Andrew Probert's Enterprise-D updates Matt Jefferies' iconic 1960s Enterprise design, depicting a ship supporting a larger crew on a longer mission "to boldly go where no one has gone before."

[5] Roddenberry also wanted the ship to depict an improved quality of life for its crew: it would be brighter, less militaristic, and have sleeker and more refined interfaces than the original Enterprise.

[8] Artists Andrew Probert, Rick Sternbach, and Michael Okuda were among the earliest Next Generation hires, and they had worked on Star Trek films.

[13] Probert's design did not originally include the ability for the saucer and engineering sections to separate, and producers rejected his initial concepts for incorporating it.

[17] In October 1986, producers began planning the show's sets, including efforts to reuse props and materials from the film franchise.

[20] The production crew did everything possible "within reason" both to recreate first-season sets and to imagine futuristic upgrades for the series finale, "All Good Things..." (1994), which presents the ship in three different time periods.

They considered using only CGI models and effects, but anxiety about whether the vendor could consistently deliver high-quality work led to that idea's rejection.

The producers turned to Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), who had worked on the Star Trek films, for the "Encounter at Farpoint" pilot.

[19] In March 1987, an ILM team led by Greg Jein and Ease Owyeung began building filming miniatures based on Probert's designs.

Legato disliked filming the six-foot model: its size made it hard to shoot for long shots, and its lack of surface details—some of which were drawn with pencil—made it difficult to use in close-ups.

Producers wanted to ensure Generations stayed true to the television series while also taking advantage of the film production's scope and budget.

[26] Interiors were relit and received several cosmetic changes, such as redesigned consoles, metallic accents, and replacing backlit displays with monitors.

The large wooden arch in the middle of the bridge was the most difficult part of the build, but remaking the chairs and recreating the carpet was also challenging.

[33] Jonathan Frakes, who played first officer William Riker, said, "When we negotiate our contracts, Paramount's company line is that the ship is in fact the star of the show!

A pair of two-part episodes depict a shift in command—to William Riker in "The Best of Both Worlds" and Edward Jellico in "Chain of Command"—but leadership reverts to Picard at the end of both arcs.

The final two episodes of Star Trek: Picard's third season (2023) reveal that the saucer section was later recovered from Veridian III, after which Geordi La Forge spent twenty years restoring the vessel as part of his role as curator of the Starfleet Museum.

The older Enterprise is the only vessel not tied to Starfleet's Borg-compromised mainframe, and Picard and his crew use the ship to defeat the Borg threatening Earth.

[38] Vulture described the Enterprise's return in Picard's third season as "perfect",[39] and Collider compared the crew's reunion on the bridge set to "a fever dream.