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Observations in TNG: "A Matter of Time"

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

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

"A Matter of Time" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore

Description TNG		Other caps	Comparison TNG to TNG-R	Description TNG-R
The time travel pod from the 26th century is seen on the bridge viewscreen. It is very likely that no miniature was built for this shot but that rather the full scale mock-up was filmed instead.				In TNG-R the proportions of the timepod and the shadows on the hull are slightly different. It looks like a CG model was used.
Berlinghoff Rasmussen beams onto the bridge of the USS Enterprise-D.
Rasmussen takes a close look at Picard's edition of Annotated Shakespeare. Two pages showing costume sketches for Much Ado About Nothing are seen here. Picard's Shakespeare Books				An HD close-up of the book.
A funny blooper happened in several early season 5 episodes. As the replicator set piece was used in Kirk's quarters and the junior crew quarters sets in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country", the 24th century LCARS display was replaced by a 23rd version of the display. When the replicator was returned to the USS Enterprise-D sets, the LCARS display from the sixth Star Trek film was not replaced by the regular 24th century version immediately but rather anachronistically appears in several season 5 episodes. "A Matter of Time" marks the first appearance of this wrong interface.		"Star Trek VI"		An HD close-up of the 23rd century display.
The last time somebody used the sink in the mirror/bathroom compartment set pieces was in the 3rd season episode "The Hunted", where the set pieces was used in the brig set.		"The Hunted"		No changes
The USS Enterprise-D in orbit of Penthara IV.				Penthara (in its polluted version) is represented by a new planet in TNG-R or was retouched.
The snowy surface of Penthara IV.				The matte painting remains unchanged.
The laboratory on Penthara IV features several consoles that were seen in earlier episodes and will appear quite often in the future. The large cylindrical console was first seen in Mirasta Yale's lab in "First Contact" and the small column with a blinking red light on top first appeared on board a Romulan Warbird in "The Mind's Eye". The console seen on the very right of the second screenshot also appeared in Dr. Ira Graves's lab in "The Schizoid Man" and the Regula I station in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan".	"First Contact"	"Star Trek II"		The lab on Penthara IV in HD caps.
	"The Mind's Eye"	"The Schizoid Man"
The large wall made up of three LCARS wall panels was originally created for the bridge of the USS Sutherland in "Redemption II". It also appeared in "Disaster". In those episodes, there were no static LCARS displays but rather banks of isolinear optical chips. In the second shot, a graphic of a storm on Penthara IV can be seen.		"Disaster"
		"Redemption II"
The female scientist is holding a green transparent PADD. Several PADDs of this type were used at the science station. Picard used a similar PADD in "Unification I".		"Unification I"		The PADD in HD.
Rasmussen's tiny ring computer can be nicely seen on this screen cap.				An HD close-up of the prop.
A comparison between this screenshot of the warp core and a similar shot from the season 4 episode "Night Terrors" reveals that the warp core was not modified between seasons, even though the set appeared in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country".		"Night Terrors"		The warp core in HD.
Data checks thermal simulations at a console in the main engineer's office.				We can read the headings of the display in HD.
A close look at the unique isolinear chip Rasmussen gave to Data.				An HD close-up of the chip.
The text on the PADD that Rasmussen steals can almost be read.				An HD close-up of the PADD.
The sky in this second appearance of the Penthara IV matte painting is different, a building in the foreground has also mysteriously disappeared.				Another look at the matte painting in HD.
The outlines of the continents of Penthara IV can be seen in this glass graphic. The set pieces had previously appeared in earlier episodes like "Yesterday's Enterprise" and "Darmok". It still features the same green graphics and irregular top borders it did in the latter episode.	"Yesterday's Enterprise"	"Darmok"		The map in HD.
The USS Enterprise-D uses its phasers to drill several holes into the surface of Penthara IV. The shot of the ship was previously used in "Legacy" where the ship uses the phasers for a similar purpose.		"Legacy"		It is possible that the planet surface was retouched and more detail was added for TNG-R.
While the red dots on the transparent map of Penthara IV were part of the glass graphic (as seen a little earlier in the episode when the prop was seen up close), the flashing effect seen here was added in post production.				The effect in HD.
This medical tool is used again by Doctor Crusher in the later season 5 episode "I, Borg". In that episode, the device emits a pink light beam.		"I, Borg"		An HD close-up of the device.
The medical console briefly seen behind Troi in this shot was originally created for "The Mind's Eye". It also appeared in sickbay in "The Game".	"The Mind's Eye"	"The Game"		No changes
The faint blue light emitted by the neural stimulator Rasmussen steals from sickbay was added in post production.				The prop in HD.
Brent Spiner's white Data make-up has left some marks on the ops console.				We can see the make-up spots even better in HD.
Two shots of the surface of Penthara IV, recorded from space, are seen in this episode. The first one is a re-use of the surface shot of Delta Rana IV from "The Survivors". The Uxbridge's house was removed for this re-use.		"The Survivors"		While the clouds are somewhat different in TNG-R, the planet surface is still the same.
The seismic activity on Penthara IV is visualized in this LCARS display.				The display was probably reconstructed for TNG-R.
The large console behind Moseley and La Forge originally appeared in the holographic simulation of drafting room 5 in "Booby Trap".		"Booby Trap"		A look at the console in HD.
This animated graphic added in post production verifies that the centers of seismic activity and the phaser drilling sites match.				The graphic was newly created or retouched for TNG-R.
Lightning storms are seen on the surface of Penthara IV in this shot of the USS Enterprise-D in orbit of the planet.				Another look at the new "dirty" planet.
When Rasmussen enters Data's quarters, the android's full name can briefly be seen on the door label. It's "NFN / NMI Data". NFN stands for "no first name", NMI for "no middle initial". Data's full designation was first seen on several props in "The Measure of a Man".				A close look at the sticker in HD, including the bubbles.
Data's quarters and several pieces of set decoration can be nicely seen in this scene. As has been mentioned earlier, the rectangular piece of wall decoration originally appeared in Geordi's quarters in "Galaxy's Child". Vermeer's painting "A Woman Holding a Balance" is finally fully seen in the second screenshot, as is the Tyrinean blade carving given to Data by Jenna D'Sora in "In Theory". Data's phrenology bust can be seen a little better in the third screenshot. A book whose title ends in "of taste" can also be seen.		"Galaxy's Child"		Data's quarters in HD. The title of the black book appears to be The Physiology of Taste.
		"In Theory"
Above the graphic of the Federation logo displayed on Data's desktop monitor before he communicates with Geordi, the number 40273 can be read. This means this particular graphic was created for the third season.				The emblem in HD.
The new science tricorder created for the 5th season can nicely be seen in this close-up in a closed state.				A close-up of the prop in HD.
The glass sailing ship in Picard's ready room can be seen up close here. Notice how there seem to be tape marks under Picard's desk in the first screenshot.				The ship model in HD.
The USS Enterprise-D begins the dangerous task of removing the dust cloud from Penthara IV's atmosphere.				The sequence in HD. All light effects were newly created. The intermediate stages of the planet's metamorphosis were carefully recreated. The final stage, the "clean" planet, was originally still rather brownish and is now a more pleasant green.
The main deflector emits a serious of deflector beams in this shot. Footage of the USS Enterprise-D with a focus on the deflector was originally filmed for "The Loss". The footage from that episode was tilted slightly for this re-use.		"The Loss"
The deflector and phaser beams hot the atmosphere of Penthara IV.
The atmosphere of Penthara IV quickly goes through several changes in this sequence of shots.
This shot of the USS Enterprise-D was originally created for "The Loss". Like the earlier re-used shot from that episode, it was tilted slightly.		"The Loss"
The USS Enterprise-D redirects the high-energy plasma absorbed from the atmosphere of Penthara IV into space.
This shot of the USS Enterprise-D engulfed by high-energy plasma was filmed using the 4-foot model. A comparison shot from "Time Squared" shows the 6-foot model from a similar perspective.		"Time Squared"
Two shots of the USS Enterprise-D in orbit Penthara IV, now with a cleaned up atmosphere.
The effect of the time ship scanning Rasmussen's hand was created in post production.				The shot in HD.
A first brief glimpse at the interior of the time travel pod can be got here through the opening aft hatch.				The interior of the pod in HD.
The interior of the time travel pod is covered with several different metallic materials. One of these materials also covers a tube behind the warp core in main engineering. The set is a redress of the Nenebek cockpit from "Final Mission". Redresses of TNG's Alien Shuttle Cockpit	"The Dauphin"	"Final Mission"
Among the things stolen by Berlinghoff Rasmussen are a Klingon d'k tahg and Geordi's VISOR.
The exterior of the time travel pod is also a redress of the Nenebek, seen in "Final Mission". For this re-use, the aft compartment was removed, however. Another earlier incarnation of this mock-up is the Zalkonian escape pod from "Transfigurations". The effect of the disappearing ship is similar to the transporter effect seen earlier in the episode. Redresses of the Nenebek		"Final Mission" HD		The sequence in HD.
		"Transfigurations"
The borders of the shuttlebay set can clearly be seen at the top of this screenshot.
Footage of the USS Enterprise-D leaving orbit of Penthara IV was originally created for "Redemption I". Here, the ship appears a lot darker than in that episode.		"Redemption I"		A final look at the new "clean" version of Penthara IV.

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