posted
I bought the dvd version of Star Trek IV tonight. I noted several items of interest.
USS Saratoga This ship's registry is visible. It is NCC-1867. (I am wrong in believing the registry was NCC-1937. Now, where did the registry NCC-1937 come from?)
Unnamed Miranda Class starship I believe this is the USS Shepard. According to the chronology of the probe's journey, two Federation starships-USS Saratoga and USS Yorktown-were disabled before the probe made entry into the Terran solar system. No other starship is mentioned as having been disabled outside the Terran solar system. The probe enters the system and disrupts the space dock and the ships inside. The ships inside are the USS Excelsior and the unnamed Miranda Class starship. This starship has a registry-seen as only a blurry line on the port nacelle. This is a working starship. Therefore, based on the evidence available at hand, I believe this ship to be the USS Shepard.
USS Copernicus NCC-621 This is an interesting case. When the Oberth class starship is shown, the port side is visible with the registry faded out by a bright light. This is understandable if you remember "The Naked Now". The registry on that ship is not NCC-53911, rather it is NCC-638-the USS Grissom's registry. Where did Mr. Okuda get the USS Copernicus?
Number of Constitutions in Space Dock At the time of ST IV, there were four starship models-Constitution, Excelsior, Miranda, and Oberth. I make this point because the placement of nacelles and pylons was unique to each class. In the same scene where the Oberth Class ship is seen, tp 5 and os 7 are seen flying over the forward section of a nacelle. If these two vehicles flew between the saucer and the nacelle of a Miranda, they would be bathed in shadows. They are not. Further, from the tp viewpoint, we see yet another Constitution style nacelle with the pylon barely visible. I believe that we see the port nacelle of Constitution 1 and the starboard nacelle of Constitution 2. Interestingly, there is no registry on Constitution 2. Is this a newly built ship? Then there is the USS Enterprise. This makes a total of three Constitutions in the same area.
------------------
takeoffs are optional; landings are mandatory
[This message has been edited by targetemployee (edited February 04, 2000).]
posted
Where does USS Shepard come from, originally? Is the name something heard in the comm chatter of either Spacedock or the SF HQ crisis room? Why are we assuming it must be visible in the movie?
And even though only the models for Constitution and Miranda existed at the time, that IMHO isn't sufficient reason to rule out something like Belknap as the owner of one or two of those LN-64s... Come to think of it, if this is the nacelle from a Federation or an Ascension, perhaps the nacelle rego is in the middle nacelle, leaving the port and stbd ones empty?
Also: how many Excelsiors in Spacedock? I have heard it argued that only one ship cannot account for all the views we have of Excelsiors, especially if the ships are supposed to be powerless and immobile. Does the DVD provide a clear view of NCC-2000 in each of the shots, ruling out multiple Excelsiors?
Finally: does the E-A okudagram (just left of the right-hand turbolift door from the camera's POV as the crew mans the bridge of their new ship) really read "transwarp", as "Mr Scott's Guide" would imply?
posted
The two views of the Excelsior Class model show the registry to be NX-2000.
USS Shepard comes from the script. However, some of the communications officer's dialogue can be heard. It may be possible that she identified the ship.
Would ILM build Belknap class models for the ST IV movie? I don't know, though I doubt it.
Transwarp-The displays are not visible. ------------------
takeoffs are optional; landings are mandatory
[This message has been edited by targetemployee (edited February 04, 2000).]
posted
What Timo is suggesting is that, since we only see the nacelles, those ships could be anything. Obviously, the model that was actually used was the Constitution. However, since none of the rest can be seen, he doesn't want to just assume that the "real" ship was a Constitution.
------------------ Col. Maybourne: "Teal'c... It's good to see you well." Teal'c: "In my culture, I would be well within my rights to dismember you." -Stargate SG-1: "Touchstone"
Come to think of it, if this is the nacelle from a Federation or an Ascension, perhaps the nacelle rego is in the middle nacelle, leaving the port and stbd ones empty?
Printer-friendly view of this topic
