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?
00:35With so much of the first season of Star Trek Picard kind of spent on a smaller scale in terms
00:41of ships, it was really, really wonderful to see the USS Stargazer appear in the second season
00:49for two episodes. But regardless of how little screen time that she got in the second season,
00:55there was so much care and development that went in to putting together this hero ship because
01:01that's exactly what the Stargazer is in the second season of Picard. Wait until you see some of the
01:08things that went into putting this together. So without much further ado, let us take a deep dive
01:15into the command 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 Eaves and Doug Drexler and also Sean Hargreaves who designed the Enterprise A
01:40in 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 the
01:5325th 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 of a
02:11Starfleet starship into a new century. How would we update the technology to work for modern audiences
02:17while also staying true to the original next generation feel? Despite this new Stargazer's fidelity to
02:22Captain Picard's original command first seen in the battle, this creature was very much its own thing.
02:29Now it was both evocative of that original constellation class but also a new design of a TOS
02:35era Radiant class USS Stargazer that was designed by fan model maker Bill Krause.
02:43Number nine, a command with baggage. In the show Picard says that this Stargazer is a refit of his
02:50original Stargazer and you might look at the design and be like ah no these are a little bit too different
02:57but according to showrunner Terry Metallus that is actually true. Like the TMP Enterprise it's a
03:04massively updated refit he said. I like to think of it as the story of the broom. If one day you replace
03:09the handle and another day the brush is it still the same broom? We thought of it as a vessel endlessly
03:14repaired and upgraded brought in line with current future tech so that somewhere underneath all the
03:20lights and polish are the bones of Picard's original ship. Does it make sense? I don't know but I sure
03:25like the spirit of it. Whether it makes sense or not the producer still felt that the Stargazer was a
03:32minor vessel in the pantheon of Starfleet names. Dave Blass had this to say about the ship's registry.
03:39I dropped the hammer on this one. The Stargazer is an important ship but it does not hold the
03:44same status in the Federation that the Enterprise had. I didn't feel it was warranted. Because then
03:49every ship gets it and it becomes a thing the Stargazer didn't have that legacy. Therefore there
03:56was no A at the end of the registry. Number eight. What does a starship need with a carpet?
04:02The interiors of the Stargazer were designed by Dave Blass and Sean Hargreaves who as previously
04:07mentioned designed the Enterprise A for Star Trek Beyond. Constructed at Santa Clarita Studios in
04:12Santa Clarita California there was a main bridge built along with a corridor set and an observation
04:17lounge set. According to Dave Blass the bridge was constructed 10 feet wider than the Enterprise E
04:23bridge so that they could take advantage of the new widescreen format that Star Trek Picard was going
04:28to be shown in. Designed to evoke Herman Zimmerman's Star Trek The Next Generation sets which carried over
04:33into the movies as well there is one thing that is missing from the Stargazer. Ample carpeting.
04:41According to Sean Hargreaves there's been discussion on some of the online threads about whether there
04:46should have been carpet. I disagree wholeheartedly this isn't a cruise ship nor living room. When it gets
04:51down to carpet, no carpet, how shiny the floors are etc, it's missing the point. Number seven.
04:58Observation lounge observations. It sounds very strange to say the word observations without a
05:03certain word in front of it.
05:12Accomplished fan model maker Bill Krause was tasked with creating practical models of the Sagan
05:18class USS Stargazer as well as the Constellation class USS Stargazer seen in the next generation.
05:24He was also tasked with creating a TOS era version of the Stargazer and all three of these models were
05:32used as 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 Rios's
05:45original ship La Serena. According to production designer Dave Blass, the lounge set was a
05:50technological 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
06:01custom designed to harken back to the Enterprise E version of the chairs. The highlight of the set
06:05is the panoramic 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
06:17effort but the overall look was accomplished by John Eves and Doug Drexler. As they say it takes a
06:23village I just want everyone to get credit where credit is due it's only fair. If you like the
06:27exterior of the Stargazer that's John Eves through and through with Doug finessing. Known for creating
06:32exhaustively detailed starships like the NX-01 for Enterprise, Drexler included things like phaser
06:39strips, transporter emitters, tractor beam emitters and including a shuttle bay as well between the
06:45two dorsal nacelle struts at the back of the Stargazer. The Stargazer also possessed two
06:50Wartfield governors located on the dorsal side of the saucer section starboard and port. Not sure what
06:57a Wartfield governor is? Well there's a long and detailed explanation for it but basically it's an easter
07:02The TOS movie era ships always contain these. If you think of it both the Reliant and the TMP
07:09Enterprise had them at the rear of the saucer section. So basically it's just a nice nod to
07:16previous designs. Number five, Stylegazer. All right this one's not technically about the ship itself but
07:23go with us here for a second. Season two of Picard introduces a new Starfleet uniform, something that
07:29really seems to be happening every three episodes in Star Trek since 2017. Created by costume designer
07:35Christine Clark, Starfleet's 2400 uniforms are an improved version of the same uniforms from Star
07:41Trek Picard's season one. According to Clark, our Starfleet uniforms in season one were admittedly
07:46created in a bit of a haste and though they're perfectly lovely designs, me and our producers felt
07:52we could deliver something more grand for season two. With Starfleet playing a much more featured role in
07:56season two I wanted to pick up where we left off but create a sleeker more sophisticated design for 2400.
08:03This new spin on Starfleet's DS9 Voyager and TNG era uniforms features a dimensional raised ink delta
08:10across the shoulders, an asymmetrical style jacket with a division colour running down the trousers as well.
08:18It was meant to be evocative of the monster maroons that were introduced in the Wrath of Khan, just one of the
08:23many callbacks to the original series in Star Trek Picard. Number four, Starfleet. Okay again this was
08:30not technically about the Stargazer itself but this kind of flows right? There's been an awful lot said
08:35about the arrival of the Federation fleet in the first and last episodes of Star Trek Picard season two.
08:42There's even a list just waiting to be written about this fleet itself.
08:47Uh, pull. But let's touch on the fleet briefly here because it's still one of the best parts of
08:54Picard's second season. According to an interview with Dave Blass with Invers' Ryan Ritt, the different
09:00ships that appear in Star Trek Picard season two was effectively a direct response to the angry outcry of
09:08fans from the last episode of first season of Star Trek Picard. I know that there's a lot of practical
09:14reasons why things happen but I was like, okay, I wonder if there's a way to solve this problem,
09:18to turn this obstacle into an opportunity. I found these ships from Star Trek Online and I was like,
09:23damn, these are really good looking. I was like, why are we not doing something here?
09:27With limited resources available to the effects department, Star Trek Picard turned to Star Trek
09:32Online sourcing several of their ships to appear alongside the Stargazer in the pilot and the final
09:40episode. The show also received aid from Eagle Moss' Star Trek Starships collections by providing digital
09:45models of ships like the Akira-class. All of this in response to the so-called copy-and-paste fleet that
09:52appeared in the Season 1 finale, A in Arcadia Ego Part 2. So, next time you wonder if an angry rant about
10:00Star Trek Starships is worth something on Twitter. Love you, Dave!
10:05Number 3. 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
10:19Stargazer. These referenced back to the 24th century Elkars of Star Trek The Next Generation but
10:24also pushed the aesthetic forward. For Season 2, Jarvis and Twisted Media were joined by Michael Okuda,
10:30the man who originally created the Elkars lovingly dubbed Okudograms for Star Trek The Next Generation
10:37and Doug Drexler who presented the production with original assets from the shows. Like the original
10:44Okudograms of the Next Generation DS9 and Voyager, Star Trek Picard's Elkars interfaces were integrated into
10:50the USS Stargazer's bridge using static backlit panels and animated live feed monitors integrated
10:58into the ship's consoles and interfaces on set. This time though, the set designers were able to give the
11:04ship's computers an even more futuristic look by creating curved screens throughout the bridge.
11:08These curved Elkars displays were achieved live on set using real projection and non-reflective
11:14flex glass screens. According to Systems Integrator and Computer Playback Supervisor Todd A. Marks,
11:20having this wide display area no one else has ever done something with the kind of complex curves on a
11:25practical set before. Number 2, normalize Star Trek Insurrection references. Sometimes myself and Paul
11:31might disagree on some of the points on these lists but here is one where I am in complete agreement.
11:37Star Trek Insurrection is good actually. Of the four Next Generation movies, it is the one that is
11:44closest to an episode of The Next Generation. While that is often used as a criticism, I think of it as a
11:51compliment. It captures the pace and thoughtfulness of The Next Generation, features a beautiful score
11:57by Jerry Goldsmith, lush visuals by cinematographer Matthew Leonetti and loads of John Eves-style
12:04spaceships including a slew of Starfleet auxiliary vessels. While references to Star Trek Insurrection have been
12:12light in the years since its release, the Sona are name-dropped in Star Trek Deep Space Nine and the
12:17Baku are given a shout in Star Trek Discovery's fourth season, Star Trek Picard's second season contains a
12:24big nod to Star Trek Insurrection, the Stargazer's complement of shuttlecraft. Glimpse study briefly in
12:31the Stargazer, the shuttlecraft that ferries Admiral Picard to the Stargazer is based on the Type 11
12:38design of shuttlecraft that was created by John Eves for Star Trek Insurrection. This design was
12:43dubbed the Type 14 and was nearly identical to the Type 11, although it featured an additional
12:48antenna assembly on the dorsal side of the ship and Stargazer-style nacelles. Also of note, the Type 14
12:55shuttle in this episode is actually graced with its own name, the USS Jameson, named after astronaut May
13:02Jameson who appeared as transporter operator Palmer in the Next Generation episode Second Chances.
13:08Number one, see you in the funny pages. As of the recording of this we are yet to know if the USS
13:14Stargazer is going to appear in the third season of Star Trek Picard. We can say however that it has
13:20continued to fly in the printed pages of IDW's ongoing comic series, Star Trek Stargazer. In that
13:30series there is a new officer in command taking over for acting Captain Seven of Nine. This is the
13:36Andorian officer Makara who invites Admiral Picard aboard the Stargazer to relive some of his glory days.
13:43As for the filmed adventures of the USS Stargazer, we will have to see, but it is continuing a legacy that
13:49several of the other ships in Star Trek's history have passed down, which is, its sets have been
13:56redressed and redesigned to serve as the USS Titan A in the third season. With so much history from the
14:04inception of Star Trek going into the design of the Sagan-class Stargazer itself, it's only fitting
14:09that the Stargazer would lend its own advances to a new generation of starship. You know, I think there
14:17might be a list in that. Thank you all so much for watching along and thank you again for your
14:21support on this ongoing series. We love this series, it's so interesting. What ship do you want to see
14:26next? Let us know in the comments below. Please don't forget to like, share and subscribe and
14:30remember you can catch us over on Twitter at TrekCulture, you can catch us on Instagram as well
14:34at TrekCultureYT, catch myself at Sean Ferrick and all the various and you can catch Editor Chris at
14:40EditChrisEdit. You're all wonderful, you're all awesome, a very happy 2023 to you. Make sure you live long and
14:46prosper. To our friends in Ukraine, you are incredible, you are so brave and it is amazing
14:51the strength you are showing us. To those who are protesting in Iran, in China and all across the
14:57world, know that we are with you. Everyone, as much as you can, make 2023 a good one. Make it so.