Observations in TNG: "Skin of Evil"
A joint project with TrekCore, by Jörg Hillebrand and Bernd Schneider
Here are some observations about sets, props and visual effects in TNG: "Skin of Evil" without a specific theme, and a comparison of the original TV release (TNG) with the remastered episode (TNG-R).
"Skin of Evil" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore
| Description TNG | Other caps | Comparison TNG to TNG-R | Description TNG-R | |
| As warp drive is offline at the beginning of the episode, the Bussard collectors and nacelles are not lit in the first few scenes showing the USS Enterprise-D. |    |
The unpowered condition of the ship was reconstructed for TNG-R. | ||
| One of the rare occasions when a bench is seen in main engineering. |  |
No changes | ||
| This is the first appearance of dilithium on Star Trek: The Next Generation. It is also only the second time dilithium is shown as a naturally grown crystal, after smaller crystals were seen in "Elaan of Troyius". This exact crystal reappears on a desk in a holographic recreation of drafting room 3 in "Booby Trap". |  "Booby Trap" |
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A close-up of the crystal in HD. | |
A similar shot appeared in the previous episode, "The Arsenal of Freedom". In this episode, a black square, maybe part of lighting equipment, can be seen at the top of the screen. |
 "The Arsenal of Freedom" |
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No changes | |
| Another shot of the USS Enterprise-D with unpowered warp nacelles. |   |
Once again, the ship's condition was reconstructed for TNG-R. | ||
| A close-up of the large dilithium crystal. |  |
No changes | ||
| For the first time, the warp core is dark and the dilithium chamber is opened. |  |
No changes | ||
| Vagra II previously appeared as Aldea in "When the Bough Breaks". Re-Used Planets in TNG |
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The planet was rebuilt for TNG-R. | ||
| A Type-7 shuttle with an exterior like this only appears in this episode. The full mock-up wouldn't appear until "Unnatural Selection". Variations of the Type-7 Shuttle |
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No changes | ||
| Armus is crawling across the soil, a visual effect created in post production. |   |
Armus is still dull black in TNG-R. | ||
| A close view of Armus, which is really composed of something like tar in this shot. |   |
A close-up of Armus in HD. | ||
| The seam between Michael Dorn's right temple and the make-up appliance is noticeable in this episode. |   |
This is just as noticeable in HD. | ||
| Just as previously in "Code of Honor", Gates McFadden's watch is visible when she tries to revive Tasha. |  |
No changes | ||
| The neural stimulator is much bulkier than in earlier ("Spock's Brain") and later ("A Matter of Time") appearances. |  "Spock's Brain" |
 "A Matter of Time" |
 |
No changes |
| The decaying life signs in this shot were realized as a practical shot (i.e. not done in post production). According to Mike Okuda, somebody on set pulled away some strips of black art board between the transparency and the light source in the console, so the light could shine through, making it appear that the lifesigns are changing. |  |
We can clearly recognize the lettering in HD: "Central Nervous System", "Neural Activity" "Sensory Functions", "Vital Signs", "Respiration", "Pulse", "Cardio" and "Blood Pressure". | ||
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| The visual effect of Armus appears to be rather flat as it begins to enclose the shuttle. |   |
This shot looks somewhat more realistic because the upper part really seems to wrap around the shuttle now. | ||
| The Type-7 shuttle interior appears for the second time after "Coming of Age". A larger part of the front section is seen in this episode. The console to the left of Troi is the one used by Jake Kurland in "Coming of Age". |  "Coming of Age" |
 |
No changes | |
| The transparent circuit board with attached isolinear optical chips was previously seen in "11001001" when the Bynars worked on exposed bridge circuits. |  "11001001" |
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A closer look at the panel in HD. | |
| Geordi's phaser famously falls into the goo in this shot. |   |
The same happens in TNG-R. | ||
| Armus takes away Geordi's VISOR, so we can see his all-white eyeballs for a fraction of a second. |   |
In TNG-R, it was forgotten to whiten Geordi's eyes in post production. | ||
| This exact same shot of the LCARS display appeared much earlier in the episode, when Worf conducted the first scan of the surface and locates the shuttle. |  |
No changes | ||
| Another transparent circuit board (originally created for "11001001") can be seen behind Troi. |  |
No changes | ||
| This shot shows a larger part of the Type-7 shuttle cockpit than a similar shot in "Coming of Age". As can be seen, the cockpit has been changed slightly. The pilot's chair was replaced by another chair, the original pilot's chair has switched position with the second cockpit chair. The chain of lights have been removed (or are turned off) and some surface detail was added to the wall behind the pilot. |  "Coming of Age" |
 |
No changes | |
| Similar white tubes appeared in the terraforming station on Velara III in "Home Soil". |  "Home Soil" |
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A close-up of the tubes in HD. | |
| The planetary graphic of Vagra II seen to the left of Wesley is identical to graphics of Aldea and Minos seen in "When the Bough Breaks" and "The Arsenal of Freedom" respectively. |  "The Arsenal of Freedom" |
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We can recognize more details of the graphic in HD, such as the different colors of the small grid squares. | |
| An unobstructed view of the front section of the Type-7 shuttle. |  |
No changes | ||
| This shot of the bridge was recycled from "When the Bough Breaks". |  "When the Bough Breaks" |
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No changes | |
| This footage was later seen again in "The Measure of a Man" and "The Most Toys" where it was displayed by Data's small holographic device. |  "The Measure of a Man" |
 "The Most Toys" |
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No changes |
| Beverly and Wesley Crusher during Tasha's funeral service. |   |
In TNG-R, Beverly's uniform looks like it is green when she enters, only to switch to the normal blue in the course of the ceremony. Of course, it's not actually green. Wesley's shirt is initially a bit greenish too, albeit not as drastically. Even more curiously, everything else in the shot, including the plants and the faces, has the same hue in both shots. The color change may have to do with an effort to keep the sky the same deep blue under all conditions. Still, it is a mystery why a selective color grading was applied that made (or kept) Beverly's shirt green. | ||
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Credits
Thanks to Terry Hardcastle for spotting the color change during Tasha's memorial service and to Josh Gilhen for the hint about Crusher's watch.
