Observations in TNG: "Booby Trap"

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

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


"Booby Trap" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore

Description TNG Other caps Comparison TNG to TNG-R Description TNG-R
Geordi and Christy Henshaw lie on a moonlit beach.

The colors of the sunset look much better in HD.

There is a slight framing problem, as thin black lines are visible on the left and the right edge.

Data and Wesley play a game of three-dimensional chess with the asteroid field in the Orelious system (all that remained of Orelious IX) in the background. In the second recomposited shot, we can notice how a color correction mask isn't perfectly aligned with Data's uniform and lets parts of his hands appear yellow.
This is the first good look we get at the 3D chess set in Ten Forward. The chess pieces are the ones seen in the Darwin genetic research station in "Unnatural Selection".
"Unnatural Selection"
No changes
The Promellian distress signal is shown in an animated LCARS display. We can recognize more details of the display in HD.
The Orelious asteroid field. Some of the asteroids are simple copy&paste work. These views of the asteroid field were only slightly revised, if at all, including the copy&paste asteroids.
The footage of the USS Enterprise-D approaching the asteroid field was newly created for this episode.
The Promellian battlecruiser as it appears on the viewscreen of the USS Enterprise-D. We can see a few new asteroids around the battlecruiser in the TNG-R version.
As can be seen in this screenshot, Picard is already wearing the final version of the season 3 uniform, without two visible seams on the front and back of the costume. Riker, in contrast, still wears the prototype with seams, as in the previous five episodes of season 3. Picard is thus the first crew member wearing the updated version. No changes

The Promellian battlecruiser Cleponji is seen up close in this beautiful camera move past the ship. The miniature was originally created for the horror film "Night of the Creeps". For the appearance on TNG, the model was turned upside down. We can only see the aft end of the ship in the episode, which is why the Fact Files falsely depicts it without the elongated bow section.
Ancient or Mysterious Ships

The miniature later appeared in DS9: "Sanctuary". A shot from that episode was re-used in "Sons of Mogh" and "The Muse". It is only speculation, but the ship may have been Klingon every time it appeared on DS9, although it was not yet green as of "Sanctuary".


"Night of the Creeps"

We can see see more details of the beautifully detailed Promellian battlecruiser in TNG-R.

Note that the lighting of the Enterprise was changed to match better with the one of the Promellian ship. Also, several more rocks were added to the asteroid field.


"Night of the Creeps"

Promellian ship in the Fact Files

DS9: "Sanctuary"

DS9: "Sons of Mogh"
After the extended main corridor was first seen from the other end of the set in "The Survivors", here it is first shown from the direction of sickbay. In the first two seasons, the set ended right behind the silver wall panels on the left and right. The door in the background is just a dummy, as it doesn't consist of two halves that can be slide to the left and right when the door opens.
"We'll Always Have Paris"
No changes
Note how the left portion of the LCARS panel in the transporter room behind O'Brien is dark. The light has not been working ever since "Manhunt" in the previous season.
"Manhunt"
No changes
When Wesley was placing nanite traps in Ten Forward in "Evolution", he used the same carrying case Data is holding here. Cases like this were regularly seen in the first two seasons of TNG, often in sickbay. They were built from 1980's tape cassette cases.
"Evolution"
An HD close-up of the case.
Another good look at the Promellian battlecruiser. The great shot in HD.
The bridge chairs of the Promellian battlecruiser are identical to the ones used aboard the Klingon Bird-of-Prey "Bounty" in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home", the Pagh in "A Matter of Honor" and the Romulan Warbird Haakona in "Contagion", only the headrests were removed.
Commercially Available Chairs in Star Trek

"A Matter of Honor"

"Contagion"
No changes
This is the first appearance of a palm beacon on TNG. In previous episode, when entering the dark bridge of another vessel, away team members used more regular-looking flashlights ("The Battle", "Peak Performance"). This first version of the palm beacon was only used in season 3 and "Future Imperfect". A bigger version was introduced later in season 4 and used until the end of the series and in the first three seasons of DS9.
"The Battle"

"Peak Performance"
No changes

The railings on the Promellian bridge previously appeared on the USS Hathaway in "Peak Performance".

The square wall greebles on the back of the consoles were also seen on the walls of the Romulan warbird in season 2's "Contagion".


"Peak Performance"

"Contagion"
No changes
The ceiling of the Promellian battlecruiser bridge was originally the ceiling of the infamously tall turboshaft aboard the USS Enterprise-A in "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier". It appeared as a back wall in the cloning lab on Mariposa in "Up the Long Ladder".
"Star Trek V"

"Up the Long Ladder"
No changes

Costumes like the ones worn by the dead Promellians in this episode (and also by Galek Sar in the video footage) were later worn by the Bre'el IV scientists in "Déjà Q". Recurring background aliens on DS9, additionally with the same make-up as the Promellians, also often wore this type of uniform. The uniform seems to feature a Promellian patch on the sleeve here. This patch was removed for later appearances of the costume.

The chair the dead Promellian sits on is the same type of elusive chair also seen on the bridge and in engineering aboard the Hathaway in "Peak Performance". The same chair appeared in other science fiction films and series too.
Re-Used Props - Furniture


"Déjà Q"

"Peak Performance"
The dead Promellian in HD.

DS9: "Captive Pursuit"
The Promellian bridge features tubes or conduits that are identical to the ones seen in the USS Enterprise-D's geological lab and main engineering, and also in the engineering of the USS Hathaway in "Peak Performance".
"Time Squared"

"Pen Pals"
No changes
The wall panels were originally seen in the USS Enterprise-D's computer access room in "Evolution".
"Evolution"
No changes
The Promellian memory coil reading device will be re-used several times in future Star Trek episodes. It appears as the communication scrambler used by Jonas in the Voyager episode "Threshold" and serves as a communication device of the Borg Cooperative in "Unity". The device is repainted and slightly modified each time.
VOY: "Threshold"

VOY: "Unity"
A better look at the device in HD.

Data's tricorder can be seen nicely here. The "on-switch", present on early models, is noticeable in this shot. Notice how beaten the tricorder looks.

The console features a Promellian logo or signage with an irregularly shaped frame that previously appeared in a similar form on Data's console when he received the distress call and that can be seen on bridge walls and on the uniforms too.


Earlier in this episode

Earlier in this episode
A better look at the tricorder in HD.

Galek Sar, the captain of the Cleponji, can be seen in a recording. The Promellian make-up was later re-used for a number of background aliens on TNG, in "Generations" and on DS9. As already mentioned, they sometimes even wore the same uniform as the Promellians!
Re-Used Make-ups


"Chain of Command I

DS9: "Nor the Battle to..."
The Promellian make-up is a bit better visible in HD.
Curious how the number of asteroids surrounding the USS Enterprise-D and the Promellian battlecruiser has increased in at most a couple of hours!
Earlier in this episode
In TNG-R this oddity was faithfully reproduced.
In this episode, we get our first good look at engineering as it appears in season 3. As can be seen, the MSD behind Geordi is different from the one seen in the first two seasons. The new MSD is much more detailed and is the first one to include tiny in-jokes, like the duck, the DC-3, Nomad and the hamster wheel. The lower LCARS interfaces were also enlarged.
Visual In-Jokes

"Q Who"
We can spot the in-jokes better in HD, but still only with the knowledge that they are there.

The USS Enterprise facing the Promellian battlecruiser in the Orelious asteroid field.

This is a new shot of the alien ship from a different angle, not just a previous one that was flipped or otherwise modified.


Earlier in this episode
The great shot in HD.
The asteroid field as seen through the observation lounge windows. Notice the reflection of one of the asteroids on the lounge table. No changes
In contrast to Picard, all other senior officers still wear the season 3 uniform prototype with the two very visible seams on the front. No changes

Geordi is sitting in front of an animated LCARS display.

This may the first time that "Library Computer Access and Retrieval System" is written out.

More details are legible on these displays in HD.

Display 3: Not only L. Brahms wrote many of those files but other legible names are M. Scott (Scotty), P. Boyce (Dr. Philip Boyce) and A. Probert (Andy Probert).

Display 4: Leah Brahms's middle name is Susan (taken from the actress Susan Gibney).

Display 5: Brahms attended the University of Tomobiki, a reference to the anime series Urusei Yatsura.

Another look at the bridge of the Promellian battlecruiser. The pentagonal cargo containers/wall panels in the background sometimes appear on Federation starships, like the USS Enterprise-D in "The Child". They are also seen in several places in "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier", including the Paradise Bar and the roof of the turboshaft of the USS Enterprise-A.
"Star Trek V"

"The Child"
No changes

"Star Trek V"
An animated cross-section image of the dilithium chamber. A look at the display in HD.
In contrast to the previously mentioned new corridor door, this door is functional and gives access to a turbolift. No changes

One advantage of the expanded corridor set is the fact that the shuttlebay/cargo bay/holodeck doors could now be directly accessed from the main corridor, without the need for a separate short corridor set which was attached to the large double doors, as in seasons 1 and 2. A crew member could now be seen walking from the transporter room or sickbay directly to the shuttlebay, for example.

This wasn't the case here, though: In the first screenshot, the cargo bay/shuttlebay walls can be seen in the background. When Geordi enters the holographic recreation of Drafting Room 5, though, the walls are completely different. Also notice the corridor wall behind the holodeck doors has 4 silver panels, whereas regular corridor walls only have 3 1/2 panels. The comparison screenshot from "Hollow Pursuits" shows what the corridor wall behind the holodeck doors really looks like. This means the set for Drafting Room 5 wasn't built in the space usually occupied by the shuttlebay/cargo bay but rather on a different stage and the corridor seen behind the door was just a dummy and not actually connected to the enlarged corridor set.


"Hollow Pursuits"
No changes
Small monitors like this one, directly attached to a desk, first appeared in "The Emissary". A monitor like that was also seen in the previous season 3 episode "Evolution" in the computer access room. The monitor displays a graphic of Paul Manheim's temporal distortion seen in "We'll Always Have Paris". The graphic was also seen in a classroom aboard the USS Enterprise-D in "Reunion".
"The Emissary"

"We'll Always Have Paris"
An HD close-up of the console.

"Evolution"

"Reunion"

An unfinished USS Enterprise-D can be seen through the Drafting Room 5 windows. The drafting room seems to be located within a large spacedock-like space station.

A silver model of a Constitution class ship is visible on one of the desks, it will be seen much better a little later in the episode. The console next to the model first appeared in the tactical lab in "The Emissary" and was also seen in the computer access room in "Evolution".


"The Emissary"

"Evolution"

The matte painting of the structural grid of the Enterprise-D saucer looks different in TNG-R. Although the basic layout of the skeleton is closely based on the original, the new version has hints of detail and structure inside the grid. Additionally, in one shot, a welder's torch can be seen flickering. Finally, a couple of lights were turned on inside the ship, as if crews were at work in other parts of the ship.

The model of another spaceship is can be seen to the left of the Constitution class model, between the two small consoles.

The office chairs appear in several other episodes and are the real-life model Omnific Chair.

Close inspection reveals that there is a second, smaller Constitution-class model (pre-refit) lying in front of the larger one. The model between the two consoles can now be identified as a silver D7 Klingon battlecruiser model, most likely the same one seen in Worf's quarters in "Peak Performance".

The third starship model in the drafting room can be seen here. It is a prototype of the Ertl kit, assembled by Andy Probert. It is an early "test shot" and lacks the surface panel detailing that is present on the final version of the model. Andy was a consultant to Ertl during the development of the kit. The same model likely appeared in Sonny Clemond's guest quarters aboard the USS Enterprise-D in "The Neutral Zone".

The same dilithium crystal was inserted into the warp core in the first season episode "Skin of Evil".


"The Neutral Zone"
No changes
The transparent display features schematics of the Galaxy class warp core. No changes
The console behind Geordi displays a graphic also seen on a different console in the duck blind on Mintaka III in "Who Watches the Watchers".
"Who Watches the Watchers"
No changes
Another look at the spacedock hangar with the unfinished USS Enterprise-D inside. Once again, note how the grid of the Enterprise saucer looks different in TNG-R.
The patch of the Galaxy class starship development project and a schematic of the USS Enterprise-D can be nicely seen in this screenshot.
Galaxy class project patch
An HD close-up of the emblem.
This is the third re-use of a shot originally created for "Encounter at Farpoint". The same shot appeared in "Code of Honor" and "Heart of Glory". Here, the USS Enterprise fires at an asteroid in the Orelious asteroid field.
"Encounter at Farpoint"

"Heart of Glory"
The faithfully recomposed scene in HD.

"Code of Honor"
The console behind Geordi was seen in several earlier season 2 episodes, like "The Schizoid Man" and "Pen Pals".
"The Schizoid Man"

"Pen Pals"
No changes
The holodeck grid has not been seen since "Where Silence Has Lease".
"Where Silence Has Lease"
No changes
This is the very end of the new, expanded corridor set. A door to the junior officers' crew quarters is located to the right of the first screenshot. No changes
The large transparent display seen behind Leah Brahms re-appeared on Malcor III in "First Contact". It was next seen aboard the USS Enterprise-A in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country". After that, it appeared on the Tilonian particle fountain in "The Quality of Life" and on the bridge of an alternate USS Enterprise-D in "Parallels". It seems some of the graphics (of a Galaxy class warp core) was still present during the later re-uses.
"First Contact"

"The Quality of Life"
No changes

"Star Trek VI"

"Parallels"
A better look at the warp core graphic. We can read the words on the display now.
This is a peculiar model of a Constitution class ship (refit), with nacelles turned 90°. No changes
Another look at the patch of the Galaxy class starship development project and a schematic of the USS Enterprise-D. No changes
"Booby Trap" introduced a new type of space art, as seen in Drafting Room 5. These were Telas coil paintings created by Dave Archer and would go on to appear in several more TNG episodes.
Space Art in Star Trek: The Next Generation
No changes
"Booby Trap" is the first episode in which the ammonite in Picard's ready room since season 1 is replaced by a nautilus shell, seen for almost all the rest of the season.
"Lonely Among Us"
A look at the prop in HD.
A computer-generated simulation of the USS Enterprise-D flying through the asteroid field. The animation was filmed directly off the monitor and is still exactly the same in the remastered episode, including the boxy ship model.
Drafting Room 5 is a redress of the battle bridge of the USS Enterprise-D, which was last seen as the bridge of the USS Hathaway in "Peak Performance". For this appearance, the set was modified even further and only the raised section with the slanted ceiling and console alcoves remains. In season 2, the set was also seen as the courtroom on Starbase 173 in "The Measure of a Man" and the surgical suite on Starbase 515 in "Samaritan Snare".
Re-Used Starship Interiors

"The Measure of a Man"

"Peak Performance"
No changes

"Samaritan Snare"
Like in two earlier season 3 episodes ("The Ensigns of Command" and "The Bonding") a graphic of the Beta Renner cloud (from "Lonely Among Us") is displayed on an aft bridge monitor.
"Lonely Among Us"

"The Ensigns of Command"
No changes

"The Bonding"
The USS Enterprise-D is seen up close in this new shot of the 6-foot model. A CGI model stands in for the 6-foot model in this one shot in TNG-R.
An interesting shot of Picard at the conn, looking at the Orelious asteroid field displayed on the main viewscreen. No changes
The USS Enterprise-D firing its starboard thruster.

The sequence is just stunning in HD.

The thruster is still missing in the HD version of the episode (see second cap).

Although the USS Enterprise-D is supposed to have engaged its port thruster in this shot, the effect of the thruster (seen in the previous screenshot) is missing.
This shot of the USS Enterprise-D in the asteroid field is identical to one seen at the beginning of the episode, only one large asteroid was added and the nacelles are unlit in this shot.
The USS Enterprise-D uses the gravity of a large asteroid and its thrusters to escape the asteroid field.
The shot of the USS Enterprise-D launching four photon torpedoes was originally created for "The Dauphin". In this episode, it appears exactly like it did in season 2, including the flipped footage of the Enterprise-D, evidenced by the mirrored registry on the hull.
"Pen Pals"
The registry was fixed for TNG-R.

"Pen Pals"

 

Credits

Thanks to Josh for pointing out the wrong color of Data's hands in the teaser.

 


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