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Real World article
(written from a Production point of view)

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, The Next Generation and Voyager.

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

1977-1986Edit

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

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 Enterprise-A including the main bridge, transporter room, sickbay, corridor complex, Captain Kirk's cabin, and engineering.

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.

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

1987-1994 Edit

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

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 include the shuttlecraft interior, Data's quarters, and the Tamarian bridge seen in the episode "Darmok", filmed on 24 July 1991 and 25 July 1991. The scenes on the Rutian plaza in the episode "The High Ground" were also filmed on stage 9 as were the 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.

Sickbay doubled as the observation lounge until season two, during which the main bridge, crew quarters, Ten Forward lounge, and observation lounge were built on Stage 8. Sickbay was completely rebuilt.

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 1990 respectively.

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 in TNG and Generations.

Break-in Edit

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]

1994-2001Edit

After their use in Generations, the sets on Stage 9 underwent yet another revamp for their debut as the USS Voyager.

While retaining their general position, the Voyager interior sets were dramatically expanded, engineering gaining a large second level and sickbay expanding to include a larger doctor's office and (from the second season on) an adjoining medical lab. The corridor complex was similarly expanded.

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.

In 1995, Voyager's sickbay was modified for use in Star Trek: First Contact and again in 1997 for Star Trek: Insurrection. The entrance to main engineering also represented the Enterprise-E's library.

Stage 8 housed the remaining Voyager interiors used in VOY.

2001-2005Edit

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

Instead of being home to the interiors of the NX-01 for Enterprise, Stage 9 housed only that series' cave set and various swing sets. The Rura Penthe sets for the episode "Judgment" were constructed on Stage 9.

Scenes on Rigel X for "These Are the Voyages..." were also filmed there. The ceiling of the stage was actually seen in these scenes, as it was deemed a good fit for the interior of the complex.

In season four, for example, the bridge of the Defiant was built on Stage 9.

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.

Paramount Stages 18 and 8 housed all of the NX-01 interiors used in ENT.

2007Edit

According to a May 2007 news item from The Trek Movie Report website, J.J. Abrams' 2008 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]

ProductionsEdit

Paramount stages

4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 25 • 29 • 31 • 32 • M

SourcesEdit

Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series
Stephen Edward Poe, A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager
Michael and Denise Okuda, Star Trek Nemesis (Special Edition) text commentary
Michael Okuda, A Brief History of Paramount Stages 8 & 9, StarTrek.com

External linksEdit

Paramount Pictures - official website
StarTrek.com, the official Star Trek website