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Paramount Stage 9

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(written from a production point of view)
Paramount logo

Paramount logo found at the intro of many Star Trek films

Paramount Stage 9 is located on the Paramount Pictures lot in Hollywood, California.

Stage 9 was used in most Star Trek productions including the first seven feature films, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Star Trek: Voyager.

In addition, it was used through the four-year run of Star Trek: Enterprise and also housed sets for the 2009 film Star Trek.

1977-1986[]

During its 1977 pre-production, sets for Star Trek: Phase II were slated for construction and permanent use on Stage 9.

Constitution II class bridge, 2293

Main bridge from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Constitution II class engineering, 2270s

Main engineering from Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Most of Phase II's sets were completed when that series gave way to production of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, at which point they were modified and expanded for use in the feature film.

Stage 9 contained the primary interiors of the refit Enterprise and the USS Enterprise-A including the transporter room, sickbay, Captain Kirk's cabin, and engineering, all interconnected by a corridor complex. The main bridge was also bulit in a separate corner of the soundstage, not connected to the rest of the sets.

Paramount Stage 8 housed the rec deck of the Enterprise, seen in The Motion Picture.

After the first feature, the dilithium chamber was added to engineering for the climax of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The sets remained mostly unchanged for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. However, sickbay (which does not appear in the film) was converted into the bar in which McCoy tries to find transportation.

The stage was used in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home for Bird-of-Prey and Enterprise-A bridge; however, the other Enterprise sets, though not used in the film, were apparently left standing from the previous film. After this film, Stage 9 was was taken over for permanent use in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

1987-1994[]

With the start of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987, the sets on Stage 9 underwent modifications to become the USS Enterprise-D. Edward K. Milkis and Robert H. Justman viewed the existing film sets for the first time in October 1986 to determine what could be reused for the new series. They found the sets in poor shape due to damage caused by cats living on the stage. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 3rd ed., p. 8)

Galaxy class engineering corridor

Corridors from Star Trek: The Next Generation

As with the original-series films, Stage 9 held the transporter room, sickbay, a crew cabin, and main engineering, all interconnected by a corridor complex. The main bridge from the films was left standing and served first as the battle bridge of the Enterprise-D, and was modified throughout the series to serve as the bridge of various ships, as well as a variety of other rooms.

The main engineering set of the films was mostly rebuilt. The new set was built around the spot where the existing warp core stood. Although the core itself was replaced, the upper level structure was retained. The stage was dug out to built a section of deck 37 visible over the warp core railing.

The existing sickbay (converted to a bar for Star Trek III), was also heavily rebuilt on a similar footprint to the original. The enlarged main room of sickbay took up the space that had included the separate medical lab/surgical bay of the films. Elements of the McCoy's office and waiting room were kept, and the room was connected directly to the main sickbay set. In the first season, the sickbay set doubled as the observation lounge. The windows were covered with carpet during the sickbay scenes. A new observation lounge set was built on Stage 8 for season two, and the curved sickbay wall with the covered windows was replaced by a new wall with divided alcoves (as the original film sets had). (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 3rd ed., pp. 10 & 65)

The transporter room received relatively minor and mostly cosmetic updates, but was shortened with the control panel and the wall behind it moved closer to the pad. This allowed space for a new medical lab set to be built, though it was rarely used.

Kirk's quarters were used with limited changes as junior crew quarters (for Data, Worf, LaForge, and others). It was modified more heavily after the first season.

The corridor complex also received mostly cosmetic upgrades. the section exiting the film engineering set was widened and incorporated into the new main engineering set. The turbolift that had opened directly into the main curved corridor (facing the main straight corridor) was moved back into its own short alcove. The rear portion of the engineering set was built with the engineering elements removable, and could double as additional corridor space (or other rooms). The main curved corridor passed through the middle of the engineering set. Other than in the first few episodes of the series (and in Generations), this corridor intersection was walled off when the set was used as engineering.

In the last unused corner of the stage, a new large set was built that was used as the cargo bay, shuttlebay, and holodeck. Other large sets were built within this space at times. This room was initially connected by the large octagonal door to a short straight corridor that also connected to the back entrance to the crew quarters. Over time, a turbolift was added to this corridor, and by at least the third season, the angle of this corridor and the bay entrance had changed, and it was connected to the main curved corridor to extend the total corridor length.

Space across from the transporter room was used for swing sets such as Troi's office.

The remaining permanent Enterprise-D sets, being the main bridge/ready room and the larger and more commonly-used crew quarters and short corridor sets were originally built on Stage 6. They were moved to the larger Stage 8 after the first season where the permanent observation lounge was constructed along with Ten Forward.

Other than as mentioned here, the stage layout remained mostly unchanged even through the production of the seventh feature, Star Trek Generations.

The Stage 9 sets were redressed for the final two original series movies, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, in 1988 and 1991 respectively.

Temporary sets filmed on Stage 9 included the Rutian plaza in the episode "The High Ground" as well as scenes aboard the Talarian observation craft in the episode "Suddenly Human", filmed on 27 July 1990. Stage 9 also housed the workout room seen in episodes such as "Clues", filmed on 29 November 1990. The Tamarian bridge seen in the episode "Darmok" was built on Stage 9, filmed on 24 July 1991 and 25 July 1991.

Break-in[]

On 10 January 2007, a user on the video sharing website YouTube posted four videos entitled Stage 9 Interlopers

Consisting of four parts, the videos were shot on the night of 10 March 1988 by (at least) two fervent Star Trek fans who had broken onto the Paramount lot. Wandering through the darkened sets of Star Trek: The Next Generation (circa season one), the fans were able to light select parts of the sets, including most of the ship's display terminals and part of the warp core. Dressed in a makeshift Starfleet uniform (with white socks), one of the fans acted as the host of what was likely intended to be a homemade documentary – at one point climbing onto a sickbay biobed, then accidentally knocking it to the floor. Taking still photographs of the various "working" control panels, the fans can be heard discussing ways of removing set pieces from the stage.

According the YouTube user's description of the videos, when the fans were caught, they dropped the camcorder containing the footage and fled. [1]

1994-2001[]

After their use in Generations, the sets on Stage 9 underwent yet another revamp for their debut as the USS Voyager. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 3rd ed., p. 321) Richard James used his TNG experience and designed the Voyager sets to be easier to film than previous ones. (A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager, page 91)

USS Voyager corridor

Corridors from Star Trek: Voyager

As on TNG, Stage 9 housed engineering, sickbay, transporter room, junior officers' quarters, the corridor complex, and the shuttlebay/cargo bay/holodeck. A large science lab was eventually constructed here as well. (A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager, page 83)

While most sets retained their general positions, the Voyager engineering set was dramatically expanded, gaining a large second level. In its previous incarnation, engineering stood as part of the corridor complex and was often modified to represent a junction or living area. The revamp for VOY corrected this problem by making engineering its own compartment – a permanent standing set.

Sickbay was joined by a small biomedical laboratory for the second season, to the consternation of some crew members who felt the space would be better utilized for production storage. (A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager, page 91)

Stage 8 housed the remaining Voyager interiors used in VOY.

In 1996, Voyager's sickbay was modified for use in Star Trek: First Contact and again in 1998 for Star Trek: Insurrection. The entrance to main engineering also represented the USS Enterprise-E's library, while the transporter room was also reused and slightly redressed.

For the second season episode "Resistance", Stage 9 housed the set of Caylem's shelter. The scenes were filmed on Monday 25 September 1995 and Tuesday 26 September 1995.

On Monday 2 April 2001, Stage 9 housed the sets for the cave interiors, jungle sets, and rocky side areas during second unit for the seventh season episode "Natural Law".

The science lab set was the first standing Voyager set on Stage 9 to be demolished, on 22 March 2001. Tuvok's hospital room from "Endgame" was constructed in its place. Engineering was dismantled over 29 March 2001 to 5 April 2001. Demolition started on the cargo bay set on 5 April 2001 as well. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 4, pages 69-71)

2001-2005[]

In 2001, following the end of Voyager's final season, all of the sets in Stage 9 were permanently removed.

USS Defiant (NCC-1764) bridge

Star Trek: Enterprise, "In a Mirror, Darkly"

Instead of being home to the interiors of Enterprise NX-01 for Enterprise, Stage 9 housed only that series' cave set and various swing sets. Paramount Stages 18 and 8 housed all of the NX-01 interiors used in Enterprise.

Stage 9 housed the following sets:

The meditation room set was built near the spot where the transporter room aboard the USS Enterprise was built for Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1977. ("The Andorian Incident", text commentary, ENT Season 1 DVD special feature)

The catacombs sets in this episode were an expansion of the cave sets from the previous episode, "Terra Nova" and were enlarged, modified, and several times used on following episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise. ("The Andorian Incident", text commentary, ENT Season 1 DVD special feature)

Paramount Stage 9 roof

Stage 9 roof in "These Are the Voyages..."

The ceiling of the stage was actually seen in the scenes of "These Are the Voyages...", as it was deemed a good fit for the interior of the complex.

Stage 9 was home to the mines of Remus in 2002 for the filming of scenes from Star Trek Nemesis.

Following the cancellation of Enterprise in 2005, Stage 9 was, for the first time in many years, put into use in non-Star Trek productions.

2007[]

According to a May 2007 news item from The Trek Movie Report website, J.J. Abrams' 2009 film, Star Trek, was – in part – filmed on Paramount's Stage 9.

Set construction was scheduled to take place in July 2007, utilizing other "historic" Star Trek sound stages including Stages 8, 11, 14, 15, and 18. [2]

Productions[]

Paramount stages
1 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 25 • 29 • 31 • 32 • M

Sources[]

External links[]

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