It turns out fans of Star Trek: Voyager have a classic sci-fi series to thank for the ship’s design in a surprise revelation.
Star Trek: Voyager is celebrating its 30th anniversary, which has creators and fans alike sharing some talk and tidbits of its development. It was a huge deal not just for helping launch the new UPN network but also for taking Trek in a new direction.
At the center of it all was the USS Voyager itself, as the ship couldn’t be a carbon copy of the USS Enterprise. It had to have a slightly different feel and design, yet still keep to the same overall look of a Starfleet vessel. The task of crafting it fell on Richard D. James (production designer) and illustrator Rick Sternbach, aided by Oscar-winning makeup artist Doug Drexler.
Speaking to TrekMovie.com, Drexler shared that he was among the various artists asked to share their ideas for Voyager’s appearance. Drexler respected Sternbach and didn’t feel right taking part, but he did so only for the Paramount executives to like his designs.
Drexler then shared the inspiration for his design of Voyager being a surprising sci-fi series of the past. He said:
“I was a big fan of My Favorite Martian with Ray Walston. And his spaceship was like a one-man sportster almost, which was hidden in a garage. And I love that design so much. And I had a model of Uncle Martin’s spaceship on my desk. And I did one [design] that had the elongated nose. And they decided: ‘That’s it.'”
It was a strange inspiration yet oddly fitting for the series!
The Voyager/Martian connection
For those who may not remember it, My Favorite Martian was one of the many sci-fi/fantasy comedies that filled television in the 1960s. Running from 1963 to 1966, the comedy had Ray Walston playing a Martian who crashes on Earth. A reporter (Bill Bixby) takes him in, having him pose as his Uncle Martin, with Walston using weird telekinetic powers for zany adventures.
The show retained a cult following over the years and even inspired a 1999 movie of the same name where Walston made a cameo. Drexler even still has a full-scale model of the Martian ship in his garage that he used as the basis for his Voyager design, although there was a unique roadblock.
“I remember there was some push-back from the studio, from someone… probably one of the exec’s kids… who said it looked like a sperm," Drexler said in the same interview. "rSternbach went from there, and the concept underwent revisions until they ended up with the ship we know… As always, Rick Sternbach did an amazing job,”
It seems the producers loved the Drexler-inspired design, which they compared to a Lexus. In an ironic touch, Walston would appear on both The Next Generation and Voyager as Boothby, the aged groundskeeper of Starfleet Academy. That provided an intentional tribute to his former Martian role.
While Drexler still puts most of the credit on Voyager's design to Sternbach, it’s amazing how a goofy 1960s comedy gifted Trek fans with one of the most loved starships ever!
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Star Trek: Voyager is now streaming on Paramount+.