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Acoustic Panels as Wall Coverings in Star Trek: The Next Generation
- msuniverse2026 1y agoI get the vibe but is that really what you'd want on deck? I can't imagine giving a command and having it be ignored because it didn't bounce back to the people behind you.
- sleepytimetea 1y agoImagine if the walls were thin resonant panels and every time the Captain says "make it so" it will reverberate and sound like a commandment from God !
- paulmooreparks 1y agoYou'd very likely want acoustic treatment. You'd hear the command from the direction it was given in, not bouncing around, echoing, and interfering with itself. There's probably a practical set-design aspect to this. The acoustic tile as backdrop also makes a better sound stage, I would think.
- huflungdung 1y agoNo. It’s because it looks cool and futuristic. Nothing else.
- sleepytimetea 1y agoI love how they have documented the wall coverings from all the TNG episodes in minute detail.
- 9dev 1y agoLooking at science fiction sets, I always wonder why they have to look so "spacey"; Foundation is a good concurrent example of this, but even my highly regarded Expanse, which avoids a lot of inaccuracies usually, is not innocent here. Irregularly shaped doors, flashy lights in useless places, patterned backgrounds, round halls, windows on spaceships, and so on. I mean, I get it, I watch a space opera, it’s set in space. But why do the designers have to shove it in your face that much? My guess would be that the future rather features sublime technology that disappears into the background when not needed, environments designed for efficiency, not wasted space—especially on vessels.
- MrBuddyCasino 1y agoSciFi has to be the laziest aesthetic in existence. Oh your color scheme is grey-blue? Because of muh tech? How very cerebral and rational.
- mitthrowaway2 1y agoStar Trek: TNG's colour scheme is warm orange, maroon, burgundy, and cream.
- MrBuddyCasino 1y agoYes its an exception that proves the rule.
- BoredPositron 1y agoGive me 5 examples of your typical "sci-fi" aesthetic... what you mean is dystopian aesthetic.
- TheOtherHobbes 1y agoIt's not the colour scheme, it's the shapes and architecture. Everything is plastic and coded as either technology or efficiency. Straight lines, industrial curves, blinky lights, holographic panels or touch displays. Clean, shiny, geometric, emphasis on shape and space. Form follows function. No superfluous decoration. No dirt on the ground. Textbook modernism. The alternative is the industrial-warehouse-in-space Alien aesthetic - all unlit metal gantries and dripping chains - which is a different kind of efficiency. But still utilitarian. When you get an organic incursion of veins, branches, or tendrils, it's either a self-contained Memory of Home arboretum, or a signifier of danger and a Very Bad Thing.
- BoredPositron 1y agoHis comment was about the color scheme...
- pndy 1y agoDS9 used plastic pallets - one type could be seen in the infirmary [1] and IIRC ceilings were made from different ones [1] - https://old.reddit.com/r/Thatsabooklight/comments/twunb5 https://old.reddit.com/r/Thatsabooklight/comments/twunb5
- mrexroad 1y agoI’ve always loved behind the scenes for sci-fi set designs and ship building. Kit bashing, repurposing junk yard items, painted container lid wall plating, etc. always forced me to look and think differently about everyday items. I can’t help but lament the loss of the constraint-drive emergent soul/feel of these “worlds” as CGI backgrounds and/or movie budgets applied to TV series set design (e.g. ST:SNW, ST:PIC, etc). With that said, Andor did show how high budget physical set designs can significantly contribute to world building.
- pndy 1y agoEx Astris Scientia covers much of that and it's really cool to see how many times they reused particular stuff. Even set that screams it repurposes some real life elements sometimes gives better overall impression than CGI surroundings. I miss that craftsman work from years ago. Doctor Who after return in 2005 up until 2010 didn't had a big budget and thus sets, props were cheaply done but that exactly worked IMO for overall charm of that show.
- mrexroad 1y agoYep. Ex Astris scientia is one of my most dangerous rabbit holes, along with the lurker’s guide to Babylon 5.
- Mountain_Skies 1y agoCan't find it now but there's a website that documents the use of Ikea furniture in Star Trek. I first started to notice when the courtroom lamps in TNG's Devil's Due were the same lamps as in my loft.
- BennyH26 1y agohttps://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/database/chairs-trek.htm https://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/database/chairs-trek.htm
- Nexo_Prime 1y ago[dead]
- time0ut 1y agoI love this website. It is a throwback to the old internet I grew up with. It has it all. Packed with esoteric information gathered and curated by a passionate group. Designed for desktop only with its own unique aesthetic. Not covered with ads and cookie banners and newsletter popups. I remember spending many evenings exploring such things at 33.6kbps. On topic: I have watched every episode on TNG more than once and never noticed this. How embarrassing!
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- Kye 1y agoI only noticed it because I hang out with A/V people. It was nice to find this page and have it not just confirmed but fully detailed. Babylon 5 does this a lot too.
- delichon 1y agoGalaxy Quest captured this so well. KYLE Hi, Brandon. BRANDON No time for pleasantries, Kyle. We have a level five emergency. You still got the utility systems walk-through, right? KYLE Yeah. I've got sectors one through twenty-eight. I think Hollister has the upper levels. BRANDON Great. I'll get everybody on-line. Kyle is the real hero of the film. There is probably a scenario where Earth is saved when Kyle realizes that an acoustic panel has been rotated by 90 degrees.
- krackers 1y agoMy favorite is the chairs in TNG. All that futuristic looking seating is something you can actually buy! Some of them actually look pretty comfortable. I've always wanted a Stokke Ekstrem https://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/database/chairs-trek.htm https://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/database/chairs-trek.htm
- namibj 1y agoI was prepared for a chair, not..... _that._
- mrexroad 1y agoI revisit this chair list every now and then, especially during a rewatch of a series. Worf’s chair always stood out to me as a life goal when the series aired. I settled for a Stokke high chair for my kid.
- pndy 1y agoThat reminds me somehow that both DS9 and B5 used same triangle-shaped pillows. Guess you can't have anything more "alien"...