Works in Progress: Enterprise XCV-330
March 28th, 2009
I’ve recently been working on schematics of the ‘ringship’ Enterprise very briefly glimpsed in The Motion Picture
Enterprise XCV-330
The ringshipEnterprise appeared in The Motion Picture along with a US Navy sailing frigate, the WWII aircraft carrier Enterprise, the Space Shuttle Enterprise and the original starship Enterprise. The ringship was the only new design in the sequence, appearing to depict a predecessor to the TOS Enterprise.
It turned out that the ringship Enterprise was originally created by Matt Jefferies for a new concept for a television series called Starship by Gene Roddenberry. Lincoln Enterprises ran the following advertisement in the 1980s to sell a poster and blueprints of the ship glimpsed in TMP:
Gene Roddenberry’s imagination brings you “Starship”. The vessel of the future as only he could picture it. This could be the forerunner of a new TV series, a Starship operated by an enormous computer which is a lifeform itself. Each human aboard is a genius, a highly trained science specialist, part of a team of Galactic trouble shooters. A brand-new concept in future space travel. We also have three different views of the Metatransit system, side elevations of the systems analysis unit, and the Metaflier section of the Starship. Imagine yourself on a mission in space aboard this luxury cruiser. You’ll be spellbound!
- Full Color poster
- Blueprints (3 different)
These blueprints show the ringship exterior and interior in some detail. The interior ‘blueprints’ appear to actually be outlines for sets for the Starship. They depict the bridge of the ship, called the Command Deck, with a viewscreen and a single computer console dubbed the Omniputer, presumable providing communication with the “enormous computer” described above. The aft of the Command Deck exits onto a circular stairwell, providing access to the top and bottom cylinders. Beyond the stairwell is the Metatransfer Deck, which opens into the spherical module (the Metafier) and long neck leading to the engines. The whole Metatransit System appears to be a kind of virtual environment to remotely explore planets with, sort of a reverse Star Trek transporter. The spherical module is like a precursor to the Next Generation holodeck.
All in all, this provides an interesting glimpse at an idea for a show that appears to have been thought out to some detail, but wich seems to have been lost to obscurity for the most part. The ringship’s appearance in TMP could indicate that the whole concept of the ship as thought out for Starship could have existed in Star Trek’s past. Alternatively, we might choose to just take the outer appearance of the ship at face value, and discard the somewhat high concept idea of the virtual exploration/sentient computer equipped interstellar explorer.
References
- Tyler, Greg. “Spaceship of the Rings.” www.trekplace.com. http://www.trekplace.com/article13.html (accessed March 28, 2009).
1. John N. Ritter said:
I think you will find that it was converted to another show… “Andromeda” For if one looks at that way, then certain concepts become clear.
Don’t ask what I thought of what happened to the writing on the show. You really, really don’t want to know.
2. Harry Doddema said:
Ah.. that’s the show I remember mostly as “it has the guy from Hercules”.
I’ve never seen much of it, but now that you mention it, I do remember that female AI character.
3. John N. Ritter said:
Yes, you have got it.
What I remember was that for the first season, the writing was very high quality. Then it dropped, and coniued to drop, to the sub moron level.
So you didn’t miss much. You didn’t rot your brain too much, so be joyful about that.
What I like to remember is that it was in part a study on man-machine interfaces. Beginning with Star Trek, going to ST:TNG through Voyager, then you had this one series, that completed the development there of.
That is, as time has gone one, authors have become more aware of what is likely and possible, in terms of man-machine interfaces. And how realistic they will be.
No need for Sulu, just tell the computer what you want done, and let her do it in the best way she can find…
4. Vahmp said:
Hi,
Was surfing the net and found your blog.
While brousing here, I found this post.
After reading, I can surely say…
The blueprints you mention above, have not all been lost to obscurity.
When I was younger (before the net era) I bought a Sci-Fi mag (don’t remember the name now), and in it, came 3 posters. 1 of the original painting, 1 blueprint of the exterior of the starship XCV-330 and 1 blueprint of the interior (bridge). I still have the originals from the mag., and have scaned them into my computer.
I also have posted them up, in my PhotoBucket, for anyone that wants a copy (not full size).
Here’s the link:
http://s829.photobucket.com/albums/zz212/Vahmp/Blueprints/
Anyone wanting the full size images, just e-mail me direct at lord_vahmp@yahoo.com
And pass them on to the next person….
Hopefully by passing them on, the ships diagrams/blueprints will return from obscurity.
Have a good one.
Laterz….
Vahmp
5. Vahmp said:
OH! Any By The Way!
Stan Goldstein & Fred Goldstein of Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology (Pocket Books, 1980), were completely WRONG about the Ship being a StarLiner. It was an Explorer Ship.
And were also wrong about Ship’s Complement being;
Crew and Service Personnel: 100
Passenger Capacity: 850
Standard Ship’s Complement: 950
The ship could NOT hold all those people.
6. Vahmp said:
OUPS!
I ment to say “Science/Explorer Vessel”.
Sorry bout that.
7. Krysten Ascol said:
I am a big fan of your website and I check it regularly. Keep up the good work!
8. Warp Feilder said:
I believe this vessil should not have warp drive. Instead, an instealler vessil that carries passengers to far away planets. This would have to take place sometime before the NX Enterprise was launched.