Why Every Star Trek Captain Had An Iconic Chair
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- 👋 Hi, this is Jim from Trek World, and today we start our video by acknowledging just how important something as simple as a chair can truly be. In the hit HBO series Game of Thrones, there was only one Iron Throne. Similarly, in Star Trek, the captain's chair holds significant power and prestige. Join us as we explore the legendary captain's chair from the original Star Trek series, a symbol of respect and authority.
🪑 The captain's chair is not just a piece of furniture; it represents the central nervous system of the starship, a place where critical decisions are made. Our journey takes us back to the late 1960s, highlighting the iconic chair used by Jeffrey Hunter in "The Cage" and William Shatner throughout the series. We delve into its origins, design, and the various modifications it underwent.
🔧 Discover how Matt Jeffries transformed a simple Madison Furniture Company chair into a cultural icon, fitting it with a console made of plywood and a spring-loaded swivel. This chair's recognition extends beyond Star Trek fans, becoming a global symbol.
📺 We'll also examine the differences between the versions used in "The Cage" and "Where No Man Has Gone Before," including the removal of the gooseneck viewer due to practical filming constraints. We highlight its adaptations for William Shatner, who needed a platform to elevate his height, ensuring he matched the visual dynamics of the bridge crew.
🚀 Explore the chair's significance through various iterations in TV shows and films, noting its presence in the JJ Abrams 2009 reboot. The captain's chair has evolved but remains a powerful symbol of leadership.
💡 We also share fascinating trivia, like the chair's rescue from being scrapped and its current home in the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle. The chair's legacy continues as it embodies the spirit of command and the honor of sitting in it.
👍 Don't forget to like the video and subscribe to our channel for more exclusive Star Trek content!
#StarTrek #CaptainsChair #SciFiHistory #StarTrekLegacy #IconicProps #StarTrekTOS #WilliamShatner #StarTrekFans #BehindTheScenes #SciFiProps #GameOfThrones #StarshipEnterprise #TrekWorld #TVHistory #MuseumOfPopCulture
You forgot to mention one of the more obvious temporary changes to the captain's chair: In "Mirror, Mirror", the chair had a throne-like back rest extension to make it look more imperious for the ISS Enterprise.
This extension was used again in "The Ultimate Computer" for the USS Lexington's bridge for Commodore Wesley to sit in and was only seen along with part of the Lexington's bridge via the Enterprise's viewscreen and a couple of short scenes from the Lexington's POV.
You're right! I hadn't thought of how the chair was portrayed in the mirror universe. Maybe an addendum in a future update..... Thanks for pointing that out!
I remember a comedian making the joke that Star Trek was a perfect male fantasy because at the center of it all was a La-z-Boy in front of a big screen TV!
So true! 😀
i think that was keven pollack.
I got a chance to actually SIT in the Captain's chair while it was briefly at the Smithsonian.
Sadly, those photos were inadvertantly destroyed.
Thank you again, APU.
Oh wow! I am so envious! Since it is on the far northwest coast here, I don't think I'll ever have the chance.
@@TREK-WORLD I was on a trip from Texas to Florida throughout the eastern coast northward through New England into Canada - and it was truly the highlight of my trip! Sadly, that shows you what kind of a sad, sad old school 'Trekie' I am. It's almost embarrassing! The entire 'Trek' exhibit was exhilarating for me!
I remember when my nephew and I watched Episode 64: The Tholian Web, and at the climax where Captain Kirk was saved from the Interphase he thought that Kirk missed his chair. I sat in a prop of it at a Star Trek exhibit once and it felt good. I believe it was at the same exhibit in Seattle.
those plaques everywhere identify the instance of a specific assembly or mechanical object, which could be generic or customized for the spot. it's a mechanical engineering protocol, and manuals with diagrams will identify all the dimensions, component parts, how they work, customization, the parts replacement list, power & data feeds, and esp tolerances.
Nicely done!
Thanks!
Thankfully the original was saved, as was the helmsman and navigation console.
We don't know how much more in terms of pieces of the original sets may still be out there, and like the 3 footer model, waiting for the day it shows up in a storage unit or someone's estate sale.
You are most certainly correct. The hardest part of discovering them is that as time goes by, fewer people will be left to actualy make an unexpected connection to the Original Series. Just look at how many items were found by the Mork & Mindy crew and reused. Most people had no clue of the connection between the two series.
I miss the old chair too! Lol.
Thanks for this, great history. What you failed to mention in the Star Trek III clip is, as Styles says "you'll never sit in the Captain's Chair again", he actually sits. Film making at its best!
You're right! I missed that opportunity completely. 😀
This may be too recent for this video, but there’s a scene about the chair in the penultimate episode of Discovery, which aired two weeks ago. Rainer had been captain of another ship, but he was saved from a forced retirement in episode 2, when Burnam asked him to be her new first officer after Saru became an ambassador. Up until the above-mentioned scene, Rainer had refused to sit in the chair; Tilly points out to him that it was making the bridge crew nervous & that both Burnam & the crew considered him worthy to sit in the chair; he finally does at the end of the episode.
Yeah, that episode came out well after production was made of the video. But I also noticed that comment in Discovery and would have definitely used it as an add on point to illustrate when someone feels unworthy or undeserving of sitting in the chair.
🖖😎👍Very cool and very nicely well done and informatively explained and executed in every detail way shape and format provided on the Iconic Captains Chair throughout Startrek the Original Series, Movies and various TV shows and so forth and so on, A job very fabulously well done indeed Sir!👌.
Thank you so much for the kind words!
WooW! I did not know the Original chair still exists and was not stollen or something else over the years.
It's actually amazing to me how many of these props are still around after all this time.
If you look at the goose neck monitor it's mounted lower on the 2nd pilot than it was on the Cage. Also The Cage version had some sort of mount as it attached to the chair. On the 2nd pilot it looks like it just comes out of the side of the chair and also the neck looks shorter too. Also worth noting I had heard between seasons of TNG, I think between season 1 and 2 the captains chair was stolen. And a new one had to be made.
At 10:10 you can clearly see a space extension cord running around under the base of the chair and then up to probably power the gooseneck viewer.
I love those viewers!!!!
Doctor Who recently referenced the captain's chair in space babies the space baby captains chair had a arm rest with a panel of buttons on it.
Great insights, but the video almost derailed thanks to the Kelvin and Neu Trek clips. It would be interesting to make comparisons with the captain's chairs from the naval ships familiar to Roddenberry.
Hmmm... I'll make a note of that. It may be interesting. Thanks!
The “Court Martial” buttons are just plain silly. They have one that is specifically labeled “jettison pod” right where Kirk could accidentally press it? Talk about a very specific-use button. Why would that be captain’s responsibility anyway? 🤔
An easy way to explain it would be that those buttons can be assigned different functions as needed, and the dated-looking labels might (using one’s imagination) represent changing visual indicators that show what each button’s function is at that particular moment. So, since jettisoning the pod was deemed so important a possibility, Kirk had that function assigned directly to one of his chair buttons. That’s the only way the whole thing makes sense, at least in my mind.
What happened to the button configuration on the right arm rest side of what is supposed to be the original TOS chair? It has a single row of 5 buttons, as opposed to a double row of five buttons and five lights?
A previous owner of the chair in the actually decided to use them instead of a configuration that was shown in the series. Not sure I would have have made that choice. But in the view of conserving the chair, the decision was made to display it as is and not to rip into it again to try to make it more familiar.
Have you ever sat in THE chair, Jim?
Oh I wish I had! But I think I would almost feel sacrilegious in approaching it. For now, I just have to make due with my recliner in the media room! 😀
Many believe it's another chair
Yes. I've seen those comments as well. While there may be some doubts; the fact it came from Bob Justman really gave it more credence. Also, I know that at least one other known collector has made the claim that they have the actual chair and that this is not legit. But their ownership of the other chair makes their assertions somewhat suspect.
@@TREK-WORLD yes, but the chair most believe it came from has the very same seat and color. I'd show a picture but I'm sure you've seen them
Oh yes, I've probably seen them (I'm pretty sure I have). And it definitely makes a plausible case. But in most fields of collecting; when you have two pieces dueling for legitimacy - the one with the more respected COA wins. With something as significant as this, if the chair isn't legit - then Bob Justman would have to have knowingly promoted the fraud as the real thing. Especially since it was offered in an auction bering his name. And that doesn't fit with his reputation amongst the professionals and fans. So while it is still possible that the chair isn't legit; the odds required for it to have been sold as such are extremely slim.
Oh puleez....kirk was the 0ne and only captain....perhsps you whacked your head.