‘Star Trek: Picard’ production designer David Blass explains why he approached the sci-fi series like a historical drama [Exclusive Video Interview]
“One of the directives that I told my staff … was that ‘Star Trek’ is not a fantasy show. It’s not a sci-fi show. It’s a historical drama that takes place in the future with 60 years of history,” explains “Star Trek: Picard” production designer David Blass about his approach to the series and how important it was to get the details right. “Do your research and then create the best design possible.” Watch our exclusive video interview with Blass above.
The third and final season of “Star Trek: Picard” starring Patrick Stewart revolves around a sinister plot against Starfleet, which has been infiltrated by saboteurs. It also marks the return of many familiar faces from “Star Trek: The Next Generation”: Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), Worf (Michael Dorn), Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Data (Brent Spiner), and Geordi LaForge (LeVar Burton). The story even brings them back onboard their old ship, the Enterprise D.
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“It had to be a museum quality replica that would stand up to the scrutiny, not only of the viewers, but the cast members who had once sat on that set. So it had to be identical,” says Blass about the challenge of recreating the famous bridge of that starship. “It was a little bit of archeology,” with Blass and his team “going through archives, finding people who had been on the set, who’s got a photo, what was your memory?”
That wasn’t the only important setting for season three. Blass and his team’s designs also included a new Borg cube, a sinister enemy vessel called the Shrike, and the criminal underworld on M’Talas Prime. And that work was made even more challenging by the fact that seasons two and three of “Picard” were shot back-to-back.
“Looking back on it, it was fun,” Blass remembers, because they managed to create two very distinct seasons of television in tandem. “As we’re dealing with the basement of the Picard chateau and all that stuff, we’re actually prepping, building the Titan sick bay. So it was all happening, all one on top of each other. So it was a juggling act to be certain.”
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