Star Trek: Every Starship Enterprise Ranked From WORST To BEST

11. NCC-1701-J

Star Trek OTOY The Roddenberry Arrchive Enterprise J
OTOY / The Roddenberry Archive

The USS Enterprise NCC-1701-J is one of the outliers on this list. The ship has yet to be seen in full relief on screen, though action has taken place on board the vessel. Azati Prime sees Jonathan Archer transported into the future by Daniels. The captain from the 22nd century is suddenly standing aboard this ship from the 26th.

The Universe-class ship, designed by Doug Drexler, was rendered in high definition by OTOY for The Roddenberry Archive. While it was depicted on a schematic in the episode and featured in the Ships Of The Line calendar series, this version provided the audience with the clearest look yet at this immense starship.

With translucent (possibly transparent) aluminium hulls, the interior of the ship displayed wide-open fields and forests, effectively becoming a moveable colony. The short film 765874: Unification is heavily suggested to take place aboard the Enterprise-J, which would mean sunny skies and peaceful parks aplenty.

This is perhaps the most ambitious project yet, when one considers the fundamental mission of the USS Enterprise. If the ship is designed to seek out new life and new civilisations, and also strange new worlds, then the Enterprise-J is the first in that line of ships to actually bring colonies directly to those new worlds. 

Other Enterprises were instrumental in first contact missions, but the Enterprise-J was the one that brought entire civilisations to worlds, helping the Federation expand out into the galaxy. 

Contributor
Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"