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Observations in TNG: "The Nth Degree"

A joint project with TrekCore, by Jörg Hillebrand and Bernd Schneider

Here are some observations about sets, props and visual effects in TNG: "The Nth Degree" without a specific theme, and a comparison of the original TV release (TNG) with the remastered episode (TNG-R).

"The Nth Degree" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore

Description TNG		Other caps	Comparison TNG to TNG-R	Description TNG-R
The ship's theater is a redress of Ten Forward. Notice how the overhead bar lights were incorporated into the rustic Cyrano de Bergerac set. The set first appeared as a theater or concert room in "Sarek".		"Q Who"		A good look at the set in HD.
		"Sarek"
		"The Vengeance Factor"
		"The Measure of a Man"
Troi already wore this dress in "The Price" and (together with the earrings) in Barclay's holoprograms in "Hollow Pursuits". The dress will reappear in "Parallels".	"Hollow Pursuits"	"Parallels"		A look at the clothes (and Barclay's nose) in HD.
A first close-up of the Argus Array.				The Argus Array in HD.

The Cytherian probe first appears with the Argus Array visible in the background.
This footage of a Type-7 shuttle was originally created for "The Best of Both Worlds II". In that episode, the nacelles and Bussard collectors of the shuttle were not lit. Here, the sequence begins a little earlier than in the season opener and doesn't contain all the other SFX. Variations of the Type-7 Shuttle		"The Best of Both Worlds II"		HD close-ups of the shuttle.
		"The Best of Both Worlds II"
The Cytherian probe as seen through the window of the Type-7 shuttle. As can be seen, the interior of the shuttle has not changed since it was last seen in "Déjà Q" and "The Best of Both Worlds II".		"Déjà Q"		The inside of the shuttle in TNG-R.
		"The Best of Both Worlds II"
The USS Enterprise-D facing the Argus Array. The footage of the 4-footer was especially created for this episode.				The impressive shot in HD.


The Cytherian probe approaches the USS Enterprise-D.				The probe in HD.

Doctor Crusher should know better than approaching Barclay with a PADD displaying an autopsy report... This if of course the first re-use of one of the many new PADDs created for the morgue scene in "Night Terrors".		"Night Terrors"		No changes
More footage of the Cytherian probe as seen on the main viewscreen of the USS Enterprise-D.				The space shots in HD.
The footage of the 4-footer was especially created for this episode. Screenshots from earlier episodes show the 6-foot model of the ship from a similar angle.	"Peak Performance"	"The Vengeance Factor"
Another close-up of the Cytherian probe. The model was later modified and re-used as the alien probe (dubbed "Pup") in the DS9 episode "The Forsaken".		DS9: "The Forsaken"
The USS Enterprise-D turns around and flies away from the Cytherian probe, which has started to glow from within. The footage was newly created for this episode.



The USS Enterprise-D fires at the Cytherian probe - to no effect.				The reconstructed effect in TNG-R.
A close-up of the tactical console. The displays now have a black tape frame, covering the anachronistic screws.		"Skin of Evil"		We can read all labels in HD.
The USS Enterprise-D tries to escape from the Cytherian probe.				Like in several earlier episodes, this footage was replaced by a CG model of the ship as the film could not be found.
More shots of the Cytherian probe.				The sequence in HD. The explosion was reconstructed. The Bussard collector is glowing now.


This footage of the USS Enterprise-D firing photon torpedoes was originally created for "Encounter at Farpoint" and re-used in several later episodes. Like in "Peak Performance", the Bussard collectors are erroneously not lit.	"Encounter at Farpoint" SD	"Peak Performance" SD
The Cytherian probe spectacularly explodes.

The USS Enterprise-D has returned to the Argus Array. The underside of the station with the massive braces can be nicely seen in this shot.				The shot in HD.


The PADD held my Barclay here was originally created for "Evolution". It still displays a graphic about nanotechnology like it did in the season 3 opener.		"Evolution"		A close-up in HD.
The port monitor in the Observation Lounge displays a graphic of the Argus Array.				In HD, the full name of the station ("Argus Subspace Radio Telescope Array") can be read.


The USS Enterprise-D is dwarfed by the Argus Array.				The shot in HD.
Dr. Crusher will wear the same blue outfit dress again during her breakfast with Picard in "Qpid".		"Qpid"		The sweater in TNG-R.
In addition to mentions of real-life subatomic particles like mesons and pions and authentic formulae such as prominently the three-dimensional Schrödinger equation, Albert Einstein's blackboard again contains in-jokes. Uru + Se + I = Ya + Ts + Ur + A is a reference to the manga and anime of the same name. Blackboards seen in "Elementary, Dear Data" and "Brothers" contained similar in-jokes.		"Elementary, Dear Data"		A better look at Einstein and his equations in HD.
		"Brothers"
Like Worf's tactical console, the one in Geordi's office now has a gray tape frame to cover up the screws.				No changes
The last new shot of the Argus Array shows the USS Enterprise-D facing the station.				The impressive shot in HD.
A good look at the large animated sickbay monitor.				The monitor in HD.
This shot of Barclay entering the holodeck is very blurry because the technique of pan and scan was used here. Pan & Scan Effects in TNG				The shot is blurry in the remastered episode just as well.
All components of the preliminary configuration of Barclay's work station have been seen before. The chair was earlier seen as K'mpec's chair in "Reunion" and also appeared as the Cardassian captain's chair in "The Wounded".		"Reunion"		The set decoration in TNG-R.
The "standard alpha-numeric console" has appeared in earlier episodes like "Evolution" (the small console on the right was removed and the sloped console was moved to the right). Consoles Built for Star Trek		"Evolution"
Another good look at the chair.		"The Wounded"
The "iconic display console" is the middle section of a very familiar console seen in several earlier episodes like "Booby Trap".		"Booby Trap"
The second configuration of Barclay's work station chair contains many re-used consoles and props and other remarkable parts. The structure at the very top is a re-use of the inverter from "The High Ground", which also acted as part of the Krieger wave converter in "A Matter of Perspective". Decades later, a mini version of the prop will appear as the isometric flangometer in LOW: "The New Next Generation".	"A Matter of Perspective"	LOW: "The New Next Generation"		A better look at the set in HD.
The metal ball in the upper half of the structure first appeared on the Ferengi Marauder in "Ménage à Troi" and was also seen in main engineering in "Family".	"Ménage à Troi"	"Family"
The metal ball in the lower half of the structure, right above Barclay's head, was also originally created for "Ménage à Troi", where it appeared in the lab aboard the Ferengi Marauder.		"Ménage à Troi"

The platform the chair is standing on seems to feature exceptionally large LED seven-segment displays.
Finally, one interesting component of the chair is the inclusion of the unusual tricorder created for "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", until now only seen in that one film. Galleries - Starfleet Communicators and Computers		"Star Trek II"
		"Star Trek II"
This access panel in the observation lounge was especially created for this episode and was not part of the set before. The isolinear circuitry has appeared in several earlier episodes, like "Contagion", "Pen Pals" and "Yesterday's Enterprise".	"Contagion"	"Yesterday's Enterprise"		An HD close-up of the circuits.
	"Pen Pals"
The new Jefferies tube set was first seen in "Galaxy's Child" after a much wider earlier set appeared in "The Hunted". Only in this episode and "Galaxy's Child", people are seen crawling around the corner in the set. The back wall of the set was also modified for this episode. It no longer contains a ladder like it did in the earlier appearances. The floor consists of freezer spacers and will remain like that in other appearances of the set, until a new, somewhat smoother floor is introduced in season 6. Re-Uses of Freezer Spacers		"The Hunted"		The Jefferies tubes in HD.
		"Galaxy's Child"
The bent metal tubes are a re-use of the warp core railing from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". They also appear on the Enterprise-D in the engineering locker. After they had also appeared in the recordings in "Identity Crisis", this is the first time we can see this final version of TNG palm beacons "here and now".	"Star Trek I"	"The Naked Now"		No changes
A better look at the metal ball over Barclay's head.				A better look at the set in HD.
This scanner is the same that Shelby used in "The Best of Both Worlds I+II".		"The Best of Both Worlds I"		The two devices in HD.
Geordi uses this other scanner/enginering device only in "The Nth Degree". This shot is also unique, as it shows what red alert looks like in a Jefferies tube.
The USS Enterprise-D (the 4-foot model) flies ever closer to the anomaly. This footage, like many other shots of the ship in this episode, was newly created for "The Nth Degree". A shot from "Time Squared" shows what the 6-foot model looks like from a similar angle.		"Time Squared"		The recomposed shot in TNG-R.

The forcefield surrounding Barclay's work station can be seen in this shot.				The shot in HD.
The USS Enterprise-D slowly drifts towards the anomaly created by Barclay and the Cytherians and is finally sucked into it.				The recomposed shots in TNG-R.
The USS Enterprise-D approaches the Cytherian homeworld.


Several shots show the make-up of the curious Cytherian.				The Cytherian in HD.


There are overall 15 metal chess pieces on the 3-D chessboard in this shot (the 16th piece seems to be in the hands of the male crew member). All the glass pieces are missing.				A better look at the chess board in HD. We can see now that the usual set has been supplemented by "classic" Staunton chess pieces, painted silver.

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