Observations in TNG: "The Royale"
A joint project with TrekCore, by Jörg Hillebrand and Bernd Schneider
Here are some observations about sets, props and visual effects in TNG: "The Royale" without a specific theme, and a comparison of the original TV release (TNG) with the remastered episode (TNG-R).
"The Royale" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore
| Description TNG | Other caps | Comparison TNG to TNG-R | Description TNG-R | |
| Theta 116 VIII previously appeared as Angel I in "Angel One" and as Minos in "The Arsenal of Freedom". It will appear only once more, as Legara IV in "Sarek". Re-Used Planets in TNG |
 "The Arsenal of Freedom" |
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Theta 116 VII is the same as Angel I in HD too, plus a few turbulent storms. | |
| According to this graphic of Theta VIII, its surface temperature is -291 °C, 18 degrees colder than absolute zero, and thus impossible. There is also a typo: "Rotatation". Among the gases are Yurium and Keimium compounds, both references to the anime series "Dirty Pair". |
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In HD, some more details are clearly visible, like the atmospheric gases, seen to the right of the planet graphic. The errors were not fixed. | ||
| Picard is looking at Fermat's Last Theorem on his desktop monitor. |   |
In HD we can see the formula an + bn = cn somewhat better. | ||
| The USS Enterprise-D in orbit of Theta 116 VIII. |   |
Another good look at the remastered planet. | ||
| The 52-star US flag is odd as the field of stars is smaller than usual and rests on a red stripe instead of a white stripe. The NASA logo is the older worm logo, no longer in use since 1992. Other History Inconsistencies |
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The flag was not corrected for TNG-R. | ||
| The animated graphic of the hotel, resting on a plane of frozen methane, contains some interesting facts. The temperature on that planet is -274°C, still one degree lower than absolute zero. The graphic also contains a "Kei/Yuri factor", another reference to the anime series "Dirty Pair". |  |
Note the much clearer text on these screens too. | ||
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| The surface of Theta 116 VIII. |  |
No changes | ||
| Theta 116 VIII on the Enterprise-D main viewscreen. This shot of the planet appears exactly like that (on the main viewscreen) in "The Arsenal of Freedom". |  "The Arsenal of Freedom" |
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The massively improved shot in TNG-R. | |
| The hotel's assistant manager. |   |
Thanks to the HD transfer of the episode, the text on the tag can be read now. Sadly, it just says "Royale Assistant Manager" and doesn't offer any new information about his name. | ||
| Data passes by a poster. |   |
Some more details can be made out on the poster in HD. | ||
| A spectral scan of the bubble surrounding the methane plane on which the hotel rests. |   |
Note the misspelling ("absorbtion" instead of "absorption"). | ||
| This shot of Worf moving the slot machine to the side is very blurry in the original episode. This is a sure sign that an FX effect would follow shortly, in this case, a phaser beam. |   |
In TNG-R, there is no such shortcoming any longer. | ||
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| Exactly the same PC monitor appears on Mariposa in "Up the Long Ladder". |  "Up the Long Ladder" |
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No changes | |
| The remains of Colonel Stephen G. Richey. |  |
No changes | ||
| The curious US flag with 52 stars and the field of stars resting on a red stripe appears again as a shoulder patch. The mission patch below the flag is a re-use of the Apollo 17 patch, with only the word "Apollo" removed. The patch still bears the number "XVII" and the name of the actual astronauts, Cernan, Evans and Schmitt. |   |
The flag is still the same. The patch, however, was corrected for TNG-R. The number "XVII" was replaced with "Charybdis - NASA", and the names of the Apollo 17 astronauts with "First Beyond the Solar System". | ||
| As Data, Worf and Riker are looking at Richey's spacesuit, we can see the right sleeve only fleetingly. |   |
In HD, we can recognize the "San Francisco Sky Tram Port" patch on the right sleeve. | ||
| Col. Richey was awarded a USAF Command Pilot Badge. |   |
The badge in HD. | ||
| Another recycled shot of the USS Enterprise-D in orbit of Theta 116 VIII. The planet appears extremely pixelated in the original version of the episode. This shot was only seen in "The Arsenal of Freedom". |   |
The blurriness is gone in TNG-R. | ||
| The cover and spine of the novel Hotel Royale. The building on the cover that looks much like a computer chip is the Circus Maximus Showroom at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. |
 Circus Maximus Showroom |
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Both can be seen much better in HD. | |
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| Picard's desktop monitor displays some information that is illegible, however. |   |
Even in HD, we cannot read anything. | ||
| The USS Enterprise-D leaving orbit of Theta 116 VIII. |   |
The improved shot in TNG-R. | ||
Credits
Thanks to Max, who spotted the typo on an LCARS display.
