Every Time Star Trek: TNG Used The Enterprise’s Forgotten Second Bridge

The USS Enterprise-D had a second bridge that was rarely used in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Following the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crew, TNG ushered in a new era of Star Trek and introduced a new, upgraded version of the Starship Enterprise. Not only was the Enterprise-D significantly larger than its predecessors, but it also allowed families and other civilians on board.

To keep these families safer during a battle, the Enterprise-D can separate its larger saucer section from its drive section, which is equipped with its own battle bridge. While the main bridge is located at the heart of the saucer section, the Enterprise-D's battle bridge is located on deck 8 of the secondary hull. The smaller bridge has all the same strategic functions as the main bridge, but does not have science or engineering stations. Additionally, the Enterprise-D's battle bridge only appears in three episodes of TNG, despite an impressive display of the ship's saucer separation in the series premiere.

3"Encounter At Farpoint"

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2

As the newly-launched Enterprise-D travels to Deneb IV for its maiden voyage, the journey is interrupted by a god-like being known as Q (John de Lancie). Q goes on about humanity's violent history and easily thwarts all the crew's attempts to stop him. Trying to trick Q, Picard accelerates the Enterprise at high warp speeds, but Q maintains pursuit in the form of a ball of energy. As Q begins to gain on the Enterprise, Picard orders an emergency saucer separation at high warp, leaving Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) in charge of the saucer section.

This way, most of the ship's crew and their families can flee in the saucer section, while the stardrive section turns to face Q. From the battle bridge, Picard sends out torpedoes to mask the departure of the saucer section. When the torpedoes have no effect, Picard has Troi (Marina Sirtis) send out a message of surrender. Q surrounds the stardrive section in a force field and transports the crewmembers aboard to a World War III-style courtroom.

Q then declares that all of humanity is being put on trial for being a "dangerous, savage child race." Picard suggests that Q test the Enterprise crew to see if humans are still savage, and Q agrees, saying that the upcoming Farpoint mission will determine humanity's fate. When the stardrive section arrives at Farpoint station, Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) comes aboard and, on Picard's orders, expertly performs a manual docking of the two sections, successfully reconnecting the Enterprise.

2"The Arsenal Of Freedom"

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1, Episode 21

The Enterprise-D's battle bridge comes in handy again near the end of TNG season 1, when Lt. Geodi La Forge (LeVar Burton) is left in command of the ship. As the Enterprise approaches the planet Minos, they are greeted by a holographic recording of a salesman (Vincent Schiavelli) pitching a highly advanced weapons system. Riker, Data (Brent Spiner), and Yar (Denise Crosby) beam down to the planet to investigate and soon find themselves at the mercy of this weapons system.

After Riker becomes trapped within a static field of some kind, Captain Picard beams down to the planet with Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), leaving Geordi in command of the Enterprise. A cloaked automatic weapon soon attacks the Enterprise with increasingly powerful blasts that quickly weaken the ship's shields. The Chief Engineer of the week, Lt. Logan (Vyto Ruginis), insists that Geordi give him command, but Geordi mostly ignores him to focus on how to destroy the automated weapons. When the attack from Enterprise-D fails to hit the cloaked weapon, Geordi orders a saucer separation.

Geordi puts Logan in command of the saucer section, ordering the engineer to take the ship and the majority of the crew to Starbase 103. La Forge then takes command of the battle bridge, returning the stardrive section to the planet to rescue the away team. As he battles the automated weapon, La Forge takes the ship into the planet's atmosphere, where they detect the cloaked weapon just long enough for Worf (Michael Dorn) to lock phasers and destroy it. Geordi then returns the stardrive section to standard orbit and beams up the away team.

1"The Best Of Both Worlds, Part II"

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 1

The final appearance of the battle bridge in TNG comes during the Enterprise-D's battle with the Borg cube in the excellent "The Best of Both Worlds" two-parter. In "Part I," the Borg kidnap Picard and assimilate him, turning him into their mouthpiece, Locutus. Having gained all of Picard's knowledge, the Borg easily thwart the Enterprise-D's initial attacks. The Borg cube then continues to Earth, with the damaged Enterprise unable to pursue. In command of the Enterprise, Riker continues chasing the Borg cube, implementing Lt. Commander Shelby's (Elizabeth Dennehy) plan to perform a saucer separation.

Riker then takes command of the stardrive section from the battle bridge, with Ensign Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) at the helm. Riker negotiates with Locutus, stalling for time so that his crew can pinpoint Picard's location on the cube. After the ship separates, the Borg ignore the saucer section to focus on the more heavily-armed stardrive section. Anticipating this, Riker orders Shelby to fire an antimatter spread from the saucer section, momentarily confusing Locutus and allowing Data and Worf to slip past the Borg cube's defenses in a shuttlecraft.

Data and Worf successfully rescue Picard and transport back to the Enterprise, but the Borg cube continues its course toward Earth. After the two halves of the Enterprise rejoin, the ship follows the Borg cube, while the crew works to sever Picard's connection from the collective. They eventually find a way to thwart the Borg and save Picard, but the experience remains with the Enterprise captain for the rest of his life. This remains one of Star Trek: The Next Generation's most memorable storylines, while having the show's coolest use of the Enterprise-D's battle bridge.