Info Starships Fleet Yards Treknology

Episodes Database Fandom Community

Observations in TNG: "Relics"

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

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

"Relics" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore

Description TNG		Other caps	Comparison TNG to TNG-R	Description TNG-R
The distress signal of the USS Jenolan is displayed on an aft bridge monitor.				The LCARS screen in HD.
Even though the USS Enterprise-D hasn't even detected the Dyson sphere yet, a graphic of the massive structure, later seen up close in main engineering, is already displayed on a bridge monitor in the background.				The Dyson sphere graphic is visible in TNG-R too.
No, that is NOT a moon. The Dyson sphere, the by far biggest artificial structure ever to appear in Star Trek, is seen on the main viewscreen of the USS Enterprise-D. Ancient or Mysterious Ships				Even in HD, we can't make out any surface structures, which is only realistic considering the huge dimensions of the sphere.
The USS Enterprise-D approaches the Dyson sphere and is dwarfed by the massive structure.				The surface of the Dyson sphere was edited and exhibits finer structures in TNG-R. We need to keep in mind that in this shot the Enterprise must be still several 100,000 kilometers away from the sphere.

The crashed USS Jenolan can be seen on the surface of the Dyson sphere. The surface paneling of the sphere is slightly different in every shot. The first shot was most likely filmed with a much smaller miniature, explaining the different paneling. The paneling in the second and third viewscreen shots are mostly similar to the establishing shot of the ship on the metallic surface, but it seems some of the structures behind the front section of the ship have moved to the right.				The great shots of the surface in HD.



A look at the ravaged but still functional bridge of the ship.				The shot of the Jenolan bridge in HD.
Some parts of the transporter console were animated in post production. In SD, the text cannot be made out.				We can read the complete text in HD.
The small transporter platform of the USS Jenolan is a re-use of the ops transporter platform of the USS Yosemite, seen in "Realm of Fear".		"Realm of Fear"		The 23rd century transporter in HD.
The transporter effect of the late 23rd century Starfleet ship USS Jenolan is reminiscent of the transporter effect used in The Original Series.		TOS: "Elaan of Troyius"
Scotty examines the transporter console and sadly realizes that his friend Matt Franklin has not survived in the transporter buffer.				The 23rd century console in HD.

The USS Enterprise-D in orbit of the huge Dyson sphere. Enterprise Flybys in TNG and TNG-R				The shot of the ship was replaced with a CG model for TNG-R.
After they have returned to the USS Enterprise-D, Geordi and Scotty are on their way to sickbay. After leaving the transporter room, Geordi introduces Scotty to the 24th century LCARS interface. A similar graphic was displayed by the wall consoles in the corridors in the pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint" and in "Transfigurations". Quite possibly the display is the very same, only with different lighting. After checking the LCARS display, the two engineers follow the curvature of the corridors and stop very close to the holodeck entry. Here, the camera switches to a different angle on La Forge and Scotty have suddenly returned to the corridor junction close to the transporter room corridor, where they enter a turbolift. The errant path of the two engineers is highlighted in the enclosed map.		"Encounter at Farpoint"		No changes
		"Encounter at Farpoint"
		"Transfigurations"
		Scotty and Geordi's path

Crusher has a strangely anachronistic device to scan Scotty. The same device previously appeared when Wesley investigated the Nanites in "Evolution". A similar old-fashioned scanner was used in the previous episode, "Man of the People".		"Evolution"		A better look at the props in HD.
		"Man of the People"
The blue medical PADD held by Crusher here was given to her by Doctor Russell in the season 5 episode "Ethics".		"Ethics"
A graphic of the Dyson sphere is displayed on a monitor in main engineering and the bridge each. As mentioned above, the graphic appeared earlier on the aft bridge viewscreen, a little too early in fact.				The graphics in HD.

The warp core is turned off in this scene, giving Scotty the chance to examine the Dilithium chamber, just like Dr. Leah Brahms did when she came aboard in "Galaxy's Child".		"Galaxy's Child"		The warp core in HD.
		"Galaxy's Child"
Another shot of the USS Enterprise-D in orbit of the giant Dyson sphere.				The great shot in HD.
The console behind the Ten Forward bar, installed for "Power Play", seems to be still in place.		"Power Play"		No changes
It's green!		TOS: "By Any Other Name"		The green bottle in HD.
Only a small section of the USS Enterprise bridge was built for this memorable scene. The wide shot of the empty bridge was sampled from "This Side of Paradise", while the shot of the viewscreen was recycled from "The Mark of Gideon", the latter being the planet displayed here. Screen caps from various TOS episodes show how this section of the bridge looked like in The Original Series.		TOS: "This Side of Paradise"		The original Enterprise bridge in HD.
		TOS: "The Squire of Gothos"
		TOS: "The Naked Time"
		TOS: "Let That Be Your Last..."
		TOS: "The Mark of Gideon"
		TOS: "A Taste of Armageddon"
		TOS: "The Corbo- mite Maneuver"
		"The Devil in the Dark"
The label of Scotty's Aldebaran whiskey bottle can briefly be seen in this shot. Different bottles and barrels of Aldebaran whiskey appeared in several DS9 episodes.	DS9: "Prophet Motive"	DS9: "Explorers"		An HD close-up of the label.
The holodeck grid was last seen in the season 5 episode "Cost of Living" where only a small section of the grid was seen. Larger sections of the holographic grid were last seen in the season 4 episodes "The Nth Degree" and "Family".	"Family"	"Cost of Living"		No changes
	"The Nth Degree"
Geordi takes the same data transfer device that he used aboard the SS Vico in "Hero Worship" with him when he beams to the USS Jenolan in this episode. The prop will be seen again in "Aquiel" and in "Emergence". Filming equipment is briefly visible in the top left-hand corner of this screenshot.	"Hero Worship"	"Aquiel"		No changes
		"Emergence"
The USS Enterprise-D approaches the opening of the Dyson sphere. Like in several earlier episodes, only a blue light can be seen behind the large observation lounge windows.				The sequence in HD.


The USS Enterprise-D is pulled into the Dyson sphere by four powerful tractor beams.

The sun within the Dyson sphere is first glimpsed on the viewscreen of the USS Enterprise-D.				The first look inside the Dyson sphere in HD.
We get our first look at the interior surface of the Dyson sphere.				TNG-R still uses the original matte paiting, which was deemed detailed enough.

The crashed Jenolan is seen again in this screenshot. The model is a modification of the transport shuttle created for "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country". It was later relabeled and turned upside down and appeared as the USS Nash in several DS9 episodes. Starship Class Inconsistencies	"Star Trek VI"	DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations"		The Jenolan in HD.
The data transfer device and an LCARS display of a warp core can be seen a little better here. The flashing red lights were added to the prop for this episode.		"Hero Worship"		The prop in HD.
The large console seen behind Geordi was originally created for the brig aboard the Ferengi Marauder seen in "Ménage à Troi". After that, the console appeared a few episodes later aboard the Talarian observation craft in "Suddenly Human".	"Ménage à Troi"	"Suddenly Human"		We can read the labels on the 23rd century display in HD.
The sun at the center of the Dyson sphere is seen on the main viewscreen of the USS Enterprise-D.				The sequence in HD. Note that in HD we can see stars around the sun although there shouldn't be any inside the Dyson sphere.

Netflix HD release				In the HD release for Netflix, the stars were removed.
We get another look at various 23rd century LCARS displays in this screenshot.				No changes
A graphic of the interior of the Dyson sphere is displayed on an aft bridge monitor.				The animation was created anew for TNG-R.


A massive solar flare is seen on the main bridge viewscreen.				The solar flare in HD.
This console seen on the bridge of the USS Jenolan has appeared in several earlier TNG episodes, like "A Matter of Time" and "Realm of Fear".	"A Matter of Time"	"Realm of Fear"		Scotty and Geordi at the console in HD.
The USS Enterprise-D comes dangerously close to the solar flare, making its shield bubble visible.				The sequence in HD.

The tiny USS Jenolan waits in front of the large Dyson sphere gate.				The recomposed shot in HD.
Several graphics of the Dyson sphere portal are displayed on a Jenolan monitor.				The animation was created anew for TNG-R.


The USS Jenolan approaches the camera.				The sequence in HD.

Geordi sits on the captain's chair of the USS Jenolan. The wall console behind Scotty is similar to one seen behind the transporter console of the USS Enterprise-A in "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" and "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country".	"Star Trek V"	"Star Trek VI"		The console in HD.
The four tractor beams of the Dyson sphere try to lock on to the USS Jenolan, in vain.				The shots in HD.
The USS Jenolan takes position between the two large doors of the Dyson sphere.
The USS Enterprise-D leaves orbit of the sun at the center of the Dyson sphere. The footage of the ship flying past the camera is similar, but not identical, to footage filmed for the final episode of the fourth season, "Redemption I", when the ship is leaving orbit of Qo'noS.		"Redemption I"		The sequence in HD.
		"Redemption I"
		"Redemption I"
		"Redemption I"
The USS Jenolan holds the door of the Dyson sphere open using its shield bubble.				The shot in HD.
The USS Enterprise-D quickly flying past the camera. The footage from "Relics" was flipped and used for the flyby in several season 4 and 5 episodes when the original footage could not be located for the remastering. That explains why the footage in those flybys always appears very blurry, as the material needed to be slowed down for the re-use. Enterprise Flybys in TNG and TNG-R		"Violations" HD		The sequence in HD. We can recognize many more surface details, such as roads and parks.
		"Violations" HD
		"Violations" HD
		"Violations" HD
		"Violations" HD
The footage of the USS Enterprise-D rushing past the camera after the destruction of the Jenolan is the same as the one seen 25 seconds earlier. Only the brightness was increased in the original episode, hence insinunating that the ship is now higher in the atmosphere of the inner shell of the Dyson sphere. This doesn't make much sense though, since time is pressing and the ship must be on a direct course from the central star to the outer surface, and not on an S-shaped flight path.				While the footage of the Enterprise is still the same as in the first pass, in TNG-R we can see smaller structures on the inner surface of the Dyson sphere in the second pass, corroborating the impression that the ship is further away from the surface now.
The USS Enterprise-D approaches the closing gates of the Dyson sphere and can finally escape the massive structure. Footage of the closing doors was later re-used in the VOY episode "Non Sequitur" where the portal was supposed to be located within a much smaller spacedock. In the VOY episode, the USS Enterprise-D was replaced by a Danube-/Yellowstone-class runabout.		VOY: "Non Sequitur"		The sequence in HD.


		VOY: "Non Sequitur"

Footage of the USS Enterprise-D was flipped for this flyby, explaining why the ship's registry is likewise flipped.				The registry is still flipped in TNG-R.
The type 6 shuttle Goddard, given as a gift to Scotty before he leaves, is seen within the large shuttlebay set.				A look at the shuttle in HD.

Credits

The image from the Netflix release comes from TrekCore. Thanks to Tuskin38 for pointing us to the Netflix changes. Thanks to Micah Haber for the hint about the LCARS display and to Mark Beever for the reuse of the medical scanner.

Back to Observations index

Top

View as gallery