Star Trek: Every Bridge Ranked Worst To Best

When the Star Trek franchise made its bold return in 2017, the highly-teased USS Discovery didn't appear until the third episode. Until then, most of the action took place on the never-before-seen USS Shenzhou.

The Discovery's aesthetic has prevented her bridge from being particularly high on this list. However, the Shenzhou has secured her place for having the opposite features. Although the colour range of the set is mostly the same as the titular vessel, for this starship (which is established as being older), it actually works. Akin to the earlier motion pictures, and not too dissimilar to the NX-01, Captain Philippa Georgiou (Prime) commands a very industrial, working ship.

Shenzhou's bridge is more naval--again, helping to draw comparisons to the submariner stories of old. Whereas Discovery's is wide and has a lot of wasted space, the Shenzhou is more compact and seemingly busier. Traditional elements of the Federation command centres, as established by earlier series and movies, are all there--the pillars, the sounds and the layout. The only difference is that they have been a little spruced up for the sake of 21st century production values.

Initially, it seemed a little too new for a show that is set significantly before TOS. However, in retrospect (and realising NuTrek is a visual reboot of sorts) the Shenzhou has aged well. Plus, her bridge is at the bottom of the ship--which no doubt irked some traditionalists--but still kinda looks cool, and gives the ill-fated Shenzhou a unique quality.