Paramount Stage 9

Paramount Stage 9 is located on the Paramount Pictures lot in Hollywood, California.
Stage 9 was used in most Star Trek productions including the first seven feature films, , and .
In addition, it was used through the four-year run of and also housed sets for the film .
==1977-1986==
During its pre-production, sets for Star Trek: Phase II were slated for construction and permanent use on Stage 9. 
Most of Phase IIs sets were completed when that series gave way to production of , at which point they were modified and expanded for use in the feature film. 
Stage 9 contained the primary interiors of the refit Enterprise and the including the main bridge, transporter room, sickbay, corridor complex, Captain Kirk's cabin, and engineering. 
Paramount Stage 8 housed the rec deck of the Enterprise, seen in The Motion Picture.
After the first feature, the dilithium chamber was added to engineering for the climax of . The sets remained mostly unchanged for .
The stage was used through for Bird-of-Prey and Enterprise-A interiors, until it was taken over for permanent use in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
== 1987-1994 ==
In , with the start of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the sets on Stage 9 underwent modifications to become the , the most drastic of which being the overhaul of the engineering and main bridge sets – the latter becoming the battle bridge.
Edward K. Milkis and Robert H. Justman viewed the existing film sets for the first time in to determine what could be reused for the new series. They found the sets in poor shape due to damage caused by cats living on the stage. ()
With new bridge and living quarters sets being constructed on Stage 6 for season one, Stage 9 contained the Enterprise-D's engineering, sickbay, crew quarters, transporter room, shuttlebay, and corridor complex sets. Other sets included the fullsize shuttlecraft mockups and interiors.
Sickbay doubled as the observation lounge: the observation lounge windows were covered with carpet during the sickbay scenes. A new conference lounge was built on Stage 8 for season two. ()
Space across from the transporter room was saved for swing sets such as Troi's office and the battle bridge doubled as Data's lab and other locations, on and off the Enterprise.
Stage 8 housed the remaining Enterprise-D interiors used post TNG Season 2 and Generations.
Over the seven season run of TNG, the sets were refined – the corridors were expanded for longer tracking shots – but remained mostly unchanged even through the production of the seventh feature, . 
The vast TNG interior sets were redressed for the final two original series movies, and , in and respectively.
Temporary sets filmed on Stage 9 included the Rutian plaza in the episode as well as scenes aboard the Talarian observation craft in the episode , filmed on . Stage 9 also housed the workout room seen in episodes such as , filmed on . The Tamarian bridge seen in the episode was built on Stage 9, filmed on and .
=== Break-in ===
On , a user on the video sharing website posted four videos entitled 
Consisting of four parts, the videos were shot on the night of by (at least) two fervent Star Trek fans who had broken onto the Paramount lot. Wandering through the darkened sets of Star Trek: The Next Generation (circa season one), the fans were able to light select parts of the sets, including most of the ship's display terminals and part of the warp core. Dressed in a makeshift Starfleet uniform (with white socks), one of the fans acted as the host of what was likely intended to be a homemade documentary – at one point climbing onto a sickbay biobed, then accidentally knocking it to the floor. Taking still photographs of the various "working" control panels, the fans can be heard discussing ways of removing set pieces from the stage.
According the YouTube user's description of the videos, when the fans were caught, they dropped the camcorder containing the footage and fled. 
==1994-2001==
After their use in Generations, the sets on Stage 9 underwent yet another revamp for their debut as the . () Richard James used his TNG experience and designed the Voyager sets to be easier to film than previous ones. (A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager, page 91)
As on TNG, Stage 9 housed engineering, sickbay, transporter room, junior officers' quarters, the corridor complex, and the shuttlebay/cargo bay/holodeck. A large science lab was eventually constructed here as well. (A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager, page 83)
While most sets retained their general positions, the Voyager engineering set was dramatically expanded, gaining a large second level. In its previous incarnation, engineering stood as part of the corridor complex and was often modified to represent a junction or living area. The revamp for VOY corrected this problem by making engineering its own compartment – a permanent standing set.
Sickbay was joined by a small biomedical laboratory for the second season, to the consternation of some crew members who felt the space would be better utilized for production storage. (A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager, page 91)
Stage 8 housed the remaining Voyager interiors used in VOY.
In , Voyagers sickbay was modified for use in and again in for . The entrance to main engineering also represented the 's library, while the transporter room was also reused and slightly redressed.
For the second season episode , Stage 9 housed the set of Caylem's shelter. The scenes were filmed on Monday and Tuesday .
On Monday , Stage 9 housed the sets for the cave interiors, jungle sets, and rocky side areas during second unit for the seventh season episode .
The science lab set was the first standing Voyager set on Stage 9 to be demolished, on . Tuvok's hospital room from was constructed in its place. Engineering was dismantled over to . Demolition started on the cargo bay set on as well. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 4, pages 69-71)
== 2001-2005 ==
In , following the end of Voyagers final season, all of the sets in Stage 9 were permanently removed. 
Instead of being home to the interiors of for Enterprise, Stage 9 housed only that series' cave set and various swing sets. Paramount Stages 18 and 8 housed all of the NX-01 interiors used in Enterprise.
Stage 9 housed the following sets:
* Captain's mess ()
* Terra Nova underground tunnels, caves, gutting room, and well ()
* Underground catacombs, stairwell, archway, meditation room, and reliquary at the monastery at P'Jem ()
* Surface of Archer's Comet ()
* interior, Akaali forest clearing, and basement mine control room and stairwell ()
* Risan bistro, nightclub, and basement under the nightclub and Hoshi Sato's apartment ()
* Rura Penthe ()
* Bridge of the ()
* Rigel X ()
The ceiling of the stage was actually seen in the scenes of , as it was deemed a good fit for the interior of the complex.
Stage 9 was home to the mines of Remus in for the filming of scenes from .
Following the cancellation of Enterprise in , Stage 9 was, for the first time in many years, put into use in non-Star Trek productions.
==2007==
According to a news item from The Trek Movie Report website, J.J. Abrams' 2009 film, , was – in part – filmed on Paramount's Stage 9.
Set construction was scheduled to take place in , utilizing other "historic" Star Trek sound stages including Stages 8, 11, 14, 15, and 18. 
== Productions ==
* Star Trek: Phase II
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** (Val Jean interior, transporter room, corridors, Kazon bridge, Cardassian bridge, Neelix's junk ship, Neelix's quarters and bathroom, sickbay, Mark's House, engineering)
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* ()
==Sources==
* Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series
* Stephen Edward Poe, A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager
* Michael and Denise Okuda, Star Trek Nemesis (Special Edition) text commentary
* Michael Okuda, A Brief History of Paramount Stages 8 & 9, StarTrek.com 
==External links==
* – official website
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de:Stage 9
Paramount Stage 09