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Observations in TNG: "The Nth Degree"

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

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

"The Nth Degree" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore

Description TNG		Other caps	Comparison TNG to TNG-R	Description TNG-R
The ship's theater is a redress of Ten Forward. In this modification, the set first appeared in "Sarek".		"The Measure of a Man"		A good look at the set in HD.
		"The Vengeance Factor"
		"Sarek"
Troi last wore this dress (and the earrings) in Barclay's holoprograms in "Hollow Pursuits". Here, she wears both for real for the first time.		"Hollow Pursuits"		A look at the clothes (and Barclay's nose) in HD.
A first close-up of the Argus Array.				The Argus Array in HD.

The Cytherian probe first appears with the Argus Array visible in the background.
This footage of a Type-7 shuttle was originally created for "The Best of Both Worlds II". In that episode, the nacelles and Bussard collectors of the shuttle were not lit. Here, the sequence begins a little earlier than in the season opener and doesn't contain all the other SFX. Variations of the Type-7 Shuttle		"The Best of Both Worlds II"		HD close-ups of the shuttle.
		"The Best of Both Worlds II"
The Cytherian probe as seen through the window of the Type-7 shuttle. As can be seen, the interior of the shuttle has not changed since it was last seen in "Déjà Q" and "The Best of Both Worlds II".		"Déjà Q"		The inside of the shuttle in TNG-R.
		"The Best of Both Worlds II"
The USS Enterprise-D facing the Argus Array. The footage of the 4-footer was especially created for this episode.				The impressive shot in HD.


The Cytherian probe approaches the USS Enterprise-D.

Doctor Crusher should know better than approaching Barclay with a PADD displaying an autopsy report... This if of course the first re-use of one of the many new PADDs created for the morgue scene in "Night Terrors".		"Night Terrors"		No changes
More footage of the Cytherian probe as seen on the main viewscreen of the USS Enterprise-D.				The space shots in HD.
The footage of the 4-footer was especially created for this episode. Screenshots from earlier episodes show the 6-foot model of the ship from a similar angle.	"Peak Performance"	"The Vengeance Factor"
Another close-up of the Cytherian probe. The model was later modified and re-used as the alien probe (dubbed "Pup") in the DS9 episode "The Forsaken".		"The Forsaken"
The USS Enterprise-D turns around and flies away from the Cytherian probe which has started to glow from within. The footage was newly created for this episode.



The USS Enterprise-D fires at the Cytherian probe - to no effect.				The reconstructed effect in TNG-R.
A close-up of the tactical console.				We can read all labels in HD.
The USS Enterprise-D tries to escape from the Cytherian probe.				Like in several earlier episodes, this footage was replaced by a CG model of the ship as the film could not be found.
More shots of the Cytherian probe.				The sequence in HD. The explosion was reconstructed.


This footage of the USS Enterprise-D firing photon torpedoes was originally created for "Encounter at Farpoint" and re-used in several later episodes. Like in "Peak Performance", the Bussard collectors are erroneously not lit.	"Encounter at Farpoint"	"Peak Performance"
The Cytherian probe spectacularly explodes.

The USS Enterprise-D has returned to the Argus Array. The underside of the station can be nicely seen in this shot.				The shot in HD.


The PADD held my Barclay here was originally created for "Evolution". It still displays a graphic about nanotechnology like it did in the season 3 opener.		"Evolution"		A close-up in HD.
The port monitor in the Observation Lounge displays a graphic of the Argus Array.				In HD, the full name of the station ("Argus Subspace Radio Telescope Array") can be read.


The USS Enterprise-D is dwarfed by the Argus Array.				The shot in HD.
In addition to mentions of real-life subatomic particles like mesons and pions and autehtic formulae such as prominently the three-dimensional Schrödinger equation, Albert Einstein's blackboard again contains in-jokes. Uru + Se + I = Ya + Ts + Ur + A is a reference to the manga and anime of the same name. Blackboards seen in "Elementary, Dear Data" and "Brothers" contained similar in-jokes.		"Elementary Dear Data" HD		A better look at Einstein and his equations in HD.
		"Brothers" HD
The last new shot of the Argus Array shows the USS Enterprise-D facing the station.				The impressive shot in HD.
This shot of Barclay entering the holodeck is very blurry because the technique of pan and scan was used here.				The shot is blurry in the remastered episode just as well.
All components of the preliminary configuration of Barclay's work station have been seen before. The chair was earlier seen as K'mpec's chair in "Reunion" and also appeared as the Cardassian captain's chair in "The Wounded".		"Reunion"		The set decoration in TNG-R.
The "standard alpha-numeric console" has appeared in earlier episodes like "Evolution" (the small console on the right was removed and the slanted console was moved to the right).		"Evolution"
Another good look at the chair.		"The Wounded"
The "iconic display console" is the middle section of a very familiar console seen in several earlier episodes like "Booby Trap".		"Booby Trap"
The second configuration of Barclay's work station chair contains many re-used consoles and props and other remarkable parts. The structure at the very top is a re-use of the inverter from "The High Ground" which also appeared as part of the Krieger wave converter in "A Matter of Perspective".		"The High Ground"		A better look at the set in HD.
		"A Matter of Perspective"
The metal ball in the upper half of the structure first appeared on the Ferengi Marauder in "Ménage à Troi" and was also seen in main engineering in "Family".		"Ménage à Troi"
		"Family"
The metal ball in the lower half of the structure, right above Barclay's head, was also originally created for "Ménage à Troi", where it appeared in the lab aboard the Ferengi Marauder.		"Ménage à Troi"

The platform the chair is standing on seems to feature exceptionally large LED seven-segment displays.
Finally, one interesting component of the chair is the inclusion of the tricorder created for "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", until now only seen in that one film.		"Star Trek II"
		"Star Trek II"
This access panel in the observation lounge was especially created for this episode and was not part of the set before. The isolinear circuitry has appeared in several earlier episodes, like "Contagion", "Pen Pals" and "Yesterday's Enterprise".	"Contagion"	"Yesterday's Enterprise"		An HD close-up of the circuits.
	"Pen Pals"
The new Jefferies tube set was first seen in "Galaxy's Child" after a much wider earlier set appeared in "The Hunted". Only in this episode and "Galaxy's Child", people are seen crawling around the corner in the set. The back wall of the set was also modified for this episode. It no longer contains a ladder like it did in the earlier appearances. The floor consists of freezer spacers and will remain like that in other appearances of the set, until a new, somewhat smoother floor is introduced in season 6. Re-Uses of Freezer Spacers		"The Hunted"		The Jefferies tubes in HD.
		"Galaxy's Child"
A better look at the metal ball over Barclay's head.				A better look at the set in HD.
The USS Enterprise-D (the 4-foot model) flies ever closer to the anomaly. This footage, like many other shots of the ship in this episode, was newly created for "The Nth Degree". A screenshot from "Time Squared" shows what the 6-foot model looks like from a similar angle.		"Time Squared"		The recomposed shot in TNG-R.

The forcefield surrounding Barclay's work station can be seen in this screenshot.				The shot in HD.
The USS Enterprise-D slowly drifts towards the anomaly created by Barclay and the Cytherians and is finally sucked into it.				The recomposed shots in TNG-R.
The USS Enterprise-D approaches the Cytherian homeworld.


Several screenshots show the make-up of the curious Cytherian.				The Cytherian in HD.


There are only 15 metal chess pieces on the 3-D chessboard in this shot (the 16th piece seems to be in the hands of the male crewmember). All the glass pieces are missing, so half of the normal number of chess pieces is unaccounted for.				A better look at the chess board in HD.

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