creative when I have a good idea. That just happens way too rarely."
-Omega, April 6

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

I didn't mean you were slighting him. I meant TPTB are.

Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :

Ah... misread.

Still, I don't see how the fan community can on the one hand clamour for a fresh team putting together a fresh Trek, and then turn around and say "Well, put together a new team, but keep him, and him, and him, too..." because that's what's happening here. If the fans want a fresh series, that should come with the expectation that some well-known and well-loved faces won't be back.

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"I can be creative when I have a good idea. That just happens way too rarely."
-Omega, April 6

Posted by Peregrinus (Member # 504) on :

Who's been clamouring for new blood? Certainly not I! Herman Zimmerman is cool, but I canNOT get comfortable with Eaves' style.

I'm Probert and Sternbach all the way.

--Jonah

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"It's obvious I'm dealing with a moron..."

--Col. Edwards, ROBOTECH

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

I don't want new people to replace the good ones that are already there. The only people I want replaced are the ones who screw everything up (*cough*Braga*cough*). :-)

Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :

Whether Braga is the antichrist or not is debatable,as I'm sure Simon will point out.

The problem is, the fan community is getting all stipulative all-of-a-sudden as to who deserves to stay and who deserves to go. And to be blunt, that opinion may be many things, but it sure as hell isn't enlightened.

How the hell are we supposed to know who will positively contribute to the show and who won't?

The franchise isn't a democracy. When TPTB wanted to kill Spock, they didn't go to the conventions and do a straw poll, did they? What the fans think isn't what's best for the franchise. I think Rick would be the first to agree that TPTB want to shake things up, and that the fanbase wants to shake things up.

It's not like Sternbach was dragged out into an alley and shot...

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"I can be creative when I have a good idea. That just happens way too rarely."
-Omega, April 6

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Like I said, Braga can be a great writer, but he's a lousy producer.

Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :

Prove it.

But seriously, the Braga era of Voyager seems to be the one wherein most of the fan-favorite episodes can be found. This seems a curious coincidence, to say the least.

(Of course, I say this with only the vaguest of notions as to when Braga's tenure began, and which episodes are "fan-favorites," so I would open to corrections should any prove forthcoming.)

Posted by Peregrinus (Member # 504) on :

"The Meld" is my favorite so far. Long before Braga, thank you...

--Jonah

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"It's obvious I'm dealing with a moron..."

--Col. Edwards, ROBOTECH

Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :

Season 1 on Voyager was VERY strong

Caretaker
Time and Again
Prime Factors
Jetrel
Faces
Heroes and Demons
Phage
Eye of the Needle
State Of Flux
Projections
and
The 37ers - a fitting end to the first year... it doesn't make sense when watching it as part of season 2... quite silly.

Posted by Peregrinus (Member # 504) on :

I just wish they'd kept the landing capacity a secret. Leave the nacelles in the "up" position throughout the first season, then have them decide to land in "The 37s" and bammo! part of blue alert is the nacelles dropping to horizontal.

But unfortunately, the impulse engines are on the movable part of the pylons, and need to be in the "down" position in order to thrust along the ship's centre of mass...

--Jonah

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"It's obvious I'm dealing with a moron..."

--Col. Edwards, ROBOTECH

Posted by Treknophyle (Member # 509) on :

Sorry to be such a techo-novice...

Can anyone give me a quick synopsis of which designer created which ships? I have no idea which look is who's... (although I think I remember that Zimmerman created the E-e (coolest-looking ship in the Quadrant)

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Faster than light - no left or right.

Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :

Um, I'll try as best I can...

Ent-nil - Jeffries
Ent-refit - Richard Taylor/Andrew Probert
Excelsior - ?
Klingon BoP - ?
Ent-D - Probert
Ferengi Marauder - Probert
Rom. Warbird - Probert
Vor'cha - Sternbach
Nebula - ugh. Meninger or Jein or someone but Sternbach may have contributed.
Galor - Sternbach?
Type V Shuttle - Sternbach?
Deep Space Nine - Mainly Sternbach, w/some help from Zimmerman and Okuda
Runabout - Sternbach
Miradorn Raider - Delgado
Negh'Var - Sterbach?
Olympic - Jein? Meninger?
Jem'Hadar Bug - ?
Ent B - Eaves
Voyager - Sternbach
Voyager's shuttles - Sternbach
Jem'Hadar Cruiser - ?
Ent-E - Eaves & Zimmerman
Phoenix - Eaves
Prometheus - Sternbach
Dauntless - Sternbach
Son'a ships - Eaves
Cardassian repair station - Eaves?
Equinox - Sternbach

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"I can be creative when I have a good idea. That just happens way too rarely."
-Omega, April 6

[This message has been edited by The_Tom (edited April 17, 2001).]

Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :

Weren't the Excelsior and the BOP done by Nilo Rhodis ??SP?? I remember the name from "The Art of Star Trek" and it's a... different name at that.

While we are on the topic of tech guys... I had forgotten about - until flipping through the Encyclopaedia, does Richard James (who essentially took over from Herman Zimmerman) still do Trek?

Posted by Dat (Member # 302) on :

Didn't Nilo Rodis also do the Oberth as well?

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[Bart's looking for his dog.]
Groundskeeper Willy: Yeah, I bought your mutt - and I 'ate 'im! [Bart gasps.] I 'ate 'is little face, I 'ate 'is guts, and I 'ate the way 'e's always barkin'! So I gave 'im to the church.
Bart: Ohhh, I see... you HATE him, so you gave him to the church.
Groundskeeper Willy: Aye. I also 'ate the mess he left on me rug. [Bart stares.] Ya heard me!

Posted by Spike (Member # 322) on :

Oberth - David Carson
Excelsior - Bill George
Klingon BoP - Nilo Rodis
Ent-D - Probert
Ferengi Marauder - Probert
Rom. Warbird - Probert
Vor'cha - Sternbach
Nebula - Miarecki, Sternbach, Okuda. Built by Jein.
Galor - Sternbach. Built by Miarecki.
Olympic - Bill George

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"Second star to the right, and then straight on till morning."

Posted by Treknophyle (Member # 509) on :

Thanks. Okay, yes, I will miss Sternbach's work.
BTW, who designed Relativity (arguably the best-looking ship we've ever seen)?

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Faster than light - no left or right.

Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :

I thought Richard James still does Voyager?

And you've missed the Defiant off of that list. Which, IIRC, was designed by Eaves, based largely on some ship sketches Sternbach had done during season 2 of DS9.

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You know, when Comedy Central asked us to do a Thanksgiving episode, the first thought that went through my mind was, "Boy, I'd like to have sex with Jennifer Aniston."
-Trey Parker, co-creator of South Park

Posted by Evolved (Member # 389) on :

Actually, concept artist Jim Martin was given the job of designing the USS Defiant. He based it on a design he orginally made for Sisko's raider in 'Crossover'.

Link to Article

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Ace

"Objects in mirror are closer than they appear."