I remember my suspension of disbelief being challenged in Star Trek TNG (my favorite) when they started using my Dansk cutlery and also my crystal highball glasses! What are the odds?
Commercially available chairs in Star Trek
81–90 of 218 posts
Re: Commercially available chairs in Star Trek
#82One thing I really love about Strange New Worlds is that they finally realized that fans love the beautiful, comfortable looking ships of the earlier series.
For a solid decade it was like all Star Trek ships felt like some "alternate timeline" from Next Generation in which the Federation is an endless war, and the ships are all dim and militaristic.
A huge part of the show was about exploration. And doing it in style. I love that about Strange New Worlds. It has captured a lot of great elements — another notable mention being the more episodic nature, and a return to more diplomatic narratives.
Re: Commercially available chairs in Star Trek
#83McCoy’s instruments were a salt and pepper shaker taken from the cafeteria.
Re: Commercially available chairs in Star Trek
#84Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Chair is a timeless classic and it could very plausibly be in a future Earth home, as could any Mies van der Rohe design. It'd be worth a small fortune in that condition. The Emeco Navy Chair is another one that could plausibly appear in a future Earth setting. Putting the Goodform Model 2123 in the offices of the alternate future/past in "Assignment: Earth" is a nice touch.
I have a hard time believing anything from IKEA not have fallen apart in a couple of centuries.
Re: Commercially available chairs in Star Trek
#85As I looked through the shots of the chairs in the episodes, I noticed that the old shows had some wild lighting: sometimes like a Halloween set, sometimes like a task light was just set up on a tripod next to the camera, and sometimes like a cube farm. The new shows all seem to go for web developer's / Twitch streamer's dungeon with no overhead lighting, wall-mounted spotlights, and RGB rim lights everywhere.
Arg! I can't find it now but a while back I read an amazing article discussing the set design on the original series; particularly for the alien planets. From what I recall, their overall assessment was that the set designers used strong color design and bold shapes to compensate for their lack of budget. In that respect, while later entries in the series had much "better" sets, TOS had the strongest aesthetic.
> to compensate for their lack of budget
of the scanlines wink
Re: Commercially available chairs in Star Trek
#86FWIW. This is still the coolest thing I've seen on the web this month.
I agree. One of those gems I wasn't expecting. Thanks again HN. The comments are great too.
Re: Commercially available chairs in Star Trek
#87This is a good book about the influence of midcentury modern design on TOS specifically, including interviews with the production crew and specifics on all the commercial items the authors were able to track down.
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Star-Trek-Designing-t...
Re: Commercially available chairs in Star Trek
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
DS9 had a wardroom, Sisko got promoted there https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Wardroom
Didn't know that. DS9 is the only series in the franchise I was never really able to get in to. I've only seen a handful of episodes.
Together, DS9 and Babylon 5 are rightfully credited with innovating the long form series. What the kids today might call "binge worthy."
Their story arcs were known from the outset. Each (main) character has their own hero's journey and side quests. Both had satisfying endings.
Also, officially, Capt Sisko is the GOAT. With Capt Janeway placing a strong 2nd. Though Capt Pike (Strange New Worlds) is quite promising, but only time will tell.
Whereas Voyager has most of my most favorite episodes, esp wrt Ensign Kim, DS9's characters are legend, esp Quark. I couldn't pick a favorite DS9 character (or story), even on pain of death, because I cherish them all equally.
Re: Commercially available chairs in Star Trek
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd bet a lot of this relies on insider information -- a props supervisor and fan of the site may have gone out of their way to share the detail.
I wondered if that was a part of it, but this particular Lower Decks entry makes me wonder. It seems like an amazing level of consistency between very different forms of production. On the other hand, I suppose there could be a "Chairs of Star Trek" design handbook within the organization. This would be under the "Weird Shit" section.
Lower Decks is made by people who really care about the franchise. Chairs are just one small example, they get all the small things right to obsessive degree.
Re: Commercially available chairs in Star Trek
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
One of the benefits of Hollywood is rental and studio stock. Many of these sets are one-off or occasional, and the furniture would return after the shoot.
I read that one of HBO MAX’s key advantages over Netflix is that WB has a century worth of costumes and props in the archive that are available and catalogued for any new production. Whereas Netflix shows pretty much throw away everything when a shoot is done.
In the old studio days when they were cranking out a lot of films--many of which were probably fairly similar in style (e.g. Westerns)--it probably made more sense. I assume Netflix is mostly just writing checks to independent production companies. There's an overhead to storing and cataloging a bunch of props and I'm guessing there isn't a lot of return for Netflix to do so.