Observations in TNG: "Elementary, Dear Data"
A joint project with TrekCore, by Jörg Hillebrand and Bernd Schneider
Here are some observations about sets, props and visual effects in TNG: "Elementary, Dear Data" without a specific theme, and a comparison of the original TV release (TNG) with the remastered episode (TNG-R).
"Elementary, Dear Data" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore
| Description TNG | Other caps | Comparison TNG to TNG-R | Description TNG-R |
| The model of the HMS Victory signals the same message Lord Nelson had it signal during the Battle of Trafalgar, namely "England expects that every man will do his duty". |    |
A better look at the great model in HD. | |
| The Sherlock Holmes holoprogram contains numerous visual references to the Sherlock Holmes short stories and novels, written by Arthur Conan Doyle. When the holodeck door disappears, for example, the letters "V" and "R" are seen on the wall, spelled in bullet holes. This is a reference to the short story The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual where it is explained that Holmes's patriotism went so far that he wrote "Victoria Regina" (Queen Victoria) thusly on his wall. |   |
A close-up of the wall in HD. | |
| The emerald tie pin is taken from The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans. |   |
A close-up of the tie pin in HD. | |
| As Data says, Sherlock Holmes used Whitaker's Almanac to decipher a code in the novel The Valley of Fear. |   |
In HD, the name of the book can be read on the spine. | |
| Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ornstein's snuff box is right out of A Scandal in Bohemia. |   |
A close-up of the snuff box in HD. | |
| The reader gets to know that Holmes bought his violin at a pawn shop in Tottenham Court Road for 55 shilling in the short story The Cardboard Box. |  |
No changes | |
| A Persian slipper, in which Holmes kept his tobacco, can barely be glimpsed in this screenshot. This is first described in The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual. |   |
A close-up of the Persian slipper in HD. | |
| Likewise, Holmes's "unanswered correspondence transfixed by a jack-knife into the very centre of his wooden mantelpiece" is also taken from The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual. |   |
A close-up of the mantelpiece in HD. | |
| The photograph used to blackmail an aristocrat, finally, is also from A Scandal in Bohemia. |   |
A close-up of the photo in HD. | |
| One of Holmes's books seems much more modern than the others. The title seems to be "Close-Up". |   |
In HD, the name and author of the book can be read. It is the novel Close-Up by Len Deighton, published in 1972. | |
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The spine of another book allows to identify it as Childcraft, a multi-volume anthology for children, first published in the 1930s. Both books are thus completely anachronistic. | ||
| In the original episode, there is small editing mistake. As the holodeck door opens, Geordi is seen entering the frame from the left for a few frames. When the camera angle switches, he is still standing next to Data and is then starting to walk towards the door. |  |
No changes | |
| The Pair Match game (produced by Bandai) often seen on Ten Forward tables is seen up close in this shot. Present-Day Devices as Props |
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A close-up of the game in HD. | |
| The corridor leading to the holodeck has been changed again since it was last seen in "We'll Always Have Paris". The turbolift door was further away from the wall with the holodeck door and the material covering the wall has changed. Like in season 1, the short holodeck corridor wasn't connected to the main corridor set yet. |  "We'll Always Have Paris" |
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No changes |
| A first look at the part of the holodeck corridor opposite the turbolift door. This corridor seems to be pretty short. |  |
No changes | |
| Both Jabez Wilson and the Red Headed League play an important role in the short story The Adventure of the Red-Headed League. |  |
No changes | |
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| The bellrope and the snake are taken from The Adventure oft he Speckled Band, where the victim is killed by a poisonous snake after she pulls a bellrope. |  |
No changes | |
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| The buildings in the background look like a painted backdrop but are actually miniature (about half scale) dimensional building fronts, complete with miniature windows and miniature curtains in the windows. |   |
The scene in HD. | |
| As can be seen, not much has been changed about the holographic arch since season 1. The two PADDs used to interact with the holodeck controls have been removed, however, as the holodeck is solely controlled by voice command now. |  "Haven" |
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No changes |
| Professor James Moriarty appears in the Sherlock Holmes short story The Final Problem. |  |
No changes | |
| In addition to the two PADDs, the designation of the holodeck, written on the arch, has been removed between seasons 1 and 2. On the other hand, the strips of velcro that the PADD-like control devices were attached to, are still in place. |  "11001001" |
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A better look at the interface in HD. |
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| Round bottom flasks like this (with the label of the company producing the flasks) did not exist in the late 19th century. |   |
In HD, the name "PYREX" can be read on the flask. Pyrex laboratory glassware was introduced in 1915, the final Sherlock Holmes story (His Last Bow) is set in 1914, however. | |
One of the paintings in Professor Moriarty's lair is "The Blue Boy" by Thomas Gainsborough. The portrait now resides in the Huntington Library, in whose gardens several TNG episodes were filmed ("Justice", "Ménage à Troi", "Meridian"). In one of Barclay's holodeck programs in TNG: "Hollow Pursuits" Wesley is dressed as "The Blue Boy". The fact that Moriarty kept famous and valuable paintings in his abode was established in the novel The Valley of Fear. |
 "Hollow Pursuits" |
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A close-up of the painting in HD. |
| Another good look at the holodeck corridor, facing away from the turbolift door. |  |
No changes | |
| As can be seen in this screenshot, Geordi's VISOR has changed since season 1. In the first season, every second vertical golden "rod" was connected to the top part of the VISOR, while every other rod was connected to the lower part, leaving a small space between the rod and the rim of the VISOR. Beginning in season 2, all vertical rods go from the top part to the bottom part of the VISOR. Geordi's VISOR and Eyes |
 "Home Soil" |
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A close-up of the VISOR in HD. |
| Another famous piece of art in Moriarty's lair is this painting of King Louis XVI of France by Antoine-François Callet. |   |
A better look at the painting in TNG-R. | |
Moriarty's blackboard contains another reference to Kei and Yuri (from "Dirty Pair"), and one to Ataru and Lum (from "Urusei Yatsura"). Aside from that we can make out portions of equations that are or could be correct:
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The blackboard in HD. | |
| "An assembled heap of odd machinery", which Moriarty uses to take control of the USS Enterprise-D, has appeared in the Professor's lair. A little later in the same scene, the machinery is seen up close. Some parts on top of the central cube are missing all of a sudden. |  |
No changes | |
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| A good look at the holodeck corridor, facing the side with the turbolift door. |  |
No changes | |
| The holodeck grid appears different from other episodes here. It is not yellow on black as usual. Also, the grid is made up of more than the normal squares of other episodes, featuring occasional different shapes and thicker lines as well. |   |
The hologrid in HD. | |
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| According to the script, Moriarty's odd machinery "has changed". This can be seen in the filmed episode, as a 24th century console with a small LCARS display now is part of the machinery. |   |
A close-up of the display in HD. | |
| The footage of the USS Victory seems to be no re-use of footage filmed for "The Battle" where the model was seen as the USS Stargazer. |   |
We can see the two ships somewhat better in HD. | |
