naiman@pegasus.UUCP (09/21/84)
<I can't think anything to put here.> Somebody recently mentioned that the front viewing screen is just a camera or whatever. I agree with that opinion and many episodes back that up. But, there is one or two episodes where the Enterprise is shrunk and Kirk looks into the ship through the viewing screen as though it were a window. One easy answer to this is that Kirk isn't really looking thru the viewing screen, he's just looking at the ship. The shot of his face on the viewing screen is just that, a picture from the bridge and in actuality (actuality !?! about a tv show !!!), Kirk can't really see anything. -- ==> Ephrayim J. Naiman @ AT&T Information Systems Laboratories (201) 576-6259 Paths: [ihnp4, allegra, hogpc, maxvax, cbosgd, lzmi, ...]!pegasus!naiman
cmaz504@ut-ngp.UUCP (Steve Alexander) (09/25/84)
Is it a window or a picture via camera of whatever direction the Captain wants to look? Good question! In one episode (Requiem for Methusela (sp)) The Enterprise is shrunk and everyone aboard frozen in time. Kirk picks it up and looks at his ship. You see his face on the viewing screen THEN you see a shot of the bridge and everyone not moving as if that were what Kirk saw. Sounds like a writing slip.
jerry@oliveb.UUCP (Jerry Aguirre) (09/26/84)
Yes it is a camera/screen. They show rear views and charts on it as
well as video transmissions and recorded messages. On several shows
they even intercept television transmissons and show them.
I got the impression that as well as a viewing screen the enterprise had
a transparent dome over the bridge. In the zoom in shots to the bridge
I can see a transparent dome. This is very apparent in the show where
Spock steals the Enterprise in order to transport his former captain to
a forbiden planet. So Kirk could be looking into a dome/windows in the
ceiling while they are looking out of a camera/screen.
Before anybody flames; I also think it would be stupid to have open
windows. A bright flash might burn out a camera but could blind or kill
thru a window. The dome has got to be weaker than a hull. And finally
what possible use could it be. Does the navigator reach under his seat,
pull out a sextant, and double check the computer?
On the other hand, we already know about useless windows in existing
spacecraft(Re: The Right Stuff). Politicts make strange spacecraft
designs. I will check my specs for cruser class starships, that dome
could be the upper phaser turrent.
Jerry Aguirre
{hplabs|fortune|idi|ihnp4|ios|tolerant|allegra|tymix}!oliveb!jerrybarnett@ut-sally.UUCP (Lewis Barnett) (09/26/84)
[ Phasers, Mr. Sulu... ]
I think it's pretty clear that the front screen *is* for projection from
various sources: in addition to the various communication and "visual
aids" we've seen on it, remember that there is a magnification factor
added to the screen when we're viewing the outside world. (The most
recent episode I've seen with an example of this was "The Corbomite
Maneuver," where Kirk requests that the magnification be decreased so
that he can see all of the Fesarius at once. Further evidence is the
interference encountered in STII when Kirk, et. al. were chasing Khan
around in the nebula. I'm at a loss to explain the dome effect witnessed
in Menagerie, but I do have a couple of points to make about it:
1) It was badly done -- the scale was completely wrong, as
was the viewing angle
2) The scene was really from a pilot episode, so they may not
have worked all of this out yet
3) In addition to 2), this scene was produced by the Talosians,
and while maintaining historical accuracy, maybe their grasp
of the particulars of Earth star ship construction was shaky
In addition to all this, it should be noted that there are real viewports
on the Enterprise, and they're protected by a movable shield for structural
reasons. The only instance I can think of where we see one of these in
action is in "The Mark of Gideon." Kirk opens the viewport so he and
Odona can see what the stars really look like, and instead are greeted
by the crowd pressing against the exterior of the mockup Enterprise.
Lewis Barnett,CS Dept, Painter Hall 3.28, Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX 78712
-- barnett@ut-sally.ARPA, barnett@ut-sally.UUCP,
{ihnp4,seismo,ctvax}!ut-sally!barnettperl@rdin.UUCP (Robert Perlberg) (09/27/84)
<> You're right about the transparent dome being visible in "The Menagerie", but that is the only place it was ever seen. The shot in which the dome was seen was from the "flash-back" scene from the "Cage" pilot. I don't hold anyone responsible for inaccuracies in early episodes, let alone the pilot! If you need any more convincing, look at the communicators that where used in that episode! They look like something from a Radio Shack do-it-yourself kit. (I'll bet they were.) Robert Perlberg Resource Dynamics Inc. New York philabs!rdin!perl
urban@spp2.UUCP (10/01/84)
Obviously, someone changed his mind about the bridge/dome between the time of the first pilot and the regular series. In particular, one of the first episodes, "Corbomite Maneuver", begins with the IDENTICAL establishing footage (Enterprise in space, zoom close to the bridge...) but simply cuts to the interior:bridge shot before the "transparent dome" matte would occur. The original pilot (if I recall the screenings I've seen) also had a particularly corny bit of business as the Enterprise is traveling to Talos IV, in which the theme music plays while you see the people at the helm doing their thing with a star-field superimposed. Since the only complete prints of "Cage" are in B&W, the whole thing feels very 1960-space-cadetish when you watch it now. BTW, KCOP (Ch. 13, LA) is airing nice fresh prints of these early episodes. These episodes used interesting camera angles (overhead shots of people waiting for elevators, moving camera follows behind Kirk onto bridge) that they never bothered with in the later episodes. I guess imagination had to take a back seat to budget as time went on, huh? Mike
boyajian@akov75.DEC (10/02/84)
> From: oliveb!jerry 25-Sep-1984 19:51:30 > Before anybody flames; I also think it would be stupid to have open > windows. Of course it would be stupid to have open windows --- it'd let all that *vaccuum* in! --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Maynard, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA