10 Dumb Mistakes Star Trek Wants You To Forget
4. The Design Of The Enterprise-C
The Enterprise-C made its first on-screen appearance in the third-season episode of The Next Generation, Yesterday's Enterprise. It was revealed as an Ambassador-class ship, believed to have been lost twenty years prior, defending the Klingon outpost of Narendra III from the Romulans. It slipped into a temporal disturbance, appearing in an altered future, alongside the Enterprise-D.
Rewinding to season one of The Next Generation, the Observation Lounge was seen to be adorned with several golden models on the wall. These models depicted the previous ships to bear the name Enterprise. Matt Jefferies designs for 1701 and 1701-A were present, as was an Excelsior-class ship (later revealed as the Enterprise-B). Then, a class of ship that had never been shown before sat between B and D.
This was designer Andrew Probert's original design for the Ambassador-class ship. It had a hull that was more evocative of the Excelsior-class, while the nacelles and deflector dish were closer to the Galaxy-class. The saucer section was circular, a design aspect that held over to the on-screen version.
When it came time to produce Yesterday's Enterprise, the budget didn't stretch to building an entirely new class of ship. Therefore, the Ambassador-class, as depicted, was something of a kitbash from readily available models.