#10: The Galaxy Class

The Galaxy Class is the big mama of all the Federation’s ships.  Large, powerful, basically a battleship.  With children used as ballast.  I can understand wanting to take a ship that’s going to be used for long-term exploration and putting families aboard, but personally, ask anyone who actually serves in the military if they’d want their families traveling along on dangerous missions where the ship may be destroyed.  1000 people aboard, most of them civilians, on a ship that may be built for exploration but can be deployed for war.  Sure, the civilians may be off-loaded during especially dangerous missions, but what about situations likeBest of Both Worlds, where there was no time to off-load the civilians?  The design is cool and I like the aesthetic, just not the idea that civilians are sitting around waiting to die.

#9:The Defiant Class

It was SF Debris who described the Defiant as “Ben Sisko’s Motherfuckin Pimp Hand”, and the name is pretty much sums up the Defiant to a T.  Sisko used his 2 years at the Utopia Planetia to design a gun with engines, used to fight the Borg.  It’s small, cheap to build, and a mean little bastard in a fight.  Plus, unlike the Galaxy, it’s a ship that’s built strictly for war, meaning there’s no elaborate science suite aboard, no laboratories, no families.  Just a crew who are there to fight.  Too bad her only on-screen appearance fighting Borg showed her getting owned… damnit Worf!

#8: The Constellation Class

TheConstellationcan be summed up by two words: Four Nacelles.  I don’t know if it’s the concept of More Engines = Faster Speed or what, but it’s nice to see a bit of divergence from the standard two nacelle design.  It seems kind of awkward compared to some of the other ships, but I guess it’s just because we’re so used to the standard two nacelles that anything else just seems kinda silly.  Damn you Pavlov!

#7: The Miranda Class

I remember first seeing the Relianton screen during Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and it always struck me how different it appears to the Enterprise in the same movie.  Both were built by the same people with a similar layout, yet they look very different.  TheMiranda looks boxy, small, compact.  Like at any moment it’s going to get into a boxing match with anything that comes its way.  Plus, the fact that it can go toe to toe with a much larger ship like theEnterprise hints that maybe there’s a reason it looks the way it does.  I can see now why everyone just sort of accepted that it was a destroyer.

#6: The Kelvin

I’m not sure if the Kelvinis the name of her class or not, but the design looks interesting none the less.  The traditional saucer mounted above a single engineering hull, just like the Enterprise, but with a smaller one mounted above as well.  The design was our first introduction to the more industrial, working-class starships of JJ Abram’s Star Trek, and it did a hell of a job.  Especially considering it held off the Naradafor a few solid minutes.

#5: The Constitution Class (Refit)

While I wasn’t a big fan of the originalEnterprise, the first time I saw the ship in, again, Wrath of Khan, I was impressed.  It actually looked like a functional starship that they would fly around and explore the galaxy with, while also possessing clear weapon ports to show that yes, this ship means business.  Considering the ship was meant to be the workhorse of Starfleet for the better part of a century, it’s clear why the image would leave a lasting impression on how starships were built well into the next century.

#4: The Nova Class

If theSovereignclass and theIntrepidclass ever got fused together and shrunk, it would definitely produce theNova.  Small, neat and compact, the Nova shows off the new design of a more angled, triangular prow with the elongated nacelles that were becoming common as well.  The result was a tiny ship that seems to be built mainly for scouting, since that’s the only thing we see her doing while on screen.  Which is fine with me, considering it’s a nice little ship that doesn’t look like it’d hold up much against a big baddie, but could scurry in, look around, and bug out before anyone was wiser.

#3: The Sovereign Class

First sweeping into view in Star Trek: First Contact, the Sovereign is a wonderful looking ship that actually appears to be a warship, something that hasn’t really been seen on Star Trek before.  Her sleek lines and elegance made her look beautiful, and then we saw her in a fight against the Borg.  She took whatever the Borg threw at her and returned it in spades, telling the Borg to piss off back to the Delta Quadrant.  Ah if only that had worked.

#2: The Excelsior Class

I was never a big fan of theExcelsiorin Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, so it came as quite a surprise when she reappeared in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.  Sure, it was the same model, but the change in command coupled with the difference in shots made all the difference.  I’m always a fan of the original though, since ILM sullied the original model with those ugly flaps to make Star Trek: Generations.  Damn you ILM!

#1: The Abram’s Enterprise

When I first saw this ship… I was blown away.  It seemed like there was absolutely nothing, and I mean nothing, that could ruin it.  Soft, rounded edges, big bulky engines, it all just seemed so graceful and elegant, especially after we saw theKelvinearlier.  Again, it goes back to the wholeReliant/Enterprisething earlier.  Same people making the same ships, yet one is vastly more beautiful than the other.  Regardless, I’ll take what I can get, so I’m happy to say the Abram’sEnterprisegets to be the best.

Please send all hate mail to Idontcare@gmail.com

I remember the concept art coming out for Star Trek Online, and I was really excited.  Like, super excited.  Starships had gotten stale over the years because no one wanted to deviate too wildly from what had already come out, and so no one did.  They just sort of shrugged their shoulders and said, “Meh, make it look like this ship and this other ship had a baby ship.”

The concept art suggested that while much of the feel of Star Trek’s design would be coming back, it would have a more modern appearance.  Smooth lines and graceful curves would start to take a back seat to more practical usage dictated by the needs of the ship versus the beautiful lines that had defined the ships of the Next Generation.  It almost felt like a throwback to the original series, with sharp lines and utilitarian workings.

Of course, then in the game they don’t look near as nice as the sleek lines on some of the traditional hull components, so I wind up going with classic ship design anyway :P

… Damn you Isambard for linking me to this.

I watch a lot of Star Trek.  Too much, in fact, to watch the progression of Vulcans from the level-headed, logical creatures of the original series become the calculating dicks of modern Star Trek in Enterprise.  And I don’t really know why that happened except for Rick Berman so I’m going to just associate it with him and get it out of my system.

Vulcans, most notably Mr. Spock, always held a unique position aboard the Enterprise.  They were the perfectly logical creatures that suppressed their emotions, but it gave a nice contrast to the other characters, notably Kirk and McCoy.  Spock would be the one to always have the answers and the theories that countered Kirk’s headlong leap into fist-fights and McCoy’s emotional conservatism.

However, there’s a noticeable difference in the attitude of Vulcans later on, showing a more supremist attitude than before.  There’s an episode of Deep Space Nine where a Vulcan captain arrives on the station hoping to continue a rivalry with Captain Sisko that has persisted since they were both in the Academy.  A being of logic should, in theory, not feel the need to show that he is physically superior to another being, especially since the fact has been proven time and again.  That is petty and only makes the character look like a complete ass.

In Enterprise, T’Pol constantly tries to demonstrate the superiority of Vulcans to Humans, commenting that Humans are not ready to venture to the stars and that it was a mistake to try and assist them in recovering from WWIII.  The attitude on display is that they aren’t perfectly logical, just that they use logic to justify their attempts at petty one-up-man-ship.  Yes, it’s natural that every civilization has groups that feel they’re superior to the others, since you can spot these kinds of people even on our own planet today, though usually they wear white hoods and capes instead of pointy ears.

I want to see Vulcans return to being the counter-point to the emotions of Humans.  I would love to see them become less petty and more about demonstrating that restraint is sometimes the key to the solution, while still understanding that while Humans have flaws, it’s better for them to have these flaws and have someone ready to rein them in rather than having a match to see who can be the more colossal ass.

One day, maybe I’ll have followers like this.

Is it wrong to point out she appears to be getting off on this?  Or are bras one of the things women lost in WWIII?

Either Spock is the new Dracula or he beat the hell out of him and stole his cloak.  Either way, awesomeness.

I lied

Ok ok I promise I won’t put anymore Star Trek pics up but this one was just too good.