History Main / TheBridge

* In ''[[FanFic/SovereignGFCOrigins Origins]]'', a ''MassEffect''[=/=]''StarWars''[[spoiler:[=/=]''[=Borderlands=]''[=/=]''[=Halo=]'']] MassiveMultiplayerCrossover, it's made clear [[RealityEnsues what can happen]] due to the typical ''StarWars'' bridge design--an enemy attack breaks through the command ship's shields, ''shreds the bridge, and [[CharacterDeath kills the ship's admiral]]''. It's then {{Lampshaded}} that the Trans-Galactic Republic is fully aware of such dangers and has a "Force Coordination Center" in the heart of the ship--but [[TemptingFate nobody ever managed to defeat the shielding]] on that class of Star Dreadnaught before, so the RuleOfCool reigned supreme.

As TheCouch is to sitcoms, so is The Bridge to WagonTrainToTheStars type shows: a gathering place for main characters. TheCaptain can usually be found here, and this is the native environment of BridgeBunnies; together they spend their time making the CoolShip go, noting that the ReadingsAreOffTheScale, evading {{Negative Space Wedgie}}s, manipulating the AppliedPhlebotinum, and so forth.

** The bridge of the ''Destiny Ascension'' is shown several times. It also appears to play this trope straight, although it's an asari flagship and a dreadnought to boot (since dreadnoughts are too large to land on planets, their rooms a located perpendicular to the thrust).

* Also averted in ''Franchise/MassEffect''. The bridge of the Normandy is a small compartment in the nose of the spaceship with just enough room for two pilots. All important navigational decisions seem to be made from the control deck further aft, and all important character gatherings take place in the strangely spacious communications room. This is apparently a Turian design which the Alliance used on the Normandy so they could compare its efficiency to their own (never seen) bridge layouts.
** Though it seems to be implied that Alliance ships play this trope more straight.
--> '''Joker:''' Y'know what pisses me off? Calling this the cockpit. Alliance ships have bridges. Asari ships have cockpits. Oh, wait. [[OneGenderRace No they don't.]]"
** Technically, the pilot's compartment is the helm, not the bridge. Control deck has all the bridge facilities and is also constantly manned by officers. The game simply doesn't show how the ship is actually commanded. Normandy design also resembles one of the submarine (what makes sense, given it is small, stealth special-purpose vessel).

** Shepard can discuss the bridge layout with a senior Alliance officer, who points out the various concerns with the layout, such as the Captain being located so far from many of the other positions, particularly the pilots. Shepard points out the ubiquitous CommLinks, and states that in an emergency, he can always just bellow orders like a DrillSergeantNasty. That said, it's pretty common in the games for Shepard to just stand behind Joker's chair when the ship does anything exciting.

** Even further averted with the addition of the WarRoom in the third game, where most of the characters congregate to discuss any upcoming military strategy, engage in diplomacy or to update their leadership on their progress. Once a plan is finalised, any relevant information is then relayed to the officers in the CIC, before being passed to the helm so Joker can plot a course.

* The new ''Film/StarTrek'' film goes further than the series it's based on and has a window instead of a view screen, and the interior looks like an Apple store.

* The original ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|1978}}'' had a standard TV bridge; the Combat Information Center on the new ''[[Series/BattlestarGalactica2003 Galactica]]'' is more like TheWarRoom in nature, being located deep within the armoured superstructure of the ship. [[Series/BattlestarGalactica2003 Reimagined Series]] creator Creator/RonaldDMoore, a veteran writer of three Franchise/StarTrek series[[labelnote:*]]''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', and ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''[[/labelnote]] designed the [=CIC=] specifically to avoid a number of Trek bridge tropes and cliches that he had grown tired of.

** Shephard can discuss the bridge layout with a senior Alliance officer, who points out the various concerns with the layout, such as the Captain being located so far from many of the other positions, particularly the pilots. Shephard points out the ubiquitous CommLinks, and states that in an emergency, he can always just bellow orders like a DrillSergeantNasty. That said, it's pretty common in the games for Shephard to just stand behind Joker's chair when the ship does anything exciting.

** Shepherd can discuss the bridge layout with a senior Alliance officer, who points out the various concerns with the layout, such as the Captain being located so far from many of the other positions, particularly the pilots. Shepherd points out the ubiquitous CommLinks, and states that in an emergency, he can always just bellow orders like a DrillSergeantNasty. That said, it's pretty common in the games for Shepherd to just stand behind Joker's chair when the ship does anything exciting.

* Mamoru Nagano and Kunihiko Ikuhara's light novel ''SchellBullet'' gives us the ''Rogne Balt'''s bridge. Not absurdly spacious ''per se'', but generally as [[StarshipLuxurious stylish and ostentatious]] as it gets (and as just about everything on the ship) -- [[AuthorAppeal exactly in the line]] with aestetical views of both authors.

* Many cutscenes in ''[[NavalOps Warship Gunner 2]]'' consist of the characters talking on the bridge. While every ship you build in the series requires a bridge, this is the only title where you get to see what's going on in it.

This has nothing to do with the game of TabletopGame/{{Bridge}}, the cop show known in English as ''[[Series/BronBroen The Bridge]]'', the Sirius XM Satellite Radio channel known as The Bridge, the PuzzlePlatformer game ''VideoGame/TheBridge'', the German movie ''Film/TheBridge'' (Die Brücke) (or novel of the same name), or the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''[=/=]''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' {{Crossover}} {{Fanfic}} of [[Fanfic/TheBridge the same name]].

** They actually have ''three'' bridges, but the main one gets almost all of the camera time. The third bridge, as TheOtherWiki puts it, "seems to exist largely to be blown off the ship dramatically".

* The Arthra from ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'', and heck, pretty much every ship of the [[TheFederation Time-Space Administration Bureau]] has the standard roomy bridge. The Saint's Cradle however, is controlled from a cramp platform hidden in the heart of the ship.

* ''VideoGame/SpaceQuest'' has a couple of ships with this style. When Roger Wilco becomes a Star Confedration captain in Space Quest V, he is assigned to the SCS Eureka which plays the trope straight on a small scale, since the Eureka is, literally a garbage scow. Roger's chair is in the center, as usual, with Officer Flo and Subcorporal Droole towards the front. Captain Quirk's ship, the SCS Goliath, plays it straighter, in addition to the SCS [=DeepShip=] 86 in the next game which is based on ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]''. However, since the DS86's captain is a member of a CatFolk species, his chair is a large, plush couch with scratched-up sides.

** Goa'uld motherships have a standard design with the throne of the captain in the middle and consoles in the front. Smaller ships lack the bridge.

* The ''Lexington'''s bridge in ''VideoGame/MissionCritical'' is reminiscent of ''Franchise/StarTrek'', which is fitting, given that the captain is played by [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Michael Dorn]]. The captain's chair is in the middle. The officer stations are along the sides of the large circular room. No front-facing consoles, though. There is also a large viewscreen at the front. However, unlike Trek ships, the bridge and every other deck on the ''Lexington'' is facing perpendicular to the acceleration in order to provide artificial gravity.

This has nothing to do with the game of TabletopGame/{{Bridge}}, the cop show known in English as ''[[Series/BronBroen The Bridge]]'', the Sirius XM Satellite Radio channel known as The Bridge, the PuzzlePlatformer game ''VideoGame/TheBridge'', the German movie The Bridge (Die Brücke) (or novel of the same name), or the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''[=/=]''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' {{Crossover}} {{Fanfic}} of [[Fanfic/TheBridge the same name]].

* The ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series has shown the bridges of several different ships, most of which fit the cliche. The ''Pillar of Autumn'' in particular has a rather... precarious seat for the pilot and another officer.
** That's putting it mildly. In fact, the bridge of the ''Autumn'' is a complete contradiction - suposedly one of the most ridiculously over-engineered ships in the whole human fleet, yet it has just about the most exposed bridge it is possible to imagine?
** Meanwhile, the presumed bridge on the [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Covenant]] ship ''Truth and Reconciliation'' is particularly enormous and laid out in a circular design. However, it's also located in the center of the vessel and has no obvious 'viewscreens'. Being a video game, it's also not easy to get to.
** Partially subverted with the bridge of the UNSC frigate ''In Amber Clad'': while it does have a central Commader's chair, two forward bridge-bunny stations and several other stations around the perimeter, it's also badly cramped.
** In the novels Covenant troops occasionally {{Lampshade}} this, calling the human's bridge location in the fore of the ship "bold but foolish."
*** Although Human bridges are towards the front or the top of the ship they are not always exposed. Whilst it is never out and out stated it's made very clear in the novels most ships have internal bridges a decent distance from the hull.
*** Not to be outdone by anyone the Valiant -class supercruisers had huge bridges with ''two dozen'' bridge stations for fleet coordination.

Essentially The Bridge is part of the SpaceIsAnOcean model of space flight, in which the traditions of naval architecture are RecycledINSPACE by lazy writers. It will typically either be perched on [[{{Two-DSpace}} the obvious "top"]] of the ship, often in some sort of conning-tower, or in the nose like the flight deck of an aircraft.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

** The [[AirborneAircraftCarrier aircrafts]] and [[StarShip spaceships]] of [[BeneathTheEarth the Mykene Empire]] -from ''Anime/GreatMazinger''- and [[AlienInvasion the Vegan Empire]] -from ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer''- also had bridges fitted with those elements.

* Like ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', the main characters' vessel in ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' contained a relatively small cockpit, and a larger living-room structure that better served the functions of The Bridge.

[[folder:FanWorks]]

[[folder:Film]]
* Most vehicles in ''StarWars'' that are large enough to have one. [[TheEmpire Imperial]] ships don't follow the usual layout, though -- BridgeBunnies are confined to two sunken pits full of consoles, bisected by a long walkway for Darth Vader to pace up and down menacingly. It's basically galley slaves InSPACE!
** The Walkway serves the same purpose as the raised command chair in TOS that allows kirk to turn around and see what everyone else is doing, only instead of requiring a full rotation, you just turn your head from side to side. It also has room in the back for a Holographic 3D display, rather than a 2D viewscreen at the front, instead it has a window for similar reasons as the Star Trek (2009) Bridge does.

* Averted in ''Film/{{Alien}}'' - the ''Nostromo'' has a fairly cramped control room for piloting the ship (and, in a deleted scene, listening to a beacon), and at least one area with windows/monitors that allows Ash to monitor the away team, but most of the gathering and decision making is made around a general living area table.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* Despite fact that the TARDIS on ''Series/DoctorWho'' is ''huge'', literally as big as the plot requires, and contains libraries, a swimming pool, crew quarters, a sickbay, storage rooms, cloisters, endless corridors to run up and down, and much more, you pretty much only ever see the console room. The new series had glimpse of the wardrobe and a few corridors before, after several years, 'Journey to the Center of the TARDIS' gave us the full tour.

** Ancient ships have spherical bridges with the captain [[http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/File:AuroraCommandChair.jpg sitting in a raised chair]] and the others working along the walls. Even larger window.
*** The ''[[Series/StargateUniverse Destiny]]'' has a [[http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/File:Destiny_brige.jpg similar design]].

* Bridges are described in {{Gurps}} {{Traveller}} ''Starships''. There are several types of bridges depending on the ship. Some ships, notably naval flagships have more then one bridge(one for the ship and one for the fleet). Different crew members are assigned workstations with computers arranged to taste.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' has of course bridges tending towards the monumental - while the Lord-Captain resides on the obligatory Command Throne, the rest of the bridge is generally big enough to qualify as TheWarRoom. The TabletopGame/RogueTrader rpg has bridges as a starship component type. Depending on the specific component chosen, the bridge layout and its equipment can benefit anything from spaceship combat to commerce, exploration or planetary invasions.

* Averted in ''EveOnline'' - while NPC ships are presumed to have bridges, one of the advantages of player-controlled ships is that they don't ''have'' bridges - instead, the ship's command functions are wired directly into the pilot's nervous system. This allows the ship to react quicker, and cuts down on the need for life support.

* In both ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' video games this trope is also averted - the [[CoolShip Ebon Hawk]] has a small cockpit and some sort of a briefing room for important discussions. It is played straight with the Sith warships and their massive rooms with sunken areas for control operators and a long walkway for Malak to pace up and down menacingly, and the Republic ''Hammerhead''-class vessels and their console-lined rooms at the prow with big windows.

[[folder:WebOriginal]]
* WhateleyUniverse: in "Tennyo's Easter" the first we see of the empire known as the Royan Marches is a scene on The Bridge of a prototype battleship.

* The ''Macross'' bridge on ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'' and its counterparts in ''Anime/{{Macross 7}}'' and ''Anime/MacrossFrontier''.

* The Helicarrier in ''Film/TheAvengers'' has a particularly large one. It's got a gigantic window at the front, and the ship's briefing room is basically part of it as well. Bonus points because the space has room for ''tons'' of BridgeBunnies (and more points because they come in all genders!)

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/enterprise_bridg.jpg]]]]

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[[caption-width-right:330:Set a course, ensign.]]