Many trekkies have long criticized the Enterprise-D for its resemblance to a luxury hotel. Its gray-beige-lavender decor could be the color scheme found in a 1987 frozen yogurt shop or Gap store. It was rounded and smooth-edged. The Enterprise-D features the only bridge in “Star Trek” to have wood accents. By comparison, the USS Titan had a steel floor, lots of metal and clay textures, and hard, pointy angles. The same could be said for the USS Stargazer in “Picard” season 2 or The Siren in season 1. In all cases, the lighting has been kept noticeably low, making the starships’ bridges appear close together. strips. With illuminated touch panel controls in aggressively dark rooms, one might assume that all of the bridge officers would be in sickbay often, complaining of eyestrain.
Why are starship bridges so fucking dark? Is it meant to communicate intimacy? Is it so that the bridge officers can “disappear” into their own stations, undisturbed by the work of others? Or have human eyeballs evolved to be more comfortable at night? Surfaces get dirty easily and darkness is the only way to hide stains? However, it’s also possible that Neo-Trek audiences only saw starships during their “night shift” dark hours. Perhaps, because the new “Star Trek” shows are being made in the age of smartphones and illuminated laptops (“Next Generation” predates these innovations), the new designers wanted the starships to be more like the workspace of a modern desk jockey.
