(written from a Production point of view)
James "Jim" Mees (10 August 1955 – 29 March 2013; age 57) was a set decorator who worked on Star Trek: The Next Generation beginning with its second season, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise. Mees' work on Star Trek netted him an Emmy Award as well as an additional four nominations.
In the sixth season of TNG, a running gag behind the scenes began: the Mees panel. Similar to the Jefferies tube of Star Trek: The Original Series, the Mees panel referred to the oft-used circuitry panels aboard the USS Enterprise-D, painstakingly (and expensively) designed and constructed by Mees and his team. Other in-universe terms named after Mees include Theta Mees, J. Mees, Captain James Mees, Lieutenant James Mees, J. Mees Rodent Control, and Jim Mees & Associates. Mees was interviewed in 2002 for the special feature section of the TNG Season 6 DVD and talked about the set decoration and the reuse of furniture.
Career outside Star Trek[]
Before working on Star Trek, he worked on numerous rock shows as an Assistant Art Director for bands including Earth, Wind and Fire and The Beach Boys. In the late 1970s, he began working for The Lawrence Welk Show before moving on to The Jeffersons and eventually Star Trek. Other credits as set decorator include the television series Gloria (1982), One Day at a Time (1982-1984), It's Your Move (1984), The Jeffersons (1984), Who's the Boss? (1984-1985), Valerie (1986-1987), Perfect Strangers (1986-1987), the television drama Second Serve (1986, with Louise Fletcher, Kerrie Keane, and Alice Krige), and the documentary Warner Bros. Celebration of Tradition, June 2, 1990 (1990).
In 1995, Mees relocated to Nashville, Tennessee where he was hired to work on projects such as commercials, furniture, theme parks, private homes, office buildings, and even a fashion runway extravaganza for Giorgio Armani. Following his time out he moved back to California in 1997 and started to work on the fourth season of Star Trek: Voyager.
Further work includes the television series Threshold (2005), E-Ring (2006), Vanished (2006), Gilmore Girls (2007), Cold Case (2008), Women's Murder Club (2007-2008, starring Linda Park), 90210 (2008-2009), Lie to Me (2009), Private Practice (2009-2010), and Bones (2011).
Mees passed away on 29 March 2013 due to the effects of pancreatic cancer. [1]
Star Trek credits[]
- TNG:
- Season 2 (22 episodes)
- "The Price" (Season 3)
- "The Vengeance Factor"
- "The Defector"
- "The Hunted"
- "The High Ground"
- "Deja Q"
- "A Matter of Perspective"
- "Yesterday's Enterprise"
- "The Offspring"
- "Sins of The Father"
- "Allegiance"
- "Captain's Holiday"
- "Tin Man"
- "Hollow Pursuits"
- "The Most Toys"
- "Sarek"
- "Ménage à Troi"
- "Transfigurations"
- "The Best of Both Worlds"
- Season 4 (26 episodes)
- Season 5 (26 episodes)
- Season 6 (26 episodes)
- Season 7 (26 episodes)
- VOY:
- Season 1 (20 episodes)
- "Year of Hell" (Season 4)
- "Concerning Flight"
- "Extreme Risk" (Season 5)
- "In the Flesh"
- "Once Upon a Time"
- "Nothing Human"
- "Timeless"
- "Thirty Days"
- "Infinite Regress"
- "Counterpoint"
- "Gravity"
- "Latent Image"
- "Bride of Chaotica!"
- "The Fight"
- "Bliss"
- "The Disease"
- "Dark Frontier"
- "Course: Oblivion"
- "Think Tank"
- "Juggernaut"
- "Someone to Watch Over Me"
- "11:59"
- "Relativity"
- "Warhead"
- "Equinox"
- Season 6 (26 episodes)
- "Unimatrix Zero, Part II" (Season 7)
- "Imperfection"
- "Drive"
- "Shattered"
- "Lineage"
- "Repentance"
- "Prophecy"
- "The Void"
- "Workforce"
- "Workforce, Part II"
- "Human Error"
- "Q2"
- "Author, Author"
- "Friendship One"
- "Natural Law"
- "Homestead"
- "Renaissance Man"
- "Endgame"
- ENT:
- "Broken Bow" (Season 1)
- "Unexpected"
- "Shuttlepod One"
- "Marauders" (Season 2)
Emmy Awards[]
Jim Mees received the following Emmy Award win and nominations in the category Outstanding Individual Achievement in Art Direction for a Series:
- 1989 Emmy Award nomination for the episode "Elementary, Dear Data", shared with Richard D. James
- 1990 Emmy Award for the episode "Sins of The Father", shared with Richard D. James
- 1991 Emmy Award nomination for the episode "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", shared with Richard D. James
- 1992 Emmy Award nomination for the episode "Unification II", shared with Richard D. James
- 1994 Emmy Award nomination for the episode "Thine Own Self", shared with Richard D. James and Andrew Neskoromny
Star Trek interviews[]
- TNG Season 6 DVD special feature "Inside Starfleet Archives Year Six" ("Sets & Props"), interviewed on 11 April 2002
Further reading[]
- "Jim Mees"", Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 3, Issue 3, July 2002, pp. 82-86
External links[]
- Jim Mees at StarTrek.com
- Jim Mees at the Internet Movie Database