Changes: Master systems display

Revision as of 02:55, 1 July 2015

MSD video monitor — A video feed on the USS *Enterprise*-D's MSD

On Federation starships and space stations, the master systems display (abbreviated MSD), also known as the master situation monitor, or master situational display, was a large, wall-mounted computer display, sometimes in engineering or the bridge. The display usually featured a large cutaway diagram of the vessel, and was used to provide a detailed overview of the ship's operational status.

The USS Enterprise-D had its master systems display in engineering, along with a master systems display table, while the starships USS Voyager, USS Defiant, USS Hathaway, USS Equinox, USS Enterprise-B, and USS Enterprise-E all featured their displays on the bridge. (Star Trek Generations; Star Trek: The Next Generation, TNG: "Peak Performance"; DS9: "The Search, Part I", etc.; Star Trek: Voyager, VOY: "Equinox", "Equinox, Part II")

Appendices

Background information

Originally, Scenic Art Supervisor Michael Okuda intended the "Master systems display" and the "Master situation monitor" to be two different objects altogether. According to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual (pp. 47-48) and the Star Trek Encyclopedia (3rd ed., pp. 291-292), the "Master systems display" was the information console (affectionately dubbed the "pool table") seen in main engineering on board the USS Enterprise-D, USS Enterprise-E, and in the back of the bridge on the Enterprise NX-01. The "Master situation monitor" was meant to refer to the wall mounted back-lit (cut-away) graphics of the ships in question. Neither of the two designations were initially seen on-screen in their entirety, though there were "Master situation" bridge work stations on both the USS Excelsior and USS Enterprise-A in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (and, in Excelsior's case, in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Flashback" as well).

None of the wall-mounted graphics ever had a caption "Master systems display" until Scenic Artist Doug Drexler updated the cut-away graphic for the Defiant-class. Drexler gave it the caption "master systems display", which is legible in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes "Shattered Mirror" and "One Little Ship". This was the only such graphic ever to actually carry the exact designation, as every other MSD, featured in the live-action franchise, was usually labeled with the ship's name, registry, ship class, random numbering or any combination thereof.

The first MSD was created for the sets of the Enterprise-D. According to the Encyclopedia (3rd ed., p. 291), it included a number of in-jokes, including "the official USS Enterprise duck, the ship's mouse, a Porsche, a DC-3 airplane, the Nomad space probe, and the hamster on a treadmill that was alleged to be the true source of power for the ship's warp engines."

The MSD terminology, regardless of its original intent, was specifically introduced in The Next Generation, though operations graphics displaying similar properties, had been featured in prior Star Trek incarnations, including Star Trek: The Original Series, though up until that point in time they were not endowed with a designation. The earliest and best known such graphic was the large rudimentary graphic situated on the bulkhead right next to the turbolift doors on the bridge (on the left when entering the lift from the bridge) of the original Constitution-class USS Enterprise. A detailed operation schematics graphic, still unnamed, of the Constitution-class USS Defiant was later seen in "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II".

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+[[File:MSD video monitor.jpg|thumb|A video feed on the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D's}} MSD]]
-On [[Federation]] [[starship]]s and [[space station]]s, the '''master systems display''' (abbreviated '''MSD'''), also known as the '''master situation monitor''', or '''master situational display,''' is a large, wall-mounted computer display, sometimes in [[engineering]] or the [[bridge]]. The display usually featured a large cutaway diagram of the vessel, and was used to provide a detailed overview of the ship's status.
+On [[Federation]] [[starship]]s and [[space station]]s, the '''master systems display''' (abbreviated '''MSD'''), also known as the '''master situation monitor''', or '''master situational display,''' was a large, wall-mounted computer display, sometimes in [[engineering]] or the [[bridge]]. The display usually featured a large cutaway diagram of the vessel, and was used to provide a detailed overview of the ship's operational status.
 The {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}} had its master systems display in engineering, along with a [[master systems display table]], while the starships {{USS|Voyager}}, {{USS|Defiant|2370}}, {{USS|Hathaway}}, {{USS|Equinox}}, {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-B|-B}}, and {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-E|-E}} all featured their displays on the bridge. ({{film|7}}; ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', {{TNG|Peak Performance}}; {{DS9|The Search, Part I}}, etc.; ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'', {{VOY|Equinox|Equinox, Part II}})
+{{clear}}
 <gallery>
-File:USS Hathaway MSD.jpg|{{ShipClass|Constellation}}
+File:USS Hathaway MSD.jpg|{{Class|Constellation}}
-File:Dauntless class MSD.jpg|{{ShipClass|Dauntless}}
+File:Dauntless class MSD.jpg|{{Class|Dauntless}}
 File:DS9 MSD.png|[[Deep Space 9]]
-File:Defiant class MSD.jpg|{{ShipClass|Defiant}}<br />([[:File:Defiant class original MSD.jpg|alternate version]])
+File:Defiant class MSD.jpg|{{Class|Defiant}}<br />([[:File:Defiant class original MSD.jpg|alternate version]])
-File:Excelsior class refit MSD.jpg|{{ShipClass|Excelsior}}
+File:Excelsior class refit MSD.jpg|{{Class|Excelsior}}
-File:Galaxy class MSD.jpg|{{ShipClass|Galaxy}}
+File:Galaxy class MSD.jpg|{{Class|Galaxy}}
-File:Intrepid class MSD.jpg|{{ShipClass|Intrepid}}
+File:Intrepid class MSD.jpg|{{Class|Intrepid}}
-File:USS Brattain MSD.jpg|{{ShipClass|Miranda}}
+File:USS Brattain MSD.jpg|{{Class|Miranda}}
-File:Nova class MSD.jpg|{{ShipClass|Nova}}
+File:Nova class MSD.jpg|{{Class|Nova}}
-File:SS Vico, profile MSD.jpg|{{ShipClass|Oberth}}
+File:SS Vico, profile MSD.jpg|{{Class|Oberth}}
-File:Prometheus class MSD.jpg|{{ShipClass|Prometheus}}
+File:Prometheus class MSD.jpg|{{Class|Prometheus}}
-File:Raven deckplan.jpg|{{ShipType|Raven}}
+File:Raven deckplan.jpg|{{Type|Raven}}
-File:Sovereign class MSD.png|{{ShipClass|Sovereign}}
+File:Sovereign class MSD.png|{{Class|Sovereign}}
 File:Drake MSD.jpg|[[Type 8 shuttlecraft|Type 8 shuttlecraft]]
-File:Yellowstone MSD.jpg|{{ShipClass|Yellowstone}}
+File:Yellowstone MSD.jpg|{{Class|Yellowstone}}
 </gallery>
 == Appendices ==
 === Background information ===
+{| class="wiki-sidebar"
-[[File:USS Excelsior Master Situation bridge station.jpg|thumb|'''Master situation''' bridge station.]]
+|-
-[[File:Galaxy engineering1.jpg|thumb|left|'''Master systems display''' in the fore ground and '''Master situation monitor''' in the back as originally intended.]]
+| colspan="1" align="center" | [[File:Galaxy engineering1.jpg|180px]]
-[[File:Major kira fighting off the Jem'Hadar in front of Defiant's MSD.jpg|thumb|Firefight in front of ''Defiant'''s '''MSD'''.]]
+| colspan="1" align="center" | [[File:USS Excelsior Master Situation bridge station.jpg|180px]]
-Originally [[Michael Okuda]] intended the "Master systems display" and the "Master situation monitor" to be two different objects. According to the ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual]]'' (pp. 47-48) and the ''[[Star Trek Encyclopedia]]'' (3rd. ed., pp. 291-292), the "[[Master systems display table|Master systems display]]" was the information console (affectionately dubbed the "pool table") seen in main [[engineering]] on board the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}}, {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-E|-E}}, and in the back of the bridge on the {{NX|01}}. The "Master situation monitor" was meant to refer to the wall mounted back-lit (cut-away) graphics of the ships in question. Neither of the two designations were initially seen on-screen in their entirety, though there were "Master situation" bridge work stations on both the {{USS|Excelsior}} and {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-A|-A}} in {{film|6}} (and in ''Excelsior'''s case in {{e|Flashback}} as well). None of the wall mounted graphics had a caption "Master systems display", until [[Doug Drexler]] updated the cut-away graphic for the {{ShipClass|Defiant}}. Drexler gave it the caption "master systems display", which is legible in {{e|Shattered Mirror}} and {{e|One Little Ship}}. These were the only such graphics actually carrying the designation, as other MSDs are usually labelled with the ship's name, [[registry]], ship class, random numbering or any combination thereof.
+|-
+| class="even" | <center>'''Master systems display''' in the foreground and '''Master situation monitor''' in the back</center>
+| class="even" | <center>'''Master situation''' bridge station</center>
+|-
+| colspan="1" align="center" | [[File:Major kira fighting off the Jem'Hadar in front of Defiant's MSD.jpg|180px]]
+| colspan="1" align="center" | [[File:Graphic situated next to the bridge turbolift.jpg|180px]]
+|-
+| class="even" | <center>Firefight in front of ''Defiant''{{'}}s '''MSD'''</center>
+| class="even" | <center>The earliest operations graphic</center>
+|-
+| colspan="2" align="center" | [[File:Constitution class schematics.jpg|360px]]
+|-
+| colspan="2" | <center>A ''Constitution''-class operations schematic</center>
+|}
+Originally, Scenic Art Supervisor [[Michael Okuda]] intended the "Master systems display" and the "Master situation monitor" to be two different objects altogether. According to the ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual]]'' (pp. 47-48) and the ''[[Star Trek Encyclopedia]]'' (3rd ed., pp. 291-292), the "[[Master systems display table|Master systems display]]" was the information console (affectionately dubbed the "pool table") seen in main [[engineering]] on board the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}}, {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-E|-E}}, and in the back of the bridge on the {{NX|01}}. The "Master situation monitor" was meant to refer to the wall mounted back-lit (cut-away) graphics of the ships in question. Neither of the two designations were initially seen on-screen in their entirety, though there were "Master situation" bridge work stations on both the {{USS|Excelsior}} and {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-A|-A}} in {{film|6}} (and, in ''Excelsior''{{'}}s case, in the ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'' episode {{e|Flashback}} as well).
+None of the wall-mounted graphics ever had a caption "Master systems display" until Scenic Artist [[Doug Drexler]] updated the cut-away graphic for the {{Class|Defiant}}. Drexler gave it the caption "master systems display", which is legible in the ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' episodes {{e|Shattered Mirror}} and {{e|One Little Ship}}. This was the only such graphic ever to actually carry the exact designation, as every other MSD, featured in the live-action franchise, was usually labeled with the ship's name, [[registry]], ship class, random numbering or any combination thereof.
-The first MSD was created for the sets of the ''Enterprise''-D. According to the ''Encyclopedia'' (3rd. ed., p. 291), it included a number of in-jokes, including "the official USS ''Enterprise'' duck, the ship's mouse, a Porsche, a DC-3 airplane, the ''[[Nomad]]'' space probe, and the hamster on a treadmill that was alleged to be the true source of power for the ship's warp engines."
+The first MSD was created for the sets of the ''Enterprise''-D. According to the ''Encyclopedia'' (3rd ed., p. 291), it included a number of in-jokes, including "the official USS ''Enterprise'' duck, the ship's mouse, a Porsche, a DC-3 airplane, the ''[[Nomad]]'' space probe, and the hamster on a treadmill that was alleged to be the true source of power for the ship's warp engines."
+The MSD terminology, regardless of its original intent, was specifically introduced in ''The Next Generation'', though operations graphics displaying similar properties, had been featured in prior ''Star Trek'' incarnations, including ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'', though up until that point in time they were not endowed with a designation. The earliest and best known such graphic was the large rudimentary graphic situated on the bulkhead right next to the [[turbolift]] doors on the bridge (on the left when entering the lift from the bridge) of the original {{Class|Constitution}} {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701}}. A detailed operation schematics graphic, still unnamed, of the ''Constitution''-class {{USS|Defiant|NCC-1764}} was later seen in {{e|In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II}}.
-[[File:Constitution class schematics.jpg|thumb|A schematic of the ''Constitution''-class]]
-A schematic of the {{ShipClass|Constitution}} {{USS|Defiant|NCC-1764}} was seen in {{e|In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II}}.
 === External links ===
 * [http://www.strekschematics.utvinternet.com/cutaways/cutawaymenu.html Cutaways (MSD)] at [http://www.strekschematics.utvinternet.com Gilso ''Star Trek'' Schematics]
-* {{exastris|page=/starship_database.htm|title=Starship Database}}.
+* {{eas|starship_database.htm|Starship Database|external}}.
+* {{eas|/inconsistencies/in-jokes.htm|Visual in-jokes|external}}
 [[de:Hauptsystemmonitor]]


Master systems display in the foreground and Master situation monitor in the back	Master situation bridge station

Firefight in front of Defiant's MSD	The earliest operations graphic

A Constitution-class operations schematic