One thing I noticed since "Next Generation" onwards, most of the bridge sets have been staged rather like a "recorded before a live studio audience" type sitcom domicile with all seating facing forwards, towards a view screen that is usually handled like the proverbial "4th wall". Oh, I realize why this developed, so all the major players are already facing the camera requiring less complicated camera framing...just as they do with live audience sitcoms.

But for all its ever more outdated "futuristic" hardware, I've always appreciated the "concept" behind Matt Jefferies' "original series" circular bridge, at least its "broad strokes". You have the captain sitting in a swiveling chair (Picard's is locked forward), allowing him to spin getting a quick survey of the peripheral stations. Those stations encircle the room with larger overhead monitors that the captain (in theory) can easily view and read. they are even angled to more or less focus upon the center of room, downwards a tad to "eyes" height while in a sitting position. Their are smaller monitors positioned lower and angled upwards for the station's crew to easily view at a glance.. As noted already, the captain is close to the center, by 'default" positioned 'forward", so it makes sense to have the primary display positioned along that line of sight. It also makes sense that the crew piloting the vessel, the helmsman and navigator would face in that direction as well, so let's give them dedicated stations aligned towards the viewer.

Are there things that could be "improved"? Yeah. Really, there's not any real purpose to place the captain's chair and the navi-helm station within a "pit" which then requires a railing to prevent somebody stumbling over the edge, the railings themselves reaching only the knees of the crew standing upon the elevated walkway (a "kneecapping" waiting to happen). That was purely an aesthetic choice granting additional ways for the performers to pose. But it, like the notion of a "saucer and tubes" arrangement for "hero" ships has become almost a "trademark" of Trek motifs. Should that two level design be "dumped"? From a "practical" standpoint, yeah, but i wouldn't want to risk the wrath of fans. ;-)

While those are more along the lines of "in universe as real" conditions, what about "real life" production aspects? What about the peripheral, radially facing stations where ever more "important" characters sit? By default, they pretty much face away from the camera unless that station is removed, it then becoming the 4th wall. The oft debated series "Enterprise" starring Scott Backula presented a clever solution, at least in terms of staging. T'pol's station had a smaller, inward facing station mounted upon a railing type framework. (The captain's chair and helm station were not "lowered" as with Jefferies' design. This allowed the performer to more naturally face away from the primary station, essentially the "wall". Whoever came up with that concept, I applaud them!.

Also, I would not position a "manned" station directly behind the captain. In the original series, the communications station was placed there and considering the performer there, being it Nichelle Nichols or another "day player" usually had lines, it could present a bit of a staging issue. this was far more evident in "Star Trek: the motion Picture" when they places the science station there where Leonard Nimoy, the film's second headlining role had to sit. Thankfully, somebody realized the issues that caused and repositioned that station to the side for "The Wrath of Khan" (ironically, more or less the position it held in the original series. A station that didn't even have a chair was then placed directly behind the CO's seat..

Related to station arrangements, why not position the doors directly the captain. For the original show and thus from a production standpoint, this was really for aesthetic reasons, framing. they reasoned it would just be more interesting to have the lead actor and a performer emerging from the doors in the same shot (if shot 'face on"). From an "in universe" standpoint, I doubt a commanding officer would not be too keen upon somebody entering directly behind his back. But using that logic, it would make more sense for an entrance to be placed near the front, to either side of the main viewer where the captain is looking. Alas, that would be far worse from a real life staging perspective, so to the back, but to the side was the lesser of two evils.

So, yeah, the "general concept" of Jefferies' circular layout (with possibly a few mods like inward facing substations) still makes the most sense.

the other thing that bugs me about "newer" bridge designs, especially some admittedly beautifully modeled fan works is the incredible amount of wasted floorspace! I've seen concepts that have fantastic 'elements", but then there's all this extra floorspace serving no reasonable purpose (other than providing ample room for a scout troop "sleepover", or possibly a dancing chorus line! With some of these, one could remove a half, maybe even two thirds of the floorspace and the crew would still have adequate room to reach their stations. Yeah, even Jefferies TOS bridges suffers from this...a bit. The navi-helm station is dead center, so you have this "open region" just forward within the "pit". the "Motion Picture" bridge alleviated this somewhat by pulling the navi-helm station a bit forward as well as the captain's chair, making it closer to center. I've long suggested that floorspace could have depicted an emergency gangway hatch, so if the power failed or the lift doors "locked', they could "pop" the hatch manually and scurry down a ladder to the next deck.

Okay, that got far more longwinded than I meant.

Sincerely,

Bill

Tempt the Hand of Fate and it'll give you the "finger"!