Worf actor Michael Dorn recalls the first time he stepped foot on the bridge of the USS Enterprise-D on Star Trek: The Next Generation. In the 7 seasons of TNG, the bridge of the USS Enterprise-D became like a home to both the characters and the viewers. For Star Trek: Picard season 3, showrunner Terry Matalas had the Enterprise-D set rebuilt, which created a sense of nostalgia for many of the returning TNG cast members. Captain Worf made his triumphant return to Star Trek in Picard season 3, now working with Starfleet Intelligence as a handler for Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd).
As part of TrekTalk 3, Terry Matalas joined actors Michael Dorn, Jeri Ryan, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Todd Stashwick, and Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut for a Star Trek: Picard season 3 panel. When moderators Jonathan Del Arco and Kayla Iacovino steered the conversation to the rebuilt USS Enterprise-D bridge, Michael Dorn spoke about what it was like to revisit that set, as well as his experience on the original TNG bridge. Read his full quote and watch the full telethon below; Dorn’s answer begins around timestamp 5:33:05.
Michael Dorn: When you’re working, you don’t get that, I didn’t really get that sort of feeling while I was working on it because you’re walking on the set and you see behind the set and, you know, it’s not – you’re kind of busy. But I felt the same as you did when we saw the screening and you saw the set in its full glory without, you know, the cameras and people walking around and stuff like that. And it was like ‘oh, well that was nice.’ But during the filming I just didn’t have that feeling, I mean, it was amazing what they did, but I did clue in on one thing is when I got the original job, I was the last one cast, everybody had been cast and I was, you know, I mean literally the last person, nobody knew who I was. And I really wanted to see what the bridge was and when I saw the bridge, it was something that in those days you had never seen before. You know, bridges are usually, they look like military operations on a carrier or on a battleship and this was like a comfortable living room. I just remember the takeaway from that was things have changed where, you know, you’re out in space for five years or whatever the case, you got to be comfortable, you know. I remember that and that’s the same thing I felt when I watched the screening.
Gates McFadden: That’s so well said, Michael, I think I felt the same way. It didn’t feel so impactful when we were acting it, but as soon as you start touching that rim and it just feels absolutely like home. It really was amazing just to have that there and all of those, the same commands and it just comes back to you. … It was powerful. It was so genius, Terry, it was powerful when you saw it, it really was.
Patrick Stewart Was “Utterly Unprepared” for Star Trek: Picard’s Enterprise-D Bridge Reunion
Patrick Stewart shares the emotional experience he felt returning to the USS Enterprise-D bridge set on Star Trek: Picard season 3.
Why The USS Enterprise-D’s Bridge Is So Special
“How many times has she managed to save the world?”
Michael Dorn found the USS Enterprise-D bridge inviting from the very beginning, and fans soon came to feel the same way. Most episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation began and ended on the bridge, and those beige walls and red carpets would become almost as iconic as the show’s characters. The camaraderie of the TNG cast has been well-documented in various interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, so it’s not surprising the bridge set became like a second home to many of them. For the cast and fans alike, that first shot of the completely rebuilt Enterprise-D bridge in Star Trek: Picard season 3 felt like coming home.
Production designer Dave Blass and art director Liz Kloczkowski worked together with a team for four months to painstakingly recreate the bridge of the USS Enterprise-D as precisely as possible. A Trek fan himself, Dave Blass spoke with Screen Rant about his experience working on Picard season 3 and the Enterprise-D set, reiterating how great it was to “give this gift back to the legacy characters.” The cast and crew of Star Trek: Picard season 3 only had two days to film on the Enterprise-D bridge, and the set remains in storage, hopefully to be used in a future Star Trek project.
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