Enterprise

Just in time for the 50th anniversary of the ‘Star Trek’ franchise, the Smithsonian has debuted the original, fully restored model of the USS Enterprise in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.. For years it had hung above the gift shop of the museum in its original form, but in honor of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum’s 40th anniversary (which just happens to coincide with the franchise’s 50th anniversary as stated above), they decided to clean up the old model, replace the old lights with modern LEDs, and give it a place of honor within the museum itself. It was a move long overdue, at least according to Malcolm Collum, the chief conservator of the Museum in a recent interview with NPR:

“From a conservator’s standpoint, that [was] probably one of the worst places to put an artifact. It’s an iconic artifact, so we’re really treating this as something that is — it needs to be preserved and treated as authentically as possible.”

Of course, this was the actual ship they shot the show with, so it is not “camera ready” from all angles, with wires and lights clearly visible on one side, but fans of the original series (which ran from 1966-1969) will definitely remember the iconic ship well.  Check it out for yourself in the Youtube video below, which only shows the camera ready angles of the ship:

What are your thoughts on the new home of the original USS Enterprise? Can you believe they waited this long to actually have it as a real exhibit at the nation’s premiere Museum for air and space? Or do you think it does not deserve to be there since it is from a work of fiction? Share your opinion on the matter in the comments section below!

Source: Hollywood Reporter

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Nick is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, who belongs to the privileged few who enjoyed the ending to ‘Lost.’ For more of Nick’s thoughts and articles, follow him on Twitter.