Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek: The Original Series stuck to some clear rules that the war veteran had prescribed to make his vision of the future come to life. From the nature of professionalism among the crew to the logic in the Enterprise’s design, Roddenberry had a reason for everything and wanted his collaborators to stick to it.
The USS Enterprise, which is the primary setting of the original series, was designed by Matt Jefferies. The former aviation engineer and artist reportedly got the job due to his experience in the aviation industry and hit it off well with Roddenberry due to both of them fighting in World War II.
Gene Roddenberry had one specific instruction for Matt Jefferies while designing the USS Enterprise
Gene Roddenberry’s hopeful vision of the future included an almost militaristic discipline and commitment to space exploration and intergalactic diplomatic relations. Star Trek was set entirely in the USS Enterprise, the ship headed by Captain Kirk and housed classic characters like Spock, Sulu, and Uhura.
The iconic design of the USS Enterprise was designed by Matt Jefferies, who had experience in aviation and was an illustrator. His time as a soldier during the World War II and his experience in the B-17 and B-24 bombers reportedly led him to have a good rapport with Roddenberry, who was also a war veteran.
When giving him his idea for the design of the Enterprise, Jefferies mentioned that Roddenberry came into the office, told him about his vision and left with more questions than answers. Jefferies said to BBC,
Fantastic speed beyond our galaxy, shirt sleeve environment, mixed crew, probably a five year voyage, not to worry about gravity. ‘I don’t want to see any fins or rockets, no fire,’ he said, ‘make it look like it has got power’, and he walked out the door. I sat there, thinking, what was he talking about?
Jefferies mentioned that he tried to stay away from the traditional UFO saucer-like design and had initially planned a ball-like shape, but he eventually had to flatten it.
Matt Jefferies’ design for the Galileo shuttlecraft was deemed too expensive
What is a good sci-fi series without some interesting toys? Star Trek had plenty of weapons, ships, and other devices which could also boldly do what no human could ever do. One of the highlights and additions that the series got midway through the first season was the shuttlecraft known as Galileo.
Matt Jefferies, who was the chief designer, reportedly handed in a design that was deemed too expensive and far beyond the capabilities of the production company AMT. Hence, he decided to take the help of his friend Gene Winfield. He said (via Starship Data Link),
I worked up sketches for it. But AMT, who were going to build the model in their shops in Phoenix in exchange for being able to market the kit of the Enterprise, felt it was beyond their capabilities, so it was designed by Gene Winfield, an automotive designer who had a custom body shop that primarily serviced the automotive industry through AMT. The Galileo as everybody knows it today was not my design.
Jefferies mentioned that he was a bit disappointed with his design not being a reality but he eventually relented to the fact that people had accepted it.
Star Trek is available to stream on Paramount+.
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