The Human Adventure Continues...

by Tony Robinson.

Why do we love Star Trek : The Motion Picture ?

It was the eagerly anticipated debut of the magnificent STARSHIP ENTERPRISE !

I have fond memories of seeing it warp into space on December 7, 1979 at the Loew's Theater in New York. I lined up with hundreds of Star Trek fans drooling at the prospect of seeing our heroes on the big screen. We all have our favorite characters ranging from Captain Kirk to Scotty but it was the Starship Enterprise that sold it for me.

USS ENTERPRISE - NCC-1701

Is there anyone in the world who does not know that registration number ? Is there anyone in the world who has never heard of Star Trek and especially the USS ENTERPRISE ? Of course not.

She graced the screen like no other space-faring vessel before or since. She lives in our dreams, and somewhere out in the dark regions of the galaxy she continues to explore new planets, is still seeking out new civilizations and is boldly going where no one has gone before.

In 1979 it was not only Star Trek fans who wondered how ENTERPRISE would look on the silver screen. I have it on good authority that the main cast actors were also excited and anxious to know how she would look, and they along with us were not disappointed.

So where did this wonderful screen model come from ? Paramount Pictures hired award-winning Richard Taylor to design the ENTERPRISE in collaboration with Gene Roddenberry and MAGICAM to build the new model for Star Trek : The Motion Picture. MAGICAM was a skilled special effects (SFX) team lead by Jim Dow, one of Hollywood's top miniature model builders for TV and film. Jim, along with Richard Taylor, Doug Trumbull, Paul Olsen and others created what is surely the most iconic and recognizable spaceship this side of the Mutara Nebula. What a stellar job they did.

It is no wonder that Captain Kirk took the grand tour around her before heading off to confront V'Ger.

The reception from the fans was instantaneous. Jim Dow and his MAGICAM team had built something wonderful and rapturous. A Starship for the 23rd century.