Star Trek: Every Bridge Ranked Worst To Best

Although we sometimes seem like we believe otherwise, Star Trek is still just a series of TV and Movies. Sure, it's gotten so big to the point that a Federation Starship is almost instantaneously recognisable to even the most casual of observer, but the franchise's beginnings were humble and held to the same scrutiny of any other.

Even from its pilot, Star Trek the original series didn't have a lot of money behind it. Production crews had to make do with what they could afford. There wasn't a Vulcan in Sto'Vo'Kor's chance that they would be able to make something different or massively exotic every week. To be honest, they weren't really able to make anything hugely expensive in the first place.

So, the action had to take place in one location whenever possible--and since Gene Roddenberry was influenced by war movies that took place on a submarine, he knew just where that should be: the command centre. Or, as it was more known as in nautical terms, the Bridge.

Since 1966, stories have covered a period of nearly a millennium, though the bridge setting has remained a lynchpin. However, different designers have given audiences different interpretations of what that should look like.

So, let's explore the main bridges that appear in the franchise, from worst to best.

Sir Patrick Stewart's return to the Star Trek franchise initially received a mixed response from the fanbase. Part of this was to do with his desire to distance Picard from The Next Generation. There were to be no uniforms, few returning cast members and, apparently, fewer Federation Star Ships.

Given that the title retained the words 'star' and 'trek', losing the space exploration completely just couldn't happen. Even the great Jean-Luc Picard would need to get around, but without a commission from Starfleet to do so, writers of the show had to get creative.

Enter SS La Sirena, captained by the charismatic cigar-chomping Captain Cristóbal Rios. As a civilian ship (specifically a Kaplan F17 Speed Freighter), the layout and placement of the various decks are very different to a typical Federation vessel. The bridge, which is normally located at the precarious top part of a Starfleet ship's saucer section, is the front most part of La Sirena. It's layout would also have two front consoles ahead of a command chair, but the aft section opened onto the rest of the ship--meaning you could see most of the vessel from the bridge.

However, there is Starfleet influence peppered into the décor. The Captain's chair and consoles looks like they were lifted from a Federation vessel, and then updated with holographic controls. It's not pretty, but it does the job.

Side note, La Sirena is Spanish for 'The Mermaid', which is what the combadges and little symbols dotted around the ship depict.