The Starship Excelsior was first seen in Star Trek III. Its appearance gave weight to the destruction of the Enterprise by hinting that Star Trek's producers intended to replace Kirk's beloved starship with this "improved" design. The Excelsior got more than one reprieve after this ignominious beginning. For one, the model made several appearances on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, representing other ships of the Excelsior class. Also, the Starship Enterprise-B was an Excelsior-class ship. And perhaps most significantly, Captain Hikaru Sulu took command of the Excelsior in Star Trek VI, where captain, crew (and ship) helped save the Enterprise and the entire Federation.