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Observations in TNG: "Data's Day"

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

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

"Data's Day" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore

Description TNG		Other caps	Comparison TNG to TNG-R	Description TNG-R
Data is standing next to the engineering station on the bridge, which is turned off, as Geordi is not on the bridge.				No changes
The bridge is darkly lit during the night shift.				The dark bridge in HD.
The bridge lighting is adjusted as the day shift begins. It is not sure whether changing light level was done by actually turning lights on or rather in post production, similar to the fog on the bridge in "Evolution".		"Evolution"		The transition in TNG-R.

Both Keiko O'Brien and the O'Briens' quarters debut in this episode. Two pieces of set decoration in the quarters have appeared before. The black and blue vase in the background was originally part of Kivas Fajo's collection in "The Most Toys" but also appeared in several Enterprise-D crew members' quarters. The framed kimono to the left of Keiko was earlier seen in Dr. Noonien Soong's lab in "Brothers". The wrinkled wall decoration also appeared in "Brothers".		"The Most Toys"		The decoration in HD.
		"Brothers"
		"Brothers"
The USS Enterprise-D and the USS Zhukov slowly fly away from the camera. This is the second appearance of an Ambassador-class vessel after the USS Enterprise-C in "Yesterday's Enterprise". The Zhukov is a new variation of the design and makes use of a different miniature created by Greg Jein. The model of the battle-damaged Enterprise-C still exists to this day. The footage the Enterprise-D was also newly filmed for "Data's Day". Ambassador Class Variants		"Yesterday's Enterprise"		The ships are unusually noisy in HD, and the shot is not properly framed, leaving a black border on the left.

		"Yesterday's Enterprise"

Ambassador T'Pel's Vulcan necklace was originally worn by the Kolinahr master in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture".		"Star Trek I"		A good look at the Vulcan attire in HD.
This double page from Picard's Annotated Shakespeare vol. 1 (pages 256-257) appears in for the first time in "Data's Day". It is by far the most frequently seen double page in his ready room. It shows Olivia de Havilland as Hermia and Robert Helpmann as Oberon, from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Picard's Shakespeare Books				A good look at the page in HD.
The barbershop appears for the first time in this episode. The set is either a redress of Counselor Troi's office (last seen in "The Loss") or was built using the same general layout. Deanna's light column was turned into a stylized version of a traditional barbershop pole . The unnamed Bolian barber (the script calls him V'Sal) is the second male member of his species to appear in Trek, after Captain Rixx in "Conspiracy".		"The Loss"		The barbershop in the remastered episode. Note that the original hair color of the person behind Data is gray in the original episode, whereas it is green in TNG-R.
		"The Loss"
		"Allegiance"
		"Conspiracy"
An alien Starfleet officer has her hair dyed in the barbershop. The tool the barber uses to color her hair was originally an engineering scanner used by Geordi in several episodes. Re-Used Props - Engineering Tools		"Peak Performance"		An HD close-up of the device.
A preview image of the plush bunny appears on the console while the toy is being replicated.				The plush bunny and a somewhat different looking preview image in HD.
The replicating center is a redress of the USS Enterprise-D battle bridge, last seen in "The Best of Both Worlds II". Comparison shots of the cybernetics lab, another redress of the set from "The Offspring", show the similar wall panels.	"The Best of Both Worlds II"	"The Offspring"		The set in HD.
	"The Offspring"	"The Offspring"
A number of gifts that Worf and Data can choose from are displayed on the replicator console. Most items are typical 1980's style. The real-life chair model is D-TEC, designed by Jean-Louis Godivier in 1985. Notice the kitschy third item, showing a bride and groom in what looks like a moving flying saucer!				While the LCARS labels are the originally filmed ones, the pictures were newly inserted into the scene for the HD version.








A similar shot of Data sitting at an aft bridge station appears in "Brothers". As can be seen, the LCARS display has not changed since then.		"Brothers"		The bridge station in HD.
The replicator was added to Data's quarters for this episode, as he needs to replicate cat food for Spot. The replicator wasn't present in earlier episodes, as can be seen on the screenshot from "The Offspring". It is similar in design to the sickbay replicator, seen later in the episode, features a different LCARS display and some small differences, however. So this is a new build and not a re-use of the sickbay set piece.	"The Offspring"	Sickbay replicator		No changes
Spot appears for the first time in this episode. The cat is seen once more this season, in "In Theory", and is played by the same long-haired Somali cat in both episodes. When the cat returns in season 6, Spot has changed appearance is now played by a short-haired orange tabby. Spot the Difference	"In Theory"	"A Fistful of Datas"		Spot in HD.
Data has a new mirror in his quarters. Perhaps because of the awkward moments in front of the old one? ;-)	"Datalore"	"The Schizoid Man"		No changes
The comparison shot from "The Most Toys" shows that the office part of Data's quarters has not changed since that season 3 appearance. Only the LCARS display in the desk to his left that used to show simple buttons was replaced with a diagram of the Enterprise-D.		"The Most Toys"		Data's quarters in HD.

This is the first time this LCARS display, built into Data's desk, features an animated graphic. When the camera angle switches to a wider shot, the animated graphic has disappeared and a static graphic of the USS Enterprise-D is seen instead.				In HD, we can read the routines of Data's "Personal Maintenance Program" on the first screen.


Another comparison shot from season 3's "Tin Man" shows that the set hasn't changed since that episode. Data's chair has been replaced, however. The new one is the Cobra Chair in real life and Data will keep it until the end of the series. He also has a black instead of a white desktop monitor now. Commercially Available Chairs in Star Trek		"Tin Man"		No changes
The arboretum is seen for the first time in "Data's Day". The arboretum will appear in two more episodes: "Imaginary Friedn" and "Dark Page".				A good look at the arboretum in HD. Note the much more natural colors.


The botanical scanner Keiko uses in this shot later appeared as an engineering tool in "Disaster" and "Realm of Fear".	"Disaster"	"Realm of Fear"		An HD close-up of the prop.
Troi's office wasn't changed since it last appeared in "The Loss". The enclosed shelving unit and the blue backdrop, introduced in the last episode, also appear here and are never seen again after this episode. The copper plate with dark pebbles and a flower is still the same as in "The Loss".		"The Loss"		In HD, it looks like the round wall decoration is damaged.

It seems Vulcans prefer not to see the stars through the crew quarters windows, as the windows are covered with padded walls in T'Pel's quarters. The same blinds were also used in "Sarek", in the eponymous character's quarters. T'Pel's very uncharacteristically blonde hairline is also prominently seen in this shot. Red hoods, like the one she is wearing, were originally created for "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock".		"Star Trek III"		A look at T'Pel's quarters as it appears in TNG-R.
		"Sarek"
This is the full good look we get at one end of the Ten Forward/senior officers' quarters corridor set. The Ten Forward door, starboard back wall and turbolift door can be seen in these screenshots. Previous episodes, like "Q Who" and "Transfigurations", showed only sections of this part of the set. In this episode, however, the true extent of the set is shown in a continuous camera move.		"Q Who"		No changes

		"Transfigurations"


The dance studio set features wall panels similar to the ones on the Ten Forward side walls. Acoustic Panels as Wall Coverings in TNG		"Déjà Q"		We can recognize many more details in HD, such as of the chandelier and the parquet floor.
This is the same sequence of the Enterprise-D as in the TNG opening credits. We see the 6-foot model in the slow flyby at the beginning (first two caps), while the warp jump (next two caps) was filmed with the considerably less detailed 2-foot model.				For the TNG-R release, the two different models were digitally equalized. The previously missing window lighting was supplemented for the shot of the 2-foot model, and the strange shaded areas on the hull were removed (or avoided).



Nearly all footage of the Romulan Warbird appears for the first time in this episode, like this shot on the bridge viewscreen. Appearances of the Romulan Warbird				The Warbird model is gray and the green color needs to be added in post production. This was forgotten for the remastering of this one viewscreen shot.
This is most likely not the bridge of the Romulan Warbird but the commander's ready room. An actual Warbird bridge was seen in "Contagion" and will reappear in "Face of the Enemy" in season 6. A different version of the ready room (with the freezer spacer grating) was seen in "The Defector" and "Tin Man". The console in the foreground was originally created as a Ferengi console for "The Price" and appeared in some later episodes as a Romulan console. Note that Admiral Mendak wears a uniform made of a different fabric and also a different sash than Tomalak in "The Defector", which will appear in a a number of later episodes as well, besides the old style.	"Contagion"	"The Defector"		The Romulan ready room in HD. We can see somewhat less of the foreground console now because the shot was recomposed.
	"The Price"	"Face of the Enemy"
This shot of the USS Enterprise-D facing the Romulan Warbird was newly created for this episode. The comparison shot from "The Bonding" shows the older 6-foot model from a similar angle. Note the blue arboretum lights and the additionally illuminated neck windows on the 4-foot model, as well as the different size of shuttlebay 2.		"The Bonding"		The great shot in HD.


This is the only re-used shot of the Romulan Warbird seen in the episode. It was originally created for "The Neutral Zone" and has appeared in nearly every TNG episode featuring a Romulan Warbird. It appears again a little later in the episode. The color and the brightness of the second shot is noticeably different, though.	"The Neutral Zone"	Later in this episode		There is no color discrepancy between the shots in HD.
Test cylinders have appeared in the earlier episodes "The Ensigns of Command" and "Hollow Pursuits". In real life, these are casings of sonobuoys used by the U.S. Navy. Re-Uses of Sonobuoy Containers	"The Ensigns of Command"	"Hollow Pursuits"		The test cylinder and transporter platform in HD.
A new medical monitor appears for the first time in this episode. The prop features a slot to insert tissue samples and from now on appeared in Doctor Crusher's office in several episodes. It later appeared in several DS9 episodes, including "The Passenger".		DS9: "The Passenger"		Close-ups of the monitor in HD.

A look at the display screen of the monitor, displaying several DNA graphics. As can be seen in the screenshots from the DS9 episode "The Passenger", the prop was not modified when it appeared on that show. The medical monitor also showed up in some Voyager episodes, like "Threshold".		DS9: "The Passenger"		The graphics were newly created for the remastered episode. Note that the envelope of the original DNA segments is elliptical, while it is sinusoidal in TNG-R.

		DS9: "The Passenger"
		VOY: "Threshold"
A brief shot showing the USS Enterprise-D flying away from the camera.				A CG model of the ship was clearly used in the remastered version of the episode as the original film element could not be located. A different CG reconstruction of the same shot appears in TNG-R: "Final Mission".
The USS Enterprise-D flies towards the camera, dropping out of warp towards the end of the sequence. Enterprise Flybys in TNG and TNG-R				Once again, we don't see the 4-foot model, but a CG model in the remastered episode. Notice how the drop from warp happens earlier in the recreated CG sequence.



The console at the back of the Romulan Warbird bridge was first seen aboard the Mondor in "Samaritan Snare". It got re-used several times over the course of the series.		"Samaritan Snare"		No changes
A second Romulan Warbird decloaks as it approaches the USS Enterprise-D. This footage was also newly created for this episode. Comparison shots from "The Neutral Zone" and "Contagion" show the original model of the Warbird from a similar angle. As can be seen, the original model featured less lighting in the upper part of the "head" section.		"The Neutral Zone"		The recreated decloaking effect in TNG-R.

		"Contagion"

Another console is seen at the back of the Warbird bridge. This console features some sort of levers, previously appeared on board the Talarian observation craft in "Suddenly Human" and was rented from Modern Props. This shot shows the starboard side of the Romulan vessel, looking from the starboard side of the Enterprise-D, demonstrating that the viewscreen shows a 3D image.		"Suddenly Human"		An HD close-up of the console.
T'Pel's/Selok's true identity is revealed.				No changes
The Enterprise-D turns around and flies away, as seen through the open sections of the Romulan Warbird. A shot from "Tin Man" shows the first model of the Warbird filmed from a similar angle. One way to tell the two models apart is the additional detailing on the side of the nacelles, only present on the second Warbird model, first seen in "The Defector".		"Tin Man"		The sequence in HD.




The arboretum is seen in two more shots, illustrating the appearance of the set in this episode.				The arboretum as it appears in TNG-R.

Ten Forward has been beautifully decorated for the O'Brien wedding.				We can recognize the floral pattern of the decoration much better in HD.


A good look at the floral tapestry seen in Ten Forward in this episode.
Wiping transitions like this one are rarely used on Star Trek. They are much more well known for being used countless times in the six Star Wars films.				The transition was improved slightly in the remastered version of the episode. The new footage of the people watching Data and Guinan dance in the right half of the screen is present as soon as the woman in the foreground passes the camera. In the original version the footage of Miles O'Brien fades into the new shot of the watching crew members.




The nursery is a redress of Doctor Crusher's sickbay office. For this re-use, the two windows were made opaque and Doctor Crusher's desk was removed. A nurse is seen leaving through the door seen on the right (also in the comparison screenshot from "We'll Always Have Paris", making this one of the rare cases this door is used).		"We'll Always Have Paris"		No changes

The baby bed for the Juarez baby has a slot for a paper name tag, just as in the 20th century.				No changes
A final look at the darkened bridge during night shift.				No changes

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