Observations in TNG: "Code of Honor"
A joint project with TrekCore, by Jörg Hillebrand and Bernd Schneider
Here are some observations about sets, props and visual effects in TNG: "Code of Honor" without a specific theme, and a comparison of the original TV release (TNG) with the remastered episode (TNG-R).
"Code of Honor" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore
| Description TNG | Other caps | Comparison TNG to TNG-R | Description TNG-R | ||
Unlike many other planets seen on TNG, the globe created for Ligon II in this episode was never shown again as another planet. Rick Sternbach tell us: "The planet image for Ligon II was a simple cylindrical projection map which I painted. The map was scanned and digitally applied to a CGI sphere, with the clouds being a separate layer probably painted in the video system. This was the same basic technique used for the planet maps I painted for 'The Last Starfighter'." |
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Mike Okuda on the remastered planet: "The planet was entirely new, but Max Gabl worked hard to re-create the layout of Rick Sternbach's original planet surface texture map painting. Rick's art was scanned into standard-def video, then electronically wrapped onto a sphere. I thought the result was cool, but even then, it revealed the limitations of standard-def video, especially when the sphere was enlarged." | |||
| Notably absent in the previous episode, the black cardboard cut-outs reappear in "Code of Honor", here covering some areas of the bridge aft consoles. |   |
The cardboard is even more noticeable in the remastered episode. | |||
| Picard, Riker and Troi use the bridge turbolift close to the ready room to get to cargo bay 2. This turbolift was used much less frequently than the one at the back of the bridge. When the perspective switches to the inside of the turbolift cabin and the door slowly closes, one can see that this shot was not filmed in a turbolift attached to the bridge but rather to a corridor. |  |
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| A pink moving ceiling light can be seen in the turbolift, an effect that wouldn't be in use again for the rest of the series. |  |
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| The small black cargo container at the bottom right, featuring Vulcan writing, was originally created as a Vulcan container for "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home". Several containers of this type were visible on Vulcan and in the cargo hold of the Klingon Bird-of-Prey. |  "Star Trek IV" |
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The writing is not better visible in HD. | ||
| The cargo bay set, characterized by the semi-transparent doors, appears for the first time in this episode. It would later double as the shuttlebay set. The transparent doors originally appeared in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" in main engineering. |  "Star Trek II" |
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No changes | ||
| The Ligonian transporter effect. |   |
The Ligonian transporter effect has been faithfully reconstructed and looks stunning in TNG-R. | |||
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| The traditional way of saying "hello and welcome" on Ligon II. Later episodes featured other alien hand gestures used to welcome a visitor. |  |
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| Very similar octagonal cargo crates were seen in various episodes of V - The Miniseries, V - The Final Battle and V - The Series. In Star Trek, these containers first appeared on Vulcan in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home". They can be seen in several more TNG episodes and will even appear in a similar form on Star Trek Picard, as long as 36 years later. |  V - The Final Battle |
 "The Hunted" |
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No changes | |
 "Star Trek IV" |
 PIC: "The Next Generation" |
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| The transporter console in the cargo bay was previously seen as a medical console in sickbay in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan". |  "Star Trek II" |
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No changes | ||
| Cargo containers like that previously appeared in several Battlestar Galactica episodes, such as "Take the Celestria", and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episodes, like "The Plot to Kill a City". They would often be seen in the cargo bay in future TNG episodes. |  Battlestar Galactica |
 Buck Rogers |
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No changes | |
| The box housing the vaccine features the first of many appearances of the hexagonal Ligonian logo. |  Ligonian emblem |
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A look at the logo in HD. | ||
| The scar on Lutan's chest changes position several times in the episode. In this shot (and also in later scenes in the observation lounge) it is fully visible and very close to his sternum. In later scenes, it has moved further to the left and is almost always hidden behind his cloak. |  Later in SD |
 Later in HD |
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A better look at the scar in HD. | |
Like in several season 1 episodes ("11001001" being another example), Yar uses a PADD to program the holodeck instead of just using voice command like in later seasons. One of those PADDs was later seen up close as a medical PADD in "We'll Always Have Paris". Slightly modified, they also appeared as Orion PADDs in the Enterprise episode "Borderland" more than 15 years later. Tasha Yar then crosses the holodeck to get her aikido suit that materializes on the wall. This is the first of a couple of shots in TNG that was done with the pan & scan method, in order to combine an apparent camera motion with a visual effect. |
 "We'll Always Have Paris" |
 ENT: "Borderland" |
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The holodeck in HD, still unusually blurry. | |
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| This is the first appearance of the famed holodeck grid, yellow lines on black ground. Only in this episode, the floor is covered with gray carpet. In all later episodes, it would be made up of the same yellow grid on a black floor. |  "Family" |
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No changes | ||
| The shot in which the Enterprise fires photon torpedoes was originally created for the sequence in "Encounter at Farpoint" where the Enterprise "heals" the Farpoint creature with an energy beam. |  "Encounter at Farpoint" |
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Like in the original TV version, in TNG-R the sequence of the Enterprise firing photon torpedoes is based on the same basic shot of the ship as in "Encounter at Farpoint". As the original footage was incomplete, the shot was reconstructed by Max Gabl. | ||
| The close-up of the planet looks quite blurry as we see how the photon torpedoes enter the atmosphere. |   |
The planet appears much more detailed in this shot. Gone is the blurriness, we can make out small islands. | |||
| A nice shot of Ligon II. We always see the same portion of the planet a couple of times in the episode. |   |
We always see exactly the same portion of the reconstructed planet in the remastered version too. | |||
Wesley can be seen leaving the bridge with his mother at the beginning of act three. At the end of act two, he was still sitting at the ops station, next to Data. A short scene was cut here that would have featured an explanation for the Crushers' departure:
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| The beautiful matte of the Ligonian Centerplace and city. |   |
The matte painting of the Ligonian palace and the houses in the background appears much more detailed in HD. A wider shot of the painting was also used, revealing more details at the sides. The three throne chairs and the waterfall in the Centerplace can clearly be made out now. | |||
The Centerplace features a dragon statue on top of the small waterfall, implying that dragons (in reality or folklore) also exist on Ligon II. The chair on the right is a Willow Chair, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh as soon as 1904. The chair also appears in "The Hunted" and ENT: "Exile". |
 "The Hunted" |
 ENT: "Exile" |
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The HD version shows the dragons much better. | |
| Tasha's guard certainly shows "some sign of wear". The last time he was seen, he still had two perfectly healthy eyes. |  |
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| The Ligonian Centerplace and city at night. |   |
Again, a wider shot of the matte painting is used. Many more details can be made out. | |||
| This shot is quite pale and blurry in the original episode. |   |
The colors of the HD version are much better. But it is still not really crisp, and it has some artifacts (perhaps from digital sharpening?). | |||
| The ivory-like sticks the Ligonians use to show approval or to applaud are later seen again in "Frame of Mind", where an illusory Tilonian inmate plays with them. The Wadi in DS9: "Move Along Home" also use sticks (called clon peags) to applaud. |  "Frame of Mind" |
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A better look at the sticks is possible in HD. | ||
| Several Rougier tube lamps appear in this episode. They would show up again in later episodes of TNG and DS9 and could be rented from Modern Props for many years. Re-Used Props - Furniture |
 DS9: "The Search II" |
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The lamp in HD. | ||
| The shape of the Ligonian logo is nicely mirrored in the shape of the door here. Note that the orientation and the colors is not the same as on the box that was given to Tasha. | Earlier in this episode |
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No changes | ||
| The Ligonian gongs were later seen in "The Perfect Mate" in the Kriosian Temple of Akadar. |  "The Perfect Mate" |
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The gong in HD. | ||
| The stone seats previously appeared in the Farpoint Station mall in "Encounter at Farpoint". |  |
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| The Ligonian tableware later appeared on Aldea in "When the Bough Breaks". |  "When the Bough Breaks" |
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The tableware in HD. | ||
| The purple crystal ball would later be seen, again in Geordi's quarters, in "Galaxy's Child". In that episode, in preparation for a visit by Leah Brahms, he presses the crystal ball and it starts to glow softly. |  "Galaxy's Child" |
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The sphere in HD. | ||
| The blue razor prop (or a very similar one) would reappear much later, in DS9's "The Sword of Kahless", again as a razor, this time used by Benjamin Sisko. |  DS9: "The Sword of Kahless" |
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No changes | ||
| Geordi's quarters are a redress of Kirk's/Spock's quarters as seen in "Star Trek I-III". Behind Geordi, the sonic shower, in which the Ilia probe materialized, can be seen. The set already appeared in the preceding episode "The Naked Now", there as quarters aboard the Tsiolkovsky. |  "Star Trek I" |
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 "Star Trek I" |
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| One of the Ligonian weapons was previously seen in "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" as a ceremonial Vulcan spear. |  "Star Trek III" |
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In HD we can see that it is definitely the same weapon, apparently including the red jewel. | ||
| Several traditional weapons, including katana swords and crossbows, can be seen on the Ligonian weapon wall. |   |
A better look at the weapons in HD. Small details, such as a sheath covered in fur, are recognizable. | |||
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| This diagram shows the location of the Ligonian Centerplace on Ligon II and also shows where the four Enterprise crew members are located within the palace. It nicely matches the exterior matte. The large open place where the fight later takes place is located at the bottom of the diagram. |   |
Some details, such as the names of the three officers, are better recognizable. Also note that the walls on the display are not solid lines but have a grainy structure (so this was not a shortcoming of the low resolution). The number 4077 is another M*A*S*H reference. |
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| A similar vase, albeit of a different color, is vaporized in "Angel One" to showcase the power of the execution device and can be seen in the same white color in "Justice". Re-Used Props - Various Objects |
 "Angel One" |
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The vase in HD. | ||
| More appearances of the Ligonian logo, here as a large wall mural and on a banner. |  |
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No changes | ||||
| In the background, the round version of the famous Rougier tube lamp can be seen. |
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The lamp in HD. | |||
| The Ligonian glavin would later appear in several episodes in Worf's quarters. Re-Used Props - Other Weapons |
 "Cost of Living" |
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In the remastered version we can recognize that the glavin originally has a quite blotchy surface. It seems to have been repainted prior to its appearance in Worf's quarters. | ||
| The third type of the Rougier lamps to appear in this episode. Re-Used Props - Furniture |
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The lamp in HD. | |||
| A good view of the Ligonian Centerplace with the weapon wall in the background. Several more weapons can be seen. The Ligonian hexagon is also echoed by the shape of the wall. |  |
No changes | |||
| A nice view of the matte of the Centerplace with the light delimitations for the fight. |   |
The beautiful scenery looks still better in HD. | |||
| A famous blooper: Gates McFadden's 20th century watch can be seen when she administers a hypospray. |   |
The blooper is even better visible but we wouldn't want to see the episode without it, would we? We now know it was 12:30 when this shot was filmed. |
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| The pink metallic outfit worn by Yareena during the fight was later worn by an extra in "Ménage à Troi" and appears on a mannequin in a shop on the promenade, in DS9's "Sanctuary". |  "Ménage à Troi" |
 DS9: "Sanctuary" |
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No changes | |
| A nice close up of the Enterprises B, C and D on the observation lounge wall. |  |
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Credits
Thanks to Max, who spotted the blurry shot in the HD version.
