10 Times Star Trek Reused Sets And Hoped You Wouldn't Notice
If there's one thing that Star Trek can do well, it's counting those pennies to make a saving.
Anyone reading this list, particularly those who have worked in any production in film, stage, or television, will understand the importance of keeping costs down. Why blow a tonne of money on the backgrounds when it's the writing and the acting that should take center stage, correct?
Well.
Sometimes, it really is worth dropping a few extra euros on the sets surrounding the actors so that, frankly, they don't stand out so much. Most of the entries on this list are a little baldly obvious in their various appearances. There are those that certainly come across better than others, even if the principle is the same.
There are also quite a few examples from two productions in particular, so try to guess what they will be before you set out to read this. And let's spare a thought for the production teams behind these examples - there is, to be very fair, a lot of very savvy examples of how cleverly the reuses are done. And then there's that one case where the set is just...plonked in a different direction.
We can't judge. We've worn the same t-shirt in several of our lists.
10. Ten Forward/The President's Office
The cheek. The gall. The gumption. The audacity to think the audience wouldn't notice - they even left the diagonal paneling on the walls. But, to be fair, we bloody love it here at TrekCulture towers.
Ten Forward was introduced in The Next Generation's second season, serving as the base for Guinan. This was Roddenberry's answer to an old west saloon (although with far less piano playing and far more synthahol), which would also serve as a function room when the situation called for it.
It was a large standing set, so it made sense to try and get as much use out of it as possible. Therefore, when The Undiscovered Country (oh, you'll see that film on this list again) went into production, Ten Forward was quickly adopted by the theatrical production.
The space setting was swapped out for Paris, and the bright sunshine flowed down onto the President's table. In the scenes featuring the discussion of Kirk and McCoy's arrest, this was the setting of the large office in which Starfleet and Federation representatives gather to watch the show trial. It is also where we catch an early glimpse of René Auberjonois, depending on which version of the film you're watching.