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Real world article
(written from a Production point of view)
Paramount logo

Paramount logo found at the intro of many Star Trek films

Paramount Stage 9 is located on the Paramount Pictures lot in Hollywood, California.

Stage 9 was used in most Star Trek productions including the first seven feature films, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager.

It was used through the four-year run of Star Trek: Enterprise and also housed sets for the 2009 film Star Trek.

1977-1986[]

During its 1977 pre-production, sets for Star Trek: Phase II were slated for construction and permanent use on Stage 9.

Constitution II class bridge, 2293

Main bridge from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Constitution II class engineering, 2270s

Main engineering from Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Most of Phase II's sets were completed when that series gave way to production of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, at which point they were modified and expanded for use in the feature film.

Stage 9 contained the primary interiors of the refit Enterprise and the USS Enterprise-A including the main bridge, transporter room, sickbay, corridor complex, Captain Kirk's cabin, and engineering.

Paramount Stage 8 housed the rec deck of the Enterprise, seen in The Motion Picture.

After the first feature, the dilithium chamber was added to engineering for the climax of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The sets remained mostly unchanged for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

The stage was used through Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home for Bird-of-Prey and Enterprise-A interiors, until it was taken over for permanent use in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

1987-1994[]

In 1987, with the start of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the sets on Stage 9 underwent modifications to become the USS Enterprise-D, the most drastic of which being the overhaul of the engineering and main bridge sets – the latter becoming the battle bridge.

Galaxy class engineering corridor

Corridors from Star Trek: The Next Generation

Edward K. Milkis and Robert H. Justman viewed the existing film sets for the first time in October 1986 to determine what could be reused for the new series. They found the sets in poor shape due to damage caused by cats living on the stage. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion (3rd ed., p. 8))

With new bridge and living quarters sets being constructed on Stage 6 for season one, Stage 9 contained the Enterprise-D's engineering, sickbay, crew quarters, transporter room, shuttlebay, and corridor complex sets. Other sets included the fullsize shuttlecraft mockups and interiors.

Sickbay doubled as the observation lounge: the observation lounge windows were covered with carpet during the sickbay scenes. A new conference lounge was built on Stage 8 for season two. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion (3rd ed., pp. 10 & 65))

Space across from the transporter room was saved for swing sets such as Troi's office and the battle bridge doubled as Data's lab and other locations, on and off the Enterprise.

Stage 8 housed the remaining Enterprise-D interiors used post TNG Season 2 and Generations.

Over the seven season run of TNG, the sets were refined – the corridors were expanded for longer tracking shots – but remained mostly unchanged even through the production of the seventh feature, Star Trek Generations.

The vast TNG interior sets were redressed for the final two original series movies, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country in 1988 and 1991 respectively.

Temporary sets filmed on Stage 9 included the Rutian plaza in the episode "The High Ground" as well as scenes aboard the Talarian observation craft in the episode "Suddenly Human", filmed on 27 July 1990. Stage 9 also housed the workout room seen in episodes such as "Clues", filmed on 29 November 1990. The Tamarian bridge seen in the episode "Darmok" was built on Stage 9, filmed on 24 July 1991 and 25 July 1991.

Break-in[]

On 10 January 2007, a user on the video sharing website YouTube posted four videos entitled Stage 9 Interlopers

Consisting of four parts, the videos were shot on the night of 10 March 1988 by (at least) two fervent Star Trek fans who had broken onto the Paramount lot. Wandering through the darkened sets of Star Trek: The Next Generation (circa season one), the fans were able to light select parts of the sets, including most of the ship's display terminals and part of the warp core. Dressed in a makeshift Starfleet uniform (with white socks), one of the fans acted as the host of what was likely intended to be a homemade documentary – at one point climbing onto a sickbay biobed, then accidentally knocking it to the floor. Taking still photographs of the various "working" control panels, the fans can be heard discussing ways of removing set pieces from the stage.

According the YouTube user's description of the videos, when the fans were caught, they dropped the camcorder containing the footage and fled. [1]

1994-2001[]

After their use in Generations, the sets on Stage 9 underwent yet another revamp for their debut as the USS Voyager. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion (3rd ed., p. 321)) Richard James used his TNG experience and designed the Voyager sets to be easier to film than previous ones. (A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager, page 91)

USS Voyager corridor

Corridors from Star Trek: Voyager

As on TNG, Stage 9 housed engineering, sickbay, transporter room, junior officers' quarters, the corridor complex, and the shuttlebay/cargo bay/holodeck. A large science lab was eventually constructed here as well. (A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager, page 83)

While most sets retained their general positions, the Voyager engineering set was dramatically expanded, gaining a large second level. In its previous incarnation, engineering stood as part of the corridor complex and was often modified to represent a junction or living area. The revamp for VOY corrected this problem by making engineering its own compartment – a permanent standing set.

Sickbay was joined by a small biomedical laboratory for the second season, to the consternation of some crew members who felt the space would be better utilized for production storage. (A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager, page 91)

Stage 8 housed the remaining Voyager interiors used in VOY.

In 1996, Voyager's sickbay was modified for use in Star Trek: First Contact and again in 1998 for Star Trek: Insurrection. The entrance to main engineering also represented the USS Enterprise-E's library, while the transporter room was also reused and slightly redressed.

For the second season episode "Resistance", Stage 9 housed the set of Caylem's shelter. The scenes were filmed on Monday 25 September 1995 and Tuesday 26 September 1995.

On Monday 2 April 2001, Stage 9 housed the sets for the cave interiors, jungle sets, and rocky side areas during second unit for the seventh season episode "Natural Law".

The science lab set was the first standing Voyager set on Stage 9 to be demolished, on 22 March 2001. Tuvok's hospital room from "Endgame" was constructed in its place. Engineering was dismantled over 29 March 2001 to 5 April 2001. Demolition started on the cargo bay set on 5 April 2001 as well. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 4, pages 69-71)

2001-2005[]

In 2001, following the end of Voyager's final season, all of the sets in Stage 9 were permanently removed.

USS Defiant (NCC-1764) bridge

Star Trek: Enterprise, "In a Mirror, Darkly"

Instead of being home to the interiors of Enterprise NX-01 for Enterprise, Stage 9 housed only that series' cave set and various swing sets. Paramount Stages 18 and 8 housed all of the NX-01 interiors used in Enterprise.

Stage 9 housed the following sets:

The meditation room set was built near the spot where the transporter room aboard the USS Enterprise was built for Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1977. ("The Andorian Incident", text commentary, ENT Season 1 DVD special feature)
The catacombs sets in this episode were an expansion of the cave sets from the previous episode, "Terra Nova" and were enlarged, modified, and several times used on following episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise. ("The Andorian Incident", text commentary, ENT Season 1 DVD special feature)
Paramount Stage 9 roof

Stage 9 roof in "These Are the Voyages..."

The ceiling of the stage was actually seen in the scenes of "These Are the Voyages...", as it was deemed a good fit for the interior of the complex.

Stage 9 was home to the mines of Remus in 2002 for the filming of scenes from Star Trek Nemesis.

Following the cancellation of Enterprise in 2005, Stage 9 was, for the first time in many years, put into use in non-Star Trek productions.

2007[]

According to a May 2007 news item from The Trek Movie Report website, J.J. Abrams' 2009 film, Star Trek, was – in part – filmed on Paramount's Stage 9.

Set construction was scheduled to take place in July 2007, utilizing other "historic" Star Trek sound stages including Stages 8, 11, 14, 15, and 18. [2]

Productions[]

Sources[]

External links[]

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