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The older these refits get, the newer they look.
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00:00We are going to be diving in to one of the biggest legacy name ships, depending on who you ask,
00:06written by the wonderful, the stunning, the outstanding, the frankly, like, crazy attention
00:13to detail person, Paul Sutherland. Not to be confused with T. Paul Sutherland. Before we go on,
00:19remember everyone, thank you so much for your support. Please don't forget to like and share
00:23and subscribe. We hit 250,000 subscribers because of how amazing you all are. So thank you
00:29so much. So let's just go for something really nice and achievable this year. 10 million? With so
00:36much of the first season of Star Trek Picard kind of spent on a smaller scale in terms of ships,
00:43it was really, really wonderful to see the USS Stargazer appear in the second season for two
00:50episodes. But regardless of how little screen time that she got in the second season, there was so
00:56much care and development that went in to putting together this hero ship because that's exactly
01:02what the Stargazer is in the second season of Picard. Wait until you see some of the things that
01:08went into putting this together. So without much further ado, let us take a deep dive into the
01:15command of Captain Cristobal Rios and 10 secrets about the USS Stargazer you need to know.
01:22Number 10, the pressure of legacy. The design of the USS Stargazer brought together a few old names
01:29from Star Trek along with a few of the newer ones. The team was headed by production designer Dave Blass
01:34and saw the return of John Eves and Doug Drexler and also Sean Hargreaves who designed the Enterprise
01:40A in Star Trek Beyond, Jeffrey Mandel who was part of the design team of Star Trek Insurrection
01:46and of course Michael Okuda. The team was tasked with designing a ship that would be both new for
01:53the 25th century era of Star Trek Picard but also evocative of the original design by Andy Probert
02:01and John Dwyer. According to production designer Dave Blass, we needed to update the classic USS Stargazer
02:06design that was seen briefly in the TV series Star Trek The Next Generation and update the design
02:11of a Starfleet starship into a new century. How would we update the technology to work for modern
02:16audiences while also staying true to the original next generation feel? Despite this new Stargazer's
02:22fidelity to Captain Picard's original command first seen in the battle, this creature was very much its
02:28own thing. Now it was both evocative of that original Constellation class but also a new design of a
02:35TOS era radiant class USS Stargazer that was designed by fan model maker Bill Krause. Number nine, a command
02:44with baggage. In the show Picard says that this Stargazer is a refit of his original Stargazer and
02:52you might look at the design and be like ah no these are a little bit too different but according to
02:58showrunner Terry Metallus that is actually true. Like the TMP Enterprise it's a massively updated
03:05refit he said. I like to think of it as the story of the broom. If one day you replace the handle and
03:10another day the brush is it still the same broom? We thought of it as a vessel endlessly repaired and
03:15upgraded brought in line with current future tech so that somewhere underneath all the lights and polish
03:21are the bones of Picard's original ship. Does it make sense? I don't know but I sure like the spirit of it.
03:26Whether it makes sense or not the producer still felt that the Stargazer was a minor vessel in the
03:33pantheon of Starfleet names. Dave Blass had this to say about the ship's registry. I dropped the hammer
03:40on this one. The Stargazer is an important ship but it does not hold the same status in the Federation
03:45that the Enterprise had. I didn't feel it was warranted. Because then every ship gets it and it
03:50becomes a thing. The Stargazer didn't have that legacy. Therefore there was no A at the end of the
03:58registry. Number eight. What does a starship need with a carpet? The interiors of the Stargazer were
04:04designed by Dave Blass and Sean Hargreaves who as previously mentioned designed the Enterprise A
04:08for Star Trek Beyond. Constructed at Santa Clarita Studios in Santa Clarita California there was a main
04:14bridge built along with a corridor set and an observation lounge set. According to Dave Blass
04:19the bridge was constructed 10 feet wider than the Enterprise E bridge so that they could take
04:25advantage of the new widescreen format that Star Trek Picard was going to be shown in. Designed to
04:29evoke Herman Zimmerman's Star Trek The Next Generation sets which carried over into the movies as well
04:34there is one thing that is missing from the Stargazer. Ample carpeting. According to Sean Hargreaves
04:43there's been discussion on some of the online threads about whether there should have been
04:46carpet. I disagree wholeheartedly. This isn't a cruise ship nor living room. When it gets down to
04:52carpet, no carpet, how shiny the floors are etc. it's missing the point. Number seven. Observation
04:58lounge observations. It sounds very strange to say the word observations without a certain word in front of
05:04episode. Accomplished fan model maker Bill Krauss was tasked with creating practical models of the
05:18Sagan class USS Stargazer as well as the Constellation class USS Stargazer seen in the next generation. He
05:25was also tasked with creating a TOS era version of the Stargazer and all three of these models were used
05:32a set dressing in the observation lounge of this modern Stargazer. Other elements that were used
05:38as well were the original plaque from the episode of the battle and of course a model of Captain
05:44Rios's original ship La Sirena. According to production designer Dave Blass the lounge set was
05:50a technological achievement in itself and featured a real view outside the windows. Custom conference
05:55table featured a gigantic integrated OLED screen as well as integrated lighting. The chairs were custom
06:01designed to harken back to the Enterprise E version of the chairs. The highlight of the set is the
06:06panoramic view out the back of the ship with giant windows showcasing the aft of the Stargazer.
06:11Number six. Because callbacks. According to set designer Sean Hargreaves the Stargazer was a group effort
06:17but the overall look was accomplished by John Eves and Doug Drexler. As they say it takes a village.
06:23I just want everyone to get credit where credit is due. It's only fair. If you like the exterior of the
06:28Stargazer that's John Eves through and through with Doug finessing. Known for creating exhaustively
06:33detailed starships like the NXO-1 for Enterprise Drexler included things like phaser strips,
06:39transporter emitters, tractor beam emitters and including a shuttle bay as well between the two
06:45dorsal nacelle struts at the back of the Stargazer. The Stargazer also possessed two
06:50Warpfield Governors located on the dorsal side of the saucer section starboard and port. Not sure
06:57what a Warpfield Governor is? Well there's a long and detailed explanation for it but basically it's
07:02an easter egg. The TOS movie era ships always contain these. If you think of it both the Reliant
07:08and the TMP Enterprise had them at the rear of the saucer section. So basically it's just a nice
07:16nod to previous designs. Number five, Stylegazer. Alright this one's not technically about the ship
07:22itself but go with us here for a second. Season two of Picard introduces a new Starfleet uniform
07:28something that really seems to be happening every three episodes in Star Trek since 2017. Created by
07:35costume designer Christine Clark, Starfleet's 2400 uniforms are an improved version of the same
07:40uniforms from Star Trek Picard's season one. According to Clark, our Starfleet uniforms in season
07:45one were admittedly created in a bit of a haste and though they're perfectly lovely designs me and
07:51our producers felt we could deliver something more grand for season two. With Starfleet playing a much
07:55more featured role in season two I wanted to pick up where we left off but create a sleeker more
08:01sophisticated design for 2400. This new spin on Starfleet's DS9 Voyager and TNG era uniforms features
08:08a dimensional raised ink delta across the shoulders, an asymmetrical style jacket with a division
08:15colour running down the trousers as well. It was meant to be evocative of the monster maroons that
08:21were introduced in the Wrath of Khan. Just one of the many callbacks to the original series in Star Trek
08:26Picard. Number four, Starfleet. Okay again this one's not technically about the Stargazer itself but it's
08:33kind of flows right. There's been an awful lot said about the arrival of the Federation fleet in the
08:39first and last episodes of Star Trek Picard season two. There's even a list just waiting to be written
08:45about this fleet itself. Uh, pull. But let's touch on the fleet briefly here because it's still one of
08:53the best parts of Picard's second season. According to an interview with Dave Blass with Invers' Ryan
08:59Britt, the different ships that appear in Star Trek Picard season two was effectively a direct response to
09:06the angry outcry of fans from the last episode of first season of Star Trek Picard. I know that
09:13there's a lot of practical reasons why things happen but I was like okay I wonder if there's a
09:17way to solve this problem to turn this obstacle into an opportunity. I found these ships from Star
09:22Trek Online and I was like damn these are really good looking. I was like why are we not doing
09:26something here? With limited resources available to the effects department Star Trek Picard turned to
09:32Star Trek Online sourcing several of their ships to appear alongside the Stargazer in the pilot and
09:39the final episode. The show also received aid from Eagle Moss's Star Trek Starships collections by
09:45providing digital models of ships like the Akira class. All of this in response to the so-called
09:50copy and paste fleet that appeared in the season one finale A in Arcadia Ego part two. So next time you
09:59wonder if an angry rant about Star Trek Starships is worth something on Twitter. Love you Dave!
10:05Number three. Elkars Mania. Fitting Star Trek Picard's second season now in the 25th century new user
10:13interfaces were created by Andrew Jarvis and Twisted Media for display on the bridge of the USS Stargazer.
10:20These referenced back to the 24th century Elkars of Star Trek The Next Generation but also pushed the
10:25aesthetic forward. For season two Jarvis and Twisted Media were joined by Michael Okuda the man who
10:31originally created the Elkars lovingly dubbed Okudagrams for Star Trek The Next Generation and
10:37Doug Drexler who presented the production with original assets from the shows. Like the original
10:44Okudagrams of the next generation DS9 and Voyager Star Trek Picard's Elkars interfaces were integrated
10:50into the USS Stargazer's bridge using static backlit panels and animated live feed monitors
10:56OLEDs integrated into the ship's consoles and interfaces on set. This time though the set designers
11:03were able to give the ship's computers an even more futuristic look by creating curved screens
11:08throughout the bridge. These curved Elkars displays were achieved live on set using real projection
11:13and non-reflective flex glass screens. According to systems integrator and computer playback supervisor
11:18Todd A. Marks having this wide display area no one else has ever done something with the kind of
11:24complex curves on a practical set before. Number two normalize Star Trek Insurrection references.
11:30Sometimes myself and Paul might disagree on some of the points on these lists but here is one where
11:35I am in complete agreement. Star Trek Insurrection is good actually. Of the four next generation movies
11:42it is the one that is closest to an episode of the next generation while that is often used
11:48as a criticism I think of it as a compliment. It captures the pace and thoughtfulness of the
11:54next generation, features a beautiful score by Jerry Goldsmith, lush visuals by cinematographer
12:00Matthew Leonetti and loads of John Eves style spaceships including a slew of Starfleet auxiliary vessels.
12:09While references to Star Trek Insurrection have been light in the years since its release,
12:14the Sona are name dropped in Star Trek Deep Space Nine and the Baku are given a shout in Star Trek
12:19Discovery's fourth season, Star Trek Picard's second season contains a big nod to Star Trek Insurrection,
12:27the Stargazer's complement of shuttlecraft. Glimpse study briefly in the Stargazer, the shuttlecraft that
12:33ferries Admiral Picard to the Stargazer is based on the type 11 design of shuttlecraft that was created by
12:40John Eves for Star Trek Insurrection. This design was dubbed the type 14 and was nearly identical to
12:46the type 11 although it featured an additional antenna assembly on the dorsal side of the ship
12:51and stargazer style nacelles. Also of note, the type 14 shuttle in this episode is actually graced with
12:58its own name, the USS Jameson, named after astronaut May Jameson who appeared as transporter operator Palmer
13:05in the next generation episode second chances. Number one, see you in the funny pages. As of the
13:11recording of this we are yet to know if the USS Stargazer is going to appear in the third season
13:17of Star Trek Picard. We can say however that it has continued to fly in the printed pages of IDW's
13:26ongoing comic series Star Trek Stargazer. In that series there is a new officer in command taking over
13:33for acting Captain Seven of Nine, this is the Andorian officer Makara who invites Admiral Picard aboard
13:40the Stargazer to relive some of his glory days. As for the filmed adventures of the USS Stargazer,
13:45we will have to see, but it is continuing a legacy that several of the other ships in Star Trek's history
13:52have passed down, which is its sets have been redressed and redesigned to serve as the USS Titan A
14:00in the third season. With so much history from the inception of Star Trek going into the design of
14:06the Sagan-class Stargazer itself, it's only fitting that the Stargazer would lend its own advances to a
14:13new generation of starship. You know I think there might be a list in that. Thank you all so much for
14:20watching along and thank you again for your support on this ongoing series. We love this series, it's so
14:24interesting. What ship do you want to see next? Let us know in the comments below. Please don't forget to like,
14:29share and subscribe and remember you can catch us over on Twitter at TrekCulture, you can catch us
14:34on Instagram as well at TrekCultureYT, catch myself at Sean Ferrick and all the various and you can
14:38catch Editor Chris at EditChrisEdit. You're all wonderful, you're all awesome, a very happy 2023 to
14:45you. Make sure you live long and prosper. To our friends in Ukraine, you are incredible, you are so
14:50brave and it is amazing the strength you are showing us. To those who are protesting in Iran,
14:56in China and all across the world know that we are with you. Everyone, as much as you can,
15:01make 2023 a good one, make it so.
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