12. Kelvin-timeline USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), Kelvin Star Trek movies
Whether it is Star Trek or Star Wars, it feels like J.J. Abrams just can’t help himself when it comes to making slight tweaks to classic designs that make them invariably look worse. They aren’t really bad, per se, but they just look off in a way that is more annoying than appealing.
When it comes to the Enterprise from the Kelvin timeline, it looks roughly similar to the classic Enterprise, just more bulbous. Rather than being graceful, the Kelvin Enterprise looks bulky and off-balance. It isn’t terrible, but it just doesn’t feel right.
11. USS Titan/USS Enterprise (NCC-80102-A/NCC-1701-G), Star Trek: Picard, season 3
While it is rechristened to be the Enterprise-G at the end of Star Trek: Picard, this ship is first introduced to us as the USS Titan-A, a Constitution III-class starship. In many respects, it does look like an updated concept for the Constitution class but like the Kelvin-timeline Enterprise, the Titan-A is a bit boxier than I would prefer.
10. USS Discovery (NCC-1031/-A), Star Trek: Discovery
As divisive as the show itself has been with fans, the design of the starship Discovery is pretty cool. For one thing, the spinning saucer element for the spore drive is a unique feature that adds a kineticism that is often lacking on Star Trek ships.
The other interesting thing about the Discovery’s design is that it is actually based on concepts drawn by Ralph McQuarrie, who is famous for his designs for the original Star Wars trilogy. McQuarrie designed what eventually became the Discovery as a refit version of the original Enterprise for the ultimately scrapped film, Star Trek: Planet of the Titans.
Where the Discovery falls short, in my opinion, is that its proportions just feel off. The secondary hull feels too big compared to the saucer section, which makes it look more like a cartoonish drawing of a Klingon ship than a Federation starship. Plus, as incredible of a designer as Ralph McQuarrie is, maybe there was a reason why this design was shelved all the way back in the 1970s.