On our second day of rain we decided to go off the beaten path and visit a warehouse in the middle of nowhere, the location of The Neutral Zone.
THE NEUTRAL ZONE, located in Kingsland, GA is a Not for Profit facility that houses a 9,600 square foot, full-scale suite of Constitution class starship sets including the bridge, transporter room, engineering, sickbay, and more; connected by a 100 foot-long corridor in the same footprint as Paramount Studios in 1966!
~ The Neutral Zone Website
Engineering
I wouldn’t call Tim a Trekkie but he did enjoy the Star Trek TV series when he was a kid. There were a few Trekkies in our tour group, though, and they were very impressed when we walked into the first set, Engineering. I will let Tim explain these pictures that he took because this is a world I know very little about!
The Engineering Room was faithfully recreated and had the feel of the one from Star Trek, referred to as The Original Series (TOS). Vic Mignogna (who played Captain Kirk on the eleven episodes of Star Trek Continues which these sets were made for) was our tour guide and throughout the tour explained all the tricks of the trade they used to recreate the sets.
By the way, check out the Guest Stars on that series, there are names you may recognize from various TV shows.
The only controls that work on the Transporter Console are the slides, that one of the other visitors tested as soon as she walked into the room. The six white transporter pads were originally $6,000 studio Fresnel light lenses. Vic was able to make the ones they used out of resin from a mold of a real one.
This set was also reconfigured for use as other ships consoles.
The maintenance tubes were called Jeffries Tubes, after Matt Jefferies, who designed the Enterprise for television. His design of the saucer-shaped primary hull, two offset engine nacelles, and a cylindrical secondary hull carried over into the Star Trek series that came after TOS. The opening at the top allowed for the camera to be pointed at the actor and action in the tube.
The chairs on the bridge were cheap white chairs bought locally, three triangle pieces added to the back, and painted light blue. Then black vinyl backs and cushions added to complete the chairs of the future effect. Some of the toggle switches do work to make various lights blink. The Main Viewing Screen is actually a 100″ TV bought recently. The scene of the planet is in motion which adds to the affect.
At the end of the tour (which took almost two hours) we turned a corner and entered The Bridge. It felt like stepping back to my youth and onto the ship itself.
(that’s me in the purple hoodie)
I did not get a decent picture of the curved hallway, sets for Sick Bay, Crews Kirk/Spock/Other crews quarters, or the conference/cafeteria/relaxation room. There were also other smaller sets that could be reconfigured for various scenes. All of which gave the feeling of being there.
While we were on the tour the guide kept asking us trivia questions about the series and if we knew what episodes various props had been used in. Of course I had no idea what they were all talking about most of the time. But when we got to the conference room our guide pointed out that the table had an unusual shape. Could any of us guess what the shape was? Everyone was stumped for a change. Finally Tim offered, “Tennessee?” Nope. Then a clue was offered, it had something to do with the navy. Silence. As soon as he said navy I pictured an aircraft carrier but still nobody said anything. So in my tentative little voice I said “aircraft carrier?” Yes!!! And then I got a kiss from my husband.
This is a sweet story. I know some things about Star Trek, but not lots of things about it. Your answer isn’t something I would know.
I’ve seen many pictures of those oddly shaped, flat surfaced, aircraft carrier ships and as soon as he said “navy” that was exactly what the table looked like.
this is so very cool!!
😎
That must have been a fun tour. The sets, so futuristic back then, now seem simple and lego-like. They didn’t know if the show would be successful, so I imagine they were on a budget. The first run didn’t last that many years, but boy, the re-runs are legendary!
They were on a very limited budget. The tour guide spent a lot of time explaining how they painted commonly discarded things, like oddly shaped packing materials, making them look like piping and electrical panels and dashboards. It did have a child’s playhouse feeling to it.
Very cool tour, something my son would have thoroughly enjoyed with his Star Trek love!!
Yup, I bet your son would have enjoyed the experience and probably all the trivia and behind-the-scenes info. 🙂
Something a little different and VERY COOL! Who beamed you up, Barbara? Apparently, Captain Kirk did because he is on the bridge with you.
It was fun to see all this. And how fun for you to get the answer correct! Winning a kiss. That makes me smile.
What a whirlwind, a bit creepy and scary at times, but mostly fun getaway! Thank you for taking me with you!!
If I understand correctly, the Captain Kirk you spotted was Vic Mignogna, who portrayed Kirk on eleven episodes of Star Trek Continues, which I think is a You-Tube creation of his, filmed in this studio, which he also created. Tim has watched it and after the tour was over he bought the series on DVD and Vic signed one of them for him. I’m glad you enjoyed coming along on our little getaway. 🙂
Yes, it was Vic. That’s what I was referring to. The DVD is a fun souvenir. We can be kids as long as we want. 😁
We sure can! 😊
Yay you for the good guess and a kiss rewarded. 🙂 I know nothing at all about Star Trek, having never watched a single episode, or Lost in Space which was also on when I was younger. Thank goodness Tim had some familiarity with everything!
I watched a few rerun episodes here and there when I was a kid, usually when nothing else was on. It’s funny how Tim prefers science fiction and I prefer historical fiction. But it was loads of fun watching him enjoy the memories this place brought back for him. 🙂
When I was a kid, Batman was on TV. Even though I watched a lot of animal movies and shows like Disney, Lassie, etc. I remember watching Batman. This weekend is Autorama and people bring muscle cars from all over the country. On the radio all week long they have advertised having all the Batmobiles from the Batman era at the show. I had to laugh to myself – I didn’t know that show as on long enough to have five Batmobiles.
Oh yes, I do remember seeing a few episodes of Batman. Not my favorite kind of entertainment… It’s kind of amazing all the props people like to collect from old TV shows and movies, and there are even museums dedicated to pop culture.
I agree – I am surprised I was allowed to watch it because my parents were strict about what I saw on TV or at the show. I’ve not been to the movie theater since 1993, but thank goodness for TV movies that could be rented. I’ve not seen a lot of TV shows or movies that were/are popular as I cancelled my cable. It would be fun to go to those museums of pop culture to see how many items we could identify.
Probably a tour more fun for Tim than you, Barbara, but I totally get why he enjoyed it so much. I loved watching Star Trek as a child – the original, with William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. I thought it strange, however, when I watched reruns of some episodes as a young adult and I wondered what the appeal had been to me!
That’s so sweet that you enjoyed watching Star Trek so much as a child. Funny how we outgrow certain interests as we get older. Our kids used to watch reruns with Tim and our other son went through a phase where he dressed and acted like Spock. He was always trying to get his friends to play along with him. I had forgotten about that until you mentioned Leonard Nimoy.