Changes: USS Stargazer (NCC-2893)

Revision as of 04:40, 5 July 2015

The USS Stargazer (NCC-2893) was a 24th century Federation Constellation-class starship operated by Starfleet. (TNG: "The Battle", "Relics")

History

In service

In 2333, Lieutenant Commander Jean-Luc Picard served as a bridge officer on this vessel. He later described the Stargazer as an "overworked, underpowered vessel, always on the verge of flying apart at the seams." (TNG: "Relics")

When the ship's captain was killed and the first officer injured on the bridge, Picard took command of the situation, and the vessel. (TNG: "Tapestry") Starfleet Command looked so favorably on Picard's actions, that they appointed him as the vessel's new commanding officer, a post he held for twenty-two years. Picard's crew included Jack Crusher and a weapons officer named Vigo. (TNG: "The Battle")

The Stargazer saw action in the Cardassian Wars. The ship was involved in a truce offering by the Federation in sector 21503. After making contact with a Cardassian warship, Captain Picard lowered the ship's shields as a gesture of good will, but the Cardassian commander ignored the gesture and disabled the Stargazer's weapons and impulse engines. The Stargazer managed to regroup and flee. (TNG: "The Wounded")

In 2354, the Stargazer visited the planet Chalna. (TNG: "Allegiance") During the same year, Jack Crusher was killed on an away mission, forcing Picard to present Crusher's remains to his widow, Beverly. (TNG: "Tapestry", "Violations", "Encounter at Farpoint")

According to the novelization of Encounter at Farpoint, Crusher had been the first officer of the ship as of 2349. The 1991 novel Reunion recounted the incident where Crusher died saving the ship from the Nensi phenomenon (β).

Picard stargazer command chair — Picard on the bridge of the *Stargazer*

In 2355, the Stargazer was attacked and severely damaged by an unknown vessel in the Maxia Zeta system. Picard was able to destroy the attacking vessel, using what would later be named the Picard Maneuver. The Stargazer was overcome by fire and severe damage during the battle and had to be abandoned. The event was called the "Battle of Maxia" by the Ferengi. (TNG: "The Battle")

Recovery

As the loss of a starship was a court martial offense, Picard was court-martialed for the loss of the Stargazer, zealously prosecuted by Phillipa Louvois. In the end, he was absolved of all charges. (TNG: "The Battle", "The Measure Of A Man")

In 2364, the wreck of the Stargazer was found adrift and salvaged by the Ferengi. The Ferengi DaiMon Bok desired revenge against Picard, as his son had died commanding the attacking vessel at the "Battle of Maxia". He falsified the logs of the Stargazer to indicate that it was the Stargazer that committed an unprovoked attack against the Ferengi vessel. Through the use of an illegal "thought maker", Bok caused Captain Picard to relive the day of the battle in hallucinations, supposedly as a mental breakdown after the real truth had come out. When the devices were discovered, William T. Riker was able to convince the captain to destroy the "thought maker" causing his hallucinations. The Stargazer was towed to Xendi Starbase 9. (TNG: "The Battle")

In 2365, when speaking with Guinan about her origins, Wesley Crusher said that he had heard from some of the crew that she had met Picard when he was the commanding officer of the Stargazer. Guinan replied that she didn't know the captain until she came aboard the USS Enterprise-D. (TNG: "The Child")

In 2369, Picard would look back fondly on his time commanding the Stargazer and once confided to Montgomery Scott that, even after several years of commanding the far superior USS Enterprise-D, there were still times he would give almost anything to command the Stargazer again. (TNG: "Relics")

Template:ConstellationClassStarships

Appendices

Appearances

TNG: "The Battle"

Background information

A yellow painted model of the Constellation-class NCC-7100 appeared in Captain Picard's ready room aboard the USS Enterprise-D. This model was often mistakenly assumed to be of Stargazer. As noted in other locations, the model existed before the idea of the Stargazer, and was eventually used to create the filming model.

The Stargazer was intended to be a Constitution-class vessel, the same as Captain Kirk's USS Enterprise. This was mentioned in the script by Geordi La Forge. In fact, the yellow NCC-7100 model was replaced with a silver Constitution-class model in Picard's ready room for this episode. When the Stargazer filming model was eventually designed, it was decided that a new model, derisively referred to as the "pie dish", should be used. Since LeVar Burton had already recorded his line, the name of the new ship's class had to be similar to "Constitution" to make it easy to overdub; the production crew settled on "Constellation".

The Stargazer dedication plaque was illegible on screen, and according to Doug Drexler, the plaque art has been lost. Michael Okuda recalled in 2009 that the plaque indicated that the ship was a Constitution-class starship built by the Federation Space Systems and “To bring light into the darkness” was the ships motto. Michael Okuda has commented on the class name:

"The Stargazer dedication plaque did say "Constitution class", but we had already decided to drop that designation, even during preproduction. I asked Ed Charnock, our on-set painter, to mist over the plaque with a little black spray paint, to make it a little harder to read "Constitution". There wasn't time, or money, to have the plaque re-made, but the type was so small that it would have been very difficult to read the text on camera, even without the smudge. Also, the set lighting was dark, so I wasn't worried." [1]^(X)

The motto is inspired by the science fiction short story and subsequent novel written by Daniel Keyes Flowers for Algernon:

"They had pretended to be geniuses. But they were just ordinary men working blindly, pretending to be able to bring light into the darkness. Why is it that everyone lies? No one I know is what he appears to be."

Okuda further commented on the plaque:

"The dedication plaque indicated that the ship was built by "Federation Space Systems," and gave the ship's motto as "To bring light into the darkness." Herb Wright suggested that one." [2]^(X)

The 1995 Star Trek - Reflections of the Future, Phase One trading card set contained a "Gold Registry Plaque" card for the Stargazer that contained the following information:

USS Stargazer

Constitution-class

Starfleet registry NCC-2893

San Francisco Fleet Yards, Earth

United Federation of Planets

"To bring light into the darkness."

In 1994, Galoob produced a toy model of the Stargazer as part of their Micromachines line. Interestingly enough, the coloring on the model was completely wrong and was actually based on the coloring of the NCC-7100 model seen in Picard's office.

In a Starfleet Technical Database article (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 2), written by Rick Sternbach, it was stated that after the Stargazer was towed back to Xendi Starbase 9, it was repaired, and returned to limited active duty for eight years (from 2366 to 2374), after which it was mothballed as a museum ship at the Copernicus Yard Museum, Luna, alongside the USS Valkyrie (NCC-2590). Kept in a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere for tours and academic study, she was kept in a semi-operational state to be re-activated for duty when circumstances dictated such an action.

The bridge of the Stargazer was previously seen as the battle bridge of the Enterprise-D in "Encounter at Farpoint". Before The Next Generation the set was used as the bridge of the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. (Creating the Next Generation: The Conception and Creation of a Phenomenon)

Apocrypha

The crew of the Stargazer has been featured in many novels by Michael Jan Friedman. First appearing in Pocket TNG: Reunion, a novel published by Pocket Books, it has spun off the Star Trek: Stargazer series, during which the ship has a brief encounter with the mirror universe, as well as detailing Picard's first meeting with Guinan during a confrontation with Enabran Tain.

The Stargazer is also included as a playable ship in the video game Star Trek: Legacy. During the story, it is revealed that the ship's captain, Ruhalter, is killed on the bridge and the ship severely damaged from a shock wave resulting from renegade Vulcan T'Uerell destroying a planet in the Neutral Zone. Picard takes command of the ship and attempts to stop stellar debris from destroying other planets in a Federation system. The player can control the Stargazer with Picard in command during this mission in the game.

The Stargazer prevented an interplanetary war in the Double Helix novel #6, The First Virtue.

In Star Trek Online, a new USS Stargazer (NCC-2893-A) is built in the years after Star Trek Nemesis, as the first of a new class of heavy cruiser. The Stargazer-class is one of the available design choices (along with the Cheyenne-class and Dakota-class) for the Heavy Cruiser ship available to Federation characters at the rank of Commander. Additionally, the original Constellation-class, with a console that allows the ship to perform the Picard Manuever, can be purchased from the in-game store.

External link

USS Stargazer (NCC-2893) at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 |Datestatus = 2364
 }}
-The '''USS ''Stargazer'' (NCC-2893)''' was a [[Federation]] {{class|Constellation}} [[star cruiser]] that was in service with [[Starfleet]] from the early to mid-[[24th century]]. This ship was built at the [[San Francisco Fleet Yards]], [[Earth]], by [[Federation Space Systems]].
+The '''USS ''Stargazer'' ([[NCC]]-2893)''' was a [[24th century]] [[Federation]] {{class|Constellation}} [[starship]] operated by [[Starfleet]]. ({{TNG|The Battle|Relics}})
 == History ==
 ===In service===
-In [[2333]], [[Lieutenant Commander]] [[Jean-Luc Picard]] served as a [[bridge officer]] on this vessel. He later described the ''Stargazer'' as an "''overworked, underpowered vessel, always on the verge of flying apart at the seams.''" ({{TNG|Relics}}) When the ship's [[captain]] was killed and the [[first officer]] injured on the [[bridge]], Picard took command of the situation, and the vessel. ({{TNG|Tapestry}})
+In [[2333]], [[Lieutenant Commander]] [[Jean-Luc Picard]] served as a [[bridge officer]] on this vessel. He later described the ''Stargazer'' as an "''overworked, underpowered vessel, always on the verge of flying apart at the seams.''" ({{TNG|Relics}})
-[[Starfleet Command]] looked so favorably on Picard's actions they appointed him as the vessel's new [[commanding officer]], a post he held for twenty-two years. Picard's crew included [[Jack Crusher]] and a [[weapons officer]] named [[Vigo]]. ({{TNG|The Battle}})
+When the ship's [[captain]] was killed and the [[first officer]] injured on the [[bridge]], Picard took command of the situation, and the vessel. ({{TNG|Tapestry}}) [[Starfleet Command]] looked so favorably on Picard's actions, that they appointed him as the vessel's new [[commanding officer]], a post he held for twenty-two years. Picard's crew included [[Jack Crusher]] and a [[weapons officer]] named [[Vigo]]. ({{TNG|The Battle}})
+The ''Stargazer'' saw action in the [[Federation-Cardassian War|Cardassian Wars]]. The ship was involved in a truce offering by the Federation in [[sector 21503]]. After making contact with a [[Cardassian warship]], Captain Picard lowered the ship's [[shields]] as a gesture of good will, but the Cardassian commander ignored the gesture and disabled the ''Stargazer''{{'}}s [[weapon]]s and [[impulse engine]]s. The ''Stargazer'' managed to regroup and flee. ({{TNG|The Wounded}})
-In [[2354]], Crusher was killed while serving on this vessel, forcing Picard to present Crusher's remains to his widow, [[Beverly Crusher|Beverly]]. ({{TNG|Tapestry|Violations|Encounter at Farpoint}})
-The same year, the ''Stargazer'' visited the [[planet]] [[Chalna]]. ({{TNG|Allegiance}})
+In [[2354]], the ''Stargazer'' visited the [[planet]] [[Chalna]]. ({{TNG|Allegiance}}) During the same year, Jack Crusher was killed on an away mission, forcing Picard to present Crusher's remains to his widow, [[Beverly Crusher|Beverly]]. ({{TNG|Tapestry|Violations|Encounter at Farpoint}})
+{{bginfo|According to the [[Encounter at Farpoint (novel)|novelization of Encounter at Farpoint]], Crusher had been the first officer of the ship as of [[2349]]. The {{y|1991}} novel ''[[Reunion]]'' recounted the incident where Crusher died saving the ship from the {{mb|Nensi phenomenon}}.}}
-The ''Stargazer'' saw action in the [[Federation-Cardassian War|Cardassian Wars]]. She was involved in a truce offering by the Federation in [[sector 21503]]. After making contact with a [[Cardassian warship]], Captain Picard lowered the ship's [[shields]] as a gesture of good will, but the Cardassian commander ignored the gesture and disabled the ''Stargazer''{{'}}s [[weapon]]s and [[impulse engine]]s. The ''Stargazer'' managed to regroup and flee. ({{TNG|The Wounded}})
 [[File:Picard stargazer command chair.jpg|thumb|Picard on the bridge of the ''Stargazer'']]
-Attacked and severely damaged by an [[Unnamed Ferengi starships#Battle of Maxia|unknown vessel]] near the [[Maxia Zeta system]] in [[2355]], the ship had to be abandoned when it was overcome by fire and severe damage, but not before Picard was able to destroy the unknown vessel using what would later be named the [[Picard Maneuver]]. This event was called the "[[Battle of Maxia]]" by the [[Ferengi]]. Because the loss of a starship was a [[court martial]] offense, Picard was court-martialed for the loss of the ''Stargazer'', zealously prosecuted by [[Phillipa Louvois]]. In the end, he was absolved of all charges. ({{TNG|The Battle|The Measure Of A Man}})
+In [[2355]], the ''Stargazer'' was attacked and severely damaged by an [[Unnamed Ferengi starships#Battle of Maxia|unknown vessel]] in the [[Maxia Zeta system]]. Picard was able to destroy the attacking vessel, using what would later be named the [[Picard Maneuver]]. The ''Stargazer'' was overcome by fire and severe damage during the battle and had to be abandoned. The event was called the "[[Battle of Maxia]]" by the [[Ferengi]]. ({{TNG|The Battle}})
+===Recovery===
-Years later, Picard would look back fondly on his time commanding the ''Stargazer'' and once confided to [[Montgomery Scott]] that, even after several years of commanding the far superior {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}}, there were still times he would give almost anything to command the ''Stargazer'' again. ({{TNG|Relics}})
+As the loss of a starship was a [[court martial]] offense, Picard was court-martialed for the loss of the ''Stargazer'', zealously prosecuted by [[Phillipa Louvois]]. In the end, he was absolved of all charges. ({{TNG|The Battle|The Measure Of A Man}})
+In [[2364]], the wreck of the ''Stargazer'' was found adrift and salvaged by the Ferengi. The Ferengi [[DaiMon]] [[Bok]] desired revenge against Picard, as his son had died commanding the attacking vessel at the "Battle of Maxia". He falsified the logs of the ''Stargazer'' to indicate that it was the ''Stargazer'' that committed an unprovoked attack against the Ferengi vessel. Through the use of an illegal "[[thought maker]]", Bok caused Captain Picard to relive the day of the battle in [[hallucination]]s, supposedly as a mental breakdown after the real truth had come out. When the devices were discovered, [[William T. Riker]] was able to convince the captain to destroy the "thought maker" causing his hallucinations. The ''Stargazer'' was towed to [[Xendi Starbase 9]]. ({{TNG|The Battle}})
-===A visit from the past ===
-Assumed destroyed in the battle, the ''Stargazer'' was found adrift in space by the Ferengi and was eventually salvaged in [[2364]] by the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}}, Picard's subsequent command. The Ferengi [[DaiMon]] [[Bok]], who had lost his son at the Battle of Maxia, desired revenge against Picard. Through use of an illegal "[[thought maker]]", Bok deceived the captain into reliving his past and had programmed the ship's systems to respond to Picard's commands. The ''Enterprise'' was able to lock the ''Stargazer'' in a [[tractor beam]], and [[William T. Riker]] was able to convince the Captain to destroy the thought maker. The ''Stargazer'' was then towed to [[Xendi Starbase 9]]. ({{TNG|The Battle}})
+In [[2365]], when speaking with [[Guinan]] about her origins, [[Wesley Crusher]] said that he had heard from some of the [[crew]] that she had met Picard when he was the commanding officer of the ''Stargazer''. Guinan replied that she didn't know the captain until she came aboard the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}}. ({{TNG|The Child}})
-===See also===
-* [[USS Stargazer personnel|USS ''Stargazer'' personnel]]
+In [[2369]], Picard would look back fondly on his time commanding the ''Stargazer'' and once confided to [[Montgomery Scott]] that, even after several years of commanding the far superior USS ''Enterprise''-D, there were still times he would give almost anything to command the ''Stargazer'' again. ({{TNG|Relics}})
-* [[USS Stargazer dedication plaque|USS ''Stargazer'' dedication plaque]]
 {{ConstellationClassStarships}}
 ==Appendices==
+===See also===
-[[File:Stargazer dedication plaque.jpg|thumb|The ''Stargazer'' [[dedication plaque]]]]
+* [[USS Stargazer personnel|USS ''Stargazer'' personnel]]
 ===Appearances===
 * {{TNG|The Battle}}
-===Background===
+===Background information===
 A yellow painted model of the ''Constellation''-class [[NCC-7100]] appeared in Captain Picard's ready room aboard the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}}. This model was often mistakenly assumed to be of ''Stargazer''. As noted in other locations, the model existed before the idea of the ''Stargazer'', and was eventually used to create the filming model.
-The ''Stargazer'' was intended to be a {{class|Constitution}} vessel, the same as Captain [[James T. Kirk|Kirk]]'s {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701}}. This was mentioned in the script by [[Geordi La Forge]]. In fact, the yellow NCC-7100 model was replaced with a silver ''Constitution''-class model in Picard's ready room for this episode. When the ''Stargazer'' filming model was eventually designed, it was decided that a new model (derisively referred to as the "pie dish") should be used. Since [[LeVar Burton]] had already recorded his line, the name of the new ship's class had to be similar to "Constitution" to make it easy to overdub; the production crew settled on "Constellation".
+The ''Stargazer'' was intended to be a {{class|Constitution}} vessel, the same as Captain [[James T. Kirk|Kirk]]'s {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701}}. This was mentioned in the script by [[Geordi La Forge]]. In fact, the yellow NCC-7100 model was replaced with a silver ''Constitution''-class model in Picard's ready room for this episode. When the ''Stargazer'' filming model was eventually designed, it was decided that a new model, derisively referred to as the "pie dish", should be used. Since [[LeVar Burton]] had already recorded his line, the name of the new ship's class had to be similar to "Constitution" to make it easy to overdub; the production crew settled on "Constellation".
+[[File:Stargazer dedication plaque.jpg|thumb|The ''Stargazer''{{'}}s dedication plaque]]
+The ''Stargazer'' dedication plaque was illegible on screen, and according to [[Doug Drexler]], the plaque art has been lost. [[Michael Okuda]] recalled in {{y|2009}} that the plaque indicated that the ship was a {{class|Constitution}} starship built by the [[Federation Space Systems]] and “''To bring light into the darkness''” was the ships motto. Michael Okuda has commented on the class name:<blockquote>''"The Stargazer dedication plaque did say "Constitution class", but we had already decided to drop that designation, even during preproduction. I asked Ed Charnock, our on-set painter, to mist over the plaque with a little black spray paint, to make it a little harder to read "Constitution". There wasn't time, or money, to have the plaque re-made, but the type was so small that it would have been very difficult to read the text on camera, even without the smudge. Also, the set lighting was dark, so I wasn't worried." {{DrexFiles|2009/01/14/mary-this-thing-was-made-in-bedford-falls/}}''</blockquote>The motto is inspired by the science fiction short story and subsequent novel written by {{w|Daniel Keyes}} ''{{w|Flowers for Algernon}}'':<blockquote>''"They had pretended to be geniuses. But they were just ordinary men working blindly, pretending to be able '''to bring light into the darkness'''. Why is it that everyone lies? No one I know is what he appears to be."''</blockquote>Okuda further commented on the plaque:<blockquote>''"The dedication plaque indicated that the ship was built by "[[Federation Space Systems]]," and gave the ship's motto as "To bring light into the darkness."  [[Herb Wright]] suggested that one." {{DrexFiles|2009/01/14/mary-this-thing-was-made-in-bedford-falls/}}''</blockquote>
+The {{y|1995}} ''[[Star Trek - Reflections of the Future, Phase One]]'' [[trading cards|trading card set]] contained a "Gold Registry Plaque" card for the ''Stargazer'' that contained the following information:
+{| class="grey" align="center"
+|- align="center"
+| {{USS|Stargazer}}
+|- align="center"
+| {{class|Constitution}}
+|- align="center"
+| [[Starfleet]] [[registry]] NCC-2893
+|- align="center"
+| [[San Francisco Fleet Yards]], [[Earth]]
+|- align="center"
+| [[United Federation of Planets]]
+|- align="center"
+| ''"To bring light into the darkness."''
+|}
 In 1994, [[Galoob]] produced a toy model of the ''Stargazer'' as part of their Micromachines line.  Interestingly enough, the coloring on the model was completely wrong and was actually based on the coloring of the NCC-7100 model seen in Picard's office.
@@ Line 61: / Line 82: @@
 [[File:Stargazer.jpg|thumb|USS ''Stargazer'' (NCC-2893-A) in ''Star Trek Online'']]
+In ''[[Star Trek Online]]'', a new USS ''Stargazer'' (NCC-2893-A) is built in the years after ''[[Star Trek Nemesis]]'', as the first of a new class of heavy cruiser. The ''Stargazer''-class is one of the available design choices (along with the {{class|Cheyenne}} and ''Dakota''-class) for the Heavy Cruiser ship available to Federation characters at the rank of Commander. Additionally, the original ''Constellation''-class, with a console that allows the ship to perform the Picard Manuever, can be purchased from the in-game store.
-''[[Star Trek Online]]'' features the second starship named ''Stargazer'', the USS ''Stargazer'' (NCC-2893-A), and the ''Stargazer''-class named after it, as a playable ship in the "Heavy Cruiser" tier.
+===External link===
+* {{mbeta|USS Stargazer (NCC-2893)|USS ''Stargazer'' (NCC-2893)}}
+[[Category:Federation starships|Stargazer, USS]]
-==External link==
-* {{NCwiki|USS Stargazer (NCC-2893)|USS ''Stargazer'' (NCC-2893)}}
 [[de:USS Stargazer]]
 [[es:USS Stargazer]]
+[[fr:USS Stargazer (NCC-2893)]]
 [[ja:USSスターゲイザー]]
 [[pl:U.S.S. "Stargazer" NCC-2893]]
 [[ru:USS Старгейзер]]
-[[Category:Federation starships|Stargazer]]