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Observations in TNG: "Ethics"

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

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

"Ethics" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore

Description TNG		Other caps	Comparison TNG to TNG-R	Description TNG-R
An impulse flyby of the USS Enterprise-D at the beginning of the episode. Enterprise Flybys in TNG and TNG-R				As the original footage of the model could not be found for the remastering, the shot had to be recreated using a CG model of the ship.
The third door that leads to the redesigned junior officers' quarters is finally seen for the first time in "Ethics". A little later in the episode, this door leads to Worf's sickbay room. While the general area between this door and the cargo bay double doors has been seen before (as in this screenshot from "Violations"), the last corridor segment with the actual crew quarters' door is seen here for the first time.		"Violations"		No changes
This episode features a nice close-up of the science tricorder in use in season 5.				The tricorder in HD.
It seems the lower cargo container which is slowly deforming is made from a different material than the other containers.				The containers in HD.
When the second cargo container comes falling down and hits the ground, its lid comes off in one shot. In the following shot, the black lid is still attached to the second container.				The problem is still the same in TNG-R.
The footage of the USS Enterprise-D flying alongside an Excelsior-class vessel first appeared in the season 2 opener "The Child". In that episode, the Excelsior class ship was identified as the USS Repulse, here, it is the USS Potemkin.				We can see the ships very well in HD, but not the registry on the Excelsior class.
Commander Riker enters Worf's sickbay room. Behind him, the other orange door also seen in the screenshot from "Violations" and the holodeck controls can be seen.		"Violations"		No changes
Worf's special biobed was originally created for "First Contact" and thus appeared on planet Malcor III. In that episode, the monitor on the left displayed Malcorian medical data and Riker, not Worf, was the patient.		"First Contact"		The monitor is still the same in HD, including the curvature of the CRT and the comparably low contrast (by today's standards).
The small table, previously seen in sickbay in "The Host" and in engineering in "The Masterpiece Society" here includes a holoprojector which displays a three-dimensional model of Worf's spinal column.	"The Host"	"The Masterpiece Society"		The recomposed effect in HD.
Tables with inbuilt holographic projectors were also seen in some early TNG episodes, like "Haven" and "The Last Outpost".	"Haven"	"The Last Outpost"
Dr. Toby Russell is seen using a blue PADD in this scene and more blue PADDs are later seen in this episode. After they were introduced as PADDs used in school in "Hero Worship" they now debut in a medical context.		"Hero Worship"
Two consoles which have appeared in previous episodes are seen in this screenshot. The blue console behind Dr. Russell was first seen in the tactical lab in "The Emissary", while the large black console with a laser attached to a swivel arm was used to operate on Picard in "Samaritan Snare" and on Lwaxana Troi in "Ménage à Troi".	"The Emissary"	"Ménage à Troi"		In HD, we can make out more details on this characteristic console.
	"Samaritan Snare"
The graphic displayed on Dr. Russell's blue medical PADD can be briefly seen when she gives the PADD to Dr. Crusher.				An HD close-up of the PADD.
A close-up of the medical readout displayed by the biobed monitor.				Another look at the unchanged monitor in TNG-R.
The two consoles behind Counselor Troi have appeared before. The large console was originally a replicator in "Data's Day" and the small orange console was seen in the classroom in "Hero Worship".	"Data's Day"	"Hero Worship"		A better look at the console in HD.
A graphic of Worf's nervous system is displayed on this wall console. The same console originally appeared in the small science/medical lab seen in the first five seasons of TNG. The set last appeared in "The Game". As can be seen here, the original orange LCARS panel is still in place.	"Home Soil"	"Clues"		The graphic was reconstructed for TNG-R.
The motor assistant unit held by Dr. Russell here is identical to the motor assistant bands seen in "Transfigurations". The same props are later re-used as monitoring devices in "Realm of Fear".	"Transfigurations"	"Realm of Fear"		An HD close-up of the prop.
Worf's medical room can be seen a little better in this shot. The set is a redress of a section of the junior officers' quarters that is not often seen on the show. It was first seen as the guest quarters of the Ullian delegation in "Violations".	Sickbay room floorplan	"Violations"		No changes
Another new blue medical PADD can be seen here. Beginning in this episode, Crusher would often use blue PADDs in sickbay.				The props in HD.
The medical monitoring device seen here was originally Kivas Fajo's personal force field projector in "The Most Toys". It appeared in several later episodes as a medical tool, just a few episodes ago in "Conundrum", for example.	"The Most Toys"	"Conundrum"
The medical scanner used by the nurse started out as a Malcorian medical tool used to detect a heartbeat in "First Contact". The medical device is later seen again in "Realm of Fear" (as a cardiostimulator) and VOY: "Alliances" (as a cortical stimulator).	"First Contact"	"Realm of Fear"
		VOY: "Alliances"
While the simple beds were originally created for the morgue in "Night Terrors", the old-fashioned stretcher in the background only appears here. What happened to the much more futuristic anti-grav lifts?	"The Enemy"	"Night Terrors"		An HD close-up of the stretcher.
The script of the episode can be seen lying at Crusher's feet. A few frames later, she actually steps on the script when she walks to the next bed.				A close-up of the script in HD.
The medical scanner Doctor Russell is using in this scene switches between shots. First, she uses a scanner emanating a pink light at the tip, as seen by the reflection on the underside of the PADD. When the camera angle switches, she is seen using a different kind of medical scanner that looks like Dr McCoy's classic saltshaker scanners from TOS. When the camera angle switches again, she is using the first scanner with the pink tip once more.				This can be seen in TNG-R just as well.
The planet in the Mericor system was re-used in several episodes before and after "Ethics". It appeared as Tarchannen III in "Identity Crisis" or Valo II in "Ensign Ro", for example. Re-Used Planets in TNG				A new planet can be seen in TNG-R.
The original SD version of the episode shows footage from "Identity Crisis", of the USS Enterprise-D leaving orbit of a planet (Tarchannen III in that episode).				For the remastered version of the episode, the shot was created completely anew, using the new planet and the previously mentioned CG model of the ship.
Another PADD can be seen up close in this shot. It does not seem to contain much data.				An HD close-up of the PADD.
The large medical console behind Worf's bed was previously seen on the bridge of the Erstwhile in "The Outrageous Okona" and in the medical suite on Malcor III in "First Contact". The console was also seen in sickbay aboard the USS Enterprise-A in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country".	"The Outrageous Okona"	"Star Trek VI"		The consoles in HD.
	"First Contact"
The two consoles to the left of the door are seen several times on the various Star Trek episodes. The lower cubical console was previously seen in "Home Soil" and "Unnatural Selection", in both cases in science outposts. The spherical console appears again as a Kes device in "Attached". In that episode, it is seen turned on.	"Home Soil"	"Attached"
	"Unnatural Selection"
The Klingon knife seen here is identical to the knife used during Worf's attempted Hegh'bat ceremony in "Night Terrors". The Knife of Kirom (seen in "Rightful Heir") is of a similar design.	"Night Terrors"	"Rightful Heir"		A good look at the knife in HD.
The medical lab was last seen as the quarantine station at the beginning of season 4 in "Brothers". The set was originally created for the season 3 episode "Transfigurations". In seasons 6 and 7, the set would often appear as the science lab.	"Brothers"	"Transfigurations"		The impressive shot in HD.
Various medical readouts are displayed on the operating table interfaces in these screenshots. The green glow of the drechtal beams can be seen in the first screenshot.				The partially recomposed shots in TNG-R. The different shapes of the pulses on the patient status monitor give away that they were newly created. The new ones are more like on a real-life medical monitor.
Not only the Klingon forehead but also the Klingon back is characterized by wrinkles. In DS9: "Sons of Mogh", it can be seen that the Klingon chest also features these wrinkles.		"Sons of Mogh"		Worf's spine in HD.
Worf's old spinal column is seen in this series of screenshots. The colorful controls of the large console are identical to the ones seen in "Samaritan Snare" and many years later in the Voyager episode "Random Thoughts" when the same console is re-used (like many other props that were previously seen in other episodes). The scanning beams of the genitronic replicator and detronal scanner are seen in the last two screenshots. The Thieves of the Delta Quadrant		"Samaritan Snare"		The shots of the spine in HD.
		"Random Thoughts"
Alexander and Troi are sitting in front of the large painting in the sickbay waiting area, playing the Pyramid game, normally found on Ten Forward tables. The painting is never seen as close as here, various organs and ships named Enterprise can be made out.		"Half a Life" HD		An HD close-up of the pyramid
The operating table/biobed seen during Worf's operation was originally created as a cloning unit used on Mariposa in "Up the Long Ladder". It also appeared as an emergency biosupport unit in "Transfigurations" and another biobed in "The Best of Both Worlds II".	"Up the Long Ladder"	"The Best of Both Worlds II"		The biobed in HD.
	"Transfiguration"
The metallic ball above the biobed, most likely emitting the drechtal beams, was previously seen aboard a Ferengi Marauder in "Ménage à Troi" and also appeared as part of Barclay's interface in "The Nth Degree".	"Ménage à Troi"	"The Nth Degree"
More medical readouts can be seen in these four screenshots.				Only the graphic on the large monitor in the second screenshot was not added in post production and thus did not have to be recreated for the remastering of the episode.
The two-part cortical stimulators appear for the first time in this episode. They are based on the cortical scanners seen in "Night Terrors". From now on, the cortical stimulators would appear in several later TNG episodes.		"Night Terrors"		The prop in HD.
This graphic displays how Worf's lifesigns are slowly failing.				The reconstructed graphic in TNG-R.
The large console behind Crusher was previously seen during a different operation in "Samaritan Snare". It also appeared in the class room on Relva VII in "Coming of Age". The graphic of cells and molecules to the left of Dr. Crusher is similar to a graphic usually displayed on the beige monitor in her sickbay office, seen here in "Unnatural Selection".	"Coming of Age"	"Unnatural Selection"		The console in HD.
	"Samaritan Snare"
More details of the decorative painting in sickbay can be made out in these three screenshots.				We can see more details of the painting in HD.
While the medical graphic displayed on the left monitor was added in post production, the static display on the right was a practical effect on set.				The reconstructed graphic in TNG-R.
The USS Enterprise-D in orbit of an ocean planet not identified in the episode. According to the script, this is Starbase 27.				The flyby in HD, featuring a new planet.
Doctor Crusher is holding a PADD that displays technical details about Data, originally created for "The Measure of a Man".		"The Measure of a Man"		An HD close-up of the PADDs.
The USS Enterprise-D leaves orbit of the ocean planet. The footage of the ship was originally created for the scene in which the Enterprise slowly backs away from the Cytherian probe in "The Nth Degree".		"The Nth Degree"		The flyby in HD.
		"The Nth Degree"
Like Klingon backs and chests, Klingon feet also display a line of small ridges. The ridges are a little less pronounced on Klaang's feet in ENT: "Broken Bow".		"Broken Bow"		Worf's feet in HD.

Credits

Thanks to Colin for the hint about Starbase 27.

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