Info Starships Fleet Yards Treknology

Episodes Database Fandom Community

Observations in TNG: "The Next Phase"

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

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

"The Next Phase" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore

Description TNG		Other caps	Comparison TNG to TNG-R	Description TNG-R
The often reused Enterprise-D flyby shot. Enterprise Flybys in TNG and TNG-R				The shot could not be located for the remastering and was replaced with a CG model for this episode.
The Romulan science vessel is a redress of the Romulan scout ship from "The Defector". The shot of the USS Enterprise-D seen in the second screenshot is one of several newly filmed for this episode.		"The Defector"		The Romulan scout ship in HD.

After "The Enemy" and "The Defector", this is the third time green Romulan blood is seen on Star Trek.				The Romulan in HD.
The Romulan graviton field generator will later be modified and reappear as a Federation cloaking device in "The Pegasus". After that, parts of the prop will be seen again as a Kinjal polaron modulator in the Voyager episode "The Void" and, coming full circle, as part of the arming mechanisms of a Romulan mine in "Minefield".	"The Pegasus"	VOY: "The Void"		A look at the generator in HD.
		ENT: "Minefield"
The shots showing Chief Brossmer in the transporter room while she is trying to beam Ro and La Forge aboard are strange. Whenever she is filmed head on or from the back (2nd and 3rd cap), she is standing at the regular location of the transporter console, the large wall-mounted LCARS display is directly behind her and the console is at its regular position. Whenever the camera switches to a side view of the Chief (1st cap), however, she has moved to the side and the large LCARS display is still behind her. If filmed from the side, the green transporter room wall and parts of the orange doors should only be visible, not the LCARS display, as seen in the screenshot from "Power Play". Notice also that the console seems to be much higher in these shots.		"Power Play"		No changes


The wall section with the vertical light slits and the octagonal consoles at the bottom have been seen in numerous earlier TNG episodes. In one way or another, this wall has also appeared in the first four Star Trek films. The wall was first seen aboard a Romulan vessel (where it most often appears on TNG) in "Contagion".	"Star Trek IV"	"Contagion"		No changes
The Romulan science vessel and the USS Enterprise-D are seen again in footage newly filmed for this episode.				The ships in HD.

A Romulan engine core can be seen in this screenshot. The engine core of a Romulan Warbird looks considerably different, as can be seen in this screenshot from "Timescape".		"Timescape"		No changes
The aforementioned Romulan engine core is ejected in this scene.				The scene in TNG-R.

The USS Enterprise-D extends its shield around the Romulan science vessel to protect it from the explosion of its engine core. The bright light on the underside of the hull of the USS Enterprise-D is where the shield emitter seems to be located.				The sequence in TNG-R.

Ro stands in front of the main entry to sickbay.				In HD, the door label can be read. It says "Medical Intensive Care Unit".
This is the first of several occasions of people passing through other people or objects in this episode. Here, Picard walks right through Ensign Ro.				The effect in TNG-R.
The blue medical PADD Doctor Crusher is using here is the same one Doctor Russell gave to her in "Ethics". The large monitor in the background has been seen in the Doctor's office since the beginning of the series. The graphic displayed by the monitor was seen up close in "Unnatural Selection".	"Unnatural Selection"	"Ethics"		A look at the prop in HD.
Ro's hand passes through Crusher's desktop monitor. The graphic displayed here re-uses most elements of Troi's personal appointment log, seen in "Imaginary Friend", explaining why so many crew members come to see Doctor Crusher for psychological reasons. The line "Counselor Deanna Troi" on the lower right was removed for this appearance.		"Imaginary Friend"		In HD, the whole appointment log can be read. As usual, the patients were named after people working on the show: First on Monday, the Doctor is seeing Commander Gabrielle Beaumont, who directed "Imaginary Friend". Commander Brannon Braga, who wrote "Imaginary Friend", is her next patient after that. Lieutenant Lazaro Ward is named after L.Z. Ward, set security officer for the Paramount Studios. As can be read in the Memory Alpha article, his wife gave birth to their daughter Kristin while "The Outcast" was filmed. So, his "Follow up session on child psychology" with Counselor Troi/Doctor Crusher is another in-joke, as "The Outcast" was filmed several weeks before "Imaginary Friend". The last patient on Monday is Lt. Elaina Vescio, also a set security officer at Paramount. On Tuesday, the patients are Chris McBee, Patricia Miller and Joy Zapata. All three were hair stylists on TNG. On Wednesday, Crusher/Troi is seeing June Haymore (now Westmore) and Gerald Quist. Both were make-up artists on TNG.
Notice how Doctor Crusher is still holding the blue medical PADD in the first screenshot while she is holding a completely different PADD in the close-up. The words "Replicating Center Database" can be read on the PADD seen in the second screenshot. The center was seen in "Data's Day". The large console displaying Ro's personnel file was originally created for Data's psychotropic stability examination, seen in "The Schizoid Man". Some of the mistakes that were included in Ro's personnel file in "Conundrum" have been fixed for this second appearance of the data. Her homeworld is no longer listed as "Bajora" but as "Bajor". Her years at the Academy have been shortened from six to four years, from 2358 to 2362.		"The Schizoid Man"		The graphic had to be recreated for the remastering of the episode. Like in "Conundrum", the personnel file now features the Starfleet Service Serial Number.
		"Conundrum"

The USS Enterprise-D transfers power to the Romulan science vessel.				The ships in TNG-R.

The Romulan scanner seen here originally appeared as Vash's scanner in "Captain's Holiday". For this re-use, it was repainted black. The same black scanner is also used by the Prytt in "Attached".	"Captain's Holiday"	"Attached"		The props in HD.
Another new shot of the USS Enterprise-D transferring power to the Romulan science vessel.				Another look at the ships in TNG-R.

La Forge walks through the walls in main engineering in this screenshot.				The effect in HD.
This shot of the USS Enterprise-D was newly created for this episode.				The new shot as it looks in TNG-R.
Ro walks through the ready room walls in this shot.				The effect in HD.
This footage of the shuttle flying away from the USS Enterprise-D was originally created for "Darmok" and so far has also appeared in "The Outcast".				The shot in HD.
As the next two panning shots featured an FX element (Geordi sticking his head in a console), they were shot anamorphically. The panning was then achieved using the technique of "pan & scan", explain while the footage is a little blurry. Pan & Scan Effects in TNG The Romulan console has previously been seen in "The Mind's Eye". The bottom part of the console was rented from Modern Props. It was heavily modified (Romulan-ized) for this appearance and has been seen as various Federation consoles before, including an appearance as a matter replicator in "The Survivors".		"The Survivors"		The sequence in HD.

		"The Mind's Eye"

The console behind the chair has been seen on a Romulan ship before, in "Data's Day" and "Redemption II". It was originally created as a Pakled console for "Samaritan Snare", however.	"Samaritan Snare"	"Data's Day"		The console in HD.
The chair in front of the console was originally created for the cockpit of the Ferengi pod, seen in "The Price" and was also seen in as a Romulan chair in "Redemption II". This chair is missing the round piece at the top, another similar chair seen later in this episode still has that round piece.	"The Price"	"Redemption II"
As the Romulan is seen walking through the console (an FX element) and the camera is panning to the left, this shot was again filmed anamorphically.				The effect in TNG-R.

This shot features three Romulan consoles, which were seen before in earlier episodes. The large central console was originally created for the lab in the genome colony in "The Masterpiece Society". It would later be seen as various Federation consoles, like on the USS Raman in "Interface".	"The Masterpiece Society"	"Interface"		The console in HD.
The console on the right was first seen on the bridge of the Erstwhile in "The Outrageous Okona". It first appeared on a Romulan ship in "Redemption II".	"The Outrageous Okona"	"Redemption II"
Two wall consoles are finally seen in the background. These consoles were created for the medical suite in "First Contact" but have so far also been seen on the bridge of the USS Brattain in "Night Terrors" and in the Qualor II surplus office in "Unification I".	"First Contact"	"Unification I"
	"Night Terrors"
This shot of the USS Enterprise-D transferring power to the Romulan science vessel is identical to one seen earlier in the episode, only the energy beam was added.				The ships in HD.

Geordi La Forge walks through another console. Notice how his image is reflected on the "pool table" surface even when he is in the middle of the console.				The reconstructed effects in HD.
Two more screenshots show La Forge sticking his hand into the central console in main engineering, nicknamed the "pool table".

The anyon emitter Data uses to eliminate the anomalous chroniton fields created by La Forge is a re-use of the prop he used to detect the Tarchannen III lifeforms in "Identity Crisis". The prop will later also appear in "Eye of the Beholder" and "Bloodlines".	"Identity Crisis"	"Eye of the Beholder"		The prop in HD.
		"Bloodlines"
Ro and the unnamed Romulan are running through various walls, objects and even people in this series of screenshots. Notice how Ro's reflection is also seen in the first screenshot as she emerges in the crew quarters.				The effects in TNG-R.



This is one of the rare cases of a shot filmed from outside the USS Enterprise-D into a room aboard the ship. The observation lounge was filmed from the outside in "Lonely Among Us" and the ready room in several episodes, last in "Conundrum".	"Lonely Among Us"	"Conundrum"		The look through the window in TNG-R.
The dead Romulan is floating in space.				The dead Romulan in HD.
The second Romulan chair (with a curved part at the top of the back section) is seen here. The same chair also appeared aboard the Ktarian ship in "The Game".		"The Game"		The chair in HD.
A final look at the Romulan science vessel. The model would later be repainted and re-used as the Nasari vessel in the Voyager episode "Favorite Son".		"Favorite Son"		A final look in HD.
Ro fires the Romulan disruptor beam right through Riker's head.				The "headshot" in HD.
The Romulan disruptor pistol, which first appeared in "Contagion" can be nicely seen in this screenshot.				The disruptor in HD.
The Romulan disruptor pistol shortly before it overloads.

A high-level anyon beam purges the chroniton fields caused by Ro and La Forge, thus bringing them back in phase with the rest of the ship.				The effect was reconstructed for TNG-R.
The bottle seen on the Ten Forward table here is similar to bottles containing Romulan ale in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", Ennan VI ale in "Time Squared" and Altarian brandy in "Manhunt".	"Star Trek II"	"Time Squared"		The bottle in HD.
		"Manhunt"

Back to Observations index

Top

View as gallery