Deneb IV

Deneb IV

Deneb IV was the inhabited fourth planet of the Deneb system. This was the homeworld of the Bandi, a telepathic pre-warp humanoid species. The planet's internal heat generated an abundance of geothermal energy. In 2364, Deneb IV was at the edge of "the great unexplored mass of the galaxy". (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before"; TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint")

History

A written record of Mitchell's experiences on Deneb IV

In the 2260s, Starfleet officers were tested on their ability in sensing the telepathic communication between the Bandi. Before his reassignment to the USS Enterprise, Gary Mitchell, with his friend James T. Kirk, came to this planet. In at least three cases, Mitchell was capable of carrying long telepathic conversations with the natives, scoring 80% or higher on comprehension. On one night, a telepathic conversation with a female native had a deleterious effect on Mitchell. Kirk later stated that he'd been worried about Mitchell ever since that night. As a pun Mitchell referred to the girl as a nova. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before")

By 2364, the Bandi had seemingly constructed Farpoint Station, a base which they subsequently offered to Starfleet. Intrigued by the extremely short time in which it was built, Starfleet sent the USS Enterprise-D on its maiden voyage to the planet in order to investigate the base. It was subsequently discovered that the station was in fact a spaceborne entity, enslaved by the Bandi. Upon this discovery, the entity was released, and Starfleet and the Bandi began planning to reconstruct the station. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint")

Appendices

Background information

According to StarTrek.com, Deneb IV was a M-class planet. [1]

In Gene Roddenberry and D.C. Fontana's final draft script of "Encounter at Farpoint", the planet was originally intended to be called "Cygnus IV". [2]

According to the Star Trek: Star Charts, there were two planets that shared the same name. Both were located in the Alpha Quadrant and classified as M-class. In 2378, both worlds were Federation members.

• Deneb Kaitos IV, also known as Beta 16 Ceti IV, was according to the book the Deneb IV mentioned in "Where No Man Has Gone Before". The planet had one moon. In the mid-22nd century, this planet was a destination on the Vulcan trade routes. (pgs. 41, 44, "United Federation of Planets I")

• Alpha Cygni IV also known as Deneb IV was the planet seen in "Encounter at Farpoint". The planet was located 3,320 light years from the Sol system. As the homeworld of the humanoid Bandi, the planet was united under a single government, Bandi, which had its seat in Farpoint. In 2364, this world signed a treaty with Starfleet. Under the terms of this treaty, Starfleet would administer Farpoint Station. Between 2364 and 2378, this world had been admitted to the Federation. In the census of 2370, there were counted an estimated 450 million Bandi living on the planet. Points of interest were Farpoint Station and Old City. (Pgs. 12-13, 34, 41, "United Federation of Planets I")

Behind the Scenes

Hill prepares the Deneb IV landscape maquette/matte painting combination for filming

Michael Okuda recalled how Deneb IV was originally depicted in "Encounter at Farpoint"; "The beautiful shot of Deneb IV was actually a matte painting done by Industrial Light & Magic, and that was done on film." Speaking shortly before the release of Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Next Level Blu-Ray sampler, Okuda also compared the remastered version of the planet with the original, saying, "The planet is pretty much dead on with what was done in the original shot." [3] He was referring to the planetary shot of Deneb IV in this interview.

The planet model for Deneb IV would be later modified and used to represent Vulcan in "Sarek", "Unification I", "Gambit, Part I", and "Gambit, Part II".

The planet surface of Deneb IV, including Farpoint Station and Bandi city, was in actuality a maquette, built by maquette specialist Gregory Jein. It, combined with a background matte painting, was filmed at ILM by visual effects cameraman Robert Hill. (The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine, issue 2, January 1988, p. 41)

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